CHAPTER XIII

BIBLIOGRAPHY—EARLY DECADES OF PAUL’S WORK

Various causes render a bibliographical chapter a difficult matter. Lapse of time, enlargements of premises, removals, and changes of several kinds incident to an old business, have led to the loss of records which would have been of great value in a chapter of this kind. Apart from the works of Sir Walter Scott—of which we give a chronological list, we can only hope to describe a few of the books printed by James Ballantyne & Co. in the earlier decades of Paul’s Work. It may be noted in passing, however, that much of the early work of Carlyle was printed there, particularly his “Miscellanies,” which include the famous essay on Burns.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF SIR WALTER SCOTT’S WORKS

Date of Publication.

The Chase, and William and Helen (translations from Bürger), Manners & Miller, Edinburgh 1796

Goetz von Berlichingen (translation from Goethe), and other Ballads, Manners & Miller, Edinburgh 1799

An Apology for Tales of Terror Kelso 1799

Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border—Vols. I. and II. Kelso 1802

Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border—Vol. III. Edinburgh 1803

Sir Tristrem: by Thomas of Ercildoune (_Edited_) 1804

The Lay of the Last Minstrel 1805

Original Memoirs of the Great Civil War, being the Lives of Sir Henry Slingsby and Captain Hodgson (_Edited_) 1806

Ballads and Lyrical Pieces 1806

Marmion: a Tale of Flodden Field 1808

Memoirs of Captain George Carleton (_Edited_) 1808

Works of John Dryden (_Edited_) 1808

Memoirs of Robert Carey (_Edited_) 1808

Strutt’s Queenhoo Hall: a Romance (_Edited_) 1808

State Papers and Letters of Sir R. Sadler (_Edited_) 1809

Lord Somers’ Collection of Tracts (_Edited_) 1809-1815

English Minstrelsy (_Edited_) 1810

The Lady of the Lake 1810

The Vision of Don Roderick 1811

Secret History of the Court of James the First (_Edited_) 1811

Rokeby 1812

Warwick’s Memoirs of Reign of King Charles I. (_Edited_) 1812

The Bridal of Triermain; or, The Vale of St. John 1813

Works of Jonathan Swift (_Edited_) 1814

Letting of Humours Blood into the Head Vaine (_Edited_) 1814

Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since 1814

The Border Antiquities 1814-1817

The Lord of the Isles 1815

Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer 1815

The Field of Waterloo 1815

Memoirs of the Somervilles (_Edited_) 1815

Paul’s Letters to His Kinsfolk 1816

The Antiquary 1816

Tales of My Landlord (First Series): The Black Dwarf; Old Mortality 1816

Harold the Dauntless 1817

Rob Roy 1817

Tales of My Landlord (Second Series): The Heart of Midlothian 1818

Tales of My Landlord (Third Series): Bride of Lammermoor; Legend of Montrose 1819

The Visionary 1819

Ivanhoe 1819

The Monastery 1820

The Abbot 1820

Memoirs of the Haliburtons (_Edited_) 1820

Carey’s Poems and Triolets (_Edited_) 1820

The Novelists’ Library (_Edited_) 1821-1824

Franck’s Northern Memoirs (_Edited_) 1821

Kenilworth 1821

The Pirate 1822

Notes of Scottish Affairs; Diary of Lord Fountainhall (_Edited_) 1822

The Fortunes of Nigel 1822

Halidon Hill; a Metrical Drama in Two Acts 1822

Military Memoirs of the Great Civil War (_Edited_) 1822

Peveril of the Peak 1823

Quentin Durward 1823

St. Ronan’s Well 1823

Redgauntlet 1824

Tales of the Crusaders: The Betrothed; The Talisman 1825

Provincial Antiquities of Scotland 1826

Letters of Malachi Malagrowther 1826

Woodstock; or, The Cavalier 1826

Life of Napoleon Buonaparte 1827

Chronicles of the Canongate (First Series): Highland Widow; The Two Drovers; The Surgeon’s Daughter 1827

Memoirs of Marchioness de la Rochejaquelin (_translation_) 1827

Tales of a Grandfather (First Series) 1827

Miscellaneous Prose Works (collected in 6 vols.) 1828

Religious Discourses by a Layman 1828

Chronicles of the Canongate (Second Series): Fair Maid of Perth 1828

Tales of a Grandfather (Second Series) 1828

Memoirs of George Bannatyne 1828

Anne of Geierstein 1829

Tales of a Grandfather (Third Series) 1829

History of Scotland (Lardner’s Cabinet Cyclopædia) 1829-1830

Auchindrane; or, The Ayrshire Tragedy 1830

The Doom of Devorgoil 1830

Tales of a Grandfather (Fourth Series) 1830

Tales of My Landlord (Fourth Series): Count Robert of Paris; Castle Dangerous 1831

* * * * *

“The Defence of Order, a Poem, by Josiah Walker, M.A. Third Edition. Edinburgh. Printed by James Ballantyne, for Manners and Miller, Parliament Square; and sold in London, by Longman and Rees, Paternoster Row, and Cadell and Davies, Strand.” This book has the imprint at the end: “Printed by James Ballantyne, at the Border Press, Edinburgh. 1803.”

