V OF THE UNIVERSITY O^ OF '4&F0R^ rYp ^^"ion^ Strawberry Hill Catalogues Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/accountofdescripOOmerrrich ^o£/M:j^c^^ X.. /M^^ ACCOUNT OF 'Descriptive (Catalogues of Strawberry //ill AND OF Strawberry jFiill Sale (Catalogues TOGETHER WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHY By Percival Merritt "BO s TO :^C privately printed by bruce rogers Mdccccxv PREFACE W^ A LP OLE said in regard to his Anecdotes of Painting in England, ^My view in publishing the Anecdotes was^ to assist gentlemen in discovering the hands of pidures they possess; and lam sufficiently rewarded when that purpose is answered."* The objed of this present slight con- tribution to the general fund of biblio- graphical information is somewhat sim- ilar; particularly with regard to the bibliography of Strawberry J^ill sale catalogues. In t<9^ VI "^^ In library catalogues and in book- sellers* lists a Strawberry /lill sale cat- alogue is commonly a Strawberry /lill sale catalogue and nothing more. This is conspicuously so as to that portion of the sale which adually occurred at Strawberry //ill. But to any colledor who may wish to have an accurate idea of what was offered for sale and what prices were realizjed there is a consid- erable choice in the catalogues. The following pages will serve either as an identification of what such a col- lector already possesses^ or as a guide to what he may wish to possess. Instead of buttressing each page with reference foot-notes^ it seems simpler to make here a general acknowledgement of author- ities. Quotations Quotations from Walpoles Letters are from the Toynbee edition in sixteen volumes^ Oxford^ 1903- 1905. The ac- count of the sale at Strawberry J^ill in 1842, and of the sale catalogues^ is based on advertisements^ correspond- ence and reports of the sale in the Lon- don Times; on extrads from the Gen- tleman's Magazine, Evening Mail, and other contemporaneous periodical publications. A ny one who may be curious enough to refer to the Times advertisements will speedily discover that in many instan- ces portions of the advertisements have simply been paraphrased. This sugges- tion is offered with the view of antici- pating any possible charge of plagia- rism^ and also of accounting for what may c^ VIII y^ may occasionally appear to be a peculiar use of the English language. The writer of the advertisements^ probably the auc- tioneer Robins himself^ had an extraor- dinary flow of still more extraordinary verbiage, Adual quotations ^ of course^ are indicated in the customary manner. The bibliography is based on a per- sonal examination of the books and the pamphlets themselves. Boston December y 19 14. ILLUSTKATIONS Horace Walpole, Fourth Earl of Orford .... FRONTISPIECE Tho* Lawrence R.A. del* ad viv. 1796. W" Evans sculp* i797' After a print presented to Lord Sheffield by Mary and Agnes Berry. Ticket of admission to Strawberry Hill in 1774 PAGE X Copy of Rules for admission to Straw- berry Hill 2 Probably first printed in 1784. Thomas Kir gate, Printer at Straw- berry-Hill. With a View of the Printing House 10 S. Harding ad vivum delin. 1794. A. Birrell sculp. Card of admission to the private view at Strawberry Hill^ March 28, 1842. . . . ^ . . 28 From a copy in the coUecStion of John Woodbury, Esq. George Robins, the AuBioneer, . 36 From an account of the Strawberry Hill sale in the Illustrated London News May 2 1 , 1842. After a wood cut in the colled^ion of John Woodbury, Esq. The Sale at Strawberry Hill on May 7, 1842 46 After an original pen and ink drawing by F. W. Fairholt. May 7, 1 842 was the twelfth day of the sale, as originally advertised, which comprised 'Specimens of rare and curious China, of almost every age and country; ancient Ve- netian Glass b'c. ^c' T^his Ticket y on being delivered to the Hou/ekeeper, will admit I^r PerfonSy and no more, on /nt^enfhph!^ ^77^*/^.ri} between Twelve and Threey to Jee Straw- Jrio^ berry- Hill, and will only ferve Jor the Day fpecified, N. B. The Houfe and Garden are never fhown in an Evening ; and Pei-- Jons are defired not to bring Children 'with them. j!k0tt^i T>escRiTTive QATALogues IN the year 1747 Horace Walpole informs several of his friends and correspondents that he has taken ^a Httle new farm — just out of Twick- enham.' ^It is a Httle plaything-house that I have got out of Mrs. Chenevix's shop, and is the prettiest bauble you ever saw.' He soon discovers that in old leases the place is described as Strawberry-Hill-Shot, and hence- forth the name Twickenham disap- pears and Strawberry Hill takes its place. k<^ ^ 2 J place. In 174.9 he becomes its pro- prietor after some annoyance and trouble, for it was the property of minors and an AS: of Parliament was necessary to permit its purchase. Now he proposes ^to build a little Gothic castle at Strawberry Hill.' More land is acquired and gardens and terraces laid out. New rooms, towers, and battlements are added to the house from time to time. These additions come about gradually, as the money ^is always to be saved out of my income, subjecft, too, to twenty other whims and expenses.' At the same time his coUeftion of pidures and curios is constantly growing, until the house becomes a veritable museum. Friends, strangers, and for- eigners Mr, JValpole is very ready to oblige any curious Perfons with the Sight of his Iloufe and ColleBion ; but as it is fituated fo near to London and in fo populous a Neighbourhood^ and as he refufcs a Thicket to nobody that fends for one, it is but reafonable thatfuch Perfons as fend , Jhould comply with the Rules he has been obliged to lay down for plowing it. Any Perfon, fending a Day or two before, may have a Ticket for Four Perfons for a Day certain. No Ticket will ferve but on the Day for which it is given. If more than Four Perfons come with a Ticket, the Houfe keeper has pofitive Orders to admit none of them. Every Ticket will admit the Company only between the Hours €f Twelve and Three before Dinner, and only one Company will be admitted on the fame Day, The Houfe will never be Jhown after Dinner ; nor at all but from the Fir ft of May to the Firji of05iober. As Mr, JValpole has given Offence by fome times