THE WALL-SYSTEM. THIS BEGAN ON THE CONTINENT. LIBRARY OF THE ESCÕRIAL. AMBROSIAN LIBRARY AT MILAN. LIBRARY OF CARDINAL MAZARIN. BODLEIAN LIBRARY AT OXFORD. WORKS AND INFLUENCE OF WREN. FRENCH CONVENTUAL LIBRARIES OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

While in England we were struggling with the difficulties of adapting medieval forms of libraries and bookcases to the ever-increasing number of volumes, a new system was initiated on the continent, which I propose to call the wall-system.

It seems so natural to us to set our bookshelves against a wall instead of at right angles to it, that it is difficult to realize that there was a time when such an arrangement was an innovation. Such however was the case. I believe that this principle was first introduced into a library at the EscÕrial, which Philip the Second of Spain began in 1563, and completed 13 September, 1584. I do not mean by this sentence that nobody ever set bookshelves against a wall before the third quarter of the sixteenth century. I have shewn above, when discussing the catalogue of Dover Priory[494], that the books stood on pieces of furniture which were probably so treated; and it is not uncommon in illuminated manuscripts to see a writer's books standing on one or more shelves set against the wall near his desk. Further, in the accounts of the library arranged in the Vatican by Sixtus IV., shelves set against the wall of one of the four rooms are specially mentioned[495]; and in the description of the library of the Dukes of Urbino, it is expressly stated that "the shelves for the books are set against the walls (le scanzie de' libri sono accostate alle mura)[496]." What I wish to enforce is that before the EscÕrial was built, no important library was fitted up in that manner from the beginning by the architect.

The library of the EscÕrial[497] occupies a commanding position over the portico through which the building is entered. It is 212 ft. long, by 35 ft. broad and about 36 ft. high. The roof is a barrel-vault, gorgeously painted in fresco, as are the wall-spaces above the bookcases, and the semicircular lunettes at the ends of the room. In that at the north end is Philosophy, in that at the south end is Theology, while between them are personifications of Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Music, etc. On the walls, forming a gigantic frieze, are various historical scenes, and figures of celebrated persons real and imaginary, as for instance, the first Nicene Council, the School of Athens, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Cicero, David, Orpheus, etc. The general appearance of this splendid room will be understood from the view (fig. 117). It is lighted by five windows on the east side and seven on the west side, to which is added on the east side a range of five smaller windows just under the vault. The principal windows are quite different from those of any other library I have been considering, for they are nearly 13 ft. high, and extend down to the floor.

The wall-spaces between each pair of windows have bookcases fitted to them, of a very original and striking design. They are divided into compartments by fluted Doric columns supporting an entablature with projecting cornice, above which again is a sort of second entablature. The bases of the columns rest upon an extremely lofty plinth, intersected, at about three-quarters of its height from the ground, by a shelf, behind which is a sloping desk. The material used for these cases is mahogany, inlaid with ebony, cedar, and other woods. They were designed by Juan de Herrera, the architect of the building, in 1584, and I am assured that they have escaped alteration, or serious damage from the numerous fires which have occurred in the palace.

In order to exhibit the distinctive peculiarities of these remarkable cases as clearly as possible, I give (fig. 118) an enlargement of part of the former view; and further, an elevation of one of them drawn accurately to scale (fig. 119), for which I have to thank a Spanish architect, Don Ricardo Velasquez.

These bookcases have a total height of rather more than 12 ft, measured from the floor to the top of the cornice. The desks are 2 ft. 7 in. from the floor, a height which corresponds with that of an ordinary table, and suggests that they must have been intended for the use of seated readers, though seats are not provided in the library at present. The section of the shelf and desk placed beside the elevation shews that there is a convenient slope to lay the books against. The uppermost of the four shelves is at a height of 9 ft. from the ground, so that a ladder is required to reach the books. The two photographs which I have reproduced (figs. 117, 118) shew that they have the fore-edge turned outwards, according to what is, I am informed, the usual custom in Spain.

I believe that the work done in the EscÕrial had a very definite effect on library-fittings elsewhere; but, like other important inventions, the scheme of setting shelves against a wall instead of at right angles to it occurred to more than one person at about the same period; and therefore I cannot construct a genealogical tree, as I once thought I could, with the EscÕrial at the root, and a numerous progeny on the branches.