* * * * *

“The Poems of Ossian, Translated by James Macpherson, Esq. In Three Volumes. The Engravings by James Fittler, A.R.A., from Pictures by Henry Singleton. Vol. I. London: Published for William Miller, Albemarle Street; John Murray, Fleet Street; and John Harding, St. James Street. 1805.”

A very fine 12mo Edition of a famous and much-discussed work, with the imprint of James Ballantyne, Paul’s Work. A prior edition of the “Poems of Ossian, containing the Works of James Macpherson, Esq., in Prose and Rhyme,” with Notes and Illustrations by Malcolm Laing, in Two Volumes, 8vo, was printed by Ballantyne in 1802.

“This edition of the poems ascribed to Ossian is illustrated by notes, in which every simile, and almost every poetical image is traced to its source, thus serving as a commentary to point out the real originals from which the poems have been derived.”[48]

* * * * *

“Journal of the Transactions in Scotland, During the Contest between The Adherents of Queen Mary and Those of her Son, 1570, 1571, 1572, 1573. By Richard Bannatyne, Secretary to John Knox. Edinburgh. Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., For A. Constable and Co., Edinburgh, and J. Murray, 32 Fleet Street, London. 1806.”

Very little is known of this old chronicler, besides his connection with John Knox the Reformer and the fact that he was a man of learning. There are two MSS. of the above-named work—one in the University Library and the other in the Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh. From the latter Sir John Graham Dalzell took the volume published in 1806, which excited much interest. Shortly after that time the University MS. was discovered, and the two being collated by Pitcairn, a more complete edition was issued in 1836.

* * * * *

“The Poetical Works of Hector Macneill, Esq. A New Edition, Corrected and Enlarged. _Veritatis simplex oratio est._ In Two Volumes. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for Mundell and Son, Manners and Miller, and A. Constable and Co., and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and John Murray, London. 1806.”

Hector Macneill (1746-1818) was a popular poet and song-writer. He had a varied experience in life, and showed his poetic ability by publishing in 1789, “The Harp, a Legendary Tale,” which brought him into favourable notice. His most popular poem, “Scotland’s Skaith, or The History of Will and Jean,” appeared in 1795, and its sequel, “The Waes o’ War,” was almost equally successful. All Macneill’s works are in the Scottish dialect. The copy here noted is the second edition (12mo); the first (8vo) was issued in 1801.

“The moral of Will and Jean was admirable,” says Constable (ii. 235), “and in favour of temperance at a time when such advice was at a discount; but it is rather curious and somewhat inconsistent to find the author in the next poem of the series declaring

“I am resolved, be’t right or sinfu’, To hae at least,—a decent skinfu’”—

of a large bottle of Jamaica rum, which accompanies a rhyming letter to his friend ‘Canty Chairlie.’”

* * * * *

“The Poetical Works of Sir David Lyndsay of The Mount, Lyon King at Arms under James V., with Prefatory Dissertations, and a Glossary. Three vols., crown 8vo. 1806. Longman and Co.”

This edition was the work of George Chalmers, a well-known Scottish antiquary, whose greatest work, “Caledonia,” displays much research and learning.

* * * * *

“Historical Enquiry respecting the Harp in the Highlands of Scotland, 4to. Edinburgh: A. Constable. 1807.”

In regard to this work, reference has been already made (p. 36) to a letter of John Murray to Constable, in which the beauty of the typography is praised.

* * * * *

“An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D., late Professor of Moral Philosophy and Logic in the Marischal College and University of Aberdeen. Including many of his Original Letters. By Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo, Bart., one of the executors of Dr. Beattie. Second Edition. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Printed for Arch. Constable and Co., Edinburgh; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, T. Cadell and W. Davies, and John Murray, London. 1807.”

James Beattie (1735-1803) first published a volume of poems and translations in 1760, which he afterwards tried to suppress, though the book had been favourably received. The work which brought him most prominently into notice was “An Essay on the Nature and Immutability of Truth,” written to refute the scepticism of Hume; and it also gained him a Government pension of £200 a year. “The Minstrel” is Beattie’s best poem, and it will continue to be read when his philosophical productions are forgotten. His poems were again printed at Paul’s Work in 1854, in Nichol’s “British Poets.”