enlarging the Number of Four, and refufng that Latitude to others, he fat » ters himfelf that for the future nobody will take it ill that he flriBly confines the Number; as whoever defires him to break his Rule, does in effedl expeB him to di/oblige others, which is what nobody has a right Jo defire of him, Perfons defring a Ticket, may apply either to Strawberry* Hill, or to Mr, Walpoles in Berkeley-Square, London, If any Perfon does not make ufe of the Ticket, Mr. JValpole hopes be fmll have Notice, other wife he is prevented from obliging others on that Day, and thence is put to great Inconvenience, They who have Tickets are defire d not to bring Children, ^c 3 y^ eigners of distindlion flock to Straw- berry Hill to see the house and its contents. It becomes necessary to is- sue cards of admission, limited to four persons, and a quaint set of rules is formulated prescribing the terms of admission. In 1757 Walpole's private print- ing press had been established; first in the house itself, but later under a roof of its own. The natural result of the conjundion of a printing house and a museum of curiosities was a descriptive catalogue, or rather, a se- ries of catalogues. Now cataloguing was by no means a new occupation for Walpole. In 1747, ten years be- fore the establishment of his own press, he had prepared and issued an account c^ 4 H^ account of the celebrated colledlion of pidures at Houghton Hall, to- gether with plates of the house itself. This publication, the^<^^/ Walpol- iance^ in course of time ran through three editions. He had likewise had a share in the preparation of cata- logues of the colleftions of pidures of Charles the First, James the Sec- ond, and the Duke of Buckingham. His first attempt at a catalogue of Strawberry Hill appeared in 1760, in the form of a small odavo pamphlet of eight pages, under the title. Cat- alogue of T^idures and "Drawings in the /lolbein-Chamber^ at Strawberry - /lilL The Holbein chamber had been completed in the preceding year. During the next ten years various additions additions were made to the house, and there were continual accessions to the collections as well. In the fall of 1771 Walpole wrote, ^ after next summer, by which time my castle and colledion will be com- plete (for if I buy more I must build another castle for another collec- tion), I propose to form the catalogue and description.' However it was nearly two years later when he an- nounced that he was printing his catalogue. A year later still, in July 1774, he stated that he had finished printing it. But in the mean time two sets of advance sheets had made their ap- pearance. One was a small quarto pamphlet of eighteen pages, *!P/(^(^r6'/, Curiosities^ t^ 6 *y^ Curiosities^ &fc. in The Cabinetof En- amels and Miniatures ^ and in TheC^lass Cases on each Side of it. The other, a similar small quarto of four pages only, Curiosities in the (^lass Closet in the (^reat Bedchamber. Both are stitched into the familiar bluish-gray wrappers, with the title printed on the front cover. Both are without date, but from internal evi- dence they can probably be safely assigned either to the last half of the year 1773 or to the first half of 1774. Each pamphlet has its own separate pagination beginning with page i. Neither of them is cited in any of the regular bibliographies of Strawberry Hill publications. It seems proper however to include them in the bib- liography liography of Descriptive Catalogues, both by reason of the form in which they were issued, and because they are not unobtainable, although rare. And now as to an item which does appear in various bibliographies of the Press, but which is touched on here only incidentally, it being in- tended to confine the bibliography to such items as are adually known to exist at the present time and have been personally examined. Mr. Austin Dobson, in his excel- lent bibliography of the Strawberry Hill Press, refers to, and Lowndes and John Martin include, a Descrip- tion of the 'Vi/Ia of flforace Walpole^ small quarto, sixty-five pages, with a note that ^this edition is stated by Kirgate c^ 8 >. Kirgate as having been printed only for the use of the servants in shew- ing the house.' It seems doubtful whether any bibliographer has seen it. Lowndes assigns a conjedural date of 1772 and then proceeds to describe the 1784 'Description as the third edition instead of the second. Martin gives no date, which means either that he did not see it, since in all other cases he records the dates, or else if he did see it, that it was not dated. In the sale catalogue of J. Walter K. Eyton, London 1 848, this item ap- pears with the customary statement attributed to Kirgate but with the addition of a date of 1774. Mr. Eyton possessed an unusually large and complete ^[ 9 y^ complete coUedion of Strawberry Hill Press publications obtained, ac- cording to his catalogue, mainly by the purchase of the ^entire collec- tion of the late Mr. R. P. Cruden of Gravesend.' Cruden had been one of the principal buyers of Strawberry Hill issues at the sale of George Baker in 1825; and Mr. Baker in his turn had obtained most of his items from the colledion of Walpole's printer, Thomas Kirgate, which was dis- persed in 1810. This T)escription of sixty-five pages appears, without date, in Kirgate's sale catalogue, in Baker's privately printed List which was printed in December 18 10 in an edition of twenty copies only, and in his sale catalogue t^ lO ^t,J^3 catalogue in 1825. With the Eyton sale the a6lual copy itself apparently disappears into space. Mr. Dobson states that he has never seen it. It does not appear in the British Museum Catalogue, nor in the South Kensing- ton Museum or Princeton University Library colledions. A recent request through ,!A^/^/ and Queries for infor- mation as to this or any similar copy elicited no response, further than that the Eyton copy was bought by Lilly the bookseller. It seems probable, in view^ of Kir- gate's statement, that it was merely a set of sheets taken from the press while the 1774 Description was print- ing, and was descriptive only of that part of the colledion not covered by the THOMAS JKIHOATE , frcinftt at ^tMtobcttjj-H^. titHi^.