Of Bibliophilia and Biblioclasm - Theodore Dalrymple írása a könyvekről, könyvesboltokról (Orwell után szabadon), a könyvek szeretetéről és az életutakról, melyek nyomát magukban őrzik, igen érdekes és megindító olvasmány, emellett utalást tartalmaz egy témánkba vágó könyvre: William Blades: The Enemies of Books c. munkája a XIX. sz. végén több kiadást is megért, a British Libraryben ma is fellelhető.
"One of my treasured books is a little classic of which I should never even have heard had I not browsed in so many bookshops. It is William Blades’ The Enemies of Books, first published in 1880. The frontispiece is an engraving of John Bagford, described as ‘shoemaker and biblioclast,’ and another of the delightful pictures is of a furtive charwoman feeding pages of a Caxton Bible to feed a fire. The enemies of books are ranged in chapters in a great chain of being: first come inanimate forces such as fire and water, rising to the lower animals such as bookworms and other vermin, and finally rising to the pinnacle of biblioclasm, that is to say the conscious book-destroyers, the bookbinders and book collectors. (John Bagford tore out the first pages of hundreds of rare volumes and bound them into a single folio volume, which is now in the British Library.)
Now William Blades was a civilised man who loved books and knew that one never really owned books: one was their trustee. He was a printer who waxed eloquent on the subject:
"One of my treasured books is a little classic of which I should never even have heard had I not browsed in so many bookshops. It is William Blades’ The Enemies of Books, first published in 1880. The frontispiece is an engraving of John Bagford, described as ‘shoemaker and biblioclast,’ and another of the delightful pictures is of a furtive charwoman feeding pages of a Caxton Bible to feed a fire. The enemies of books are ranged in chapters in a great chain of being: first come inanimate forces such as fire and water, rising to the lower animals such as bookworms and other vermin, and finally rising to the pinnacle of biblioclasm, that is to say the conscious book-destroyers, the bookbinders and book collectors. (John Bagford tore out the first pages of hundreds of rare volumes and bound them into a single folio volume, which is now in the British Library.)
Now William Blades was a civilised man who loved books and knew that one never really owned books: one was their trustee. He was a printer who waxed eloquent on the subject:
Looked at rightly, the possession of any old book is a sacred trust,
which a conscientious owner or guardian would as soon think of
ignoring as a parent would of neglecting his child. An old book,
whatever its subject or internal merits, is truly a portion of the
national history…
One might add, ‘And not of the national history alone, but of all mankind’s history.’ As Blades puts it, ‘I do not envy any man that absence of sentiment which makes some people careless of the memorials of their ancestors…’"
Csakúgy mint William Blades munkája, James Anson Farrer: Books condemned to be burnt c. műve is a The Book-lover's library című sorozatban jelent meg.
Csakúgy mint William Blades munkája, James Anson Farrer: Books condemned to be burnt c. műve is a The Book-lover's library című sorozatban jelent meg.
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése