,the ,library ,series                   
,,edited ,,by                           
,,dr4 ,,richard ,,garnett               
,v                            ,,essays  
,,in ,,librarianship                    
,,and ,,bibliography          ,the      
,library ,series    ,,edited1 ,,with    
,,introductions1 ,,by ,,dr4 ,,richard   
,,garnett1 ,,late ,,keeper ,,of         
,,printed ,,books ,,in ,,the ,,british  
,,museum4          ,i4 ,,the ,,free     
,,library3 ,its ,history and ,present   
,condition4 ,by ,j4      ,j4 ,,ogle1 of 
,bootle ,free ,library4        ,,ii4    
,,library ,,construction1               
,,architecture1 ,,and ,,fittings4 ,by   
,f4      ,j4 ,,burgoyne1 of the ,tate   
,central ,library1 ,brixton4 ,with #ada 
,illustrations4        ,,iii4 ,,library 
,,administration4 ,by ,j4 ,,macfarlane1 
of the ,british      ,museum4           
,,iv4 ,,prices ,,of ,,books4 ,by ,,henry
 ,b4 ,,wheatley1 of the ,society of     
,arts4        ,v4 ,,essays ,,in         
,,librarianship ,,and ,,bibliography4   

,by ,,richard      ,,garnett1 ,c4,b41   
,,ll4,d41 late ,keeper of ,printed      
,books1 ,british      ,museum4          
,,essays ,,in    ,,librarianship ,,and  
,,bibliography    ,,by    ,,richard     
,,garnett1 ,c4,b41 ,,ll4,d4    ,,late   
,,keeper ,,of ,,printed ,,books1        
,,british ,,museum    ,illustration3    
,george ,allen colophon    ,,new ,,york3
 ,,francis ,p4 ,,harper  ,,london3      
,,george ,,allen  #ahii                 
,,preface      ,the essays collected in 
this volume are for the most part       
occasional and  desultory1 produced in  
compliance with requests of friends1 or 
the  appeals of editors of              
bibliographical journals or organisers  
of library  congresses1 to meet some    
special emergency1 and treating of      
whatever  appropriate matter came       
readiest to hand4 ,the most important of
 them1  however1 though composed at     
considerable intervals1 and devoid of   
any  conscious relation to each other1  
are yet united by the presence of a     

pervading idea1 which may be defined as 
the importance of scientific  processes 
as auxiliaries to library management4   
,it seems almost preposterous to speak  
of typography as a scientific  process1 
yet such it is in its relation to the   
graphic art which it  superseded as an  
agent in the production of books4 ,it   
would be the  merest surplusage to      
advocate the application of printing to 
any class  of manuscript books but one2 
and that1 strangely enough1 is the book 
of  books1 the catalogue4 ,when it is   
considered how few of the great         
libraries of ,europe have as yet managed
 to get their catalogues printed1  and  
in how many the introduction of print is
 as yet resisted1 or beset  with        
impediments hitherto insurmountable1 it 
is clear that the benefits  of printing 
may even now be set forth with profit4  
,fortunately1 however1  the question is 
but historical as regards the only      
library of which the  present writer can
 presume to speak4 ,typography has now  

reigned at the  ,british ,museum for    
nearly twenty years1 and any discussion 
of its  advantages or disadvantages     
contained in the following essays may be
  regarded as out of date4 ,it is hoped1
 nevertheless1 that the historical      
interest attaching to the subject may   
excuse the reproduction of these        
papers4 ,public ,libraries and their    
,catalogues 7#ahgi7 depicts the         
hesitations of a transition period when 
the subject was in the air1 but  when   
the precise manner in which the         
introduction of print would take  place 
was as yet uncertain4 ,the ,printing of 
the ,british ,museum  ,catalogue 7#ahhb7
 describes the results of nearly two    
years of actual  work2 and ,the ,past1  
,present1 and ,future of the ,british   
,museum  ,catalogue 7#ahhh7 reviews the 
entire subject1 both historically and   
with  a view to the eventual            
republication of the catalogue4 ,a      
fourth paper1  contributed to the       
,american ,library ,conference of #ahhe1

 has been  withheld1 to minimise the    
repetition which may be justly alleged  
as a  defect in the essays now          
reprinted4 ,the indulgent reader will   
consider  that it was impossible to     
travel repeatedly over the same ground  
without frequent recurrence to the same 
facts and arguments3 and it has  been   
thought better to tolerate an admitted  
literary blemish than to run  any risk  
of impairing the documentary value of   
the articles4 ,if the  writer had once  
begun to alter1 he might have been      
tempted to alter  much4 ,readers of the 
present day may feel surprise at the    
tentative  character of some portions of
 the first essay in order of date1 and  
at  what seems almost a discouragement  
of the idea of a complete printed       
catalogue4 ,the principal reason was the
 moderate expectation then  entertained 
of any substantial help from the        
,treasury4 ,as a matter of  fact1 the   
annual grant bestowed in the first      
instance would have kept  the catalogue 

forty years at press2 and1 had a        
strictly alphabetical  order of         
publication been adopted1 it would after
 some years have been  pointed out with 
derision that the great ,british ,museum
 ,catalogue was  still in its ,a ,b ,c4 
,the writer1 therefore1 exerted what    
influence he  possessed to keep the idea
 of a complete printed catalogue in the 
background1 and to enforce that of the  
publication of single articles  complete
 in themselves which would be valuable  
as special  bibliographies4 ,a mere     
fragment of letter ,a1 it was manifest1 
could be  of little use beyond the walls
 of the ,museum1 but a separate issue of
  the article ,aristotle might have     
great worth4 ,the situation was entirely
  altered when the ,treasury so         
increased their grant as to afford a    
reasonable prospect of finishing the    
catalogue in twenty years instead  of   
forty4 ,the fragmentary system of       
publication was thereupon quietly       
dropped1 and printing went on in steady 

alphabetical sequence4 ,it is due  to   
the ,treasury to state that1 since this 
augmentation of the grant1  their       
treatment of this branch of the ,museum 
service has been uniformly  liberal4 ,it
 is to be hoped that this bountiful     
spirit will not expire  with the        
completion of the catalogue1 but will   
find expression in a  reprint           
incorporating all the accessions which  
have grown up while it  has been at     
press1 as proposed in a very able       
article in the ,quarterly  ,review for  
,october #ahih4    ,after the           
application of print to the catalogue1  
mechanical process has  rendered no such
 service to the ,british ,museum        
,library as the  introduction of the    
sliding-press1 the subject of another   
essay4 ,while1  however1 printing was   
the result of half a century of         
incessant  controversy1 the             
sliding-press seemed to fall from the   
clouds4 ,its  introduction was a coup   
d'tat2 five minutes sufficed to convince

 the  ,principal ,librarian of the      
soundness of the idea1 and the thing was
  virtually done4 ,no more striking     
contrast can be conceived than that     
between the condition of the ,library   
the day before this feasibility was     
demonstrated1 oppressed by the          
apparently insoluble problem how to find
  room for its books1 and the condition 
of the ,library the day after  solution1
 suddenly endowed with a practically    
indefinite capacity for  expansion1 save
 only in the department of newspapers4  
,no one  unacquainted with the internal 
economy of the ,museum will fully       
appreciate the saving of public money1  
to say no more1 effected by this  simple
 contrivance4    ,print and the         
sliding-press are now1 along with the   
electric light1  undisputed possessions 
of the ,museum2 but telegraphy and      
photography1  the two other applications
 of scientific ingenuity recommended in 
this  volume1 have not yet been enlisted
 in her service4 ,when the printing     

telegraph obtains a footing1 ample      
occupation will be found for it4 ,its   
most useful as well as most striking    
application1 however1 will probably     
always be the one principally dwelt upon
 here1 the enabling every demand  for a 
book made in the reading-room to be     
simultaneously registered in  the       
,library1 thus abolishing at a stroke   
the vexatious delays that now  intervene
 between the writing of a ticket and its
 delivery in the proper  quarter4 ,the  
advantage alike to the public and to the
 staff is so  obvious that the only     
question ought to be as to the          
applicability of  electrical power to   
the transmission of legible messages    
under the  special circumstances1 which 
an intelligent course of experiments    
would  speedily determine4    ,if       
telegraphy has been neglected1 the same 
cannot be said of  photography4 ,the    
most perfect unanimity exists within and
 outside the  ,museum with respect to   
the benefit which the adoption of       

photography as  a department of the     
regular work of the institution would   
confer alike  upon it and upon the      
public4 ,nevertheless1 not a single step
 has been  taken since the writer       
brought the subject forward in #ahhd1   
preceded as  this had been by the       
successful introduction of photography  
at the  ,bodleian ,library in connection
 with the ,oxford ,university ,press4   
,government seems unable to perceive the
 public benefit to be derived  from the 
cheap reproduction and unlimited        
multiplication with infallible  accuracy
 of historical documents and current    
official papers2 and  although the      
,museum has of late successfully        
resorted to photography for  its own    
publications1 this has necessarily      
involved the employment of a            
professional photographer1 whose charges
 are an insuperable impediment  to any  
considerable extension of the system4   
,it cannot be too  emphatically         
reiterated that the question is entirely

 one of expense4 ,so  long as the       
photographer is a private tradesman he  
must of necessity be  paid by his       
customers1 and for any extensive        
undertaking must inevitably  charge     
prices embarrassing to public           
institutions and prohibitive to  private
 individuals4 ,make him a public        
salaried officer1 and by far the  larger
 part of the cost is eliminated at a    
stroke4 ,what may be done is  shown by  
the recent exploit of the ,newbery      
,library at ,chicago1 referred  to in a 
note at page #hf1 which has turned the  
bewildering multitude of  the accession 
parts of the ,british ,museum ,catalogue
 into a single  alphabetical series by  
simply photographing the titles singly1 
and then  combining the copies in a     
catalogue4 ,it is quite possible that   
the  enterprise may prove financially   
unremunerative1 but this would not be   
the case if it had been executed as a   
portion of the work of a national       
institution controlled by the ,state1   

which on its part would have been       
recouped1 or nearly so1 by the patronage
 of private customers4 ,it is  only     
necessary to add that the ,state should 
on no account seek to make a  profit out
 of photography1 and that all           
transactions between the ,museum  or any
 other public department and the nation1
 where money is concerned1  should be   
conducted on the principle of affording 
the greatest possible  public advantage 
at the smallest possible cost4    ,of   
the essays and addresses unconnected    
with this particular group not  much    
need be said4 ,as before mentioned1 they
 are in general mere  occasional pieces1
 called into being by the casual need   
for a literary  contribution or a       
speech4 ,on such occasions the writer   
has always  endeavoured to select some  
subject somewhat out of the common      
track1  with a distinctly               
bibliographical flavour if possible1 but
 not quite so  dry as an exact collation
 of all the known copies of the         

,gutenberg  ,bible4 ,in such a line he  
would have been little likely to        
distinguish  himself4 ,the ,pope is not 
always a theologian1 nor need the       
,keeper of  ,printed ,books inevitably  
be a devotee of black-letter lore4 ,the 
bibliographical erudition apparent in   
the essay on ,south ,american           
bibliography is entirely derived from   
,seor ,medina's classic work upon  the  
subject4    ,the biographical notices at
 the end of the volume have afforded the
  writer a welcome opportunity of paying
 a just tribute to men of eminence  in  
the world of librarianship4 ,the memoir 
of ,sir ,anthony ,panizzi may  demand   
some apology on the ground of the haste 
and slightness almost  inseparable from 
an obituary notice indited currente     
calamo4 ,the fame1  however1 of the man 
universally recognised as the second    
founder of the  ,british ,museum1 can   
well dispense with polished eulogy4 ,the
 notices of  his successors1 composed   
more at leisure1 embody the writer's    

cordial  appreciation of public service1
 and grateful sense of personal         
kindness4  ,in conclusion1 the author   
has to acknowledge his obligations to   
the  ,council of the ,library           
,association1 to ,messrs4 ,kegan ,paul  
,co41 and to  others1 by whose          
permission these essays are reprinted4  
,r4 ,,garnett4    ,may #ah1 #ahii4      
,,contents                              
,,page    ,,address ,,to ,,the ,,library
 ,,association                          
#a      ,,public ,,libraries ,,and      
,,their ,,catalogues                    
#cb      ,,the ,,printing ,,of ,,the    
,,british ,,museum ,,catalogue          
#fg      ,,the ,,past1 ,,present1 ,,and 
,,future ,,of ,,the ,,british ,,museum  
,,catalogue       #hg      ,,the        
,,british ,,museum ,,catalogue ,,as     
,,the ,,basis ,,of ,a ,,universal       
,,catalogue                             
#aji      ,,introduction ,,of ,,european
 ,,printing ,,into ,,the ,,east         
#aae      ,,paraguayan ,,and ,,argentine

 ,,bibliography                         
#abg      ,,the ,,early ,,italian ,,book
 ,,trade                                
#ada      ,,some ,,book-,,hunters ,,of  
,,the ,,seventeenth ,,century           
#afa      ,,librarianship ,,in ,,the    
,,seventeenth ,,century                 
#agd      ,,the ,,manufacture ,,of      
,,fine ,,paper ,,in ,,england ,,in ,,the
 ,,eighteenth        ,,century          
#aia      ,,on ,,some ,,colophons ,,of  
,,the ,,early ,,printers                
#aig      ,,on ,,the ,,system ,,of      
,,classifying ,,books ,,on ,,the        
,,shelves ,,followed ,,at        ,,the  
,,british ,,museum                      
#baj      ,,subject-,,indexes ,,to      
,,transactions ,,of ,,learned           
,,societies               #bbe          
,,photography ,,in ,,public ,,libraries 
#bcd      ,,the ,,telegraph ,,in ,,the  
,,library                               
#bec      ,,on ,,the ,,protection ,,of  
,,libraries ,,from ,,fire               
#beh      ,,the ,,sliding-,,press ,,at  

,,the ,,british ,,museum                
#bfb      ,,on ,,the ,,provision ,,of   
,,additional ,,space ,,in ,,libraries   
#bgb      ,,preface ,,to ,,blades'      
,,enemies ,,of ,,books                  
#bhc      ,,sir ,,anthony ,,panizzi1    
,k4,c4,b4                               
#bhh      ,,the ,,late ,,john ,,winter  
,,jones1 ,v4,p4,s4,a4                   
#cjd      ,,the ,,late ,,henry          
,,stevens1 ,f4,s4,a4                    
#cbe      ,,the ,,late ,,sir ,,edward   
,a4 ,,bond1 ,k4,c4,b4                   
#cce      ,,index                       
#cda            ,,essays ,,in           
,,librarianship    ,,and ,,bibliography 
,,address ,,to ,,the ,,library          
,,association#a3a      ,there are times 
in the lives of institutions as well as 
individuals when  retrospect is a good  
thing2 when it is desirable to look back
 and see  how far one has travelled1 and
 by what road2 whether the path of      
progress has always been in the right   
direction2 whether it may not have  been

 sometimes unnecessarily devious2       
whether valuable things may not  have   
been dropped or omitted1 in quest of    
which it may be desirable to  travel    
back2 whether1 on the other hand1 the   
journey may not have been  fertile in   
glad surprises1 and have led to         
acquisitions and discoveries  of which1 
at starting1 one entertained no notion4 
,the interval of  sixteen years which   
has elapsed since the first meeting of  
this  ,association at ,london1 suggests 
that such a time may well have arrived  
in its history4 ,there is yet another   
reason why the present meeting  invites 
to retrospection4 ,we can look back in  
every sense of the term4  ,all our past 
is behind us in a physical as well as in
 an intellectual  sense4 ,we are as far 
north as ever we can go4 ,there are1 ,i 
rejoice to  think1 ,british libraries   
and librarians even farther north than  
,aberdeen1 but it is almost safe to     
predict that there never will be        
congresses4 ,we are actually farther    

north than ,moscow1 almost as far as    
,st4 ,petersburg4 ,looking back in      
imagination we can see the map of ,great
  ,britain and ,ireland--and we must not
 forget ,france--dotted over with the   
places of our meetings1 all alike       
conspicuous by the cordiality of our    
reception1 each specially conspicuous by
 some special remembrance1 as--         
,each garlanded with her peculiar       
flower1       ,danced into light1 and   
died into the shade4    ,the temptation 
to linger upon these recollections is   
very strong1 but ,i  must not yield to  
it1 because more serious matters claim  
attention1 and  because time would not  
suffice1 and because the interest of our
 members  and any other auditors must   
necessarily be in proportion to the     
number  of meetings they have themselves
 attended1 while the time1 alas6 slowly 
but certainly approaches when the first 
meetings will not be remembered  by any 
one4 ,yet in a retrospective address it 
would be impossible to  pass without    

notice the first two meetings of all1   
for it was by them  that the character1 
since so admirably maintained1 was      
impressed upon  the ,association4 ,we   
first met at the ,london ,institution in
 ,finsbury  ,circus under the auspices  
of the man who1 above all men1 has the  
best  right to be accounted our         
founder--the present ,bodleian          
,librarian1 ,mr4  ,nicholson4 ,meetings 
in ,london1 ,i may say for the          
information of our  northern friends1   
labour under a serious defect as        
compared with  ,aberdeen and other more 
favoured places--a deficiency in the    
accessories  of sight-seeing and        
hospitality4 ,not that ,londoners are   
any less  hospitable than other         
citizens1 but there are reasons patent  
to all  why in that enormous            
metropolis--till lately under such a    
very  anomalous system or no system of  
municipal government1 and where         
innumerable objects of interest are for 
the most part common                    

