Page:Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1904).djvu/37

 recently published edition, over which he and the late Alexander Gilchrist27 collaborated28 had its origin.29 This rare little book fetched over one hundred guineas at the sale of Rossetti's effects which took place after his death. When the Blake manuscript was well conned and discussed, another curiosity took its place, in the form of Hypnerotamachia Poliphili,30 of great interest to book collectors, because the numerous woodcuts illustrating the text are said to have been designed by Botticelli.31 Rossetti's copy was faulty, as it lacked the original title-page and binding; but this did not interfere with my enjoyment of the designs. Many other books there were in that Chippendale case of a similar kind, such as the Nuremberg Chronicle, with its quaint and interesting illustrations.

As the afternoon wore on, William Michael Rossetti,32 the painter's brother, came in. He generally spent three evenings a week at Cheyne Walk. I had heard and seen his name pretty frequently in connection with critical papers upon Art which had from time to time caught my eye in some of the periodicals that came in my way. William Michael Rossetti I soon got to like, and as he was a smoker it gave me an opportunity of producing my pipe and blowing a cloud with him. A special tobacco box, always on the mantelpiece, was reserved for William Michael Rossetti, who invariably brought a two-ounce packet of some choice brand of