Our Johnsonian Collector in Western Australia reports...
I have recently received a letter from David L. Vander Meulen thanking me for mentioning Volume 48 of Studies in Bibliography in the last edition of the Southern Johnsonian. Readers will recall that this book was dedicated to the memory of our late Patron, Dr David Fleeman.
Readers might also recall; a mention in the December 1995 edition of the SJ of Samuel Johnson's Translation of Sallust. This was edited by David Vander Meulen and was a first edition of this particular piece of Johnson's writings. David informs me that there are still some copies available through the University of Virginia at $US25.
Available also is one of the last of the late Dr Fleeman's works, A Preliminary Handset of Books to which Dr Samuel Johnson Subscribed, at a price of $US10. The address is: Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia, Alderman Library, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America 22903.
Before writing and publishing (with Donald D. Eddy) the Preliminary Handset, David Fleeman also published A Preliminary Handlist of Books Associated with Dr Samuel Johnson (1984) and The Sale Catalogue of Samuel Johnson's Library a Facsimile Edition (1975) together with Donald Greene's Samuel Johnson's Library: an Annotated Guide (1975).
The four works are required reading for a serious Johnson collector. Many of the books described are still awaiting rediscovery and it is not inconceivable that one or more of them could be in Australia. What a find such a volume would be!
Sally Edgecombe of J. Clarke-Hall Ltd, booksellers, of 22 Bride Lane, London EC4 Y8DX has just published Bulletin 14. As I have previous mentioned, Sally specialises in Johnson, Boswell and their circle. As always, the latest bulletin contains many good things. A letter to Sally will result in any interested member being placed on her mailing list.
From the latest bulletin I obtained Facsimiles of a Collection of Johnson Manuscripts in the Library of R.B. Adam. Published by R.B. Adam, of Buffalo, new York in 1926 as a Christmas keepsake, this is a memento of one of the great Johnson libraries. Ultimately purchased, in toto, by our Patron, Viscountess Eccles (then Mary Hyde) and her late husband, Donald Hyde, the Adams library was the foundation of the great collection at Four Oaks Farm.
Peter Tinsley's Antique Book Shop is situated at McMahons Point in Sydney (PO Box 7127, McMahons Point, NSW 2060). He issues regular and excellent catalogues. Often, there are items of Johnsonian interest, more often items for the collector of "books about books."
I have previous told you of my interest in the American collector of the early part of this century, A. Edward Newton. Newton's great library was sold in New York, over three days, in 1941.
Some treasures, such as Johnson's teapot, ended up at Four Oaks Farm. Newton wrote many books about book collecting, the best-known of which would be This Book Collecting Game.
A great Johnsonian, he was first American to become President of the Johnson Society in Lichfield. I have collected Newton for years, and hope to attend a conference in Philadelphia later this year, which will concentrate on this man.
Imagine my surprise to see in peter Tinsley's Catalogue 90, Newton's own copy of Sextodecimos et Infra, no 63 of 140 copies, with Newton's book plate.
It appears this very book was No 18 in Part I of the sale catalogue. It was written by William Loring Andrews, a famous new York collector at the end of the last century and is an exquisite example of 19th Century book production with a rubricated title page and fine color illustrations.
I have recently been lucky enough to purchase a copy of the fourth edition of Johnson's Dictionary. Published in two volumes in folio, this was the last edition which was revised by Johnson, and the acquisition of it fulfils a long-held desire.
To make room on my shelves I will have to dispose of my 7th edition of the Dictionary. Perhaps some member of the Society would like to acquire this volume, and I offer it before disposing of it through the antiquarian book trade. Anyone interested should email, putting "attention John B" in the subject line.
I have also recently acquired two other editions of the Dictionary. The first is a miniature edition published in Belfast, 1893, and inscribed "A. Healy, Dublin Street, Cork." I acquired it through a Perth bookseller.
The second is an 1836 American edition published in Philadelphia. I have not yet received this volume, but it does not appear to be mentioned in the standard bibliography. I obtained it from Louella Kerr and Lorraine Reed who have their shop at 30 Glenmore Road, Paddington NSW 2021. They also publish most interesting catalogues and I recommend these dealers to you.
Finally, let my recommend to you Boswell and Hyde, published by Penguin in its Syrens series in 1995 and written by Karl Miller. Syrens is a series of essays over a wide range, to be found at any good bookseller. This work is an examination of "...the mentality of James Boswell and my experience of his life and works." A good read in the 201st year after Boswell's death.
return to the Johnson Society Home Page