A bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour in France and Germany . : a groupof heroes, veiled in a mist, forms the back-ground. Theonly other modern curiosity, in this vvay, which I deemit necessary to notice, is a collection of originalDRAWINGS of flowers, in water colours, by Redoute,upon vellum : in seven folio volumes ; and which cost24,000 francs. Nothing can exceed—and very fewefforts of the pencil can equal—this wonderful perfor-mance. Such a collection were reasonable at the fore-mentioned price. And now, my good friend, suppose I furnish youwith an outline of the worthy head-
A bibliographical, antiquarian and picturesque tour in France and Germany . : a groupof heroes, veiled in a mist, forms the back-ground. Theonly other modern curiosity, in this vvay, which I deemit necessary to notice, is a collection of originalDRAWINGS of flowers, in water colours, by Redoute,upon vellum : in seven folio volumes ; and which cost24,000 francs. Nothing can exceed—and very fewefforts of the pencil can equal—this wonderful perfor-mance. Such a collection were reasonable at the fore-mentioned price. And now, my good friend, suppose I furnish youwith an outline of the worthy head-librarian himself?A. A. Barb IE R has perhaps not long turned the cor-ner of his fiftieth year. Peradventure he may be fiftythree. In stature, he is above the middle height, butnot very tall. In form, he is robust; and his counte-nance—but pray view the enclosed fac-simile* of thissaid figure and face, as executed after the original byMr. Lewis, in pencil; and while that said original wasever and anon broken in upon by literary gossipers, * See the Opposite Wedfwoodsc A^, Biblioftecairp dm Roi, er de son C<sms®il d , Zondon/, Pu/hUshed for !he,Re- PRIVATE LIBRARY OF THE KING. 377 and transporters of proof-sheets. 1 can assure you itis a most faithful resemblance. There is a dash of the old school about the attire of M. Barbier, which I amGoth enough to admire : while his ardour of conver-sation, and rapidity of utterance, relieved by frequentand expressive smiles, make his society equally agree-able and instructive. He is a literary bibliographerto the very back bone; and talks of what he has done,and of what he purposes to do, with a gaiete decoeur which is quite delightful. He is now engagedin an Ejcamen Critique et Complemeiit des Diction-naires Historiques les plus repandus ;* while his Dic-tionnaire des Auteurs Anonymes et Pseudonymes, in4 vols. 8vo., and his Bihliotheque dun Homme degout, in five similar volumes, have already placed
Size: 1415px × 1766px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectbibliography, booksubjectlibraries
