Dictionary of English Book Collectors—continued. "L'aute de la notice sur les livres de Marie Stuart signale deux volumes de cette malheureuse princesse dont la reliure est remarquable: la Cosmographie de Ptolémée (Rome, 1490, in-fol.), qui vient de la bibliothèque de Blenheim et qui appartient aujourd'hui à M. Augustus W. Franks, et la Chronique de Savoie, de Guillaume Paradin (Lyon, 1552, in-fol.), dont le possesseur est le comte de Rosebery. Un facsimilé de la reliure de la Chronique de Savoie sert de frontispice au second fascicule du recueil de M. Quaritch." —Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Chartes. 'Part III. of Mr. Quaritch's 'Contributions towards a Dictionary of British Book Collectors, etc.,' includes notices of Thomas Allen, Horne Tooke, Benjamin Malkin, George John Earl Spencer, and Mrs. John Rylands. Of the first practically nothing is known beyond the list of his books sold at the end of the last century for upwards of £5700. He possessed the first Coverdale Bible, four Caxtons, and five early quartos of Shakespeare. The author of those 'Diversions of Purley' (which so disappointed the man who bought the book under the im pression that it was of an entirely humorous character) possessed but a small library of some eight hundred works, chiefly collected with a view to the study of the English language. It fetched £1250 when sold in 1813, a first edition of Johnson's Dictionary, annotated by Horne Tooke, being purchased for no less than £200 by a Major James, acting, it is supposed, for the Rev. J. N. Todd, editor of Todd's Johnson.' The longest of Mr. Kerney's notices deals with Lord Spencer (1758-1834), the founder of the Althorp Library, recently sold to Mrs. Rylands (who, as already stated, is herself the subject of one of the articles in the present number), but the facts related are more generally familiar to book lovers. An excellent reproduction of W. Finden's plate, after a portrait of this Lord Spencer by Thomas Phillips, R.A. (in which the Earl is shown seated in his library with a volume open on his knees), and facsimiles of the first and last pages of the Mentz Psalter of 1459, from the vellum copy now in Mr. Quaritch's possession, form admirable illustrations to the part." The Morning Post, November 1st. East India Company and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, This important contribution to the "It is customary to say of a book such 1890 to its absorption in the English Company trading to the East Indies' in 1709, a period which Sir George Birdwood divides into three well-marked subperiods, which may be quoted as showing what few people understand-viz. the different associations which are vaguely grouped together as the East India Company.' The first, from 1600 to 1623, the date of the 'Massacre of Amboyna,' during which the Company pushed its trade in the East Indies under the greatest difficulties, but without exciting much popular attention; the second, from 1623 to 1660. during which, partly in consequence of the national solicitude aroused by the massacre of the Company's agents at Amboyna, a geneal competition was rapidly developed throughout the country for a participation inthe commerce of the East Indies; and the third and last, from 1600 to 1709, during which this disastrous rivalry at length resulted in the amalgamation of the 'London' or 'Old,' and the English' or 'New,' Companies, in the United Company of Merchants of England trading into the East Indies,' commonly known as 'The Honourable East India Company,' whose great commercial empire was sequestrated to the British Crown in 1858. Încidentally, apart from the insight which they give into the commercial transactions of the day, these letters give a most delightful insight into the relations which existed between the Company and its employés, one of whom writes home most pathetically to tell how The earliest vessel of the Company, en route for the East Indies. like to see a Walter Besant make this Kelmscott Press: have been produced from public-spirited "This first letter-book of the Company The Historye of Reynard the Foxe. Translated from the Dutch by WILLIAM CAXTON. Reprinted from the edition of 300 printed; Ten copies on vellum, by Mr. WILLIAM MORRIS at the Kelmscott Press, £4. 4s A copy printed upon VELLUM may still be had for £12. 128. 1893 Kelmscott Press-continued. Caxton's Golden Legend, 3 vols. 4to. illustrated by Burne Jones, bds. £10. 108 1892 Caxton's The Recuyell of the of the Histories of Troye, 2 vols. small folio, with woodcut Capitals and Borders, vellum, £10. 108 The three works are sold together for Twenty pounds cash. 1893 Lea's Superstition and Force, post 8vo. fourth edition, revised, xvi and 628 pp. cloth, 10s Learned Essays on the Wager of Law, the Wager of Battle, the Ordeal and Torture, all based upon authentic Records : a work necessary to students of Mediæval Manners, Customs, Superstitions and Legends. "We have to note the fourth edition, Philadelphia, 1892 revised, of Dr. Henry Charles Lea's Superstition and Force: Essays on the Wagers of War and of Battle, the Ordeal, and Torture-a work as remarkable for the wealth of historical material treated as for the masterly style of the exposition.". Saturday Review, February 25th, 1893. Baron A. E. Nordenskiold's Facsimile Atlas to the early history of Cartography with reproductions of the most important Maps printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries; the text translated from the Swedish original by J. A. EKELÖF and CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, in one volume, royal folio, containing 51 large maps printed as separate plates, and 84 maps of minor size incorporated with the letterpress, half morocco (published at £10. 10s), reduced to £8. 