* * * * *

“The Shipwreck, a Poem, by William Falconer, a sailor. With a Life of the Author. Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co., for Alexander Mackay, High Street, Edinburgh, and John Murray, No. 32, Fleet Street, London. 1807.”

At an early age Falconer became a sailor on board a Leith merchantman, and in his eighteenth year was wrecked in the _Britannia_ off Cape Colonna, only three of the crew being saved. He was again wrecked with the _Ramilies_, when only twenty-six escaped out of a total of 734. After a period on shore, during which he published several poems, he joined the _Aurora_, and sailed for India in September 1769. The vessel touched at the Cape, but was never heard of again, and was supposed to have foundered in the Mozambique Channel. “The Shipwreck” is his best work, and is believed to embody his experiences in the wreck of the _Britannia_.

* * * * *

“Poems by James Grahame. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. containing The Sabbath, Sabbath Walks, Rural Calendar, &c. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for William Blackwood, South Bridge Street; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster Row, London, 1807.”

Two neatly-printed little volumes, each containing a Glossary of Scottish words at the end. “The Sabbath” first appeared in print in 1804, and was published anonymously. So careful was the poet regarding the authorship of this work, that he exacted a promise of secrecy from the printer of the first edition, whom he used to meet clandestinely at coffee-houses for the correction of proofs, but never twice at the same house.

* * * * *

“Shakespeare’s Works, in eight vols. 8vo. 1807. Printed by James Ballantyne for Longman and Co., London.”

* * * * *

“The Cottagers of Glenburnie; a Tale for the Farmer’s Ingle-neuk. By Elizabeth Hamilton, Author of The Elementary Principles of Education, Memoirs of Modern Philosophers, &c. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for Manners and Miller, and S. Cheyne, Edinburgh; T. Cadell and W. Davies, Strand, and William Miller, Albemarle Street, London. 1808.”

Elizabeth Hamilton (1758-1816) was born in Belfast of Scottish parentage, and is worthy of note for her faithful pictures of lowly Scottish life, as well as for her works criticising the republicanism and scepticism of the time. The “Cottagers” passed through many editions, and is her best book.

* * * * *

“Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton, an English officer; including Anecdotes of the War in Spain under the Earl of Peterborough, and Many Interesting Particulars relating to the Manners of the Spaniards in the beginning of last century. Written by Himself. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and J. Murray, London, 1808, 8vo.”

Originally published in London in 1728, this work was attributed to Dean Swift, but is now known to have been written by Defoe. In Boswell’s “Johnson” there is the following reference to it: “Lord Eliot: ‘The best account of Lord Peterborough that I have happened to meet with is in Captain Carleton’s Memoirs.’ Johnson said he had never heard of the book. Lord Eliot sent it to him. Johnson was about going to bed when it came, but sat up till he had read it through; and remarked to Sir Joshua Reynolds, ‘I did not think a _young lord_ could have mentioned to me a book in English history that was not known to me.’”

* * * * *

“The Novels of Daniel de Foe. In Twelve Volumes. Vol. I. containing Life of Defoe and Robinson Crusoe. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for John Ballantyne and Co., and Brown and Crombie, Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, London. 1810.”

* * * * *

“Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances, chiefly written during the early part of the Fourteenth Century, to which is prefixed An Historical Introduction, intended to illustrate the Rise and Progress of Romantic Composition in France and England. By George Ellis, Esq. Second Edition in Three Volumes. Vol. I. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster Row. 1811.”

The first edition of this interesting and valuable work was issued in 1805. The author was a great friend of Sir Walter Scott, who says of him that “George Ellis was the best converser I ever knew. His patience and good breeding made me often ashamed of myself, going off at score upon some favourite topic.”[49] Sir Walter addressed to Ellis the fifth canto of “Marmion,” in which the following lines occur:—

“Dear Ellis! to the bard impart A lesson of thy magic art, To win at once the head and heart,— At once to charm, instruct, and mend, My guide, my pattern, and my friend!”

George Ellis was also a contributor to “Specimens of the Early English Poets,” which ran through a number of editions.

* * * * *

An edition of Miss Seward’s Poems, in three volumes, 12mo, edited by Scott, printed by James, and published by John Ballantyne in 1810. See _ante_, p. 38.

* * * * *

“The Secret History of the Court of James the First: containing I. Osborne’s Traditional Memoirs. II. Sir Anthony Weldon’s Court and Character of King James. III. Aulicus Coquinariæ. IV. Sir Edward Peyton’s Divine Catastrophe of the House of Stuart. With Notes and Introductory Remarks. In Two Volumes. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., For John Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London. 1811.”

Two large 8vo volumes, about 480 pp. each, edited by Sir Walter Scott.