Between 1603 and 1609—only 25 years afterwards—Cardinal Federigo Borromeo built, endowed, and furnished the Biblioteca Ambrosiana at Milan. A plain Ionic portico, on the cornice of which are the words BIBLIOTHECA AMBROSIANA, gives access to a single hall, on the ground floor, 74 ft. long by 29 ft. broad (fig. 120). The walls are lined with bookcases about 13 ft. high, separated, not by columns, but by flat pilasters, and protected by wire-work of an unusually large mesh, said to be original. At each corner of the hall is a staircase, leading to a gallery, 2 ft. 6 in. wide. The cases in this gallery are about 8 ft. 6 in. high. Above them again is a frieze consisting of a series of portraits of saints in oblong frames. The roof is a barrel-vault, ornamented with plaster-work. Light is admitted through two enormous semi-circular windows at each end of the room. No alteration, I was informed when I visited the library in 1898, has been permitted. Even the floor of plain tiles, with four tables (one at each corner), and a central brazier, is left as the Cardinal arranged it.

A good idea of the appearance of this noble room will be obtained from the general view (fig. 121)[498]. The way in which the books were arranged was evidently thought remarkable at the time, for a contemporary writer says of it "the room is not blocked with desks to which the books are tied with iron chains after the fashion of the libraries which are common in monasteries, but it is surrounded with lofty shelves on which the books are sorted according to size[499]."

This library was part of a larger scheme which included a college of doctors, a school of art, a museum, and a botanic garden; all of which were amply endowed. The library was to be open not merely to members of the college, but to the citizens of Milan and all strangers who came to study there; but the severest penalties awaited those who stole a volume, or even touched it with soiled hands; and only the Pope himself could absolve them from such crimes[500].

Before many years were over these novelties in library arrangement and library administration found a ready welcome in France, where Cardinal Mazarin was engaged in the formation of a vast collection of books intended to surpass that of his predecessor Richelieu[501]. Even then his library was public; all who chose to come might work in it on Thursdays from 8 to 11 in the morning, and from 2 to 5 in the afternoon. At a later period of his life, when he had removed to a palace now included in the BibliothÈque Nationale, he was able to build a library in accordance with his magnificent ideas. An accident of construction placed this room over the stables, a conjunction which afforded endless amusement to the pamphleteers of the time. It was finished at the end of 1647; and in the following year the Cardinal threw it open, the first public library given to Paris. PublicÈ patere voluit, censu perpetuo dotavit, posteritati commendavit, said the inscription which he placed over the door of entrance. I need not attempt to recover from the somewhat conflicting accounts of admiring contemporaries the exact dimensions and arrangements of this gallery, for the bookcases still exist almost unaltered in the BibliothÈque Mazarine. One detail deserves notice because it may have been borrowed from the Ambrosian Library. There is said to have been a staircase in each of the four corners of the room by which access to a gallery was obtained[502].

Mazarin died in 1661, and, in accordance with his will, a college, to be called Le CollÈge des Quatre Nations, was founded and endowed, and the library was removed into it. The college was suppressed at the Revolution, and the buildings are now occupied by the Institut de France, but the library remains practically intact. It occupies two rooms at right angles to each other with a united length of about 158 ft., and a width of 27 ft. They are admirably lighted by 17 large windows.

The bookcases (fig. 122), from the original library in the Palais Mazarin, were placed round the new room. At first they terminated with the cornice, surmounted by the balustrade which protected the gallery mentioned above, and the roof was arched. In 1739, when additional shelf-room was required, and the roof was in need of repair, it was agreed to construct the present flat ceiling, and to gain thereby wall-space of sufficient height to accommodate 20,000 additional books. The gallery thus formed is approached by two staircases constructed at the same time[503].

If the elevation of these cases (fig. 123) be compared with that of the cases in the EscÕrial (fig. 119), I feel sure that my readers will agree with me in admitting that the French example was copied from the Spanish. The general arrangement is the same, and especially the really distinctive features, namely, the division by columns, and the presence of a desk. It will be observed that the French example is the larger of the two, being 18 ft. high from the floor to the top of the cornice. The desk, moreover, is 4 ft. from the floor, so that it was evidently intended to be used standing.

I am aware that NaudÉ, the librarian employed by Mazarin to collect books for him, did not visit Spain, nor was Mazarin himself ever in that country. There is therefore no evidence to connect his library with that of Philip II., but in justification of my theory I submit that the resemblance is too close to be accidental, and that in all probability the library at the EscÕrial had been much talked of in the world of letters.

The convenience of placing book-shelves against a wall was soon accepted in England, but at first in a somewhat half-hearted fashion. The earliest instance of this, so far as I know, is to be met with in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, where the first stone of the eastern wing was laid in 1610, and completed, with the fittings, in 1612[504].

Advantage was taken of the whole of the wall-space provided by this extension, and it was lined with a bookcase extending from floor to ceiling. In order to provide easy access to the upper shelves, a light gallery was provided, the pillars of which were utilised to support a seat for the readers, because, the books being still chained, desks and seats were indispensable. These cases still exist almost unaltered, but their appearance as first constructed has been preserved to us in Loggan's print, taken about 1675, part of which is here reproduced (fig. 124).

