Stop Gentle Reader& Behold

A Beau in Boots, fearching for Gold.
A Walking Bookfeller, an Epicure.
ATeacher, Docter&a Connoifieur.

Gratis-to the purchafers of the Wonderful Magazine

Pub by C. Johnson

THEODORA GRAHN

[The plate given opposite is a reproduction from an engraving which was published, without any letterpress, in The New Wonderful Magazine, vol. 1, 1794. Another, but less characteristic portrait (since no books or bookshop appeared in it), was issued in The Eccentric Mirror, vol. 3, 1807, accompanied by a memoir, and it is that memoir which is reprinted here.—Ed.].

ONCERNING this female, whose extraordinary appearance in male attire attracted considerable notice for many years in the streets of the British metropolis, various and contradictory accounts have been given since her death. We profess not to decide which of them is correct, but shall submit to the reader that which appears most probable. Theodora Grahn was the only daughter of an architect, who, after residing for many years at Berlin, where he erected several edifices, and particularly the Church of St. Peter, died at Bayreuth. After his decease she returned to Berlin, where she lived with one of her relatives. Possessing an excellent capacity she made herself mistress of the mathematics, and of the French, English, and Italian languages; but with these accomplishments she combined extraordinary eccentricity of manner. On the death of her aunt in 1758 she left her a legacy of 1,000 rix dollars, and to improve this little fortune Theodora immediately commenced business as an exchange broker. This was during the period of the Seven Years' War, which was extremely favourable to the occupation she had adopted. As it required her daily attendance in various parts of the city she began in dirty weather to wear boots, and with these and other accoutrements she cut a remarkable figure, though she had not yet relinquished the female dress. On the conclusion of the war, by which she had more than doubled her little capital, she removed to Bayreuth, where she made her appearance in male attire, assuming at the same time the title of Baron de Verdion. She did not, however, attract much notice, till in 1769 Mr. Basedow commenced his scholastic reforms in Germany, in which he was warmly supported by the self-created Baron, who, at length, engaged with him as his secretary and amanuensis. The secret of her sex was suspected, and scandal did not hesitate to insinuate that she served Basedow in another capacity, so that he was at length obliged to dismiss her, though he persisted in asserting his belief that she was not a woman. strayed herself bythe indulgence of a vice to which she appears to have been addicted through life. The public curiosity was so far excited that some young men formed a plan to invite her to an inn and make her intoxicated. This they accomplished with such success as to ascertain her sex beyond the possibility of doubt. This unfortunate exposure disgusted her with her native country, which she quitted for ever, and proceeding to England fixed her residence in London. Here she assumed the appellation of Dr. John de Verdion," and gave instructions in the German language. She is said to have been patronised by many persons of distinction, and if this were the case it is more than probable that she lost their favour by her singularities, for we find her, after some years, principally employed in dealing in second-hand books, purchased chiefly at auctions. Her figure was striking and grotesque. She always wore a bag wig, a large cocked hat, and boots; and was never seen without a cane and an umbrella, which she carried in all weathers, and generally had her pockets filled with books. For upwards of twenty years she was in the habit of frequenting Furnival's Inn coffee house, where she freely indulged her love of good living, and gratified her propensity to drinking to such a degree that she was often seen rolling upon the floor. Notwithstanding her sacrificing so frequently and so copiously at the shrine of Bacchus it is remarkable that her imprudence never led to a disclosure of her sex, though various circumstances, and her timidity in particular, excited suspicions

