ttS 



Mr. Evans on the Pretensions of the Bibliomaniacs. 



more anxious for the piircliase of black- 

 letter books, tlian to erect a moniimeiit 

 to a man wiio ranks so Iiii^Ii among the 

 ornaments of his country.* 

 - It mighthavo been expected, however, 

 that, when the bibliomaniacs had leisure 

 to reflect on the extravagance they had 

 f)een guilty of at the Roxbnrghe sale, 

 they would have felt some degree of 

 shame at their folly, and have agreed to 

 behave more discreetly in future; but 

 those who indulged in this expectation 

 know but little of the extent of this ma- 

 nia. So far from doing this, they perpe- 

 tuated the remembrance of their mis- 

 deeds by enrolling themselves into a so- 

 ciety, bearing the title of "the Rox- 

 linrghe Club," and celebrated the anni- 

 versary of the sale of the Decamcronc 

 I»y a dinner at the St. A Iban's Tavern, 

 where toasts to the memory of the illus- 

 trious black-letter printers were briskly 

 circulated, preceded by tiie important 

 iicntiment, "The cause of bibliomania 

 ill over the world !" That these thirty- 

 ene noblemen and gentlemen have an 

 tindonbtcd right so to employ tliem- 

 ^Ives, can be no cjuestion : that their ec- 

 centric companions, the members of the 

 Whip Club, have an equal right to spend 

 flicir money in horses and equipage, is 

 equally indisputable. But, when the 

 6ne party arrogate to themselves that 

 ihey are Upholdhig the national spirit, 

 and the other honour themselves with 

 tfie title of patrons of literature, they 

 ^ive up the vindication of their actions 

 on tire mere matter of right, and trust it 

 to the more important considerations of 

 i^'isdom and utility. Indeed, whenever 

 any person is driven to the plea of his 



* They are more strenuous about the 

 means by which instrtictioii is conveyed to 

 the public, than the quality of the instruc- 

 tion. They would be more gratified to 

 find a printed book from the press ofCax- 

 ton, than a play of Shakspeare in manu- 

 script ; and would be infinitely more de- 

 lighted to light on a drama anterior in date 

 to Gainmar Gnrton's Needle, than in dis- 

 covering the lost plays of Menander. Mr. 

 l^ibdin, " the Prince of Bibliomaniacs," 

 candidly tells us, that the discovery of a 

 nevT Caxton is of as much importance to 

 Lim as a fresh Comet is to Herschel. The 

 knowledge of an additional book, printed 

 by our father of printing, interests his 

 feelings as much as the discovery of an ir- 

 regular body, so powerful in its efl'ects, 

 that its netr approach tooursystem would 

 strike the eaith to dust, and destroy its 

 collected glories and intellect in an in- 



[Sept. 1, 



right to do what he pleases with his mo- 

 ney, there is sure to be no other dcfenca 

 left for him ; and the public possesses s 

 right to form their opinion, whether it 

 ■nas sagely or usefnlly bestowed, more 

 especially when the individual assumes 

 praise for the employment of his wealth. 



Partial circulation of the productions 

 of the press cannot but be injurious to 

 all the objects designed lo be promoted 

 by that powerful engine ; an engine. 

 Lord Stajihope recently observed, he 

 " was always frionidly to; beeause'it was 

 so strong and powerful, that it never 

 failed to knock down every bad thing it 

 was fairly ojjposed to." Tiiis mode of 

 printing and publishing will gradually 

 throw a monopoly of the means of in- 

 struction into the hands of the wealthy, 

 depriving the middling class of society 

 of their jirOj ortion of knowledge by the 

 difficulty of procuring it; because, in 

 proportion as they lessen the number of 

 copies, they must increase the price of 

 each to defray the great expences of a 

 limited impression. Every means 

 should be devised to extend information, 

 rather than to narrow and lessen it. 

 The age has felt it to be one of the 

 greatest improvements, that a plan has 

 been formed to educate the whole po- 

 pulation at an expence within the power 

 of all ; and that " the man who is by 

 any means deprived of opportunity of 

 being instructed m reading, writing, and 

 arithmetic, has not had justice done 

 him," is the opinion of the son of our 

 sovereign, which will ever reflect lustre 

 even on his philanthropic life. Their 

 selection of works generally, indeed, 

 does as little credit to their judgment, 

 as their limited numbers do to their 

 regard for literature. But a system so 

 selfish ought to be opposed in every 

 shape. It will not rest with the mere 

 re-printing of scarce and obsolete works, 

 but will extend to new ones. The great 

 secret has at length been discovered, 

 that, to make a book sell, it is only ne- 

 cessary to print a small number; for a 

 certain class of individuals, for the sake 

 of having what cannot generally be pos- 

 sessed, will jmrchase what otherwise 

 they would have no desire for. 



I have now before me Proposals, 

 wliieh will show the extent to which 

 it is spreading. They are entitled, 

 " Pro])osals for printing, by sub.scription, 

 a Treatise on Decorative Printing, w itii 

 Specimens, in Colours, engraved on 

 Wood Blocks, &c." "The price of the 

 work will be Gve guineas, small papef ; 

 9nd ten giiiucjis, large paper." " The 

 Qumbctr 



