Expensive books

Corvina, 1905 (Volume 28, No. 1-36)1905-05-30 / No. 15

Expensive books.

The bibliophile passion, which is a rare bird in our country, has reached unprecedented proportions abroad. There are real hunts for old or rare books, which are not only interesting in terms of content, but also whether they are valuable or for exhibition purposes, but the only consideration is how many copies are known on the book market at all. At each book auction, dizzying numbers speak eloquently about the dimensions of bibliophile passion. The other day, the famous Parisian bibliophile Daguin's library was auctioned. There was a not very old book in his library, which was sold for 22,800 francs. This is the original edition of Corneille's «Cid» from 1637, of which it is true that only two or three copies are known. An edition of the Cid from the following year was bought for 9,700 francs. Similarly, 1,155 francs were paid for the 1643 edition of Corneille's «Polyeuche». Mathurin Régnier's early works were also bought for 5,000 francs, and the more legacies, and now almost unknown Among the works of French writers, there were hardly any that sold for less than a hundred francs.