The Book-Hunter, John Hill Burton [essential reading TXT] 📗

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Literary forgeries, moral code of, 303 et seq.

Long Parliament, proceedings of, 328 et seq.

Lucullus, Magnus, of Grand Priory, 46 et seq.

Lycanthropy, 279.


Magi, in their conflicts with saints, 401 et seq.

Magliabecchi, the librarian, 229 et seq.

Magoon, Rev. Dr, library of, 187 et seq.

Maitland Club, 312.

Margaret, Queen of Scotland, as a saint, 355.

Meadow, Archdeacon, description of as a mighty book-hunter, 14
—at an auction, 15
—a portion of his collection sold, 17
—reputed to read his own books, 18
—his learning, 19.

Medici, library of the, 198 et seq.

Men of the Time, printers' blunders in, 75.

Menzies, Mr, valuable American collection of, 189 note.

Metaphysics, origin of name, 127.

Monkbarns as a book-hunter, 165 et seq.
—his description of Snuffy Davie's prowlings, 221 et seq.


Nathalan, St, anecdote of, 395.

Newgate Calendar, interest of, 148.

New York, private libraries of, 177 et seq.

Nomenclature, Greek, abuses and merits of, 2.

Noy, Attorney-General, and the Histrio-Mastix, 130.


Oelrichs, John Charles Conrad, rare work by, 207.

Old writers, their careful disclaiming of original ideas, 117.

Olio, Grose's, extract from, 54 note.

Onslow, Mr, and naming of members of Parliament, 131.

Owen's Parallelograms, the nature of, 13
—biographical notice of Owen in Men of the Time, 75 et seq.

Oxford, Bishop of, biographical notice of, in Men of the Time, 75.


Palæographist, meaning of the name, 3.

Palimpsest, meaning of, 3.

Pamphlets, careful preservation of, enforced, 339.

Panel, meaning of, in England and in Scotland, 138.

Papaverius, Thomas, 32 et seq.
—his unpunctuality, 33
—his costume, ib. et seq.
—his eloquence, 35, 36
—on vagrancy, 38
—his irresponsibility in pecuniary matters, 39
—his charity, 41
—as a philosopher of human nature, 42
—as a book-hunter, ib. et seq.
—as a borrower of books, 43 et seq.
—his acute sensibility, 45.

Peignot, his Dictionnaire de Bibliologie, 127 note, 207
—his dictionary of condemned books, 208
—as a vagabond bibliographer, 239 et seq.

Philobiblion of Richard of Bury, 199
—extract from, 220 note.

Photius, curious history of the Bibliotheca of, 236.

Picts, St Columba among the, 377.

Pinkerton, John, description of, 285.

Playbills, collection of, a phase of bibliomania, 64.

Poems and plays as relics of pure literature, 217 et seq.

Popular authors objects of competition among publishers, 260 et seq.

Preservation of literature, 205 et seq.
—politics and religion, with reference to, 208
—wars and revolutions with reference to, 209
—books in the midst of fire, 210.

Pretenders, 161 et seq.
—generally bargain-hunters, 162
—their devices, 163.

Printers' blunders serviceable to literature, 71 et seq.
—laughable examples of, 72 et seq.
—tragic results of, 75
—examples of, in Men of the Time, 76.

Printing press, private, an appalling form of bibliomania, 293
—possession of, by Sir Alexander Boswell, 294.

Professional dealer, the, 107.

Prowler different from auction-haunter, 88 et seq.

Prynne and his Histrio-Mastix, 129 et seq.

Publishers and good literature, 262.


Quaker collector of paintings, a, anecdote of, 103.

Queen Cadyow and St Kentigern, 394.


Rambles in search of sculptured stones, 411 et seq.

Rarity, the comparative, of certain books, 170 et seq.
—Americans and the rarity of books, 173 et seq.
—rarity of works of early English printers, 218 et seq.
—rarity increased by increased number of copies, 282.

Ratcliffe, Dr, a physician, 69 note.

Reading of books by book-hunters and possessors of libraries, 109
—impossible in certain cases, 110
—ought to be desultory, ib. et seq.

"Reading with the fingers" a test of scholarship, 116.

Religion and politics in reference to the preservation of literature, 208.

Religious hypocrites, uncharitableness and intolerance of, 7
—their development into criminals, 8.

Reminiscences of a book-hunting life, 59 et seq.

"Remnants," or broken books, 254.

Rent-paying in Scotland, 140 note.

Resuscitated literature, peculiar value of, 324
—objected to in hagiology, 359.

Richard of Bury, Bishop of Durham, as a private collector, 199 et seq.
—as a benefactor of posterity, 200 et seq.
—originator of Durham College Library, the nucleus of Trinity of Oxford, 203
—on the treatment of manuscripts (quotation from the Philobiblion), 220 note.

Ritson, Joseph, opponent of John Pinkerton, 287 et seq.
—his peculiarities, 288 et seq.

Robespierre, draft of decree before, concerning the public libraries of Paris, 209.

Romans as introducers of Christianity into Great Britain, 360, 379
—as slighters of history, 360 et seq.

