Bibliography and Printing History (some imaginary) from Frits Knuf
Bibliography and more about books from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books.
By Michael Stillman
This month we review our first catalogue from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books. Frits Knuf is located in Vendome, about a hundred miles from Paris, France. Founded and operated for many years by Frits Knuf, it is currently managed by Anita and Rene van Elferen. Their specialty is old and rare bibliographies and other books about the printing and bookselling trades. The books they offer are not only collectible in themselves, but of great assistance to those who collect earlier antiquarian books, especially those printed in Europe (but with a few American works available as well). Here are a few items we found in the Frits Knuf catalogue.
The de Bure family were book collectors, booksellers, auctioneers, and all around bibliophiles for 200 years. However, when Jean Jacques de Bure died in 1853, the library that many generations of the family had assembled was put up for auction. Item 13 is a copy of the catalogue of that 1853 auction, Catalogue Des Livres Rares et Precieux...De La Bibliotheque De Feu M. J.J. De Bure... The auction contained 1,853 lots. Priced at €400 (Euros, or US equivalent $520).
As the de Bure collection was being dispersed in Europe, a new collection was about to begin in the new world. By the time Robert Hoe's collection was similarly sold at auction in 1911, it would have become the greatest private collection in America. Among the items Hoe owned was a collection of bookbindings, which he pictured and described in a catalogue in 1895. That catalogue is One hundred and seventy-six historic and artistic bookbindings dating from the fifteenth century to the present time... Hoe's collection, naturally, started from the Gutenberg Bible, and included many illuminated manuscripts as well as books. Item 27 was limited to 200 copies. €2,100 (US $2,723).
There aren't many people who still question the recognition of Johannes Gutenberg as the first printer, but for much of the 17th and 18th centuries, a controversy raged. Several others were at times put forward as candidates (sort of like various names have been proposed as the "real" author of Shakespeare's works). Most notable among them was Laurens Jansz Koster. He had much support from various fellow Dutchmen, until Dutch researcher Antonius van der Linde debunked the claims. Item 18 is an 1823 booklet of twelve songs celebrating the fourth centenary of Koster's "invention" of the printing press. That would place the invention at 1423. Indeed, the book contains an image of Koster's press with the date 1423. Like the claim, the image of the press is spurious, as is the supposed portrait of Koster. However, that does not mean that the songs celebrating his non-invention aren't good. We have never heard them, but you can at least see them in Volks-Liedekens...Laurens Jansz. €125 (US $162).
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Bibliography and Printing History (some imaginary) from Frits Knuf
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Another attempt to credit Koster with the invention of printing is found in De Boekdrukkunst En Derzelver Uitvinder Laurens Jansz. Koster, by Petrus Dusseau. Another Dutch book, from 1839, this is a schoolbook, in the form of a father speaking to his children. It presents a nice, if inaccurate, story. Item 25. €975 (US $1,267).
For those looking for a different pretender, how about Johann Mentel as the first printer? Mentel was a famous 15th century German printer, noted for his 1466 Strasbourg Bible. That is very early in printing, but about a dozen years too late to be the first. Mentel never made any claims to being first, but a descendant, Jacques Mentel, made one about two centuries later. The book is De Vera Typographia Paraenensis...from 1650. There is no "vera" in this made-up tale. Knuf tells us the claim was based on a legend created by Mentel's grandson, and that the author added his own forgeries to support a dishonest claim. Item 40. €900 (US $ 1,169).
Thomas Frognall Dibdin is one of the most celebrated of "bibliomaniacs." A collector of books and writer about book collecting, his name is still synonymous with the pursuit almost two hundred years later. The best known of his books is The Bibliomania; or, Book-Madness; Containing Some account of the History, Symptoms, and Cure of This Fatal Disease. Of course Dibdin never was cured, nor were his bibliophilic friends of whom he writes in this book. However, Dibdin became a model for those who could relate to his passion, making his books quite collectible. Item 21 is a first edition, published in 1809. €550 (US $714).
Two decades later, the bibliophile with the funny middle name would lament the current conditions of the book market. An economic recession, along with the fear that handling books might spread cholera, rampant at the time, led to a depression in book prices. Dibdin, under the penname "Mercurius Rusticus," reports on various bookshops he visited and the state of their depressed business. The book is Bibliophobia. Remarks of the Present Languid And Depressed State of Literature and the Book Trade. Only 100 copies of the 1832 book were printed. Item 19. €550. (US $714).
Here is a novel that never made it to print. It is here only in the manuscript, dated 1879, with a signed dedication from the maybe author, one A. Mulins. The title is Saska. Nouvelle Neerlandaise. That dedication, with affection, goes to a Madeleine Lenoir. The story, written in French, is about Saska, an orphan from Prague, who comes to live in Holland around 1810. Knuf notes that the book provides many facts about North Holland at the time and includes illustrations taken from other works. Item 41. €620 (US $805).
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Bibliography and Printing History (some imaginary) from Frits Knuf
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For those who collect American children's books, item 48 is a copy of the premier printing of A.S.W. Rosenbach's Early American Children's Books. Rosenbach was one of the leading American booksellers of the first half of the 20th century. His career started while working for his uncle, also a bookseller, late in the 19th century. His uncle collected American children's books, a collection Rosenbach inherited and expanded. In 1933, he published this bibliography based upon his own collection. This copy is one of a print run of 88 copies on Zerkall Halle paper, and is substantially more valued than the regular first edition, itself limited to 585 copies and highly prized. This copy also contains the signature of Mr. Rosenbach, also known as "The Doctor." €1,800 (US $2,336).
Item 1 is one of those ironic pieces. Titled De La Coeur Du Parliament Qui Ordonne La Suppression Des Exemplaires..., it censors a book. However, it's not just any book, but one which granted permission to read forbidden books. Obviously, the state could not permit such a book to be read. €200 (US $259).
Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books may be found online at www.fritsknuf.com or reached by phone at +33 (0) 254 72 26 56.
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