Enemies of Books [0]
Enemies of Books
by William Blades
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. FIRE
Libraries destroyed by Fire.--Alexandrian. St. Paul's destruction of MSS., Value of.--Christian books destroyed by Heathens.--Heathen books destroyed by Christians.--Hebrew books burnt at Cremona.--Arabic books at Grenada.--Monastic libraries.-- Colton library.--Birmingham riots.--Dr. Priestley's library.-- Lord Mansfield's books.--Cowper.--Strasbourg library bombarded.-- Offor Collection burnt.--Dutch Church library damaged.-- Iibrary of Corporation of London.
CHAPTER II. WATER
Heer Hudde's library lost at sea.--Pinelli's library captured by Corsairs.-MSS. destroyed by Afohammed 11-Books damaged by rain.- Woffenbuttel.- Vapour andMould. -Brown stains.--Dr. Dibdin.-Hot water .pipes.-Asbestos fire.-Glass doors to bookcases.
CHAPTER III. GAS AND HEAT
Effects of Gas on leather.--Necessitates re-binding.--Bookbinders.--Electric light.--British Museum.-Treatment of books.- Legend of Friars and their books.
CHAPTER IV. DUST AND NEGLECT
Books should have gilt tops.-Old libraries were neglected.-- Instance of a College library.- Clothes brushed in it.-Abuses in French libraries.-Derome's account of them.--Boccaccio's story of library at the Convent of Mount Cassin.
CHAPTER V. IGNORANCE AND BIGOTRY
Destruction of Books at the Reformation.- Mazarin library.-- Caxton used to light the fire.--Library at French Protestant Church, St. Martin's-le- Grand.- Books stolen.- Story of books from Thonock Hall.-Boke of St. Albans.--Recollet Monks of Antwerp.
--Shakespearian "find."--Black-letter books used in W.C.-Gesta Romanorum.--Lansdowne collection.--Warburton.--Tradesman and rare book.-Parish Register.-Story of Bigotry by M. Muller.--Clergymen destroy books.-Patent Office sell books for waste.
CHAPTER VI. THE BOOKWORM
Doraston.-Not so destructive as of yore.--Worm won't eat parchment.-Pierre Petit's .poem.--Hooke's account and image.-Its natural history neglected.- Various sorts-Attempts to breed Bookworms.- Greek worm.--Havoc made by worms.--Bodleian and Dr. Bandinel.--"Dermestes."--Worm won't eat modern paper.-- America comparatively free.--Worm-hole at Philadelphia.
CHAPTER VII. OTHER VERMIN
Black-beetle in American libraries. germanica.--Bug Bible. -.Lepisma.--Codfish.-Skeletons of Rats in Abbey library, Westminster.-Niptus hololeucos.--Tomicus Typographicus.-House flies injure books.
CHAPTER VIII. BOOKBINDERS
A good binding gives pleasure.--Deadly effects of the "plough" as used by binders.-Not confined to bye-gone times. -Instances of injury.-De Rome, a good binder but a great
cropper.--Books "hacked."--Bad lettering. -Treasures in book-covers.--Books washed, sized, and mended.--"Cases" often Preferable to re-binding.
CHAPTER IX. COLLECTORS
Bagford the biblioclast.--Illustrations torn from MSS.-Title-pages torn from books.--. Rubens, his engraved titles.--Colophons torn out of books.-- Lincoln Cathedral--Dr. Dibdin's Nosegay.--Theurdanck. -Fragments of MSS.-Some libraries almost useless.--Pepysian.--Teylerian.- Sir Thomas Phillipps.
CHAPTER X. SERVANTS AND CHILDREN
Library invaded for the purpose of dusting.--Spring clean. ---Dust to be got rid of.--Ways of doing so.-Carefulness praised.-- Bad nature of certain books--Metal clasps and rivets.-- How to dust.- Children often injure books.--Examples.--Story of boys in a country library
POSTSCRIPTUM
Anecdote of book-sale in Derbyshire.
CONCLUSION
The care that should be taken of books.--Enjoyment derived from them.
THE ENEMIES OF BOOKS
CHAPTER I.
FIRE.
THERE are many of the forces of Nature which tend to injure Books; but among them all not one has been half so destructive as Fire. It would be tedious to write out a bare list only of the numerous libraries and bibliographical treasures which, in one way or another, have been seized by the Fire-king as his own. Chance conflagrations, fanatic incendiarism, judicial bonfires, and even household stoves have, time after time, thinned the treasures