^o, r,v«. the two pamphlets, of eighteen and four pages respedlively, which are cited abo ve.This supposition is borne out by the faft that deducing from the one hundred and twelve pages of the 1774 Description^ (which cover the account of the contents of the house), the introductory matter, the account of the Holbein chamber, the account of the Tribune, which com- prises, with additions, the matter in the eighteen page pamphlet, and the account of the Great North Bed- chamber which comprises the matter in the four page pamphlet — a total of forty-seven pages — exadly sixty- five pages are left. This maybe mere- ly a coincidence but the conjecture does not seem an unreasonable one. It It is possible that only one copy of this catalogue may have been pre- served, though more must have been in existence in Walpole's time if it was intended for an exhibition cata- logue. Constant use would doubtless have soiled and worn out the copies, and they would probably have been destroyed after ftilfiUing their pur- pose. It apparently was not intended for a separate publication, as appears to have been the case with the pam- phlets of eighteen and four pages, but as Kirgate seems to have kept specimens of most, if not all, of his work, it was natural to find a copy in his coUedion. The Description of the Villa of fior- ace Walpole which, as we have seen, was ^ 13 >^ was completed in July 1774, made its appearance with Kirgate's name and the date 1774 on the title page. It contained one hundred and twen- ty P^g^s (last page blank), but later additions under the headings of ^Appendix/ ^Additions,' ^List of the Books,' and ^More Additions,' bring the total up to one hundred and fifty- eight pages. These additions were made from time to time as the col- ledions increased, and acquisitions as late as 1786 are recorded, thus overlapping the edition of 1784 as first printed. Walpole proposed having prints of his house and grounds added to the catalogue, and the preparation of these prints was carried on in a des- ultory c^ 14 yp^ ultory fashion for a number of years. In 1780 he was planning to take up the matter of completing the cata- logue and prints during the next summer. Some difficulties were in the way, for so many additions had been made to the coUedion that he found it would be necessary to add an appendix or to reprint. In the spring of 178 1 the plates were nearly completed, and the question of an appendix came to the front. This he regarded as an awkward method but thought he could not ^afford to throw away an hundred copies.' Eventually he grasped both horns of the dilemma. The 1774 Description was brought up to date by appen- dices, and a rearranged and revised T)efcription T>e5cription of the Villa of Mr. /lorace Walpole^ accompanied by plates^ was printed and stands as the final and definitive edition. It appeared with Kirgate's name on the title page, dated 1784, and contained eighty- eight pages and twenty-seven plates. Like the earlier edition it received subsequent additions, covering ac- cessions at least as late as lygo^bring- ing the total to ninety-six pages. The two editions differ materially in size, as will be seen fi-om the meas- urements given in the bibliography, the 1774 edition being a small quarto and the 1784 edition a royal quarto. The subjed matter of the ^Appen- dix' pages 121-145, ^List of Books' pages 146-148, ^Additions since the Appendix' t^ tiful negligence of a gentleman' can well be applied to these catalogues. The T)escription opens with a brief account of Strawberry Hill and then describes the various rooms in the house and some of the buildings in the grounds. The contents of the rooms — pidlires, furniture, curios, etc. — are enumerated, and in many cases a history of the articles is giv- en, or the way in which they were acquired is told. Sometimes an elabo- rate account is given, and occasion- ally a few lines of verse by Walpole are found, either relating to the arti- cles described or to their donor. A rather inaccurate list of the books printed at Strawberry Hill is also in- cluded. As ^[ 19 ]^ As already stated Walpole's orig- inal plan seems to have been to have prints of the house prepared, which should be added to the 1774 edition. But the work of preparation progres- sed very slowly, and as late as 1780 apparently seven plates only had been finished. When he finally de- cided to reprint the catalogue he seems to have abandoned his first plan, and to have had the illustra- tions completed solely for the 1784 edition. In faft many of the plates, on account of their size, were hardly adapted to the first edition with the possible exception of the six large- paper copies. By July 1784, at which time the new edition was probably going through the the press, he had come to refer to the earHer one as a ^very imperfeft Ust,' which ^ was printed several years ago, but was suppressed.' It is probably safe to assume that any copy of the 1774 edition containing prints must be regarded only as an extra illustra- ted copy. In Baker's sale catalogue a copy is listed with plates, the num- ber not stated, but from an accom- panying note they seem to have been proofs of only a few of the prints which were probably laid into this copy.'' Walpole's attitude towards these two catalogues is somewhat curious, and different from his treatment of the other publications from his press. Commonly the books were either given t^[] 21 ]t<^ given away or else sold by Dodsley or some other book-seller. But the two catalogues were held back. The Reverend William Cole had received a copy of the first, which caused some annoyance later by passing into the hands of a dealer after Cole's death. Sir Horace Mann undoubtedly had a copy of the second, but he was in Flo- rence, a safe distance from London. A copy was reftised in 1787 to Lord Ossory who usually received all the Strawberry Hill publications. Wal- pole explains to Lady Ossory his re- fusal of the T)escription by writing that ^though printed, I have entirely kept it up, [/>.held it back] and mean to do so while I live, for very sound reasons.' His justification is that he is c^?