Caii Opuscula – Caius’s Minor Works – Provenance: The History of the Book, Vol. 2

Overview of Caius’s Minor Works

Caius’s Minor Works, or Joannis Caii Britanni De canibus britannicis, liber unus ; De rariorum animalium & stirpium historia, liber unus ; De libris propriis, liber unus ; De pronunciatione græcæ & latinæ linguæ, cum scriptione nova, libellus ad optimorum exemplarum fidem recogniti à S. Jebb, is comprised of four separate works by Dr. John Kays (1510-1573) in the 16th century.

De canibus britannicis, liber unus, On British dogs, De rariorum animalium & stirpium historia, liber unus, On the history of rare animals and breeds, and De libris propriis, On the proper books, were all originally published in 1570. De pronunciatione græcæ & latinæ linguæ, cum scriptione nova, On the pronunciation of the Greek and Latin languages, with a new writing, was then published posthumously 4 years later in 1574.

This edition of Caius’s Minor Works is the eighth volume, and was published by Car. Davis in London 1729.

MSU Call Number: XX SF426 .C3 1729

Physical Condition

This edition of the book is fully covered in brown leather with gilt designs framing the front and back covers. The pages are all in fair condition, with some mild water damage on the bottom of most of them. It has red sprayed edges as well as designs on the edges of the boards that have worn over time. The corners of the book are warping in and have some mild peeling. The the color from the sprayed edges has darkened substantially on the head of the book, insinuating that it was possibly displayed with that edge facing out for a long period of time.

The pastedowns and endpapers in the front and back of the book have a beautiful marbled design. There are swirls of red, green, blue, yellow, and white in various different patterns and shapes. The pastedowns are slightly starting to pull away from the binding on both the front and back boards.

About the Author

John Caius, or Kays, was an author and doctor in the mid to late 1500s. Kays studied at Gonville Hall at Cambridge University, where he would later go on to be considered the second founder and have his name added to the college’s. While there he pursued a degree in theology and graduated in 1533 and went on to be elected a fellow of the college as well as principal of Physwick Hostel within the year.

Dr. Kays then traveled to Italy, where he studied medicine under Giovanni Battista da Monte at Padua. While pursuing his medical degree, Kays also gave lectures on Aristotle. After his graduation in 1541, he went back to England and became a fellow at the Royal College of Physicians where he was later appointed president in 1555. When his alma mater came into financial problems Kays funded them and his name was then officially added to the college in 1557.

Gonville & Caius College, University of ... — Gonville and Caius College

Kays practiced medicine in London, Cambridge, and Shrewsbury, where he was the primary physician to many influential people. He was the physician of King Edward VI, Queen Mary I, and Queen Elizabeth I.

At the request of his friend Conrad Gessner, the man considered to be the father of modern botany and zoology, Kays wrote De rariorum animalium & stirpium historia, liber unus and De canibus britannicis, liber unus. Unfortunately, Gessner died before Kays was finished with these works.

In addition to the books published in this edition of Caius’s Minor Works, he also wrote a book and heavily researched what was called the “sweating sickness.” Before he died in 1573 at sixty-three, Kays released five books as well as many other articles and medical papers.

Provenance

Thomas Holt White

On the first free end page, there is a signature from our first known owner. Thomas Holt White was born in 1724 in Compton, Surrey, England. Born Thomas White, he added Holt to his last name after inheriting estates from his great-uncle Thomas Holt. Thomas Holt White was a naturalist and literary critic after retiring from working in wholesale ironmongery, writing on different topics for the Gentleman’s Magazine. Not much can be found about him without mention of his brother Gilbert White, who was a very famous naturalist himself.

This signature is all that can be found of Thomas in this book.

Edward Mansel Sympson

Edward Mansel Sympson is the next assumed owner. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, around 1860. After finishing some schooling in his hometown he then went on to study at Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University in 1879. In 1888 Sympson married Florence Mabel Knight. He continued to study at Gonville and Caius until 1890 when graduated with his medical license. He worked as a surgeon in different hospitals around London and Lincolnshire. When World War I broke out in 1914, Edward went to serve for the Royal Army Medical Corps. By the end of the war he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the R.A.M.C.

As well as being a medical doctor and Veteran of World War 1, Sympson wrote and published two books in his lifetime. His first book was a medical and geographical record of his hometown of Lincolnshire, and the second was notes and questions on Lincolnshire. He was also referenced as a partial author/editor of the Lincolnshire notes in the Cambridge County Geographies. Sympson had no children, and died in 1922.

The bookplate of Edward Mansel Sympson is placed in the front pastedown of the book and reads, ” Happy With my Fate; Edward Mansel Sympson. of Deloraine Court, Lincoln.” The elaborate shield is from a book titled Heraldry by Knight and Rumley. In the center of the shield is a rampant lion, coupled heron heads, and a nowed serpent. The lion and serpent can also be found just above the shield.

Milton Danziger

Not much can be seen in the book about the next owner, Milton Danziger. He likely had it next, as the owner after him noted his book label. Unfortunately, this label has been removed save a small bit in the top left corner of the endpaper.

This owner is probably Milton Danziger, who is buried in San Mateo County, California. The only information about him is his grave, which says he was born in 1894 and died in 1977. He served as a First Class Private in the U.S. Army and was married to Agnes M.

John Gilson Howell Jr.

Our final known owner was a book importer from California. John Gilson Howell Jr was born in Healdsburg, California, in 1874. Howell attended the University of California and received a Bachelor of Science in 1896. He went on to found the daily newspaper for the University of California titled Berkeleyan, it is still running today as the Daily Californian and is the longest running college daily in the United States. He was the Vice-President and manager of the publishers Paul Elder and Company, San Francisco.

He married Rebecca Ruskin Richardson in 1905, and they would go on to have four sons. In 1912 he opened his own company, John Howell – Books where he imported, bought, and sold rare books. It should be noted that this is not the same company as John Howell for Books, which is also located in California. Howell was considered to be one of the first book sellers to have an equal amount of knowledge on early European and Americana materials. During the Great Depression his son Warren joined him in the bookstore, and it wouldn’t close until Warren’s death in 1984.

He was a member of numerous associations including: the International Society of Antiquarian Bookseller Associations of London, Bibliographical Society of London, American Booksellers Association, Booksellers of San Francisco, California Historical Society, and the Hawaiian Historical Society. He died in 1956 at 81 years-old.

In the back of the book, John Howell’s bookseller’s description is folded in near perfect condition. John has written about the bookplate from Edward Mansel Sympson and the label from Milton Danziger, but not about Thomas Holt White’s signature. There is a “75-” written on the page that can be the assumed price he listed it for. There is also a stamp on the lower third of the page that reads “AUG 2 ’67” which was probably not from him.

MSU

There are no stamps or markings from Michigan State University in this book, but I only have access to this book because of the special collections at MSU, where it now resides.

Sources

Created by Reese Mackraz in Spring Semester 2025 for HST 475 with Professor Liam Brockey at Michigan State University.