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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #16224.
Thomas Frognall Dibdin’s Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany is a travelogue that doubles as a scholarly survey of libraries, manuscripts and book‑trade practices across the continent. The work opens with a warm dedication to a friend who carried the first volume across the Rhine, recounting a lively exchange with Benedictine monks over the author’s notes on their collections. From there Dibdin launches into a series of “Letters” that map his progress from Dieppe through Rouen, Caen, Bayeux and beyond, each entry blending observations of architecture, local customs and, crucially, the bibliographic treasures he encounters, public libraries, private book‑dealers and the early typographic scene of each town. The opening pages already establish the book’s dual purpose: a picturesque travel narrative enriched by meticulous documentation of the literary and material culture of France and Germany.
The prose reflects Dibdin’s early‑nineteenth‑century voice, a blend of genteel enthusiasm, erudite commentary and occasional polemic against French rivals. Its style is ornate yet disciplined, peppered with French quotations and detailed catalogues of plates and autographs. Readers who relish historic travel writing, the history of the book trade, or the cultural politics of the post‑Napoleonic era will find Dibdin’s blend of personal observation and bibliographic rigor rewarding, while those seeking a fast‑moving plot may prefer a more conventional narrative.
Most grateful it is to me, at all times, to bear in remembrance those pleasant discussions in which we were wont so frequently to indulge, relating to the LIBRARIES upon the Continent:--but more than ordinarily gratifying to me was that moment, when you told me, that, on crossing the Rhine, you took the third volume of my Tour under your arm, and on reaching the Monasteries of Moelk and Goettwic, gave an off-hand translation to the venerable Benedictine Inmates of what I had recorded concerning their MSS. and Printed Books, and their hospitable reception of the Author. I studiously concealed from You, at the time, the whole of the gratification which that intelligence imparted; resolving however that, should this work be deemed worthy of a second edition, to dedicate that republication to YOURSELF. …
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