£^ 22 Jt<5>^ is ^so tormented by visitors, that two or three rooms are not shown to a- bridge their stay.' Also, the enamels and miniatures were kept under lock and key and if visitors had access to the catalogue and knew of their ex- istence they would insist on seeing and handling them. This statement tends to confirm the conjedure as to the catalogue of sixty-five pages. The enamels, min- iatures, etc., which were kept locked up, were in that portion of the house described in the eighteen and four page pamphlets. Since it was desired to preserve these curiosities from visitors' insped:ion, the natural me- thod was to omit their description from the Exhibition Catalogue. Possibly Possibly there was another sub- conscious reason for holding back the "Description which Walpole hints at half-jestingly to Hannah More in 1790. He had bought pidures and curiosities and had hoarded baubles ^that in truth I cannot keep long, but that will last for ever in my cata- logue, and make me immortal!' When and how the catalogues did become distributed can only be con- jeftured. At the time of the dispersal of the contents of Strawberry Hill in 1842, only a few copies appear in the sale catalogue. In an obituary notice which appeared in the (jen- tleman's Magazine immediately after Walpole's death it is stated that a cat- alogue of Strawberry Hill had been drawn «u^[| 24 ]t<^ drawn up and printed in 1774, and reserved as a bequest to his particu- lar friends after his death. This no- tice, however, was not conspicuous for its accuracy so far as it related to Strawberry Hill publications. Still the statement receives a cer- tain measure of confirmation from the remarks of Miss Berry in her pre- face to 77?^ Works of/Iorace Walpole^ EarlofOrford^ in five volumes, Lon- don 1798, which included the T)e- scription of Strawberry -J^ilL She says: ^the Catalogue and De- scription of Strawberry-Hill has been hitherto in the hands of those only to whom lord Orford bequeathed the few copies which he had himself printed there.' Probably HI 25 >^ Probably this can not be taken very literally as the ^fewcopies' amounted to three hundred in round numbers, and it does not seem likely that the only method of distribution was through Lord Orford's will. As a matter of fad: an examination of the will fails to show any specific refer- ence whatsoever to the T)efcripnon. In a codicil executed only a few months before his death he bequeath- ed to the Misses Berry and to their father a carefully described wooden box containing ^all such of my own Literary works as have been hereto- fore published, or have been printed, or still remain in Manuscript.' Full authority was given to the Berrys to publish the works, which resulted resulted in the appearance in 1798 of the five volumes referred to above. Their nominal editor was Robert Berry, but the adual editor w^as his daughter Mary, Walpole's favorite. It is possible that he may have left instruftions with Miss Berry as to the disposal which he wished to have made of the catalogues, but this can only be a matter of conjecture.* In the preface to the T>escription of * Since this paragraph was written there has been kindly sent over for inspection, by Mr. James Tregaskis, the antiquarian book-seller of 232 High Holborn, London, a colledlion of extra-illustrated Strawberry Hill sale cata- logues formed by T. Crofton Croker. In this colled:ion there appears a manuscript list en- titled, *A list of persons to whom the 'Descrip- tion of Strawberry Hill ^2i's, bequeathed by Lord Orford.* The list comprises the names of sev- 1784 ^ 27 ]^ 1784 Walpole wrote that it was not intended for public sale and origi- nally was designed only as ameans of assistance to those who visited the place. He added also that the account of the pidures and curiosities was given with a view to their future dis- persion. And he refleded that ^some transient pleasure may even here- after arise to the peruser of this cata- logue.' enty-eight persons and two libraries. Against fifteen of the names the word 'dead* is written. No source or authority is given for this list. As has been stated above, no reference what- soever to the T)escription can be found in Wal- pole's will, proved in 1797, but the existence of this list of names may serve as a partial con- firmation of the conjedure that instructions regarding the disposal of the catalogues might have been left with Miss Berry by Walpole. Evidently Evidently the thought had long been present in his mind of the final disposal, not only of his books, but also of the curiosities which he had so eagerly colleded. Fifteen years be- fore his death, even then feeling the approach of old age, he vv^rote ^I have little time left to enjoy any thing, and w^ho knows what will become of Strawberry, and how soon it may be put up to auction ?' More than half acentury passed by, however, before this question was answered. SALS cATALogues AT Walpole's death in the year 1797 Strawberry Hill was left to his great-niece Laura, Dowager Countess Waldegrave, and her heirs, but with the right of life tenancy to Mrs. Anne Seymour Darner, the daughter of Walpole's cousin Gen- eral Conway. Mrs. Darner occupied Strawberry Hill until 181 1 when she relinquished it to the heiress. Lady Waldegrave. In 1835 Lady Walde- grave's grandson, George, had suc- ceeded ceeded to the title as seventh Earl, and to the possession of Strawberry Hill. On May 31st 1841, there appeared in the Times a brief notice from the well-known auftioneer George Rob- ins to the effed that he had been in- strufted to sell by auftion the ^mag- nificent contents' of Strawberry Hill, ^the renowned seat of the Earl of Waldegrave.' This was followed one week later by an elaborate announce- ment of the forthcoming sale which was to be held on Monday, July 19 and the twenty following days. It was stated that a detailed catalogue was in process of preparation, which would be ready fourteen days before the sale, at the price of two shillings, sixpence ^ 3^ IH^ sixpence each. On June 14 Mr. Rob- ins announced that the sale at Straw- berry Hill was of necessity delayed, in consequence of the approaching dissolution of Parliament, but that he would not fail to give the earliest information to the public when the audion would take place. This dis- solution