Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2009 Issue
An Antiquarian and Rare Miscellany from Forest Books
The only known surviving copy of The Bell-Man's Treasury.
It seems that Mrs. Clark's use of her supposed royal line was helpful in getting her books noticed, though they were never great sellers. Ianthe, her first novel, may have been her best, a decent though unspectacular effort. A contemporary review in the British Critic notes, "the pieces of poetry interspersed are far from contemptible." Not a ringing endorsement, but it could have been worse (such as calling it "contemptible"). As for the dedication to the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Clark carried on an affair with the Prince's brother, the Duke of York. Likewise, carrying on an affair with the Duke was nothing special, as lots of women did. This one ended in a messy public scene, as the Duke, like her books, did not provide Mrs. Clark with the expected income. She continued to publish books of limited interest for another two decades, though we do not know what eventually became of Mrs. Clark. £2,225 (US $3,058).
Item 14 is a copy of The Cow Doctor, by T. Beamont, published circa 1825 (later editions give his name as Beaumont). The author was not a medically trained cow, but rather some sort of a veterinarian who treated cows for almost 40 years. This is an otherwise unrecorded edition published in York of a book that went through at least four editions, all of which are now quite rare. £295 ($405).
Item 16 is the only known copy of The Bell-Man's Treasury. This is a 1707 collection of poems and humor related to the bell-man. The bell-man was something of a night watchman in 18th century England. He walked the streets of his town and if he spotted a fire or other danger, he would ring his bell to warn the people. Since bell-men were known to give out copies of verses to the people they served, in hopes of receiving a gratuity beyond their meager salaries, perhaps this was intended to serve as a source for such words, these individuals not likely to be accomplished writers. Forest notes that they have only been able to find one bibliographic reference to this work, from 1871, and that was for this same copy. £3,995 (US $5,491).
Forest Books may be reached at +44 1949-842360 or bib@forestbooks.co.uk. Their website is www.forestbooks.co.uk.
