on either side of the long room, and between these windows high
bookcases, running towards the centre of the room, are put up. There are
books on either side of these cases, and the part facing the centre of
the room is again arranged to hold books. It is truly marvellous how
many books can thus be stored without a single one being out of sight.'

'There is the same simplicity, the same quiet comfort, the same air of
repose, and the same absence of library conventionality about. . . . .'

'Through a door . . . . you reach the second room in the library, to
which Mr. Gladstone has given the name of the "Humanity room." It is
arranged on exactly the same plan as the first, and contains secular
works chiefly. You note Madame de Sévigné's _Letters_ on one shelf, in
neat and dainty little volumes; and yellow-backed Zola lower down.'[51]

Any one who proposed having a library as a separate building should
certainly study Mr. Gladstone's experiments at St. Deiniol's Library, or
procure _Mr. Gladstone in the Evening of his Days_, wherein are given
illustrations of the interior plan and general economy of the
structure. Certainly Mr. Gladstone's ideas as to the arrangement of
books as put forth in the _Nineteenth Century_ for March, 1890, are much
more applicable to an annexe library than to the housing of books in an
ordinary private dwelling. Thus the arrangement of the bays made by the
projections could not be carried out without extensive structural
alterations in one house out of twenty in the country, and not one house
out of a thousand in London. His ideas, however, are wholly practicable
and admirably thorough when applied to the annexe library. It is
interesting to see Mr. Gladstone's calculations as to shelf
accommodation. They were disputed at the time by some cavilling critics,
but have since been shown to be accurate. Mr. Gladstone is speaking[52]
of the bookcases round the walls and the projecting arms, and he
says:--'I will now exhibit to my readers the practical effect of such
arrangement in bringing great numbers of books within easy reach. Let
each projection be three feet long, twelve inches deep (ample for two
faces of octavos), and nine feet high, so that the upper shelf can be
reached by the aid of a wooden stool of two steps, not more than twenty
inches high, and portable without the least effort of a single hand. I
will suppose the wall-space available to be eight feet, and the
projections, three in number, with end pieces, need only put out three
feet five, while narrow strips of bookcase will run up the wall between
the projections. Under these conditions, the bookcases thus described
will carry about 2000 volumes.

'And a library forty feet long and twenty feet broad, amply lighted,
having some portion of the centre fitted with very low bookcases, suited
to serve for some of the uses of tables, will receive on the floor from
18,000 to 20,000 volumes of all sizes without losing the appearance of a
room . . . . while leaving portions of space available near the windows
for purposes of study. If a gallery be added, there will be accommodation
for a further number of 5000, and the room need be no more than sixteen
feet high.'

This estimate of shelf accommodation may be compared with one which was
made by Mr. Justin Winsor, the well-known librarian of the Harvard
library. He says:--'The book room of the Roxbury branch of the public
library of Boston is fifty-three feet long by twenty-seven feet wide,
and having three storeys of eight feet each in height will hold 100,000
volumes. . . . . I doubt if any other construction can produce this
result.'

The building at Hawarden cost, I believe, 1000_l._, but whether this is
with fittings or not I do not know. It is certain that for men whose
books are more numerous than costly the annexe plan is admirable, and
the difficulty of excluding damp where four walls are exposed to the
elements could surely be overcome. I do not think that Mr. Gladstone
makes any mention of iron bookcases, but these are often adopted, and
have been made in a very convenient form, particularly that called the
Radcliffe iron bookcase, arranged by Sir Henry Acland and Mr. W. Froude.
Of this I append a description written by Sir Henry Acland himself.

'The advantages of the bookcase consist in its great stability, in its
movability and neatness. It carries 500 average octavo volumes, 250 on
either side; it is seven feet high, and stands on any floor space on
forty-eight inches by eighteen inches. The cases may stand in any number
end to end, or down the centre of a passage, or be placed so as to form
squares of any dimensions multiple of the length of the cases, and
therefore may enclose studies lined with books, books being also on the
outside of the square. When the cases stand end to end they need not be
put close to each other, but may have a space in which are shelves of
any desired length. Therefore ten iron cases placed in a line, so as to
include a space of forty inches between each two cases, will carry the
contents of nineteen cases, or 5000 plus 4500 volumes, at the cost of
ten cases, plus the wooden shelves of nine. The iron framework costs
about 5_l._ 5_s._, and the wooden shelves about 25_s._ The iron portion
will carry only octavos, but the spaces as described above will carry
folios, because, to insure stability in the iron frames, diagonal ties
run down the centre and divide the shelves into two portions, viz., the
two frontages described above. But the stability being ensured in each
iron case independently, the intermediate shelves in the spaces may be
of the full width of the frames, namely, twenty inches.'[53]

FOOTNOTES:

[51] These notices of the Hawarden Library may be compared with the
accounts given in Dennistoun's _Dukes of Urbino_ of a great Florentine
library:--

'Adjoining (the main library) was a study, fitted up with inlaid and
gilded panelling, beneath which . . . . were depicted Minerva with her
ægis, Apollo with his lyre, and the nine muses, with their appropriate
symbols. A similar small study was fitted up immediately over this one,
set round with armchairs encircling a table, all mosaicked with _tarsia_,
. . . while in each compartment of the panelling was the portrait of
some famous author, and an appropriate distich. . . . To the right and
left of the carriage entrance into the great courtyard are two handsome
saloons, each about forty-five feet by twenty-two, and twenty-three in
height. That on the left contained the famous library of MS. collected
by Count Federigo; the corresponding one received the printed books
which, gradually purchased by successive dukes, became, under the last
sovereign a copious collection. Baldi, in his description of the palace,
printed in Bianchini's works, dwells on the judicious adaptation of the
former, its windows set high against the northern sky, admitting a
subdued and steady light which invited to study; its air cool in summer,
temperate in winter; its walls conveniently sheltered. . . . .'

[52] _Nineteenth Century_, March, 1890.

_A Librarian._

Until we have more properly trained librarians, it is useless to
recommend owners of private libraries to find a librarian, because at
present there are very few such men in existence who are properly
qualified. A love of books is not enough in a librarian. An orderly mind
and great receptive power are most essential. Practical knowledge of
bookbinding and a sense of colour are equally essential. He must have no
fads of his own to be ever thrusting forward. If he is mad on Geology or
Astronomy, he won't do. What, above all, he must know are the sources of
information.

A study in the 'Lives' of some of the great librarians would best show
what is here meant. Mr. Elton[54] names Antonio Maggliabecchi, the
jeweller's shop-boy, who became renowned throughout the world for his
abnormal knowledge of books. He never at any time left Florence; but he
read every catalogue that was issued, and was in correspondence with all
the collectors and librarians of Europe. He was blessed with a
prodigious memory, and knew all the contents of a book by 'hunting it
with his finger,' or once turning over the pages. He was believed,
moreover, to know the habitat of all the rare books in the world; and
according to the well-known anecdote he replied to the Grand Duke, who
asked for a particular volume: 'The only copy of this work is at
Constantinople, in the Sultan's library, the seventh volume in the
second bookcase, on the right as you go in.' A similar story was told by
Wendell Phillips, the American statesman, about a countryman of his own,
George Sumner. An Englishman came to Rome and was anxious to know
whether there was in the library of the Pope, the great library of the
Vatican, a certain book. . . . . The gentleman went to the Italians that
used the library. They referred him to the private secretary of one of
the cardinals, and after a moment's thought the secretary answered, 'No,
sir, I don't know; but there is a young man in the city from Boston, and
if the book is there he will know. They went to George Sumner, and
asked him if there was such a volume in the library. 'Yes, it is in the
tenth alcove, the third shelf, the seventh book to your right as you
enter.'

Similar stories, doubtless, could be told of Bradshaw, the Cambridge
University librarian, or of Thomas Ruddiman and George Buchanan.

Mr. Lloyd P. Smith[55] gives the following definition, among others, of
the qualifications of a librarian: 'Librarians, like editors and
proofreaders, are expected to know everything; and in one sense they
should know everything--that is, they should have that _maxima pars
eruditionis_, which consists in knowing where everything is to be found.
A librarian should be able, of his own knowledge, to answer many questions,
and especially the two questions which meet him at every turn, "Where
can I find such-and-such information?" and "What is the best work on
such-and-such a subject?" These are legitimate questions, which it
should be the pride of every librarian to answer offhand . . . . All
the book-learning in the world, however, will be insufficient for the
practical duties of his place, unless the librarian has also the organ
of order. His motto should be, "A place for everything and everything
in its place."'

