XI — The Library
Chapter XI The Library
From cover to cover—Old scrap books—Almanacs—The writing table.
The library is usually where the master of the house conducts his business correspondence and, if a student, spends much of his time among his favourite books, or, perchance, engages in literary work. In days gone by, when there were fewer opportunities of visiting public libraries, and when circulating libraries were few and far between, the man of letters accumulated around him standard works and ancient tomes, possibly seldom read. When such a library, perhaps scarcely examined for a century or more, comes to be dispersed, it often happens that curiosities are brought to light.
The furniture of the library is full of interest, for a quaint writing table, bureau, or desk full of oddments is an exceedingly prolific field of research. In the following paragraphs a few of these curiosities are referred to; there are others, however, that the collector will discover, possibly one of the scarcer curios of the library, some of which realize unexpectedly high prices when they are brought under the hammer.