947 PibW3 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES NATHANIEL PAINE. THE LIBRARY OF NATHANIEL PAINE. BY S. W. WEBB. FBOM THE WOBCE8TEB HOMK JOUBNAL. WORCESTER, MASS. 1885. "And books we know As a substantial world, both pure and good; Round these with tendrils strong as flesh and blood, Our pastime and our happiness will grow." IN these days of fine public libraries, easily accessible, the interest in gather- ing together a large private library has somewhat abated. In these public libraries are books covering the whole field of literature from books of scholar- ly research to the latest novel. Very naturally therefore one asks himself, why go to the expense of getting a fine private library, when one has free ac- cess to all the books of our public libra- ries ? But while the public library fills a place, and a very large one, in the com- munity, it can never take the place wholly of the private library. For, not only does one wish certain useful books always ready to his hand, but every real lover of books has certain indiosyncra- sies, or favorite lines of study which de- termine the kind of books which he de- lights to have about him, so that he gets hold of many books not to be found in any general library. Indeed, many of the books- in private libraries can not be found in any other library, public or private, having been so modified and ex- tended by the introduction of illustra- tions, and various addenda, as to be quite unlike the original work. And then, too, many of the most valuable works in many private libraries are largely the work of the owner, the matter having been compiled by him from various sources, and bound together in one volume. The private library of Nathaniel Paine, Esq., of this city, is made up to quite a large extent of this kind of books. It numbers some 2000 volumes, and is ex- ceedingly rich in historical and biograph- ical works. The value and interest of many of the books have been largely in- creased by additions he has made to them of portraits, autographs, letters, and other valuable material illustrative of the subjects treated. The scholarly tastes of Mr. Paine are well known. He is a prominent member not only of the American Antiquarian Society, but of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, and is the author of a number of volumes which are a material addition to the value of the libraries of both societies. Mr. Paine's library is of a miscellane- ous nature, though historical and bio- graphical works seem to be favorites. He has also gathered together a large number of autographs and has already had two sales of books, portraits, auto- graphs, engravings and such like. The last one, held in New York some seven years ago, consisted largely of auto- graphs and engraved portraits, and he has many still remaining. He began the for- mation of his library when a young man, and has added to it as he has had opportu- nity ever since. Some of the autographs and letters of distinguished men were given him, others were bought, and still others obtained by exchange. The rage for these has so increased within the last few years that many of them are now ex- ceedingly rare, and correspondingly val- uable. Mr. Paine comes naturally by his love for the antique and historic, his grandfather and great uncle being among the founders of the American Antiqua- rian Society. One of the most interesting and valua- ble works of Mr. Paine's collection is Irving' s Life of Washington. This edi- tion was published in five volumes, and 110 copies only of the edition were print- ed. These five volumes have been extend- ed to ten by the addition of portraits of distinguished men, American and English, of Washington's time, pictures of battles, autographs, original letters, etc., includ- ing 60 or 70 portraits of Washington. Also a representation of the Boston Mas- sacre engraved by Paul Revere and sold by him; this engraving which repre- sents the British soldiers in their red coats is very rare. Mr. Paine has also insert- ed in the volumes a large number of au- tographs and manuscript letters. Among them is a letter of Gen. Washington the authenticity of which is attested by Jared Sparks on the reverse side; auto- graph of George II. ; autograph letters of Gov. Shirley, Benjamin Franklin, and of Lord Amherst; also autographs of Lord North, of George IV., of Patrick Henry, of Gov. Bernard, and Gen. Stark; indeed, the volumes contain nearly all the auto- graphs of the prominent American gen- erals and officers of the Revolutionary war. The volumes are substantially bound in half morocco. Mr. Paine has nearly completed an additional volume which will be enriched with illustrations of badges, steel portraits, and with news- paper cuttings of an historical and a bio- graphical nature. Another work in which we were greatly interested was two volumes entitled Autographs and Portraits of the Signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence. The contents of the volumes are divided into an Historical Monograph; History of the thirteenOriginal States and Biographies of the Signers of the Declara- tion of Independence, to which are added their portraits and autographs. That there