Polain's Account of the Sale
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Liége archivist Matthieu Lambert Polain's "account" of the Fortsas sale, printed in the Liége newspaper La Politique on the evening of 10 August 1840 (in translation):
"One knows what effect the magic words, unique copy, produce in the bibliomaniac. All the bibliophiles of Belgium did not fail to betake themselves to Binche. I was of the number. I wished to buy No. 48, entitled Mes campagnes aux Pays-Bas, etc. But unfortunately I have been made sport of: the keeper of our Royal Library carried away the precious old book by paying the sum of 750 francs, a very reasonable price in my estimation. It is true that M. de Reiffenberg had requested, and obtained, a large appropriation from the ministry for this sale. The sale took place today. ... To the bibliophiles of Liége I hasten to announce some of the prices at which the books were knocked down. The list, I believe, will not be without some interest.
No. 7 - Bought by M. Verhulst for 185 francs. In in M. Verhulst, it is stated, has located much fresh material which he will make use of in a new edition of his Histoire d'Anneessens.
No. 8 - In this book are found a quantity of recipes of Renaissance sauces that M. de Fortsas, in a manuscript note, assures us to be excellent. It has been bought by Mr. de Chênedollé, of Liége, for 180 francs.
No. 9 - Bought by M. Chalon for 248 francs; to be reprinted in the publications of the Societé des bibliophiles de Mons.
No. 11 - M. Delepierre, to whom the city of Bruges is already indebted for so many important discoveries on its history, placed the last bid on this number, which was knocked down to him for the sum of 452 francs.
No. 12 - M. de Decker, who had lately published a work on the usage of the Flemish tongue, purposely came to Binche for this volume alone, which was declared knocked down at 376 francs. It is said that M. de Decker intends to have it reprinted in an edition of 100,000 copies by the National Society of Useful Books for general distribution in the Walloon provinces.
No. 15 - M. Voisin bought this book for the Library of Ghent, ... but it cost him a little dear - 572 francs.
No. 23 - M. Serrure, who occupies himself with numismatic researches concerning the Lords of Rummen, did not fail to come to purchase this work. He had for a competitor M. Chalon, his rival in this kind of serious and conscientious studies. The book was briskly disputed, and the 88 pages in 12mo were finally knocked down to M. Serrure at the enormous sum of 825 francs.
No. 30 - M. Lebeau came from Paris in order to see this precious volume by Corneille Blessebois. M. Lebeau, as one knows, has assembled a very rare collection of pamphlets concerning the history of France and, above all, of the reign of Louis XIV, but he lacked this one, as well as No. 43, entitled Les suites du plaisir. What good fortune for M. Lebeau! He did not fail to purchase the two volumes in 12mo and, more fortunate than the Belgian bibliophile, he obtained that which he desired for almost nothing. The first work was knocked down to him for 135 francs, the second for 325.
No. 46 - This work by a Liégeois writer known for other literary productions was disputed to M. Polain by M. Van Hasselt, to whom it was eventually knocked down for 520 francs.
M. de Soleinne, of Paris, bought the Mystère de St. Denis (sic) for 1899 francs. It was one of the most valuable books of the sale. M. Techener, also of Paris, obtained for the enormous price of 13,000 francs the Elzevir Corpus juris civils bearing the signature of Daniel Elzevir. The noted Sir Richard Heber, the catalogue states, had formerly offered as much as £1000 sterling for it. There are two feather-brains the less in the world: Sir Richard, who offered this price, and the late Comte de Fortsas, who refused it. M. Lavalleye, of Liége, bought the Mémoire d'Ernst (117) for 67 francs.
The Mémoires de l'Abbé de Mouson, resident of Liége in France during our troubles of the seventeenth century, was pushed to a very high figure. This volume is the only copy known to be complete. It was bought for the Royal Library at 1300 francs. M. Polain, of our own town, was the underbidder. "I would still pay more," he told me, "if I did not possess a copy of it, imperfect it is true, but this would be paying too much for the several pages I lack."
Finally, M. Willems obtained the Roman de Mélusine at the price of 1650 francs; M. de St. Genois, Les Monnoyes des contes de Flandres, an unknown book by Vredius, for 325 francs; and M. Vergauwen, two unknown imprints of de Keyser which have all Ghent in turmoil.
These are extraordinary prices; but one knows the passions of bibliomaniacs for unique books. The only thing that astonishes us is that one man alone was successful in collecting fifty-two such rarities in printed books. As many bibliophiles, I am sure, will persist in believing that, with the exception of two books, the Fortsas catalogue includes only imaginary books, that it is merely a fictitious list by which the keeper of the Royal Library let himself be taken in, and that the sale at Binche is simply a new kind of joke, a hoax of M. Chalon, the president of the Société des Bibliophiles de Mons, whose biting wit and raillery is well known. It is possible; he is very capable of it."
Translated in Klinefelter, 61-66.