Thomas Frognall Dibdin - A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two

T >> Thomas Frognall Dibdin >> A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Two

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Now, my good friend, if you ask me whether the interior of this library be
superior to that of our dear BODLEIAN, I answer, at once, and without fear
of contradiction--it is very much _inferior_. It represents an interminable
range of homely and commodious apartments; but the Bodleian library, from
beginning to end--from floor to ceiling--is grand, impressive, and entirely
of a bookish appearance. In that spacious and lofty receptacle--of which
the ceiling, in my humble opinion, is an unique and beautiful piece of
workmanship--all is solemn, and grave, and inviting to study: yet echoing,
as it were, to the footsteps of those who once meditated within its almost
hallowed precincts--the _Bodleys_, the _Seldens_, the _Digbys_, the _Lauds_
and _Tanners_, of other times![20] But I am dreaming: forgetting that, at
this moment, you are impatient to enter the _MS. Department_ of the Royal
Library at Paris. Be it so, therefore. And yet the very approach to this
invaluable collection is difficult of discovery. Instead of a corresponding
lofty stone stair-case, you cross a corner of the square, and enter a
passage, with an iron gate at the extremity--leading to the apartments of
Messrs. Millin and Langles. A narrow staircase, to the right, receives you:
and this stair-case would appear to lead rather to an old armoury, in a
corner-tower of some baronial castle, than to a suite of large modern
apartments, containing probably, upon the whole, the finest collection of
_Engravings_ and of _Manuscripts_, of all ages and characters, in Europe.
Nevertheless, as we cannot mount by any other means, we will e'en set
footing upon this stair-case, humble and obscure as it may be. You scarcely
gain the height of some twenty steps, when you observe the magical
inscription of CABINET DES ESTAMPES. Your spirits dance, and your eyes
sparkle, as you pull the little wire--and hear the clink of a small
corresponding bell. The door is opened by one of the attendants in livery--
arrayed in blue and silver and red--very handsome, and rendered more
attractive by the respectful behaviour of those who wear that royal
costume. I forgot to say that the same kind of attendants are found in all
the apartments attached to this magnificent collection--and, when not
occupied in their particular vocation of carrying books to and fro, these
attendants are engaged in reading, or sitting quietly with crossed legs,
and peradventure dosing a little. But nothing can exceed their civility;
accompanied with a certain air of politeness, not altogether divested of a
kind of gentlemanly deportment.

On entering the first of those rooms, where the prints are kept, you are
immediately struck with the narrow dimensions of the place--for the
succeeding room, though perhaps more than twice as large, is still
inadequate to the reception of its numerous visitors.[21] In this first
room you observe a few of the very choicest productions of the burin, from
the earliest periods of the art, to the more recent performances of
_Desnoyer_, displayed within glazed frames upon the wainscot. It really
makes the heart of a connoisseur leap with ecstacy to see such
_Finiguerras, Baldinis, Boticellis, Mantegnas, Pollaiuolos, Israel Van
Meckens, Albert Durers, Marc Antonios, Rembrandts, Hollar, Nanteuils,
Edelincks, &c._; while specimens of our own great master engravers, among
whom are _Woollet_ and _Sharp_, maintain a conspicuous situation, and add
to the gratification of the beholder. The idea is a good one; but to carry
it into complete effect, there should be a gallery, fifty feet long, of a
confined width, and lighted from above:[22] whereas the present room is
scarcely twenty feet square, with a disproportionably low ceiling. However,
you cannot fail to be highly gratified--and onwards you go--diagonally--and
find yourself in a comparatively long room--in the midst of which is a
table, reaching from nearly one end to the other, and entirely filled
(every day) with visitors, or rather students--busied each in their several
pursuits. Some are quietly turning over the succeeding leaves, on which the
prints are pasted: others are pausing upon each fine specimen, in silent
ecstacy--checking themselves every instant lest they should break forth
into rapturous exclamations!... "silence" being rigidly prescribed by the
Curators--and, I must say, as rigidly maintained. Others again are busied
in deep critical examination of some ancient ruin from the pages of
_Piranesi_ or of _Montfaucon_--now making notes, and now copying particular
parts. Meanwhile, from the top to the bottom of the sides of the, room, are
huge volumes of prints, bound in red morocco; which form indeed the
materials for the occupations just described.[23]

But, hanging upon a pillar, at the hither end of this second room, you
observe a large old drawing of a head or portrait, in a glazed frame; which
strikes you in every respect as a great curiosity. M. Du Chesne, the
obliging and able director of this department of the collection, attended
me on my first visit. He saw me looking at this head with great eagerness.
"Enfin voila quelque chose qui merite bien votre attention"--observed he.
It was in fact the portrait of "their good but unfortunate KING JOHN"--as
my guide designated him. This Drawing is executed in a sort of thick body
colour, upon fine linen: the back-ground is gold: now almost entirely
tarnished--and there is a sort of frame, stamped, or pricked out, upon the
surface of the gold--as we see in the illuminations of books of that
period. It should also seem as if the first layer, upon which the gold is
placed, had been composed of the white of an egg--or of some such glutinous
substance. Upon the whole, it is an exceedingly curious and interesting
relic of antient graphic art.

To examine minutely the treasures of such a collection of prints--whether
in regard to ancient or modern art--would demand the unremitted attention
of the better part of a month; and in consequence, a proportionate quantity
of time and paper in embodying the fruits of that attention.[24] There is
only one other curiosity, just now, to which I shall call your attention.
It is the old wood cut of ST. CHRISTOPHER--of which certain authors have
discoursed largely.[25] They suppose they have an impression of it here--
whereas that of Lord Spencer has been hitherto considered as unique. His
Lordship's copy, as you well know, was obtained from the Buxheim monastery,
and was first made public in the interesting work of Heineken.[26] The copy
now under consideration is not pasted upon boards, as is Lord Spencer's--
forming the interior linings in the cover or binding of an old MS.--but it
is a loose leaf, and is therefore subject to the most minute examination,
or to any conclusion respecting the date which may be drawn from the
_watermark_. Upon _such_ a foundation I will never attempt to build an
hypothesis, or to draw a conclusion; because the same water-mark of Bamberg
and of Mentz, of Venice and of Rome, may be found within books printed both
at the commencement and at the end of the fifteenth century. But for the
print--as it _is_. I have not only examined it carefully, but have
procured, from M. Coeure, a fac-simile of the head only--the most essential
part--and both the examination and the fac-simile convince me... that the
St. Christopher in the Bibliotheque du Roi is NOT an impression from the
_same block_ which furnished the St. Christopher now in the library of St.
James's Place.

The general character of the figure, in the Royal Library here, is thin and
feeble compared with that in Lord Spencer's collection; and I am quite
persuaded that M. Du Chesne,--who fights his ground inch by inch, and
reluctantly (to his honour, let me add) assents to any remarks which may
make his own cherished St. Christopher of a comparatively modern date--
will, in the end, admit that the Parisian impression is a _copy_ of a later
date--and that, had an opportunity presented itself of comparing the two
impressions with each other,[27] it would never have been received into the
Library at the price at which it was obtained--I think, at about 620
francs. However, although it be not THE St. Christopher, it is a graphic
representation of the Saint which may possibly be as old as the year 1460.

But we have tarried quite long enough, for the present, within the cabinet
of Engravings. Let us return: ascend about a dozen more steps; and enter
the LIBRARY OF MANUSCRIPTS. As before, you are struck with the smallness of
the first room; which leads, however, to a second of much larger
dimensions--then to a third, of a boudoir character; afterwards to a fourth
and fifth, rather straitened--and sixthly, and lastly, to one of a noble
length and elevation of ceiling--worthy in all respects of the glorious
treasures which it contains. Let me, however, be more explicit. In the very
first room you have an earnest of all the bibliomaniacal felicity which
these MSS. hold out. Look to the left--upon entering--and view, perhaps
lost in a very ecstacy of admiration--the _Romances_ ... of all sizes and
character, which at first strike you! What _Launcelot du Lacs, Tristans,
Leonnois, Arturs, Ysaises_, and feats of the _Table Ronde_, stand closely
wedged within the brass-wired doors that incircle this and every other
apartment! _Bibles, Rituals, Moralities_, ... next claim your attention.
You go on--_History, Philosophy, Arts and Sciences_ ... but it is useless
to indulge in these rhapsodies. The fourth apartment, of which I spake,
exhibits specimens of what are seen more plentifully, but not of more
curious workmanship, in the larger room to which it leads. Here glitter,
behind glazed doors, old volumes of devotion bound in ivory, or gilt, or
brass, studded with cameos and precious stones; and covered with figures of
all characters and ages--some of the XIIth--and more of the immediately
following centuries. Some of these bindings (among which I include
_Diptychs_) may be as old as the eleventh--and they have been even carried
up to the tenth century.

