Prices of Books Part 20

F. Child bought B. Fairfax?s beautiful and perfect copy for ?3 in 1756, and at the Earl of Jersey?s sale in 1885 it realised ?810. It is now in the United States. George III. bought West?s imperfect and cropped copy for 9 guineas. Topham Beauclerk?s copy, wanting ten leaves, sold in 1781 for ?2, 4s.; in 1881 it was sold at Mr. G. L. Way?s sale for ?77. The Duke of Roxburghe?s perfect copy was bought by the Duke of Devonshire for ?336.

Willett?s copy has been sold several times, and each time for a lower price than before. In 1813 the Marquis of Blandford bought it at Willett?s sale in 1813 for ?315. At the White Knights sale (1819) it was described as ?remarkably fine and perfect,? and was sold to G. Watson Taylor for ?205, 16s. On being collated it was found to want six leaves, and was consequently returned, and resold to Mr. Watson Taylor for ?131, 5s. At his sale in 1823 it only realised ?57, 15s.

W. Haggard (1867), ?185 (wanting several leaves). Lord Selsey?s perfect copy sold in 1872 for ?670. H. Perkins (1873), ?245 (six leaves in facsimile). Ashburnham (part 2, 1897), imperfect, ?188.

_The Knight of the Tower_ (51).

R. Smith (1682), 5s. 1d. J. Brand?s perfect copy was bought by Earl Spencer in 1807 for ?111, 6s.

G. Watson Taylor bought the Marquis of Blandford?s perfect copy (without blanks) in 1819 for ?85, 1s. At his sale in 1823 Jolley bought it for ?52, 10s. Rodd bought it for Corser, at Jolley?s sale in 1843, for ?90. At Corser?s sale (1868) Mr. Quaritch bought it for ?560.

_Caton_ (52).

R. Smith (1682),4s. 2d.; Dr. Bernard (1698), 1s. 10d.

The Duke of Devonshire?s fine and perfect copy has the Earl of Oxford?s autograph--?I bought this book at Edinburgh and paid for it the price of ?3, 3s. to Mr. Alex. Seymmer Bookseller in the parliament close May 24 1725.? In another hand, ?Ex Bib: Harl: ?1, 1s., Feb. 1745.? It was bought from Messrs. Arch for ?105.

The sale of Watson Taylor?s copy (1823) to Barclay for ?30, 19s.

6d. is not recorded by Blades.

Earl of Ashburnham (1897), ?295--Pickering and Chatto (imperfect).

_The Golden Legend_, first edition (53).

West?s imperfect copy was bought (1773) by Dr. Hunter for ?12, 15s., and is now at Glasgow. Ratcliffe?s imperfect copy was bought by George III. (1776) for ?5, 15s. 6d. The highest price recorded by Blades at which a copy has sold is ?230, bought by the Duc d?Aumale in 1854 at J. Dunn Gardner?s sale. This copy wants the last leaf in the Table and Biiij, the latter supplied in facsimile. Corser?s imperfect copy sold in 1869 for ?147. It is now in the Huth library. W. H. Crawford?s imperfect copy sold in 1891 for ?465.

---- Second edition (66).

There are no records of sales.

---- Third edition (93).

Printed by Wynkyn de Worde.

_The Order of Chivalry_ (56).

J. West (1773), ?5, 5s.--G. Mason. J. Ratcliffe (1776), ?2, 8s.--George III. (imperfect). Lord Lovat (1852), ?55, 10s.--Earl of Ashburnham (imperfect). Lord Ashburnham (1897), ?345--Pickering & Chatto (imperfect).

_Troylus and Creside_ (60).

West?s perfect copy was bought by George III. in 1773 for 10 guineas. Ratcliffe?s large and clean, but imperfect, copy has been sold several times at very varying prices. Herbert bought it in 1776 for ?2. At Towneley?s sale in 1814 the Marquis of Blandford bought it for ?252, 2s. At the White Knights sale in 1819 Watson Taylor gave ?162, 15s. for it. Thomas Grenville bought it for ?66, 3s. at Watson Taylor?s sale in 1823.

_The Life of our Lady_ (61).

Earl Spencer gave ?130 for his imperfect copy. The highest sale price recorded by Blades is ?49 for the Duke of Roxburghe?s copy. The Rev. T. Corser?s imperfect copy, for which he gave ?32 at Utterson?s sale in 1852, sold for ?113 in 1868. Sir William t.i.te?s very imperfect copy (wanting thirty leaves) belonged to West, and was bought at his sale by Herbert for ?2, 12s. 6d. t.i.te bought it in 1859 for ?41, and at his sale it sold for ?54. The Earl of Devon?s quite perfect copy (with the blanks) was bought by Mr. Quaritch for ?880 in 1883.