'The book of regulations for the court and household of Guidobaldo I.
contains these rules for the administration of the library:--"The
librarian should be learned, of good presence, temper, and manners,
correct, and ready of speech. He must get from the gardrobe an inventory
of the books, and keep them arranged and easily accessible, whether
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, or others, maintaining also the rooms in good
condition. He must preserve the books from damp and vermin, as well as
from the hands of trifling, ignorant, dirty, and tasteless persons. To
those of authority and learning, he ought himself to exhibit them with
all facility, courteously explaining their beauty and remarkable
characteristics, the handwriting and miniatures, but observant that such
abstract no leaves. When ignorant or merely curious persons wish to see
them, a glance is sufficient, if it be not some one of considerable
influence. When any lock or other requisite is needed, he must take care
that it be promptly provided. He must let no book be taken away but by
the Duke's orders, and if lent, must get a written receipt, and see to
its being returned. When a number of visitors come in, he must be
specially watchful that none be stolen. All which is duly seen to by the
present courteous and attentive librarian, Messer Agabito."'[56]

FOOTNOTES:

[53] _Library Assoc. Report_, 1878, p. 75.

[54] _Great Book Collectors_, p. 74.

[55] _American Library Journal_, vol. i., p. 69.

[56] _Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino_, p. 159.

_The Library Architecturally._

Vitruvius, in his _Architecture_, lays down the rule that libraries
ought to face the east, because their use requires the morning light,
which will preserve their contents from decay; whereas, if the room
should face the south or west, they are liable to be damaged by damp.
Mr. J. W. Clark, the very learned historian of the University of
Cambridge, commenting on this, says that the first of these
considerations did influence early builders, but after the Reformation,
when considerations of personal comfort began to be generally accepted,
the library could be placed in the position which commanded the greatest
amount of warmth. Ancient libraries were never placed on the ground,
but usually on the first floor, or even higher, for the sake of
preserving their contents from the damp to which ground floors are
necessarily subject.[57]

The architect is very frequently a great enemy to the library.
Underestimating the amount of wall space likely to be required for the
housing of the books, or placing shelves and galleries in such a
position that the books are not readily got at. Frequently, too, a
country house has no room whatever designed either for study or the
reception of books. The entire collection of books should be accessible
without steps or ladders. Hot-water pipes should not approach nearer
than three feet to the books. Electric light is the best luminant, but
gas may safely be used provided there is sufficient ventilation.

The walls, which are towards the outer air, and even the others also, if
of brick or stone, ought to be battened.

I have taken from a very excellent book, Kerr's _Gentleman's House_,
such ideas and notes as I think are likely to be useful in arranging a
library in a country house. Mr. Kerr suggests two plans for a large
country house with a library.

'The idea which might first occur to the mind is that of a single
spacious apartment; but for convenience and in order to preserve the
domestic character, it is generally preferable to make use of several
smaller apartments as a _Suite of Libraries_. On this plan the
arrangement which is perhaps most favourable to considerations of
utility, and on the whole most characteristic, is to set out a given
width of clear passage way along the central line of the rooms, and then
to divide the space on each side into a succession of compartments or
bays, by means of transverse bookcases in pairs back to back; such bays
being only large enough to accommodate a reading table with sufficient
space around for reaching the books, opening the doors of the cases if
any, and so on. If the rooms be lighted from the roof, the lights ought
to correspond with the division into compartments, so that none of the
fronts of the bookcases shall be placed in shadow. If there be windows
in the walls, there ought to be one in each bay along one side of the
room or both as may be desired. Bookcases against the walls are
obviously most serviceable with the ceiling light; with side windows,
even when these are on a high level, there is always a difficulty in
reading the back lettering under the light; and when the windows are on
a low level, dwarf bookcases under them are practically of little use.

'As for _artistic treatment_, nothing can be more appropriate for the
character of a library than those effects which are at the command of
the architect in a suite of apartments of this kind, laid out probably
with some variety in the general forms as well as in the fittings, and
involving perhaps the introduction of sculptures and paintings of a
suitable kind. Elaborate effects, however, of whatever sort, and the
accommodation of any other works of art than those whose merits are
kindred to the character of the more proper contents, ought not to be
encouraged.'

A second or alternative plan is a large room with a gallery.

'As regards curiosities and other _artistic or scientific collections_,
these may very properly be accommodated, whether in upright cases to
correspond with the bookcases, or in cabinets to take the place of the
reading tables.

'The arrangements proper for the alternative plan of a large _single
library_ are obviously simple. A gallery is probably carried round the
apartment; the bookcases extend along the wall below and are reproduced
above; the light comes either from the roof or the upper part of the
walls; the floor area is generally occupied solely by reading tables and
cabinets. Objects of art and curiosity, when of large size, are more
prominently displayed by this arrangement, and the whole effect may be
made very imposing; but it is doubtful whether convenience and comfort
can by any means be so properly provided for as in the other model.

'There are questions of detail which might be further entered upon, but
a reference to what has already been advanced under the head of the
ordinary library will probably suffice.'

In other parts of his excellent manual, Mr. Kerr goes more into detail,
and refers to the various general purposes to which a library, as
distinct from a study, is put in a country house, as follows:--

'There is a certain standard room which constitutes the library of an
average gentleman's house, and the various gradations by which this may
be either diminished in importance or augmented are easily understood.
It is not a library in the sole sense of a depository for books. There
is, of course, the family collection, and the bookcases in which this is
accommodated form the chief furniture of the apartment. But it would be
an error, except in very special circumstances, to design the library
for mere study. It is primarily a sort of morning-room for gentlemen
rather than anything else. Their correspondence is done here, their
reading, and, in some measure, their lounging; and the billiard-room,
for instance, is not unfrequently attached to it. At the same time the
ladies are not exactly excluded.

'The _position_ of the room internally ought therefore to be in
immediate connexion with the principal dwelling rooms, so as to be
equally accessible; whilst, on the other hand, as regards external
influences, it ought to be kept sufficiently quiet (although this is
very seldom a practical problem), to prevent the interruption of reading
or writing. In accordance with these general ideas, and bearing out,
moreover, the somewhat sober effect which bookcases always produce, the
_style_ of design and decoration ought to be, although not devoid of
cheerfulness, certainly subdued in character.'

As regards aspect, Mr. Kerr is at one with the old Vitruvius already
referred to.

'It is not often easy to obtain a choice _aspect_ for the library, but
whenever this primary pleasantness can be had for it so much the better,
and it certainly ought never to be entirely neglected in this respect.
The reasons for preferring the south-east in the case of day rooms
generally have already been argued; for a library, perhaps, a rather
more eastward aspect is better, so that the sun may be off the windows
at least before noon; even due east might be preferred by some persons,
the sunshine being thus lost about half-past ten. In any case, however,
the morning sun is to be preferred to that of midday or afternoon. If
the room be large enough _end windows_ may be used to advantage here as
elsewhere. A _bay window_ also is often adopted.

'A difficult question which often arises is how sufficiently to provide
for persons engaged in writing a _front light from the left_. It is not
that a snug seat by the fireside, with a table conveniently at hand, and
a left front light, can by any possibility be provided for many persons
at once; but it is very unfortunate when no position whatever will
combine these advantages. In a library especially this problem must be
well worked out, and not for one writer only, but for several. Ingenuity
and perseverance will accomplish wonders, and therefore, with the help
of end light, a good library may be expected in this respect to be
brought very near perfection.

'The _fireplace_ ought to be placed so as to make a good winter
fireside, because this is in a measure a sitting-room.

'_Intercommunication_ is frequently made with the drawing-room, and
sometimes intimately, and this carries with it, no doubt, a certain sort
of convenience, because the two rooms can be thrown together
occasionally; but it is a question whether, in a good house, and looking
at such a question broadly, it is not, on the whole, a serious loss to
both rooms as regards their more proper purposes. A door to the
dining-room is not formally advisable, nor even one to the gentleman's
room, although both these arrangements are to be met with, and are
occasionally convenient. A communication with the billiard-room,
sometimes made, may give the library too completely the character of a
lounge, so as to render it somewhat unfit for its better purposes. When
the library of a small house is used as a study, by a clergyman, for
instance, or as the business room, a door to the dining-room may be so
useful as to be specially admissible, the dining-room being thus brought
to serve as a waiting-room for the occasion. The interposition, if
possible, of a lobby or small ante-room will, however, be an aid to
propriety in almost all these cases.

'It is to be observed that we have been hitherto dealing with the
ordinary library of an average house and no more; but when the owner is
a man of learning we must either add a _study_ or constitute the library
itself one. In the latter case, in order to prevent disturbance, the
door will be more conveniently placed, not in the main corridor, but
indirectly connected therewith. No door of intercommunication ought to
connect it with any other room (except possibly the gentleman's room),
and the position externally ought to be more than ordinarily secluded.
Double doors also may be required. In short, the library, which has
hitherto been a public room and somewhat of a lounge, becomes now
essentially a private retreat.

'When the books form a _large collection_, and strangers, perhaps, are
occasionally admitted for reading or reference, the library necessarily
assumes more extensive proportions, and its arrangements become more
complicated. For example, heating apparatus becomes very possibly
indispensable; the question comes up of ceiling lights; the apartments
are probably carried up to the height of two storeys, and galleries
formed around. Seclusion becomes again still more a point to be
considered.

