NINETEENTH CENTURY.
913
panion to Goldimith; and it is almost super- flaous to observe, that the subjects which orna- ment the present volume, being entirely com- posed of landscape scenery, and animals, are adapted, above all others, to display the beau- ties of wood-engraving." In 1804, the above two works were reprinted in one octavo volume, by Mr. Bulmer, with the same embellishments, fur Messrs. Cadell and Davies, who had pur- chased the blocks. Museum Worslei/anum, 1798 _1803, 2 vols, folio, English and Italian. Sir Richard Worsley* expended £27,000 on this work, which was never published.f Porlrails of the Sovereit)ns nf the Turkish Empire, with bio- graphical sketches in French and English ; large folio. By John Young,esq. This work was printed at the expense of the sultan Selim, and the whole impres.siun was sent to the Ottoman court. TVie Antiquities of the Arabs in Spain, by Cavaunah Murphy, 1816, large folio. This herculean folio rivals Denon'sJ Egi/pt, in nobleness of design, splendour of execution, and richness of material. The History of the Arabs in Spain, J-c. 4 to. 1816. This volume is a companion to the above. TTie Typographical Antiquites of Great Britain, by T. F. Dibdin. Vols. ii. iii.and iv. The union of the red and black inks, the proportioned spaces, and the boldness and singularity of the cuts, render these books very beautiful of their kind. Bibliotheca Spenceriana, 4 vols.§ This work, considering the bulk of the volumes, and the quantity of matter introduced, is perhaps the most brilliant bibliographical production in existence, on the score of mere typographical excellence. Only fifty-five copies were struck ofi" upon large paper, in royal 4to., eight of which were reserved by earl Spencer for presents. Upon the completion of this work, carried on without intermission for nearly four years, the printer presented Dr. Dibdin with a richly- wrought silver cup, of an antique form.|| Of all the wurks executed at the Shakspeare press, the Bibliogravhical Decameron, three vols. 8vo. by T. F. Dibdin, is acknowledged to be the most eminently successful in the development of the
• Sb Richard Woraley, bart. died in the isle of Wigbt, August B. 1805, in the flfty-fourth year of his age.
t ^100 has be«n given for a copy at a book.sale.
t Baron Denon, a celebrated traveller, died at Paris, April 28, 1825.
) Bibliotheca Spencirianti ; or a dacriptiee catalogue of the books printed in the fifteenth century, and of many valuable Jtrst editions, in the library of George John earl Spencer. By the lev. T. F. Dibdin, 3 rols. imp. Sro. ISU.
The ri^ht hon. George John Spencer, earl Spencer, vis- connt Althorpc, K. G., F. R. S., F. S. A.. &c. &c. was born Sept. 1, 1758, and in 1783 succeeded his fatber in his titles and princely fortune. It was the delight of this eminent nobleman to collect around him tbo most learned literary and scientific men of the age, and wherever his patronage could be of use in promoting and extending litei'ary and Bcientiflc knowledge it was liberally and munificently given. In bibliographical acquirements earl Spencer was considered equal to any man of his time, and the noble library which he collectedat Althorpc, Northamptonshire, ranks amongst the most perfect and valuable of its kind in Europe. Throughout his life be was the able defender of an enlightened and liberal policy — the friend and coad- jutor of Fox and Grey. In private life lord Spencer was no leu dlsttngoished for private worth, than for public prindple in the high and Importuit oflices which he had held in the state. He died at Althorpe, Nov. 10, 1834.
1 S«e BiktiagrapMcal Decameron, vol. ii. page 304.
skill and beauty attached to the art of printing. Never was such a variety of ornament — in the way of wood-cuts and red and black ink — exhibited.* The quarttity of matter, by way of note, is perhaps no where exceeded, in a per- formance which unites splendour of execution with curiosity of detail. The paper is also of the finest quality. We have not space to enume- rate the private reprints of Mr. Bulmer for the Roxburghe club, the history of which will be found in Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron, vol. iii. pp. 69—74. One of the chief diflicul- ties Mr. Bulmer had to contend with, was the providing of good black printing ink. That formerly used by printers was execrable. Basker- villc had made his own ink, as well as type, about 1760, which enabled him to produce such fine work ; and Mr. Robert Martin,t his apprentice, was still living when Mr. Bulmer began business. He first supplied Mr. Bulmer with fine lamp- black, for his experiments in fine printing; but the difficulty of obtaining an adequate supply, induced Mr. Bulmer to erect an apparatus for the purpose of making his own ink, and he suc- ceeded to the extent of his wishes in producing a very superior black. In the Shakspeare, which was nine years in hand, the same harmony of tint and richness of colour prevail, as if the ink had been all made atone time, and the last sheet inked by the same hand in the same hour as the first: this single work probably contains more pages than Bodoni ever printed. Much must have been owing to the aid of good and congenial quality in the paper, and insured in effect by the experience and skill which Mr. Bulmer was sp competent to impart to his workmen -^ and that
- If we are not dazzled by the exquisite typography ,the
paper, and the engravings of Dr. Dibdin's productions, we cannot be blind to the superficial acquirements of the au- thor. — Partington. See the preface to the Catalogue of Bookt and Tracte printed at the prieale preu of George Allan, etg. By John Trotter Brockctt.
t It has already been noticed, under the life of Basker- vllle (see page 733 ante), that he was wejxy of printing ; and it appears, that after the publication of the folio bible, 17fl3, he at least declined to carry it on except throuEh the medium of a confidential agent. This agent was Robert Martin, as appears by the following announcement: — " Robert Martin has agreed with Mr. Baskcrville for the use of his whole printing apparatus, with whom he has wrought as a Journeyman for ten years past. He ther». fore offers his services to print at Birmingham, for gcntfe- men or booksellers, on the most moderate terms, who may depend on aU possible care and elegance in the exe- cution. Samples, if necessary, may be seen, on sending a line to John Baskcrville or Robert Martin.'*
J One of the pressmen of this establishment was a well known and highly respected Journeyman printer, named Daniel Grimsliaw, a native of Lancashire ; born in the year 1758, and in I773, apprenticed to the late Mr. Ayres, printer and bookseller, at Warrington i an artist who was long considered the head of his profession in the north of England. At the expiration of his time, Mr. Grimshaw went to London, and found employment in the house of Mr. Bulmer, where the advantages he had derived in the country proved of such essential service as to render him competent to undertake the best woilts executed in that office, and often to receive from his employer marks of his respect for attention to his duty ; so much so, that at one time Mr. Bulmer offered him an official situation, which he modestly declined. After several years' residence in London, Mr. Grimshaw returned to Manchester, where be was equally respected as a sober, industrious, and attentive workman, and looked upon as an honour to his profession . During the last twenty years of his life he eqjoyed but a very indiArcnt state of health ; and to the honour of the
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