Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/68

* BIBLIOMANCY. 52 BIB POUT. person was a clergyman, hy the sixteenth canon of the Synod of Vannes, in Brittany, a.d. 465, and by the synods of Agde, in South Gaul (506), in the forty-second canon, and Orleans (511), in the thirtieth canon. It continued, however, to prevail for many centuries thereafter, and is said to have been introduced into England at the Xomian Conquest. It was essentially the same as the l^nrtrs Vrrriiliance, the only difference being tlie lioiik employed. BIBXIOMA'NIA (Uk. /3i/3X/oy, hiblion, book + fujLvla, mania, madness, frenzy, mania). A word fomied from the Greek to express the pas- sion for rare and curious books, which has mani- fested itself to such an extent during the last century. While the ordinary collector is satis- fied with the possession of works which are valu- able either on account of their established repu- tation or as assisting him in his literary or professional pursuits, the bibliomaniac is actu- ated by other motives. With him utility is of secondary importance, rarity being the first and great I'equisite. The history of the auction-room reads like a romance. In 1812 occurred the famous sale of the library of the Duke of Rox- burghe. Among the treasures which that library contained was the only perfect copj' known to exist of the first, or at least the first dated, edi- tion of Boccaccio's Decameron (Venice. Christ. Valdarfer, 1471). After a spirited competition with Lord Spencer, this volume was purchased by the Marquis of Blandford for the sum of f22G0 — probably the highest price ever paid up to that time for a single book. One of the re- sults of the sale was the establishment of the Roxburghe Club (1812), the object of which was to reprint, for the use of the members only, works hitherto unedited, or of extreme rarity. The example thus set was speedily followed by the Bannatj-ne and ilaitland clubs in Scotland, and by many more in other parts of Great Britain. In 1884 the Grolier Club was established in New York City. Books of the first printers, especially from the press of Gutenberg and Fust (second half of the Fifteenth Century), bring enormous prices. A Mazarin Bible (so styled from the first discovery of a copy in Cardinal JIazarin's library), printed by them on paper, brought, in 1873, 'f 2600 : and eleven years later a splendid ■copy on vellum was sold for i.'JOOO (resold in 1898 for £29.50). This latter book is assigned to the year 1450, and is believed to be one of the very oldest of all printed books in existence. At the" same sale a beautiful Psalter, Fsalmoriim Codex, printed by Fust and Schoeffer (1459), brought £4950. Caxtons also run high, the Enei/dos going in 1885 at £2350. Some of the Aldines and the genuine Elzevirs are also much prized by collecU)rs. In 1S!)9 the Pickering edition with inserted plates of Walton and Cot- ton's Complete .Inyler sold at .$2870; The Troublesome liaigiw of John, Kinij of England 1591, at £510; and the Ashburnham manu- scripts at £8500. The beautiful books from the Kelmscott Press of the late William Morris, re- producti<ms of the style oF the old masters, are in great demand; a Chaucer in ordinary binding sold in 1900 for $000, a copy in pure white pig- skin for $9.50, and in 1902 a copy on vellum for £520. Though the old books are maintaining values, many collectors are satisfied with the first edi- tions of ^Yavvrley, Pickwick, 'anily Fair, and the books of other recent writers. The first ob- scure publications of authors afterwards famous are also much sought after. In 1895 I'oemx by Two liroihrrs, bv Alfred and Charles Tennyson (Louth. 1827), sold for .$170; and in 1892 the original autograph manuscript of the poems brought £480. In 1899 Stevenson's Father Dainicn (Sydney, 1890) brought £41, and Kip- ling's Schoolboy I^yrirs, in the original light- brown paper wrappers (Lahore, 188i), brought £135. in 1900 Poe's Tamerlane and Other Poems (Boston, 1827), of which only three copies are known to exist, sold for $2050. The word "bibliomaniac,' too suggestive of mad- ness, is being displaced by bibliophile (lover of books). Consult: Book-Prices Current (Lon- don, 1887 — ) ; Livingston, American Book-Prices Current (New Vork, 1895 — ) ; Dibdm. JiUiuu- mania (London. 181 1); Fitzgerald. 'The Hook Fancier (London, 1886) ; A. Lang, The Library (London. 1881); Burton. The Book-Uuntcr (New York, 1882) ; E. Field, The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac (New York, 1896) : F. S. Merrywoather, Bibliomania of the Middle Ages (London. 1849); reprint with introduction bv C. Orr (New York. 1900). BIBLIOTHEQUE DE SAINTE GENE- VrfiVE, be'bU-6'tek' de saxt zha'n'vyev' (Fr.,li- braiy uf Saint Genevifeve). A Paris library in the Place du Pantlieon. Us contents once made up the Sainte Genevi&ve Library, which was founded in 1624 by La Rochefoucauld, became national property in 1790. and was transferred to the present edifice, built by Labrouste, in 1850. It contains 35,000 manuscripts, over 5000 engi'av- ings, and 125,000 volumes. Its most remarkable possession is its nearly complete collection of Aldines. BIBLIOTHEQUE MAZARIN, ma'za'raN' (Fr., ilazarin library). A library in Paris, in the first court of the Institut de France, founded by Cardinal Mazarin. It contains over 140.000 volumes and 3000 manuscripts, besides many in- teresting editions for the curious. See Libr.^ky. BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, n4'sy6'- nal'. The Frciu-li National Library, in Paris, the greatest in France. In its four sections it contains over 2.500,000 printed volumes and maps, about 100,000 manuscripts, 150,000 coins and cameos, and more than 250,000 engravings. The two chief sources of its origin were the Bibliotlif'qm> du Koi. arranged in 1307 by Charles V. in the Louvre, and the library of the Orleans family at Blois. These libraries were united by Francis I. at Fontainebleau, whence Charles IX. transferred them to Paris and placed them in the Collfge de Clermont. The library is now in the Rue Richelieu. It has been called at various times the Biblioth^que Royale, Impfriale, and Nationale. The wealth of printed volumes is due to the legal requirement decreed in 153(i that one copy of every work printed in Frame shall be deposited in the National Library. BIB'LIS. The sister of Caunus, with whom she fell violently in love. After long and fruit- less pursuit, she gave up in des])air, and was, ac- cording t" Ovid, ciumgi'd into a fuuntain. BIB POUT, or WHITING POUT, hwit'ing (so called from a biblike membrane about its head). A small codfish (fladus luscus) . rather common on the British and Scandinavian coasts. ^