The Book-Hunter at Home Part 22

If this be your subject, our book-hunter trusts that you have been more successful than he has in your quest for the 'Traicte de l'Espee Francoise, par Maistre Jean Savaron' (small octavo, Paris, 1610). He narrowly missed a copy in Paris some years ago, and so far this scarce little volume of fifty-six pages has eluded him as successfully as the 'Pastissier Francois.' Probably, on account of its slimness, it is usually bound up with more substantial works, and thus escapes the eyes of book-hunters and cataloguers. Savaron also wrote a 'Traicte contre les Duels,' which is equally scarce. Works on duelling are legion, and range from Carafa's rather large folio ent.i.tled 'De Monomachia seu de Duello,'

Rome, 1647, down to the little 'Dissertation Historique sur les Duels et les Ordres de Chevalerie: Par Monsieur B * * * *,' which is by Master Jacques Basnage--a duodecimo produced first at Amsterdam in 1720. An Italian bibliography of this subject by J. Gelli and G. E. Levi appeared in 1903. For the most part they are uncommon works and not easy to find.

It is a subject that borders closely on the Chivalry of our list, for of course that subject was (like Heraldry) entirely military in origin. A 'Bibliography of English Military Books up to 1642, and of Contemporary Foreign Works' was compiled by Captain M. J. D. c.o.c.kle and published in quarto in 1900. Mr. Carl Thimm's 'Art of Fence: a Complete Bibliography'

appeared in 1891; an enlarged edition was put forth in 1896.

[Sidenote: Music.]

39. Books on Music may be divided conveniently into the numerous sub-headings which treat of particular instruments, songs, printed music generally, and accounts of the early musicians and their works. Treatises upon the violin are fairly numerous;[85] but I do not remember having come across many works on the Jew's harp or ocarina. There are interesting old books on the virginals, harpsichord, and spinet. Before the end of the fifteenth century a number of Missalia, Gradualia, Psalteria, and Libri Cantionum ('quas vulgo Mutetas appellant') had appeared from the press. The 'Theoric.u.m Opus Musice Disciplina' of Franchino Gafori, or Gaffurius (which, by the way, is merely an abridgment of Boethius), is said to be the earliest printed treatise on music. It was printed first at Naples in 1480. Antiphonals and Troparies must also be included here.

A new edition of Grove's 'Dictionary of Music and Musicians,' by Mr. J.

A. Fuller-Maitland, appeared in 1904. Dr. Charles Burney's 'General History of Music' occupied that great English musician between 1776 and 1789--four quarto volumes. 'The Literature of Music,' an octavo by Mr. J.

E. Matthew, was put forth in the series known as the Booklovers' Library in 1896; whilst the 'Oxford History of Music,' edited by Dr. W. H. Hadow, appeared in six volumes between 1901 and 1905. M. Henry de Curzon's valuable work, 'Guide de l'Amateur d'Ouvrages sur la Musique,' was printed at Paris in 1901. For a bibliography of operas you must turn to the 'Dictionnaire des Operas,' of MM. Clement and Larousse. Rimbault's 'Bibliotheca Madrigaliana,' which is a bibliographical account of the musical and poetical works published in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, appeared in 1847; and you will find a list of early songs, madrigals, and 'ayres' in the fourth volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature,' pages 463-6. Hazlitt's 'Catalogue of Early English Music in the Harleian Library,' was published in 1862. There are useful articles on early music printing, by Mr. R.

Steele, in the Bibliographical Society's Journal for 1903, and by Mr.

Barclay Squire in the third volume of 'Bibliographica.'

[Sidenote: Napoleon.]

40. The collector of books dealing with Napoleon I. has a somewhat narrow field to range in. There is a large number of English tracts and pamphlets that deal with the great man and his proposed invasion of England, as well as biographies, memoirs, and diaries concerning him. A collection of such works was formed in the later years of the nineteenth century by an insatiable Grangerite named Broadley, and in due time his library came under the hammer at Hodgson's. It was a remarkable collection: anything that concerned 'Boney,' however remotely, was grist to this collector's mill. A catalogue of his library was compiled and published by Mr. W. V. Daniel in 1905. M. Gustave Davois' 'Bibliographie Napoleonienne Francaise' to 1908 was printed in three octavo volumes at Paris, 1909-11. Of M. Kircheisen's 'Bibliographie du Temps de Napoleon,'

two quarto volumes, published at Geneva in 1908 and 1912, have appeared up to the time of writing.

[Sidenote: Natural History.]