8s An admirably scientific work which may be regarded as almost exhaustive of the subject. Jomard and Santarem might be said to have produced an imperfect first volume of an Illustrated History of Chartography treating irregularly upon the manuscript sources; Nordenskiold's atlas might be called the complete second volume dealing with the entire printed or engraved material. The lists of contents will exhibit the nature and importance of the book. It is indispensable as furnishing by far the Stockholm, 1889 best apparatus for studying the growth of geographical science, and the gradual enlargement of knowledge with regard to the surface of the globe. Nothing of this kind, and upon such a scale, has been executed before. The work is admirably done, and the text is of great critical and historical importance. I beg to draw the attention of Students to the above important article which cannot fail to meet with a large general demand in the United States. Gilbert (William) of Colchester, Physician of London, on the LOADSTONE and MAGNETIC BODIES, and on the great magnet of the Earth. A new physiology demonstrated with many arguments and experiments. A translation by P. FLEURY MOTTELAY, 8vo. portrait, figures, and numerous facsimiles, cloth, 17s 6d New York and London, 1893 "The name of William Gilbert of Colchester, author of the celebrated treatise De Magnete, occupies a high place in the early history of modern science in this country. Bacon, it is true, spoke slightingly of Gilbert, but that is rather to Bacon's discredit than Gilbert's, and Bacon's ungenerous disparagement has long been discounted by all competent Giles authorities. His treatise is little studied now, and perhaps its interest is rather historical than intrinsic. But all students of the history of science will welcome a new translation, with a biographical memoir of the author, entitled WILLIAM GILBERT of Colchester, by P. Fleury Mottelay.' -Times, February 23rd, 1893. ( Herbert A.) Chinese English DICTIONARY, impl. 4to. xlvi and 1416 pp. in treble cols., cloth £6. 16s 6d Shanghai, 1892 This great Monumental work supersedes all its predecessors, and is indispensable for great Public Libraries. Giles' Freemasonry in China, 4to. 38 pages, cloth, 15s Shanghai, 1890 This edition contains a leaf of "Addenda” and Chinese equivalents of sundry Masonic terms. Gubbins (J. H.) Dictionary of Chinese JAPANESE WORDS in the Japanese Language, 3 vols. 12mo. cloth, 21s "Instead of seeking rare lacunæ amid a mass of novel information our fairer function as critics is to express admiration of the wide research and accurate scholarship displayed by Mr. Gubbins. It is a genuine pleasure to any earnest student to have such a work laid before him, and that its publication will immensely facilitate the study of Japanese there cannot be a moment's doubt. Everyone reading the literature of the day in Japan is confronted by the difficult task of finding exact English equivalents for many new words although their meaning may be sufficiently intelligible. With Mr. Gubbins Dictionary beside one this trouble is virtually at an end. . . Tokio, 1889 "It is entirely alone in its own branch, and so thoroughly has its author appropriated the field by the excellence of his work that he may confidently count on remaining without rivals."-Japan Mail, October, 1889. "All these shortcomings I have here indicated are, however, completely cast into shadow when we consider the excellent arrangement of the Dictionary, its copiousness of words, its appropriateness of English translation, and otherwise its general adaptability to the purpose for which it is intended."-Hayday Papers of the 4th July, 1892. Hodgkin's English Pottery: Examples of Early English Pottery, named, dated and inscribed, by John Eliot Hodgkin, the same, impl. 4to. LARGE PAPER, cloth, £2. 12s 6d "The authors of this sumptuous book need not apologize for reopening ground that has already been covered by the works of Jewitt, Chaffers, M. Solon, and Professor Church. They start with a definite object, and have excellently performed their prescribed and limited task. Their object has been to supplement the labours of their predecessors by accurate presentations of a number of objects of which, as a rule, no illustration has yet been published, and by a list, as nearly complete as may be, of all the pieces of early English pottery which tell us anything about themselves, which say when they were made, or where, or by whom, or for what purpose. These pieces, as the authors observe, stand out distinctly from the mass of specimens which on all these points are dumb, and they certainly are of far more interest than the dumb' creatures that possess no legend and suggest no history. The antiquarian point of view is the best, for, though quaintness often lends its charm to our early pottery, its purely artistic merit is not invariably preeminent. But, as relics of antiquity, and of an art that has been, for one reason or another, either superseded altogether or continued too often in an imitative manner, these early specimens deserve all the attention they have received. In these days of cheap metal or glass ware, it is rarely indeed that our jugs, mugs, or cups-that is, those in common ase-are of the very slightest interest; nor, probably, will any but the coarsest flavour of antiquity ever attach to them; but the pieces of old English ware depicted lovingly in this book are redolent of old English hospitality, piety, and home life. Servabit odorem testa diu. The old posset pots of the time of Queen Anne still smack of generous liquor, especially when they are adorned with such mottoes as 'God bless the Queen and Prence,' 1891 1891 'Drink and be merry,' or 'The best is not too good for you.' Cups like these tell their own tale, and have a pathos, or more often a joviality, of their