'The library of the house should also be as comfortable as possible,
with broad easy chairs, low centre table for books and periodicals, a
large pedestal desk with circular revolving top, to shut up all papers
and keep them free from dust. This kind of desk I consider invaluable to
any man who really uses his library as a work-room, whether it be for
real literary work and study, or for the ordinary examination and
arrangement of household accounts; for it is quite impossible, on an
ordinary writing table, to keep papers clean or tidy, and this
circular-headed desk shuts down at once papers as they lie, which then
cannot be "tidied" by the housemaid, who would seem to take a pleasure
in putting away papers and notes in all kinds of out-of-the-way corners;
the desk should have plenty of drawers and pigeon-holes; these latter,
not as many of them are, an inch too narrow or two inches too wide for
ordinary letters, but all made for the objects for which they are
intended. It may seem absurd to say--think carefully of the use to which
the drawers are to be put--but how often are they practically useless or
wasteful of precious room, by being made shallower or deeper than is
required. The room should be surrounded with bookcases, the lower
portion made to take large books, and with some part of it covered in
with cupboard fronts, with shelving inside to file away periodicals and
papers; the shelf which this lower projection forms will do admirably
for the arrangement of ornaments, small busts, or other personal things,
with which a man crowds the room he really lives in; of course, I am
speaking to those who make a den or working-room of their library, and
not to those who fit a back room up with various tiers of shelving, on
which are arranged a library of books which are seldom looked at, and
where the room is only occasionally used, and that only for the purpose
of a cloak-room on grand occasions. Above this lower nest of cupboards
and shelving should be shelving arranged for various sizes of books,
part carried up all round the room, so as to be within easy reach; the
top of these will be found useful for china or busts, or other objects
of art, while the centre portions may be carried up to the ceiling to
give greater accommodation; all these breaks will take away from the
stiffness of the room, and, if properly arranged, will all assist in
making the library a room pleasant to work or play in. All this kind of
work can be made of plain deal, stained and polished, and is infinitely
cheaper than the elaborate movable cases of wainscot or walnut, in
which the aim of the designer seems often to make the frame-work as
expensive as possible, whereas, in truth, the books within are really
what should be thought of and cared for.

'The floor should be painted or stained and varnished all over, so as to
be easily cleaned and dusted, and everything that is likely to
permanently hold dust should be avoided. On the floor, thus painted, a
few cheap Indian or other rugs may be laid about in places where most
necessary and useful.

'Too much trouble cannot be taken to make the library a pleasant room to
live in; it should have everything arranged and adapted for use and
comfort, and not be stiff and dreary with any set arrangement. The
panels of the cupboard doors may be filled in with Japanese lacquer-work
or painted decoration, and here and there, in the recesses, nests of
shelves may be fitted with projecting brackets, designed as part of
them, for pieces of china, vases of flowers, or busts, and not looking
like bats stuck on to a barn door.

'I must not omit to say that in the lower portion of the bookcase
should be arranged drawers--not carried down to the floor, for these are
inconvenient--for use for prints and valuable photographs and sketches.

'The library should be essentially home-like, with the wall-space fitted
up as conveniently as possible; on the top of the bookcases or nests of
shelves, spring roller-blinds might be easily arranged in the cornices
to draw down at night or other times, and fasten with clips to protect
and preserve the books, &c., within them.

'I might offer many other suggestions for the decoration and furniture
of the rooms I have specially referred to. I trust those I have made
will be of some practical use, and that, above all, you will believe
that my aim throughout has been to avoid all dogmatic and set rules of
fashion or design, and to insist only that truth and beauty of form and
colour, combined with fitness and common sense, are the main elements of
all true artistic treatment in decoration and furniture of modern
houses.'[58]

FOOTNOTES:

[57] Willis and Clark, _History of Cambridge University_, vol. iii., p.
416.

[58] Edis, _Decoration and Furniture of Town Houses_, pp. 188-191.

_Munificent Book-buying._

Nordau has estimated that, in England alone, there are from eight
hundred to a thousand millionaires, and in Europe altogether, there are
at least a hundred thousand persons with fortunes of a million and even
more. One could hope that it might be considered a kindness now and then
to remind some of these millionaires of certain openings for their money
which do not, so far, seem to have occurred to them. Mr. Bernard Shaw
not long since pointed out in the _Contemporary Review_ an opening
whereby an Economic Library might be established, and do great lasting
honour to a possible founder. Rich men can always be found to vie with
one another in lavish expenditure over a ball or a wedding. Thousands of
pounds go for a racehorse and for stable management generally, and the
amount we spend upon sports annually is 38,000,000_l._, or about a pound
per head of the population. One hardly likes to say that any sum spent
upon sport and outdoor life is too much, but yet this sum is out of
proportion. One is jealous of horses and sport, not so much perhaps for
the amount spent upon them as much as because one sees that the man who
hunts and has racehorses, cares and knows about these things to the
extermination of all other interests. Life becomes ill balanced, whereas
it is necessary to touch life at many points. 'The strenuous scholar
pure and simple,' is becoming more rare, though the type of which the
late Mark Pattison was one will never quite die out. But it is not the
strenuous _scholar_ that one is so anxious to perpetuate, as it is the
strenuous and scholarly man of affairs and men of trained ability who
have mental muscle for parliamentary work and social problems. Such a
class ought to have many recruits from among the wealthier families.

It would assist very much towards this end if men of aptitude were
properly trained to act as custodians of books in private houses. The
art of knowing how to use books is one which must be learnt, and when
properly learnt there is very little indeed that may not be readily
found to hand in a library of but small dimensions.

There are, I believe, in England twenty-two packs of staghounds, and 182
packs of foxhounds. As every one of the masters of these packs must be a
rich man, I should like to know that he at any rate had a sound copy of
the _History_ of the county where he hunts; that he had in his smoking
room a good Encyclopædia, with fifty other good reference books, and a
hundred good novels.

The rich men of old combined patronage of learning with the pomp and
splendour of their lives. Lucullus distinguished himself by his vast
collection of books, and the liberal access he allowed to lovers of
books. 'It was a library,' says Plutarch, 'whose walls, galleries and
cabinets were open to all visitors; and the ingenious youths, when at
leisure, resorted to this abode of the Muses, to hold literary
conversations, in which Lucullus himself loved to join.' The Emperor
Augustus was himself an author and a book lover, and called one of his
libraries by the name of his sister, Octavia, and the other the temple
of Apollo. Tiberius had a library, and Trajan also, and these spent
constantly upon their books and the housing of them.

I have taken from Renaissance history pictures of several men who might
be taken as types which should exist in every highly civilised country.
They have been vividly and admirably pictured by biographers, and one
can only hope that the rich men of to-day may in five hundred years'
time have as lasting reputations as that of Cosimo, the princely patron
of learning, and Niccolo, the man of scholarship and refinement of
life.

_PASSAGES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE FOREGOING._

_The Medici and their Friends._

'The chief benefit conferred by Cosimo de' Medici on learning was the
accumulation and the housing of large libraries. During his exile he
built the library of S. Giorgio Maggiore at Venice, and after his return
to Florence he formed three separate collections of MSS. While the hall
of the Library of S. Marco was in process of construction, Niccolo de'
Niccoli died, in 1437, bequeathing his 800 MSS., valued at 6000 golden
florins, to sixteen trustees. Among these were Cosimo and Lorenzo de'
Medici, Ambrogio Traversari, Lionardo Bruni, Carlo Marsuppini, Poggio
Bracciolini, Giannozzo Manetti, and Franco Sachetti. At the same time
the estate of Niccolo was compromised by heavy debts. These debts Cosimo
cancelled, obtaining in exchange the right to dispose of the library. In
1441 the hall of the convent was finished. Four hundred of Niccolo's
MSS. were placed there, with this inscription upon each: _Ex hereditate
doctissimi viri Nicola de Nicolis de Florentiâ_. Tommasso Parentucelli
made a catalogue at Cosimo's request, in which he not only noted the
titles of Niccoli's books, but also marked the names of others wanting
to complete the collection. This catalogue afterwards served as a guide
to the founders of the libraries of Fiesole, Urbino, and Pesaro, and
was, says Vespasiano, indispensable to book-collectors. Of the remaining
400 volumes Cosimo kept some for his own (the Medicean) library, and
some he gave to his friends. At the same time he spared no pains to buy
codices, while Vespasiano and Fra Giuliano Lapaccini were employed in
copying rare MSS. As soon as Cosimo had finished building the Abbey of
Fiesole, he set about providing this also with a library suited to the
wants of learned ecclesiastics. Of the method he pursued, Vespasiano,
who acted as his agent, has transmitted the following account:--"One day
when I was in his room, he said to me, 'What plan can you recommend for
the formation of this library?' I answered that to buy the books would
be impossible, since they could not be purchased. 'What, then, do you
propose?' he added. I told him that they must be copied. He then asked
if I would undertake the business. I replied that I was willing. He bade
me begin at my leisure, saying that he left all to me; and for the
monies wanted day by day, he ordered that Don Arcangelo, at that time
prior of the monastery, should draw cheques upon his bank, which should
be honoured. After beginning the collection, since it was his will that
it should be finished with all speed possible, and money was not
lacking, I soon engaged forty-five copyists, and in twenty-two months
provided two hundred volumes, following the admirable list furnished by
Pope Nicholas V."'[59]