property--entertainments cannot be      
systematically organised1 especially  at
 seasons of the year when unless1 under 
the present dispensation1 one  is an    
unpaired member of ,parliament1 it is   
almost a reproach to be found  in the   
metropolis4 ,for all that1 ,i scarcely  
think that any meeting was  enjoyed with
 zest equal to the gathering in that    
amphitheatre and  lecture room1 nearly  
as subdued in light but nowise as cool  
as a  submarine grot4 ,for we were doing
 then what we could not do afterwards   
in the majestic hall of ,king's         
,college1 ,cambridge1 or in the splendid
  deliberative chamber accorded to us by
 the liberality of the corporation  of  
,birmingham4 ,we were legislating1 we   
were tracing the lines of the  future2  
most interesting and important of all1  
we were proving whether  the conception 
of a ,library ,association1 so          
attractive on paper1 was  really a      
living conception that would work4 ,that
 this question was so  triumphantly     

answered ,i have always attributed in   
great measure to the  presence among us 
of a choice band of librarians from the 
,united ,states4  ,these gentlemen knew 
what we only surmised2 they had been    
accustomed to  regard themselves as     
members of an organised profession2 they
 felt  themselves recognised and        
honoured as such2 they had ample        
experience of  congresses and public    
canvasses and library journals2 they    
were just the  men to inspire ,english  
librarians1 not with the public spirit  
which they  possessed already1 but with 
the esprit de corps which1 in their then
  dispersed and unorganised condition1  
they could not possess4 ,they came  to  
me at least as a revelation2 the horizon
 widened all round1 and the  life and   
spirit they infused into the meeting    
contributed largely to  make it the     
success it was4 ,had we gone away then  
with the sensation of  failure1 it is   
not likely that ,i should now be        
addressing you in  ,aberdeen or         

elsewhere4 ,but there was another ordeal
 to be faced4 ,critics  say that the    
second book or picture is very commonly 
decisive of the  future of an author or 
artist whose dbut has been              
successful--it  shows whether he        
possesses staying power4 ,well1 when    
next year we came  to ,oxford1 in that  
sense of the term we did come to stay4  
,the variety  and the interest of the   
papers1 and the spirit of the           
discussions1  showed that there existed 
both ample material for our             
deliberations and  ample interest and   
ability to render deliberation          
profitable4 ,here again  we were largely
 indebted to individuals1 and my words  
will find an echo  in all who knew the  
late ,mr4 ,ernest ,chester ,thomas1 when
 ,i say that  never did he exhibit his  
gifts to such advantage1 never did he   
render  such services to the            
,association1 as on this occasion4 ,his 
courtesy1  tact1 and good humour all can
 emulate2 the advantages which he       

enjoyed  in finding himself so          
thoroughly at home could have been      
shared by any  other member of the      
,university2 but the peculiar brightness
 with which  he enlivened and irradiated
 the proceedings was something quite his
 own4  ,i must not suffer myself to     
dwell on other gatherings--all equally  
agreeable1 some almost as memorable2    
but1 lest ,i seem forgetful of a  very  
important branch of the work of the     
,association1 ,i must briefly  allude to
 the monthly meetings held in ,london1  
where so many valuable  papers have been
 read--subsequently made general        
property by publication  in the ,journal
 of the ,association1 if originally     
delivered to audiences  probably very   
fit1 certainly very few4 ,it is greatly 
to be regretted  that provincial members
 cannot participate in these gatherings1
 but this  is practically impossible1   
save by the annihilation of time and    
space--the modest request1 says ,pope1  
of absent lovers4    ,i shall now       

proceed to take up some of the more     
interesting themes  broached at the     
first meeting of the ,association1 time 
not allowing me  to proceed further1 and
 to remark upon the progress which may  
appear to  have been made in the        
interval towards accomplishing the      
objects then  indicated4 ,i shall then  
venture some brief remarks on the       
library  movement at the present day1 as
 concerns public feeling and public     
sympathy in their effect on the status  
of librarianship as a profession4  ,my  
observations must of course be very     
desultory and imperfect1 for an         
adequate treatment of these subjects    
would absorb the entire time of the     
present meeting4 ,i have also always    
felt that the ,president's address1     
though certainly an indispensable       
portion of our proceedings1 is in one   
aspect ornamental1 and that the real    
business of a meeting1 apart from  its  
legislative and administrative          
departments1 is the reading of papers   

and the discussion to which these give  
rise4 ,i hope that these  discussions   
will be1 like the ,thames1 without      
o'erflowing1 full4  ,overflow we must   
not4 ,it will be a great satisfaction to
 me if1 when the  meeting is over1 it   
should be found that everything written 
for it has  been heard by it1 and that  
nothing has been taken as read4    ,the 
most important subject introduced at the
 ,conference of #ahgg was that  of free 
libraries in small towns1 but any       
remarks which ,i may offer on  this will
 come more appropriately into a review  
of the progress which  libraries are now
 making4 ,next in importance1 perhaps1  
certainly in  general interest1 were the
 discussions on cataloguing4 ,in this   
department ,i may congratulate the      
,association on material progress1 to   
which its own labours have1 in great    
measure1 contributed4 ,there is much    
more unanimity than there used to be    
respecting the principles on which      
catalogues should be made4 ,admirable   

catalogues have been issued1 and        
continue to be kept up by the principal 
libraries throughout the  country1 and  
if now and then some very small and     
benighted library  issues a catalogue   
whose navets excite derision1 such cases
 are  very exceptional4 ,rules have been
 promulgated both here and in the       
,united ,states which have met with     
general assent1 and ,i do not           
anticipate that any material departure  
from them will be made4 ,i only  wish to
 say1 as every librarian is naturally   
supposed to regard his own  catalogue as
 a model1 that ,i do not regard the     
,british ,museum ,catalogue  in this    
light so far as concerns libraries of   
average size and type4 ,the             
requirements of large and small         
libraries are very different1 and that  
may be quite right in one which would be
 quite wrong in another4 ,i can1        
perhaps1 scarcely express this          
difference more accurately than by      
remarking that while the catalogue of a 

small1 and more especially of a         
popular1 library1 should be a finding   
catalogue1 that of a large library      
representing all departments of         
literature must be to a great extent a  
literary catalogue4 ,it is not meant    
merely to enable the reader to  procure 
his book with the least possible delay1 
but also to present an  epitome of the  
life-work of every author1 and to assist
 the researches  of the literary        
historian4 ,hence the explanation and   
justification of  some points which have
 on specious grounds been objected to in
 the  ,museum ,catalogue4 ,it has been  
thought strange1 for instance1 that     
anonymous books of which the authorship 
is known--such as the first  editions of
 the ,waverley ,novels--should not be   
entered under the names  of the authors4
 ,two excellent reasons may be given3   
because by so  entering the book the    
character of the catalogue as a         
bibliographical  record would be        
destroyed2 and because by entering one  

description of  anonymous books in one  
way and another in another1 there would 
be an end  to the uniformity of rule    
which is necessary to prevent a very    
extensive  catalogue from getting into  
confusion4 ,another instance is the     
cataloguing of academical transactions  
and periodicals under the  respective   
heads of ,academies and ,periodical     
,publications1 which has  been much     
criticised4 ,it is quite true that the  
,quarterly ,review can  be found more   
easily under that head than under       
,periodical  ,publications1 ,london1 but
 it is also true that the grouping of   
all  academical and all periodical      
publications under these two great heads
  is invaluable to the bibliographer1   
the literary historian1 and the         
statistician1 who must be exceedingly   
thankful that the information of  which 
they are in quest is presented to them  
in a concentrated form1  instead of     
having to be sought for through an      
enormous catalogue4 ,these  observations

 do not in any way apply to libraries of
 an essentially  popular character1 and 
,i merely make them by way of enforcing 
the  proposition that the works of such 
libraries and those of national or      
university libraries are different1 and 
that we must beware of a  cast-iron     
uniformity of rule4 ,there is yet       
another intermediate class of  library1 
the comparatively small but highly      
select1 such as college and  club       
libraries1 which will probably find it  
more advantageous to pursue  an         
intermediate course1 as ,i imagine they 
do1 judging from the very  excellent    
specimens of cataloguing for which we   
are indebted to some of  them4 ,and     
there is yet another class1 the         
libraries of the collectors  of         
exceedingly rare literatures1 such as   
the ,chatsworth ,library1 ,mr4  ,huth's1
 and ,mr4 ,locker-,lampson's4 ,in such  
catalogues minuteness of                
bibliographical detail is rightly       
carried to an extent uncalled for in    

great miscellaneous catalogues like that
 of the ,british ,museum1 and  which1 it
 is to be hoped1 may never be attempted 
there1 for if it were  it would         
disorganise the establishment4 ,it is   
not the business of  librarians as      
public servants to provide recondite    
bibliographical  luxuries4 ,these things
 are excellent1 but they lie in the     
department of  specialists and amateurs1
 who may be expected to cultivate it in 
the  future as they have done in the    
past4 ,the limits of public and private 
enterprise must be kept distinct4       
,another question of cataloguing which  
occupied the attention of the           
,conference of #ahgg was the important  
one of subject catalogues4 ,in this  ,i 
am able to announce the most            
satisfactory progress4 ,in the face of  
the  mass of information continually    
pouring in1 the world has become alive  
to the importance of condensing1        
distributing1 and rendering generally   
available the information which it      

possesses already4 ,three very          
remarkable achievements of this kind may
 be noticed4 ,the first is  ,poole's    
,index to ,periodicals1 with its        
continuation1 a work so  invaluable that
 we now wonder how we could have existed
 without it1 but  so laborious that we  
could hardly have hoped to see it exist 
at all1  especially considering that it 
is an achievement of co-operative       
cataloguing4 ,in illustration of the    
want it supplies1 ,i may mention that   
it has been found necessary at the      
,british ,museum to reproduce the       
preliminary tables by photography in a  
number of copies1 the originals  having 
been worn to pieces4 ,the next work ,i  
shall mention is the subject  index to  
the modern books acquired by the        
,british ,museum since #ahhj--two  bulky
 volumes1 prepared in non-official time1
 with the greatest zeal and  devotion1  
by the superintendent of the ,reading   
,room1 ,mr4 ,fortescue1 and  continued  
by him to the present time4 ,they are   

simply invaluable1 and it  is only to be
 regretted that they have been issued at
 too high a price  to be generally      
available to the public4 ,this is not   
the case with the  third publication    
which ,i have to mention--the classed   
catalogue issued  by ,mr4 ,swan         
,sonnenschein1 the utility of which is  
very generally known4  ,a cognate       
feature of the times is the great       
comparative attention now  paid to      
indexing1 which is sometimes carried to 
lengths almost  ludicrous4 ,the author  
of a work of information who does not   
give an  index is sure to be called over
 the coals1 and with reason1 for how    
else  is the reviewer to pick out the   
plums unless he actually reads the book8
  ,i am not sure that this extreme      
facilitation of knowledge is in all     
respects a good thing1 but it is at     
present a necessary thing1 and          
correlated with that prevalence of      
abridged histories and biographies      
which it is easy to criticise1 but which

 has at least two good  points--the     
evidence it affords of the existence of 
a healthy appetite  for information     
among a large reading class1 and the    
fact that  information is thus diffused 
among many to whom it would have been   
inaccessible under other circumstances4 
,connected with the subject of indexes  
is that of dictionary catalogues1  in   
which the alphabetical and the subject  
catalogues are found in a  single list4 
,i retain the opinion ,i have always    
held1 that this plan may  answer where  
the library and the catalogue are not   
extensive1 but that  where they are1    
confusion results2 the wood cannot be   
seen for the  trees4 ,i therefore       
recommend the librarian of even a small 
library1 in  planning his catalogue1 as 
well as everything else1 to make sure   
whether  his library may not be destined
 to become a great one4 ,half the       
difficulties under which great libraries
 labour arise from the failure  to take 
from the first a sufficiently generous  

view of the possibilities  and prospects
 of the institution4 ,with this view of 
dictionary  catalogues1 it is not likely
 that they will be adopted at the       
,british  ,museum1 but ,i have already  
explained more than once the facilities 
which  the ,museum possesses for forming
 an unequalled series of subject        
catalogues by simply1 when the great    
general catalogue has been printed1     
cutting up copies printed on one side   
only1 and arranging them in a  number of
 indexes4 ,there is no doubt that the   
,museum can amply provide  for its own  
needs in this manner1 and thus remove   
the reproach under  which it has always 
laboured1 and still labours1 of having  
no subject  catalogue except ,mr4       
,fortescue's4 ,the question is whether  
the indexes  thus created are to become 
available for the service of libraries  
and  students all over the world by     
being published and circulated4 ,the    
solution of this question rests with the
 ,government1 and ,i have alluded  to it

 here principally in the hope of        
eliciting that expression of  public    
opinion without which ,government is    
hardly likely to act4 ,the  question    
will probably become an actual one      
towards the end of the  present century4
    ,mention of this question naturally 
leads to another1 which occasioned  one 
of the most interesting discussions of  
the ,conference of #ahgg--the  subject  
of the ,british ,museum in its relation 
to provincial culture4  ,this was ably  
introduced by our friend ,mr4 ,axon1 who
 dwelt especially on  two points in     
which provincial culture could be       
promoted by the  ,museum--the           
distribution of duplicates and the      
printing of the  catalogue4 ,on both    
these ,i am enabled to announce the most
 satisfactory  progress since they were 
ventilated in #ahgg4 ,as regards the    
distribution  of duplicates1 indeed1    
further progress is impossible1 for we  
have  distributed all we can spare4 ,the
 subject was energetically taken up by  

the present ,principal ,librarian1 ,mr4 
,maunde ,thompson1 shortly after his    
accession to office1 and the result has 
been that almost all the  principal     
libraries throughout the country have   
received important  benefactions from   
the ,museum4 ,libraries of the rank of  
the ,bodleian and  the ,guildhall have1 
of course1 received the first           
consideration2 but  nearly all have had 
some accession1 and in some instances   
provision has  been made for a regular  
supply of duplicate parliamentary       
papers4 ,since  the distribution of     
these duplicates the opportunity has    
further  presented itself1 through the  
extensive purchases made at the sale of 
the ,hailstone ,library1 for enriching  
,yorkshire libraries with duplicate     
tracts relating to that county1 and ,i  
am sure that the trustees will  readily 
avail themselves of any subsequent      
occasions4 ,i am aware that  some think 
that distribution might be carried even 
further1 but ,i am  certain that this is

 not the case4 ,we are bound in honour  
not to give  any presented books2       
valuable presented books must be        
protected by  second copies2 copyright  
books cannot be parted with because     
receipts  have been given for them      
which1 if the books disappeared1 there  
would be  nothing to justify1 while the 
books and the stamp showing the date of 
reception may be required for legal     
purposes2 finally1 the international    
copyright which used to provide the     
,museum with so many duplicates of      
foreign books has now become utterly    
extinct in consequence of the ,berne    
,convention4 ,the progress made in the  
far more important department of  the   
printing of the catalogue is already    
well known to you4 ,i have been  able to
 give the ,association a satisfactory   
report of progress on two  occasions1   
and ,i am now able to state that we have
 entered into letter  ,p4 ,some         
important gaps remain to be filled up1  
but on the other hand the  latter part  

of the catalogue is printed and         
published from ,u to the end4  ,if the  
,treasury continues its aid1 ,i have    
little doubt that the whole  will be    
published some time before the end of   
the century4 ,mr4 ,axon  certainly did  
not exaggerate the value which such a   
publication would  possess for general  
culture1 and ,i am only sorry that it is
 not as yet  properly recognised4 ,every
 large town ought to have a copy of the 
,museum  ,catalogue1 and the supply of  
the accession parts ought to be         
regularly  kept up4 ,it is too late now 
to do what might have been done if the  
importance of the undertaking had been  
recognised from the first3 but  the     
oversight can soon be repaired if the   
catalogue is reprinted as soon  as      
completed1 with the inclusion of all the
 additional titles that have  since     
grown up4 ,the edition can then be made 
as large as is necessary to  accommodate
 every important town in the ,united    
,kingdom4 ,but this will  not be done   

without the application of considerable 
pressure to the  ,government1 and this  
will not come without a much more       
general interest  on the part of the    
public than there is any reason to      
suppose exists at  present4 ,this might1
 however1 be created by judicious       
stimulus1 which  must come in the first 
instance from librarians1 who1 though   
not  collectively a highly influential  
body1 have many means of privately      
influencing persons of weight1 and      
making themselves directly and          
indirectly heard in the public press4   
,i will take the opportunity of adding a
 few words for the honour of a  late    
eminent librarian4 ,in the numerous     
papers which ,i have written on  the    
subject of the ,museum ,catalogue1 ,i   
have always made a point of  bringing   
forward the inestimable services of the 
late ,principal  ,librarian1 ,mr4       
,edward ,augustus ,bond1 in relation to 
it4 ,everything  which ,i have said ,i  
repeat4 ,without ,mr4 ,bond the         

catalogue would not now  exist in print1
 or its appearance would at any rate    
have been  indefinitely deferred4 ,in   
examining1 however1 non-official papers1
 ,i  have lately ascertained that ,mr4  
,thomas ,watts1 one of my predecessors  
as  ,keeper of ,printed ,books1         
advocated the printing of the catalogue 
as  early as #ahee4 ,like myself1 when  
,i recommended printing1 not on abstract
  grounds1 but from the impossibility of
 any longer finding space for the       
catalogue in the ,reading ,room1 ,mr4   
,watts was led to adopt his view by     
collateral considerations1 which it     
would take too much time to explain     
now1 but which will be understood when  
,i publish his paper1 which ,i  purpose 
doing4 ,meanwhile ,i am glad to have    
paid this passing tribute to  the memory
 of the most learned and the most widely
 informed librarian  that the ,museum or
 the country ever possessed4            
,speaking of the publication of ,museum 
catalogues since the foundation of  this

