ontinually upon his guard. Other books there are which have certain
passages frequently mutilated, or a genealogical tree or a table
generally missing.

Hazlitt gives two examples of this species of knavery. One, in which a
reproduction of the scarce portrait of Milton usually attached to the
first edition of his 'Poems,' 1645, had been actually split and laid down
on old paper to make it resemble the original print: the other, a case in
which a copy of Lovelace's 'Lucasta,' 1649, lacked a plate representing
Lucy Sacheverell (which makes a good deal of the value of the book), and
a copy of the modern reproduction of this plate to be found in Singer's
'Select Poets' had been soaked off and 'lined' to give it the appearance
of a genuine impression mounted, and then bound in.

And these mutilations are not the only things of which the collector must
beware. Early in the history of books, the reputation that hall-marked
the publications of certain famous presses became a source of envy to
less fortunate printers. Type and imprints were soon counterfeited, and
the fine editions of the Classics printed at Venice by the great Aldine
press were reproduced at Lyons and elsewhere. In this matter of forgery
and pirated reprints, you will find Gustave Brunet's 'Imprimeurs
Imaginaires et Libraires Supposes' of value. It is a catalogue of books
printed with fictitious indication of place or with wrong dates, an
octavo volume published in 1866.

These things, however, cannot be learnt at once, and it is only by the
continual study of catalogues and bibliographies that one comes to know
them. Needless to say, however, all reputable booksellers will take back
a work which is discovered to be imperfect, provided that the volume be
returned without delay.

Books, like those who gave them birth, are of all conditions; but from
the collector's point of view they may be divided conveniently into five
classes. To the First Class belong those volumes which are described by
booksellers and auctioneers as 'fine copies.' Ever since their
publication they have been in the possession of wealthy men, often peers,
and (sometimes like their owners!) have passed their lives for the most
part undisturbed amid luxurious surroundings. They are invariably richly
bound, often in historic bindings, and are clean and fresh inside.
Frequently they are sumptuous works and presentation copies, and they
always command high prices. In a word, they are aristocra