among us, are the same with bibliopolae among the ancients, whose office was distinct from that of librarii. Petty dealers, or vendors of small ware. Bookseller ware, like our publishers, were more particularly denominated libelliones. At Rome, the Argiletum was the mart of books, as Paul's Church-yard, or Fleet-street, and Paternoster-row, have been among us; whence that of Martial,

Argiletanae mavis habitate tabernas, Cum tibi, parce liber, ferina nostra vacant.

Bookellers in many places are ranked among the members of universities, and intitled to the privileges of students; as at Tubingen, Salzburg, and Paris, where they have always been distinguished from the vulgar and mechanical traders, and exempted from divers taxes and impositions laid on other companies.

Formerly, the offices of bookellers and printers were united in the same persons. Labbe gives a list of learned bookellers; most of whom were also authors. Of late, bookellers have drawn their business into less compass, and leaving the labour of composing books to one set of persons, and that of printing them to another, content themselves with the gainful part; thus ministering to the republic of letters not with the head or the hand, but the purse only. In this view, they have been very important and useful agents between authors and the public; and have contributed, in no small degree, to the encouragement of genius and literary industry, and the spread of science. There are few authors, who have undertaken the printing and publishing of any work likely to be transmitted to posterity, without being connected with some bookeller, or bookellers, eminent in their profession.

The fairs of Frankfort and Leipzic are famous for the resort of bookellers, not only from all parts of the empire, but Holland, Flanders, &c. They have each their shop or warehouse, over which is inscribed the name of some celebrated bookeller of former times; officina, Elzeviriana, Frobeniana, Morelliana, Janfoni-ana, &c.

An acquaintance with the bookellers marks or signs, frequently expressed on the title-pages of their books, is of some use; because many books, especially in the last century, have no other designation either of printer, bookeller, or even city. The anchor is the mark of Raphelengius at Leyden; and the same with a dolphin twisted round it, of the Manutii at Venice and Rome; the Arion denotes a book printed by Oporinus at Basle; the caduceus, or pegasus, by the Wecheliuses at Paris and Frankfort; the cranes, by Cramoisy; the compass, by Plantin at Antwerp; the fountain, by Valcofani at Paris; the sphere in a balance, by Janzon or Blaeu, at Amsterdam; the lily, by the Juntas at Venice, Florence, Lyons, and Rome; the mulberry-tree, by Morel at Paris; the olive-tree, by the Stephensens at Paris and Geneva, and the Elzeviers at Amsterdam and Leyden; the bird between two serpents, by the Frobeniuses at Basle; the truth, by the Comelinuses at Heidelberg and Paris; the Saturn, by Colignanus; the printing-press, by Badius Ascencius, &c.

The traffic of books was anciently very inconsiderable, inasmuch that the book-merchants of England, France, Spain, and other countries, were distinguished by the appellation of stationers, as having no shops, but only stalls and stands in the streets. During this state, the civil magistrates took little notice of the bookellers, leaving the government of them to the univers-

N° 50.

sities, to whom they were supposed more immediate retainers; who accordingly gave them laws and regulations, fixed prices on their books, examined their correctness, and punished them at discretion. But when, by the invention of printing, books and bookellers began to multiply, it became a matter of more consequence; and the sovereigns took the direction of them into their own hands, giving them new statutes, appointing officers to fix prices, and granting licences, privileges, &c.