 ,association1 ,i ought not to forget   
that of the early ,english books  prior 
to #afdj1 edited by ,mr4 ,bullen2 or    
that of the maps1 edited by  ,professor 
,douglas2 or the various catalogues of  
,oriental books and  manuscripts4 ,the  
latter1 prepared by ,dr4 ,rieu1 are     
treasures of  information1 very much    
more than ordinary catalogues4          
,another subject was introduced at the  
,conference of #ahgg1 which admits  of  
wider development than any of those     
already mentioned1 and in which  very   
much more remains to be done4 ,i allude 
to the question of the  employment of   
photography as an auxiliary to          
bibliography1 broached by  our lamented 
friend the late ,mr4 ,henry ,stevens1 in
 his paper on  ,photo-,bibliography4    
,though the ideas suggested by ,mr4     
,stevens were  highly ingenious1 they   
were perhaps better adapted for         
development by  private enterprise than 
by library organisations4 ,but they led 
up  directly to another matter of much  

greater importance1 which ,i had  myself
 the honour of bringing before the      
,dublin ,conference--the  feasibility of
 making book-photography national by the
 creation of a  photographic department 
at the ,british ,museum4 ,i need not    
repeat at  length what was then said by 
myself and other speakers respecting the
  immense advantage of providing a ready
 and cheap means for the  reproduction  
of books in facsimile1 by which rare    
books and perishing  manuscripts could  
be multiplied to any extent2 by which   
press copies  could be provided at a    
nominal expense for anything that it was
 desired  to reprint2 by which legal    
documents could be placed beyond the    
reach of  injury1 and the vexed question
 of the custody of parish registers     
solved  for ever2 by which a great      
system of international exchange could  
be  established for the historical      
manuscripts of all countries4 ,the one  
point which cannot be too often repeated
 or enforced is that the essence  of the

 scheme consists in the abolition of the
 private photographer1 at  present an   
inevitable and most useful individual1  
but who is sadly in  the way of larger  
public interests4 ,so long as a private 
profit has to  be made1 photography     
cannot be cheap4 ,transfer this duty to 
a public  officer paid by a public      
salary1 and the chief element of expense
 has  disappeared2 while the slight     
expense of this salary and cost of      
material1 if it is thought worth while  
to insist upon its repayment1  will be  
repaid over and over by a trifling      
charge imposed upon the  public4 ,our   
,association took the matter up1 but    
nothing tangible has as  yet resulted   
from its efforts1 nor can much be fairly
 expected4 ,we are  not a body adapted  
for public agitation1 nor can we be2 we 
have too  little influence as           
individuals2 as a corporation we are too
 dispersed2  our general meetings are   
necessarily infrequent2 we want         
organisation  and momentum4             

,nevertheless1 very important progress  
in this direction  may be recorded1 or  
,i should not have been able to include 
it in my  address4 ,it is due to the    
,university of ,oxford1 which has       
established a  photographic department  
in connection with the ,bodleian        
,library and the  ,university ,press1   
which has shown the practicability of   
the undertaking1  and has already       
rendered important services to private  
persons and  public institutions1 the   
,british ,museum among the latter4 ,we  
are as yet  far from the ideal1 for the 
,university must of necessity make a    
higher  charge than would be requisite  
in a ,government department1 which might
  indeed be but nominal4 ,but an        
important step has been taken1 and      
,oxford  will always have the honour of 
having taken the lead in the systematic 
application of photography to library   
purposes1 as the sister ,university  has
 that of having been the first1 not     
merely to print a catalogue but  to keep

 a catalogue up in print4    ,another   
subject which naturally attracted the   
attention of the  ,association from the 
first was that of binding4 ,there are   
few matters of  more consequence1 and   
the increasing degeneracy of the        
bindings of  ordinary books1 as issued  
by the publishers1 renders it of more   
importance to librarians than ever4     
,this deterioration is1 of course1      
likely to extend to books bound for     
libraries1 if librarians are not  very  
vigilant4 ,i was amused the other day   
with the remark of an ,american         
librarian1 that he bound his newspapers 
in brown4 ,i thought he exercised  a    
wise discretion1 for the newspapers     
which were bound in green at the        
,museum have become brown1 like the     
withered leaf1 and might as well have   
been so from the first4 ,i do not know  
that any important progress has  been   
made in ordinary binding1 although our  
,american friends1 in their  ,library   
,journal1 are continually giving us     

ingenious hints which may  prove very   
useful4 ,the buckram recommended by ,mr4
 ,nicholson has1 ,i  think1 maintained  
its ground2 we use it to some extent at 
the ,museum1  and are well satisfied4   
,goatskin also has been recently        
employed2 it is  a beautiful binding1   
but liable to injury when a volume is   
subjected to  much wear and tear--a     
point which should always be carefully  
considered  before the binding of a book
 is decided upon4 ,the better           
descriptions of  cloth seem to be       
improved1 and very recommendable for    
books in moderate  use4 ,i am           
continually struck with the excellence  
of the vellum bindings  we get from     
abroad1 especially of old books1 and    
wish very much that  means could be     
found of cheapening this most excellent 
material4 ,in one  very important       
description of binding--roan and        
sheepskin--,i fear we are  going back2  
not from any fault of the binders1 but  
from the conditions  of modern life4 ,i 

am informed that owing to the early age 
at which the  lives of sheep are now    
prematurely terminated1 it is impossible
 to  obtain sheepskin of the soundness  
requisite for binding purposes1 and     
that books for which it is used must be 
expected to wear out much sooner  than  
formerly4 ,it is also said1 however1    
that this does not apply to the  sheep  
slaughtered in ,australia and ,new      
,zealand1 and if this is the case  it   
may be worth the while of librarians and
 bookbinders to enter into              
communication with the farmers of those 
parts1 through the medium of the        
,colonial ,agents ,general or otherwise4
    ,any positive progress that can be  
reported in binding rather relates to   
the study1 appreciation1 and            
reproduction of old and precious        
bindings1  especially of foreign        
countries1 and is mainly summed up in   
the record  of the exhibitions of       
bindings which have been held here1 the 
literary  labours of ,miss ,prideaux and

 others1 the numerous splendid          
reproductions  in chromo-lithography1   
published or to be published here or    
abroad1 and  the tasteful designs of    
,mr4 ,zaehnsdorf1 ,mr4                  
,cobden-,sanderson1 and other  artists  
in this branch1 which ,i am glad to see 
encouraged by the ,arts  and ,crafts    
,exhibition4 ,the very deterioration of 
the bindings for the  many1 to which ,i 
have had occasion to refer1 stimulates  
the production  of choice bindings for  
the few4 ,liberal patronage will not be 
wanting1  and there is no reason why we 
should not have among us now ,bedfords1 
,roger ,paynes1 and even craftsmen of a 
more purely artistic type4 ,among  the  
signs of the times in this respect is to
 be noted the establishment  of the     
,grolier ,club at ,new ,york1 celebrated
 for the admirable examples  it has     
collected1 and the interest and value of
 its publications4    ,there is another 
subject which came before the           
,conference of #ahgg1  which1 but for   

our ,american friends1 ,i should be     
unable to include in my  survey without 
infringing my principle of touching upon
 those subjects  alone in which         
substantial progress can be reported4   
,it is that of  co-operative            
cataloguing1 the subject of a note by   
,m4 ,depping1 and  indirectly of the    
late ,mr4 ,cornelius ,walford's paper on
 a general  catalogue of ,english       
literature4 ,the success of ,poole's    
,index has proved  that co-operative    
cataloguing1 or at least indexing1 is   
feasible4 ,i  doubt if there is another 
instance1 except one--a work of great   
national  importance1 whose long        
condition of suspended animation and    
eventual  successful prosecution        
eloquently evince under what conditions 
co-operation is practicable or          
impracticable4 ,this is ,dr4 ,murray's  
great  ,english dictionary1 originally a
 project of the ,philological ,society4 
,until ,dr4 ,murray was invented1 the   
,philological ,society could do         

nothing4 ,the scheme absolutely required
 some one of competent ability  who     
would go into it heart and soul1        
sacrifice everything else to it1  and   
devote his whole time to it4 ,when such 
a man was found in ,dr4 ,murray  it is  
astonishing how soon willing co-workers 
abounded1 and how readily  the mass of  
unorganised material already collected  
was got into shape4  ,so it will be1 ,i 
believe1 with all co-operative schemes4 
,they will  require a head1 a single    
directing mind4 ,whether this will be   
forthcoming for the very useful work    
projected by the ,association1 the      
completion of the ,british ,museum      
,catalogue of early ,english printed    
books by the preparation of a           
supplementary catalogue of such of these
  books as are not in the ,museum1 is to
 me problematical1 but time will  show4 
,i am1 for my part1 of opinion that the 
undertaking had better be  delayed until
 the publication of the second edition  
of the ,museum  ,catalogue1 which it is 

intended to issue as soon as the        
printing of the  general catalogue is   
complete1 as this would considerably    
abridge the  labour of preparing the    
supplement4 ,i have already1 in the     
paper read at  ,paris last year1        
expressed my opinion that the ,museum   
,catalogue1 when  complete1 will afford 
the only practicable basis for the far  
more  important and extensive           
undertaking of a universal catalogue4   
,success in  such an undertaking would  
indeed be the triumph of successful     
co-operation1 but when the enormous     
difficulties of establishing            
co-operation among the libraries1 not of
 a single country only1 but of  the     
whole civilised world1 are considered1  
the difficulty may well  appear         
insuperable1 until the various countries
 shall have approximated  much more     
nearly to the condition of a single     
country than they have  done as yet4    
,such1 however1 is the unquestionable   
tendency of the times1  depending upon  

causes which1 so far as can be foreseen1
 appear likely to  operate with         
augmented intensity1 and this movement  
may proceed far  enough to eventually   
bring with it the universal catalogue   
along with  the universal language1 the 
universal coin1 and the universal stamp4
  ,till within a short time ago ,i had  
reason to believe that a co-operative   
catalogue1 which ,i myself proposed     
several years ago1 was on the point  of 
being undertaken4 ,some may remember    
that ,i once read a paper at a  ,london 
monthly meeting on the preparation of an
 index of subjects to the  ,royal       
,society's catalogue of scientific      
papers1 without which that great  store 
of information is in a measure useless4 
,this paper was  re-published in        
,nature1 the idea was taken up by ,mr4  
,collins of  ,edgbaston1 the compiler of
 the indexes to ,herbert ,spencer's     
works1 and a  few weeks ago success     
seemed about to crown his efforts4 ,i   
now learn  with regret that the         

scientific men who met in conclave on   
the project  have not been able to      
agree1 and ,i suppose it will remain in 
abeyance  until some ,hercules-,littr   
arises and does it by himself4    ,want 
of time precludes me from dwelling at   
length upon any other  subjects than    
those brought forward at the first      
,conference of our  ,association4 ,a    
brief enumeration1 however1 of some of  
the additional  subjects discussed at   
ensuing meetings1 to within the ten     
years  immediately preceding our last   
meeting1 will be serviceable as showing 
the extent of its activity1 and1 did    
time permit1 it would be possible  to   
show that satisfactory progress has been
 made in many of the  directions        
indicated4 ,at ,oxford1 in #ahgh1       
besides recurring to many of  the themes
 previously treated1 the ,conference    
discussed the condition of  cathedral   
and provincial libraries1 printing and  
printers in provincial  towns1          
size-notation1 and1 most interesting of 

all1 the salaries of  librarians4 ,at   
,manchester1 in #ahhc1 it considered the
 consolidation and  amendment of the    
,public ,libraries ,acts1 the grouping  
of populous places  for library         
purposes1 the free library in the       
connection which it has or  should have 
with the ,board ,school1 the extent to  
which novels should be  permitted in    
free libraries1 and security against    
fire4 ,in #ahhj1 at  ,edinburgh1 the    
libraries of ,scotland1 and early       
printing in ,scotland1  were the        
subjects of valuable communications1 as 
were press and shelf  notation2         
copyrights1 the disposal of duplicates1 
and the subject which  may be said to   
lie at the root of all the rest1 ,the   
,librarian and his  ,work4 ,in #ahha1 at
 ,london1 besides important subjects    
previously  discussed1 we heard of law  
libraries and library buildings4 ,in    
#ahhb1 at  ,cambridge1 a meeting ever to
 be remembered for the hospitality and  
kindness of our distinguished and       

lamented ,president--,henry             
,bradshaw--the ,association heard for   
the first time of progress actually     
made in printing the ,british ,museum   
,catalogue1 and papers were read on  the
 all-important subject of librarianship 
as a profession2 on the work  of the    
nineteenth-century librarian for the    
librarian of the twentieth2  on public  
documents and their supply to public    
libraries2 on local  bibliography2 on   
the cataloguing of periodicals and      
academical  publications2 and on        
electric lighting4    ,here ,i suspend  
my survey1 but ,i think quite enough has
 been said to  indicate the number and  
importance of the subjects taken up by  
the  ,association1 while the present    
condition of some of them1 compared with
  that which they held before they had  
become subjects of public  discussion1  
proves that the ,association's labours  
have not been in vain  in the past1 and 
the rapid development of library work on
 all sides  proves equally that there   

need be no apprehension of the failure  
of  material for its discussions in the 
future4    ,i may fitly conclude my     
address with some notice of this decided
  increase of interest in libraries1    
especially as it relates to free        
libraries2 of the effect which it may be
 expected to produce upon the  status of
 our profession1 and of the claims      
encouraged and the duties  imposed in   
consequence4 ,before coming to this     
division of my subject1  however1 ,i    
ought1 as this address is mainly        
retrospective1 to record  briefly some  
exceedingly gratifying occurrences which
 the historian of  libraries will have  
to note4 ,first among them ,i place two 
munificent  benefactions--,mr4          
,carnegie's gift of fifty thousand      
pounds to the people  of ,edinburgh     
towards the formation of a public       
library1 and ,mrs4  ,rylands'           
establishment of the ,spencer ,library1 
worth probably nearly a  quarter of a   
million1 in the city of ,manchester4    