She be

in many on that subject. At home she never employed a servant, but performed all the domestic offices with her own hands, and it has been said that while engaged in these occupations she always wore a woman's cap and bedgown. Another of her singularities was that neither in winter or in summer was she ever known to have any fire in her apartments. Soon after her arrival in this country, de Verdion became acquainted with Madame Schwellenberg, who is supposed to have been informed of her circumstances and her sex, and to have occasionally assisted her with pecuniary aid. She is also said to have been at that period of her life a constant attendant upon the drawing-room at St. James's, appearing in full dress and with a very elegant sword. With respect to religion she is reported to have been an extraordinary admirer of the celebrated John Wesley. Such was the strength of her attachment to him that she was one of his most constant attendants, and has often been observed to follow him and kiss the skirts of his coats with enthusiastic delight. In consequence of her extravagant mode of living, and perhaps, also, the failure of some of her sources of income, she became towards the latter end of her life much reduced in her circumstances. This caused her to intrude upon her acquaintances for eating and drinking, to whom she gave indirect promises of making them amends and remembering them in her will. The disorder which terminated the life of this singular character was a cancer in the breast, occasioned by an accidental fall down stairs. This circumstance she concealed as long as she could, but was at length compelled to communicate it to a friend, a medical practitioner, and a countryman of her own, who lived in the same house with her; a dropsy supervening in addition to her former disorder baffled all his endeavours, and she expired at her lodgings in Upper Charles Street, Hatton Garden, on July 15th, 1802, aged about 60 years. By her will she bequeathed all her property to Mr. Denner, the master of Furnival's Inn coffee-house, from whom she had always experienced great kindness, but on his taking possession it was found inadequate to discharge his bill against her, and very little remained except her wardrobe. Till the last she had no expectation that her dissolution was so near at hand, for she ordered some new clothes, saying that she was going out, and they were sent home to her only the day preceding her death. She was so terrified at the idea of being interred alive that in her will she gave an injunction to be kept above ground eight days, but with this desire the state of her complaint rendered it impossible to comply. Her motive for laying aside the habit of her sex is a secret that is buried with her.

COLLOQUIALISMS

The Bibliographical Society has published A Century of Caxtons, by Mr. Seymour de Ricci, which endeavours to trace every copy of every book printed by Caxton.

One of the most amusing misprints in this year's catalogues was the following: Meibomius (J. H.) De flogorum usu in re veneria," the title being of course "De flagrorum usu in re veneria." The transposition of that one letter must have been an inspiration.

When biblographical mis-statements crop up they should be hit on the head at once. Here is one which appeared, as if with authority, in a London periodical. It was to the effect that Cruikshank's “Points of Humour" was published on large paper, with India proofs of the engravings. This is incorrect. There were three states" of the volume, viz. : plain impressions at 8/- for the two parts; coloured impressions at 12/6; and India proofs, also at 12/6. In the original advertisement there is no mention of large paper copies, nor has anybody that I have heard of ever seen a copy on large paper. All the "states" were on one size, viz. royal 8vo.

Also, in Capt. Douglas's list of the works of George Cruikshank it is stated that the set of plates illustrating Scott's Waverley Novels consists of 34 etchings and 1 plate (on steel). Note should be made that the right number of etchings is This number is given from a set now in my possession.

35.

In a recent catalogue of Mr. Bertram Dobell's is the following description of a hitherto-unknown translation by Thomas Lodge :—

The Flowers of Lodowicke of Granado, the first part, in which is handled the conversion of a sinner, translated out of Latine into English by T. L[odge] Doctor of Physicke, 12mo., old calf, £12 12s. At London, printed by J. R. for Thomas Heyes, and are to be sold in Paules Churchyard, at the signe of the Greene Dragon, 1601

An hithero-unknown book by Thomas Lodge, the author of Rosalynde," "A Margarete of America," Translator of Seneca, &c. It is not mentioned by Lowndes, and the British Museum does not possess a copy, nor is it included in the list of Lodge's Works in the "Dictionary of National Biography." Following the preface to the reader are three short poems, apparently original. For a full description of the book (taken from this copy) see Notes and Queries, Mar. 31, 1906.

The known works of Lodowick of Granado will be found in Lowndes under the English form of "Lewis of Grenada," and the above description should be copied and inserted, with cross-references under “Lodge” and “ Lodowicke." Bibliographical discoveries are too precious to be trusted to memory alone.

A subscriber has been kind enough to send the following item of bibliographical information :

"

I notice on p. 213 of vol. 7, under "Essex," History of Essex, 6 vols. and again on p. 258, under Muilman," History of Essex, 6 vols. Now these two books are one and the same. The authorship is not known, but the facts are that P. Muilman financed it, and the general trend of any definite evidence as to the author points to Sir Henry Bate Dudley. A copy originally owned by William Lawrence, of Maldon, whose name appears amongst the subscribers, has, written on the title, "By Sir Henry Bate Dudley," and inserted is a letter from Dudley, signed Henry Bate," thanking Lawrence for information given ve Maldon. Bate was the rector of North Fawbridge, and afterwards was editor of The Morning Post. But the most amazing thing about this "History of Essex," is that it is nothing more than a pirated edition of Morant, with some slight additional details gathered from private sources, being mostly monumental inscriptions.