'Cosimo's zeal for learning was not confined to the building of
libraries or to book collecting. His palace formed the centre of a
literary and philosophical Society, which united all the wits of
Florence and the visitors who crowded to the capital of culture.
Vespasiano states that "he was always the father and benefactor of those
who showed any excellence." Distinguished by versatility of tastes and
comprehensive intellect, he formed his own opinion of the men of
eminence with whom he came in contact, and conversed with each upon his
special subject. When giving audience to the scholars, he discoursed
concerning letters; in the company of theologians he showed his
acquaintance with theology, a branch of learning always studied by him
with delight. So also with regard to philosophy. Astrologers found him
well versed in their science, for he somewhat lent faith to astrology,
and employed it on certain private occasions. Musicians in like manner
perceived his mastery of music, wherein he much delighted. The same was
true about sculpture and painting: both of these arts he understood
completely, and showed great favour to all worthy craftsmen. In
architecture he was a consummate judge, for without his opinion and
advice no building was begun or carried to completion.'[60]

'Never was there a time in the world's history when money was spent
more freely upon the collection and preservation of MSS. and when a more
complete machinery was put in motion for the sake of securing literary
treasures. Prince vied with prince, and eminent burgher with burgher, in
buying books. The commercial correspondents of the Medici and other
great Florentine houses, whose banks and discount offices extended over
Europe and the Levant, were instructed to purchase relics of antiquity
without regard for cost, and to forward them to Florence. The most
acceptable present that could be sent to a king was a copy of a Roman
Historian.'[61]

'Among the friends of Cosimo, to whose personal influences at Florence
the Revival of Learning owed a vigorous impulse, Niccolo de' Niccoli
claims our attention. . . . . His judgment in matters of style was so
highly valued that it was usual for scholars to submit their essays to
his eyes before they ventured upon publication. . . . . Notwithstanding
his fine sense of language, Niccolo never appeared before the world of
letters as an author. . . . Certainly his reserve in an age noteworthy
for display has tended to confer on him distinction. The position he
occupied at Florence was that of a literary dictator. All who needed his
assistance and advice were received with urbanity. He threw his house
open to young men of parts, engaged in disputations with the curious,
and provided the ill-educated with teachers. Foreigners from all parts
of Europe paid him visits. The strangers who came to Florence at that
time, if they missed the opportunity of seeing him at home, thought they
had not been in Florence. The house where he lived was worthy of his
refined taste and cultivated judgment, for he had formed a museum of
antiquities--inscriptions, marbles, coins, vases, and engraved gems.
There he not only received students and strangers, but conversed with
sculptors and painters, discussing their inventions as freely as he
criticised the essays of the scholars. . . . . Vespasiano's account of
his personal habits presents so vivid a picture that I cannot refrain
from translating it at length:--"First of all, he was of a most fair
presence; lively, for a smile was ever on his lips, and very pleasant in
his talk. He wore clothes of the fairest crimson cloth, down to the
ground. He never married, in order that he might not be impeded in his
studies. A housekeeper provided for his daily needs. He was, above all
men, the most cleanly in eating, as also in all other things. When he
sat at table, he ate from fair antique vases, and, in like manner, all
his table was covered with porcelain and other vessels of great beauty.
The cup from which he drank was of crystal, or of some other precious
stone. To see him at table--a perfect model of the men of old--was of a
truth a charming sight. He always willed that the napkins set before him
should be of the whitest, as well as all the linen." . . . . What
distinguished Niccolo was the combination of refinement and humane
breeding with open-handed generosity and devotion to the cause of
culture. He knew how to bring forward men of promise and place them in
positions of eminence.'[62]

'Lorenzo attracted to his villa the greatest scholars and most brilliant
men of the time, a circle which included Poliziano, Landino, Ficino,
Pico della Mirandola, Alberti, Pulci, and Michael Angelo. The interests
of this circle, as of all similar Italian circles of the time, were
largely absorbed in the philosophy and literature of Greece, and special
attention was devoted to the teachings of Plato. Plato's writings were
translated into Latin by Ficino, and the translation was printed in
1482, at the cost of Filippo Valvio. Ficino was too poor himself to
undertake the publication of his works, and this was the case with not a
few of the distinguished authors of the age. The presentation of books
to the public required at this time what might be called the endowment
of literature, and endowment which was supplied by the liberality of
wealthy patrons possessed of literary appreciation or public-spirited
ambition, or of both. As Symonds expresses it, "Great literary
undertakings involved in that century the substantial assistance of
wealthy men, whose liberality was rewarded by a notice in the colophon
or in the title-page." The formal dedication was an invention of a
somewhat later date.'[63]

'Of Palla degli Strozzi's services in the cause of Greek learning I have
already spoken. Beside the invitation which he caused to be sent to
Manuel Chrysoloras, he employed his wealth and influence in providing
books necessary for the prosecution of Hellenic studies. "Messer Palla,"
says Vespasiano, "sent to Greece for countless volumes, all at his own
cost. The _Cosmography_ of Ptolemy, together with the picture made to
illustrate it, the _Lives_ of Plutarch, the works of Plato, and very
many other writings of philosophers, he got from Constantinople. The
_Politics_ of Aristotle were not in Italy until Messer Palla sent for
them; and when Messer Lionardo of Arezzo translated them, he had the
copy from his hands." In the same spirit of practical generosity Palla
degli Strozzi devoted his leisure and his energies to the improvement of
the _studio pubblico_ at Florence, giving it that character of humane
culture which it retained throughout the age of the Renaissance. To him,
again, belongs the glory of having first collected books for the express
purpose of founding a public library. This project had occupied the mind
of Petrarch, and its utility had been recognised by Coluccio de'
Salutati, but no one had as yet arisen to accomplish it. "Being
passionately fond of literature, Messer Palla always kept copyists in
his own house and outside it, of the best who were in Florence, both for
Greek and Latin books; and all the books he could find he purchased, on
all subjects, being minded to found a most noble library in Santa
Trinità, and to erect there a most beautiful building for the purpose.
He wished that it should be open to the public, and he chose Santa
Trinità because it was in the centre of Florence, a site of great
convenience to everybody. His disasters supervened and what he had
designed he could not execute."'[64]

'Cosimo used to regret that "he had not begun to spend money upon public
works ten years earlier than he did." Every costly building that bore
his name, each library he opened to the public, and all the donations
lavished upon scholars, served the double purpose of cementing the
despotism of his house and of gratifying his personal enthusiasm for
culture. . . . . Of his generosity to men of letters, the most striking
details are recorded. When Niccolo de' Niccoli ruined himself, Cosimo
opened for him an unlimited credit with the Medicean bank.'[65]

FOOTNOTES:

[59] Symonds, _The Revival of Learning_, pp. 174, 175.

[60] _Ibid._, pp. 172-7.

[61] Symonds, _Revival of Learning_, pp. 139, 140.

[62] Symonds, _Revival of Learning_, pp. 180-2.

[63] Putnam, _Books and their Makers_, vol. i., p. 338.

[64] Symonds, _Revival of Learning_, p. 167.

[65] _Ibid._, pp. 172-3.

_The Dukes of Urbino._

'Mr. Roscoe has observed that "by no circumstance in the character of an
individual is the love of literature so strongly evinced as by the
propensity for collecting together the writings of illustrious scholars,
and compressing the 'soul of ages past' within the narrow limits of a
library." But it is not easy now to appreciate the obstacles attending
such a pursuit in the age of Federigo. The science of bibliography can
scarcely be said to have existed before the invention of printing, in
consequence of the extreme difficulty of becoming acquainted with works
of which there were but few copies, and these widely scattered, perhaps
scarcely known. Great outlay was required, either to search out or
transcribe manuscripts, and even the laborious habits which then
accompanied learning shrank from a task so beset by obstructions. Yet
there was a bright exception in Thomas of Saranza, whose learning
supplied the knowledge, and whose elevation to the triple tiara as
Nicholas V. procured him the opportunities necessary for amassing a
library. Not only did he found that of the Vatican, but he prepared for
Cosimo, _Pater patrie_, a list of authors for the infant collection of
S. Marco, at Florence, which, being recognised as a standard catalogue,
was adopted by Count Federigo. The longer life allowed to the latter
enabled him to outstrip these bibliomaniacs, and all contemporary
accumulators, until the fame of his library stood unrivalled.
Accordingly Ruscelli, in his _Imprese Illustri_, avers it to be
"notorious that the earliest and most famous collection formed out of
the ruins of antiquity was that of Urbino, from whence many excellent
authors were edited, and copies supplied."'[66]

'In no respect did he look to expense; and whenever he learned the
existence of any desirable book in Italy, or abroad, he sent for it
without heeding the cost. His librarian, Vespasiano, wrote, "It is now
above fourteen years since he began to make this collection, and he has
ever since at Urbino, Florence, and elsewhere, thirty-four transcribers,
and has resorted to every means requisite for amassing a famous and
excellent library."'[67]

