The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. · Chapter
The Art of Book-Making explained
Geoffrey Crayon wanders through the British Museum and discovers the reading room of the British Library, where he observes authors engaged in the process of 'manufacturing' books by borrowing from older works.
What happens
Geoffrey Crayon wanders through the British Museum and discovers the reading room of the British Library, where he observes authors engaged in the process of 'manufacturing' books by borrowing from older works. He falls into a dream in which the authors are depicted as thieves stealing garments from ancient writers, leading to a chaotic confrontation when the portraits of the old authors come to life to reclaim their property.
Themes in this chapter
Literary Creation and Plagiarism
The chapter satirizes authors who plagiarize from older works, depicting them as thieves in a dream sequence.
Travel and Exploration
Geoffrey Crayon's exploration of the British Museum and his discovery of the book manufactory.
Characters to notice
- Geoffrey Crayon
The narrator who explores the British Museum and observes the book-making process.
- Shakespeare
Referenced in the dream as one of the old authors whose works are plundered.
- Sir Philip Sidney
Mentioned in the dream as an author whose hat is stolen by a modern writer.
- Beaumont and Fletcher
Appear in the dream as old authors who rage against modern dramatists.
- Ben Jonson
Mentioned in the dream as an old author who enacts wonders against modern writers.
- Queen Elizabeth
Referenced in the dream as the source of old court-dresses from which gold thread is drawn.
Key passages
“I have often wondered at the extreme fecundity of the press, and how it comes to pass that so many heads, on which nature seems to have inflicted the curse of barrenness, should teem with voluminous productions.”
The narrator marvels at how so many seemingly uninspired writers produce so many books.
Opening reflection on the abundance of published works.
“I found that these mysterious personages, whom I had mistaken for magi, were principally authors, and were in the very act of manufacturing books.”
The narrator realizes that the people he thought were magicians are actually authors creating books.
Revelation of the book-making process in the library.
“I dreamt that the chamber was still decorated with the portraits of ancient authors, but that the number was increased. The long tables had disappeared, and, in place of the sage magi, I beheld a ragged, threadbare throng, such as may be seen plying about the great repository of cast-off clothes, Monmouth Street.”
In his dream, the room is filled with shabby people who resemble second-hand clothes dealers, replacing the scholars.
Dream sequence depicting authors as rag-pickers.
“The old authors thrust out, first a head, then a shoulder, from the canvas, looked down curiously for an instant upon the motley throng, and then descended, with fury in their eyes, to claim their rifled property.”
The portraits of ancient writers come to life and angrily confront the modern authors who have stolen from them.
Climax of the dream where the old authors reclaim their works.