may he no doubt in regard to the genuineness of the autographs, Mr. Paine has inserted fac-similes of them with which to compare the original. He has found it very difficult to get the au- tographs of the Georgia signers, having been able so far to secure but one of them. Only eleven autographs are lack- ing, however, out of the whole number, and some of these he expects to obtain ; the volumes are large, and hand- somely bound in Turkey morocco. What we have said in regard to the two preceding works gives but little idea of their historic interest and value. Hours could be spent in looking over each one without beginning to exhaust its inter- est. Every autograph and letter is rich in historic association, and carries one 8 back in imagination to the times that "tried men's souls." Mr. Paine has a way of enlarging and greatly enriching his library as is seen by his method with Irving' s Life of Washington. Given a work whose sub- ject matter is adapted to it, he extends the number of volumes indefinitely by binding in with the printed matter auto- graph letters, portraits and various other collateral matter which gives added in- terest. By this method many of his books are sui generis. Their exact dupli- cates can not be found elsewhere in all the libraries of the globe. He has car- ried this same principle of enlargement into a work entitled A Biographical His- tory of the Fine Arts. Published origin- ally in two volumes, he has extended it to nine, by adding portraits of artists, engravers, sculptors, architects etc. ; the two volumes have about 800 portraits of artists, of which only 100 were in the volumes as originally published. Many of the illustrations which have been added in this work and in the others are "inlaid," so that the illustrations and leaf together are the same thickness as the original leaf, thus preventing any bulging from extra thickness. Each of the nine volumes has an illuminated title- page of different and unique designs, made by the owner. In a small way he has carried his prin- ciple into many other works. We have not space to much more than merely mention some of them. Gen. Devens's oration at the Centennial anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill was presented by the orator to Mr. Paine, only three cop- ies of this particular edition having been printed. Mr. Paine has finely illustra- ted it with portraits of the men men- tioned in the address, so that the book becomes entirely unique. In the same way Gen. Devens's oration at the dedica- tion of the Soldiers and Sailors' Monu- ment on Boston Common, three copies were specially printed, one of which was presented to Mr. Paine, this has also been illustrated, and the original notes which Gen. Devens used in the delivery of his address, inserted. Mr. Paine has carried the scrap-book system to perfection. By economizing his spare hours he has got together a set of scrap-books of various kinds which are invaluable. One of them treats of Thomas Bewick and Wood Engraving, taken from Harper's Magazine and the Century; it receives special interest from the fact that Bewick was the father of English 10 wood engraving. Another is the Circus and Menagerie, the title-page of which is finely printed by the pen and brush of Mr. Paine; there are abundant illustra- tions and the reading matter consists of the history of the circus taken from St. Nicholas and of various newspaper cut- tings, the whole making a book which would delight the hearts of chil- dren, little and large. We also saw a scrap-book relating to the book publish- ers of the country; one relating to the history of our local Continentals; anoth- er, which was made up of clippings from the local papers in the late war from April 1861 to Jan. 1862, is of great interest as it relates to Worcester soldiers, with portraits of many of them. It is but a step from scrap-books to pamphlets. In these the library is very rich, the pamphlets numbering from 600 to 800. While those of a historical and biographical character preponderate, many are of a miscellaneous nature. The number relating to local subjects is very large. A complete set of Musical Festival pamphlets may be found here, moreover, the contents of each pamphlet is available at once when desired. Kept in cases which are carefully indexed, 11 Mr. Paine knows at once where to put his hand on the one treating on any giv- en subject. It may be added that many of these pamphlets were privately printed. Books of Fables have a large place here; they include those from the early editions of .ZEsop to the late editions of Gay, Bewick, Northcote, Dore and the American editions of Stevens and others. These works are profusely illustrated and make one of the features of the library. Especially worthy of mention in this con- nection is Stockdale's edition of Robinson Crusoe, 2 volumes, 1790, illustrated by Strothard and bound in treecalf. There are several editions of Robinson Crusoe, one dating back as early as 1720. One of the latest volumes added to the library is a very handsome large paper copy of Gulliver's Travels, just published by Nimmo of London. The typograph- ical appearance of the volume, and the excellence of the 180 