* * * * *

“The Chase, Field Sports, Rural Games, and Other Poems. By William Somerville. With a Life of the Author. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for John Ballantyne and Co., Hanover Street, Edinburgh. 1812.”

The author of “The Chase” (1677-1742) was “a squire well-born, and six foot high.” He had a goodly estate in Warwickshire worth £1500 a year, but being of extravagant habits, he died in distressed circumstances. He was a friend of William Shenstone and Allan Ramsay.

* * * * *

“Tixall Poetry, With Notes and Illustrations, by Arthur Clifford, Esq., Editor of Sir Ralph Sadler’s State Papers. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., For Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London; and John Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh. 1813.”

A beautifully printed 4to volume, with large margins, having some English-made Scotch songs among many other poems. This was one of the unfortunate speculations of Scott, which proved so disastrous to both the printing and publishing firms; and yet, in spite of its non-success, the following was taken in hand not long after:—

“Tixall Letters, or the Correspondence of The Family Aston and their Friends during the Seventeenth Century. With Notes and Illustrations, by Arthur Clifford, Esq. In Two Volumes. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Paternoster Row; and for Archibald Constable and Co., and John Ballantyne and Co., Edinburgh. 1815.”

There were two volumes in this latter work, of 216 pp. each in foolscap 8vo. The Letters refer generally to the first half of the seventeenth century.

* * * * *

“The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. By Edward Gibbon, Esq. In Twelve Volumes. Vol. I. A New Edition. London. Printed for Lackington, Allen, and Co., W. Stride, R. Scholey, and G. Cowie and Co., London; and for P. Hill, Doig and Stirling, and Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh. 1815. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co.”

Many editions of this great history have since been printed at Paul’s Work; one of the latest, in six volumes, for the “World’s Classics,” in 1904.

* * * * *

“The City of the Plague and other Poems, by John Wilson, author of ‘The Isle of Palms,’ &c. Second Edition. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co., for Archibald Constable and Company, Edinburgh; John Smith and Son, Glasgow; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London. 1817.”

“The Isle of Palms” was published in 1812, and the first edition of “The City of the Plague” in 1816.

* * * * *

The Bannatyne Club and its books took their initiative from George Bannatyne, a merchant of Edinburgh, who, during a time of great pestilence in 1568, retired to a secluded house in Forfarshire, and there employed his enforced leisure in making a collection of old Scottish poetry, which might otherwise have perished. “Bannatyne’s manuscript,” says Scott, in a Memoir written for the Club, “is in folio form, containing upwards of eight hundred pages, very neatly and closely written; and designed, as has been supposed, to be sent to press.” Allan Ramsay borrowed from it the specimens of old verse which appeared in his “Evergreen,” a Collection of Scots Poems, which he published in 1724; Lord Hailes issued another selection in 1770; and in 1772 the manuscript was presented to the Advocates’ Library by the Earl of Hyndford. In 1822 the Club was instituted for “the publication of substantial volumes illustrative of the history, antiquities, and general literature of Scotland.” Sir Walter Scott became president, and regularly took the chair at its annual meetings from 1823 till 1831. During the period of its existence till 1861, the Club published no fewer than 116 volumes, many of them printed at Paul’s Work. They were all deemed of value, and one complete set was sold in 1887 for £235. The membership at first consisted of thirty-one, but, owing to the desire of many persons of rank and literary distinction to join, it was gradually increased to one hundred in 1828, when it made a final pause. At the first annual dinner of the Club, on March 9, 1823, Scott wrote a song for the occasion to the tune of “One Bottle More,” several verses hitting off the foibles of various bibliophiles. This song was sung by James Ballantyne, and heartily chorused by the company.

Three verses are here given:—

“Assist me, ye friends of Old Books and Old Wine, To sing the praises of sage Bannatyne, Who left such a treasure of old Scottish lore As enables each age to print one volume more. One volume more, my friends, one volume more, We’ll ransack old Banny for one volume more.

...

John Pinkerton next, and I’m truly concern’d I can’t call that worthy so candid as learn’d; He rail’d at the plaid and blasphemed the claymore, And sets Scots by the ears in his one volume more. One volume more, my friends, one volume more, Celt and Goth shall be pleased with one volume more.

...

As bitter as gall, and as sharp as a razor, And feeding on herbs as a Nebuchadnezzar, His diet too acid, his temper too sour, Little Ritson came out with his two volumes more. But one volume more, my friends, one volume more, We’ll dine on roast beef, and print one volume more.”

One noble specimen of the Bannatyne Club books was the “Catalogue of the Library of Abbotsford,” presented to the members by Major Sir Walter Scott, December 1838. This Catalogue was prepared by Mr. Cochrane of the London Library.

