Chats on Household Curios Part 12

The library is usually where the master of the house conducts his business correspondence and, if a student, spends much of his time among his favourite books, or, perchance, engages in literary work. In days gone by, when there were fewer opportunities of visiting public libraries, and when circulating libraries were few and far between, the man of letters acc.u.mulated around him standard works and ancient tomes, possibly seldom read. When such a library, perhaps scarcely examined for a century or more, comes to be dispersed, it often happens that curiosities are brought to light.

The furniture of the library is full of interest, for a quaint writing table, bureau, or desk full of oddments is an exceedingly prolific field of research. In the following paragraphs a few of these curiosities are referred to; there are others, however, that the collector will discover, possibly one of the scarcer curios of the library, some of which realize unexpectedly high prices when they are brought under the hammer.

From Cover to Cover.

The books which const.i.tute the library are often curious, and there is much that receives its monetary value on account of its antiquity and rarity. An old library will frequently include black-letter printing and old volumes ill.u.s.trated with wood blocks, and, perchance, illuminated initial letters. Some of the volumes may be printed on vellum, and there may be some in ma.n.u.script. The bindings of presentation books may be of rich calf and tooled in gold; some may even have edge paintings and choice hand-painted illuminations. The subject-matter of the volumes often gives rise to specialistic collections. Some will find amus.e.m.e.nt in tracing the progress of a great industry through published information, like those curious old time tables in the early days of railways, and the pamphlets which are cla.s.sed by the collector as "Railroadia," and from them learn the story of the "iron horse." There are others who collect books and prints relating to ballooning, the microscope, and many of the earlier sciences. There are topographical curiosities and historical marvels. Some books will be valued because of their ill.u.s.trations, for the work of a master hand may be recognized by the expert searcher after valuables. The rare mezzotints, stipples, and delicate line engravings, to say nothing of the more valuable colour prints, often realize far more than the books themselves. Ancient art is more valued than the literary efforts of past masters of wielding the pen!

It is thus that the books are often thrown away after the pictures or even superadded ill.u.s.trations or mere name-plates have been removed. The collector of bookplates searches for his treasures. Some talk of the vandalism of the collector of ex-libris, but they must remember that it is quite easy to remove a bookplate without injuring the volume, and there are many worthless books. The name labels or bookplates found in English libraries range from the early dated plates of the close of the seventeenth century to the present day. The different styles of ornament in vogue in the respective periods of their engraving were with few exceptions adhered to by the printers of such plates. Thus the collector cla.s.sifies his alb.u.ms and rejoices in the variations and details of the engraver's fancy, while he separates them into such well-defined groups as early armorial, Jacobean, Chippendale, ribbon and wreath, urn, pictorial, armorial, and simple shield. To other than the enthusiastic collector, bookplates may possess merit in that they have belonged to famous men, and are souvenirs taken from the volumes which were once handled by distinguished statesmen, divines, and men of letters.

Old Sc.r.a.p Books.

The making of sc.r.a.p books or the filling of portfolios was not always an amus.e.m.e.nt for children, neither did older folk make those quaint sc.r.a.p books with such a.s.sortments of literary and pictorial odds and ends solely for the amus.e.m.e.nt of their visitors. Many enthusiastic collectors stored their treasures in such books, the binding of which was often very costly and quite gorgeously ornamented. Some pointed with pride to collections of prints, others to alb.u.ms of frontispieces, printers'

marks, and tailpieces, some of which were beautiful little pictures.

In modern times collectors rescue from the flames old tickets, pictorial benefit tickets, theatre pa.s.ses, and quaint pictures which tell us of great events which happened in days gone by at Ranelagh, Vauxhall, and other places.

Ranelagh, where the entertainments of which relics in the shape of beautifully engraved tickets are to be found, was at Chelsea, and the gardens visited by Walpole, Johnson, and Goldsmith were famous for their promenades and for the music and singing which might be enjoyed, among the evening pleasures being displays of fireworks and masked dances. In the summer tea and coffee were sipped under the trees, and there were water carnivals on the river. There were also masquerade b.a.l.l.s and dances, for which tickets engraved by Bartolozzi and other famous artists were issued. It is these tickets which are preserved and collected now.

The autograph hunter extends his hobby by adding old parchments and deeds with seals, for among the odd bundles of parchments in old libraries are many doc.u.ments attested with thumb-marks and seals--"His mark," of days when many of the landed proprietors could not write their own names.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 78.--ANCIENT CLOG ALMANAC.]

The joys of St. Valentine's Day, remembered by older people still, are unknown to the present generation, but collectors perpetuate February 14th as it was kept in the past by filling alb.u.ms with such old valentines as they may be able to secure.

Watch Papers.