_The n.o.ble Histories of King Arthur_ (63).

The only known perfect copy was in the Harleian Library, and was sold by Osborne in 1748 to Bryan Fairfax for ?5. At Fairfax?s sale in 1756 Francis Child bought it for two guineas and a half, and in 1885 it was sold at the Earl of Jersey?s sale to Mr. Quaritch for ?1950. It is now in New York.

_The Life of Charles the Great_ (64).

The only known copy which is perfect is now in the King?s Library, British Museum. Ratcliffe bought it at West?s sale (1773) for ?13, and at Ratcliffe?s sale (1776) George III.

obtained it for 4 guineas.

_The Knight Paris and the Fair Vienne_ (65).

The only known copy, in the King?s Library, is perfect. It was bought at West?s sale by George III. for ?14.

_The Royal Book_ (67).

West?s imperfect copy was bought by George III. for ?10.

Gustavus Brander bought Ratcliffe?s imperfect copy in 1777 for ?2, 13s., but at his own sale it only brought 15s. It was sold in 1864 to Lilly for ?62.

The Althorpe perfect and beautiful copy was bought by the Marquis of Blandford at Louis Goldsmid?s sale (1815) for ?85, 1s. At the Marquis?s sale (1819) George Hibbert bought it for ?73, 10s., and at Hibbert?s sale (1829) Lord Spencer obtained it for ?61, 19s.

The Duke of Buccleuch?s copy (wanting a. i, with two very slight defects, both repaired) is not mentioned by Blades. It was bought by Mr. Quaritch at the Duke?s sale (1889) for ?365.

_Speculum Vit? Christi_ (70).

West?s copy was bought by Ratcliffe, who had three imperfect copies; at his sale in 1776 George III. bought one for ?3, 3s., Dr. Hunter another for the same amount, and the third sold for ?3, 10s. Earl Spencer bought two copies--one at J. Allen?s sale (1795) for 11 guineas, and the other at the Roxburghe sale for ?45; he completed the latter with two leaves taken from the former. The duplicate was sold and came into the possession of Sir Francis Freeling; at his sale in 1836 Mr. Corser bought it for ?25, 10s., and at Corser?s sale (1868) it realised ?67.

Two copies are known on vellum---one, in very poor condition, is in the Royal Library at Windsor; the other, in the British Museum, was bought in 1864 for ?1000.

_The Doctrinal of Sapience_ (71).

The Duke of Devonshire gave ?78, 15s. for the Spencer duplicate (perfect) in Alchorne?s sale (1813). Dawson Turner?s copy (wanting six leaves) was bought by T. Bateman in 1859 for ?28; at his sale in 1893 it realised ?58. Earl of Ashburnham?s copy (first and last leaf in facsimile), 1897, sold for ?660--Quaritch (for the British Museum). The last Earl gave ?150 for this copy.

_Servitium de Transfiguratione Jhesu Christi_ (73).

The only known copy was bought for the British Museum at a sale at Puttick?s in 1862 for ?200. It was found in a volume of Theological Tracts presented to the Congregational Library, Blomfield Street, by Joshua Wilson of Tunbridge Wells in 1831.

_The Fayts of Arms_ (74).

The largest amount paid for a copy at a public sale is ?336, which the Duke of Devonshire gave for the Roxburghe copy (with a few lines of the last leaf in facsimile).

Bryan Fairfax?s imperfect copy was bought by Francis Child for ?1, 11s. 6d. At the sale of Lord Jersey?s library in 1885 it sold for ?71.

Libri?s perfect, but mended and washed, copy, which he had bought in very poor condition from Mario the great tenor, was sold in 1862 to Mr. F. Huth for ?255.

Mr. Corser?s perfect copy was bought in 1868 by Mr. Quaritch for ?250.

Sir W. t.i.te?s copy (with the first two leaves in facsimile) sold in 1874 for ?190. This copy was bought by t.i.te at the Rev. C.

H. Crauford?s sale in 1854 for ?77. Crauford bought it at Wilks?s sale (1847) for ?54.

The Earl of Crawford?s perfect copy, with Table inlaid, sold in 1889 for ?235. R. Lindsay, in Philadelphia, had this copy in his catalogue (June 1893) for ?425.

_The History of Blanchardin and Eglantine_ (78).