41. The early books on Natural History would probably be regarded by the modern zoologist as bibliographical curiosities rather than intelligent text-books; and truly the accounts of even the larger mammals given by these early observers of nature are extraordinary. Most of us will remember reading Caesar's description of the elks in the Hercynian forest, which slept leaning up against the trees because they had no joints in their legs. The inhabitants, cunning fellows, sought out the favoured trees and sawed them nearly through; so that when the unfortunate elks settled themselves to sleep, the b.o.o.by-traps came into operation. Having no joints in their legs, the poor beasts were unable to rise, and so became an easy prey to the savage Teuton. Herodotus, too, was somewhat credulous in the matter of animals; Sir John Mandeville was not always to be trusted; and even Bernard von Breydenbach, who made a journey to the Holy Land about 1485, beheld strange beasts, like Spenser's giaunts, 'hard to be beleeved.' But perhaps the palm among these mediaeval monsters is held by the eale, or, as it became later, the yale or jall; that strange beast which has survived--in effigy at least--unto our own times.

It appears that Pliny was the first to discover this singular animal, and his description of it is recorded in many of those quaint mediaeval natural history volumes known as 'Bestiaries.' The Reverend Edward Topsell, in his 'Historie of Foure-footed Beasts' (folio, 1607) thus describes it:

'There is bred in Ethiopia a certain strange beast about the bignesse of a sea-horse, being of colour blacke or brownish: it hath the cheeks of a Boare, the tayle of an Elephant, and hornes above a cubit long, which are moveable upon his head at his owne pleasure like eares; now standing one way, and anone moving another way, as he needeth in fighting with other Beastes, for they stand not stiffe but bend flexibly, and when he fighteth he always stretcheth out the one, and holdeth in the other, for purpose as it may seeme, that if one of them may be blunted or broken, then hee may defend himselfe with the other. It may well be compared to a sea-horse, for above all other places it loveth best the waters.'

Unfortunately no specimen has been seen by travellers for some years now, so probably it is quite extinct. Certainly you will not find a jall in the Zoo, or even at South Kensington, though you may see a very excellent statue of him on King Henry VIII.'s bridge at Hampton Court.

There are numerous bibliographies of works upon all cla.s.ses of animals, fish, flesh, and fowl--even the good red herring.[86] For these you must turn to Mr. W. P. Courtney's invaluable work. The 'Bibliographia Zoologiae et Geologiae, a General Catalogue of all Books on Zoology and Geology,' was compiled by L. Aga.s.siz and H. E. Strickland for the Ray Society--four octavo volumes, published between 1848 and 1854. A 'Bibliotheca Entomologica,' by H. A. Hagen, appeared at Leipzig, two octavo volumes, in 1862-63.

[Sidenote: Nautical and Naval.]

42. The next subject, Nautical and Naval, will comprise chiefly borrowings from other headings; for it will necessarily include books of voyages and discoveries, works on navigation, meteorology, and oceanography, as well as geographical books, and such purely nautical volumes as dictionaries of the marine, the history of s.h.i.+ps and s.h.i.+pping, and accounts of the navy and mercantile fleet. There is a number of early works on the astrolabe and globes, but you must not expect easily to come across 'The Rutter of the Sea,' printed by Robert Copland and Richard Bankes in 1528. It is the first English printed book on Navigation, being a translation of 'Le Grand Routier' of Pierre Garcie.

The Society for Nautical Research was founded in 1910, and it issues a monthly journal known as 'The Mariner's Mirror,' wherein are treated those subjects which pertain to the history of s.h.i.+ps, sails, and rigging; in fact, everything that has to do with the evolution of the s.h.i.+p. The original 'Mariner's Mirrour' was a translation (by Anthony Ashley in 1588) of Wagenaar's 'Speculum Nautic.u.m,' first published in 1583.

Needless to say, it is a scarce work, as are all these Elizabethan volumes upon seafaring. In volume IV. of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature' you will find two chapters on the literature of the sea from the pens of those great authorities Commander C. N. Robinson and Mr. John Leyland. If this be your subject, they will amply repay perusal.

There is an excellent list of early works, pages 453 to 462.

[Sidenote: Numismatics.]

43. Numismatics is one of those subjects which generally engage the attentions of students rather than book-collectors, for the volumes upon coins and medals are necessarily text-books for the collector of these things. Such works are, of course, for the most part ill.u.s.trated; and some of the older ones are of considerable interest on account of their engravings.