,the first is an  instance of that      
public spirit not unknown here1 but ,i  
fear less known  than in the ,united    
,states1 which in that country          
frequently takes the  form of library   
donation or endowment1 but here seldom  
enters that  channel except when a      
generous employer1 like ,mr4 ,brunner of
 ,northwich1  builds a library mainly   
for his work-people4 ,the second        
instance is  almost unprecedented4      
,donations of money for library purposes
 are not  infrequent1 but that a public 
benefactor like ,mrs4 ,rylands should   
purchase a famous library at an enormous
 expense only to make it a  public      
library immediately afterwards1 and     
should moreover take upon  herself the  
entire cost of the requisite buildings1 
and provide it with  a staff and funds  
for its further extension1 are indeed an
 unprecedented  series of occurrences4  
,i need not say that had ,mrs4 ,rylands 
purchased  ,lord ,spencer's ,library    
solely for herself1 we should still have

 been  under deep obligation to her for 
preventing the books from going out of  
the country4 ,as it is1 she has not only
 laid ,britain under infinite           
obligation1 but ,i hope will prove to   
have in the long run raised the         
standard of bibliographical research    
throughout the country1 both by         
bringing together so many               
bibliographical treasures1 and by her   
eminently judicious choice of a         
librarian4 ,in this connection ,i may   
pass  on to another event of moment--the
 recent foundation of a                 
,bibliographical ,society through the   
untiring exertions of ,mr4 ,copinger4   
,it is very gratifying to find that the 
constituents of such a society  exist in
 a country where exact bibliography has 
been so little  cultivated1 and there   
can be no doubt of the extent and       
interest of the  field which is open to 
such a body4    ,the spread of a taste  
for bibliography is further illustrated 
by the  fact that an enterprising       

publisher has found it worth while to   
produce  a series of bibliographical    
manuals under the able editorship of    
,mr4  ,alfred ,pollard1 and that these  
have amply repaid him4 ,i may further   
notice the recent appearance of two     
works of great importance to ,english   
bibliography3 ,professor ,arber's       
transcripts of the registers of the     
,stationers' ,company1 now on the point 
of completion1 and the supplement  to   
,allibone's ,dictionary of ,english     
,authors4 ,two great advances in        
library construction also call for a    
word of recognition2 the  introduction  
of the sliding press at the ,british    
,museum1 which  indefinitely adjourns   
the ever-pressing question of additional
 space  both in this and in every other 
library to which it can be adapted2 and 
the general employment of the electric  
light1 which insures libraries  against 
the worst enemy of all4 ,while touching 
on library construction1  ,i must       
briefly allude to a very remarkable     

recent publication1 the  article        
,bibliotheca in the ,german ,cyclopdia  
of ,architecture4 ,this  exhaustive     
disquisition is illustrated with a      
number of views of  libraries in all    
parts of the world2 not merely of their 
plans and  elevations1 their stately    
saloons and commodious reading rooms1   
but of  the most humble details of      
library furniture4 ,it ought to be      
translated4#bg3a    ,i have now to offer
 some concluding observations on the    
present  prospects of the library       
movement1 as it affects our country and 
ourselves4 ,in both points of view there
 is1 ,i think1 much matter for          
congratulation4 ,we have progressed very
 decidedly since the period to  which ,i
 have been carrying you back in         
retrospect4 ,as is often the case1  the 
foundation of this ,association was both
 a symptom and a cause4 ,it  indicated  
the existence of a feeling that         
libraries had not hitherto  occupied    
that position in public esteem which    

they ought to have2 it  further         
powerfully contributed to secure this   
due position for them4 ,i  think they   
are obtaining it4 ,we cannot but be     
conscious of a wave of  public feeling  
slowly rising1 the action of which is   
visible in the  establishment of new    
libraries1 in the adoption of the ,free 
,libraries  ,act by communities which   
had long resisted it1 in improved       
library  buildings and appliances1 in   
acts of munificence like ,mr4           
,carnegie's and  ,mrs4 ,rylands's1 and  
as a natural consequence1 in the        
improved salaries  and status of        
librarians4 ,i am aware that very much  
remains to be done  in this latter      
respect4 ,no one can more earnestly     
desire that the  librarian's position   
were better than it is4 ,it would not   
only be a boon  to the individual1 but a
 sign full of hope for the community4   
,we are  progressing1 but we must       
progress much further4 ,the key of the  
position  seems to me the restrictions  

imposed upon rates for library purposes4
  ,if we could obtain more freedom for  
the ratepayers in this respect1 and1    
which would be much more difficult1     
persuade them to use it when they  had  
it1 our free libraries might be in      
general what some of the more  favoured 
actually are4 ,it is discouraging indeed
 to observe in a not  very wealthy      
community1 when all necessary expenses  
have been met1  including the           
librarian's very inadequate salary1 what
 a ridiculous  trifle remains for the   
acquisition of books4    ,there is only 
one way to obtain the desired end--to   
convince the public  that they are      
getting value for their money4 ,the     
utility of the public  library must be  
visible to all men4 ,it must be         
recognised as an  indispensable element 
of culture1 and it must be shown1 which 
is  unfortunately more difficult1 that  
it is actually subserving this end1  not
 only for a few persons here and there1 
but for a considerable  proportion of   

the population4 ,i am not opposing the  
admission of fiction  into public       
libraries1 but it is evident that if    
fiction constitutes the  larger portion 
of the literature in request1 the       
average ratepayer will  not think1 nor  
ought he to think1 that any case has    
been made out for  his inserting his    
hands more deeply into his pockets4 ,i  
am quite aware1  of course1 that        
librarians individually can do but      
little in this  direction4 ,whatever can
 be done should be done1 for the entire 
case of  the librarian in claiming      
respect from the community and the      
material  advantages concatenated       
therewith is that he is1 in however     
humble a  measure1 a priest of          
literature and science2 as truly1 though
 not as  ostensibly1 a public instructor
 as if he occupied the chair of a       
professor4 ,let him endeavour to live up
 to this character1 and in  proportion  
as the community itself becomes         
conscious of its shortcomings  and its  

needs1 the librarian's estimation will  
rise and his position  improve4 ,we need
 not despair2 like ,wordsworth's        
imprisoned patriot1 we  have great      
allies4 ,the library movement itself is 
merely the fringe of  a great           
intellectual upheaval1 most visibly     
personified in the ,school  ,boards     
which now cover the country1 but also   
obvious in many other  directions4 ,this
 upheaval will elevate libraries along  
with it1 if they  really are the        
instruments of intellectual culture we  
firmly believe  them to be4 ,let us ally
 ourselves with those concerned in the  
diffusion  of these educational         
agencies4 ,many of them feel1 ,i know1  
that schools  ought to be the highway to
 something better1 and that even if     
public  school instruction could be     
accepted as sufficient for the citizen1 
much  of it is inevitably lost from the 
divorce from all intellectual life      
which too commonly supervenes when the  
boy leaves school4 ,but1 if the  school 

have but instilled a love of reading1   
the library steps in to  take its       
place3--        ,chalice to bright wine 
,which else had sunk into the thirsty   
earth4    ,let the librarian but        
recognise his true position1 and        
eventually he  must find his true level4
 ,i do not think that librarians as a   
body are  chargeable with insensibility 
to their duties in this respect2 but it 
does need to be kept before their       
fellow-citizens1 whose ideas of the     
profession--derived from tradition1 and 
from personal experience among  some of 
its inferior branches--are naturally    
different from those which  obtain among
 ourselves4 ,the librarian will         
therefore do well to interest  himself  
in useful and philanthropic movements1  
avoiding1 of course1  anything tinged   
with party spirit1 political or         
religious4 ,if he is a  vegetarian1 or a
 theosophist1 or anything that begins   
with anti1 let  him be so unobtrusively4
    ,i must not conclude without        

mentioning an incident connected with   
our  profession1 which has recently     
given me great pleasure--the            
acquaintance  ,i was enabled to make    
with the students of the ,library       
,school1 mostly  young assistants in    
provincial libraries1 on their visit to 
,london last  summer4 ,i received a most
 favourable impression of their modesty1
  intelligence1 eagerness to learn1 and 
general interest in their calling4      
,this bodes well for the librarians of  
the future4 ,i trust that they and  all 
of us1 and all whom the profession may  
receive into their ranks from  other    
sources1 will labour to preserve that   
high ideal of the librarian  as a       
minister of culture1 and no less that   
other possession1 which our             
,association--if it did not actually    
create--has so greatly fostered that  it
 may almost be looked upon as its       
creation1 the feeling of fellowship  and
 esprit de corps4 ,we do not meet merely
 to read papers and exchange  ideas1 and

 provide for our administrative         
arrangements1 but to  encourage and     
renovate something better than all      
treasures that in  books are found--the 
consciousness of mutual interest1 and   
the feeling  of mutual regard1 which    
will1 ,i trust1 be found reflected in   
the harmony  and business-like conduct  
of our present meeting4                 
,,footnotes3    #a3a ,aberdeen1         
,september #ahic4    #bg3a ,it has since
 been used in ,mr4 ,burgoyne's volume on
 ,library  ,architecture4               
,,public ,,libraries ,,and ,,their      
,,catalogues#cb3a      ,at the          
laundress's at the ,hole in the ,wall1  
,cursitor's ,alley1 up three  pairs of  
stairs1 the author of my ,church        
,history--you may also speak to  the    
gentleman who lies by him in the flock  
bed--my index-maker4 ,thus  ,mr4 ,edmund
 ,curll1 apud ,dean ,swift1 and the     
direction certainly does  not convey an 
exalted idea of the social status of the
 gentleman who  shared the hole of the  

ecclesiastical historian4    ,it is     
gratifying to remark the augmented      
consideration1 in our day1 of  this     
despised fraternity4 ,there is no       
omission for which an author of  serious
 pretensions is now more frequently     
taken to task than that of an  index2   
and if on the one hand it is            
unsatisfactory that the offence  should 
be so frequent1 it is on the other      
encouraging that its  obnoxiousness     
should be so generally recognised4      
,every author1  sententiously observes  
an ,american sage1 every author should  
write his  own index4 ,anybody can write
 the book4 ,without going quite to this 
length1 very many are disposed to affirm
 of a book without an index what  the   
,rev4 ,dr4 ,folliott1 in ,crotchet      
,castle1 affirms of a book without      
matter for a quotation1 namely1 that it 
is no book at all4 ,now1 what ,mr4      
,curll's index-maker was to ,mr4 ,curll1
 librarians are to the general  republic
 of letters4 ,every visitor to the      

,reading ,room of the ,british  ,museum 
who is guided by the mere light of      
nature persists in styling the          
catalogue the index3 their promotion in 
public consideration has  accordingly   
kept pace with that of their humbler    
allies1 or rather  exceeded it1 for if  
not starting originally from a point    
quite so  depressed1 they have attained 
one much more exalted4 ,the cause1      
however1  is the same in both cases--the
 enormous increase of knowledge1 the    
need  of a rigorous classification of   
its accumulated stores1 and the         
development of a specialised class of   
workers to discharge this  function4    
,next to the importance of information  
existing at all is that  of its being   
garnered1 classified1 registered1 made  
promptly available  for use4 ,a good    
public library has been aptly compared  
to a substantial  bank1 where drafts    
presented are duly honoured2 and        
librarians1 as such1  occupy much the   
same relation to the republic of letters

 as the  commissariat to the rest of the
 army--their business is not to fight   
themselves1 but to put others into a    
condition to do it4 ,as a  consequence1 
their collective organisation is much   
more complete than of  yore2 and their  
calling assumes more and more the       
character of a  distinct profession     
requiring special training1 with a      
distinct tendency  to gravitate towards 
the ,civil ,service4 ,time has been when
 a  librarianship was most probably a   
sinecure1 or at best a ,semitic         
department1 created for the express     
benefit of desert too angular and       
abnormal to fit into recognised grooves4
 ,lessing was a typical specimen  of    
this class of librarian1 installed at   
,wolfenbttel nominally to  catalogue    
books but in reality to write them4     
,this type is now nearly  extinct in    
,england1 except here and there in one  
of those colleges which  ,mr4 ,bagehot  
thought existed to prevent people from  
over-reading  themselves1 or some       

cathedral1 where the functions of       
librarian are  entrusted to a church    
dignitary or a church mouse4 ,elsewhere 
the  professional character of the      
librarian's pursuits is pretty generally
  recognised2 the need of special       
training and special qualifications is  
commonly admitted2 and the result has   
been a general improvement in the       
status and consideration of librarians1 
the more satisfactory as it is  in no   
degree due to quackery or               
self-assertion1 but has come about by   
the mere force of circumstances4 ,it may
 not be uninteresting briefly to  trace 
the steps by which librarianship has    
become a recognised  profession1 and the
 public library an acknowledged branch  
of the ,state  service4    ,prior to the
 year #ahce1 says ,mr4 ,winter ,jones1  
in his inaugural  address before the    
first ,conference of ,librarians1 there 
had been  little discussion1 if any1    
about public libraries4 ,in that        
year--the  year of the publication of   

the epoch-making works of ,strauss and  
,de  ,tocqueville1 and of the removal of
 ,copernicus and ,galileo from the      
,index ,expurgatorius--the complaints of
 a discharged clerk led1 more           
,britannico1 to an inquiry into the     
state of the ,british ,museum1 which    
would at that time hardly have been     
granted upon public grounds4 ,from  that
 inquiry dates everything that has since
 been done4 ,some not very  judicious   
changes in the administrative machinery 
of the ,museum were the  chief          
ostensible results1 but the real service
 rendered was to create a  consciousness
 in the public mind of the deficiencies 
of the national  library--strengthened  
no doubt by the contemporaneous         
disclosures of the  condition of the    
public records4 ,the way was then       
prepared for the truly  great man who   
assumed office as ,keeper of the        
,printed ,books in #ahcg1 and  whose    
evidence had mainly created the         
impression to which we have  referred4  

,to the administration of the ,british  
,museum1 ,sir ,anthony  ,panizzi brought
 powers that might have governed an     
,empire4 ,sir ,rowland  ,hill is not    
more thoroughly identified with the     
penny post than ,sir ,a4  ,panizzi with 
the improvements which have made the    
,museum what it is1 and  not merely     
those affected immediately by himself1  
but those which owe1  or are yet to owe1
 their existence to the impulse         
originally  communicated by him4 ,in    
#ahci the ,museum received from ,sir ,a4
 ,panizzi and  his assistants its code  
of rules for the catalogue--the ,magna  
,charta of  cataloguing4 ,in #ahdf the  
enormous deficiencies of the ,library1  
as  ascertained by prodigious labour on 
the part of the librarian and his       
staff1 were fairly brought to the       
knowledge of the nation4 ,in #ahdi ,sir 
,a4 ,panizzi's multitudinous reforms    
were tested and sanctioned by one of    
the most competent royal commissions    
that ever sat1 whose report offers  at  

this day a mass of most amusing and     
instructive reading4 ,we may note  in   
its minutes of evidence1 as subsequently
 in the yet more remarkable  instance of
 ,president ,lincoln1 how little able   
,mr4 ,carlyle is to  recognise his hero 
when he has got him1 and may obtain a   
new insight  into the extraordinary     
powers of the late ,professor ,de       
,morgan4 ,in #aheg  ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi's 
exertions received their visible        
consummation in the  erection of the new
 ,reading ,room and its appendages1     
capable of  accommodating a million     
volumes2 and about the same time his    
political  and social influence raised  
the ,museum grant to an amount capable  
of  filling this space within thirty    
years4 ,such an example could not fail  
to elevate the standard of librarianship
 all over the country1 and it  was now  
to be supplemented by the movement with 
which the name of ,mr4  ,ewart is       
chiefly associated4 ,the comparative    
failure of the ,mechanics'  ,institutes1

 from which so much had been expected1  
had led the friends of  popular         
education to take up the subject of free
 libraries4 ,mr4 ,ewart's  ,act 7#ahej7 
forms another era in library history1   
and its operation1  while slowly but    
surely covering the country with        
libraries supported  out of the rates1  
has tended more than anything else to   
elevate the  profession by making it a  
branch of the public service1 and       
offering  some real1 though as yet      
hardly adequate1 inducement to men of   
ability  and culture to follow it4 ,the 
recent library conferences have shown   
what  an admirable body of public       
servants ,england possesses in these    
administrators of her free libraries4   
,the next great era in library  history 
dates from #ahgf1 when the practical    
genius of the ,americans led  them to   
perceive the benefit of giving          
bibliothecal science a visible          
organisation4 ,the ,philadelphia        
,conference of that year resulted in the

  foundation of the ,american ,library  
,association1 the prototype of our  own4
 ,about the same time the ,american     
,library ,journal--now the organ  of the
 library associations of both           
countries--was established1 and the     
,bureau of ,education issued its volume 
of reports1 the most valuable           
collection1 not merely of statistics1   
but of close and sagacious  discussion  
of library questions1 that has yet been 
produced anywhere4  ,that the ,american 
example should have been so promptly    
imitated in this  country is mainly due 
to ,mr4 ,e4 ,w4 ,b4 ,nicholson1 the     
librarian of the  ,london ,institution4 
,mr4 ,nicholson conceived the idea of an
 ,english  conference on the ,american  
model4 ,messrs4 ,tedder1 ,harrison1     
,overall1 and  other distinguished      
metropolitan librarians1 contributed    
their time and  their marked capacity   
for business towards carrying it out4   
,mr4 ,winter  ,jones1 as ,principal     
,librarian of the ,british ,museum1 gave

 the conference  clat by accepting the  
office of ,president1 and the welcome   
presence  of a strong deputation of     
,american librarians1 together with some
  distinguished representatives of the  
profession from the ,continent1         
imparted the international character    
which it alone needed to ensure         
success4 ,the second conference1 held at
 ,oxford1 was equally successful1  and  
the present year is to witness a similar
 gathering at ,manchester4  ,an ,english
 ,library ,association has been called  
into being1 and the  ,library ,journal1 
the organ of this ,association1 equally 
with the  ,american1 indicates and      
records the active development of       
library  science in both countries4 ,one
 thought clearly underlies all these    
various undertakings--that library      
administration actually is a science    
and a department of the public service1 
and that it is only by these  matters   
being thus generally regarded that the  
librarian can render full  service to   

the public1 or the public full justice  
to the librarian4    ,we now propose to 
offer a few observations on some of the 
points of  principal national concern   
connected with the administration of    
libraries in general1 and1 as from this 
point of view is inevitable1 of  the    
national library in particular4 ,in so  
doing we must acknowledge our  special  
obligations to the following works1 and 
recommend them to the  study of all     
interested in library subjects2 #a4 ,the
 ,transactions and  ,proceedings of the 
,conference of ,librarians held in      
,london1 ,october  #ahgg1 edited by ,e4 
,b4 ,nicholson and ,h4 ,r4 ,tedder3     
,chiswick ,press4 #b4 ,the  ,library    
,journal1 official organ of the ,library
 ,associations of ,america  and of the  
,united ,kingdom3 ,trbner4 #c4 ,public  
,libraries in the ,united  ,states of   
,america2 ,special ,report4 ,washington3
 ,bureau of ,education4 ,to  these may  
be added ,mr4 ,axon's able article on   
the ,public ,libraries of  ,america in  

the last number of the ,companion to the
 ,almanac4    ,it might seem that not   
much could be said respecting the mere  
purchase  of books1 but even this       
department is subject to the general law
 of  specialisation1 and the character  
of a collection must vary as it falls   
within the category of national1        
academical1 or municipal libraries4 ,the
  mission of the national library is the
 simplest3 its character is  determined 
for it by the enactment which in most   
civilised states  constitutes it the    
general receptacle of the national      
literature1 good1  bad1 and indifferent1
 and imposes the corresponding          
obligation of  rendering itself the     
epitome of foreign literatures1 as far  
as its means  allow4 ,every such library
 is the mirror of its time1 and perhaps 
even  its services to contemporaries are
 of less real account than those which  
it performs for posterity in preserving 
the image of the past4 ,this is  the    
apology of the librarian's anxiety to   

