Banbury Chap Books | Page 5

was descended from the celebrated T. Sutton, who
founded the Charterhouse. Some twenty-five years ago I went over the
very quaint collection with the proprietor, and suggested a volume
being issued, but the idea had already been matured by him.
Robert White, the poet and local historian of Newcastle upon Tyne--by
whose favour I reprinted Tommy Trip in 1867--has one of the choicest,
most comprehensive, and rarest libraries of local stories, garlands,
ballads, and chap books, and North country folk-lore children's books,
almanacks, primers, "A. B. C.," horn books, battledores, etc., that were
ever gathered together. I am glad to place on record, that by his will, his
collection will remain intact. The special opportunities afforded him at
the time for collecting them have entirely passed away.
I believe he was descended from John White, printer for the five
northern counties of England to King William. This is referred to by
Mr. Dodd in his preface to a quarto volume of woodcut impressions.
William Dodd fully appreciated the local interest, by producing a
limited impression of the quaint blocks in his possession.
The Rev. Mr. Hugo had a very large and important collection of blocks
and books, and at his death I arranged and catalogued them for Messrs.

Sotheby, according to the wish of his widow. The Rev. gentleman had
wished his collection to be purchased by the trustees of the British
Museum, but some little hitch occurred and this was not accomplished.
In his collection the Robin Hood block, perforated with worm holes,
realized quite a fancy price.
Among the relics of ancient woodcutting, are some so early and crude
in their execution--quaint as the period they illustrate--as to really
entitle them to the literal name and meaning of woodcuts, rather than
wood-engravings, which they really became in the hands of the two
Bewicks and their numerous school of pupils. Other provincial
publishers were not so favoured as those at Newcastle-on-Tyne, as to
have a Bewick trying his prentice hand on similar series, as used by J.
Bell and others.
The Cock Robin blocks in this collection are certainly the earliest series
I have seen among the thousands I have examined. The York Cries,
Tom Hickethrift, Jack the Giant Killer, and many kindred cuts, are
evidently from the collection of John White, the early printer, and are
as quaint, as funny and droll in crudity of execution, as any of Thomas
Gent's, the unique York engraver and bookseller.
The rarity and interest of a collection like the present, with their varied
associations, may be fairly estimated when we consider that the country
printers in those days were not particular in making the same woodcut
do duty in most incongrous and inapplicable positions and subjects.
We have met with a block in a child's book, then the identical woodcut
on a ballad, catchpenny, or last dying speech and confession, setting at
defiance any suitability of illustration, or adaptability to the text matter.
Of course now, some of these examples are exceedingly ludicrous, and
do not fail to excite merriment, and often add to the intrinsic value of
the article, as may be judged by numerous examples that have occurred
in our literary auction marts during the last half century.
Besides it must be taken fair notice of that a genuine wood-engraving,
or woodcut block may soon become a curiosity of the past, owing to
the improved methods of illustrating children's books. Many of

Bewick's blocks are veritable paintings on boxwood, and are as much
classical works of art as work by Josiah Wedgwood, and his able
coadjutor, J. Flaxman are in Fine Art. These early crude, quaint, droll
little pioneer wood blocks will ever remain of great and even historical
interest as showing the progress and influence on the illustrated
literature of the civilized world.
Many of our readers have heard of Banbury Cross and Banbury cakes,
and other famous juvenile associations, as the lady with bells on her
toes, but it was also connected with the production of books for
juvenile readers. A great portion of the blocks in this volume are
Banbury blocks used for illustrating the toy books, children's histories,
etc., for which this quaint old Oxfordshire town was famous. Many of
them are connected with the early printing and engraving carried on in
this and other towns of England. A quantity of the blocks were used in
the books printed by John White of York, who established himself, as
before mentioned, as a printer in Newcastle-on-Tyne, bringing with
him a stock of quaint old blocks formerly his father's [at York], where
he was sole printer to King William, for the five northern counties of
England.
Boswell has recorded several conversations of Oliver Goldsmith with
Dr. Johnson, in which the warm-hearted poet expressed a wish, "to
make fishes, animals,