of Parliament was brought about by the fall of the Melbourne ministry on account of the Corn-Law agitation. One of the minor efFecfts was the postponement of a number of auction sales until a more favor- able opportunity offered. A portion of Robins' announce- ment at this time is worth reproduc- ing as a specimen of his florid style. He continues his statement that he will will give early notice to those inter- ested, as to when the deferred sale will occur, by saying that he contents 'himself at present by premising that a constellation of all that is recher- che and unequalled as an ensemble throughout the world will well re- ward them for the disappointment occasioned by the necessity for this postponement.' Nothing more is heard from Rob- ins on this subjeft until February 7, 1842 when a brief preliminary adver- tisement again appears in the Times stating that 'Mr. George Robins is honoured by having been seleded by the Earl of Waldegrave to sell by pub- lic competition, on Monday, April 25, and twenty-four following days (Sundays HI 33 3^ (Sundays excepted), the contents of Strawberry Hill.' Two weeks later a more detailed advertisement follows in which reference is made to a ^cata- logue raisonne.' It is promised that the reader will be gratified with a faithful report of the curiosities at Strawberry Hill in the catalogue, which will be adorned with a portrait of Horace Walpole ^and illustrated by six drawings on wood by the in- imitable Cruikshank/ Unfortunately one part of this pro- je<9: was not carried out, for on March 14th Robins announces that the six drawings will be ^executed by W. A. Delamotte, Esq.' He states that the catalogues will be ready March 28th, that there will be a private view at Strawberry ^C 34 >» Strawberry Hill on that day, and that the public will be admitted on April 4th. Examination of the catalogue speedily reveals the fad that the drawings were indeed ^executed' by Delamotte and increases the regret that the original plan of Cruikshank illustrations was not carried out. As a matter of fad the woodcuts, eleven in number, which appear in the ^Prefa- tory Remarks' to the catalogue were evidently taken, together with the body of the ^Remarks,' from an ar- ticle by Dudley Costello, entitled 'Strawberry Hill' which appeared in the March, 1842, number oi^Ains- worth's Miscellany. In addition Delamotte supplied a design for the cover of the catalogue and ^ 35 ]^ and another more elaborate one for the half title, into both of which he worked details which were intended to represent some of the more nota- ble curiosities of the colledion. The design on the cover was also used, with a change in the letter-press, as a card of admission to Strawberry Hill for the private view. An advertisement on March 28th announces that the catalogues are ready for distribution, and one on the following day states that the ^cata- logue raisonne is at length complet- ed.' This advertisement also adds that ^there will be two hundred cat- alogues in the second edition (to be ready next week), printed on large paper, the price 12/., and Mr. Robins flatters ^C 36 ]^ flatters himself and is inclined to hope the patrons of the fine arts will preserve this catalogue as a valuable memento of the name and imper- ishable fame of Horace Walpole, to hand it dow^n to future generations.' It refers to the woodcuts as ten in number and mentions the half title. The small paper editions were pub- lished at seven shillings. The catalogue brought forth a va- riety of criticism and comment. It was called a ^remarkable document' and regarded as ^not amongst the least of the curiosities' of the sale. A letter to the editor of the Times be- gins, 'the long expected catalogue, than which, perhaps, a more incor- red piece of typography never left the GEORGE ROBINS ^ 37 y^ the press, announces' etc. On the oc- casion of the first day's sale Robins repHed to the critics and gave fur- ther cause of offence when he ^chal- lenged the rivalry of persons better acquainted with the names of au- thors and books, and professed his ability to produce as corred: a cata- logue as Mr. Evans, of Pall Mall.' Notwithstanding its inaccuracies the call for the catalogue was con- siderable. The supply at the house was exhausted before the day of the public view and a number of editions or issues were brought out in quick succession. From contemporaneous statements it seems probable that over four thousand copies were dis- tributed before the beginning of the sale. sale. The Evening Mail^ which took a very cynical view of the whole pro- ceeding, said, ^a vast number of cata- logues have been sold; indeed, more than, we believe, on any former oc- casion.' On Monday, April i8th, in a Times advertisement (dated April 16) of the first six days of the sale, April 25-30, covering the books, the public was notified that ^ correal catalogues of this portion of the sale will be ready on and after Monday for distribution gratis to booksellers, and to the pub- lic 6t^. each only, which will also ad- mit the bearer to the auftion.' The same advertisement in the Times of April 25 has a slight variation at the end and states that the catalogue will ^ admit HI 39 y^ ^admit the bearer to the auction, dur- ing the book sale.^ This would seem to imply that a limited catalogue of the book sale only (the first six days) was issued at a reduced price. In the course of an examination of the catalogues and of descriptions of them in booksellers' lists, covering a period of a number of years, no trace of such a catalogue has ever been found. It would hard- ly be safe to assume that specimens of the catalogue do not exist, though, by reason of being a partial catalogue only, it would have been less likely to have been preserved. It seems wiser to preserve an open mind on the sub- jed, pending the possible appear- ance of a copy. As t<^ 40 Jt^ whatever may have been the mer- its or defeds of the catalogues, pub- He curiosity was strongly direfted tov^ards Strawberry Hill during the month of April 1842. It was stated that eighteen thousand persons had already visited the colledion during the first fifteen days of the public view, and later on it was asserted that more than fifty