own. The authors do not claim to have covered the whole area of English ceramics. They exclude everything that can be called porcelain, as distinguished from the opaque and less highly vitrified wares that are properly named pottery. And, notwithstanding the frequent beauty and historical associations of encaustic tiles, these, together with all that is British, Roman, and Anglo-Saxon, are excluded; partly because the work has already been done more than adequately, and partly because their production from moulds and the indefinite multiplication of their devices seem to remove them from the scope of a book dealing with individual specimens. For a somewhat similar reason all the later forms of English pottery, such as Wedgwood, or Leeds ware, the work of large factories with almost modern appliances, are also rejected. It is a book of pottery 'named, dated, and inscribed,' of work done not by the gross, but rather in isolated little potteries, the very names and places of which are not always extant, or in factories of the old school which have in many instances died and left no successors. Thus 'almost every piece described has its own separate history and meaning ; a fact which greatly increases the value of the book to the collector and the amateur. "The limitations observed for various reasons still leave a sufficiently wide period, containing what is best and most characteristic in English pottery. The slipdecorated ware is that which is most fully illustrated. It comes chiefly from Staffordshire, and from Wrotham, in Kent, and is a homely ware, suitable for jugs, dishes, posset cups, mugs, and tygs, a tyg being a many-handled poculum potatorium, or cup Hodgkin's English Pottery—continued. common to all the guests. These, besides ware, with its hunting scenes and loyal mottoes, of which the earliest known date is 1721; Nottingham, Brampton, and Chesterfield ware, all of them members of the brown salt-glaze family; and the ware of Jackfield, Swinton, and Fareham are copiously illustrated. To the casual reader who is not yet an expert we recommend such mottoes as Come let us drink to the pious memomery (sic) of good Queen Ann,' May the tenant be ready when the steward comes,' 'On Bansted downs a haie wee found that led us all a smoaking round,' 'Liberty, Property, and no Excise,' 'God save King George and my Master,' and many others that recall old days, old politics, old sports, and old fashions. To the amateur, who understands the subject, we recommend the concise introduction, and the remarks at the head of each section; and to all, the beautiful photographic illustrations, some in brown and some in blue, which are enough to turn the stoutest Philistine into a collector." Robinson (V. G.) Eastern Carpets, SECOND SERIES, royal folio, 12 plates in rich colours of Carpets of the greatest rarity and beauty, bds. £3. 3s A few copies remain of 1893 Robinson's Eastern Carpets, FIRST SERIES, with a preface by SIR GEORGE BIRDWOOD, printed in colours by W. Griggs, after drawings by E. J. Robinson, royal folio, in a portfolio, £10 1882 The above consists of twelve early ex- Modern Indian, Alcaraz, and Mongolian amples of Sarakhs, Shiraz, Baghdad, Carpets and of Polish and Eastern rugs. Mashâd, Kurdistan, Gherous, Afghanistan, Just ready, SAGA LIBRARY, Vol. III, being the First Volume, of Four, of Snorro Sturleson's Heimskringla; or, the History of the Kings of Norway, with large folding map, hf. bd. 7s 6d This Translation is the First English Translation of the "Heimskringla " made from the original Icelandic, Laing's version being made from the Danish Translation. It is proposed to publish, under the above title, a series of translations of the works of the early literature of the North produced by the Icelanders, in their present form mostly in the thirteenth and first part of the fourteenth centuries. These works stand quite alone amongst the writings of the Middle Ages, and form a school of literature which has very special claims on the attention of the students of history and the lovers of imaginative writing. These claims may be briefly stated thus-It is by these means alone that any continuous record of events in the early history of Scandinavia has been preserved. The SAGA LIBRARY is published in Volumes, crown 8vo. and done up in Roxburghe style, price 7s 6d each. The Large-Paper issue, in royal 8vo. consists of 125 numbered copies, price £1. 11s 6d per volume, printed by handpress, on Whatman paper, at Whittingham's Chiswick Press, done up in the Roxburghe style. Purchasers of the First Volume bind themselves to take the complete Set. 1893 Only a few Large Paper copies remain for sale. "The Stories of the Kings of Norway. By Snorro Sturleson. Done into English out of the Icelandic by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson. Vol. I, with a large map of Norway. (London: Quaritch.) This is the first volume of the new translation of Snorro Sturleson's famous 'Heimskringla,' and gives us the history of Norway and the Norse lands generally, from the days of Odin, who died in his bed in Sweden,' down to the great sea fight between the mighty Olaf Tryggvison and his Norwegians on the one hand and the Danes and Swedes on the other. Many of the most striking bits of the semi-historical part will be already familiar to those who know Carlyle's Early Kings of Norway.' Carlyle has missed little that is interesting from a human or picturesque point of view, but, all the same, the stories in their unadorned state, and without those delightful semi-humorous comments added by the poet-historian, have a charm of their own. The translators, too, have succeeded wonderfully in preserving the antique flavour in their rendering both of Sturleson's narrative and of the Skalds' songs which occur in almost every chapter; and |