FISHING BIBLIOGRAPHY. 539 



century has a copy of Dame Juliana Berner's Boke been 

 offered in an auction-room. A well-known dealer in such 

 literary pearls of great price secured one last year for 

 600 guineas. Mr. Denison has since become the happy 

 possessor of the other in exchange for 450. 



One more very interesting work in the library we must 

 briefly glance at. It was privately printed for Mr. Denison 

 himself in 1872, and only twenty-five copies were struck off. 

 It is entitled, A literal translation into English of the 

 earliest known book on fowling and fish, written originally 

 in Flemish, and printed in the year 1492. The Boecxken 

 was printed (black-letter) by Matthias van der Goes, but 

 also contains the printer's mark of Godfridus Bach, who 

 married Van der Goes' widow. It contains twenty-six 

 chapters of a very few lines each, in eight leaves, with six 

 woodcuts, and gives recipes for artificial baits, unguents, 

 and pastes, and the periods at which certain fish are " at 

 their best." In date it thus has the priority of the Book 

 of St. A Ibans, as far as fishing goes. 



And now we must reluctantly leave this storehouse of 

 literary treasures, so admirably bound and arranged, in 

 their resting-places, and so lovingly cared for and guarded. 

 Habent sua fata libelli ; and if priceless tomes, which re- 

 ceive greater attention than even royal nurselings, have any 

 feelings, they must rejoice at having found such a home as 

 that in Albemarle Street, where they are the very joy of 

 the soul of their possessor, and we hope safe for a very 

 long time to come from the ups and downs of the famous 

 black-letter volume of Dame Juliana Berners, as told in 

 Mr. Blades's charming Enemies of Books. 



It is very difficult to make an accurate statement as to 

 the number of books in existence on angling " pure and 

 simple," as so many works in a greater or less degree 



