Current Rare Book Notes HE Caxton Head, 66 Great Russell Street, London, has issued a catalog of twenty-four items consisting of the rarer works of Charles Lamb, notably the "surprise edition" of "Beauty and the Beast," two editions of which were issued about 1811. The one offered is the second issue, not to be confused with the second edition which was issued under a new title in 1825. The collection is offered as a whole, or if no applications are received before January 31, 1927, the items will be sold separately. THE first three books to bear the imprint of The John Day Company as publisher to the American Institute of Graphic Arts, now due to appear, are "Fifty Books of 1925," "Fifty Prints of 1925," and "Printing for Commerce"; the examples illustrated have all been displayed in exhibitions given by the Institute of Graphic Arts. The Institute is cooperating with New York University in a series of lectures on printing to be held during the second half year at the university. de SPURR & SWIFT of London have in preparation a very attractive re-issue of "The Letters of the Marchioness Sevigné" in ten volumes, founded on the rare Dublin edition of 1762, and for which they have been so fortunate as to secure the services of Madame Emile Duclaux, who will supply an introductory essay and a comprehensive Who's Who of the personages referred to in the letters. The work is being printed at the University Press in Edinburgh, and a prospectus will be mailed on request. THE AMERICAN COLLECTOR for January is an interesting number. Among the outstanding articles are "Early Book Auctions in Virginia" by Earl Gregg Swem; "Notes on the Origin of the American Flag" by Howard M. Chapin; "Charles Eliot Goodspeed" in the series of "Famous American Booksellers" by Booksellers" by George H. Sargent; and "Cut Hymn Books" by Frank J. Metcalf. The review of Woodward's "George Washington, the Image and the Man," by the editor, leads one to hope that he will find time to read and review Rupert Hughes's book on Washington, altho he seems to think that Professor Hart's recent address before the Harvard Club, in which he handled Hughes and Woodward as biographers without gloves, has made this unnecessary. THE Golden Cockerel Press has em barked on a new series of reprints of lesser known Elizabethan and Caroline plays under the general title of "The Berkshire Series," edited by Professor Allardyce Nicoll. Notwithstanding the attention given to this period in recent years, there are still excellent opportunities as the first announcement demonstrates. The first title is Edward Sharpham's "Cupid's Whirligig," 1607, which has not been reprinted since the seventeenth century. The succeeding volumes are Lodowick Carlell's "The Tragedy of Osmond the Great Turk," 1657; and "The Fool would be a Favorit: or The Discreet Lover," 1657. Neither of these two plays of Carlell's have been reprinted. The books are well-edited, well-printed and limited to 550 copies each. THE analysis of the English demand for modern first editions, for October and November, compiled from the desiderata of second-hand booksellers, printed in the last and final issue of The Bookman's Journal in its present format, shows an active and widespread interest among collectors in this field. The twenty names at the head of the list, with the number of separate titles advertised for, are as follows: R. L. Stevenson 89, Lewis Carroll 87, W. M. Thackeray 84, Charles Dickens 82, John Galsworthy 81, Rudyard Kipling 80, Walter de la Mare 78, Leonard Merrick 78, Sir Conan Doyle 78, G. Bernard Shaw 77, George Gissing 74, H. G. Wells 73, Samuel Butler 71, R. Cunninghame-Graham 68, W. H. Hudson 66, Sir H. Rider Haggard 64, George Moore 62, Thomas Hardy 60, and John Masefield 59. This monthly analysis, which has been a special feature of the Journal for several years, has been of great interest to dealers and collectors. THE HE man who keeps more literature clean than anyone else in the world, does not, as you might