colored illustrations, and the many wood-cuts, make it the finest edition of this standard work yet published. Bibliomaniacs are quite generally looked upon with a pity akin to con- tempt. They are apt to be placed in the same category with cranks. From a 12 purely business point of view they are in the minds of many thoroughly impracti- cal. Experience, however, does not justify such an opinion. Indeed, it is a question whether there can be found a better paying investment in the long run than the judicious purchase of rare and valuable books. One of these biblioma- niacs of Troy, N. Y., at the end of twen- ty years sold his collection, and he stated that it produced him more than 50 per cent, of their actual cost, whereas he had sold his house for less than half its cost. Speaking of the fact he said, "There has been more money fooled away in Troy by many a man in the last twenty years, in stocks and horses and clubs without a cent to show for it than I put into my books with $11,000 to show for them, after using them all these years." Not every man is qualified to buy books any more than every man is qualified to judge of a good horse. But he who buys his books with good judgment, not only has in them pleasant companions and valuable resources, but has likewise a safe moneyed investment. How much Mr. Paine's books have cost him, we do not know, but we do know that he finds in them a delightful companionship, and that as an investment he could probably 13 as a banker point out many a man walk- ing the streets of Worcester whose in- vestments in stocks and even real estate can not begin to make so good an ex- hibit as his, from a purely pecuniary standpoint. As we have stated, historical and bio- graphical works are predominant. There are several lives of Washington, as Sparks's, Bancroft's and others; some 50 volumes containing eulogies of Wash- ington by various writers; Lossing's Mt. Vernon and its Associations with extra illustrations. Among others of these works are five scrap-books of Revolution- ary sketches made up from magazine arti- cles and illustrated ; History of the Amer- ican Flag published as one volume and ex- tended to two, having a fragment of the flag of Fort McHenry on which was com- posed the song "Star Spangled Banner;" a complete set of the orations on the Boston Massacre, 1771-83, very rare; lives of many of the Revolutionary generals with their autographs ; a large collection of works relating to Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. In one of the works on Lexington is a manuscript in which is set forth in detail the damages sustained by a citizen of Lexington from the British troops, amounting to 145 14 pounds English money. The document is dated 1782, and among the things dam- aged are five fine shirts, blue serge coat and jacket, several penknives and sleeve- buttons, one pound and four shillings worth of rum and molasses wasted, beef and cheese carried away, teapot and por- angers damaged etc. The man evidently kept a store, and the red-coats made themselves free and easy with his stock of goods. An interesting reminder of the late civil war is an extra of the Charleston Mercury, 1860, advocating the dissolution of the union, which Mr. Paine received from the south soon after it was issued, and has used it as one of the extra illustrations to Lossing's His- tory of the Civil War. A complete set of the " Proceedings" of the American Antiquarian Society illustrated by many portraits of members who have read papers before the Society is here. Com- plete sets are exceedingly difficult* to obtain; probably the number of them could be counted on one's fingers. We noticed a complete set of the Magazine of American History and also of the Pennsylvania Magazine, both adding to the historical treasures of the collection. We should not fail to add to these the first edition of Bancroft's History of the 15 United States, the value of which has been greatly increased by the addition of vari- ous portraits and views. Another curi- ous book is one entitled " Antique Views of the Town of Boston," a quarto volume, one of the covers of which has upon the outside a piece of wood taken from the old elm on Boston Common, with a pic- ture of the tree, and a letter from the Mayor of Boston in regard to it printed upon it. We should not fail to mention the large series of bibliographical works to be found in the library. A thick 8vo vol. with the title "Bibliographical Notes" contains newspaper cuttings relating to rare and curious books, private libraries, book sales, early editions and bibliographical matter generally. The library contains also Sabin's Bibliopolist complete, and several volumes relating to libraries and book collecting. Comic works are also represented in a goodly number. Prominent among these are two volumes made up from Thack- eray's and other writers' notices of Cruikshank, illustrated with a large number of portraits, engravings by the famous caricaturist, also a fine autograph letter of Cruikshank. The works of John Leach, Du Maurier and Thomas Nast 16 are also represented in the library. The collection of the latter contains the Tweed caricatures mounted on separate sheets. There