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Thomas Frognall Dibdin was as passionate a collector as Phillipps, though not as strange. His paean to book collecting is The Library Companion; or the Young Man's Guide, and the Old Man's Comfort... The notable collector provided recommendations for constructing a library. Everything recommended is quite old, since he published his recommendations in 1824. Item 126 is a two-volume first edition. £175 (US $304). Eight years later, Dibdin would be lamenting the poor state of the book trade, prices having become depressed. Dibdin expected better, and certainly prices have climbed to astronomical levels since his time, but not during Dibdin's lifetime. The book is Bibliomania. Remarks on the Present Languid and Depressed State of Literature and the Book Trade. Dibdin published it under the pseudonym Mercurius Rusticus. Item 128. £495 (US $860). Finally, for Dibdin collectors, there's a copy of his signature, having been taken from an old letter. Item 127 £35 (US $61).
One of the auctions that enjoyed Dibdin's enthusiastic expressions was the 1810 sale of the collection of Benjamin Heath. It certainly must have been a magnificent collection, though the catalogue title sounds like they might have been puffing it a bit: A Catalogue of Books. Containing all of the Rare, Useful, and Valuable Publications, in Every Department of Literature, from the First Invention of Printing to the Present Time... This includes the names of the 107 subscribers to the catalogue, with the prices realized written in by hand. There were 4,786 lots in total. Item 202. £695 (US $1,208).
One of the most famous of book forgers was William Ireland. Ireland started by "finding" some obscure Shakespearean documents. Emboldened by his success in fooling the public, he expanded his creations, culminating in his "discovery" of a previously unknown Shakespeare play. Evidently, it wasn't quite up to Shakespeare's standards, and it led to the collapse of his house of fabrications. Item 234 is his 1805 The Confessions of William Ireland. Much of the motivation of the book was to save the reputation of Ireland's father, whose Shakespearean expertise many believed was required for the son to pull of his fabrications for so long. £165 (US $287).
For those who collect books about, rather than bottles of, wine, here is a bibliography described as "containing information on virtually every wine book ever published in English." James Gabler's 1985 Wine into Words contains over 3,200 entries. Item 160. £35 (US $61).
Forest Books may be found online at www.forestbooks.co.uk or reached by phone at +44 1949 - 842360.
Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2005 Issue
Bibliography and Reference from Forest Books of the U.K.
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Rare Book Monthly
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Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000. -
