VI 



SCIENCE. — P UBLISHERS DEPAR TMENT. 



wherever it would find a IMiEcenas. Althoiigii 

 the art of book-bindiug is not deteriorating in 

 England or in France at present, — especiallvis 

 this seen in the fact that in the interval of the 

 past twenty-five years the book-collectors there 

 have I'allied to its support, — nevertheless, the 

 American bibliopliiles are so increasing in 

 number and in strength, that a good portion 

 of the most valuable books of the European 

 auction-marts are finding their way to this 

 country, many of which have been intrusted 

 to Bradstreets to do the very class of work 

 that bibliophiles were wont, in spite of the 

 most vexatious delays, to send to English and 

 French binders ; and now, I should saj-, de- 

 servedly too, because there is a soliditj^, 

 strength, and squareness of workmanship 

 al)Out the books of the Bradstreets' binderj% 

 which baffle the closest scrutinj'. Their gild- 

 ing, too, is perfect, both in choice of ornament 

 and in splendor of gold. There is no reason 

 for their being of less potent renown than any 

 of their predecessors. 



The bibliophiles will appreciate this de visu. 

 The uninitiated should be aware of the qual- 

 ities that constitute a good binding. It ought 

 to unite soliditj' with elegance : the volume 

 should open easily, and remain open at any 

 page, the back flexible, and the leaves evenlj' 

 cut. The gilding and other ornaments should 

 be left to the artist ; but the book-collector 

 should supervise the inscription of the title as 

 a precaution against the unfortunate experience 

 of an ardent book-lover whose uncut scarce 

 edition of the works of Brantome, confided to 

 an artistic but dreadfullj' provincial book- 

 binder, was returned to him with the leaves 

 scrupulously cut, and the volumes inscribed as 

 follows : — 



Bran Tome I. 



Bran Tovie II. 



Bran Tome III. 



and so on to the ninth volume. And Dibdin 

 relates, among anecdotes of barbarous titles 

 applied to iirecious works, the discovery by a 

 well educated bibliomaniac of the first and 

 almost unknown edition of the "Decameron" 

 of Boccaccio, in a volume entitled " C'oncilium 

 Tridenti." 



Those are primary considerations ; but there 

 are others which relate to the expression of 

 the binding of a book. It should be sad or 

 ga}', sombre or brilliant, in accord with the 

 tone of the work, its spirit, and its epoch. 

 Didot even insisted upon a refinement in the 

 matter of color, advising chromo-bibliotacts, 

 as thej- are aptly styled b\- Uzanne, to clothe 

 their works on theologj" in purple, astronomy 

 in azure, and travels in marine blue, — pre- 

 sumablj' in accordance with the good and very 

 appropriate metaphor of the inscription on a 

 king of Egj-pt's bookcase, " Treasure of 

 the Remedies of the Soul ; " books being, like 

 drugs, to be taken with discretion and in 

 various doses, and their outward appearance 

 to denote the nature of the remedj' they con- 

 tain in order that the poison be not mistaken 

 for the antidote. 



Thouvenin, as everj' bibliophile kuow's, was 

 puffed by Nodier ; but he failed to appreciate 

 in his workmanship that evidence of the 

 eternal fitness of things, wherefore his glory 

 is graduallj' waning. A good point might be 

 made of this in favor of American artists ; for 

 no man can put a varied-colored morocco coat 

 upon the back of a book with greater care, 

 taste,- and success, than Bradstreets. who are, 

 in fact, the American bibliopegists. 



And I do not hesitate to commend their 

 work to that eclectism of the veritable con- 

 noisseur, which is not to be affected by cama- 

 raderie, nor swayed b3' the dictates of tlie 

 votaries of fashion. 



