lished in the infancy of printing,
but of every noted author, of ancient or modern date. The edition printed
during the life of the writer has had his own oversight and correction.
And when more than one issue of his book has thus appeared, one sees how
his maturer judgment has altered the substance or the style of his work.
First editions of any very successful work always tend to become scarce,
since the number printed is smaller, as a rule, and a large part of the
issue is absorbed by public libraries. The earliest published writings of
Tennyson, now found with difficulty, show how much of emendation and
omission this great poet thought proper to make in his poems in after
years. A first edition of Ivanhoe, 3 vols., 1820, brings L7 or more, in
the original boards, but if rebound in any style, the first Waverley
novels can be had at much less, though collectors are many.

(11) Another class of rare books is found in many local histories, both
among the county histories of Great Britain, and those of towns and
counties in the United States. Jay Gould's History of Delaware County, N.
Y., published in 1856, and sought after in later times because of his
note as a financier, is seldom found. Of family genealogies, too, printed
in small editions, there are many which cannot be had at all, and many
more which have risen to double or even quadruple price. The market value
of these books, always dependent on demand, is enhanced by the wants of
public libraries which are making or completing collections of these much
sought sources of information.

(12) There is a class of books rarely found in any reputable book shop,
and which ought to be much rarer than they are--namely, those that belong
to the domain of indecent literature. Booksellers who deal in such wares
often put them in catalogues under the head of _facetiae_, thus making a
vile use of what should be characteristic only of books of wit or humor.
Men of prurient tastes become collectors of such books, many of which are
not without some literary merit, while many more are neither fit to be
written, nor printed, nor read.

(13) There is a large variety of books that are sought mainly on account,
not of their authors, nor for their value as literature, but for their
illustrators. Many eminent artists (in fact most of those of any period)
have made designs for certain books of their day. The reputation of an
artist sometimes rests more upon his work given to the public