Let us however return quickly back again; and begin at the beginning. The
first room, as I before observed, has some of the most exquisitely
illuminated, as well as some of the most ancient MSS., in the whole
library. A phalanx of _Romances_ meets the eye; which rather provokes the
courage, than damps the ardor, of the bibliographical champion. Nor are the
illuminated _Bibles_ of less interest to the graphic antiquary. In my next
letter you shall see what use I have made of the unrestrained liberty
granted me, by the kind-hearted Curators, to open what doors, and examine
what volumes, I pleased. Meanwhile let me introduce you to the excellent
MONSIEUR GAIL, who is sitting at yonder desk--examining a beautiful Greek
MS. of Polybius, which once belonged to Henry II. and his favourite Diane
de Poictiers. M. Gail is the chief Librarian presiding over the Greek and
Latin MSS., and is himself Professor of the Greek language in the royal
college of France. Of this gentleman I shall speak more particularly anon.
At the present moment it may suffice only to observe that he is thoroughly
frank, amiable, and communicative, and dexterous in his particular
vocation: and that he is, what we should both call, a hearty, good fellow--
a natural character. M. Gail is accompanied by the assistant librarians MM.
De. l'EPINE, and MEON: gentlemen of equal ability in their particular
department, and at all times willing to aid and abet the researches of
those who come to examine and appreciate the treasures of which they are
the joint Curators. Indeed I cannot speak too highly of these gentlemen--
nor can I too much admire the system and the silence which uniformly
prevail.

Another principal librarian is M. LANGLES:[28] an author of equal
reputation with Monsieur Gail--but his strength lies in Oriental
literature; and he presides more especially over the Persian, Arabic, and
other Oriental MSS. To the naivete of M. Gail, he adds the peculiar
vivacity and enthusiasm of his countrymen. To see him presiding in his
chair (for he and M. Gail take alternate turns) and occupied in reading,
you would think that a book worm could scarcely creep between the tip of
his nose and the surface of the _Codex Bombycinus_ over which he is poring.
He is among the most short-sighted of mortals--as to _ocular_ vision. But
he has a bravely furnished mind; and such a store of spirits and of good
humour--talking withal unintermittingly, but very pleasantly---that you
find it difficult to get away from him. He is no indifferent speaker of our
own language; and I must say, seems rather proud of such an acquirement.
Both he and M. Gail, and M. Van Praet, are men of rather small, stature--
_triplicates_, as it were, of the same work[29]--but of which M. Gail is
the tallest copy. One of the two head librarians, just mentioned, sits at a
desk in the second room--and when any friends come to see, or to converse
with him--the discussion is immediately adjourned to the contiguous
boudoir-like apartment, where are deposited the rich old bindings of which
you have just had a hasty description. Here the voices are elevated, and
the flourishes of speech and of action freely indulged in.

In the way to the further apartment, from the boudoir so frequently
mentioned, you pass a small room--in which there is a plaster bust of the
King--and among the books, bound, as they almost all are, in red morocco,
you observe two volumes of tremendously thick dimensions; the one entitled
_Alexander Aphrodiaesus, Hippocrates, &c._--the other _Plutarchi Vitae
Parallelae et Moralia, &c._ They contain nothing remarkable for ornament, or
what is more essential, for intrinsic worth. Nevertheless you pass on: and
the last--but the most magnificent--of _all_ the rooms, appropriated to the
reception of books, whether in ms. or in print, now occupies a very
considerable portion of your attention. It is replete with treasures of
every description: in ancient art, antiquities, and both sacred and profane
learning: in languages from all quarters, and almost of all ages of the
world. Here I opened, with indescribable delight the ponderous and famous
_Latin Bible of Charles the Bald_--and the religious manual of his brother
the _Emperor Lotharius_--composed chiefly of transcripts from the Gospels.
Here are ivory bindings, whether as diptychs, or attached to regular
volumes. Here are all sorts and sizes of the uncial or capital-letter MSS--
in portions, or entire. Here, too, are very precious old illuminations, and
specimens--almost without number--admirably arranged, of every species of
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL VIRTU, which cannot fail to fix the attention, enlarge the
knowledge, and improve the judgment, of the curious in this department of
research.

