'
Among the purchasers at the later sale we may notice the witty Esprit
Flechier, who bought several of the lighter Latin poets, being a
fashionable versifier himself and a dilettante in matters of binding and
typography. In his account of the High Commission in Auvergne, appointed
to examine into charges of feudal tyranny, the Abbe tells us how his
reputation as a bibliophile was spread by a certain Pere Raphael at all
the watering-places, and how two learned ladies came to inspect his books
and carried off his favourite Ovid. His library was removed to London and
sold in the year 1725; and the occasion was of some importance as marking
the beginning of the English demand for specimens from Grolier's library.
Archbishop Le Tellier bought fifteen good examples, which he bequeathed
in 1709, with all his other books, to the Abbey of St. Genevieve. His
whole collection included about 50,000 volumes, mostly dealing with
history and the writings of the Fathers. 'I have loved books from my
boyhood,' he said, 'and the taste has grown with age.' He bought most of
his collection during his travels in Italy, in England, and in Holland;
but perhaps the best part of his store came from his tutor Antoine
Faure, who left a thousand volumes to the Archbishop, to be selected at
the legatee's discretion.
The most valuable portion of Grolier's library was bought by his friend
Henri de Mesmes. This included the long series of presentation copies,
printed on vellum, and magnificently bound.
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