are also books on giants, dwarfs, monstrosities, the reading mat- ter of which has been culled from news- papers and magazines, and illustrated, making them, we venture to say, unlike any other books to be found anywhere. While Mr. Paine has not gone very largely into the collection of the oldest books, yet he has secured quite a number, printed from one to three hundred years ago. Among these may be mentioned various rare almanacs, as Weatherwise's 1781, Stearns's Almanac 1776, giv- ing an account of the battle of Lexing- ton, printed by Isaiah Thomas at Wor- cester, and Low's Almanac 1777, containing a map of the seat of war in New York; Isaiah Thomas's T/>y Books of 100 years ago, with curious and crude wood-cuts, and side by side with them, by way of contrast, are the magnifi- cent toy books of to-day, of Stevens, Crane and Caldecott; several quaint works of Cotton and of Increase Mather, all of which are now rare ; a f ac-simile of the first edition of Pilgrim's Progress; fragments of a book printed in 1497 in Strasbourg, having curious wood-cuts; 17 the first folio edition of the New Testa- ment printed in Worcester and in this country, by Isaiah Thomas, 1791; a large number of books on the drama and act- ors, many of which have extra illus- trations; a number of New England primers; British and American almanacs; Alexander Barclay's translation of Brandt's Ship of Fools, a German satire, published in 1494, with fac-similes of the curious wood-cuts in the edition of 1497, being the Edinburgh edition of 1874, bound in full treecalf. There are a number of noteworthy books of a miscellaneous nature of which space compels us to give only a brief notice. One is the history of wood en- graving in America by W. J. Linton, the eminent wood engraver, of which only a limited edition was printed, to which extra illustrations have been added by Mr. Paine, also an autograph letter of the author. The first book printed in Wor- cester, containing a narrative of the battle of Lexington and published by Isaiah Thomas after he left Boston and came to Worcester. A fine uncut copy of the 1st edition of Thomas's History of Printing, illustrated with portraits, autographs, copies of early newspapers, etc. Arctic Explorations, such as Sir Edward Belcher 2 18 and Markham among the English, and Kane, Hayes, Hall, Gilder and the Jean- ne tie Expeditions among the American; Alden's Epitaphs, New York 1814; four volumes of photographs of Madonnas and Holy Families, making an interesting and valuable work. Among the stan- dard works in the collection may be mentioned two or three editions of Shakespeare; one is the scarce eight- volume edition published by Philips, Sampson & Co., Boston, 1850-51, long since out of print; Halliwell's in three volumes with portraits of actors in cos- tume; Harvard Memorial biographies of those who served in the war, 2 vols.with inserted portraits ; Keynard the Fox, illus- trated by Joseph Wolf and Kaulbach, bound in full morocco;' Famous Paint- ers, finely illustrated; a fac-simile of the first edition of Walton's "Complete Angler;" and a fac-simile of the first edition of Goody Two Shoes, 1766; the Life of Prescott, quarto edition, Ticknor's Life and Letters, Letters of J. T. Field, all of them enriched by auto- graphs of the subjects and by the addi- tion of illustrations; very fine editions of Thackeray and of Dickens, and many of the standard novelists. The list might be indefinitely extended, but these we 19 have mentioned will give a good idea of some of the curious books in the library. There is a collection of priced catalogues of auction sales of prominent libraries in this country and Europe. It is almost unnecessary to add that the standard works of various kinds which are usu- ally found in private libraries may be seen here. Mr. Paine' s library, as might be ex- pected, is well stocked with works relat- ing to local history. He has a complete set of Worcester directories, among the number the first directory, 1828, having only two leaves, also that of 1829, these have been bound together and enlarged by the insertion of various illustrations, many of them consisting of the portraits of old citizens, with a rare map of the town ; a full set of the city documents ; a manuscript sermon preached in 1749, by Rev. Mr. Maccarty, settled over the Old South; Random Recollections of Worcester, 1839-43 with letters and va- rious documents; Lincoln's History of Worcester, a presentation copy by the author to Mr. Paine' s grandfather and extended by Mr. Paine by the insertion of illustrations, also another set interleaved for corrections and additions ; a full his- tory of the local Centennial celebration 20 in 1876, comprising all the documents that relate thereto, and also a like col- lection of all documents relating to the Bi- centennial celebration of 1884. We have mentioned only a few of the more promi- nent of his works on local history, but these will serve as samples. We will only add that among his local literature, the articles that have appeared in the HOME JOURNAL relating to Worcester history have been preserved in scrap book form. Mr. Paine is not simply a collector of books, but an author as