It is not only to the collector and 'curious antiquary,' however, that some of these works are valuable, for in them occasionally the historian is able to unearth matter scarcely obtainable elsewhere. Menestrier's 'Histoire du Roy Louis le Grand par les Medailles, Emblemes, Deuises, Jettons, Inscriptions, Armoiries, et autres Monumens Publics' (folio, Paris, 1693) is one of many such works. It not only contains engravings of every medal struck to commemorate the birth, life, marriage, actions, victories, processions, and entertainments of the Roi-Soleil (among them one commemorating the Siege of Londonderry in 1689), but it has a very fine folding plate of the Place des Victoires as it was in 1686. This engraving not only shows the famous monument erected to the glory of Louis XIV., and destroyed at the Revolution, but gives the details of the panels and a very full description of it. Thus we may have to hand all the inscriptions, mottoes, and dates which were graven upon that historic monument.

[Sidenote: Occult.]

44. Civilisation mates but ill with Romance, and for the pa.s.sing of Superst.i.tion (the child of Imagination and Romance) none can shed a tear.

Yet at least it served to raise our daily lives out of the rut of commonplace. Our pulses are no longer stirred at the mere mention of the word MAGIC, and even BLACK MAGIC is coldly discussed where not so very long ago none would have dared to speak it save with 'bated breath.' Yet we are all mystics by birth, and scarce one of us there is who as a child has not experienced the fear of darkness. We cannot explain it, and though the child may soon be taught to laugh at his fear, yet none the less was he endowed with this unaccountable dread of the UNKNOWN.

Among real book-collectors probably this particular branch of specialism attracts but few; for the greater part of those who collect such works are students of the occult (whether serious or idle) and have no true love for their books qua books. Seemingly it is an absorbing hobby, for those who devote their attention to necromancy soon become known among their friends.

'Philosophy is odious and obscure; Both Law and Physic are for petty wits; Divinity is basest of the three, Unpleasant, harsh, contemptible, and vile; 'Tis magic, magic, that hath ravish'd me.'

Thus Doctor Faustus, the Gamaliel of those whose study are the arcana of nature and the world of shadows. Yet whether we be mystics or materialists what would not each one of us (not necessarily bibliophiles) give to possess the volume which Faustus had at the hands of Mephistophilis?

_Meph._ 'Hold, take this book, peruse it thoroughly: The iterating of these lines brings gold; The framing of this circle on the ground Brings whirlwinds, tempests, thunder, and lightning; p.r.o.nounce this thrice devoutly to thyself, And men in armour shall appear to thee, Ready to execute what thou desir'st.'

_Faust._ 'Thanks, Mephistophilis; yet fain would I have a book wherein I might behold all spells and incantations, that I might raise up spirits when I please.'

_Meph._ 'Here they are in this book.' [_Turns to them._]

_Faust._ 'Now would I have a book where I might see all characters and planets of the heavens, that I might know their motions and dispositions.'

_Meph._ 'Here they are too.' [_Turns to them._]

_Faust._ 'Nay, let me have one book more--and then I have done--wherein I might see all plants, herbs, and trees, that grow upon the earth.'

_Meph._ 'Here they be.'

_Faust._ 'Oh, thou art deceived.'

_Meph._ 'Tut, I warrant thee.' [_Turns to them._]

Truly a marvellous volume. The astronomical and herbal portions of it we can understand, and herein doubtless the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' could give it points, though possibly in a less handy shape. But even Wecker's 'De Secretis' fails lamentably when it comes to producing whirlwinds or men in armour. As it is to be presumed, however, that the doctor returned the volume at length to the owner in person, it is unlikely that the book-collector will ever behold it--at least in this world.

It is a wide subject, this heading 'Occult,' and includes works on Alchemy, Apparitions, Astrology, Cheiromancy, Demonology, Devil Lore, Evil Spirit Possession, the Evil Eye, Hermetic Philosophy, Magic white and black, Phrenology, Physiognomy, Prophecy, Sorcery and Divination, Popular Superst.i.tions, Vampires, and Witchcraft. We can even include Conjuring! Early-printed books on all these subjects are legion, and the numerous works on Lycanthropy or Werewolves, must also find a place under this heading. Claude Prieur's curious work is rare though not particularly valuable; it is a duodecimo printed at Louvain in 1596, and is ent.i.tled 'Dialogue de la Lycantropie ou transformation d'hommes en loups, vulgairement dit Loups-garous ... .' Books on Monsters must also be included here. Dr. Ernest Martin's 'Histoire des Monstres,' octavo, Paris, 1879, contains a bibliography of this curious subject. The Rev.

Timothy Harley's 'Moon Lore'--another out-of-the-way heading--also contains twenty-five pages of bibliography. It was printed in 1885.

Savonarola's 'Compendium Revelationum,' the work which probably hastened him to the stake, you will come across most easily in the anonymous 'Mirabilis Liber,' which appeared at Paris first in 1522. This curious work also contains the prophecies of Methodius (Bemechobus), the Sibyls, Augustinus, Birgitta, Lichtenberger, Joachim, Antonio, Catherine of Siena, Severus, J. de Vatiguerro, G. Bauge, and J. de la Rochetaillee.

