666 



BOOK. 



Book. 



rarities would take the trouble of rescuing such frag- 

 ments from total destruction, these unfinished pro- 

 ductions become, of course, the scarcest of books. 



5. The next class of books which are absolutely 

 scarce are, those which are printed on very large pa- 

 per, or on vellum paper. The copies of a work 

 printed on paper of this description, are in general 

 very few, and their great expense would at any rate 

 prevent them from becoming common. Strength and 

 beauty of paper, and ample extent of margins, are 

 qualities so much valued by some curious collectors, 

 that they will scruple at no price to obtain them. A 

 stern philosopher will be disposed to ridicule that 

 taste which prizes a book merely for the blank space 

 which it contains, and the size of the type, or the 

 stiffness of the paper ; and will be contented to enjoy 

 the accuracy of a Grenville Homer for thirty shil- 

 lings, leaving more wealthy or more passionate ama- 

 teurs to pay 100 guineas for its greater magnitude, 

 and more splendid dress. We should be little dis- 

 posed, for our own parts, to regret or to censure this 

 passion for royal paper, and wide margins, had it not 

 become so fashionable among booksellers to publish 

 every new work in this expensive manner, as if they 

 wished those days to return when reading was the 

 exclusive privilege ot the opulent, and the reposito- 

 ries of learning remained shut against all who did not 

 possess the golden key. 



6. The next cause which we shall mention of the 

 absolute scarcity of books is, their being printed on 

 vellum, or any other substance besides paper. We 

 have already mentioned some of the other materials 

 employed for writing previous to the invention of 

 printing, or in modern nations where the invention is 

 unknown. Books formed of such materials must al- 

 ways be highly prized by the curious bibliographer, 

 both for their great rarity and singular texture. Next 

 to these in value, as well as in scarcity, are books 

 printed in vellum, the expense of which is so great, 

 that very few vellum copies of any work have ever 

 been prepared. So far as we know, there is not a single 

 instance of a whole impression of any work having 

 been printed on this beautiful but costly substance. 

 Hence books on vellum have generally been esteemed 

 as the most precious treasures of a library ; and there 

 are instances of their being transmitted to successive 

 generations, as one of the most important articles in 

 a family property. One of the most beautiful speci- 

 mens of vellum printing is a Roman breviary print- 

 ed at Venice in 1478. It is a large folio volume, 

 consisting of 401 leaves. The vellum is of the finest 

 quality, thin and remarkably white, and the typogra- 

 phy so smooth and well defined as to vie with the 

 most beautiful impression from copperplate. It is 

 printed in black ai d red ink, and decorated with 

 splendid illuminations in gold, and different vivid co- 

 lours; and with paintings of different animals. Whole 

 pages occur in red ink, which has no gloss; but the 

 black ink is extremely deep, and shines as if varnish- 

 ed. A few months ago, the Faculty of Advocates 

 purchased a copy of this breviary for 100 guineas. 

 Another very elegant work, of a similar description, 

 entitled Hemes a I'umge de Rome, was printed on 

 vellum in 1507, or 1527. It is a small folio, consist- 

 ing of 1 15 leaves, each page encircled by engravings 



6 



on wood in great profusion, and, for the period of it* 

 appearance, extremely well executed. A work of 

 Petanius was likewise published on vellum in 1610, 

 consisting almost entirely of engravings, with a small 

 portion of text on each plate. It is divided into two 

 parts; the first, entitled Su]>dlectilis Portiuncula ; 

 the second, Veterum Nummorum. Those works are 

 necessarily so rare, that they are very seldom to be 

 met with. But there are to be found in public li- 

 braries, as well as in private collections, copies of the 

 classics printed on vellum, which are held in very high 

 estimation. Most of these copies were printed on the 

 continent in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A 

 specimen of this kind of typography, executed by 

 Caxton, the first English printer, is to be seen in the 

 king's library. 



The practice of printing on vellum was almost 

 wholly relinquished for many years, probably on ac- 

 count of its great expence ; but was recently revived 

 in several of the countries, of Europe. Though mo- 

 dern works of this description are said to be inferior 

 in beauty to those of greater antiquity, still they are 

 very highly valued, and bring an extraordinary price. 

 Goldsmith's and Parnell's Poems, and the Economy 

 of Human Life, were printed on vellum in 1804, and 

 sold for fifteen guineas each. Three copies of Lewin'a 

 British Birds were printed on vellum in 1796; one of 

 which the author tore to pieces in a frenzy of pas- 

 sion, and each of the remaining two was sold for 140 

 guineas. This kind of printing seems to have been 

 introduced into our native country at a very early 

 periods So far back as the year 1536, Belienden's 

 translation of Hector Boethius's History of Scotland 

 was printed on vellum, in a folio of 250 pages. Four 

 copies of this work are known to exist in Scotland ; 

 one in the university of Aberdeen, another in that of 

 Edinburgh, and two in the possession of private in- 

 dividuals. Vellum printing was revived in Edinburgh 

 in 1809, when a beautiful specimen was produced ia 

 a small volume called Monastic Antiquities. M. A r au 

 Praest is now engaged in framing a list of all the 

 works that have been printed on vellum, of which he 

 has been able to enumerate above 2000. For farther 

 particulars respecting the different materials of which 

 books have been made, and the various styles of 

 printing them, we must refer to the articles Paper 

 and Printing. 



We cannot let slip this opportunity, however, of 

 mentioning a very remarkable book, neither written 

 nor printed, entitled, Liber passionis Domini Nostri 

 Jesu Christi, cumjiguris et characteribus nulla mate- 

 ria compositis. For this very singular bibliographic 

 curiosity, Rodolphus II. of Germany offered 11,000 

 ducats, in the year 1640. It consists of the finest 

 vellum ; the whole letters of the text are cut out of 

 each folio ; and, being interleaved with blue paper, 

 it is as easily read as if it had been printed. It late- 

 ly belonged to the family of the Prince de Ligne, 

 and is at present in France ; but as it bears the royal 

 arms of England, it appears extremely probable that 

 it is an English production. 



The last description of books which are absolutely 

 scarce, are manuscripts, written either before or after 

 the invention of printing. Such original manuscripts 

 form the chief riches of libraries. They are general- 



Book. 