'To the right and left of the carriage entrance into the great
courtyard, are two handsome saloons, each about forty-five feet by
twenty-two, and twenty-three in height. That on the left contained the
famous library of manuscripts collected by Count Federigo; the
corresponding one received the printed books, which, gradually purchased
by successive dukes, became under the last sovereign, a copious
collection. Baldi, in his description of the palace, printed in
Bianchini's work, dwells on the judicious adaptation of the former, its
windows set high against the northern sky, admitting a subdued and
steady light which invited to study; its air cool in summer, temperate
in winter; its walls conveniently shelved; the character and objects of
the place fittingly set forth in a series of rude hexameters inscribed
on the cornices. Adjoining was a closet fitted up with inlaid and gilded
panelling, beneath which Timoteo della Vite, a painter whose excellence
we shall attest in our thirtieth chapter, depicted Minerva with her
ægis, Apollo with his lyre, and the nine muses with their appropriate
symbols. A similar small study was fitted up immediately over this one,
set round with arm-chairs encircling a table, all mosaicked with
_tarsia_, and carved by Maestro Giacomo of Florence, while on each
compartment of the panelling was the portrait of some famous author, and
an appropriate distich. One other article of furniture deserves special
notice--a magnificent eagle of gilt bronze, serving as a lectern in the
centre of the manuscript room. It was carried to Rome at the devolution
of the duchy to the Holy See, but was rescued by Pope Clement XI. from
the Vatican library, and restored to his native town, where it has long
been used in the choir of the cathedral.'[68]

'Of Francesco Maria's literary pursuits we have various pleasing
memorials. Not satisfied with the valuable library of MSS. that had
descended to him from the Feltrian dukes, he formed another of standard
printed works. Indeed, he became an assiduous book-collector; and the
letters of his librarian, Benedetto Benedetti, in the Oliveriana
Library, are full of lists which his agents in Venice, Florence, and
even Frankfort are urged to supply. In his own voluminous
correspondence, we find constant offers from authors of dedications or
copies of their productions, the tone of which is highly complimentary
to his taste for letters. In 1603, the Archbishop of Monreale, in Spain,
transmits him the regulations he proposed to prescribe in bequeathing
his library to a seminary he had founded in his diocese, expressing a
hope that they might prove useful to the Duke's collection, "at this
moment without parallel in the world." Instead of quoting the vague
testimony of courtly compliment, as to the use which this philosophic
Prince made of these acquisitions, let us cite the brief records of his
studies, preserved in his own Diary. In 1585, "terminated an inspection
of the whole works of Aristotle, on which I have laboured no less than
fifteen years, having had them generally read to me by Maestro Cesare
Benedetti, of Pesaro."'[69]

'Francesco di Giorgio, in his _Treatise on Architecture_, mentions Duke
Federigo as holding out inducements for the learned men at his court to
illustrate the works of classic authors on architecture and sculpture.
But no testimony to his literary habits can be more satisfactory than
that of his librarian, Vespasiano, to the following purpose. The Duke
was a ready Latin scholar, and extremely fond of ancient history. As a
logician he had attained considerable aptitude, having studied
Aristotle's _Ethics_ along with Maestro Lazzaro, a famous theologian,
who became Bishop of Urbino, discussing with him the most intricate
passages. By the like process he mastered the Stagirite's politics,
physics, and other treatises; and having acquired more philosophy than
any contemporary prince, his thirst for new sources of knowledge induced
him to devote himself to theology with equal zeal. The principal works
of St. Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus were habitually read to him; he
preferred the former as more clear, but admitted that the latter
displayed more subtlety in argument. He was well acquainted with the
Bible, as well as the commentaries of Saints Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine,
and Gregory; also with the writings of the Greek fathers, such as Saints
Basil, Chrysostom, Gregory Naziazen, Nicetas, Athanasius, and Cyril.
Among the classic authors whom he was in the habit of reading or
listening to were Livy, Sallust, Quintus Curtius, Justin, Cæsar,
Plutarch, Ælius Spartianus, Æmylius Protus, Tacitus, Suetonius,
Eusebius. All men of letters visiting Urbino were hospitably
entertained, and several were always attached to his court. His
largesses to such were at all times liberal. He spent above 1500 ducats
in this way when at Florence, and remitted similar bounties to Rome and
Naples. He gave 1000 ducats to the learned Campano, professor of
belles-lettres at Perugia in 1455, who aided him in collecting ancient
MSS., and became Bishop of Teramo.'[70]

FOOTNOTES:

[66] Dennistoun, _Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino_, vol. i., p. 155.

[67] _Ibid._, vol. i., pp. 156-7.

[68] _Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino_, vol. i., pp. 153-5.

[69] _Ibid._, vol. i., p. 154.

_Pieresc._

'When any library was to be sold by public outcry, he took care to buy
the best books, especially if they were of some neat edition that he did
not already possess. He bound his books in red morocco, with his cypher
or initials in gold. One binder always lived in the house, and sometimes
several were employed at once "when the books came rolling in on every
side."' 'Your house and library' (says the dedication of a book to
Pieresc) 'are a firmament wherein the stars of learning shine; the desks
are lit with starlight, and the books are in constellations, and you sit
like the sun in the midst, embracing and giving light to them all.' 'The
library is to be open to all the world without the exception of any
living soul; readers were to be supplied with chairs and writing
materials, and the attendants will fetch all books required in any
language or department of learning, and will change them as often as is
necessary.'[71]

'Bouchard states, in his funeral oration on Pieresc, "To this his shop
and storehouse of wisdom and virtue, Peireskius did not only courteously
admit all travellers, studious of art and learning, opening to them all
the treasures of his library, but he would keep them there a long time,
with free and liberal entertainment; and at their departure, would give
them books, coins, and other things, which seemed most suitable to their
studies; also he freely gave them at his own expense, whatever things
they wanted, most liberally, even as to all other learned men, who were
absent, and whose names he had only heard of; whatever he had among his
books or relics of antiquity, which he thought might assist them in
their writings, he would send it them of his own accord, not only
without their desiring the same, but many times when they were ignorant
of such things.'[72]

FOOTNOTES:

[70] _Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino_, pp. 219, 220.

[71] Elton, _Great Book Collectors_, pp. 180-4.

[72] _The Library_, July, 1895.

_Mr. Ruskin's Advice._

'I say first we have despised literature. What do we, as a nation, care
about books? How much do you think we spend altogether on our libraries,
public or private, as compared with what we spend on our horses? If a
man spends lavishly on his library, you call him mad--a biblio-maniac.
But you never call any one a horse maniac, though men ruin themselves
every day by their horses, and you do not hear of people ruining
themselves by their books. Or, to go lower still, how much do you think
the bookshelves of the United Kingdom, public and private, would fetch,
as compared with the contents of its wine-cellars? What position would
its expenditure on literature take as compared with its expenditure on
luxurious eating? We talk of food for the mind, as of food for the body:
now a good book contains such food inexhaustibly; it is a provision for
life, and for the best part of us; yet how long most people would look
at the best book before they would give the price of a large turbot for
it!'[73]

'It will be long yet before that comes to pass. Nevertheless, I hope it
will not be long before royal or national libraries will be founded in
every considerable city, with a royal series of books in them; the same
series in every one of them, chosen books, the best in every kind,
prepared for that national series in the most perfect way possible;
their text printed all on leaves of equal size, broad of margin, and
divided into pleasant volumes, light in the hand, beautiful and strong,
and thorough as examples of binder's work.'[73]

'I could shape for you other plans, for art galleries and for natural
history galleries, and for many precious, many, it seems to me, needful
things; but this book plan is the easiest and needfullest, and would
prove a considerable tonic to what we call our British constitution,
which has fallen dropsical of late, and has an evil thirst, and evil
hunger, and wants healthier feeding. You have got its Corn Laws repealed
for it; try if you cannot get Corn Laws established for it dealing in a
better bread--bread made of that old enchanted Arabian grain, the
Sesame, which opens doors, doors, not of robbers', but of kings'
treasuries.'[74]

'Whatever the hold which the aristocracy of England has on the heart of
England, in that they are still always in front of her battles, this
hold will not be enough, unless they are also in front of her
thoughts.'[75]

'But it is not gold that you want to gather! What is it? Greenbacks? No;
not those neither. What is it then--is it ciphers after a capital I?
Cannot you practise writing ciphers, and write as many as you want?
Write ciphers for an hour every morning, in a big book, and say every
evening, I am worth all those noughts more than I was yesterday. Won't
that do? Well, what in the name of Plutus is it you want? Not gold, not
greenbacks, not ciphers after a capital I? You will have to answer after
all, "No; we want, somehow or other, money's _worth_." Well, what is
that? Let your Goddess of Getting-on discover it, and let her learn to
stay therein.'[76]

'And the entire object of true education is to make people not merely
_do_ the right things, but _enjoy_ the right things--not merely
industrious, but to love industry--not merely learned, but to love
knowledge--not merely pure, but to love purity--not merely just, but to
hunger and thirst after justice.'[77]

FOOTNOTES:

[73] _Sesame and Lilies._

[74] _Sesame and Lilies._

[75] _Crown of Wild Olive_, p. 87.