Such, my dear friend, is the necessarily rapid--and, I fear, consequently
imperfect--sketch which I send you of the general character of the
BIBLIOTHEQUE DU ROI; both as respects its dead and its living treasures. It
remains to be seen how this sketch will be completed.--- and I hereby give
you notice, that my next letter will contain some account of a few of the
more ancient, curious, and splendid MANUSCRIPTS--to be followed by a second
letter, exclusively devoted to a similar account of the PRINTED BOOKS. If I
execute this task according to my present inclinations--and with the
disposition which I now feel, together with the opportunities which have
been afforded me--it will not, I trust, be said that I have been an idle or
unworthy visitor of this magnificent collection.

[16] [Mons. Crapelet takes fire at the above passage: simply because he
misunderstands it. In not one-word, or expression of it, is there any
thing which implies, directly or indirectly, that "it would be
difficult to find another public establishment where the officers are
more active, more obliging, more anxious to satisfy the Public than in
the above." I am talking only of _dress_--and commending the silk
stockings of Mons. Van Praet at the expense of those by whom he is
occasionally surrounded.]

[17] So, even NOW: 1829.

[18] In the year 1814, the late M. Millin published a dissertation upon
this medal, to which he prefixed an engraving of the figure of Louis.
There can indeed be but one opinion that the Engraving is unworthy of
the Original.

[For an illustration of the _Medallic History of France_, I scarcely
recollect any one object of Art which would be more gratifying, as
well as apposite, than a faithful Engraving of such a Medal: and I
call upon my good friend M. DU CHESNE to set such a History on foot.
There is however another medal, of the same Monarch, of a smaller
size, but of equal merit of execution, which has been selected to
grace the pages of this second edition--in the OPPOSITE PLATE. The
inscription is as follows: LUDOVICO XII. REGNANTE CAESARE ALTERO.
GAUDET OMNIS NATIO: from which it is inferred that the Medal was
struck in consequence of the victory of Ravenna, or of Louis's
triumphant campaigns in Italy. A short but spirited account is given
of these campaigns in Le Noir's _Musee des Monumens Francais_, tome
ii. p. 145-7.]

[19] ["And it is Mr. DIBDIN who makes this confession! Let us render
justice to his impartiality on this occasion. Such a confession ought
to cause some regret to those who go to seek engravings in London."
CRAPELET, vol. ii. p. 89. The reader shall make his own remark on the
force, if there be any, of this gratuitous piece of criticism of the
French Translator.]

[20] [And, till within these few months, those of the REV. DR. NICOLL,
Regius Professor of the Hebrew Language! That amiable and modest and
surprisingly learned Oriental Scholar died in the flower of his age
(in his 36th year) to the deep regret of all his friends and
acquaintances, and, I had well nigh said, to the irreparable loss of
the University.]

[21] ["This observation is just; and it is to be hoped that they will soon
carry into execution the Royal ordonance of October, 1816, which
appropriates the apartments of the Treasury, contiguous, to be united
to the establishment, as they become void. However, what took place in
1825, respecting some buildings in the Rue Neuve des Petits Champs,
forbids us to suppose that this wished for addition will take place."
CRAPELET, p. 93.]

[22] [M. Crapelet admits the propriety of such a suggested improvement; and
hopes that government will soon take it up for the accommodation of
the Visitors--who sometimes are obliged to wait for a _vacancy_,
before they can commence these researches.]

[23] [Mons. Crapelet estimates the number of these splendid volumes (in
1825,) at "more than six thousand!"]

[24] [M. Crapelet might have considered this confession as a reason, or
apology, sufficient for not entering into all those details or
descriptions, which he seems surprised and vexed that I omitted to
travel into.]

[25] _An enquiry into the History of Engraving upon Copper and in
Wood_, 1816, 4to. 2 vol. by W.Y. Ottley. Mr. Ottley, in vol. i. p. 90,
has given the whole of the original cut: while in the first volume p.
iii. of the _Bibliotheca Spenceriana_, only the figure and date are
given.

[26] _Idee generale d'une Collection complette des Estampes. Leips._
1771. 8vo.

[27] Since the above was written, the RIVAL ST. CRISTOPHER have been placed
_side by side_. When Lord Spencer was at Paris, last year, (1819,) on
his return from Italy--he wrote to me, requesting I would visit him
there, and bring St. Christopher with me. That Saint was therefore, in
turn, carried across the water--and on being confronted with his
name-sake, at the Royal Library ... it was quite evident, at the first
glance, as M. Du Chesne admitted--that they were impressions taken
from _different blocks_. The question therefore, was, after a good
deal of pertinacious argument on both sides--which of the two
impressions was the MORE ANCIENT? Undoubtedly it was that of Lord[B]
Spencer's.

