Part 2 (2/2)

Bisuntia ” Besancon.

Busc.u.m Ducis ” Bois-le-duc.

Cadomum ” Caen.

Carnutum ” Chartres.

Divione ” Dijon.

Dola ” Dol.

Duac.u.m ” Douay.

Ebroic.u.m ” Evreux.

Ganab.u.m and } ” Orleans.

Aurelia } Gratianopolis ” Gren.o.ble.

Landumum ” Laon.

Lugdunum, or } ” Lyons.

Lugd. } Lutetia Parisiorum ” Paris.

Ma.s.silia ” Ma.r.s.eilles.

Matisco ” Macon.

Milhusini ” Mulhouse.

Nanceium ” Nancy.

Nannetes ” Nantes.

Parisii ” Paris.

Pictavium ” Poitiers.

Rothomagum ” Rouen.

Sylva Ducis ” Bois-le-duc.

Tholosa ” Toulouse.

Turones ” Tours.

Vesontio ” Besancon.

These are the towns most likely to be met with; should others occur, not here enumerated, the collector may consult _A Topographical Gazetteer_, by the Rev. Henry Cotton, D.C.L.

Which is the best system of cla.s.sification?

This question has often been asked, and no satisfactory reply to it has yet been given.

It must, indeed, remain to a large extent a matter of individual taste, depending on the leisure and pecuniary means of the collector, the extent and value of his collection, and the special circ.u.mstances (if any) for which the collection has been formed. There are three princ.i.p.al systems, each of which has its advantages and its drawbacks, 1. The simple alphabetical. 2. The national, with subdivisions. 3. The arrangement according to the styles of the designs.

No doubt the purely alphabetical arrangement, according to the family names of the plate owners, is at once the easiest to plan out, and the simplest for the purposes of reference. It also lends itself well to the tracing of family history, and the comparison of the modifications of heraldry in successive generations.

In libraries, public inst.i.tutions, and very large private collections, this alphabetical method must almost necessarily be adopted, each plate being as readily accessible for reference as is a word in a dictionary.

But it involves a large number of alb.u.ms to allow sufficient room in each letter for additions, and the plates are all mixed in one heterogeneous ma.s.s, with little regard to age, style, or beauty in design. In the department of engravings in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, there are upwards of sixty large volumes full of ex-libris, arranged alphabetically. This collection was commenced about twenty years ago, and, under the energetic supervision of M. Georges Duplessis, it has rapidly increased, and the alphabetical arrangement has been adopted to facilitate easy reference and comparison.

But M. Henri Bouchot, who, being an official in the print department there, speaks with authority, remarks that enthusiastic collectors are also students of history in their special branches, and will (that is, if their leisure permit) be certain to prefer some more regular and distinctive system of cla.s.sification than the simple alphabetical arrangement.

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