thousand persons had been ^attrafted to this repertory of art and bijouterie,during the present view of Strawberry-hill, which con- tinues daily, even during the sale.' To accommodate the attendance at the sale a temporary gable-roofed build- ing was erefted on the grounds at StrawberryHill,adjoiningthe house, ^seventy-five feet in length, forty feet wide. ^^ M utA^oi^-ryy ^(U( ■frry ac^i^jHz. 9'-i^.9^dAH/- ^ 47 >^ wide, and about seventeen feet in heighth to the tye-beams or level, with an additional ten feet to the point of the gable.' The collection of prints was ready for inspection at the aucSlioneer's rooms in Covent Garden on June 6 and the sale took place there, 'June 13 and the nine following days (Sun- day excepted).' Here again Robins' inaccuracy is clearly manifested, as in the public advertisements the sale was constantly referred to as a twelve days sale, notwithstanding the state- ment to the contrary on the title page of the catalogue and the internal evi- dence of the advertisements them- selves. Of the ten days sale catalogue, the 'very elaborate' one, which rep- resented HI 48 >^ resented the seventh and eighth days of the original cataloguej apparently only one edition, on small paper, was issued. At the conclusion of the sales two lists of ^Names of purchasers and the prices' were published under the title oi'zAedes Strawberrianae^xki^ first giv- ing the prices, by lots, of the twenty- four days sale at Strawberry Hill, as originally advertised, and the second of the ten days sale at Covent Gar- den. Singularly enough, in the first price list, when the seventh and eighth days are reached, 'the names of the purchasers to the lots as originally formed, and the prices produced at the more detailed sale, are here ar- ranged ^ 49 y^ ranged as if really sold at the first sale.' This is rather a remarkable per- formance and it probably would not stand too close a scrutiny, but at all events, in the final tabulation of the results of the sale by days the total proceeds of the seventh and eighth days, corresponding to the ten days sale, are carried in corredly. It may be said in passing that the total pro- duce of the sale was c£33,45o. ii/. One pamphlet of interest to Straw- berry Hill coUeftors appeared as an aftermath of the much criticised catalogue, — the little sketch attri- buted to T. Crofton Croker, entitled (gooseberry f^alL It comprises eight leaves and is a parody on the title page, page, conditions of sale, and what the author designates as ^Puffatoiy Re- marks,' of the Strawberry Hill cata- logue. In the accompanying bibliography an attempt has been made to differ- entiate the various editions or issues of the sale catalogues and to show the chronological order in which they probably appeared. It is based on the examination and comparison of a considerable number of copies of the catalogues. It is difficult to say whether there were adually five separate editions of the small paper copies, as Robins' advertisement would seem to imply. Five issues, differing more or less radically, can easily be identified, and ^ 51 ]^ and also the two large paper editions. The catalogue listed as I. is clearly the first issue. It has been called the ^Dunciad' and also the ^bastard' cat- alogue but perhaps the best desig- nation is that of a writer in tht A ihe- ncBum in 184.2 who terms it the ^first and worst edition.' The title page states that ^the Catalogue (at 7/ each) will admit Four Persons to the Pub- lic View, and be a passport to the Pur- chaser throughout the Sale; they may be had at "Galignani's Journal" in Paris; of Mr.I. A.G. Weigel, of Leip- sic; at Strawberry Hill; at the Auc- tion Mart and at Mr. George Robins' Offices, Covent Garden.' On the last page a note appears, to the effed that ^some inaccuracies will be discov- ered ^ 52 >^ ered in the Catalogue, arising from a want of sufficient time for its exami- nation,' etc. These errors were to be 'carefully redified in the Second Ed- ition/ a small portion of which was to be printed on large paper. Number II. has the same note on the last page but these additional words on the title-page, 'a few copies are printed on large paper at 12/. each.' It corresponds quite closely to I., though occasionally it shows signs of recataloguing in isolated titles. The most conspicuous difference is that the tenth day's sale comprises four more lots than in I., or 156 as against 152. Number III . has the note on the last page and the title page agrees with XL, HI 53 >^ IL, but it shows further signs of re- cataloguing. At least sixteen pages differ from I. and II. in the number of lots on the page. The twelfth day's sale has seven additional lots. The heading ^Miscellaneous' at the top of page 130 in I. and II. disappears and is not met with again. There is also a curious error in signature DD, doubtless arising from the printer's carelessness in arranging the form. The first page of the nineteenth day's sale precedes the last page of the eighteenth day. The text is trans- posed although the pagination runs on correftly. Number IV. is the first large paper edition, apparently at first glance the same issue as V. which is on small pa- per. HI 54 >^ per. It agrees with the latter in cata- loguing more lots on eight out of the twenty-four days than the preceding catalogues. It has inserted pages 53* and 54* as does V. On the other hand, and particularly in the first six days sales, comprising the books, IV. a- grees more frequently with the three earlier catalogues than with V. But it has one feature in which it differs from all the other catalogues : insert- ed pages 67* and 68 *, comprising, to- gether with a dozen additional lines on page 68, twenty-seven lots, un- related to Walpole, which were not sold at the sale at all. In IV. and V. the note on the last page has disappeared. The title page of V. is similar to that of II., III., VI., and VII., while that of ^ 55 y^ of IV. differs from all others in read- ing, 'The Catalogue (at 12/.) will ad- mit Four Persons/ etc. Numbers VI. and VII. which are small and large paper issues respec- tively seem to agree with each other throughout.They represent a real re- cataloguing of the first six days. Pal- pable errors