was manifested in the Coronation number of the Sun, which was printed in gilt letters in 1838. Two or three shillings would have purchased a copy of this five years ago, but directly the Jubilee celebrations were announced the price rose to IOS. or 12S. At the present time it stands at about 5s., but when another coronation takes place it will probably reach £1, or near it.

These two examples afford cogent evidence of the liability of the public to be swayed even in their choice of books by the events of the day. So sure as a subject, no matter what, takes a firm hold of the popular mind, so certainly will books which treat of it rise both in importance and value. It is obvious that great results may be achieved by looking ahead, and so ascertaining what event is likely to become prominent in the near future.

16. Works on ancient and modern philosophy, jurisprudence and medicine, philology and criticism, parliamentary procedure and practice, including reports of debates and journals of both houses, may be classed under one heading. They are works which do not often change hands, and vary but little in price. Books of this class to be of

value must be the best of their kind. Old law and medical works are, as a rule, worse than useless; they are misleading, and the pecuniary value attaching to them is consequently trivial

in the extreme.

Reports of proceedings in the courts, statutes, medical treatises tinged with astrology, and old surgical works written by practitioners who effected a radical change in professional opinion are, however, exceptions. These, as a rule, sell well, and are likely to maintain their value in the future.

17. Geographical works, strictly so called, are worthless unless quite new or exceedingly old. In the former case they are useful; in the latter they take a high position as curiosities, in which event they are, and have been for some time, rising in value. We must remember that old books of voyages and travels are distinctly geographical in their nature, and many of these are excessively rare and valuable. Books relating to the American Continent have already been referred to as being well-nigh impossible to obtain, and it may be taken as an axiom that any book of travels, dated during the 17th century or at any time previous, are certain to be worth far more in the near future than they are now. Thus, the voyages of Sir Francis Drake, Esquemeling's "Bucaniers of America," and all Eden's and Hakluyt's works are becoming scarcer every day. Good copies of Cook's voyagesan 18th century book of course are in the same position. Nearly all these old books of discovery have, however, been reprinted or pub

lished in an abridged or "improved" form, and of these later editions the reader must beware. They are mostly found in small octavo and dated between 1750 and 1820, and illustrated with old and worn-out plates. Their value, from any point of view, is simply nil. Atlases, if old (dated say before 1700), are rising in value; all others are distinctly deteriorating. On the whole, the only kind of geographical works worth collecting for future purposes are 15th, 16th, and 17th century voyages, travels, and maps.

18. Historical and biographical works are somewhat in the same position as geographical treatises. They must be quite new or else very old, and they must also be of the best quality. Hundreds and thousands of trivial books of this class litter the stalls, and are to be bought for a few pence each. They consist for the most part of inferior editions of the works of famous authors, bad translations, or abridgments got up for sale at a cheap rate. These worthless books are mostly dated during the 18th century, though some were published at the beginning of this. Historical and biographical works do not afford much scope for the collector, though some, such as the old chronicles, are valuable, and may reasonably be expected to become more course of time.

so in

19. Of recent years great curiosity has been

evinced by almost every class of society in books on astrology, geomancy, white or black magic, witchcraft, mesmerism, and other occult or mystical sciences. By far the greater number are in Latin, but in whatever language they may be, there can be no doubt of their great importance. It is said that large quantities are collected for export to America, where the value is, if anything, greater than it is here. Whatever the facts in this respect, it seems to be beyond question that the past five years has witnessed a rapid rise in works of this class. Even the new books continually being published by one or two firms who have made this particular branch of literature a speciality, sell rapidly and well. In my opinion, all works of this class, old or new, will continue to rise in the market, and at present offer one of the best investments it is possible for the collector to secure.

G

CHAPTER V.

UNCONSIDERED TRIFLES.

HE greatest of Shakespearian scholars, the late Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps, narrates that when he first began hunting for old books at the various stalls, black-letter volumes were as plentiful as blackberries. These for the most part he found in very unlikely places—often indeed among masses of rubbish exposed for sale in boxes outside the booksellers' windows. About the year 1840, he began to turn his attention to the more special work of collecting Shakespeare quartos, and steadily accumulated a considerable number, which included no less than three examples of the very rare "Romeo and Juliet" of 1609. In fact, more early quarto Shakespeares were at one time or another in that gentleman's possession than are ever likely to fall to the lot of a single individual again, while his collection of black-letter tracts, many of the highest degree of rarity, was