* * * * *

“The History of the Ingenious Gentleman, Don Quixote of La Mancha. Translated from the Spanish, by Motteux. A new Edition with Copious Notes; and an Essay on the Life and Writings of Cervantes [by J. G. Lockhart]. In Five Volumes. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Printed for Hurst, Robinson and Co., London; and Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh. 1822.”

* * * * *

“The Works of John Home, Esq. Now first Collected. To which is prefixed an Account of his Writings. By Henry Mackenzie, F.R.S.E., &c. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co., Edinburgh; and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., London. 1822.”

John Home (1722-1808) was a clergyman in the Kirk of Scotland, who wrote several plays. His most popular play was “Douglas,” a Scottish romantic drama, in which maternal affection is depicted under novel and striking circumstances—the accidental discovery of a lost child; and Henry Mackenzie, “the Man of Feeling,” here gives his opinion that the chief scene, in which the preservation and the existence of the lost Douglas is discovered, has no equal in modern and scarcely a superior in ancient drama. The play was first performed at Edinburgh on December 14, 1756, and met with instant and brilliant success, but so violent a storm was raised by the fact of a Presbyterian minister so violating the rules of clerical propriety as to write a play, that the author had to succumb to the Presbytery and resign his ministry. It is in “Douglas” that the well-known passage occurs: “My name is Norval: on the Grampian hills my father feeds his flock,” &c.

* * * * *

“A Topographical and Historical Account of the Town of Kelso, and of the Town and Castle of Roxburgh. With a succinct detail of the occurrences in the History of Scotland connected with these celebrated places. And an Appendix, containing various official documents, &c. By James Haig. Edinburgh: Printed for John Fairbairn, Waterloo Place; and James Duncan, London. 1825. Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co.”

Demy 8vo, and illustrated with several fine steel engravings.

* * * * *

“The Poems of William Dunbar. Now first Collected. With Notes and a Memoir of his Life. By David Laing. Volume First. Edinburgh: MDCCCXXXIV. Printed for Laing and Forbes, Princes Street, Edinburgh, and William Pickering, London.”

This old Scottish poet was born in East Lothian, and after his education at the University of St. Andrews became a Franciscan friar and travelled through France, England, and Scotland as a mendicant preacher. Little was known of his poems till the beginning of the eighteenth century, though several of them had been issued as tracts by the first Scottish printers, Walter Chepman and Andro Myllar, in 1508. Sir Walter Scott said: “Dunbar was unrivalled by any poet that Scotland has yet produced; he excelled in moral and humorous verse, and was peculiarly happy in using allegory in the advocacy of truth.”

There is evidence that Dr. Laing had a previous edition of a portion of Dunbar’s poems printed at Paul’s Work in 1827; but just as the volume was completed, with the exception of the Introduction, a disastrous fire occurred in the binder’s premises which destroyed the greater portion of the sheets, and only seventy-six copies (four on vellum) were actually published, not a few bearing evidence of the scorching they had sustained.[50]

* * * * *

“Constable’s Miscellany,” extending to seventy-six volumes, was first printed by Willison (Constable’s father-in-law), and after his death, for two years by Hutchinson for Willison’s heirs, and then at Paul’s Work by Ballantyne & Co., who had also given occasional aid in the production of the early volumes. This series comprised books in all branches of literature, such as Lockhart’s “Life of Burns,” Robert Chambers’s “History of the Rebellions in Scotland during the Seventeenth Century,” 2 vols.; the same author’s “History of the Rebellion of 1745,” 2 vols.; Basil Hall’s “Voyages,” &c., &c. The first volume appeared on January 6, 1826. The “Miscellany” was “undoubtedly the pioneer and suggester of all the various ‘Libraries’ which sprang up in its wake, and which, after the inspiration and management of its projector had been withdrawn, may be said to have run it down.... ‘Constable’s Miscellany’ also inaugurated the cloth bindings which are now universally adopted in our own and other countries.”[51] The printing of the same publisher’s _Edinburgh Review_, begun in October 1802, was done till 1806 by different printers—Mundell, Muirhead, Walker and Son, and Moir. In 1807 Willison’s name first appears and continues till his death, when Hutchinson comes in for two years; and from 1827 till its removal to London it was printed at the Ballantyne Press.

