. Books and bookmen ... u out like a gentleman, with fleiwonsand red letters, and a pretty frontispiece. Themodern pirate dresses you in rags, prints youmurderously, and binds you, if he binds you atall, in some hideous example of cloth extra,all gilt, like archaic gingerbread. Bonaventureand Abraham both died in 1652. They didnot depart before publishing (1628), in grandformat, a desirable work on fencing, Thibaults Academie de IEspee. This Tibbald alsokilled by the book. John and Daniel Elzevircame next. They brought out the Imitation (Thomae a Kempis canonici regularis ord. De I
. Books and bookmen ... u out like a gentleman, with fleiwonsand red letters, and a pretty frontispiece. Themodern pirate dresses you in rags, prints youmurderously, and binds you, if he binds you atall, in some hideous example of cloth extra,all gilt, like archaic gingerbread. Bonaventureand Abraham both died in 1652. They didnot depart before publishing (1628), in grandformat, a desirable work on fencing, Thibaults Academie de IEspee. This Tibbald alsokilled by the book. John and Daniel Elzevircame next. They brought out the Imitation (Thomae a Kempis canonici regularis ord. De Imitatione Christi, libri iv.) ; Iwish by taking thought I could add eight milli-metres to the stature of my copy. In 1655Daniel joined a cousin, Louis, in Amsterdam,and John stayed in Leyden. John died in 1661 ;his widow struggled on, but her son Abraham(1681) let all fall into ruins. Abraham died1712. The Elzevirs of Amsterdam lasted till1680, when Daniel died, and the business waswound up. The type, by Christopher Van. 8 BOOKS AND BOOKMEN. Dyck, was sold in 1681, by Daniels transit gloria. After he has learned all these matters theamateur has still a great deal to acquire. Hemay now know a real Elzevir from a book whichis not an Elzevir at all. But there are enormousdifferences of value, rarity, and excellence amongthe productions of the Elzevirian press. Thebookstalls teem with small, cropped, dingy,dirty, battered Elzevirian editions of the * of the good date. On these it is notworth while to expend a couple of shillings,especially as Elzevirian type is too small to beread with comfort by most modern eyes. No,let the collector save his money ; avoid litteringhis shelves with what he will soon find to berubbish, and let him wait the chance of acquiringa really beautiful and rare Elzevir. Meantime, and before we come to describeElzevirs of the first flight, let it be rememberedthat the taller the copy, the less harmed andnipped by the binders shears, t
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