covers. An Aldine or an Elzevir, in its old vellum or paper
wrapper, with uncut leaves, should be left just as it came from the
presses of the great printers. In this condition it is a far more
interesting relic. But a morocco case may be made for the book, and
lettered properly on the back, so that the volume, though really
unbound, may take its place with the bound books on the shelves. A
copy of any of Shelley's poems, in the original wrappers, should I
venture to think be treated thus, and so should the original
editions of Keats's and of Mr. Tennyson's works. A collector, who
is also an author, will perhaps like to have copies of his own works
in morocco, for their coats will give them a chance of surviving the
storms of time. But most other books, not of the highest rarity and
interest, will be sufficiently clothed in half-bindings, that is,
with leather backs and corners, while the rest of the cover is of
cloth or paper, or whatever other substance seems most appropriate.
An Oxford tutor used to give half-binding as an example of what
Aristotle calls [Greek text], or "shabbiness," and when we recommend
such coverings for books it is as a counsel of expediency, not of
perfection. But we cannot all be millionaires; and, let it be
remembered, the really wise amateur will never be extravagant, nor
let his taste lead him into "the ignoble melancholy of pecuniary
embarrassment." Let the example of Charles Nodier be our warning;
nay, let us remember that while Nodier could get out of debt by
selling his collection, OURS will probably not fetch anything like
what we gave for it. In half-bindings there is a good deal of room
for the exercise of the collector's taste. M. Octave Uzanne, in a
tract called "Les Caprices d'un Bibliophile," gives some hints on
this topic, which may be taken or let alone. M. Uzanne has noticed
the monotony, and the want of meaning and suggestion in ordinary
half-bindings. The paper or cloth which covers the greater part of