he early part of this century, the boys put on their robes in the
library, a room close to the choir. Here were numerous old MSS.,
and eight or ten rare Caxtons. The choir boys used often to amuse
themselves, while waiting for the signal to "fall in," by cutting out
with their pen-knives the illuminated initials and vignettes, which they
would take into the choir with them and pass round from one to another.
The Dean and Chapter of those days were not much better, for they let
Dr. Dibdin have all their Caxtons for a "consideration." He made
a little catalogue of them, which he called "A Lincolne Nosegaye."
Eventually they were absorbed into the collection at Althorp.

The late Mr. Caspari was a "destroyer" of books. His rare collection of
early woodcuts, exhibited in 1877 at the Caxton Celebration, had been
frequently augmented by the purchase of illustrated books, the plates
of which were taken out, and mounted on Bristol boards, to enrich
his collection. He once showed me the remains of a fine copy of
"Theurdanck," which he had served so, and I have now before me several
of the leaves which he then gave me, and which, for beauty of engraving
and cleverness of typography, surpasses any typographical work known to
me. It was printed for the Emperor Maximilian, by Hans Schonsperger, of
Nuremberg, and, to make it unique, all the punches were cut on purpose,
and as many as seven or eight varieties of each letter, which, together
with the clever way in which the ornamental flourishes are carried above
and below the line, has led even experienced printers to deny its being
typography. It is, nevertheless, entirely from cast types. A copy in
good condition costs about L50.

Many years since I purchased, at Messrs. Sotheby's, a large lot of MS.
leaves on vellum, some being whole sections of a book, but mostly single
leaves. Many were so mutilated by the excision of initials as to be
worthless, but those with poor initials, or with none, were quite good,
and when sorted out I found I had got large portions of nearly twenty
different MSS., mostly Horae, showing twelve varieties of fifteenth
century handwriting in Latin, French, Dutch, and German. I had each sort
bound separately, and they now form an interesting collection.

Portrait collectors have destroyed many books by abstracting the
frontispiece to add to their treasures, and when once a book is made
imperfect, its march to destruction is rapid. This is why books
like At