It is impossible to mention a tithe of the other books which have passed through the Ballantyne Press during the century and more that has elapsed since its origin, and all that can be attempted here is a reference to the outstanding publications which have been printed at Paul’s Work. These include several editions of the Waverley Novels, Shakespeare, Browning, Dickens, Thackeray, Bret Harte, Besant and Rice, Charles Reade, Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Brontë, Thomas Hardy, Mrs. Sewell, and others; various editions of Ruskin’s Works, including the great Library Edition of thirty-eight volumes—one of the finest works printed at the Press; Walpole’s “History of England”; Maunder’s “Dictionaries”; Chisholm’s “Gazetteer of the World”; “The Armorial Families”; “Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families” for the Duke of Atholl; “Military History of Perthshire,” edited by the Marchioness of Tullibardine; Nuttall’s “Dictionary” and “Encyclopædia” and “Dictionary of Quotations”; volumes of the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” the Temple Classics, the Chandos Classics, and Lansdowne Poets; Trübner’s Oriental and Philosophical Libraries of about 200 octavo volumes; editions of Henry’s “Commentary” and of Hymn-books and Church Praise; Bagster’s Bibles and “Daily Light” and Prayer-books; Latin and Greek text-books, Art books, works of Travel and Biography, school-books of all kinds; The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute; The Records of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, of the Champlain Society of Toronto, and of various other learned Societies.

APPENDIX

A pleasant and memorable chapter in the history of the Ballantyne Press is its connection with the Edinburgh International Exhibition of 1886, held in the West Meadows. The position occupied by Paul’s Work relative to the literary history of Edinburgh since the beginning of last century, as well as other considerations, induced the firm to make an exhibit of ancient printing materials and of Early Bibles and other books in the Old Edinburgh buildings of that Exhibition; and to show a working model, so to speak, of an early printing-house. This was considered to be a very attractive feature of the Exhibition, and the following account of it appeared in the Scotsman of September 15, 1886.

“THE BALLANTYNE PRESS IN ‘OLD EDINBURGH’

“Passing through the Nether Bow Port, and keeping to the left, visitors to the Exhibition will come upon the reproduction of an old house in Dickson’s Close, now improved away, and supposed to have been originally the work of Robert Mylne, the builder of the modern portion of Holyrood, and peculiar from its upper storeys and open galleries projecting for several feet beyond the basement—a not uncommon feature of the architecture of olden times. This house, or a near neighbour to it in the same ‘land,’ was at one time the abode of David Allan, the Scottish Hogarth. Above the door is an old-fashioned swinging signboard showing ‘Ye Ballantyne Presse, 1796,’ while the windows are adorned with stained glass. Here Messrs. Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., Paul’s Work, have gathered together a goodly display of the old implements of the ‘prenters,’ ancient Bibles and other books, as well as a number of other curios.

“Prominent among the typographical antiquities is a venerable wooden hand-press, nearly two centuries old, and substantially identical with those used in the early stages of the art. This press is worked by a genial and chatty representative of Caxton, in a neat sixteenth-century costume. He is engaged printing off sundry jobs, using the old-fashioned hand-balls or ‘dabbers’ for putting the ink on the types, a method of inking which came in with the art, and which was superseded by the modern ‘roller’ only about fifty years ago. Within the cases on the counter of this old curiosity shop are to be seen ancient composing-sticks, type moulds, punches, matrices, &c., for casting types. In the cases are also a number of relative curiosities, lent for exhibition by the Oxford University Press, and originally the property of the celebrated Dr. Fell. Among these is a small quarto book, printed in 1700, containing the Lord’s Prayer in upwards of 200 languages. Here also is a parcel of Icelandic type, given to the Oxford Press by Francis Junius about 1677, and some music type of the seventeenth century.

“In one case is a proof-sheet of the ‘Life of Napoleon,’ by Sir Walter Scott, with the author’s corrections. One page of this proof-sheet, which is the property of the Earl of Rosebery, has a characteristic remark by James Ballantyne, the printer, in reference to one of Sir Walter’s footnotes. It was to be expected from the connection the Ballantynes had with Scott that some relics of the author of the Waverley Novels would be shown, and here are to be seen the chair and desk reserved for his use in Paul’s Work when he came to correct his proofs or transact business.

“Around the walls are also to be seen a number of pictures, among these being a copy by Maris of Raeburn’s portrait of Scott; a proof copy of the well-known engraving of Scott and his contemporaries; Caxton in Westminster Abbey; old views of Edinburgh, one of them dated 1579, &c. A remarkably fine etching shows the bookselling shop of Jacob van Liesvelt at Antwerp in the sixteenth century. Liesvelt was condemned and beheaded at Antwerp, because in the annotations of a Bible he had edited and printed, it was said that ‘the salvation of mankind proceeds from Christ alone!’ A number of old playbills also adorn the walls, some of these having portraits framed along with them, such as that of Mackay as Bailie Nicol Jarvie, Mrs. Siddons as Lady Randolph, and Mr. Liston as Dominie Sampson. One old playbill is shown of the Kelso Theatre, printed by Ballantyne at the Border Press, before Scott induced him to remove his printing-office to Paul’s Work, Edinburgh.