are correded and the the various lots catalogued at much greater length, so that the matter ending on page 67 in I., II., and III., and on page 68 in V., is expanded to eighty-six pages in VI. and VII. The seventh and eighth days are omitted entirely and the catalogue continues with the ninth day. In its accuracy as to titles V. corresponds more closely with VI. and VII. than with HI 56 >^ with its predecessors, which will ac- count for the position assigned to it in the bibliography. It is, on the whole, the best single catalogue for purposes of reference to the entire twenty-four days, but VI. and VIII. together furnish the most complete account of the whole coUeftion and are essential to any one who may wish to refer to the various lots in their most detailed form. The examination of catalogues which are apparently of the same issue occasionally reveals minor dif- ferences, but none of sufficient im- portance to warrant regarding them as separate issues. These variations may have been caused in some in- stances by the detedion and correc- tion ^c 57 y^ tion of an obvious, but previously overlooked, error while the sheets v^ere coming off the press. In other cases the slight variation is undoubtedly due to a broken letter or the dropping out of a letter or nu- meral from the form. One fad soon becomes apparent. The greater part of the variations and changes occur in the first eight days. Indeed this might almost be narrow^ed down to the first six days. Titles of books in foreign languages, particularly the classics, show the greatest number of inaccuracies in description. Doubt- less they would be detefted by a larg- er number of readers than errors in the description of china, paintings or curios, and criticism may easily have have been more centered on this por- tion of the work. The changes in the last sixteen days come about largely through the occasional addition of extra lots and the correction of a few obvious er- rors, as, for instance, the substitu- tion of the correct w^ord ^Faenza' for 'Faenna.' It seems possible that in this portion of the catalogue a larger number of sheets were run off the same form without corrections than in the first part. And also that a few of the discrepancies in the catalogues may have been occasioned by bind- ing up sheets of an earlier issue of the last part with those of later and corrected impressions of the first part. It It is obvious that the deduftions here made, and the classification of the various issues, may be modified by the examination of a still larger number of catalogues as opportunity offers, but it does not seem probable that any material changes will be made thereby. n nnsmnMLnniin.n2mn2SU ! uiruiiiM^unnmiau uuis:^ uiM:.ixnL.m. 'BI'BLIOgj^AT//r descriptive Catalogues « I CATALOGUE of Pidturcs and Drawings in the Holbein-Chamber, at Straw- berry-Hill. MDCCLX. Small od:avo, 4^ by 7^/^ inches, pages 8, sewn, uncut. Title on first page. 2 Picftures, Curiosities, ^c. in The Cabinet of Enamels and Miniatures, and in The Glass Cases on each Side of it. Quarto, 7^ ^Y 9% inches, pages 1 8, uncut; page-numbers in brackets at top of page in centre. Bluish gray wrappers. Title printed onfirst page of cover. No date (i 773- 1 774 ?). Curiosities (^<^ 62 ^y<^ 3 Curiosities in the Glass Closet in the Great Bedchamber. Quarto, 7^ by 9^ inches, pages 4, uncut; page-numbers in brackets at top of page in centre. Bluish gray wrappers. Title printed on first page of cover. Nodate( 1 773-1 774?). A Description of the Villa of Horace Wal~ pole, Youngest Son of Sir Robert Walpole Earl of Orford, at Strawberry-Hill, near Twickenham. With an Inventory of the Furniture, Pictures, Curiosities, &c. Straw- berry-Hill: Printed by Thomas Kirgate, M.DCC.LXXIV. Small quarto, 6 J^ by 9 inches, cut. Half-title, I leaf (with view of Strawberry Hill first used on title-page of Life ofSdwardLordHerbert * Kirgate' s sale catalogue, London 1 8 1 o, has this item : — *Lot 410. [Description of the Villa at Strawberry Hill] for shewing the House, very scarce. ' This is the catalogue of 65 pages, referred to on page i o as being probably a partial set of sheets from the 1774 T)escrip- tion and intended only for an exhibition catalogue. of ^ 63 y^ of Cher bury, 1 764). Title-page, i leaf. Pp. 1 20 (last page blank). Appendix, 1 21-145. List of the Books Printed at Strawberry-Hill, 146-148 (last page blank). Additions since the Appendix, 149-152. More Additions, 153-158. 100 copies, 6 on large paper. 5 A Description of the Villa of Mr. Horace Walpole, Youngest Son of Sir Robert Wal- pole Earl of Orford, at Strawberry-Hill near Twickenham, Middlesex. With an Inven- tory of the Furniture, Pidtures, Curiosities, &c. Strawberry-Hill: Printed by Thomas Kirgate, MDCCLXXXIV Royal quarto, 9^^ by 12 inches, uncut.Title- page, I leaf. Preface i-iv. Pp. 88. Appendix, 89-92. Curiosities added since this Bookwas compleated, 93-94. More Additions, 95-96. Plates, including frontispiece, 27. At end of Preface, Walpole's crest and motto as it appears on title-pages of Vols. I. and II. of ^Anecdotes ofT'ainting, both first and second editions. 200 copies. Sale Sale Catalogues I. TRAWBERRY HiLL, thcrenowncd seat of Horace Walpole. Mr. George Robins is honoured by having been seled:ed by the Earl of Waldegrave, to sell by public competition, the valuable contents of Strawberry Hill, and it may fearlessly be proclaimed as the most dis- tinguished gem that has ever adorned the Annals of Auctions. It is definitely fixed for Monday, the 25th Day of April, 1 842, and tw^enty three fol- lowing days (Sundays excepted), and within will be found a repast for the Lovers of Lit- erature and the Fine Arts, of which bygone days furnish no previous example, and it would be vain to contemplate it in times to come. The Catalogue (at 7s. each) will admit Four Persons to the Public View, and be a passport to the Purchaser throughout the Sale; ^ 65 ys^ Sale ; they may be had at " Galignani's Jour- nal" in Paris; of Mr. I. A. G. Weigel, of Leipsic; at Strawberry Hill; at the Auction Mart ; and at Mr. George Robins' offices, Co vent Garden. The Private view will com- mence on the 28th Day of March, and the Public will be admitted on Monday, April 4th. Quarto, 8 by 10% inches, green wrappers. Portrait. Half-title, i leaf. Title-page, iii. Conditions of sale, iv. Prefatory Remarks, v-xxi. Arrangement of the Audion, xxii- xxiv. 1-67, 68 blank, Preliminary Remarks, 69-71, 72-25o=xxiv-|- 250 pages. On page 250, *Note. — Some inaccuracies will be discovered in the Catalogue, arising from a want of sufficient time for its exami- nation, in order to be prepared by the time it was originally announced; these errors will be carefully redified in the Second Edition, a small portion of which will be printed on large paper.' II. Title-page same as I. but with the addition after the words* Co vent Garden,' of the fol- lowing; lowing; — *A few copies are printed upon large paper, at 12s. each.' Quarto, 8 by 10 inches, pink wrappers. Por- trait, i-xxi v. 1-67,68 blank. Preliminary Re- marks, 69-71, 72-25o=xxiv + 25o pages. On page 250, Note as in I. Identification : Advertisement of large-paper copies on title-page; note on page 250; last lot on page 112 numbered 156; without trans- position of text at pages 186-187 as found in III. III. Title-page same as II. Quarto, 8^ by 10% inches, blue wrappers. Portrait, i-xxiv. 1-67,68 blank, PreHminary Remarks, 69-7 1, 72-25o=xxiv-f- 250 pages. On page 250, Note as in I. Identification : Last lot on page 73 numbered 29 through error, should be 26; lacks head- ing 'Miscellaneous', page 130; transposi- tion of text, pages 186-187, the Nineteenth days' sale beginning on page 186, the Eigh- teenth days' sale ending on page 187. IV. Title-page same as I. with the exception of of substitution of words *(at 12s. each)* for *(at 7s. each).* Large-paper copy, folio, 9 ^ by 1 2 ^ inches, gray wrappers. Portrait, i-xxiv. 1-54,53 *,54*, 5 5-68,67*,68*, Preliminary Remarks,69-7 1, 72-25o=xxiv4-254 pages. Identification: inserted pages 67*, 68*. V. Title-page same as II. Quarto, 8 by 10^ inches, gray wrappers. Portrait, i-xxiv. 1-54,53*, 54*, 55-68, Prelim- inary Remarks, 69-71, 7 2-250 =xxiv-[- 252 pages. Identification: Inserted pages 53*, 54*;with- out inserts 67*, 68*. VI.* Title-page same as II. Quarto, 8 % by 10^ inches, pink wrappers. Portrait, i-xxiv. 1-86, 87 blank, notice of *An advertisement in the TViVz^j, April 1 8, 1 842 mentions a catalogue covering only the portion of the sale devoted to the books, April 25-30. This was probably a limited catalogue of eighty-six pages of text, describing the books w^ith greater accuracy and detail than any of the earlier issues, and corre- sponding to pages 1-86 in catalogues VI. and VII. deferred deferred sale of print colledion, 88, 89-90, 97-250=xxivH-244 pages. Identification: Small-paper copy; notice of deferred sale of prints, page 8 8 ; absence of pages 91-96. VII. Title-page same as II. Large-paper copy, folio, 91^ by 12 inches, pink wrappers. Portrait, i-xxiv. 1-86, 87 blank, notice of deferred sale of print col- ledion,88,89-90,97-25o=xxiv + 244 pages. Identification: Large-paper copy; notice of deferred sale of prints, page 8 8 ; absence of pages 91-96. VIII. The CoUeftion of Rare Prints & Illustrated Works removed from Strawberry Hill for sale in London. A Catalogue of the extensive and most valuable Collection of Engraved Portraits of the most illustrious and other eminent British Characters that figure in the Annals of History and Biography, — [27 lines] — numerous Manuscripts and Books applying to t^^ 69 ^t^ is printed in a device designed by Delamotte, 4/^6 by 59^6 inches, which was also utilized for a special card of admission to the private view at Strawberry Hill. The short title of cata- logues I.-VII. is/ A Catalogue of the Contents of Strawberry Hill*; of catalogue VIII. is, 'A Catalogue of the collection of Scarce Prints, removed from Strawberry Hill.' IX. zAedes Strawberrianae, Names of Purchasers and the Prices to the Sale Catalogue of the choice Collections of Art and Virtu, at Strawberry-Hill Villa, formed by Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford. [quotation] [seal] London: printed for J. H. Burn, 102, St. Martin's Lane ; and may be had of all Booksellers, and Dealers in Antique Furniture, Picture Galleries and Repositories. Price seven shillings and six- pence. Quarto 8 ^ by 1 1 J^ inches, brown wrappers. Apology for Strawberry Hill, signed * Hor. Walpole,* I leaf. Pp. 1-58. Title as above on cover. Shortened title on page i . Records the entire ^ 71 y^ entire twenty-four days' sales. Twenty-five copies, on large royal quarto, were issued at fifteen shillings. The 'Apology for Strawberry Hiir is rather ingeniously construded by welding together detached sentences from Walpole's preface to the 1784 edition of the Description of Straw- berry Hill. X. oyfedes Strawberrianae. Names of Purchasers and the Prices to the Detailed Sale Catalogue of the Collection of early Drawings, Etchings, and Prints, En- graved Portraits of eminent British Char- acters, Drawings and rare Reproductions of Hogarth, Manuscripts and Works relative to the Fine Arts ; withdrawn from Straw- berry-Hill for sale in London. Granger founded the materiel of \i\^ Bio- graphical History of England, on the Col- lections of Engraved British Portraits,in the possessionofHoraceWalpole at Strawberry- Hill; andof James West. The Catalogue of ^C 72 ]c^ of Engraved British Portraits, methodically disposed in Classes, by Anthony Wilson, un- der the assumed name of Henry Bromley 1 793 ; was an arranged Catalogue of Wal- pole's Colled:ion, with additions; in which all the unique or rare conditioned Prints at Strawberry-Hill are distincStly traced, on reference, [seal] The names of Purchasers, and the Prices, to the Twenty-four days' Sale-Catalogueof Pictures, Miniatures, and other Rarities at Strawberry-Hill, forms a distindl publication, price seven shillings and sixpence. Twenty -five Copies, on large royal quarto, price Fifteen Shillings. Lon- don: Printed for J. H. Burn, 102, St. Mar- tin's Lane. Impression limited to fifty copies. Price three shillings. Quarto, 8 5^ by 11 J^ inches, brown wrappers. Pp. 1-20. Title as above on cover. Short- ened title on page i . Records the ten days' sale only. Seventy-Jive copies printed at the ^Montague 'Press ^Aprily 191 5 pl^ •t^^'v 7-Yp y \m§ 1 1 1 1 '