Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2005 Issue
History of the Book from Charles Wood Antiquarian Booksellers
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Wouldn't a more common vegetable, such as corn, be a better new source for making paper? Well, what do you know! Here is William Cobbett's A Treatise on Cobbett's Corn... This 1828 self-published book evidently has lots of information on corn, including making paper from it. The title and contents page of this book were actually made from cornhusks Cobbett had grown. Of course, if this was such a good idea, I wonder why he used regular paper to print the rest of the book. Perhaps if Congress mandated that 15% of paper be made from corn, as they did with ethanol and gasoline, this process would catch on. Item 30. $575.
Item 32 is an unusual book. It is Abrege du Dictionnaire des Cas de de Conscience, de M. pontas by M. Collet, published in Paris in 1771. Actually, it doesn't matter what it is, nor does it matter that this is only volume 1. What makes it special is that the book has been hollowed out to create a safe inside. A music box has also been placed inside, perhaps to tell criminals in which book the safe is hidden. The book isn't much good for reading, not only because its middle has been carved away, but because what remains of its pages were glued together to create the space. Still, it creates a wonderful surprise when you open the cover and the music box begins to play. As Wood notes, "On one level it's kitsch and it is certainly book mutilation, but it is also a delightful surprise when you lift the cover!" Be thankful this owner didn't possess a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is from the 18th century, the modifications were likely made in the late 19th or early 20th. $250.
Item 67 is an artist's instruction book that is a work of art itself. Originally published in 1834, this is an 1846 third edition of Elementary Art, or the Use of the Chalk and Lead Pencil Advocated and Explained, by James Harding. This book is almost entirely devoted to the drawing of trees, and the images Harding has provided are stunning (see the sample picture on this page). If this book can teach you to draw the way Harding does, it will be worth many times its price. $600.
You may find Charles Wood Antiquarian Booksellers online at www.cbwoodbooks.com or reach them by phone at 617-868-1711.