“There are here a number of old newspapers—the _Kingdom’s Intelligencer_, the _Perfect Diurnal_, the _Courant_, _Caledonian Mercury_, &c. One of the _Diurnals_ contains a despatch of General Monk, dated from his headquarters at Dalkeith in August 1654; and a _Caledonian Mercury_ of August 26, 1822, contains a subscription list for the National Monument on Calton Hill, and the _menu_ for the banquet given by the municipality of Edinburgh to George IV. in Parliament House. There is also an early number of the _Scotsman_, of 1855, shown by way of contrast to the present issues of the journal.

“To many visitors, however, the interest in the Ballantyne Press exhibits will centre in the fine collection of Ancient Bibles and other books which have been gathered together. The gem of this collection is a copy of the very rare ‘Mentelin’ Bible, printed about 1466—one of the earliest printed by the aid of movable type, in fine condition, with initial letters filled in by the hand, of beautiful design and colouring. The table of contents extends to eighteen pages, and is all in MS. of various colours. Another rare Bible is the Hans Lufft, or first edition of Luther’s Bible in two volumes, printed in 1534. This Bible is in its original binding of wood with brass mountings, and has a great number of woodcuts printed along with the text, which in this copy were afterwards coloured by hand expressly for the Prince Protector. The existence of this Bible was frequently denied by learned men of Germany, owing to its great rarity, caused by the destruction of most copies by the Roman Catholics. John George of Saxony was unable to obtain it for himself, and was obliged to be contented with the sight of one, then supposed to be unique. A copy of this work sold at a very high price at Lord Holland’s sale in 1860. The engravings throughout the work, and especially in the Revelation of St. John, are curious and full of anachronisms—the patriarchs and prophets being clad in the German costume of the sixteenth century. Another Lutheran Bible here is one printed at Nurnberg, in 1720, by Andrea Enolters. This is said to be one of the finest of all the ancient German Bibles, and has, besides a number of beautiful engravings of Biblical scenes, several portraits of well-known German princes. It is also in its original binding with metal ornaments. A copy of the first edition of the Paris printer Robert Stephens’ valuable Greek Testament, in two volumes, published in 1546, may also be seen. A former possessor has enriched the margins of this copy with a copious supply of Latin notes and comments in very small MS. There were other editions of this book published in 1549, 1550, and 1551. That of 1551, published at Geneva, was divided into verses as we have the Bible now, a plan which the printer Stephens was the first to put into actual use.

“Of a more purely local interest, however, is a copy of another Bible we find here, that of the first one printed in Scotland, with the date of 1576. This work, printed by Alexander Arbuthnot and Thomas Bassendyne, has a history of its own. It was put in type from the Genevan version, and has the well-known ‘breeches’ translation of Genesis iii. 7, and contains also the side-notes, to which King James is said afterwards to have strongly objected as ‘partial, untrue, and seditious,’ when arrangements were being made for the Authorised translation of 1611. Besides being connected with the first Bible printed in Scotland, Bassendyne’s printing-office, which was situated in a close nearly opposite John Knox’s house, is repeatedly referred to in the evidence of the accomplices of the Earl of Bothwell in the murder of Darnley, an event which took place in the lifetime of the old printer. In the deposition of George Dalgleish, one of those who were executed for their share in that crime, it is stated that, ‘efter thay enterit within the Nether Bow Port, thai zeid up abone Bassyntine’s house, on the south side of the gait, and knockit at ane dur beneth the sword slippers, and callit for the Laird of Ormestounes, and one within answerit he was not thare; and thai passit down a cloiss beneth Frier Wynd, and enterit in at the zet of the Black Friers.’ This reference clearly indicates that Bassendyne’s workshop was situated near the Nether Bow, whence was issued the folio Bible which is here shown.

“Another Genevan or ‘breeches’ version, printed by Christopher Barker in 1586, is also in the collection, this one having the Book of Common Prayer at the beginning. There is here, too, King James’s own copy of the first edition of the Authorised Version of 1611, printed by Robert Barker in black letter. It is in fine condition, with the Royal arms on the massive outside boards, and contains the well-known and curiously elaborate genealogical tables by John Speed. Taking thought for the common people, King James is said to have given orders that a smaller and cheaper edition of the Authorised Version in Roman type should be prepared in quarto size. This was also printed by Robert Barker, and published in 1614, and is to be seen here, along with many other Bibles, some with curious bindings, and others with music to the Psalms. Several of the more important of the Bibles above mentioned have been lent for exhibition by the Rev. Dr. Ginsburg of London.

