The old treasures can generally be purchased at a very
moderate outlay. Still, if scarceness is an element of value, these
things should be precious. It is in the nature of such ephemera of the
printing-press to live their short hour, and disappear with exceeding
suddenness. They may be originally issued in hundreds or even in
thousands; but once gone they are gone for ever. Relative to such
matters there is an energy of destruction that keeps pace with the
industry of production. The demands of "waste" must be met: fires must
be lighted. So away go the loose papers, sheets and pamphlets of the
minute. They have served their turn, and there is an end of them.
Hence the difficulty of obtaining, when needed, a copy of a newspaper
of old date, or the guide-book or programme of a departed
entertainment, or the catalogue of a past auction of books or
pictures. It has been noted that, notwithstanding the enormous
circulation it enjoyed, the catalogue of our Great Exhibition of a
score of years ago is already a somewhat rare volume. Complete sets of
the catalogues of the Royal Academy's century of exhibitions are
possessed by very few.
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