The bibliographical decameron; or, Ten days pleasant discourse upon illuminated manuscripts, and subjects connected with early engraving, typography, and bibliography, Volume 1

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G. and W. Nicol, Payne & Foss, 1817
 

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Page 409 - But, th' allotted numbers shed, Another hour of life hath fled! Its task perform'd, its travail past, Like mortal man it rests at last! — Yet let some hand invert its frame And all its powers return the same, Whilst any golden grains remain Twill work its little hour again.
Page 392 - O ! who can hold a fire in his hand By thinking on the frosty Caucasus? Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite By bare imagination of a feast?
Page 442 - And indeed, when I consider what a heap of Sawdust or chips this little creature (which is one of the teeth of Time) conveys into its intrals, I cannot chuse but remember and admire the excellent contrivance of Nature, in placing in Animals such a fire, as is continually nourished and supply'd by the materials convey'd into the stomach, and fomented by the bellows of the lungs...
Page 509 - The Back Finished in Compartments with parts of Gold studded Work, and open Work to Relieve the Rich close studded Work. All the Tools except Studded points, are obliged to be Workt off plain first — and afterwards the Gold laid on and •Worked off again.
Page 441 - I found much conversant among books and papers, and is supposed to be that which corrodes and eats holes through the leaves and covers. It appears to the naked eye a small, glittering, pearl-colored moth, which, upon the removing of books and papers in the summer, is often observed very nimbly to scud and pack away to some lurking cranny where it may better protect itself from any appearing dangers.
Page 338 - I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, Thy knotted and combined locks to part And each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porcupine : But this eternal blazon must not be To ears of flesh and blood.
Page 459 - Florentine, the writer of many philological works3, and a professor of Greek and oratory at Florence. When Buda was taken by the Turks in the year 1526, cardinal Bozmanni offered for the redemption of this inestimable collection, 200,000 pieces of the Imperial money : yet without effect, for the barbarous besiegers defaced or destroyed most of the books, in the violence of seizing the splendid covers and the silver bosses and clasps with which they were enriched4.
Page 443 - The larvae of Crambus pinguinalis will establish themselves upon the binding of a book, and, spinning a robe, will do it little injury. A mite (Acarus erudH"~ i eats the paste that fastens the paper over the edges of the binding, and so loosens it. The caterpillar of another little moth takes its station in damp old books, between the leaves, and there commits great ravages.
Page 501 - Where the bookes are all gilded over, there must bee of necessity a piece of crimson leather set on to receive the stamp, and upon all paper and parchment books besides. The like course must be taken with such bookes as are rude and greasy, and not apt to receive the stamp. The impression will 4to), an excellent series, of which it is to be regretted that only two parts were published.
Page 527 - First, let your books be well and evenly lettered, and let a tolerable portion of ornament be seen upon the backs of them. I love what is called an overcharged back. At first the appearance may be flaunting and garish ; but time, which mellows down book ornaments as well as human countenances, will quickly obviate this inconvenience...

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