| This is Hannah Moxon Her book |
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A GLANCE at
a good collection of early American book-plates shows, to one
somewhat familiar with the history of our country, the names
of many famous families and distinguished individuals. The
number of known and listed plates of the colonial and early
statehood periods is now well over one thousand, and as the
researches of the ardent collector are further and further
extended, it may well be that this number will constantly
increase. To turn the pages of the album holding these
memorials of a time not so very far back in history is to
recall to the mind the conditions of life in those days, the
ways and means employed by our ancestors in their domestic
economy, the amusements which were permitted, the manners and
customs which obtained, and the quiet serenity with which for
long periods in many sections of the country these worthies
could look out upon life, enjoy its quiet blessings, and
cultivate their simple tastes. Political and religious
history, with its strife and woe, as well as the quieter sort
of the home and the plantation, is vividly recalled as one
turns from one plate to another, remembering the story of the
life of its original owner, the progress of events around
him, the persons he came in contact with, and the position he
took in different scenes which were epoch-making. Here, for instance, as one turns the page, comes into view the plate of George Washington, and what memories it stirs ! There rises before the mind the picture of the intrepid young Virginian surveyor, the General of the army, the first President. The career of this truly great man is brought to mind, and many stories about him will quicken into life. If Napoleon was the Man of Fate, Washington was the Man of Providence. To hold in the hand a book once the property of General Washington, having the well-known signature in its accustomed place at the right-hand upper corner of the title-page, and the book-plate pasted within the front cover, is for the book-lover, to gain a double sensation of delight, a double thrill of pleasure. The plate is one which of itself would not attract attention, being merely a modest design in the prevailing style, and bearing no ornamentation beyond what is common to thousands of others. This is true of the book-plates of many famous men. It is not the plate itself, it is its association which endears it, which makes it of value and importance to the collector. The plate was engraved in England, probably between the years 1765 and 1775. It has been counterfeited, so that the collector has need of caution in accepting what may be offered as the genuine plate. The plate is so important, and the location of the volumes from General Washington's library is so well known, that should a copy come into the market it would cause something of a sensation among collectors, and it is quite likely that if sold in open auction, and undoubtedly genuine, it would bring two hundred dollars. As one strolls over the grounds at Mount Vernon, or walks through the house which once saw the state in which the rich Virginian lived, which witnessed elaborate dinners served to foreign dignitaries, which covered with its protecting roof many a party in which vivacious maidens and courtly youths were present in the splendid attire of the period, and during all which occasions of pleasant intercourse the library must have been sought by some at least, he peoples the place with these bygone faces and forms, hears again the sound of merrymaking, sees the impressive person of the President, and lingers in fancy over these scenes with delight unspeakable. But the book-plate awakens these memories as readily, and one sees the shelves on which the books rested, witnesses the entrance of some seclusion-seeking couple, who, to escape from the light and the immediate presence of company, have stolen into the dark library now lighted only by the moon. With these rows of calf-bound utterances for background, with the sound of the distant dance and viol, not too strongly borne in, and with the weird light of the moon falling upon objects not well known, how delicious the moment, how favorable the opportunity for confidences ! 'Tis thus with books. They have that about them which begets confidences. Continued on this page |