In 1634 (13 May) the first stone was laid of the enlargement of the library towards the west, corresponding exactly to the wing at the opposite end erected twenty-four years before[505]. The fittings were on the same plan, but of a more elaborate and highly finished design, the plain supports of the former work being replaced by Ionic columns supporting arches with frieze and cornice, and a heavy balustrade for the gallery above.

I now come to the influence exercised upon the architecture and fittings of libraries by Sir Christopher Wren, and I shall be able to shew that though he did not actually introduce the wall-system into England, he developed it, adapted it to our requirements, and by the force of his genius shewed what structural changes were necessary in order to meet the increased number of books to be accommodated. Wren never visited Italy, but in 1665 he spent about six months in Paris, where he made the acquaintance of the best painters, sculptors, and architects, among whom was the Italian Bernini. From him he might easily obtain information of what was passing in Italy, though he describes him as "the old reserved Italian" who would hardly allow him a glimpse of a design for which, says Wren, "I would have given my skin." French work he studied enthusiastically, and after giving a list of places he had visited says, "that I might not lose the impressions of them I shall bring you almost all France in paper." Among other things he specially records his admiration for what he terms "the masculine furniture of the Palais Mazarin," though he does not specially mention the library; but, as Mazarin had died four years before, his palace would have been practically dismantled, and the only furniture likely to attract Wren's attention would have been his bookcases[506].

The first piece of library work executed by Wren in England was at Lincoln Cathedral, 1674, where after the Restoration a new library was required. Dr Michael Honywood, who had been appointed Dean in 1660, offered to build one at his own cost, and to present to it the books which he had collected in Holland. The site selected was that formerly occupied by the north alley of the cloister, which, through faulty construction, had fallen down, and lain in ruins for a long period.

The building consists of an arcade of nine semicircular arches supported on eight Doric columns. The upper storey, containing the library, has eleven windows in a similar classical style, and above there is a bold entablature ornamented with acanthus leaves. The library is 104 ft. long by 17 ft. 6 in. wide and 14 ft. high; the ceiling is flat and perfectly plain. In addition to the windows above mentioned there is another at the west end. The entrance is at the east end through a richly ornamented door (fig. 125). The shield in the centre of the pediment bears the arms of Dean Honywood.

Wren placed a continuous bookcase along the north wall of this room, extending from floor to ceiling. At the base there is a plinth (fig. 125), which may have originally contained cupboards, but is now fitted with shelves; and at the top, close to the ceiling, there is a heavy entablature decorated with acanthus leaves and classical moldings above a plain cornice, which bears at intervals oblong tablets inscribed with the subjects of the books beneath. The shelves are disposed in compartments, alternately wide and narrow, the former being set slightly in advance of the latter, so as to break the monotony of a bookcase of uniform width extending the whole length of a long room.

While this work was proceeding Wren planned the New Library for Trinity College, Cambridge[507], begun 23 February, 1675-6. His design is accompanied by an explanation, contained in a rough draught of a letter to some gentleman of Trinity College, probably the Master. It is not signed, but internal evidence shews that it must have been written or dictated by Wren.

This library was placed on a cloister, open both to the east and to the west, at the end of Nevile's Court. The level of the library floor was made to correspond with that of the first floor of the chambers on the north and south sides of the court. This is shewn in Wren's design, part of which is here reproduced (fig. 126), and explained in the following passage of his memoir.

The general design seems to have been borrowed from that of the Library of S. Mark at Venice, begun by Sansovino in 1536. The Italian architect, like Sir Christopher Wren, raised his library on a cloister, which is in the Doric style, while the superstructure is Ionic. The Venetian example is more ornate, and there are statues upon every pier of the balustrade. The arcades are left open, because there was not the same necessity for accommodating the level of the floor to that of older buildings, and also because the wall opposite to the windows had to be left blank on account of the proximity of other structures. No consideration for fittings such as influenced Wren could have influenced the Italian architect.

The style of Wren's work will be understood from the elevation of a bay on the east side (fig. 127), drawn to scale from the existing building. If this be compared with the original design (fig. 126), it will be seen that the style there indicated has been closely followed.

We will now consider the fittings. A long stretch of blank wall having been provided both along the sides and at the ends of the room, Wren proceeded to design a masterly combination of the old and new methods of arranging bookcases. As he says in another passage of the same memoir, when describing this part of his design:

The disposition of the shelues both along the walls and breaking out from the walls ... must needes proue very convenient and gracefull, and the best way for the students will be to haue a litle square table in each Celle with 2 chaires. The necessity of bringing windowes and dores to answer to the old building leaues two squarer places at the endes and 4 lesser Celles not to study in, but to be shut up with some neat Lattice dores for archives.