[76] _Ibid._, p. 60.

[77] _Ibid._, p. 46.

INDEX

  Abbotsford Library Catalogue, printed by Maitland Club, 80

  Abbotsford Library, impressions of, 80

  Accessions, on placing, 89

  Acland, Sir H., the 'Radcliffe' bookcase, 113

  Addison, Essay on 'My Lady's Library,' 50

  Addison's picture of 'Tom Folio,' 79

  Advertisements, which to distrust, 14

  Ælius, 148

  Æmylius Protus, 148

  Agabito, librarian to the Duke of Urbino, 119

  Albemarle, Duke of, 78

  Alberti, 142

  Ambrose, St., 148

  American tables, 104

  Angelo, Michael, 142

  Angling books, 10

  Anonymous Literature, how to catalogue, 84, 85

  _Anthrenus varius_, bookboring insect, 23

  Apollo Library, 135

  Appliances for the library, 103

  Aquinas, St. Thomas, 148

  Arcangelo, Don, 138

  _Archaic Dictionary_, 44

  _Architecture_, by Vitruvius, 119

  Aristotle, Inspection of the works of, 147

  Aristotle's _Politics_, 143

  Athanasius, St., 148

  Augustine, St., 148

  Augustus, Emperor, author and booklover, 135

  Austen, J., _Northanger Abbey_, 36

  Author, the, 3

  ---- whims and fancies of, 3

  Autograph letters, how to catalogue, 64

  Bacon, Lord, 36

  ---- his retreat at Gorhambury, 107

  Bacon's _Natural History_, 40

  ---- _Organon_, 74

  Baker's _Chronicle_, 72

  Baldi's description of a Florentine palace, 110, 146

  Balfour, Mr., advice on reading, 27

  Barclay, A., _Ship of Fools_, 76

  Basil, St., 148

  Beauchamp, Guy, earl of Warwick, Library of early romances, 71

  Beauclerk, T., 79

  ---- Library of, in Great Russell Street, 107

  Bedford, Duke of, and Charles V.'s Library, 71

  Beecher, H. W., on reading, 30

  Benedetti, B., Book lists of, 147

  ---- librarian to Francesco Maria, 147

  ---- C., of Pesaro, 147

  Beyle, Henri, Pseudonyms used by, 84

  Bianchini's works, 110, 146

  Bible, 148

  Bibliography, Science of, when commenced, 144

  Bibliomaniacs, Great, 71

  Blackie, J. S., on reading, 32

  _Blackwood's Magazine_, Extracts from, 30, 31, 32

  Blades, W., _Enemies of Books_, 7, 21, 100

  ---- on the handling of books, 22

  ---- on the preservation of books, 19, 99

  _Blatta Australasia_, a bookboring cockroach, 23

  Bookbinding, 52

  ---- and the bookbinder, 23

  ---- colour, 49, 54

  ---- Covers, what to choose, 64

  ---- errors of taste, 56

  ---- gilding, 57

  ---- Good, what is fatal to, 97

  ---- leather, kind to choose, 54

  ---- lettering, 58

  ---- marbling, 55

  ---- provincial, 7

  ---- style and colour of, 49

  ---- style, 49, 54

  ---- the, remarks on, 61

  ---- what is good and bad, 5, 6

  Books, accidentally destroyed, 12

  ---- arranging, difficulty of, 17

  ---- care of, 15, 16

  ---- ---- maxims for, 24

  ---- classification of, 87

  ---- commonplace, 38

  ---- contents of, how to master the, 31, 32

  ---- counterfeit, 52

  ---- dusting, 20, 21

  ---- enemies of, 7, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23

  ---- binding, fifteenth-century, 70

  ---- handling, 22

  ---- housing of, 100

  ---- metal bosses on, desks for, 106

  ---- packing, 24, 25

  ---- ------ Rare and handsome, 89

  ---- ------ Reference, 89

  ---- Rare, what constitutes, 11

  ---- ------ Why so called, 12

  ---- How to read, 32

  ---- Recommending, 33

  ---- Reference, 42

  ---- ------ List of good, 44

  ---- ------ On placing, 89

  ---- ------ Uses of, 43

  ---- Repairing, 60, 61

  ---- Restoring, 60, 61

  ---- Ruined, how often, 7

  ---- Shelfmarking, 93

  ---- Sizes of, as decided upon by the Associated Librarians of Great
    Britain, 98

  ---- Suppressed, 12

  ---- Treatment of, 108

  ---- Valueless, 14

  Bookcase, the 'Radcliffe' iron, 113

  ---- revolving, 105

  Bookcases, 49, 94

  ---- at Trinity College, Cambridge, 102

  ---- beautiful specimens of, 99

  ---- for rare and beautiful books, &c., 99

  ---- glass doors undesirable, 100

  ---- height of, 50, 95

  ---- in bedrooms, 38

  ---- lettering and numbering, 93, 99

  ---- shelves covered with padded leather, 100

  ---- Tonks' patent fittings advisable, 95

  Book-collecting, Revival in, at Florence, 140

  Book collectors, early, 71

  ---- collectors of the eighteenth century, 79

  ---- hobbies, 65

  ---- readers, two classes, 34

  ---- screen, 47

  Bookshelves, 130

  Book support, metal, 106

  ---- values, 9

  ---- ---- how to determine, 9

  Booksellers, Old London, 72

  Bookworm, The, 23

  Bordesley Abbey, and the Earl of Warwick's Library, 71

  Boston Public Library, Roxbury Branch, dimensions of book-room, 113

  Boswell, _Life of Johnson_, 3

  Boudoir bindings, pretty effects of, 48

  ---- libraries, 46

  ---- library catalogue, 50

  Bowen, on _Novel Reading_, 37

  Bracciolini, Poggio, 137

  Bradshaw, H., the Cambridge University Librarian, 117

  Braybrooke, Lord, his collection of county histories, 66

  British Museum Library Catalogue, 85

  Brontë, C., _Jane Eyre_, 37

  Bruni, Lionardo, 137

  Buchanan, G., 117

  Buckram binding, 62

  Buffalo Bug, or Carpet Bug, 23

  Burke, on reading, 31

  Bustle tails, bookboring insects, 23

  Butler's _Hudibras_, 72, 74

  Cæsar, 148

  _Cambridge University_, _History of_, by Willis and Clark, 120

  Campano, Bishop of Teramo, 149

  Campion, Hanmer and Spencer's History of Ireland, 75

  Care of books, On the, 15

  ---- Maxims to be learned, 24

  Carlyle, on a library catalogue, 81

  Carpet Bug, or Buffalo Bug, 23

  Casaubon, among his books, 72

  Catalogue, a fifteenth-century, 70

  ---- Alphabetical system, advantages of, 86

  ---- Classification of the, 82

  ---- Sectional, Lord Crawford's, 83

  ---- The, 81

  ---- The, alphabetical arrangement of, 81

  ---- The, classified system, advantages of, 86

  ---- The, cross-references, 85

  ---- The, how not to make, 82, 84

  ---- The, expert advice on, 84

  ---- The, rules to be observed, 85

  ---- The, subjects, classification of, 86

  ---- The, preparing titles, 87

  Chairs, Library, 104

  Charles V. of France, library of, 71

  Chaucer, Speght's edition (1602), 75

  Chippendale, bookcase designs by, 99

  Chrysoloras, M., 143

  Chrysostom, St., 148

  _Clarissa Harlowe_, 60

  Clark, J. W., on the position of the library, 119

  ---- Student-life of the past, 72

  Classic authors, list of, 148

  Classics, no suitable edition in England as in France, 1

  Classification, 81

  ---- of books, 87

  Clement XI., Pope, and the eagle lectern, 147

  Clement, D., _Bibliothèque curieuse_, 11

  Clement, D., on degrees of rarity, 11, 13

  Colet, among his books, 72

  Collected editions, how to catalogue, 94

  Commonplace books, 38

  ---- books, simplest form of, 40

  Compositor, the, 3

  Condition, as affecting the price of books, 13, 11

  _Consuelo_, 37

  Consumer, the, 3

  Cosimo's generosity to men of letters, 144

  ---- Medicean library, 138

  ---- plan of the formation of a library, 138

  ---- versatility and comprehensive intellect, 139

  ---- zeal for learning, 139

  Cotton's library, dimensions of, 73

  Counterfeit books, 52

  County collections, what should be aimed at, 66

  ---- Histories, on collecting, 66

  Courthope's edition of Pope, 3

  Crawford, Lord, Ballad catalogue, 83

  ---- Collection of books, pamphlets, ballads, &c., 65

  ---- Sectional catalogue, 83

  Cross-references, when to make, 85

  Cunningham, P., edition of Walpole's letters, 3

  Curiosities, arrangement of, in library, 122

  Cyril, St., 148

  Damp, an enemy to books, 17

  De Maistre's _Journey Round my Room_, 47

  Dennistoun's _Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino_, 110, 145, 147, 149