Rout upon Rout, by Felix Nixon, 57.

Roxburghe Club, 97, 265 et seq.
—its origin, 268
—its dinner and toasts, 269
—its members, 270
—its "revels," 275
—Hazlewood's connection with, ib. and note et seq.
—reprinting by, of ancient books, 278 et seq.
—its first serious efforts, 279
—Dibdin as its master, 280
—under the care of the scholarly Botfield, 281
—its proffer of membership to Sir Walter Scott, 283 et seq.

Roxburghe, Duke of, as a book-hunter, 90, 164
—origin of his bibliomania, 90 et seq.

Roxburghe Library, sale of, 89 et seq.
—scenes at the auction, 92 et seq.
—Earl Spencer present, 93 et seq.

Rubricists, book-hunters as, 63.

Rule, Gilbert, ghost-story concerning, 346 et seq.

"Runic Knot," the, 409.


Saints, the early Northern, 352 et seq.
—the making of, 353
—festival days of, 354 et seq.
—Bollandus and his successors on saints, 355 et seq.
—value in history of saint literature, 358 et seq.
—vestiges of the peculiar characteristics of early Northern saints, 371 et seq.
—their church architecture, 372
—saints of Irish origin innumerable, 375
—independent of Rome, 381
—mostly all obscure, ib. et seq.
—as prophesiers of death, 383
—personal habits of, 389
—fishing and marine anecdotes of, 395 et seq.

Scholars in relation to collectors, 115 et seq.

School-books, rarity of old, 215 et seq.

Schoolboy life, reminiscences of, conjured up by an advertisement, 157 et seq.

Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence, a curious book, 240.

Scots Acts, brevity of, 146.

Scott, Sir Walter, as a book-club man, 283
—his admission to the Roxburghe Club, ib. et seq.
—writing a song for the Bannatyne Club, 285
—his reprint of a trial for murder, 290 et seq.
—imposed on by Robert Surtees, 300 et seq.
—first idea of Waverley suggested to him by Surtees, 306.

Sculptured stones in Scotland, 405 et seq.
—description of one, 406
—their character, 407 et seq.
—Mr John Stuart's transcripts of, 410
—ramble in search of, 411 et seq.
—one of them at Lochcolissor, ib.
—others in various parts, 412 et seq.

Seneca commending literary moderation, 119 note.

Serf, St, and his robin, 392.

Shakespearian criticism a branch of knowledge, 69 et seq.
—valuable to literature, 71.

Sheepfolds, Ruskin on the construction of, 125.

Sloane, Sir Hans, originator of British Museum Library, 197.

Smart, Fitzpatrick, as a mighty book-hunter, 19
—his peculiar line known as the "Fitzpatrick Smart Walk," 20
—his fancy ill to please, 21
—his household gods, 22
—his dress, 23
—his wonderful genius, 25
—fate of his collection, ib.

Smithsonian Institution, origin of, 174.

Snuffy Davie, a prince of book-hunters, 166
—his capture of the Game of Chess, 222.

Societies, book and other, 247 et seq.
—the transactions of learned, an outlet for genius, 262 et seq.

Spalding Club, 312
—as an art-union, 404.

Spalding, John, value of his literary remains, 330 et seq.
—quotation from his "Memorials," 333 et seq.
—characteristics of his writings, 337.

Spencer, Earl, at the Roxburghe Library sale, 93 et seq.
—his skirmish for the Caxtons, 123.

Spottiswoode Society, purpose of the, 247.

State trials replete with romance, 148.

Stated-task reader, the, 113.

Statute-making, pleasantry in, 143.

Stuart, Mr John, and the sculptured stones in Scotland, 410.

Superstitions, a book on, replete with errors in language, 153 et seq.

Surtees Club, 312.

Surtees, Robert, the historian of Durham, as a book-club man, 298
—anecdotes of, ib. et seq.
—imposing on Sir Walter Scott, 300 et seq.
—his contributions to Scott's Minstrelsy, 304
—suggesting Waverley to Scott, 306.

Sydenham Club, 265.


Thomson, James, and his books, 29
—his uncle's criticism on "Winter," ib.

Thomson, Rev. William, character of, 67 et seq.
—his translation of Cunningham's Latin History of Britain, 68 note.

Title of an English Act, 145.

Title-page, a, no distinct intimation of contents of book, 124
—framing of exhaustive title-page, 126 et seq.
—specimen of lengthy title-page, 127
—advantages of such, 128.

Toy literature, 216 note.

Transactions of learned societies, 262.

Trinity Library, Oxford, origin of, 203.

Types of Guttenberg and Faust, beauty of, 218.

Types, MacEwen on the, its fate at an auction, 125.

Typographical blunders, 71 et seq.


United States well stocked with libraries, 176
—its citizens as book-hunters, 177.


"Vampire" as a book-hunter, 55
—his collection, 56 et seq.
—his policy at auctions, 57 et seq.

Vellum books, 63.

Verney, Sir Ralph, noting proceedings of the Long Parliament, 328 et seq.

Vision, a, of mighty book-hunters, 14 et seq.

Vulgate of Sixtus V., multitude of errors in,