collect what the uninitiated  regard as 
trash4 ,yesterday's news-sheet1 waste   
paper to-day1 will be  precious after a 
century1 and invaluable after a         
millennium4 ,the same  principle        
justifies the heavy expenditure which it
 is frequently  necessary to occur in   
procuring what is truly illustrative of 
the  history of a life or a nation1 even
 when it comes in the costly shape of  a
 bibliographical rarity4 ,a black-letter
 ballad on a ,smithfield  martyrdom1 a  
collection of cuttings illustrating     
,byron or ,dickens1 must  be secured for
 the national ,museum if at all within  
the compass of its  resources4 ,hardly  
as much can be said for another class of
 rarities--the  vellum page or the      
sumptuous binding which makes a volume a
 work of art1  but adds nothing to the  
value or significance of its contents4  
,such  luxuries1 the darlings of the    
genuine bibliographer1 the tests of his 
professional taste and the chevaux de   
bataille of his collection1 are         

nevertheless only to be indulged in by a
 conscientious man when he is  certain  
that such an indulgence is compatible   
with the ends for which  national       
libraries exist4 ,even the ideal of     
rendering the library a  representative 
of the thought and knowledge of the age 
must either be  moderated1 or pursued at
 the risk of incurring comparatively    
expenditure4 ,a new periodical gives    
pause3 it must be taken1 like a  wife1  
for better or worse2 for once commenced 
it can seldom be dropped4  ,new editions
 of scientific works occasion much      
perplexity3 it is equally  vexatious to 
be behind hand with the latest results  
of discovery1 and to  spend money over  
something which is certain to be soon   
superseded by  something better still4  
,in such cases compromise alone is      
possible1 and  compromise can never be  
quite satisfactory4 ,such difficulties  
press less  heavily on the curators of  
academical libraries1 where the demand  
for  universality is not preferred1 and 

even an accidental circumstance may     
legitimately impart a bias to the entire
 collection4 ,the acquisition of        
,professor ,de ,morgan's books1 for     
instance1 has made it imperative upon   
the ,university of ,london to be always 
strong in logic and mathematics1  at all
 events4 ,the principle of              
specialisation1 indeed1 admits of being 
carried very far in a large community1  
where it is possible to conceive  groups
 of libraries working in different      
directions to a common end1  and        
mutually completing each other4 ,such a 
system was supposed to have  been       
inaugurated at ,oxford1 although we have
 only heard of two colleges  which are  
actually working it out--,worcester1    
with its deliberate and  most laudable  
bent towards classical archology2 and   
,all ,souls'1 whose  noble collection of
 law books might1 if law were more      
scientifically  taught in this country1 
contribute to make ,oxford a great      
school of  jurisprudence4 ,some of the  

other college libraries1 it is to be    
feared1  justify the philippic which    
,mr4 ,ernest ,thomas1 at the ,oxford    
,conference1  clenched with this climax 
of scornful reference to a flagrant     
case1 ,the  librarian receives only ten 
pounds a year1 and ,i am sorry to say   
that  even that is too much4    ,the    
municipal librarian has his peculiar    
difficulties4 ,his means are  seldom    
large1 and out of them he has frequently
 to provide for branch  libraries1      
involving numerous duplicates4 ,he has  
to study not only what  his public      
wants1 but what it thinks it wants2 not 
only to make ready  for guests1 but to  
compel them to come in4 ,this raises the
 difficult  question how far the taste  
for fiction should be condescended to in
 free  libraries4 ,we cannot agree with 
those who think that public money may be
  properly expended upon trashy novels1 
in the chimerical hope that the         
appetite for reading they will probably 
create may be devoted to  worthier      

objects4 ,it is far more likely to      
destroy any latent capacity  for serious
 reading which a more judicious         
treatment might possibly have  called   
forth4 ,at the same time1 the adverse   
experience of mechanics'  institutes has
 shown that it will not answer to be too
 austere in such  matters1 and indeed   
the man who is capable of relishing     
,thackeray or  ,george ,eliot is not far
 from the kingdom of culture4 ,other    
novelists of  a less purely intellectual
 cast may awaken the love or stimulate  
the  pursuit of knowledge4 ,scott       
indirectly teaches not a little history1
  ,marryat not a little geography2      
either might provoke a craving for      
further information1 and both are       
adapted to keep the mind in a state of  
healthy curiosity1 susceptible of new   
impressions and ideas4 ,the  municipal  
librarian will also consider the        
especial circumstances of his  locality4
 ,leeds1 we understand1 collects        
everything relating to the  history or  

processes of the woollen manufacture1   
and the example will no  doubt be       
generally followed4 ,one of the most    
useful suggestions made at  the         
,librarians' ,conference was that       
provincial librarians should make a     
point of collecting publications printed
 in their own districts1 as well  as the
 municipal documents which are rarely   
deposited in the ,british  ,museum4 ,it 
met with a cordial response1 and we     
believe is being  extensively carried   
out4    ,due provision having been made 
for replenishing the library with the   
books most appropriate to its           
circumstances1 the question of the      
catalogue next presents itself4 ,the    
controversies which used to prevail  on 
this point may be regarded as in a great
 measure laid to rest4 ,the  rules of   
cataloguing1 framed in #ahci by ,sir ,a4
 ,panizzi1 ,mr4 ,winter  ,jones1 and    
their staff1 will1 we believe1 be now   
generally accepted by  bibliographers as
 embodying the principles of sound      

cataloguing4#dc3a  ,they may not be     
equally satisfactory to the general     
public1 with its  preference for rough  
and ready methods2 a very short         
experience1  however1 will convince any 
man that such methods in cataloguing    
mean  simply hopeless confusion1 and    
that it is far better that a book should
  be now and then hidden away than that 
entire categories of books should  be   
entered at random1 with no endeavour at 
principle or uniformity4 ,on  the part  
of almost all qualified bibliographers1 
the ,museum ,catalogue  receives the    
sincerest form of flattery--imitation3  
the few points still  debated1 such as  
whether anonymous books with no proper  
name on the  title-page should be       
entered under the first substantive or  
the first  word1 are not material2 and  
the impediments sometimes experienced in
  consulting it arise from no defect in 
its cataloguing rules1 but from  the    
great difficulty in digesting such long 
and complicated articles as  ,academies 

into a perspicuous and logical          
arrangement4 ,the problem is no  longer 
one of cataloguing1 but of              
classification1 and in this department  
ample room remains for discussion and   
scientific progress4 ,the question  of  
the strictly classified catalogue versus
 the strictly  alphabetical1 may1       
indeed1 be considered as decided4 ,the  
former method  may have answered in the 
library of ,alexandria2 but the         
multiplicity of  the departments of     
knowledge in our own day1 their         
intricacy and the  nicety with which    
they blend and shade into each other1   
render  cataloguing solely by subjects a
 delusion4 ,a catalogue of books on any 
special subject must either be          
imperfect1 or must contain a large      
number  of entries repeated from other  
catalogues2 while1 in any case1 the     
reader can never satisfy himself without
 a tedious search that the book  he has 
at first failed to find is not after all
 actually in the library4  ,if1         

nevertheless1 a subject catalogue       
without a general alphabetical          
arrangement is often useless1 it must be
 admitted that an alphabetical          
catalogue without a subject index is not
 always useful4 ,it is somewhat         
humiliating for the librarian unprovided
 with this valuable auxiliary1  to find 
himself dependent upon the classified   
indexes to the ,london  publishers' list
 and ,brunet's ,manuel du ,libraire for 
information which  he ought to be able  
to supply from his own catalogue4 ,even 
the ,bodleian1  we perceive1 is about   
taking measures to prepare an index of  
subjects1  and the ,bodleian is a       
library for scholars who might not      
unfairly be  expected to bring their    
bibliographical information along with  
them4 ,the  need must evidently be more 
imperative in libraries which assume a  
distinctly educational function1 and in 
those which1 like the national  and most
 municipal collections1 are supported at
 the expense of the  learned and the    

ignorant alike4 ,the recognition of the 
want1 however1  imposes an additional   
strain upon the resources of the        
institution1  which the ,british        
,museum1 at all events1 over-burdened as
 it is already1  cannot encounter       
without a considerable addition to its  
resources4 ,the  question of            
classification is1 moreover1 most       
difficult of solution4  ,only two points
 seem universally agreed upon3 that the 
best subject  index must be far from    
perfect1 and that the worst is far      
better than  none4 ,two principal       
methods are proposed for adoption4 ,the 
first is the  simple and obvious one of 
recataloguing every book entered in the 
,alphabetical ,catalogue in the briefest
 possible form1 and breaking up  these  
titles into sections1 according to      
subject1 the alphabetical order  being  
still preserved in each4 ,thus ,simson's
 ,history of the ,gipsies  would be     
found in the ,general ,catalogue entered
 at length1 and again in  an abridged   

form in a special index of books        
relating to the ,gipsies1  which would  
refer the reader to the ,general        
,catalogue4 ,the other system  is the   
so-called ,dictionary ,catalogue1 which 
combines the main entry and  the subject
 entry in the same alphabetical series4 
,in such a catalogue  ,simson's book    
would be entered twice over1 under      
,simson and under  ,gipsies2 while      
,paspati's ,dictionary of the ,dialect  
of the ,turkish  ,gipsies1 if the       
librarian were as accommodating as some 
of his  fraternity1 would stand a chance
 of being catalogued four times over1   
under ,paspati1 ,gipsies1 ,turkey1 and  
,dictionaries4 ,this system1 first      
brought forward by ,mr4 ,crestadoro1 the
 very able librarian of the  ,manchester
 ,free ,library1 and retouched by       
,messrs4 ,jewett1 ,abbott1 and  ,noyes1 
in the ,united ,states1 has been        
thoroughly discussed in ,mr4  ,cutter's 
masterly contribution to the ,american  
report on public  libraries4 ,mr4       

,cutter1 on the whole1 supports the     
plan1 whose defects he  has nevertheless
 stated with his usual force and        
candour4 ,the principal  objections are 
the great bulk of a catalogue           
constructed upon such a  plan1 and the  
sacrifices of one of the principal      
advantages of an  alphabetical classed  
index1 the congregation of a great      
number of minor  subjects into a grand  
whole4 ,in such an index1 for example1  
works on the  liberty of the subject1   
,bankruptcy1 ,divorce1 though formed    
into special  lists1 would still be     
found together within the covers of the 
same  comprehensive volume on law1 and1 
taken all together1 would afford a      
general view of whatever existed in     
print upon that grand division of  human
 knowledge4 ,in the ,dictionary         
,catalogue1 where authors and subjects  
are thrown together in the same         
alphabetical series1 this advantage     
would be lost2 ,bankruptcy would be in  
one part of the catalogue1 ,divorce  in 

another1 and a general view of the      
entire body of legal literature  would  
not be available at all4 ,the           
inconvenient bulk of a ,dictionary      
,catalogue 7except in the case of small 
libraries1 and any small library  may   
one day become a large one71 would be   
owing to the necessity for  multiplying 
cross-references4 ,to take ,mr4         
,cutter's own illustration1 a  treatise 
,on the ,abolition of the ,death        
,penalty must be entered along  with    
other books referring to the subject    
under the head of ,capital  ,punishment4
 ,the average reader1 however1 will not 
think of looking for  it there4 ,he will
 turn to ,death or under ,penalty1 and1 
not finding  the book under either      
heading1 will conclude that it does not 
exist in  the library4 ,two             
cross-references to ,capital ,punishment
 must  accordingly be made for his      
accommodation2 and1 after a few         
generations  of literary industry1 the  
catalogue1 like the proverbial wood1    

would be  invisible on account of the   
entries1 generally speaking2 the        
cardinal  error of plans for dictionary 
catalogues appears to us to be an       
excessive deference to the claims of the
 average reader4 ,nothing can be  more  
natural1 considering that these plans   
originated in ,manchester and  were     
perfected in the ,united ,states1 where 
the educational character is  much more 
distinctly impressed upon libraries than
 in ,england1 and where  the appetite   
for knowledge is as yet in advance of   
the standard of  culture4 ,it is        
fortunate when the librarian is able to 
consider not  merely what may be most   
acceptable to a miscellaneous body of   
constituents1 but also what is          
intrinsically fit and reasonable4    ,we
 must hold1 then1 that the alphabetical 
index of subjects should be  the        
auxiliary and complement of the         
,alphabetical ,catalogue1 not a part  of
 it2 that each book should be entered in
 it1 as in the catalogue1 once  and once

 only2 that the minor indexes should be 
grouped together so as  to form         
collectively a whole 7e4g4 ornithology  
and ichthyology1 as  sub-sections of    
zoology72 and that the operations of    
cataloguing and  indexing should go on  
pari passu4 ,if this is attended to for 
the  future1 the future will take care  
of itself2 but not ,heaven itself upon  
the past has power1 and it is           
discouraging to think upon the immense  
leeway which remains to be made up in   
most of our great public  libraries4    
,the experience of the ,bodleian will be
 very valuable1 and we  must confess to 
much curiosity to see how long the      
operation of  classifying its           
multifarious contents will take4 ,in the
 ,british ,museum  the foundation of a  
classed catalogue has already been laid 
by a simple  process4 ,as fast as the   
titles have been transcribed for        
insertion in  the three copies of the   
catalogue by a manifold writer1 a fourth
 copy  has been taken1 and this copy is 

arranged in the order of the books on   
the shelves4 ,as the various subjects   
are kept together in the library1  such 
an arrangement is practically equivalent
 to a rough classed  catalogue1 which   
could be digested into order with       
comparative facility4  ,the publication 
of such a classified index1 reduced to  
the utmost  possible brevity1 offers1 as
 it seems to us1 the best solution of   
the  vexed question of the publication  
of the ,museum ,catalogue4 ,on this     
point  much remains to be said4         
,meanwhile1 before quitting the subject 
of  cataloguing methods1 a tribute is   
due to ,mr4 ,cutter's important         
contribution to the subject1 in his     
rules for his ,dictionary ,catalogue4   
,next after the settlement of the       
,museum rules in #ahci1 these form the  
most important epoch in the history of  
cataloguing4 ,agreeing with the  latter 
rules in the main1 and when differing1  
generally1 as we must  think1 not       
differing for the better1 they          

nevertheless contain a most  valuable   
body of acute reasoning and apt         
illustration1 which it did not  fall    
within the province of the ,museum      
authorities to provide2 they  bring     
unusual experience and ability to bear  
upon the intricate subject  of          
classification1 and are further         
reinforced by most ingenious remarks  on
 the economy and manipulation of print1 
making the mere variations of  type     
instructive4    ,assuming the catalogue 
to be completed1 the question remains   
for  decision whether it shall be       
printed4 ,in most cases this question is
  easily determined with reference to   
the circumstances of the individual     
library2 but in one instance the nation 
claims a voice in the matter4 ,it  is   
hardly necessary to say that we refer to
 the ,catalogue of the ,british         
,museum1 the theme of forty years'      
controversy4 ,every one will admit the  
intrinsic superiority of a catalogue in 
print over a catalogue in ,,ms4  ,the   

question is1 whether the advantage may  
not be bought too dear4 ,to  form a     
sound opinion on this point it is       
necessary to have an  approximate       
estimate of the extent of the ,museum   
,catalogue1 and of the  expenditure and 
the time involved in the undertaking to 
print it4 ,some  statistics may         
accordingly be useful4 ,the printed     
volume of the  catalogue containing     
letter ,a1 published in #ahda1 has about
 #bj1jjj  entries4 ,it forms about a    
twentieth part of the catalogue as it   
now  exists1 which would accordingly    
comprise about #b1jjj1jjj entries1 in   
about #ajj folio volumes4 ,in addition1 
however1 to these titles now  existing  
in the catalogue1 there are about       
#bjj1jjj titles and  cross-references   
awaiting final revision1 and which1     
unless the present  state of this       
revision is very considerably           
accelerated1 will not be  ready for     
several years4 ,during all this period1 
titles for new  acquisitions will keep  

pouring in at the rate of #dj1jjj per   
annum4 ,all  the time that the catalogue
 is at press1 somewhere between a decade
 and  a generation1 they will continue  
to pour in1 and will have to be         
included as far as possible4 ,we must   
consequently expect to have to deal     
with from #c1jjj1jjj to #d1jjj1jjj      
titles1 occupying from #aej to #bjj     
volumes folio4 ,it is clear that no     
private individual could afford  either 
to purchase or to store such a          
catalogue4 ,it would1 therefore1  only  
be useful to such institutions as might 
buy it or receive it as a  gift4 ,unlike
 the newspapers we have mentioned1 its  
usefulness would  diminish in the ratio 
of its antiquity1 and it could only be  
kept up to  the mark by a succession of 
supplements4 ,the total cost of         
providing it1  minus these supplements1 
may be roughly estimated at #ajj1jjj4   
,we  scarcely think that ,government    
will incur such an expenditure for such 
a  purpose4    ,we should ourselves have