  Desk, standing, 105

  Dictionaries, use of, 30

  _Dives et Pauper_, 70

  Drawings, safe keeping of, 106

  Duns Scotus, 148

  Dusting of books, 20, 21

  Edis' _Decoration and Furniture of Town Houses_, 132

  Éditions de luxe, 3

  Education, What is? 45

  Edwards, _Memoirs of Libraries_, 13, 97, 99, 100

  ---- on bookcases, 97, 99

  Elizabethan Poetry, catalogue of, 83

  Ellwanger's _Story of my House_, 9, 104

  Elton, _Great Book Collectors_, 115, 149

  Elwin's edition of Pope, 3

  Enemies of books, 17, 18, 19, 21

  Erasmus, among his books, 72

  Eusebius, 148

  Evelyn's directions for gathering a library, 78

  ---- Letter to Pepys on the Seventeenth Century libraries, 79

  Eversley Rectory armchair, 105

  Facetiæ, on placing, 89

  Family papers, how to catalogue, 64

  Farnaby, T., _Index Rhetoricus_, 74

  Federigo, Count, famous library of MSS., 110, 146

  ---- Duke, Literary habits of, 148

  Feltrian dukes, MSS., 147

  Fergusson's _Architecture_, 44

  Ficino, Translator of Plato, 142

  Fiction Library, how to arrange, 36

  Fiesole, Abbey of, on building a library at, 138

  Fiesole Abbey, Library of, 138

  Fifteenth Century Library Catalogue, 70

  Fine Copy? What is a, 5, 6

  First Edition Craze, fight against, 14

  Fish Bugs, bookboring insects, 23

  Florence, Revival in learning at, 140

  ---- _Studio Pubblico_, Improvement of the, 143

  Florentine Library, Description of a great, 110

  Floriculture, on collecting books on, 67

  'Foxed' Book, A, 6

  Foxhounds in England, 135

  Francesco Maria's literary pursuits, 147

  Froude, W., The 'Radcliffe' bookcase, 113

  Fuller, T., on memory and note-books, 39

  Gas, an enemy to books, 18

  Genealogical books, rise in price of, 66

  Getting-on, Goddess of, 152

  Gibbon, Edward, 1

  ---- library catalogue, 83

  Gilbey, Sir W., sporting books, 67

  Gilding, Advice on, 57

  Giorgio, F. di, _Treatise on Architecture_, 148

  Gladstone, W. E., _Books, and the Housing of them_, 100

  ---- _Gladstone in the Evening of his Days_, 36, 108, 110

  ---- on library shelves, 96

  Gladstone's Temple of Peace, Tables in, 104

  Glastonbury, Treasures at, 69

  'Globe' edition of English classics, 2

  Goldsmith Chair, The, 105

  Good Edition, how to make, 3

  ---- What is a, 1

  Gosse, E., Library Catalogue, 83

  Gregory, St., 148

  Greek Fathers, writings of, 148

  Greenbacks, 152

  Guidobaldo I., Library Rules, 118

  Haigh Hall, Ballad Catalogue at, 83

  ---- Library Catalogue, who compiled by, 65

  Hallam's _Literary History_, 41

  Hamerton, Philip G., Advice on reading, 27, 28, 29

  Harding's _Chronicle_, 76

  Hart, Dr. E., on books in bedrooms, 38

  Hawarden Library annexe, 107

  ---- ---- Cost of, 113

  Heat, an enemy to books, 18

  Heppelwhite, Bookcase design by, 99

  Hill, B., Edition of Boswell's Johnson, 3

  Howard, Sir J., Library of, 70

  'Humanity Room' at Hawarden, 109

  Humphrey, Duke, 71

  Ireland, History of, 75

  Ink Maker, The, 3

  Jerome, St., 148

  Jessopp, Dr., Library annexe of, 107

  ---- on old libraries, 68

  Johnson, Dr., careless with his books, 16

  ---- Life of, 3

  ---- on knowledge, 42

  ---- on the editions of _Thomas à Kempis_, 67

  Johnson's _Dictionary_, 44

  Justin, 148

  Kerr's _Gentleman's House_, 120

  Knowledge, On. Extract from the _Spectator_, 42

  ---- Two kinds of, 42

  Lady's Library, how arranged, 51

  Lamb, choice of books, 34

  Lampson, L., Rowfant Library Catalogue, 83

  Landino, 142

  Lang, A., remarks on the 'binder,' 61

  ---- on the care of books, 16

  Lapaccini, Fra G., a MS. copyist, 138

  Large-paper copies, 8, 13

  Larousse's _Grand Dictionnaire_, 43

  Leather for binding, 53

  Lectern, an historic eagle, 146

  Leighton, J., _Book-plate Annual_, 15

  ---- Careless handling of books, 16

  Leland, C. G., on _Mending and Repairing_, 61

  ---- Glastonbury treasures, 69

  Leonora's library, how arranged, 51

  _Lepisma Saccharina_, bookboring insects, 23

  _L'Escholle des Filles_, 77

  Librarian, A, 115

  ---- Qualifications of a good, 115, 117

  ---- The motto of a good, 118

  Libraries, Classification of headings of, 94

  ---- in country houses, lamentable condition of, 15

  ---- Old country, 68

  ---- XIIth century, 69

  ---- XIIIth century, 69

  ---- XVIIth century, 72

  ---- Suite of, 121

  ---- Public, Originator of, 143

  _Library, The_ Extract from, 150

  Library, Appliances for the, 103

  ---- The, architecturally, 119

  ---- arrangement, On, 91

  ---- Arrangement of, two plans, 121

  ---- Artistic treatment of the, 122

  ---- Aspect for the, 125

  ---- An economic, 133

  ---- Curiosities in, 22

  ---- Decorations of the, 131

  ---- Enemy of the, 120

  ---- fireplace, 126

  ---- intercommunication, 126

  ---- On heating, 120, 128

  ---- On lighting, 120

  ---- Portable, Composition of a, 46

  ---- Position of the, 119, 124

  ---- rules, 118

  ---- Study attached to the, 127

  ---- Windows in the, 125

  ---- annexe, The, 106

  _Library Association Report_, 1878, 115

  ---- _Journal_, Reference to, 91

  ---- ---- American, 117

  Lionardo, M., translator of Aristotle's _Politics_, 143

  Lippincott's _Biographical Dictionary_, 44

  Livy, 148

  Lockhart, _Life of Sir W. Scott_, 80

  Lorenzo and his literary circle, 142

  Lucullus' vast collection of books, 135

  Macaulay, private libraries in 1685, 79

  ---- _State of England in 1685_, 72

  Magazines, How to bind, 63

  Maggliabecchi, Anecdote of, 116

  ---- his abnormal knowledge of books, 115

  Manetti, Giannozzo, 137

  Manuscripts, How to catalogue, 64

  ---- collecting and preserving at Florence, 140

  ---- Collection of ancient, 149

  ---- Famous library of, 110

  ---- of the Feltrian dukes, 147

  ---- Urbino's library of, 146

  Marbling, what to choose, 55

  Marryat, original binding of his novels, 6

  Marsuppini, Carlo, 137

  Maxwell, Sir H., advice on reading, 26

  Medicean Library, 138

  Medici, Cosimo de', on housing of large libraries, 137

  ---- The, and their friends, 137

  ---- Lorenzo de', 137

  Memory and note-books, 39

  Mending and repairing, 61

  Middleton Cheney, Library annexe at, 107

  Mirandola, P. della, 41, 142

  Monastic libraries, Old, 69

  Monmouth rebellion, romances on, 36

  Monreale, Archbishop of, 147

  Morocco leather, kind to choose, 54

  Munificent book-buying, 133

  Murray's _Dictionary_, 59

  ---- _Magazine_, on county histories, 66

  Music, How to bind, 64

  Napoleon, on the composition of a portable library, 46

  ---- a lover of small books, 46

  ---- and novel-reading, 38

  Nares' _Glossary_, 44

  Natural history, on collecting books on, 67

  Naudé, G., _Avis pour dresser une Bibliothèque_, 10, 79

  Naziazen, St. Gregory, 148

  Niccoli, N. de', Home life and habits of, 141

  ---- literary dictator at Florence, 140

  ---- to whom he bequeathed his library, 137

  Nicetas, 148

  Nicholas V. Pope, Book list of, 139

  _Nineteenth Century_, Extracts from the, 26, 68, 111

  Nordau, millionaires in England, 133

  North, Dr. John, his book-loving habits, 8

  ---- Dr. J., Library of, 73

  ---- Life of, 73

  North's _Lives of the Norths_, 7

  Notes, Suggestions on taking, 41

  Novel-reading, 33

  ---- lecture on, 36, 37

  Novels, how to bind, 62

  Octavia Library, 135

  Oldys, W., 79

  Oliveriana Library, 147

  Oxford, Lord, 79

  ---- University of. Duke Humphrey's collection of illuminated
    treasures, 71

  Pamphlets, how to bind, 63

  ---- how to catalogue, 63, 94

  Paper, coloured, 13

  ---- fine, 13

  ---- hand-made, 8

  ---- Japanese vellum, 8

  ---- vellum, 13

  ---- knives, 16

  ---- maker, the, 3

  Parentucelli, T., Catalogue of S. Marco Library, 137

  Parker's _Domestic Architecture_, Reference to, 70

  Paston _Letters_, 70

  Pattison, Mark, a type of a scholar, 134

  Payn, J., on the best hundred books, 30

  Pembroke, Earl of, 79

  Pepys' books, how numbered and titled, 78

  ---- book presses, 75

  ---- book presses at Magdalene College, 75

  ---- Collection of Ballads, &c., 65

  ---- Diary, 43, 59, 74, &c.

