Book Plates Part 9

There is something almost pathetic in the exclamation which Mr. John Marks makes his volumes utter: 'Gentle reader, take me home; I belong to John Marks, 20 Cook Street, Cork'; and then the evil-minded borrower is reminded of the scriptural condemnation of his kind by reference to 'Psalm x.x.xvii. ver. 21.' Before this comes--

'ADVICE FOR THE MILLION

Neither a borrower or a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

True for you, Mr. Shakespeare!

MORAL

Of all books and chattels that ever I lent, I never got back five-and-twenty per cent.

Fac, my Bredern!'

We may presume from this that Mr. John Marks tried to be funny, and from his composition getting into print he may flatter himself that he succeeded.

One more example of these warnings to borrowers and we have done with the subject. Lord De Tabley fixes the date of it as 1820, but surely it must be the composition of some eleventh century reprobate, who on his death-bed richly endowed a neighbouring monastery, and threatened any one who should ever disturb his endowment. The words appear on the book-plate of O. M[oore], and they read in translation: 'If any one steals this book, and with furtive hand carries it off, let him go to the foul waves of Acheron, never to return.'

Now, let us look at some of the eulogies of books or of study which are found on book-plates. These do not appear until a much later date. The text on Pirckheimer's book-plate, '_The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom_,' can hardly be called one in praise of study, though it is a wholesome truth that should be borne in mind by every student. Indeed, we have to pa.s.s over more than two centuries after the invention of book-plates before one which, in the inscription upon it, yields an example of the kind now under consideration. This appears at last in 1697, in a sentiment expressed by an Austrian lawyer, John Seyringer by name. Here it is:

'He that would learn without the aid of books Draws water in a sieve from running brooks.'

We have again to pa.s.s over many years for our next example. Peter de Maridat, who was, he tells us, a senator in the Great Council of Louis XIV. of France, used for a book-plate, which may therefore be dated before 1715, the figure of a negro, who stands with one hand resting on a shield of arms, and holds in the other a pair of scales. The arms on the shield are azure, a cross argent, and below is written:

'Inde cruce hinc trutina armatus regique deoque Milito, Disco meis haec duo nempe libris,'

which may be construed: 'Armed on one side with the cross [the cross on the shield], and on the other with the pair of scales, I fight for my king and for my G.o.d. These two things I indeed learn from my books,'

_libris_; but _libris_ may also be translated 'balances,' and herein is the pun!

Taking them chronologically, our next examples are on English book-plates; one is dated 1730, and the other evidently belongs to the same period. On the first, the Rev. John Lloyd writes: 'Animus si aequus, quod petis hic est'; and on the other, Thomas Robinson, a Fellow of Merton, quotes from Cicero: 'Delectant domi non impediunt foris.'

Perhaps 'Herbert Jacob, Esq. of St. Stephen's, in Kent,' had a generally troublesome wife, who did not penetrate the sacred region of his library; however it may have been, he placed on his book-plate, _circa_ 1740: 'Otium c.u.m libris,' a sentiment expressed in a great variety of ways on later book-plates.

Some ten years later than the last example is the book-plate of a German cleric, Gottfried Balthazar Scharff, Archdeacon of Schweidnitz, a town in Prussian Silesia, on which his books are praised in some not ungraceful verses; in these the owner asks divine help in understanding aright the teaching of his volumes.

On the Flemish book-plate of Lewis Bosch (spoken of elsewhere in this volume, p. 218), we read beneath the representation of the prelate's library, in which he is shown hard at work among his books: 'A hunt in such a forest never wearies.' The allusion to a forest of books recalls the motto on the much later English book-plate of Mary Berry. On this is depicted a wild strawberry plant, its fruit half hidden by leaves, and below is written, 'Inter folia fructus.' Probably Miss Berry, besides alluding to the fruit of knowledge which she found amongst the leaves of her books, intended a mild play upon the strawberry and her own family name.

