Chapter 26 The fun of collecting pictures (1)

Many years ago I became convinced (Judge Methuen shared me) that there is nothing new under the sun.I think it was when we were in London, when we were in the middle of a bookworm, that we came to such an important conclusion. With a kind of crazy enthusiasm, we chased the extreme happiness brought by "collecting pictures", which is sometimes called "stealing pictures".Those who love the activity call it the former, while those who hate it call it the latter.We were busy collecting illustrations for Boswell's Life of Johnson, and at one point collected some eleven thousand printed illustrations.At this time, we encountered an obstacle, and this is an obstacle that we cannot overcome.We both thought our work would be incomplete if we hadn't collected the one in which the great lexicographer knocks Osborne (the bookseller in front of the Green Inn) down, It is therefore futile.

Unfortunately, we don't even know the title of the book, and, although we have scoured the British Museum and even asked the learned Frogner Dibdin [Dibdin (1776-1847), British Bibliography A philologist and collector, author of the book "The Bookworm". ] for help, but we still haven't been able to get any clues as to the exact identity of the book.Honestly, the judge and I are getting tired of this business.Furthermore, the cost of engaging in this activity is also quite staggering.Since then we have been obsessed with collecting Indian proofs (especially the prepress samples).So, we're happy to take the opportunity to drop this work.

While we were contemplating a graceful retreat from this activity, Judge Methuen happened upon Pliny [Pliny (23-79), Ancient Roman scholar and naturalist, whose major work It is a Natural History in thirty-seven volumes.Because his nephew was a famous Roman consul and writer, he is usually called "Pliny the Elder". ]'s "Natural History", this text confirms our point that, far from being something new and modern, the matter of drawing pictures for books is extraordinarily ancient.It seems that Atticus, a friend of Cicero, wrote a book on portraiture and iconography, and in one passage he mentions Marcus Varro [Varo (116-27 BC), Roman scholar and encyclopedia The compiler of the whole book, it is said that the encyclopedia he compiled has more than 600 volumes, covering almost all fields of knowledge. ] "Has a very free conception of book inserts, and in his voluminous work, by one way or another, has inserted hundreds of portraits of different people. He cannot tolerate the idea that their All trace of the face will be lost, or the passage of hundreds of years will bring humanity to its knees."

"Therefore," said Pliny, "Varo was indeed an inventor who conferred upon his fellow-men such benefits as the envy of the gods. He did not only confer immortality on those prototypes of their portraits, and spread their likenesses all over the world, so that they are everywhere and everyone fits in.” Pliny wasn't the only one working hard for Marcus Varro's immortality these days.In the literature I have kept for thirty years there are some poems that Judge Mayhew wrote at once (poets always write at once), and they are so pleasant that I do not mind letting them The whole world sees it.

Marcus Varo's Affair Marcus Varro wandered about, Traveling to and from places where used books are sold; All the small shops in the town were raided by him, The pictures in the book, no matter old or new, were looted. Regardless of day or night, he looks east and west, Disturbing the people of the Li people, the hearts of the people are panicked; What he did in Greco-Roman, It's this insatiable photo-collection frenzy. He kept yelling "pictures, pictures!" "Pictures, old or new", As long as it is a picture, he will pay generously, I bought it just to put it in the book.

So many old-fashioned canons, And so many precious manuscript copies, He didn't hesitate to copy the knife and cut it, Cut out the picture and insert it in the middle of other pages of the book. During the time when Varo was busy collecting pictures, In all the bookstores in Greece, Not a single book or anthology The frontispiece inside is preserved. Even in my own homeland, He is relentless in his acts of sabotage; Therefore in all the bookstores in Rome, big and small, Don't even think about buying a perfect book! The book-buyer gives generously with joy, Then take a closer look at the books I bought back,

Suddenly discovering Valogan's sabotage activities, How should they feel at this moment! Their cheeks must be red with rage, And their hearts must be beating wildly, We can easily imagine what they said, It is not difficult to imagine, and there is no need to repeat it carefully. Where are those precious books now? They make shallow Rome triumphant, Varro had painstakingly adorned them, Steal so many beautifully illustrated portraits. Years ago moths ate them up, Oh, you bloody moths, I shouldn't have fed my stomach with illustrations from books, And the body of that old Valo should be eaten up.

Woohoo, Marcus Varo is alive, Still a firm and powerful broker! Whoa, what he did Still giving good men a chance to lament, If you don’t believe me, please go to the bookstall in the distance, Through missing sheets and plates, And the frontispiece is gone,