 little hesitation in pronouncing it    
undesirable  to print the ,museum       
,catalogue as it stands1 merely for the 
convenience  of the public4 ,it is quite
 another question whether a recourse to 
print  may not be desirable in the      
interests of the ,museum itself1 and    
from  this point of view the answer must
 be widely different4 ,it is desirable1 
and will shortly become imperative4 ,the
 reason is prosaic1 but  unanswerable3  
the ,,ms4 catalogue cannot be much      
longer accommodated in  the ,reading    
,room4 ,partly from necessity1 partly   
from oversights1 the  ,museum ,catalogue
 is most extravagant in the matter of   
space4 ,to preserve  the alphabetical   
order of the entries1 the titles are    
necessarily  movable1 pasted1 therefore1
 on each side of the catalogue leaf1    
thus  trebling the thickness of the     
latter4 ,it is equally indispensable    
that  wide spaces should be left between
 the entries when a volume is first     
laid down1 and that when these become   

insufficient from the number of         
additions1 as is continually happening1 
the over-charged volume should  be      
divided into three or four4 ,these      
inconveniences are unavoidable4 ,it  can
 only be regretted that part of the     
available space of every slip is  lost  
in transcription2 that scarcely a single
 transcriber appears to  have studied   
the art of packing2 and that the        
catalogue is over-run with  practically 
duplicate entries of slightly differing 
editions1  transcribed at full length   
while they might have been expressed in 
a  single line4 ,from all these causes  
the ,museum ,catalogue is rapidly       
becoming unmanageable1 and the time is  
approaching when the ,reading ,room     
will contain it no longer4 ,something   
might no doubt be done to postpone  the 
evil day by excluding the map and music 
catalogues from the room2  but apart    
from its inconvenience1 such a measure  
is obviously a mere  temporary          
palliative and ultimate aggravation of a

 difficulty which  acquires strength not
 eundo1 but by standing still4 ,the bulk
 of the  catalogue must be reduced1 and 
we are not aware that any method has    
been  suggested1 or exists1 except a    
recourse to print4 ,it is unfortunate   
that  this purely administrative        
measure1 founded on no preference for   
print  over manuscript as such1 but the 
simple dictate of an economic           
necessity1 should be so constantly      
confounded with the totally different   
proposition to print and publish the    
catalogue like any other book1 on  the  
expense and inutility of which we have  
already commented4  ,publication is not 
in question3 it is simply for the       
authorities to  consider whether the    
bulk of the ,,ms4 catalogue will not    
some day shut  out the public from      
access to it2 and if this is found to be
 the case to  lose no time in averting  
the evil4 ,we do not believe that the   
present  ,principal ,librarian1 or his  
predecessor1 entertains any doubt upon  

the  subject2 the ultimate decision1    
however1 rests neither with the         
,principal ,librarian nor the ,trustees1
 but with the ,treasury4 ,from the      
,treasury's point of view1 it is to be  
observed that the present system  is    
financially justifiable only on         
condition of its being persisted in  to 
the end of time4 ,if a resort to print  
will one day be compulsory1  existing   
arrangements are the climax of          
inconsiderate wastefulness4 ,that       
transcribing is cheaper than printing   
may be admitted1 though it has  hardly  
been demonstrated4 ,but to print is     
manifestly cheaper than to  print and   
transcribe also4 ,yet this is just what 
the ,museum is doing if  the catalogue  
is ever to be printed at all4 ,there are
 about #bej1jjj  titles for the new     
catalogue still remaining to be         
transcribed4 ,to  transcribe these at   
the present rate of progression would   
occupy about  fifteen years1 but let us 
say ten4 ,during this period titles for 

new  acquisitions would be coming in at 
the rate of #dj1jjj a year4 ,these      
would also be transcribed4 ,the total   
number of transcripts would thus be     
#fej1jjj4 ,now it seems to be seriously 
contemplated by the advocates of a      
complete printed catalogue that all this
 enormous mass of careful copy  shall in
 a few years be completely superseded by
 print1 and rendered  absolutely        
useless4 ,after paying1 let us say1     
threepence a slip to do  its work1 the  
nation is to pay fourpence a slip more  
to undo it1 and is  to be charged       
altogether twice as much as it need have
 been if it had  known what it wanted   
from the first4 ,it is1 indeed1 high    
time for the  representatives of the    
nation in these matters to determine    
once and for  ever whether the catalogue
 is to be in print or manuscript4 ,if   
,,ms41 let  the idea of print be        
authoritatively discountenanced2 but if 
print1 let  the ruinous system be       
abandoned of paying highly for work     

performed only  to be undone4    ,the   
solution of these perplexities will be  
found1 we think1 in a strict  adherence 
to the principle that administrative    
arrangements must  primarily have       
respect to the advantage of the         
institution1 which will  in the long run
 prove to be the advantage of the       
public4 ,the ,museum is  not bound to   
undertake the publication of an enormous
 printed catalogue  merely for the      
convenience of persons at a distance2   
but it will  introduce print in so far  
as print tends to economise its own     
funds1 and  to obviate confusion and    
encumbrance in its own rooms4 ,the two  
vital  points are to stop the waste     
incurred by transcribing what must      
ultimately be printed1 and to put an    
effectual check upon the portentous     
growth of the catalogue4 ,the first     
object may be attained by simply        
resorting to print for the future1 and  
pasting the printed slips into  the     
catalogue as the ,,ms4 slips are pasted 

now4 ,the second can best be            
accomplished by tolerating the mixture  
of printed and ,,ms4 slips in each      
volume of the catalogue1 until the      
volume has arrived from constant        
accessions at such a bulk as to require 
breaking up1 then printing the  ,,ms4   
entries in that volume1 and profiting by
 the economy in space of  print over    
,,ms4 to rearrange the contents in      
double columns1 which would  afford room
 for additions for an indefinite period4
 ,in this manner the  cost of printing  
would be spread over a long series of   
years1 and the  catalogue would         
insensibly be transformed into a printed
 one by much the  same process as that  
by which ,sir ,john ,cutler's worsted   
stockings became  silk4 ,any requisite  
number of printed slips might be        
produced1 and  offered by subscription  
to public institutions and private      
individuals4  ,the former might thus in 
process of time acquire the whole       
catalogue  without any violent strain   

upon their resources2 the latter might  
procure what they wanted without being  
compelled to take what they did  not    
want4 ,it would at the same time be     
beneficial to the ,museum and to        
literature1 if some of the most         
important articles were printed entire  
and brought out as soon as possible for 
the sake of relieving the  pressure upon
 the catalogue4 ,such articles as       
,bible1 ,shakespeare1  ,luther1 ,homer1 
embracing nearly complete bibliographies
 of the  respective subjects1 would     
probably command a fair sale1 and effect
  something towards diminishing the     
inevitable cost of print4    ,the       
formation of a subject index to the     
,alphabetical ,catalogue is a  matter of
 much less urgency to the ,museum       
itself1 but one of even  greater        
importance to the public4 ,it could not 
be undertaken without  special          
assistance from the ,state1 but would   
probably repay its cost in  a great     
degree1 and has in any event the very   

strongest claims upon the  support of an
 enlightened government4 ,it is moreover
 much less  formidable than appears at  
first sight4 ,we have already explained 
how  the way for a more exact           
classification has been prepared by     
arranging  one copy of the catalogue in 
the order of the shelves4 ,the apparent 
magnitude of the task is further        
diminished by the following             
considerations3 #a4 ,it requires no     
cross-references4 #b4 ,titles may be    
abbreviated to the utmost4 #c4 ,it can  
be temporarily suspended upon the       
completion of any section4 #d4 ,the     
section of biography is classified      
already1 merely requiring the           
cross-references from the subjects of   
biographies to be brought together2 and 
several other extensive sections  need  
not be classified at all4 ,nobody1 at   
least nobody worth taking into  account1
 wants catalogues of the titles of      
novels1 plays1 and sermons4  ,classified
 lists of some other subjects1 on the   

other hand1 would be of  inestimable    
value1 and there is one which1 in the   
interests of the  ,museum itself1 should
 be undertaken without delay4 ,among the
  inconveniences attending the          
ill-considered removal of the ,natural  
,history collections to ,south          
,kensington--a measure forced on by the 
,government against the wish of the     
working ,trustees of the ,museum--is    
the injury likely to be inflicted upon  
them from want of access to a  library4 
,naturalists cannot study without books 
any more than without  specimens2 but   
the ,government which gratuitously      
created the want seems  in no hurry to  
supply it4 ,the principle of a grant    
appears indeed to be  admitted2 but at  
the rate at which this grant seems      
likely to be doled  out1 ,english       
,natural ,science will be placed at a   
serious disadvantage  for many years4   
,something may possibly be done by      
transferring  duplicates from           
,bloomsbury 7a question1 however1 not to

 be decided in  haste71 and some        
anonymous writers in scientific journals
 have modestly  suggested that all books
 on ,natural ,history might go to       
,kensington2 so  that a student of the  
physiology of colour1 for example1 would
 have to  read his ,wallace at one end  
of the town and his ,tyndall at the     
other4  ,we should1 however1 just as    
soon expect ,parliament to decree on    
similar  grounds the cutting of the     
zoological articles out of the          
encyclopdias  as to enact that the      
national library of ,england should be  
the only  professedly imperfect library 
in the world4 ,indeed the argument cuts 
two  ways1 for if it is fair that the   
mineral department should have          
,cresconius ,corippus to illustrate its 
gems1 it must be equally fair that  the 
library should have the mineralogist's  
gems to illustrate its  ,cresconius     
,corippus4 ,until then1 the ,natural    
,history departments can  acquire a     
library of their own1 it must be        

desirable for them to possess  a        
catalogue of everything relating to     
their subjects extant in the  ,british  
,museum4 ,an abridged list1 classified  
according to subject1 might  be speedily
 furnished if ,government would provide 
the compilers1 and  would be an         
invaluable boon to the scientific world 
at large1 abroad  quite as much as in   
,england4 ,scientific authorities1 of   
course1 would be  consulted respecting  
the principles of classification1 and we
 may take  this opportunity of repeating
 that while probably no subject-index   
has  been or can be free from           
inconsistency and ambiguity1 none has   
ever been  too bad to be useful4 ,that a
 high degree of excellence is attainable
 is  shown by ,messrs4 ,low  ,marston's 
alphabet of subjects to the ,london     
,catalogue4 ,the meritorious compiler1  
we should suppose1 can hardly have  seen
 all the books he indexes2 yet1 so far  
as we are aware1 he has only  committed 
one positive error1 the very pardonable 

one of enumerating  ,mr4 ,gosse's ,on   
,viol and ,flute among works on musical 
instruments4    ,in connection with the 
subject of classification1 reference    
should be  made to the excellent        
classified catalogue of manuscripts     
prepared by  the present ,principal     
,librarian when keeper of the ,,ms4     
department4 ,it is  not yet printed or  
entirely complete1 but is sufficiently  
advanced to be  exceedingly serviceable4
 ,like most of ,mr4 ,bond's reforms1 it 
has been  achieved so quietly and       
unostentatiously1 with no help from     
paragraphic  puffery1 that few know of  
it except those whom it actually        
concerns4 ,the  scholar goes to the     
,museum with no expectation of finding  
any such aid  to his pursuits1 and      
hardly realises the boon until he finds 
himself  profiting by it4 ,a perfect    
contrast in every point of view is      
afforded  by the remarkable proposal    
emanating from the ,society of ,arts    
that the  ,museum should make and       

publish a catalogue of ,english books   
before #afda1  or just the period when  
books were beginning to be useful4 ,the 
project  bespeaks a very imperfect      
appreciation of the needs of the        
institution  and the public4 ,when the  
great problem of the ,museum is to      
diminish the  pressure on its space1 it 
is proposed to afflict it with yet      
another  catalogue4 ,when the public is 
crying out for classified lists as aids 
to  knowledge1 it is offered an         
alphabetical list with no attempt at    
classification1 and containing nothing  
worth classifying4 ,when libraries  are 
becoming more and more valuable in      
proportion as they subserve  educational
 purposes1 it is proposed to employ     
money and labour in  telling a few      
specialists what they already know4     
,when the overworked  library is unable 
to discharge some of its most obvious   
duties1 it is  proposed to detach not a 
little of its best strength for an utter
  superfluity4 ,not only are new books  

to remain uncatalogued1 but even the    
final revision of the old books is to be
 delayed indefinitely1 that what  has   
been already catalogued may be          
catalogued again4#ei3a ,the project     
would hardly demand discussion1 but for 
the possibility that it may  after all  
be forced upon the ,museum1             
notwithstanding its repugnance to  the  
common-sense of the late and the present
 ,principal ,librarian4 ,if  ridicule   
could kill1 it could hardly have        
survived the discussion which  arose    
among its advocates at the late ,oxford 
,conference4 ,those external  to the    
,museum suggested that the ,museum      
should catalogue not only the  old      
,english books it possessed1 but also   
those it did not possess4 ,the  ,museum 
representatives1 enamoured with the     
project as they were1 pleaded  that it  
would be unreasonable to expect them to 
describe what they had  never seen4 ,the
 other side concurred1 but represented  
in turn that a  catalogue of such       

,english books only as happened to be in
 a particular  library would be very    
imperfect1 and of very little use4      
,having thus  mutually demonstrated the 
unreasonableness of the proposal from   
one  point of view1 and its inutility   
from another1 they agreed that it       
should by all means be persevered with1 
and went home4    ,the subject of the   
classification of books within the      
library itself--a  matter of even more  
importance to the librarian than the    
preparation of  classified lists--has   
received a great impulse from the       
ingenious system  contrived by the      
principal editor of the ,library        
,journal1 ,mr4 ,melvil  ,dewey4 ,mr4    
,dewey--a remarkable instance of the    
combination of  disinterested enthusiasm
 with thorough business capacity--is    
devoted to  several other causes beside 
the causes of libraries1 and among these
 is  the cause of the decimal system4   
,his experience in the latter field has 
given him the idea of dividing the      

departments of human knowledge          
decimally4 ,his scheme provides for a   
thousand divisions4 ,every tenth  number
 embraces some important section of     
knowledge1 and the following  nine as   
many subjections or allied subjects     
admitting of classification  under the  
principal head4 ,thus number #ejj might 
represent mathematics in  general1 and  
#eja conic sections1 analytical         
geometry1 or any other  branch of the   
general subject4 ,further subdivisions1 
if needed1 would be  made by appending  
letters to these numerals1 as #eja;a1   
#eja;b4 ,each  book would be numbered in
 the order of its accession to the      
library1 and  receive its place upon the
 shelves accordingly1 so that there     
never  would be any doubt as to the     
press-mark or position of a book that   
had  once been properly classed4 ,our   
space does not permit us to dwell upon  
many other points connected with the    
working of this ingenious scheme1       
which1 if inapplicable to the great old 

libraries whose catalogues1 like  the   
,abb ,vertot's siege1 are already done1 
deserves the most careful  consideration
 on the part of the founders of new     
institutions4 ,it must1  as the inventor
 admits1 receive some modification in   
practice from the  impossibility of     
accommodating books of all sizes upon   
the same shelf2  it is only to be feared
 that these and similar necessary       
condescensions  to the prosaic          
exigencies of space might in process of 
time throw it out  of gear altogether4  
,space is the librarian's capital enemy1
 and the more  cruel as it turns his own
 weapons against himself4 ,the more     
ample the  catalogue1 the more liberal  
the expenditure1 the more comprehensive 
the  classification1 the greater1 sooner
 or later1 are the difficulties from    
lack of space4 ,it is not too early to  
direct the earnest attention of  the    
public to the question of the           
accommodation of the national library4  
,the pressure upon its capacity1 now    

merely beginning to be felt1 will  soon 
become serious4 ,it cannot from the     
nature of the case be divided or        
dispersed2 books required by readers    
must be within reach of the ,reading    
,room1 or they might as well be nowhere4
 ,if the library does not receive  its  
fair share of the space about to be     
vacated by the ,natural ,history        
departments1 the consequence will most  
assuredly be1 first some years of       
confusion and deadlock as regards all   
new acquisitions1 and then a large      
expenditure1 superfluous with better    
management1 upon new buildings1  whose  
space will be mortgaged before they are 
completed4 ,it does not  seem to us very
 difficult to devise means for          
economising the existing  space to the  
utmost1 and reconciling the interests of
 all the  departments concerned--but we 
must not be seduced into a disquisition 
upon architecture4#fb3a    ,free        
libraries and public reading-rooms are  
among the most important  departments of

 library administration in our day1 and 
constitute the  most distinct expression
 of the growing conviction that the     
librarian is  called upon to be a great 
popular educator4 ,this sentiment has   
attained  its fullest development in the
 ,united ,states1 where the great free  
libraries have taken a most important   
place among national institutions4  ,not
 merely are such cities as ,chicago and 
,cincinnati provided with  libraries of 
which any city might be proud1 but the  
custodians have in  many instances gone 
beyond the strict limits of professional
 duty by not  merely furnishing reading 
for the people1 but instructing the     
people  what to read4 ,they have tried1 
says ,mr4 ,axon in the paper cited      
already1 and with no small measure of   
success1 to lead readers to  higher     
levels of intellectual interest1 and to 
help all students to the  fullest       
acquaintance with the capabilities of   
the library4 ,there are no  more        
remarkable examples of popular          

bibliography than the various           
catalogues and helps published by the   
,boston ,public ,library4 ,these        
sheets1 prepared by ,mr4 ,justin        
,winsor1 have been continued at ,harvard
  since the indefatigable editor's      
removal thither as professor of         
bibliography4 ,they include lists of the
 most important books in all            
departments of literature1 with a       
selection of the notices of the press   
best adapted to explain their purport4  
,special bibliographies of great  value 
are frequently interspersed1 and when it
 is considered that the  whole is rather
 a labour of love than of duty on       
,professor ,winsor's  part1 his         
diligence and acumen will appear not    
more worthy of praise  than his         
disinterested zeal4 ,it might be well   
for the directors of  ,english free     
libraries to consider whether something 
similar could not  be produced by       
co-operation4 ,the list of scientific   
books recommended to  students at the   