[B] [The reasons, upon which this conclusion was founded, are
stated at length in the preceding edition of this work: since
which, I very strongly incline to the supposition that the Paris
impression is a _proof_--of one of the _cheats_ of DE MURR.]

[28] He died in 1824 and a notice of his Life and Labours appeared in the
_Annales Encyclopediques_.

[29] "M. Dibdin may well make the _fourth_ copy--as to size."
CRAPELET, p. 115.

_LETTER III._

THE SAME SUBJECTS CONTINUED.

_Paris, June 14, 1818_.

As I promised, at the conclusion of my last, you shall accompany me
immediately to the ROYAL LIBRARY; and taking down a few of the more ancient
MANUSCRIPTS relating to _Theology_--especially those, which, from age, art,
or intrinsic worth, demand a more particular examination--we will both sit
down together to the enjoyment of what the librarians have placed before
us. In other words, I shall proceed to fill up the outline (executed with a
hurrying pencil) which was submitted to you in my previous letter. First,
therefore, for

BIBLES, LITURGIES, RITUALS, LEGENDS, MORAL TREATISES, &C.

_Quatuor Evangelia. "Codex Membranaceus, Olim Abbatiae S. Medardi
Suessionensis in uncialibus litteris et auricis scriptus. Saec. VI."_ The
preceding is written in an old hand, inserted in the book. It is a folio
volume of unquestionably great antiquity; but I should apprehend that it is
_antedated_ by at least _two_ centuries. It is full of embellishment, of a
varied and splendid character. The title to each Gospel is in very large
capital letters of gold, upon a purple ground: both the initial letter and
the border round the page being elaborately ornamented. The letter prefixed
to St. Matthew's Gospel is highly adorned, and in very good taste. Each
page consists of two columns, in capital letters of gold, throughout:
within borders of a quiet purple, or lilac tint, edged with gold. It has
been said that no two borders are alike altogether. A portrait of each
Evangelist is prefixed to the title; apparently coeval with the time: the
composition is rather grotesque; the colours are without any glaze, and the
perspective is bad.

LATIN BIBLE OF CHARLES THE BALD. Folio. When this volume was described by
me, on a former occasion,[30] from merely printed authorities, of course it
was not in my power to do it, if I may so speak, "after the life,"--for
although nearly ten centuries have elapsed since this Bible has been
executed, yet, considering its remote age, it may be said to be fresh and
in most desirable condition. The authority, just hinted at, notices that
this magnificent volume was deposited in the library by _Baluze_, the head
librarian to Colbert; but a note in that eminent man's hand writing,
prefixed, informs us that the Canons of the Cathedral church at Metz made
Colbert a present of it.

The reverse of the last leaf but one is occupied by Latin verses, in
capital letters of gold, at the top of which, in two lines, we make out--"
_Qualiter uiuian monachus sci martini consecrat hanc bibliam Karolo
ipatorj_," &c. The ensuing and last leaf is probably, in the eye of an
antiquarian virtuoso, more precious than either of its decorative
precursors. It exhibits the PORTRAIT OF CHARLES THE BALD; who is surrounded
by four attendants, blended, as it were, with a group of twelve below--in
the habits of priests--listening to the oration of one, who stands nearly
in the centre.[31] This illumination, in the whole, measures about fourteen
inches in height by nearly ten and a half in width: the purple ground being
frequently faded into a greenish tint. The volume itself is about twenty
inches in height by fifteen wide.

PSALTER OF CHARLES THE BALD. This very precious volume was also in the
library of the Great Colbert. It is a small quarto, bound in the most
sumptuous manner. The exterior of the first side of the binding has an
elaborate piece of sculpture, in ivory, consisting of small human figures,
beasts, &c.; and surrounded with oval and square coloured stones. The
exterior of the other, or corresponding, side of the binding has the same
species of sculpture, in ivory; but no stones. The text of the volume is in
gold capitals throughout; but the ornaments, as well as the portrait of
Charles, are much inferior to those in that just described. However, this
is doubtless a valuable relic.

PRAYER BOOK OF CHARLES THE BALD; in small 4to. This is rather an
_Evangelistarium_, or excerpts from the four Gospels. The writing is a
small roman lower-case. The illuminations, like those in the Bible, are
rubbed and faded, and they are smaller. The exterior ornament of the
binding, in the middle, contains a group of ivory figures--taken from the
_original_ covering or binding.

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