The library Of Robert Ball Part I BERNARD QUARITCH LTD. BERNARD QUARITCH LTD. 40 SOUTH AUDLEY ST, LONDON W1K 2PR Tel: +44 (0)20-7297 4888 Fax: +44 (0)20-7297 4866 e-mail:
[email protected] web site: www.quaritch.com Bankers: Barclays Bank plc, 50 Pall Mall, P.O. Box 15162, London SW1A 1QB Sort code: 20-65-82 Swift code: BARCGB22 Sterling account: IBAN: GB98 BARC 206582 10511722 Euro account: IBAN: GB30 BARC 206582 45447011 U.S. Dollar account: IBAN: GB46 BARC 206582 63992444 VAT number: GB 840 1358 54 MasterCard, Visa, and American Express accepted Recent Catalogues: 1431 Travel, Exploration and Natural History 1430 Philosophy, Politics and Economics 1429 Continental Books 1428 In the Scribe’s Hand – Islamic Manuscripts 1427 Travel Recent Lists: 2015/4 Autograph letters and manuscripts of economists, philosophers, statesmen etc. 2015/3 From the Library of Alexander Cosmo Gordon 2015/2 English Books, New Acquisitions, Spring 2015 2015/1 Money: an Idea transformed by Use List 2015/5 Cover image taken from item 105 (Southwell, Saint Peters Complaint , 1602-9?) Title-page image taken from item 24 (Chaucer, The Workes , 1602) © Bernard Quaritch 2015 The Library of Robert Ball English Literature 1500-1900, an American Journalist’s Collection Collecting rare books is a selfish pastime. It is about possession, about ownership. After all, the texts are universally available. Even the books themselves are often accessible in public libraries. But that is not the same as having them in one’s own bookcase. I have been an active collector for most of a long life.