,radcliffe ,library1 ,oxford1 is most   
useful and creditable  as far as it     
goes4 ,generally speaking1 the condition
 of free public  libraries in ,england  
may be considered satisfactory2 among   
the directors  are many men not merely  
of administrative quality1 but of high  
bibliographical attainments4 ,the       
principal obstacles to their usefulness 
may be briefly characterised as the     
popular and municipal parsimony4 ,of    
the former we have spoken2 the latter   
requires to be dealt with  tenderly1 and
 is not equally applicable to every     
locality2 it is  nevertheless the fact  
that in many towns the allotted grant is
  insufficient to maintain the library  
and librarian together4 ,nowhere is  the
 cause of free libraries so backward as 
in ,london1 although the  ,guildhall    
library is an honour to the city4 ,the  
other metropolitan  districts1          
notwithstanding1 continue deaf to ,mr4  
,nicholson's earnest  expostulations2   
and although the number of readers at   

the ,british ,museum  is as large as    
that institution can well deal with1 it 
seems small in  comparison with the     
vastness of the metropolis and the      
occasions for  reference to books which 
continually arise in the daily life of  
even the  least lettered members of the 
community4 ,the suggested opening at    
night  by the aid of the electric light 
would almost certainly attract a new    
and valuable class of students1 at      
present virtually excluded4 ,it would   
be premature to say much about the      
recent experiments with the electric    
lamp2 but we believe it may be stated   
that they have been highly  encouraging 
as far as they have gone1 and that the  
question is safe in  the hands of ,mr4  
,bond1 to whom the public are already   
indebted for so  many signal            
improvements4#fd3a ,should the          
experiments result in perfect  success1 
it is to be hoped that their object will
 not be frustrated by  the propensity of
 all governments to save where they     

ought to spend1  that they may spend    
where they ought to save4 ,to allow the 
infinitesimal  risk of accident to the  
institution to obstruct the full        
development of  its usefulness would    
indeed be propter vitam vivendi perdere 
causas4    ,we have left ourselves no   
space for any observations upon the     
circumstances of libraries on the       
,continent1 although there is ample     
evidence both of the activity of        
librarians and the public recognition   
of their functions in ,france1 ,germany1
 ,italy1 and ,spain4 ,nor can we  remark
 at length1 as we gladly should have    
done1 upon the tendency of  the peculiar
 circumstances of the ,united ,states to
 develop a most  valuable type of       
librarian1 destined to exert more and   
more influence in  ,europe as libraries 
become more and more the possession of  
the people at  large4 ,every advance in 
general knowledge tends to make them so1
 and the  whole movement towards        
improvement in library                  

administration--some only  of whose     
features we have imperfectly striven to 
indicate--rests on the  more or less    
conscious perception of librarians that 
the growth of human  knowledge          
necessitates a strict classification    
with a view to facility  of reference2  
that this important function devolves to
 a considerable  extent upon them2 and  
that1 to qualify themselves for its     
discharge1  they must begin by          
perfecting their own systems4           
,,note4--,the advocacy of printing in   
this essay may appear       somewhat    
undecided1 and the tone towards the     
catalogue of the       early ,english   
books altogether unjustifiable4 ,the    
former       peculiarity is explained by
 the writer's uncertainty what turn     
the negotiations with the ,treasury for 
the introduction of       printing might
 take1 and his dread of compromising the
 plans       of ,sir ,edward ,bond1 who 
knew nothing of the article until it    
was in type1 when he read it1 and       

returned it without remark4       7,see 
also pp4 #ge1 #gf1 of this volume47 ,the
 observations       respecting the early
 ,english catalogue were dictated by no 
hostility towards that undertaking in   
the abstract1 but by       indignation  
at the largeness of the staff employed  
upon a       non-essential1 while the   
final revision of the catalogue1 the    
indispensable preliminary to a complete 
printed catalogue1 was       so         
languidly prosecuted that it seemed in  
danger of coming to       a standstill4 
,so matters continued until #ahhb1 when 
the       decided interference of the   
,principal ,librarian1 and the          
adoption of a suggestion tendered by the
 present writer1       brought the final
 revision to a speedy completion1 and   
removed       the principal objection to
 the ,english catalogue4                
,,footnotes3    #cb3a ,new ,quarterly   
,review1 ,april #ahgi4    #dc3a ,a      
revised edition of these rules1         
substantially the same in  principle1   

but different in wording and            
arrangement1 was prepared in  the       
,department of ,printed ,books in #ahie1
 and printed privately in the  following
 year4    #ei3a ,the line was drawn here
 to eliminate the ,thomason tracts1  a  
special catalogue of which would be     
really valuable3 just as in  ,erewhon1  
the date of operation of the            
retrospective enactment  prohibiting    
machinery was fixed in the middle of the
 fifteenth century1  in order to include
 a certain mangle4    #fb3a ,within a   
few years the difficulty was solved by  
the introduction  of the sliding-press1 
the subject of another paper in this    
volume4    #fd3a ,it is almost needless 
to remark that soon after these lines   
were  printed the electric light was in 
successful operation at the ,reading    
,room4          ,,the ,,printing ,,of   
,,the ,,british ,,museum                
,,catalogue#fg3a      ,the subject of my
 paper is one which has for many years  
attracted a  large share of attention   

from the world of letters4 ,it formed a 
topic of  discussion at the first       
meeting of this ,association2 when few  
anticipated within how short a period it
 would be possible to state that  not   
merely was a printed catalogue of books 
already in the ,museum in  progress1 but
 that the titles of all books received  
were also printed1  and issued in the   
form of an ,accession ,catalogue4       
,having already had the  honour of      
giving some account of the latter       
department of the  undertaking to the   
,conference at ,manchester1 ,i shall on 
the present  occasion confine myself    
principally to the printed catalogue of 
books  actually in the ,library4 ,i     
propose to offer a brief retrospect of  
what  has been done during the          
half-century over which the discussions 
respecting the ,museum ,catalogue have  
extended2 to indicate with              
corresponding brevity what is doing now2
 to answer some natural  inquiries by   
anticipation2 and1 finally1 having      

shown1 ,i trust1 that the  ,museum is   
performing its part1 to appeal for the  
national support  requisite to expedite 
the progress of this truly national     
undertaking4  ,though compelled to      
withhold much illustrative matter of    
great interest1  ,i cannot forbear to   
remark upon the signal fitness of such a
 theme being  brought forward for       
discussion in the halls of the          
,university of  ,cambridge1 whose       
library has1 ,i believe1 the honour of  
being the first  to demonstrate the     
practicability1 not merely of printing a
 catalogue1  but of keeping a catalogue 
up in print4 ,three particulars will1 ,i
 think1  clearly appear from this brief 
retrospect4 ,that the initiation of the 
,british ,museum ,catalogue was the act 
of the ,trustees of the ,british        
,museum themselves4 ,that1 having       
prematurely commenced the publication of
  an imperfect catalogue1 they acted    
wisely and rightly in suspending it     
until it could be resumed with effect4  

,that1 acting under the guidance  of    
,mr4 ,bond1 whose name will ever be the 
name especially connected with  the     
,museum ,catalogue in its aspect of a   
catalogue in print1 they have  resumed  
it at the right time1 and in the right  
manner4    ,i am unable to ascertain    
that any public demand for a printed    
catalogue  of the ,museum ,library      
existed in the year #ahcd4 ,on ,april   
#ab of that  year1 the ,trustees of     
their own motion called upon ,mr4       
,baber1 then  keeper of printed books1  
to report upon the subject4 ,this he did
 on  ,april #bf4 ,on ,april #cj he      
attended personally before them1 stated 
his  views1 and in particular offered   
the earnest advice to send no portion   
of the catalogue to press until the     
whole was ready4 ,during the  remainder 
of his keepership1 and the early portion
 of that of his  successor ,mr4         
,panizzi1 the catalogue was the theme of
 constant  communication between these  
officers and the ,trustees4 ,on         

,december #ag1  #ahch1 the ,trustees    
announced their determination to        
commence not merely  the compilation but
 the printing of a catalogue1 comprising
 all books  then in the ,library1 in the
 following year4 ,mr4 ,panizzi1 though  
entirely  concurring with ,mr4 ,baber's 
views as to the inexpediency of going   
thus  prematurely to press1 accepted the
 responsibility imposed upon him by a   
letter dated the next day4 ,in the      
spring of #ahci the famous ninety-one   
rules of cataloguing were framed by him1
 with the assistance of ,messrs4        
,winter ,jones1 ,watts1 ,parry1 and     
,edwards4 ,on ,july #ac these rules were
  sanctioned by the ,trustees1 and on   
,august #h the commencement of the      
undertaking was formally announced by   
,mr4 ,panizzi1 in a circular  addressed 
to the whole department4 ,in ,july      
#ahda1 the first1 and last1  volume of  
the catalogue was issued to the public4 
,it was an admirable  catalogue1        
reflecting high credit upon all who had 

taken part in it1  especially ,mr4      
,winter ,jones1 who had exercised a     
general  superintendence1 ,mr4 ,bullen1 
who had prepared the extensive and      
difficult article ,aristotle1 and ,mr4  
,rye1 who had read the whole in  proof4 
,but1 although the catalogue continued  
to be actively prosecuted  in           
manuscript1 the ,trustees ceased to urge
 the continuance of the  printing1 and  
not another sheet ever went to press4   
,whence this abortive result8 ,mainly   
because the entire undertaking was      
premature4 ,the unfortunate             
determination to print letter ,a before 
the  whole catalogue was ready1 excluded
 a considerable portion of letter ,a    
itself4 ,as other letters were proceeded
 with1 it was inevitably  discovered    
that numerous books which in the old    
catalogue had been  entered under       
headings commencing with other letters  
required to be  brought under ,a1       
according to the new rules4             
,cross-references under ,a  were        

continually springing up1 of course too 
late to be printed4 ,in  fact1 however1 
the publication of a printed catalogue  
at that time was  inexpedient for a more
 weighty reason4 ,the ,library was too  
deficient in  most branches of          
literature to deserve one2 and it was   
not until these  deficiencies had been  
remedied by the unexampled exertions of 
,mr4  ,panizzi1 that an exact register  
of its contents could be contemplated   
with satisfaction4    ,while discussion 
respecting the printing of the ,museum  
,catalogue was  proceeding1 the         
character of the catalogue itself was   
undergoing  modification4 ,great        
additions were daily being made to the  
number of  books4 ,the new entries thus 
rendered requisite were at first made in
 the  old manuscript catalogue of       
additions interleaved with the original 
printed catalogue of ,sir ,henry ,ellis 
and ,mr4 ,baber4 ,two alphabetical      
series of titles1 one printed and the   
other manuscript1 were thus  comprised  

within the same volumes4 ,the           
amalgamation of these two sets of       
titles1 and the consequent absorption of
 the catalogue commenced in #ahci  into 
a more extensive general catalogue1 was 
effected by the ingenious  and admirable
 suggestion1 made independently in #ahdi
 by ,mr4 ,wilson  ,croker and ,mr4 ,roy1
 of the ,library1 that the entries1     
instead of being  written upon the leaf 
itself1 should be written upon movable  
slips  pasted upon it1 so that          
insertions might be made without any    
disturbance  of alphabetical order4 ,the
 suggestion was promptly adopted1       
transcribers  were engaged to copy the  
great mass of accumulated titles1 and1  
all  thoughts of printing the catalogue 
commenced in #ahci being laid aside  for
 the present1 the titles prepared for it
 were also transcribed and  incorporated
 with those written for the books newly 
acquired4 ,in #ahea  this new catalogue1
 transcribed fourfold by the carbonic   
process1 and  with copious space        

provided for insertions and             
interleavings1 was placed  in the       
,reading ,room in #aej volumes1 or about
 as many as are now occupied  by letter 
,b alone4 ,the catalogue of #ahci and   
the supplementary catalogue  were thus  
put into a fair way to become one1 and  
it became obvious that  printing must be
 deferred until the amalgamation was    
complete4 ,it was  still1 however1 a    
fair question whether the catalogue     
might not be kept  up in print2 whether 
it was better to transcribe titles      
fourfold as we  did then1 or to multiply
 them indefinitely by print as we do    
now4 ,i  cannot find that the           
practicability of keeping up a          
continually  augmenting catalogue in    
print was seriously considered1 until1  
in  ,october #ahfa1 it was proved by the
 introduction of print into the         
,university ,library of ,cambridge4     
,some years afterwards the system was   
strongly pressed upon the attention of  
the ,museum by the ,treasury1  which had

 remarked the gradual and inevitable    
increase of expenditure in  binding1    
breaking up1 interleaving and relaying  
the volumes of the  manuscript          
catalogue1 increased by this time from  
#aej to #aejj4 ,i well  remember the    
pains which ,mr4 ,rye1 then keeper of   
the printed books1 took  in             
investigating the subject1 and ,i       
believe ,i may say that had it  depended
 upon him1 the transition to print would
 have been effected  immediately4 ,other
 views1 however1 prevailed for the time2
 and when1 in  ,october #ahge1 the      
subject was again brought forward by the
 ,treasury1 it  fell to my lot to treat 
it from a new point of view1 suggested  
by my  observations in my capacity as   
superintendent of the ,reading ,room4 ,i
 saw  that1 waiving the question as to  
the advantage or disadvantage of print  
in the abstract1 it would soon be       
necessary to resort to it for the sake  
of economy of space4 ,there were by this
 time #bjjj volumes of manuscript       

catalogue in the ,reading ,room1        
exclusive of the catalogues of maps and 
music4 ,there would be #cjjj by the time
 that the incorporation of the  general 
and supplementary catalogues was        
complete4 ,hundreds of these  volumes in
 the earlier letters of the alphabet    
were already swollen with  entries1 and 
required to be broken up and divided    
into three4 ,sooner or  later every     
volume would have undergone this        
process4 ,by that time there  would be  
#ijjj volumes of manuscript catalogue1  
three times as many as  the ,reading    
,room could contain1 or the public      
conveniently consult4 ,the  only remedy 
was to put a check upon the growth of   
the catalogue by  printing all new      
entries for the future1 and to mature   
meanwhile a plan  for converting the    
entire catalogue into a printed one4 ,i 
prepared1 at  the request of ,mr4       
,bullen1 a memorandum embodying these   
ideas1 and  entered into the subject    
more fully when1 in ,january #ahgh1 it  

was again  brought forward by the       
,treasury4 ,these views1 however1 did   
not find  acceptance at the time4 ,mr4  
,winter ,jones1 and ,mr4 ,newton1 acting
 on the  latter occasion as deputy      
,principal ,librarian1 were1 indeed1    
both  theoretically in favour of print2 
but it was thought that the desired     
financial economy1 the only point on    
which the ,treasury laid any stress1    
could be better obtained by the         
employment of ,civil ,service writers4  
,the  question was thus left for ,mr4   
,bond1 who became ,principal ,librarian 
in  the following ,august4 ,as keeper of
 the manuscripts1 ,mr4 ,bond's attention
  had never been officially drawn to the
 catalogue of printed books1 but1  as a 
man of letters1 he had formed an opinion
 respecting it2 and ,i am  able to state
 that he came to the ,principal         
,librarianship as determined  to bestow 
the boon of print upon the catalogue and
 the public1 as to  effect the other    
great reforms that have signalised his  

administration4  ,from the moment of his
 accession the question may be said to  
have been  virtually decided4 ,in ,april
 #ahgi1 ,i published an article in the  
,new  ,quarterly ,magazine1             
foreshadowing almost everything that has
 since been  accomplished4 ,in the      
summer of the same year1 ,mr4 ,bond1    
having secured  the concurrence of the  
,trustees1 proposed to the ,treasury to 
substitute  print for transcription in  
the case of all additions henceforth    
made to  the catalogue1 a proposal which
 the ,treasury could not refuse to      
entertain1 as it had originally come    
from itself4 ,it was accordingly        
accepted2 the details of the scheme were
 settled by ,mr4 ,bond in concert  with 
,mr4 ,bullen and the assistant keepers2 
the general supervision of  the printing
 was entrusted to my colleague          
,professor ,douglas2 and by the         
beginning of the new year the press was 
fully at work4 ,we had thus             
successfully introduced print into the  

catalogue1 and by diminishing the  size 
of the entries checked the enormous     
pressure upon our space which           
threatened to swamp the catalogue       
altogether4 ,we had also1 by providing  
for the issue of the new printed titles 
in parts at regular intervals1  enabled 
any subscriber to obtain a complete list
 of future additions to  the ,museum4   
,but this related to the future only2   
nothing had yet been  done to meet the  
public demand for a printed catalogue of
 all books  already in the ,library4    
,the satisfaction of this demand was the
 second  item in ,mr4 ,bond's programme4
 ,in recommending his proposal to the   
,treasury1 he relied upon the same      
grounds that had been shown to exist  in
 the case of the ,accession ,catalogue4 
,he pointed out the enormous  number of 
manuscript volumes1 the ponderous       
unwieldiness of many among  them1 the   
expense of perpetual breaking up1       
rebinding1 and relaying2 the  manifest  
advantage of compressing many volumes   

