Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/45

 ii s. m. JAN. 14, ion.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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In this fact perhaps lies the romance which Mr. Mumby finds in the history of " the Trade." If we refer to the great dictionary which ought to lie at the elbow of every literary man, we find that " romantic " connotes something in the way of chivalry and adventure. Chivalry may pertain more to the man than the bookseller, but the spirit of adventure cannot be wanting in those who daily launch their barks upon unknown seas. A really good history of these venturesome heroes has long been a desideratum, and Mr. Mumby within his limits has in a very meritorious manner attempted to fill the void. He would, however, have done better to call his book a ' History of Pub- lishing in England,' for beyond a general sketch of what he terms the " Beginnings of the Book World," the contents of the volume are almost wholly confined to an account of the London book-trade. The retail bookseller, to whom literature owes so much, is only seen dimly in the background ; and of the many eminent London and provincial representatives of that branch of the trade, only Mr. Quaritch and Messrs. Sotheran appear to be mentioned by name, and that per- haps more by virtue of their having published various works than in recognition of their high distinction as purveyors of ancient and modern learning.

To deal with all branches of the'trade would be impossible in a book of reasonable size, but we feel some regret in finding no description of a very interesting offshoot from the parent trunk. One or two short sketches of the chapbook trade have been written, but the subject has never been thoroughly explored, though during the eigh- teenth century the only providers of literature in the remoter hamlets of the country were the " Walking " or " Travelling Stationers," who carried their wares from the printing presses in Aldermary Churchyard or Bow Churchyard, whence on one fine afternoon Boswell, who had been fired with the ambition of writing a story in the style of Jack the Giantkiller, carried off the splendid collection of chapbooks which is now housed in the Library of Harvard University. It is to these humble benefactors, and to their successors, such as Drewry of Derby and Dicey of Northampton, that we owe the preservation of the old Elizabethan legends, such as Tom Thumb and Tom Hickathrift, Jack Homer and Long Meg of Westminster, and they would seem to merit a slight niche in the memorial which is perhaps too much devoted to the aristocrats of the Trade.

This, after all, is a minor matter, and it gives us pleasure to testify to the general value of the book, the wide range of information that it con veys, and the agreeable manner in which it is written. The few slips we have noticed are un- important. In referring to Swinburne's ' Atalanta in Calydon ' it might have been stated that though the title-pages of the first two editions are identical, the earlier is in quarto and the later in foolscap octavo, so that there is no possibility of confusion between the two. Moxon did not publish ' The Statue and the Bust ' and, it may be added, ' Cleon ' till 1855, though, from Mr. Mumby's language on p. 304, it might be inferred that Browning's connexion with that publisher ceased on Messrs. Chapman & Hall issuing ' Christmas- Eve and Easter-Day ' in 1850 (there was then no question of a " collected edition " of Browning's works).

A ' Bibliography of Publishing and Book- selling ' by Mr. W. H. Peet, reprinted, with addi- tions, from these columns, forms an Appendix to bhe book. This is excellent as far as it goes, but it oes only a very short distance. Foreign works on the subject are not included. ' Book-Prices Current ' finds a place, but not ' Book-Auction Records,' which often contains biographical and other- contributions on bookselling and booksellers. Big- more and Wyman's ' Bibliography of Printing,* though incidentally mentioned on p. 460, should have been inserted in the body of the work, as it contains hundreds of references to the book- producing trade, and also a capital biography of the late Bernard Quaritch, with an engraved portrait representing him as he was known to his friends and customers in the seventies and eighties Smith's ' Obituary ' (see p. 464) was not re- printed in Willis's Current Notes for February* 1853 : there is only a short notice of the book* with a few extracts relating to booksellers and stationers. The Bibliography needs some revision,, and we trust that Mr. Peet will devote himself to its republication in a fuller and more eclectic f orm..

IN The National Review for January ' Episodes of the Month ' and ' Two Elections and a Moral * by Politicus deal frankly with the position of the Unionist party, the election which was recently concluded, and the results attained. It is not surprising to find that Mr. Balfour's introduc- tion of the Referendum at the last moment before the conflict began is described as a " painful blunder," and it is further stated that " under Mr. Balfour there is little or no hope of the- Unionist party regaining its influence in the State," as he is out of touch with the " man in the street." In 'Sea Law made in Germany* Miv H. W. Wilson considers Mr. T. G. Bowles's, recently published ' Sea Law and Sea Power,' and the official answers to its indictments. A main point in the discussion concerns British food-supplies in time of war, a subject of the gravest importance. Dr. Elizabeth Chesser says many things about ' The Health of the Nation ' which are doubtless true, but the- practical appli- cation of s\ich regulations as she suggests is the difficulty. Having given in the last number of the Revieiv a speech by Mr. Bonar Law, the editor now publishes one by Mr. Lloyd George delivered at the Paragon Music-Hall, Mile End, on 21 Nov. An account of the Portuguese Revolution follows, being regarded as ' Lloyd-Georgeism in Practice/ Most of the heroes of that outbreak are denounced as poltroons, and bribery and place-hunting are rampant. While it is not difficult to see the failures and ludicrous aspects of the Revolution, a view of the previous regime and its disastrous incompetence might be useful to give us a fair idea of the possibilities of the country and temper of the people. Lady Helen Graham's ' Impres- sions of Ober-Ammergau in 1910 ' form a pleasant but not very significant study in a sentimental vein.

Mr. J. Arthur Hill's article on ' Christian Science ' should be read for its facts concerning Mrs. Eddy, but we do not like its tone. In ' American Affairs ' Mr. A. Maurice Low tells us that a third term of Presidency for Mr. Roosevelt is now considered impossible ; and Aga Khan writes in a complimentary style concerning ' Lord Minto's Viceroyalty.'