  ---- library catalogue, 76

  ---- library catalogue, classification of, 82, 89

  ---- a lover of books, 74

  ---- manuscripts, 77

  ---- single sheets, 77

  Periodicals, Unbound, on placing, 89

  Pesaro, Library of, 138

  Petrarch, project of a public library, 143

  Phillips, W., anecdote of George Sumner, 116

  Pickering, Publications issued by, 4

  Pieresc, and his books, 149

  ---- Funeral oration on, 150

  Plato, Teachings of, 142

  Plato's Works, 143

  Plutarch, 148

  ---- on Lucullus' Library, 135

  Plutarch's _Lives_, 143

  Poetical Concordances, 44

  Poliziano, 142

  Poole, Mr., on enemies to books, 18

  Pope, 'Globe' edition of, 2

  Pope's Works, the edition of Courthope and Elwin, 3

  Preservation of book covers, A recipe for, 20

  Pressman, The, 3

  Priceus, _Defensio Hist. Brit._, 76

  Printer, The, 3

  Prints, safe keeping of, 106

  Private Library, divisions or classification of a, 89

  _Psalms_, French, 74

  Pseudonyms, how to catalogue, 84

  Publisher, The, 3

  Pulci, 142

  Putnam's _Books and their Makers_, 71, 142

  Ptolemy's _Cosmography_, 143

  Quintus Curtius, 148

  Quotations, Dictionary of, 44

  Radcliffe bookcases, cost of, 114

  Rare books, what constitutes, 12

  ---- why so called, 11

  Rarity as affecting the price of books, 11

  Rawlinson, T., 79

  Reader, The, 3

  Reading, The art of, 25

  ---- ---- literature on, 26

  ---- seat, 96

  Record, unpublished, advisability of typing, 64

  Reference books, 42

  ---- American, 43

  ---- French, 43

  ---- uses of, 43

  Regulations, Book of, of Guidobaldo I, 118

  Renaissance history, 136

  Richardson's _Dictionary_, 44

  Rochester's _Poems_, 78

  Romances, Guy Beauchamp's library of, 71

  _Romola_, 37

  Roscoe, Mr., on book-collecting, 144

  Rowfant Library Catalogue, 83

  Ruddiman, T., 117

  Ruskin, J., advice on book collecting, 150, 151

  ---- choice of books, 34

  ---- his scheme of a Royal series of books, 4

  Ruskin's _Crown of Wild Olive_, 152

  ---- _Sesame and Lilies_, 151, 152

  Sachetti, Franco, 137

  Sala, G. A., On common-place books, 39, 40

  Sallust, 148

  Salutati, C. de, On utility of public libraries, 143

  S. Giorgio Maggiore, Library of, 137

  ---- MSS. of, at Florence, 137

  S. Marco, Catalogue of Library of, 138

  Santa Trinità, Proposed public library at, 143

  Scott, R., bill of books supplied to Pepys, 77

  ---- Bookseller of the XVIIth Century, 73

  Scott, Sir W., Life of, 80

  ---- his care of books, 16

  ---- Novels of, original bindings of, 6

  _Seven Champions of Christendom_, 72

  Seventeenth Century Literature, Catalogue of, 83

  Sévigné, Mme. de, Letters of, 109

  Shakespeare, 'Cambridge' Edition of, 2, 53

  'Shannon' Tables, 104

  Shaw, G. B., on an economic library, 133

  Shelf Classification, Difficulty of, 88

  Sheraton, Bookcase designs by, 99

  Silver Fish, bookboring insects, 23

  'Sleepy Hollow,' an armchair at Eversley, 105

  Smith, L. P., Qualifications of a Librarian, 117

  Smith, W., _Greek and Roman Biography_, 44

  Somers, Lord, 79

  Soulsby, Miss Lucy, _Things in Book Clothing_, 28

  Spartianus, 148

  _Spectator_, Extract from, on Knowledge, 42

  Spencer, George, Earl, 79

  ---- Earl, Library at Manchester, 79

  Sport, Reference to, 133

  Sporting books, on collecting, 67

  Staghounds in England, 135

  Stanley, Col., 79

  Steps, Library, 106

  Stevens, _Who spoils our English Books?_ 3, 4

  Stevenson, R. L., Works. 'Edinburgh' Edition, 4

  Strozzi, Palla degli, Greek learning, 142

  ---- originator of public libraries, 143

  Subjects, Short, classification of, 85

  Suetonius, 148

  Sumner, G., Anecdote of, 116

  ---- his knowledge of books, 116

  Sunderland, Charles, Earl of, 79

  Suppressed books, 12

  Symonds, On great literary undertakings, 142

  ---- _Revival of Learning_, 139, 140, 142, 144

  Tables, Library, 104

  Tacitus, 148

  Tarleton's _Jests_, 72

  _Tatler_--Addison's Picture of Tom Folio, 79

  Tiberius, Library of, 135

  Title-pages, ruined, 7

  Titles, how to prepare, 87

  Thirlwall, on reading, 31

  _Thomas à Kempis_, Editions of, 68

  Thomas of Saranza, founder of the Vatican Library, 145

  Todd's _Gower and Chaucer_, 72

  ---- _Index Rerum_, 39

  Tonk's Patent Fittings for Bookcases, 95

  Topographical Books, on collecting, 66

  ---- Rise in price of, 66

  Traill, H. D., on book readers, 35

  Trajan, Library of, 135

  Traversari, Ambrogio, 137

  _Urbino_, _Dukes of_, 110, 144

  ---- _Memoirs of the_, 119

  ---- book-collecting by, 145

  ---- hospitality to men of letters, 148

  ---- Library of, 138

  ---- his collection of ancient MSS., 149

  Valvio, G., Publisher of Plato (1482), 142

  Vespasiano, a MSS. copyist, 138

  ---- on Casimo's plan of forming a library, 138

  ---- on Federigo's literary habits, 148

  ---- on the S. Marco Library Catalogue, 138

  Vitruvius' _Architecture_, 119, 125

  Walpole, H., on Beauclerk's library, 107

  Walpole's Letters, edited by Cunningham, 3

  Wanley, H., 79

  Warwick, Earl of, Library of early romances, List of, 71, 72

  Weeding out, 80

  Wheatley, B. R., on library arrangement, 90

  Wheatley, H. B., _Pepys and the World he lived in_, 74, 82, 90

  _Where is it?_ 40

  White Canons, Catalogue of the House of the, 70

  Whittingham, Books printed by, 4

  Whittingham's garden at Chiswick, 4

  Wilberforce, Dr., on knowledge, 42

  Wilkinson's _Ancient Egyptians_, 44

  Willett, Deb., 78

  Willis and Clark, _History of Cambridge University_, 120

  Wordsworth, careless with his books, 16

  Wren, Sir C., bookcases at Trinity College, Cambridge, 102

  Wren, W., on Education, 45

  Zola, 110

          _London_: STRANGEWAYS, _Printers._

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 53, " ssued" changed to "issued" (issued in a separate)

Page 61, "cuttting" changed to "cutting" (even cutting off lines)

Page 64, "callendar" changed to "calendar" (instructions to calendar)

Page 153, "Aelus" changed to "Ælius" (Ælius, 148)

Page 153, "Aemylius" changed to "Æmylius" (Æmylius Protus, 148)

Page 155, "Lionardi" changed to "Lionardo" (Bruni, Lionardo, 137)

Page 156, Brontè changed to "Brontë" (Brontë, C.,)

Page 158, "Gentlemen's" changed to "Gentleman's" (Kerr's _Gentlemen's
House_, 120)

Page 158, "Lapaccim" changed to "Lapaccini" (Lapaccini, Fra G., a MS.
copyist, 138)

Page 158, "bookbinding" changed to "bookboring" (_Lepisma Saccharina_,
bookboring insects)

Page 158, "Th" changed to "The" (_Library, The_,)

Page 159, "Nazianzen" changed to "Naziazen" (Naziazen, St. Gregory, 148)

Page 162, "MMS." changed to "MSS." (Vespasiano, a MSS.)

Buckram is sometimes capitalized and sometimes not. This was retained.

This book hyphenates or not on a whim. For example: Common-place and
Commonplace. These were retained.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Private Library, by Arthur L. Humphreys