Besides these, a host of further mottoes in praise of books or about books are to be met with. Some recommend the collection of as large a library as possible; others point out that the mind is distracted by a mult.i.tude of books; some advocate the careful handling of a volume, even at the expense of not getting so well acquainted with its contents; whilst others tell us that well-thumbed books are monuments of the owner's industry and constant study. Nor are the consoling powers of books forgotten. On a very pretty rustic vignette, executed by Bonner after Bewick, 'W. B. Chorley of Liverpool' has the words: 'My books, the silent friends of joy and woe.'

CHAPTER X

PERSONAL PARTICULARS ON BOOK-PLATES

HOW much more communicative, in the matter of personal particulars, are some people, upon their book-plate, than others! What a contrast, for instance, between the inscription on Walpole's book-plate--'Mr. Horatio Walpole'--and that on one of Pepys's, on which he styles himself 'Esquire,' and states that he is of Brampton in Huntingtonshire, 'Secretary of the Admiralty of his Mat^{y} King Charles the Second,' and 'Descended of y^{e} ancient family of Pepys of Cottenham in Cambridgeshire.'

Of course Sam Pepys was a vain man--that we all know; but the difference between the two inscriptions has more to do with the fashion of the time than with the characteristics of the two men. In enlarging on his pedigree, social position, and secretaryship to the Admiralty, Pepys was only following the custom of his day. There are many examples of similar inscriptions on book-plates contemporary with Pepys's:--'Charles Pitfeild of Hoxton, in the Parish of St. Leonards, Sh.o.r.editch, in Middles.e.x, Esq^{r.,} descended of the ancient family of the Pitfeilds of Symsbury in Dorsetshire, and is now married to Winifred, one of the daughters and Coeheyrs of John Adderley, of Coton in Stafordshire, Esq^{r.}' And again:--'S^{r}. Henry Hunloke of Wingerworth, in Derbyshire, Bart. In y^{e} escocheon of pretence is y^{e} Armes of Katherine his Lady, who was sole daughter and heyre of Francis Tyrwhit of Kettleby, in Lincolnshire, Esq^{e}, y^{e} last of y^{e} Eldest branch of y^{t} great and ancient family.' Equally proud of his ancestry is 'Thomas Windham of Sale in Devonshire, Esq^{r.,} one of the Grooms of his Majesties Bed-chamber, third son of S^{r} Edmund Windham of Cathanger in Somersetshire, Kt., Marshall of his Majesties most Hon^{ble} household,' who concludes the inscription on his book-plate by telling us that he was 'lineally descended from the antient family of the Windhams of Crown-Thorpe, in the County of Norfolk.'

But this habit of expressing pride in ancestry, though it became less frequent, certainly survived Pepys's time. Mr. J. Paul Rylands, F.S.A., has a copy of the _Eikon Basilike_, printed in 1649, on the t.i.tle-page of which is written, 'Dan. Mercator.' Within the book is an armorial book-plate engraved in the Jacobean style, and, since it belonged to a man born in 1640, one of the early examples of that style. The owner was the eminent mathematician, Nicholas Mercator, who was born at Holstein, and afterwards settled in England, where his mathematical ability was recognised by his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Nicholas was proud of his ancestors' efforts in the cause of Protestantism, and also wished his English friends to be aware of them; he therefore inscribes his book-plate, 'Nicholas Mercator, a Descendant of the Kauffmans of Prague, in Bohemia, Coadjutors with Luther in the Reformation.'

On the Continent, lengthy eulogies of ancestors are common, and they commence at an early date. Here is one, which is also a sigh for the purity of n.o.bility in ages past. It is uttered, in 1565, by John Giles Knoringen, who writes, below his shield of arms, given in colour:--

'These are the famed insignia of my sires, Which in their proper colour you may see; Not bribes, as is the fashion in these days, But virtue, raised them to n.o.bility.'

It is, however, most frequently in an enumeration of his offices or degrees that the owner of a book-plate allows himself to get wordy. Let us take, for instance, the already mentioned book-plate of Sir Edward Dering (see pp. 31, 32), which bears date 1630, and displays a shield of twenty coats of arms; it has a proportionately impressive description of Sir Edward's many offices--Lieutenant of Dover Castle, Vice-Chancellor, and Vice-Admiral of the Cinque Ports, etc. Sir Robert Southwell, Knight, tells us that he is 'one of the Clerkes attending His Majesty King Charles the Second in his most Honourable Privy Councell, etc.'

William Wharton, who was killed in a duel, in 1689, calls himself 'fourth son to the Right Honourable Philip Lord Wharton of Wharton, in Westmoreland, by Ann, Daughter to William Carr, of Fernihast, in Scotland, Esq^{r.,} one of the Groome (_sic_) of the Bedchamber to King James'; whilst Randolph Egerton, in the inscription on his book-plate, recalls the time when the unhappy Duke of Monmouth was yet a trusted officer in the royal army: 'Randolph Egerton of Betley, in Staford Shire, Esquire, Lieutenant of his Majestyes own Troop of Guard, under the comand of his Grace James Duke of Monmouth, etc.'

The book-plates of Thomas, Earl of Wentworth, contain a curiously lengthy enumeration of the offices enjoyed by that distinguished soldier and diplomatist, who, at a critical time, steered his country through a great many difficulties. The first is dated in 1698, and on it the owner describes himself as 'The Right Honourable Thomas Wentworth, Baron of Raby, and Colonell of his Maiesties owne Royall Reg^{mt} of Dragoons, 1698.' In 1703 Wentworth was sent as envoy to Berlin, and two years later was advanced to the post of amba.s.sador. On this appointment he had a second book-plate engraved, bearing the following inscription:--'His Excellency The R^{t} Hon^{ble} Tho. Wentworth, Lord Raby, Peer of England, Coll^{o} of her Ma^{tys} Royal Reg^{t} of Dragoons, Lieu^{t} General of all her Ma^{tys} Forces & her Ma^{tys} Emba.s.sador Extra^{ry} to y^{e} King of Prussia, 1705;'--size 4 3. On the face of it, this is foreign work, and the expression 'Peer of England' could hardly have been put on it by an English engraver.

Wentworth's later diplomatic post has been made famous by Swift's allusion to it, in reference to his being a.s.sociated with Mat Prior.

'Wentworth,' says the Dean, 'is as proud as h.e.l.l, and how he will bear one of Prior's mean birth on an equal character with him I know not.'

Proud as h.e.l.l, was he? Well, he certainly was proud of his advance in t.i.tle and his many high offices, all of which he sets out in his third and last book-plate, also, I think, foreign work, dated in 1712. Here is the inscription: 'His Excellency the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Strafford, Viscount Wentworth of Wentworth Woodhouse, and of Stainborough, Baron of Raby, Newmarch, and Oversley, Her Majesty's Amba.s.sador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the States General of y^{e} United Provinces, and also at the Congress of Utrecht; Colonel of Her Majesty's own Royal Regiment of Dragoons, Lieutenant-General of all Her Forces; First Lord of the Admiraltry (_sic_) of Great Britain and Ireland; one of the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council; and Knight of the Most n.o.ble Order of y^{e} Garter.' On the accession of George I., an attempt was made to impeach this busy Lord, but it failed, and he retired into private life for the rest of his days. His memoirs, published a few years back by Mr. Cartwright, F.S.A., give an excellent picture of life at the time he lived.

Some book-plate owners, not boastful of their t.i.tles, let us into their confidences as to their place of birth, age, and the like. The German book-plate, dated in 1618, of John Vennitzer, a knife-smith or cutler by trade, tells us that he was born at Nuremberg, at 22 minutes past 5 in the afternoon on the 14th day of May, 1565. Vennitzer made money by his trade, and founded the Library of St. Lawrence in his native city; perhaps the date on the book-plate is that of the foundation of the library. No doubt, as Lord De Tabley remarks, the cutler conscientiously believed that the condition of his whole life depended on the particular moment at which he entered the world; for he was probably well versed in the mysteries of horoscopy.

'John Collet' makes us really quite familiar with all his relations, and with his own religious feelings. His book-plate--it is only a printed label--reads: 'Johannes Collet filius Thomae Collet. Pater Thomae, Gulielmi, ac Johannis, omnium superstes. Natus quarto junii, 1633.

