IN QUEST OF THE PERFECT BOOK
A book is a portion of the eternal mindcaught in its progress through the worldstamped in an instant, and preservedfor eternity.
—Lord Houghton (1809–1885)
QUEEN MARY’S PSALTER, English, 14th Century
The Last Judgement
(Brit. Mus. Royal MS. 2B vii, 11 × 7 inches)
IN QUEST OF THE PERFECT BOOK
REMINISCENCES
& REFLECTIONS
OF A BOOKMAN
WILLIAM DANA ORCUTT
PUBLISHED · MCMXXVI · BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN & COMPANY
Copyright, 1926, by Little, Brown
and Company · All rights reserved
·.·
Printed in the United States of America
Published September, 1926
·.·
Reprinted October, 1926
Reprinted November, 1926
THE AUTHOR is indebted to the AtlanticMonthly for permission to reprintas the first chapter of this volume anessay which originally appeared in thatmagazine; to the Christian ScienceMonitor for permission to use, inquite different form, certain materialwhich has been drawn upon in literaryeditorials written by him for itscolumns; to Alban Dobson, Esq.,G. Bernard Shaw, Esq., HenryJames, Esq., Mrs. AnneCobden-Sanderson, and others, forpermission to print personal letters andphotographs.
To ITALY
That great Country whose Master-Spirits
in Art, Typography, and Literature
have contributed most toward
THE PERFECT BOOK
this Volume is Dedicated
FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION
Years ago, I pre