suppose, work in the censor's office, says the London Daily Graphic. He performs his unusual task in the British Museum, and his materials are soap and water. He dwells in the innumerable alcoves of the north library, and there he has been cleaning rare books for fourteen years, and his record, reached some ten years back, was, 11,640 volumes in a year. "There are plenty of newfangled methods, but I've never used any thing but soap and water," he remarked. “Vellum, leather, cloth, pigskin, it's all the same. Many of these books are five hundred years old, and they only get cleaned once in five years, some once in fifty years. Afterwards I rub them up with furniture polish when they are dry. Of all the 150,000 books I have cleaned, I can't remember one that's been spoilt." A CATALOG. printed especially for the discriminating collector of means comes from G. Michelmore & Co., of London. It bears the title "Fifty Important Books, Manuscripts and Holograph Letters," and is a small quarto, well-printed, illustrated with facsimiles, and contains 81 pages of text, beside the many full page illustrations, and is bound in blue wrappers. Among the outstanding lots is the original manuscript of Balzac's "Les Fantaisies de Gina," complete in 29 pages, signed, and priced at £2,000. This manuscript was unpublished until 1923, and it and that of "Eugénie Grandet" are the only manuscripts of the great French novelist outside of the Museum of Chantilly. Another item of great interest is Franklin's own copy of Cicero's "Cato Major," the chef-d'oeuvre of his press, in the original blue wrappers. There is also a copy of La Fontaine's "Fables," 4 vols., folio, Paris, 1755-59, the unrivalled Daguin copy in absolutely pristine condition. Another £2,000 manuscript is Zola's "Le Doctor Pascal," 231 pages, quarto, the sole manuscript of this author that can occur for sale. This is a catalog of nuggets, every item being rare and valuable. The catalog will be preserved by every real booklover who has the opportunity, for typographically and bibliographically, it is an excellent piece of work. NE of the outstanding autograph sales ONE of a season remarkable for important sales of this class of literary property will be held at the Anderson Galleries January 25 and 26, when the Goodyear collection will be dispersed. This collection has been divided into two parts, American and English. The American section has many valuable letters of Signers, thirteen bearing the date of 1776. date of 1776. There are several important Lincoln letters and documents, and many others of distinguished soldiers and statesmen. The English portion of the collection includes the Thackeray-Brookfield correspondence and the Thackeray-Perry-Elliot correspondence which Goodyear bought in the Major Lambert sale. There are twenty-one letters written by General Grant to his father and his sister, covering the period of 1859 to 1872, from the time when he was a farmer near St. Louis to the time when he was president of the United States. In a letter to his father, written from Nashville, Tenn., February 20, 1864, he said: "I am not a candidate for any office. All that I want is to be left alone to fight this war out, fight all rebel opposition, and restore a happy Union in the shortest possible time. You know, or ought to know, that the publick prints are not the proper mediums through which to let a personal feeling pass. I know that I feel that nothing personal to myself could ever induce me to accept a political office." Auction Calendar Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, February 1st and 2nd, at 8:15. The American and English autograph collection of A. C. Goodyear of Buffalo, N. Y. (No. 2130; Items 355.) The Anderson Galleries, 489 Park Ave., New York City. Catalogs Received Americana, rare and unusual, books, pamphlets, broadsides, maps. (No. 10; Items 419.) Albert A. Bieber, The Collectors' Book Shop, 86 Broad St., Manasquan, N. J. Early medical books. (No. 10; Items 344.) R. Lier & Co., Lungarno Torrigiani 19, Firenze, 31, Italy. Interesting printing, with a short appendix of recently acquired typographical books. (No. 933; Items 198.) James Tregaskis & Son, 66, Great Russell St.. London, W. C. 1, England. Lincolniana. (No. 1; Items 126.) The Boston Bookman, 104 Robinhood Ave., Boston, Mass. Rare and choice Elizabethan and Restoration literature. (No. 15; Items 437.) Harry F. Marks, 31 West 47th St., New York City. The Weekly Book Exchange How to use "Books Wanted" and "For Sale" To subscribers, 15c. a line. No charge for address. separate line except grouped titles by one author. Objectionable books excluded when noted. In answering state edition, condition and price including transportation. Credit responsibility of advertisers is not guaranteed but space in the columns will be denied to dealers who misuse it. Old Book Notes There are four very interesting items in Harry F. Marks' (New York) catalog no. 15: The History of Don Quichote. n. d. (1612). Edward Blount, 1620. $750.00. First edition of Shelton's translation. John Heywoodes Woorkes. $560.00. The Hagen-McKee-Clawson copy, with each of their bookplates. Interlude: A New Enterlude No Lesse Wittie: Then pleasant entituled new Custome, deuised of late, and for diuerse causes nowe set forthe, neuer before this tyme. Imprinted at London in Fleetestreete by William How for Abraham Veale. (1573) $3300.00. The Mostyn copy, with the J. L. Clawson bookplate. Ben Jonson. B. Jon: His Part of King James his Royall and Magnificent Entertainment through his Honorable Citie of London, Thursday the 15 of March 1604. 2 volumes. 1604. $1000.00. The Hazlitt-Huth copy, with the latter's bookplate, also bookplate of J. L. Clawson. AMER. S.-S. UNION, 1816 CHESTNUT ST., PHILA, W. H. ANDRE, 604 KITTREDGE BLDG., Denver Old Godeys, Petersons, Grahams and other magazines with colored plates. D. APPLETON & Co., 35 W. 32ND ST., N. Y. Hugh Findlay. House Plants: Their Care and Culture. APPROVED BK. STORE, 1721 SPRING GARDEN ST., PHILA. Smith. Bible Dictionary. 4-vol. set. Plain Papers on the Holy Spirit. C. I. Scofield, Tried as By Fire. F. B. Meyer. APPROVED BK. STORE-Continued How Old Is Man? John Urquhart. ARGOSY BK. STORE, 45 FOURTH AVE., N. Y. Books by Prof. Hoeffding. ARGUS BK. SHOP, 434 S. WABASH AVE., CHICAGO Emerson. Essays. 1st series. 1st ed. Money Trust Investigation. Government Pub. ARNOLD ART STORE, 12 B'WAY, NEWPORT, R. I. Alan Dale. A Marriage Below Zero. AVONDALE PRESS, 1841 BROADWAY, NEW YORK People We Meet; Some People We Meet; Young Ladies of Today; Young Gentlemen of Today. All by Charles F. Rideal. A Century of Success. Freeman Morris. History of Lancashire. Lawrence Butterworth. Dickens, Charles. Any and all items of any kind, including autographs, illus., drawings, clippings, photographs, and Dickensiana generally. No sets. Battle Abbey items of any kind. Particulars by mail only. J. BAER & Co., FRANKFURT A.M., HOCHSTRASSE 6 American histor. Review. Vol. 24. Part 1. Philosophical Review. Vol. 30, 1; 31, 2; 33, 2; 33, 6; 34, 5; whole nos. 175, 182, 194, 198, 203. 1921-25. Adams, L. 1921. C. P. BENSINGER CABLE CODE BOOK Co., 15 WHITEHALL ST., NEW YORK Western Union, Lieber 5-Letter Codes. Schofield, General Telegraph, A. B. C. 5th. Any American-Foreign Language Code. Peterson Banking; Samper's Code. W. BEYER, 259 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK McGowan. Theatre of To-morrow. Studies in Human Form. Schuhfeld. Journal of Religion. Vols. 1, 1. 2 or vol. 1 compl. S. O. BEZANSON, 1 COURT ST., BOSTON Borrow. Bible in Spain. 1st ed. Ford. Traveler in Spain. 1st ed. Kinglake. Eothen. 1st ed. THE BOOK MART, 5602 HOLLYWOOD BLVD., Suduman. The Indian Lilly. Hist. California. Garrison. Oral Surgery. BOOK SHOP, 44 N. 3RD ST., HARRISBURG, PA. Modern Asphalt Pavement. Richardson. BOOKSHOP, MERIDIAN ST., NEW LONDON, CONN. Burgess. Lively City O'Liggs. Stokes. BOOK SHOP, DAVENPORT HOTEL, SPOKANE, WN. Franz Liszt. Frederic Chopin. Miss Howard Weeden. Bandanna Ballads. |