Another comparatively small collection can be made up of pictorial watch papers, those rare little pictorial views which once reposed in the interior of the cases of old watches. Watches are by no means common curios of the household, but now and then an old silver verge or a decorated watch case thought little of is found to contain one of those pretty pictures which were chiefly engraved and printed in the eighteenth century. Many of the designs were printed on satin; some were devices in needlework; again others were cut out in the most lace-like designs. Theatrical celebrities were often pictured; thus the theatrical amateur would buy his watch paper representing the celebrated Miss Gunning, or possibly Mr. Garrick. The pictures were really gems, too, for great artists such as Angelica Kaufmann, Cipriani, and Bartolozzi did not disdain to engrave watch papers.

Old Almanacs.

Some of the best finds when libraries have been overhauled have been the curious old almanacs published when superst.i.tion was rife. The oldest, perhaps, were the clog almanacs, although some were common in Staffordshire until about 1820. The accompanying ill.u.s.tration (see Fig.

78) was engraved in an old book referring to that county published more than a century ago. In Camden's _Britannia_ some information is given in reference to these early clog almanacs, in which it is said holidays were distinguished by hieroglyphics; in some the Ma.s.sacre of the Innocents was denoted by a drawn sword; SS. Simon and Jude's Day by a ship, because they were fishers; and St. George's Day by a horse. In the Norway clog almanacs St. Martin's Day is marked with a goose, the custom of eating a goose now being transferred to Michaelmas. In the ill.u.s.tration given in Fig. 78 the first section embraces January, February, and March; the second, April, May, and June; the third, July, August, and September; and the fourth, October, November, and December.

Conspicuously inscribed on the clog will be noticed the ring for New Year's Day; the star denoting the Epiphany; the axe for St. Paul; February 14th is indicated by a lover's knot; a spear denotes St.

George's Day in April; and May Day by a tree branch. The keys of St.

Peter are noticed as indicating the 29th of June; the scales of St.

Michael are seen at the end of September. St. Catherine's wheel figures in the middle of November, immediately under it being the somewhat large cross of St. Andrew. Other symbols will doubtless be recognized on this interesting relic.

The study of the almanac is not now one of the chief diversions of the fair s.e.x. At one time, however, when ladies had fewer amus.e.m.e.nts than they have now, they spent much time poring over almanacs, and placed implicit trust in what they found recorded there, especially in the forecasts and prognostications for the future of those born on certain days and under so-called lucky or unlucky stars. One of the most popular calendars of olden time was "The Ladies' Diary or the Woman's Almanac,"

containing many delightful and entertaining particulars for the fair s.e.x. Let us take, for example, a copy of that popular almanac for the year of grace 1749. On the cover there is a picture of the Queen.

Alluding to the peace then prevailing are the lines:--

"Perch'd o'er this Realm, the ancient seat of Kings, Now dove-like peace the sprig of laurel brings; And British fair ones happy days shall see, While George shall reign, and Britons still are free."

Another George is on the throne, and his consort Queen Mary is an ideal woman, and what to many is of the highest importance, Peace reigns in this country and Britons are still free!

Among the contents of that curious almanac are Latin and French enigmas, mathematical questions and paradoxes. The concluding paragraph for the dedication of that day is ent.i.tled "Truth's Moral Euclid"; the proposition given being:--

"Virtue promotes happiness, private and public.

Vice is destructive of happiness, private and public.

Honour is the reward of virtue."

One of the finest collections of old almanacs is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford--chiefly seventeenth-century productions. A still older almanac was the "Poor Robin" of 1664; another seventeenth-century almanac being the "Vox Stellarum" of Francis Moore, a quack doctor. In 1733 Benjamin Franklin published in Philadelphia his "Poor Richard's Almanac," noted for its verses, jests, and sayings. The monopoly once possessed by the Stationers' Company has long been broken down, and of later almanacs and calendars there is no end. Among the miniature books, the collection of which is much favoured now, are some very tiny almanacs, like the beautiful specimens of such a calendar given in Fig.

80, produced actual size, shown open and closed. This miniature almanac is printed on satin and is full of pleasing little pictures. It is the work of a French artist early in the nineteenth century, the pictures and their descriptions and the monthly calendars occupying alternate pages. The binding is of mother-o'-pearl, bound in ormolu and richly gilt and engraved. Some similar calendars in tiny leather bindings, beautifully tooled and ornamented in gold, are also collectable.

The Writing Table.

The writing table usually occupies an honoured place in the library. It may be a ma.s.sive table of oak or a simple writing desk venerated on account of the great literary works which have been written upon it. It is no uncommon thing to read of large sums paid for a writing desk on which the ma.n.u.script of a famous book has been penned, and some of the writing tables upon which deeds of historical fame have been signed have gained a reputation and a money value out of all proportion to their curio or antiquarian merits. Not long ago the late King Edward presented to the Commonwealth of Australia the table on which the great Charter was signed, together with the inkstand and pen used on that occasion.