Denasciturus quando Deo visum fuerit; interim hujus proprietarius John (_sic_) Collet.'

Even more obliging is 'Thomas Tertius Okey, medicinae Professor, 1697.'

He was, he tells us, 'great grandson to William Okey (usually cal'd Okely) of Church Norton, betwixt Gloucester and Tewxsbury, gentelman; grandson to Thomas Primus Okey of Church Norton, the Devizes and Taunton, Professor of Theology; eldest son to Thomas Secundus Okey, of the Devizes and London, Professor of Physick, and father to Thomas Quartus Okey, of London, gentelman. The above mentioned Thomas Tertius Okey, Professor of Physick, now liveth in London near the Bodys of his deceased relations.' Before such details as these, even John Collet seems reticent.

Sir Philip Sydenham--whose peculiarities in the matter of book-plates are elsewhere commented upon--in one of his first examples, dated in 1699, tells us his age: 'Sir Philip Sydenham, Bart., of Brympton in Somerset, and M.A. of the University of Cambridge, aeta. Suae 23.' Richard Towneley in 1702 does the same. The inscription on his book-plate reads, as we see by the frontispiece:

'Ex libris Bibliothecae Domesticae Richardi Towneley de Towneley In Agro Lancastrensi Armigeri Anno {aetatis: 73 {Domini: 1702.'

One cannot help wondering why Mr. Towneley--the owner, and in a great part the collector, of the vast library with which the family name is connected--should have waited till he was seventy-three years of age to have a book-plate engraved. Some of the volumes in that library had a curious stamp in silver of the Towneley arms, with the date 1603 on their bindings, but there does not seem to have been an earlier book-plate. Richard Towneley died at York in 1707. Besides being an astronomer and a mathematician, he was a keen antiquary; and Th.o.r.esby, the historian of Leeds, tells us of the pride with which he showed him a wondrous and just completed pedigree of the Towneley family, on the occasion of their meeting during the year in which the book-plate was engraved.

'John Fenwick of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Attorney at Law,' leaves us in ignorance as to his age at the time his book-plate was engraved, because he does not date it; but he states that he was 'born at Hexham, 14th April 1787,' and 'married at Alnwick, 9th June 1814.'

One lady--and only one--lets us into what, with those of her s.e.x, is usually a secret. Isabel de Menezes inscribes her book-plate by Bartolozzi (see p. 94), 'aetatis 71 anno 1798.'

I have given, in this chapter, no foreign examples of book-plates on which minute personal particulars appear; but some of the examples of which I have spoken elsewhere--notably the Flemish book-plate of Count vander Noot--will show that they exist.

CHAPTER XI

LADIES' BOOK-PLATES

THERE seem to be really several good and logical reasons why we should separate, for consideration by themselves, the book-plates which have been used by ladies. To mention two: there are certain differences (such as the shape of the shield in which the arms are borne) which, by the rigid laws of heraldry, ought to appear on these book-plates when belonging to a maid or widow; moreover, ladies' book-plates, though sometimes mere printed labels, are generally more fanciful in design than the majority of those owned by the sterner s.e.x.

The whole subject of ladies' book-plates has been so exhaustively treated by Miss Norna Labouchere that it need not take up much s.p.a.ce in the present chapter. When, however, in this work, Miss Labouchere asks where are book-plates of the English feminine bibliophiles of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries--Dame Juliana Berners, Margaret Roper, Lady Jane Grey, Mary Stuart, and the ladies of Little Gidding--the answer, I am afraid, is: they had none. Had they possessed them, they would, in this book-plate-spying age, have been discovered.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LADY BATH'S BOOK-PLATE.]

But, be it said to the credit of the ladies, some of the earliest dated English book-plates belonged to them. It is true these are merely name-tickets, such as that of Elizabeth Pindar, 1608, in the Bagford Collection, kindly pointed out to me by Mr. W. Y. Fletcher; but the fact of their existence deserves notice, because it shows the readiness of the fair s.e.x to lay hold of a new fashion; and having a book-plate in the early years of the seventeenth century was a new fashion, at least in England.