“One of the most curious black-letter books in the Ballantyne collection, and with an interesting history, is a copy of the first complete Concordance to the English Bible, written by John Marbek (or Merbecke), and printed by Richard Grafton, in 1550. This John Marbek was organist to the Royal Chapel at Windsor, and his book bears the following title: ‘A Concordance, that is to saie a worke wherein by the ordere of the letters A. B. C. ye maie redely finde any worde conteigned in the whole Bible, so often as it is there expressed or mentioned.’ Marbek, after various difficulties, had gone on with his Concordance as far as the letter L, when all his papers were seized, and he was apprehended and imprisoned. ‘He was arraigned, for that he had with his own hand gathered out of divers men’s writings certain things that were expressly against both the mass and the sacrament of the altar. He was arraigned and condemned with three others—namely, Anthony Persone, priest; Robert Testwood, singing-man; and Henry Filmer, tailor; on account of the Six Articles in the year 1544; the three last were burned at Windsor, but the innocence of Marbek gained him the King’s pardon.’

“When he was set at liberty, as his papers were not restored to him, he had his Concordance to begin again; and this, when completed, he showed to a friend, who promised to assist him in having it presented to the King, in order to have it published by his authority; but Henry VIII. died before that could be brought about, and it was accordingly dedicated to Edward VI. This folio black-letter Concordance gives a good specimen of the printer Grafton’s rebus or monogram, a _graft_ inserted into a _tun_.

“A number of other interesting curiosities, and a library of ancient books, too numerous to be detailed here, are in various cabinets and bookcases in this shop of Old Edinburgh. Many of the volumes are over 300 years old; several are in their original bindings; and all are in fair condition. Classics from the printing-presses of the Elzevirs, Stephens, Gryphius, Foulis, Ruddiman, and other printers whose names are now historical, are all to be seen, besides a goodly array of fine art and other books, the more recent productions of Messrs. Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.”—W. T. D.

THE END

FOOTNOTES

[1] “I remember it was a thing of daily occurrence, that after he had made himself master of his own lesson, I, alas! being still sadly to seek in mine, he used to whisper to me, ‘Come, slink over beside me, Jamie, and I’ll tell you a story.’”—James Ballantyne’s “Memorandum.”

[2] Afterwards published in 1801, and coldly received.

[3] Lockhart’s “Life of Scott,” ii. 42, 43.

[4] The Count was a native of Russian Poland, and was in early life patronised by a Polish lady, with whom he visited various countries of Europe. He resided for some time in Paris, but quitting it shortly before the Revolution came over to this country. He exhibited himself at fairs, and was a favourite with the public, to whom he recommended himself not only by his diminutive stature, but by his intelligence and genial disposition. He eventually realised enough to enable him to spend the last thirty years of his life in comfort. The Count’s height was exactly 35½ inches, and his person was a model of symmetry. His remains were interred in Durham Cathedral, near those of his intimate friend, Stephen Kemble.

[5] This and the view of Kelso market-place in 1797, at page 3, are also given through the courtesy of the present proprietor of the _Mail_.

[6] Endorsed by Professor Saintsbury (“Sir Walter Scott,” Famous Scots Series): “The earliest form of the ‘Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border’ is a very pretty book: it deservedly established the fame of Ballantyne as a printer.”

[7] “A History of Accounting and Accountants” (T. C. and E. C. Jack, 1904).

[8] The following note gives the residents in the little street in James Ballantyne’s time:—

No. 1, the old street guardian.

No. 2, Mr. Ewart and two sons, officials in the Chancery Office.

No. 3, Dr. Brunton, Professor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages, Edinburgh University, and Mrs. Brunton, authoress of some religious novels, which had considerable popularity in their day.

No. 4, Mr. Phillips, Commissioner of Customs.

No. 5, Mr. Alexander Cowan, the well-known papermaker.

No. 6, Mr. Andrew Bogle, Secretary Royal Bank of Scotland.

No. 7, Mrs. McLeod, widow of McLeod of St. Kilda, with a large family of daughters and one son, who rose to the rank of General in the Indian Army.

No. 8, The Countess of Hyndford.

No. 9, Miss Suttie, an old lady from East Lothian.

No. 10, Mr. James Ballantyne.

No. 13, Mr. Speid, W.S., laird of Ardovie, Forfarshire.

No. 14, Mr. Andrew Ramsay, Advocate; and, later on, Mr. Alexander Ballantyne.

No. 15, Mr. Trotter, the laird of Morton Hall.

—_Derived from_ Mr. Charles Cowan’s “Reminiscences” (1878).

[9] “The Book-Fancier” (1886), p. 80.

[10] Lockhart’s “Life of Scott,” iii. 120, 121.

[11] Lockhart’s “Life of Scott,” v. 218.

[12] “James Ballantyne has taken his brother Sandy into the house, I mean the firm.”—“Scott’s Journal,” Feb. 21, 1829.

[13] See also James Ballantyne’s suggestions as to the “Field of Waterloo,” given on p. 67; and a fuller treatment of this topic in