So one more literary fraud is unearthed! Lowndes places the work under the head of "Essex," but at the same time states that it was published under the patronage and direction of Peter Muilman. As the preparation of auctioncatalogues is guided by no hard-and-fast rules books appear under various headings, and unless the discrepancies happen to be noticed while B.A. R. is passing through the press the entries are of course printed under the catalogue headings. In most of such cases, however, cross-references will be found in the Index.

A delightful little souvenir of the Dinner of the Associated Booksellers of Great Britain and Ireland, which took place at Birmingham on June 25th, and at which I had the honour of being a guest, has been issued by Messrs. Cornish Bros. It consists of a brief account of the scientific career of Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of the University of Birmingham, who was the chief guest at the function, followed by a verbatim report of the speech made by him in proposing the toast of Literature, Science, and Art "-a speech for lifelong remembrance by all who were present. There is also a list of 23 publications by Sir Oliver, and an extremely good portrait of him, in addition to 6 plates of Mason College, the University, &c., and including a view of Cornish's bookshop a hundred years ago, a place in which, in childhood, I passed many happy hours. The brochure was printed for private

circulation.

The best work I have ever read on the Health question is Health and Common Sense," by Woods Hutchinson, M.A., M.D., (Cassell, 6/-). It is brimful of the latter section of the title, and effectually disposes of all food-fads, and leads you back to simplicity and natural methods of living. To the hypocondriac, the valetudinarian, or the malade imaginaire the volume should be invaluable. The following extracts from the last page indicate the author's outlook upon life :

The man does not exist outside of jail or Wall Street who at fifty has not done something for the race, as well as for himself. Often much more. Whether it be a little pushing of the ploughland farther into the flanks of the wilderness, the doing of some bit of work better than it was ever done before, a house built, a well dug, a road opened, a child trained, a song sung, or written, or lived, an evil faced or beaten back, another life made happierthere is always something of which we can say, This have I done for the We can live long and happy, and in that thought die, glad for what was. It is pure selfishness to wish to live again or longer than what is best for the following generation. Our life is not for ourselves, but for the race, and if we have set that the tiniest notch higher upon its upward course it is enough.

world."

One of the reasons-and perhaps the best- why every subscriber should stock the book and, after reading it themselves, introduce it to their customers, is the fact that the author advises the cultivation of a hobby as one of the means to health and longevity, and among the hobbies recommended is the collecting of first editions and book plates. One might do worse than quote that sentence as a heading to a catalogue.

The first No. of a new monthly journal for public librarians has just appeared. It is entitled The Librarian, the Independent Professional Journal for the Professional Man, and its Advisory Editor is Mr. Alex, J. Philip. The following list of contents of the No. gives an idea of the scope of the publication :-Editorial Confidences; A Library Policy from a University Point of View (By. R. A. Rye, Goldsmiths' Librarian) ;London Libraries: I. Fulham; Brussels Conference: Special Facilities; Best Books Published in June; Boo' Reviews: "On Approval"; Forthcoming Books; Dragnet: Notes and News; Reports of the Associations; Bookbinding Notes and News; Round the Museums and Galleries; Condensed Reports; Model Questions and their Answers; Where Libraries are Needed: I. Marylebone.

*

Those booksellers who were enterprising enough to give me a guinea for my first list of names of book-buyers will be interested in learning that one of the American collectors in that list has just given £3,000 for a Caxton volume; that he is the owner of a copy of the Gutenberg Bible; and that his library is especially rich in Americana. This list is still obtainable, but the price is now £1 11s. 6d., and later on the price will be raised again. A good thing is worth paying a good price for, while a bad thing is worth just nothing at all.

Many English booksellers would like to know why the following was printed as a description in one of the London sale-catalogues this quarter :

tirage spécial de 100 exemplaires sur papier fait des Manufactures impériales du Japon, fait pour les amateurs, No. 17, avec les ports. titre, et vignettes en deux états et les planches quelques-uns en quatre et quelques-uns en deux

états."

They would also like to know what is meant to be understood by the term I full half morocco."

The Daily Chronicle has been suggesting a Book Arcade in London, modelled on that known as "Cole's Book Arcade in Melbourne, and says:

The success of Cole's Book Arcade (writes an Australian), is due in great measure to the pains he has taken to make his big literary emporium attractive. Everybody is welcome, plenty of chairs are provided, no restrictions are placed on the reading of the million of books on the shelves, a string band plays in the afternoon and evening, and light refreshments are at hand. In a word, Cole has created a popular literary lounge, which is rapidly making him a millionaire. Contrast this picture with that of the average, small, stuffy, repellent London book-shop.