Indagine, the author of a curious book on cheiromancy, physiognomy, and astrology, was really Johann of Hagen, a German Carthusian who died in 1475.

There is a list of some books on Witchcraft, Demonology, and Astrology in the seventh volume of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature,'

pages 503 to 511; though curiously it omits one of the most interesting and best-known works on demon-lore--the 'De Natura Daemonum' of Jean Laurent Anania, a small octavo produced by Aldus at Venice in 1589. It is an interesting little work which treats of the origin of demons and their influence on men. The first volume of Mr. F. Leigh Gardner's valuable 'Catalogue Raisonne of Works on the Occult Sciences' appeared in 1903. It contains books on the Rosicrucians. The second volume, dealing with astrological works, was issued in 1911; and the third, books on Freemasonry, in 1912--three slim octavo volumes. Professor John Ferguson's 'Witchcraft Literature of Scotland' appeared at Edinburgh in 1897. A scarce anonymous work was put forth at London in 1815, with the t.i.tle 'The Lives of Alchemistical Philosophers; with a critical catalogue of books in occult chemistry, and a selection of the most celebrated treatises on the theory and practice of the Hermetic Art.' It contains (pp. 95-112) a list of 751 alchemical books. J. J. Manget's 'Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa, seu rerum ad Alchemiam pertinentium Thesaurus,' was printed in two folio volumes at Geneva in 1702.

[Sidenote: Pamphlets and Tracts.]

45. The collecting of Pamphlets and Tracts is an interesting byway of book-collecting. They are of almost every description under the sun. Some collectors will have those that deal with Parliamentary proceedings, some specialise in the Marprelate and No Popery tracts, some in the Satires of the Restoration journalists, whilst others will gather Pasquinades, Mazarinades, and Political pamphlets, as well as those that deal with some particular social or historical event. It is a subject that, perhaps, comprises more grotesque t.i.tles than any heading in our list.

Knox's famous 'First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women' must certainly have been rather startling to Queen Bess, and Attersoll's 'G.o.d's Trumpet sounding the Alarme' (quarto, 1632) is vigorous; but the personal invective displayed by some of the Elizabethan and early Stuart pamphleteers is hard to beat. 'An Olde Foxe Tarred and Feathered,' 'A New Gag for an Old Goose,' 'A Whip for an Ape,' and 'An Almond for a Parrat,' are all curious, but surely the palm is carried by the following effort of John Lyly (against Martin Marprelate), put forth in 1589:

'Pappe with an Hatchet. Alias A figge for my G.o.dsonne. Or Cracke me this nut. Or A Countrie cuffe, that is, a sound boxe of the eare, for the idiot Martin to hold his peace, seeing the patch will take no warning. Written by one that dares call a dog, a dog, and made to prevent Martin's dog daies. Imprinted by John Anoke, and John Astile, for the Baylive of Withernam, c.u.m privilegio perennitatis, and are to bee sold at the signe of the crab tree cudgell in thwackcoate lane.'

In 1523 Richard Bankes printed a curious little tract with the following t.i.tle: 'Here begynneth a lytell newe treatyse or mater intytuled and called The IX. Drunkardes, which treatythe of dyuerse and goodly storyes ryght plesaunte and frutefull for all parsones to pastyme with.' I hasten to add that the 'parsones' of Mr. Bankes' day were not necessarily in holy orders. It was printed in octavo, black letter, and the only copy that seems to be known is in the Douce collection at the Bodleian.

Professor Edward Arber's 'Introductory Sketch to the Martin Marprelate Controversy,' which appeared in 1895, contains a list of the more important tracts connected with that subject; and you will find Mr. W.

Pierce's 'Historical Introduction to the Marprelate Tracts' (1908) useful. There are valuable lists of, and information upon, pamphlets of most descriptions and of all periods in the volumes of the 'Cambridge History of English Literature.' Mr. A. F. Pollard's 'Tudor Tracts, 1532-1588' appeared in 1903.

One of the most remarkable collections of pamphlets ever formed was that ama.s.sed during the Commonwealth by an enterprising London bookseller named George Thomason. He succeeded in gathering together[87] more than 22,000 pamphlets and tracts relating to the times; and being an ardent Royalist, was at great pains to prevent the collection from becoming known to the authorities. When the Royalist cause was scotch'd by the execution of King Charles, the collection was transferred to Oxford, and lodged in the Bodleian Library for safety; and although Thomason died in 1666, his collection remained at Oxford until nearly a century later, when it was purchased by King George III. for 300, and presented by him to the British Museum.