The devices of the early printers are of importance to the bibliographer, since questions occur as to the early editions which can only be ascertained by discovering the printer s name. The invention of marks or vignettes is ascribed by Laire (Index Librorum Scec. XV., ii. 146) to Aldus; he traces them to a Greek Psalter of 1495. A device, however, consisting of two shields occurs in Fust and Schoffer s Bible of 14G2. They were not used by Ulric Zell, the first printer at Cologne, nor by the fathers of the Paris or Venetian presses. Monograms or ciphers were frequently employed, with initial letters of names or other devices curiously interwoven, and these furnish a trustworthy clue to identity. The monograms of the Early English printers are explained in Ames s Typogra phical Antiquities. Of the devices of different presses the best fac-similes are given in Dibdin s Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii. Orlaudi s Origine e Progressi delta Stampa, Bologna, 4to, 1722, is a work of indifferent merit. The Thesaurus Symbolorum ac Emblematum of Scholtz, published at Nuremberg in 1730, and Spoerlius s Inlro- ductio in Notitiam insignium Typographorum, of the same year, are the best and most interesting authorities on this subject.
The incunabula of the various early presses have been treated separately by different writers. Schwarz in 1740 and Wurdtwein in 1787 reviewed the productions of the Mentz press. Those of Nuremberg were noticed by Roder in 1742; and a catalogue of them, in the library of that town, was compiled by Saubert in 1643. In Italy, the Roman press is represented by Michael Canensio in 1740, and more particularly by Audiffredi in 1783, who after wards extended his researches to all early Italian produc tions. The books issued from Milan between 1465 and 1500 have been noticed by Saxius; the Parmese editions by Affo in 1791; those of the Spiras at Venice by Pelle grini in 1794; those of Friuli by Bartolini in 1798; and those of Ferrara by Antonelli in 1830. The early Paris press has been copiously treated by Chevillier, and that of Lyons by Pe"ricaud, 1840. For Spain there is Caballero in 1793; and the works printed in the Low Countries are reviewed at length in Meermann s Uitvindung den Bock- drukkonst, Amsterdam, 1767. Herbert, Ames, and Dibdin well-nigh exhaust the subject of early English bibliography. The different collections of incunabula in public or private libraries have been noticed in more or less detail. Seemiller in 1785 catalogued upwards of 1800 editions of the 15th century at Ingolstadt.. Those in the Magliabecchian library at Florence have been described by Fossi (or rather Follini) in 1793-95. The collection of Lomenie de Brienne is known through the labours of the elder De Bure and his continuator, Laire ; and the treasures of Count Boutourlin were _ catalogued by Audin de Rians. Lambeth library contains many specimens, which have been noticed by Maitland ; and the splendid collection of Earl Spencer at Althorp has met with a worthy exponent in Dibdin.[1]
For more general information on this subject the reader may con sult the following works -.Index Librorum ab inventa Typographies, ad annum 1500, cum notis, 2 vols. 1791. This work, by Laire, is one of the most useful of its kind, and it has the advantage of four indexes, which furnish a ready reference to its contents De Bure, in the seventh volume of his Bibliographic Instructive, has given a list of 15th century books, classed in the order of the dif ferent towns. M. La Serna Sautander s Dictionnaire Biblio- gmphique choisi du quinzieme siecle, 3 vols., 1805, is a very learned and exact work, and, like Laire s Index above mentioned, em braces only the rarest and most interesting publications of the loth century. See also the Lettres de I Abbe de St. L. (Mercier de St. Leger), au Baron de H. (Heis.s), Paris, 1785. Maittaire s Annalcs Typographies ab artis inrculcc origine is a mine of learning and re search. The first volume, published in 1719, embraces the period from the origin of printing to 1500, but his researches into printed literature extended in the third volume to 1557 ; and there is an appendix which affords a partial continuation to 1664. A supple ment to this elaborate work, by Denis, in 2 vols. 4to, appeared at Vienna in 1789, and contains 6311 articles omitted by Maittaire. Panzer s Annales Typographies was founded on the preceding work, and consisted of eleven volumes, which were published at Nuremberg between 1793 and 1803. It was intended to be limited to the 15th century, but, after the appearance of the fifth volume, the period was extended to the year 1536. German publications were reserved for a separate work, which bears the title of Annalen der dltercn deutschen Literatur. The Ilepcrtorium Bibliographicum of Lud. I Iain, 4 vols. 1826-38, contains an alphabetical list of no less than 16,299 books printed during the 15th century, which are described with rare minuteness and accuracy. The author s labours were terminated by death, when he had advanced as far as UG. The addition of bibliographical notices, pointing out first editions and books of remarkable rarity and price, would have much enhanced its interest and value. The Literatur d. crsten 100 Jahrenachd.Erfm- dung d. Typographic, by Chr. F. Harless, wasp ublishedat Leipsic in 1840. Its object differs from that of the preceding works, in making the notice of early editions subordinate to his purpose of illustrat ing thereby the transition and progress of contemporary learning.
III. Rare and Curious Books.
graphy belongs peculiarly to the book-collector and book seller, if regard be had especially to the inclinations of purchasers, the actual demand, and the marketable value of books. Rarity and price depend very much on each other ; rarity makes them dear, and dearness makes them rare. Hallam asserts that the price of books was reduced four-fifths by the inventing of printing. From a letter of Andreas, bishop of Aleria, to the pope, in his preface to the Epistles of Jerome, it would seem that 100 golden crowns was the maximum demanded for a valuable MS., and that the first printed books were sold for about 4 golden crowns a volume. At any rate, one natural effect of printing was to restrict the number of rare books to a separate class. Cailleau, who has been followed by most other writers on this subject, distinguishes between absolute and relative rarity. The former term is applied to those books or editions of which only a small number has been printed. Such for the most part are works printed for private circulation, as those of the Strawberry Hill Press, which are very scarce and enormously dear. This class of English books is treated in the Bibliographical Catalogue of Books, privately printed, by John Martin, 1834, repub- lished, with additions, in 1854, 8vo. Much of the value attached to editions of the 15th century arises from the limited number of impressions. They were seldom more than 300; John of Spira printed only 100 copies of his Pliny and Cicero ; and printers had the example of Sweyn- heiin and Pannartz, who were reduced to poverty by their surplus copies, to avoid exceeding the current demand. Suppressed works belong to the same category, in propor tion to the success of prohibition. Others owe their scarcity to accidental destruction ; as, for instance, the second volume of Hevelius s Machina Ccelestis, 1679, which would have shared the fate of the remainder of his works, on the burning of his house, had the author not previously given some copies to his friends. At the great fire of London in 1666 there were some works of Dugdale, among other writers, as well as the first volume of Prynne s Records of tlie Tower, of which only a few copies escaped ; but their value has been reduced by subsequent impressions. The same kind of rarity attaches to Editions de luxe, chiefly made for rich amateurs ; to large paper copies and tall copies, i.e., copies of a work published on paper of ordinary size and barely cut down by the binder ; and to books printed on coloured paper. A list of the last-named is given by
Duclos and Cailleau, and reprinted by Home in his- ↑ Bibliotheca Spenceriana. To this were afterwards added his JEdes AKhorpiance, with a supplement, 1822, and the volume on the Uassano Library, with a general index, 1823. The beauty of the tac-similes alone would entitle these works to the front rank of books on bibliography.