well, we do not refer to the books he has made by addi- tions and extensions, but to books he has written or compiled. We have already alluded to the fact that he has contribut- ed works of substantial merit to theAmer- ican Antiquarian Society and to the So- ciety of Antiquity. Some twelve or four- teen volumes of his works may be seen on his shelves. These works are largely local, relating to the history of Worces- ter. Mr. Paine in his spare hours has 'devoted not a little time in investigat- ing facts of interest bearing upon the past history of our city, and these facts he has embodied in these volumes. Prominent among these is one read be- fore the Society of Antiquity entitled 21 Random Recollections of Worcester. It is a private edition of which only fifty copies were printed. It has been en- larged into a thick octavo and illustrated with portraits, views of Worcester, maps and newspaper cuttings. He is also author of a valuable work on the "Ear- ly Paper Currency of Massachusetts." His own volume of which receives added interest from containing samples of early bills, modern currency, portraits and other appropriate illustrations. Apropos to works on currency, Mr. Paine has collected in a volume samples of the fractional currency of the United States, the Massachusetts currency of 1722, the fractional currency during the period of the Revolutionary war, and the war of 1812. It includes a complete set of the late United States fractional currency, and many of the various paper substitutes for silver at the time of the civil war, in addition to these are samples of bills, na- tional, state, and Confederate. In another work he has a list of the Colonial and Continental money, published in Phila- delphia, enlarged by the addition of numerous samples of the bills treated of, most of which are genuine bills, with fac-similes of some of the rarer ones. Speaking of currency reminds us nat- 22 urally of coins, of which Mr. Paine has quite a collection. He sold a collection several years ago, disposing of them at a good profit when the fever for them was at its highest. His collection now consists mostly of medals, with a few coins which are largely proof sets of U. S. silver and smaller coins, and were not is- sued for general circulation. Among the medals are a number which have special interest from their local character ; such as the Gov. John Davis medal, the Isaac Davis bronze medal, the Quinsiga- mond regatta medal in bronze, struck by the citizens of Worcester in commemora- tion of the regatta of 1866, also the bronze medal issued by the Worcester Continentals at the time of their great fair. He has also a collection of some 2000 postage stamps; mostly made several years ago when the collecting of them was one of his hobbies. These stamps are for the most part uncancelled, and mounted on fine quarto sheets, illustrat- ed by the coat of arms of different coun- tries. Mr. Paine' s library, as one can readily see, is the farthest remove from regula- tion books ; a large proportion of the vol- umes have been enriched with portraits, autographs and biographical notices of the authors, as also newspaper cuttings with notices of the books or some kin- dred information. Not unfrequently these additions are as valuable as the original matter, and far more difficult to obtain. The library becomes thus not only unique, but extremely valuable be- cause of the wonderfully full and varied information it contains. Mr. Paine as cashier of one of our city banks is a busy man, and this work on his books has been done in the few leisure moments he could snatch from time to time out- side of business hours. The fact that he has done so much himself to enrich his books renders them far more inter- esting, and will give them an additional value to any one in whose hands they may happen to come in the future. One can hardly iflok anywhere in the house without being reminded of the owner's love of books, They are scat- tered through every room from parlor to attic in delightful profusion. They are found in glass cases, on open shelves, ly- ing on tables and in all sorts of nooks and corners. At hand near his desk are encyclopaedias, biographical dictionaries and other books of reference. Mr. Paine usually keeps several uncompleted books on hand, adding now to one and now 24 to another as he obtains the desired portrait, autograph or newspaper cut- ting. Very much of his time, out of business hours, is spent in this way among his books, and that he finds not a little enjoyment in it goes without say- ing. While Mr. Paine has not many volumes bound by the celebrities in the art, yet they are mostly in a substantial binding presenting an attractive appearance to the eye. Though doubtless handled quite a good deal, their neat, tidy ap- pearance shows that they are never abused. To keep books nicely is an art; and the books of this library give evi- dence that their owner has well learned the art. On the whole it is a most de- lightful as well as valuable collection of books, telling in silent but expressive language of the industry, judgment and taste of the owner. THfcJ Li.-i UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES z 997 KL6W3