BOOKS OF 15TH CENTURY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18210, 2 October 1922, Page 8

BOOKS OF 15TH CENTURY.

TOTAL OF 128 IN NEW ZEALAND

NINETY-FOTJE IN AUCKLAND.

Particulars relating to 128 books printed in or before tho year 1500 : , *\hat are in New Zealand, have bean furnished to Mr. Johannes 0. Andersen, of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, in response to an inquiry issued jsome wueks ago. Mr. Andersen states that these books are the product of presses in 20 European towng. Fifty-eight were printed in Germany, Stxaaaburg leading with 19,, and Nnresnbnrg following with 15, then Cologne and Augsburg with seven each,, Forty-eight Were printed in Italy, Venice leading with 38. Milan following with five. Sight were printed in Switzerland, all in Basle j five in Prance, all in Pari*; one in Delft, Holland, and one in Antwarp, Belgium. Theve are only five examples of works printed in England, three by Caxton in Westminster, and two by Pirmon in London, but of these five only one is a perfect copy. The great- majority of the books are of course in Latin, that being then the universal language so far as scholars were concerned*.

The distribution of these books in New Zealand is as follow :~-94 in Auckland, all in the Grey and Shaw collections, Auckland Public Library; 29 in Wellington—24 in the Alexander Turnbull Library, three in the Wellington Public Library, one in tbe Parlinment Library, iind one in Mr. D. CL Bates' private ilibrary, There is /me in CbrUtchurch. one at St. Leonard's, Dunudin, one in Invercargill, one at Meanee, near itfapiar. Mosii of the early bocks were religious works, many being printed for religious houses. They also include chrouicles and sciences exact and inexact, such pa euclid and astrology. Some were printed altogether on vellum, but mos'i oil paper, usually of such good quality that it is still white and clean, after a lapse of ever four centuries.

The number "of separate works produced by' those early printers is not known definitely ; some 525,000 hiive already been described, but undescribed works are. continually being found, so it is supposed that the number may be nearer 30,000. It may, therefore, be imajrined how huge 13 the task p:f the commission set up in 1910, to compile a list of, all the fifteenth books that exist throughout the world. .On completion of this part of its task, it will probably make an additional list of ail printed between 1500 and 1520.