Those will be relics for future generations to value.

The table appointments are among the collectable curios of the library, and prominent among these is the inkstand. Inkstands find their prototypes in the inkhorns of the scribe; and throughout the generations which have provided curios for twentieth-century collectors there have been fresh supplies in silver, pewter, Sheffield plate, copper, bronze, iron, wood, china, and bra.s.s. Very beautiful indeed are some of the old inkstands in their separate vase-like attachments. The ink-well was formerly accompanied by a sand box or a pounce caster, in modern days superseded by a second ink-well. The sand casters for sprinkling pounce or sand upon newly written pages were a necessity before the days of blotting paper. Perhaps some day blotters, blotting pads, and the like, may become collectable curios!

Collectors of old china are familiar with the rare boxes, egg-cup-like in form, made by Richard Chaffers, of Liverpool, the blue and white decoration, the name of the potter in the narrowed portion of the box being characteristic of what was for a long time known as "d.i.c.k's Pepperbox." It was, however, intended for a pounce box, the pounce or pumice being a fine powder of the cuttle-fish bone, afterwards giving the name to the pounce paper or transparent tracing material. Of the inkstands to be seen in our museums there are many dating from almost prehistoric times; their variety may be instanced by mention of one in the Berlin Museum, an Egyptian curio said to be 3,400 years old, below the ink compartments being a case for holding reed pens.

In early days before even well-to-do people could read and write the scribe found a ready occupation. The materials he used were carried about in a writing case of metal, and among such curios are writing cases which were used in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They were often the work of the craftsmen of Mesopotamia, who were clever artists in metal, and the work they performed came to Europe through Syria. The example shown in Fig. 81 is the work of Mahmud, the son of Sonkor, of Baghdad, and is dated 1281. This beautiful specimen may be seen in the British Museum.

The implements the scribe used changed as time went on, for parchment was used quite early in the East. Writing was introduced into Spain by the Moors in the tenth century, although writing paper was not made in England until the fifteenth century.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 79.--OLD COIN TESTER.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 80.--MINIATURE SOUVENIR ALMANAC.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 81.--ANCIENT WRITING SET.]

The evolution of the pen has been slow, for the use of quills continues still in some Government offices, and quills are still supplied to readers in the British Museum Reading Room. The old-fashioned quill pens were in days gone by shaped with a small knife made specially for that purpose. Indeed, it is to the quill pen that we are indebted for our "pen" knives, which have long been put to other uses. It was not every one who was expert in cutting a pen neatly and making it write well. Consequently an instrument was made for that purpose, known as the quill-pen cutter. These cutters are now and then met with in old desks, where they have lain unused for many years.

Quill-pen making was an important industry until the invention of the steel pen, and the quality of the quill was a matter of importance to the scribe. In a trader's circular dated 1820 there is notice of the Royal Appointment of a Liverpool maker, who was authorized to exercise and enjoy all the rights, profits, privileges, and advantages of his appointment of Pen Cutter and Quill Dresser to His Majesty King George IV. In the same circular it is stated that the quill pens supplied were of varying qualities, secured from the swan, raven, goose, turkey, crow, and duck.

Sealing correspondence was a necessity before gummed envelopes were invented. Then sealing-wax was in daily use on the writing table, and the signet ring or seal was requisitioned. The outfit of a library table would scarcely be complete without wax, wafer irons, and seals. One of the curios found now and then in old desks is a little cutting instrument useful in removing seals or opening letters which had been sealed. In the days before penny postage letters were sent carriage forward, and the postage which had to be paid on the receipt of letters from a distance was a heavy tax on those who had many friends and much correspondence.

The penalty of being the recipient of much correspondence may, perhaps, have been lightened by the wording of the seal; for many old letter seals conveyed sentimental messages which to the receiver from that particular sender might have meant much. The following is a selection of the characteristic sentiments of the day: "Break the seal, read the letter, and keep the secret"; "You have a loyal friend"; and "Life is naught without a friend." We cannot tell what was the result of sending a letter bearing such a seal legend as:--

"Mine is a heart that loveth thee; So, ladylove, do thou love me."

Collectors' hobbies now and then are increased by the introduction of something entirely new, something never known before, and the world rejoices over a genuine novelty. The cynic declares that there is nothing new under the sun, but the introduction of the penny postage in 1840, at the instigation of Rowland Hill, laid the foundation to stamp collecting, which has become the most popular of all collectors'

hobbies. The philatelist is found in every civilized country, and the collection of postage stamps, used and unused, grows apace. A bundle of old letters in entire envelopes, posted forty or fifty years ago from one of the British Colonies, discovered when ransacking an old library, will probably prove the most valuable relic of the past found in it.

XII

THE SMOKER'S CABINET