into one1 and providing  space for      
additions for a practically indefinite  
period4 ,on these  grounds1 and not on  
literary grounds1 the ,treasury assented
 to the  proposal1 and agreed to devote1
 for as long as they should see fit1 a  
certain annual sum for the gradual      
conversion of the manuscript into a     
printed catalogue4 ,it is desirable that
 this should be thoroughly  understood1 
as it affords the answer to some        
questions which may very  naturally be  
asked respecting the method of          
publication adopted for the  catalogue4 
,why is it not brought out at once1     
complete from ,a to ,z8  ,because the   
,treasury have not granted #ajj1jjj for 
the purpose4 ,they  simply make an      
annual allowance of limited amount1     
liable to be  withdrawn at any time4    
,might not1 however1 the allotted sum be
 employed  as far as it will go in      
printing the catalogue consecutively    
from the  beginning1 instead of in      
selected portions8 ,to this there are   

several  things to be said4 ,the grant  
is made upon condition that it shall    
before  all things be employed in       
remedying the defects signalised by     
ourselves1  bringing cumbrous1 overgrown
 volumes into a handy form1 and putting 
a  stop to the perpetual rebinding and  
relaying4 ,the most bulky volumes1      
therefore1 must in general be those     
selected for printing4 ,an equally      
powerful consideration is that we thus  
escape all danger of the reproach  that 
has hitherto attached to almost every   
similar undertaking1 ,this  man began1  
and was not able to finish4 ,the funds  
on which we relied  might at any time   
fail us1 and we might never progress    
beyond our ,a1 ,b1  ,c4 ,by making the  
printing a portion of the daily life of 
the  institution1 a piece of            
administrative routine like cataloguing 
or  binding1 we escape alike ambitious  
professions and ambitious failures4     
,once more1 a strictly alphabetical     
procedure would destroy one of the  most

 valuable features of the scheme1 the   
separate issue of important  special    
articles1 not merely to our limited body
 of subscribers1 but  offered on a large
 scale to the public generally4 ,we have
 already the  article ,virgil in the    
press on this principle1 and it is hoped
 that  ,bible1 ,shakespeare1 ,milton1   
,homer1 ,dante1 ,academies1             
,periodicals1 and  others1 may ere long 
be added to the list4 ,even our ordinary
 volumes  frequently contain articles   
better printed now than twenty years    
hence3  one of the last completed1 for  
instance1 contains the article          
,gladstone4  ,it would indeed be well if
 our resources admitted of these three  
operations being carried on             
simultaneously1 the consecutive         
publication  of the catalogue1 the      
compression of overgrown volumes        
wherever  occurring1 the independent    
issue of important special articles4    
,with  sufficient means to defray the   
additional cost of printing and provide 

the needful literary revision1 all three
 might very well go on pari  passu4 ,i  
hope that the liberality of the         
,treasury1 of which ,i desire to  speak 
with every acknowledgment1 will rise    
still nearer to the height of  the      
occasion1 and ,i believe it will4 ,it   
will be seen that1 granting the         
principle of the conversion of the      
manuscript catalogue into a printed     
one1 there is no economy1 but the       
reverse1 in spreading the operation     
over a long period4 ,the longer it      
lasts1 the greater will be the          
accumulation of titles for accessions1  
to be included in the general  catalogue
 when the volumes to which they belong  
come to be printed in  their turn4      
,supposing that the whole catalogue     
could be put into type  to-morrow by the
 stroke of an enchanter's wand1 we      
should have printed  three millions of  
titles4 ,if the metamorphosis were      
deferred for forty  years1 we should    
then print five millions4 ,but if the   

work of printing  goes on during the    
forty years1 as at its present rate of  
progress it  will1 we shall have printed
 and paid for six millions1 because half
 of  the two million accession titles   
will have been printed and paid for     
twice over1 first as accession titles1  
and again after their  incorporation    
into the general4 ,it is not1 however1  
so much upon such  economical           
considerations that ,i rely1 as upon the
 conviction that the  ,government will  
ultimately recognise our work as a truly
 national one2  to which end the people 
itself must contribute by a wider and   
warmer  recognition and a more liberal  
pecuniary support than has as yet been  
accorded4 ,before entering further into 
this department of the subject1 ,i  will
 briefly state what has been effected   
already1 and describe the  method of    
procedure4 ,of the ,accession ,catalogue
 ,i have already spoken at  ,manchester1
 and ,i have little to add to my        
observations upon that  occasion4 ,the  

titles written for new acquisitions1    
instead of being  transcribed fourfold1 
are now sent to the printer as soon as a
  sufficient number have accumulated4   
,they are divided into three  principal 
sections2 new ,english and foreign      
books2 old ,english books2  old foreign 
books4 ,they come back printed in       
regular alphabetical order1  and after  
the press has been corrected are        
distributed to subscribers  and such    
institutions as receive them            
gratuitously4 ,four copies are cut  up1 
and the titles inserted into the        
,general ,catalogue in their proper     
places1 occupying a mere fraction of the
 room required for the old  manuscript  
entries4 ,the arrangements are under the
 superintendence of  ,professor         
,douglas1 and up to the present time    
about #acj1jjj entries have  passed     
under his inspection4 ,the publication  
of the ,general printed  ,catalogue     
proceeds as follows4 ,three or four     
volumes of the manuscript  catalogue    

having been selected to be combined in a
 volume of print1 they  undergo in the  
first place a literary revision4        
,queries respecting  headings1          
authorship1 and date are raised and     
settled1 mistranscriptions  and wrong   
punctuation corrected1 and the catalogue
 is weeded of its  practically duplicate
 entries by cutting these down to the   
mere phrase  another edition2 another   
copy1 as the case may require4 ,a second
 and  more troublesome revision then    
becomes necessary1 for the order of the 
entries frequently admits of great      
improvement4 ,the titles having been    
incorporated by a variety of persons1   
and the process of insertion  having now
 gone on for more than thirty years1    
many errors and  inconsistencies have   
inevitably crept in1 and these require  
to be  rectified by an assistant of     
especial ability and experience in this 
department of work1 whose researches    
frequently originate a new set of       
catalogue queries4 ,at last1 however1   

the copy goes to press1 the proof  is   
promptly returned and corrected 7we are 
content with a single  revise71 and the 
three or four bulky volumes of          
manuscript are condensed  into a single 
handy and portable volume of type1      
printed in double  columns and on       
ordinary paper for subscribers1 but for 
reading-room use  in single column on a 
strong vellum paper1 adapted to bear    
rough  handling1 the opposite column    
being left blank for insertions1 and the
  book supplied with guards to allow of 
interleaving4 ,there have hitherto  been
 on the average #bbj columns or #aaj    
folios to a volume4 ,on the  average of 
twenty entries to a column1 which is    
rather under the mark1  this gives #ddjj
 titles to each volume4 ,the blank space
 left for  insertions and the provision 
for interleaving would allow of this    
number  of titles being quadrupled1 but 
the weight of the paper prescribes a    
limit which it would be inconvenient to 
transgress4 ,supposing that each  volume

 will take #ijjj titles only1 then1 as  
the ,reading ,room will  accommodate    
#bjjj volumes of catalogue without      
encroachment on the  reference library1 
sufficient space will have been provided
 for eighteen  millions of titles1 or   
for three centuries' accumulations at   
the present  annual rate of increase4 ,a
 year or two ago we were at an utter    
loss how  to accommodate less than three
 million titles4 ,several volumes are   
now  7,september #ahhb7 in hand in      
various stages of progress4 ,the number 
fully  completed and placed in the      
,reading ,room is twenty-two1 which     
comprise  the contents of about #gj     
manuscript volumes1 including1 with many
  others1 all in letter ,a after the    
article ,aristotle to the end4 ,they    
have cost1 in round figures1 #bdej1 or  
about #aaj each4 ,arrangements  lately  
completed will diminish this cost by    
nearly a sixth1 and the sum  economised 
will be available for additional        
printing4 ,it ought to be  stated that  

all the extra work entailed by printing 
has been performed  by the ordinary     
,museum staff1 with no addition to its  
resources1 except  an arrangement by    
which two gentlemen work two or three   
hours' overtime4    ,it is of course    
apparent that if a large portion of the 
catalogue is to  be put within reach of 
the present generation the scale of     
operations  must be greatly enlarged4   
,we may one day see the whole of the    
printing  of the ,museum a special      
department1 like the ,clarendon or      
,cambridge  ,university press1 with a   
head and a staff of its own1 and        
carrying on  operations by the side of  
which those ,i have been describing will
 appear  diminutive4 ,at present the    
,museum force and the ,museum grant are 
nicely  adapted to each other4 ,with a  
stronger staff we could easily spend    
much  more money1 with a weaker staff we
 could not spend what we do4 ,every     
effort is of course made to expend the  
full amount within the year1 not  only  

that it may not return unused into the  
,exchequer1 but1 from  consideration to 
the just claims of our printers1 who    
have engaged a  number of extra hands   
whom they cannot afford to keep idle4   
,hence1 as ,i  have stated1 we are      
content with a single revise1 and       
deliberately  prefer systematic energy  
to minute accuracy4 ,misprints and other
  oversights will1 no doubt1 be         
detected1 which a more deliberate       
procedure would have obviated4 ,i do not
 desire to have the air of  apologising 
for a catalogue which1 even if tried by 
a severe standard1  will1 ,i am         
persuaded1 be pronounced a creditable   
work2 but ,i wish it to  be understood  
that these blemishes1 as well as some   
defects of  arrangement manifested in   
long sets of cross-references1 are not  
unknown  or overlooked4 ,they will      
diminish as the work proceeds2          
confident1  meanwhile1 of a generous    
construction1 we are deliberately of    
opinion  that it is infinitely better to

 run the risk of letting them pass than 
to open a door to the capital enemy of  
all good administration--arrear4  ,other
 shortcomings are necessitated by the   
fact that the ,museum ,library  is not  
an inert mass1 but a living organism4   
,you have not to deal with a  closed    
collection of books like the ,king's    
,library1 whose authors are  dead1 and  
to which no addition can ever be made4  
,the very titles before  you have been  
prepared during the last forty years by 
twice forty  persons of various         
idiosyncrasies1 whose work1 with every  
care1 it is  often no easy matter to    
harmonise4 ,while the product of their  
heterogeneous authorship is at press1   
the ,accession ,catalogue is in         
progress under independent management2  
thousands of titles are annually        
written and entered which will one day  
have to be amalgamated with the  general
 series1 and discrepancies must         
sometimes occur4 ,moreover1 the         
catalogue of the world's literature     

partakes of the mobility of the  world  
itself4 ,designations are altered1 as   
when successful generals  become barons1
 or popular churchmen bishops2 anonymous
 authors are  brought to light2         
periodicals and works in progress are   
completed or  relinquished2 errors are  
detected and corrected2 improvements and
  modifications are introduced4 ,the    
catalogue of an institution like the    
,british ,museum1 dealing with a mass of
 matter already accumulated1 and        
intended to register an                 
ever-accumulating mass of matter for    
ever and  ever1 must not aspire to      
absolute perfection1 and can never      
attain  finality4    ,a few words1 in   
conclusion1 upon the duty and interest  
of the public to  support the ,museum   
undertakings1 and the practical end at  
which1 as it  seems to me1 we ought to  
aim4 ,the catalogue cannot1 at the      
present rate  of progress1 be completely
 printed in much less than forty years4 
,we  shall all agree that this progress 

ought to be accelerated1 but this can   
only be by increased liberality from the
 ,treasury4 ,this will be accorded  in  
proportion to the ,treasury's conviction
 of the value of our work1 and  this    
conviction will greatly depend upon the 
appreciation of this  usefulness        
manifested by the public4 ,if we are to 
do a national work1 we  must have       
national recognition4 ,i am not at all  
using the language of  complaint or     
disappointment4 ,it would be well worth 
the ,museum's while  to print the       
catalogue for its own sake1 even if it  
did not dispose of a  single copy2 and  
in fact the number of subscriptions is  
very much what  was expected4 ,i wish1  
however1 that we could succeed in this1 
as in some  other things1 beyond        
expectation4 ,something is probably to  
be ascribed  to the peculiarly quiet    
manner in which this great change was   
effected4  ,mr4 ,bond's reforms come not
 with observation4 ,a question which had
  been so long and clamorously agitated 

while unripe was1 being ripe1  settled  
in a few conversations1 and with a      
little official  correspondence1 so     
noiselessly and unostentatiously1 that  
many of those  most interested in the   
matter have never heard of it4 ,many who
 have  heard of it are probably under   
the impression that the original high   
terms of subscription have been         
maintained4 ,this is not so4 ,all the   
sections of the ,accession ,catalogue   
are now issued for an annual            
subscription of #c2 and all volumes of  
the ,general ,catalogue for an  annual  
subscription of #c1 #ajs4 ,this does not
 bring it within the reach  of every    
purse3 still there must be many students
 and men of letters in  easy            
circumstances who would find it well    
worth their while to secure on  such    
terms a register of the literature of   
the world4 ,our late lamented  friend   
and colleague1 ,professor ,jevons1 was a
 type of the class ,i have  in my mind2 
and ,i know that on the eve of his death

 he had determined to  become a         
subscriber4 ,from another point of view 
it may be urged that to  support the    
,museum ,catalogue is to take a long    
step towards the  attainment of the     
still grander object of a ,universal    
,catalogue4 ,at  present a ,universal   
,catalogue is a ,utopian ,catalogue4 ,i 
have the  greatest respect for those who
 have advocated it as an undertaking    
immediately practicable4 ,i have no     
doubt that the twentieth century will   
speak of them as men before their age4  
,but they are before it4 ,their  project
 is at present intricate1 indefinite1   
intangible4 ,they want a  base of       
operations4 ,as ,sir ,henry ,cole       
himself discerned when he made his  not 
altogether fortunate experiment of      
printing a specimen article from  the   
,museum ,catalogue1 this catalogue      
supplies such a base4 ,let us know      
clearly what is in it and what is not2  
let whatever it contains be put  clearly
 before the world in type2 and we shall 

be able to proceed  systematically and  
intelligently to fill up its lacun from 
the  catalogues of other libraries1 and 
from the special bibliographies which   
are increasing and multiplying year by  
year4 ,in saying then ,i would  not     
foreshadow a date which many of this    
generation may not hope to see4  ,my    
aspiration is that the completion of the
 ,museum ,catalogue in print  may       
coincide with the completion of the     
present century4 ,this is an age  of    
anniversary demonstrations4 ,when a     
great man dies he bequeaths to his      
country--his centenary4 ,it may be      
predicted that if the twentieth  century
 finds the world at peace it will be    
inaugurated with more  displays and     
solemnities than all preceding centuries
 together4 ,well1 ,i  do not know how we
 could offer it a more acceptable gift  
than a register  of almost all the      
really valuable literature of all former
 centuries4  ,such a register the       
,british ,museum ,catalogue1 if then    

completed1 would  afford2 and a         
precedent would be set for a similar    
issue every  succeeding century1 or half
 or quarter century1 as might be found  
most  expedient1 which would show at one
 view what that particular interval of  
time had effected for mankind in        
literature4 ,evidently1 however1 the    
catalogue cannot at the close of this   
century be absolutely complete as       
respects the ,museum1 as a host of      
accession titles will have been  growing
 up1 a great part of which1 coming after
 the volume which would  otherwise have 
included them has been printed1 will be 
too late to be  comprised in the general
 alphabetical series4 ,it may not1      
perhaps1 be  too much to hope that the  
claims of culture upon the ,state will  
by that  time be sufficiently recognised
 to induce the ,government to bear the  
cost of reprinting the whole catalogue  
with these titles1 that the  literary   
register may be as complete as possible1
 and to provide for the  regular        

repetition of the process at definite   
intervals4 ,if1 however1  this is not   
done1 there is still another agent that 
may be invoked4 ,when  the ,museum shall
 have adopted ,photography as it has    
adopted ,electricity2  when it shall    
possess--and ,i trust that long ere that
 period it will  possess--a photographic
 department1 an established branch of   
its  organisation in which1 the salaries
 of the staff being defrayed as in      
other departments by the ,state1 there  
will be no expense to be  considered    
beyond the mere cost of chemicals1 there
 need be no limit to  the reproduction  
of its treasures4 ,sculptures1 coins1   
and prints can be  disseminated over    
every hamlet2 manuscripts can be        
multiplied  indefinitely and exchanged  
with foreign libraries for corresponding
  donations1 illustrative of ,english   
history and antiquities2 foreign and    
country scholars will be able to consult
 rare books and unique  manuscripts     
without leaving their arm-chairs2 and1  

above all1 the  scattered portions of   
the nearest approach the world will have
 made to a  ,universal ,catalogue may be
 brought together1 digested into        
alphabetical  order1 and1 reproduced in 
facsimile by this beautiful art--fit    
mate of  ,printing in that she too      
preserves what would else perish1 and   
brings  light into many a dark place--be
 given to the world4#hf3a               
,,footnotes3    #fg3a ,read before the  
,library ,association1 ,cambridge1      
,sept4 #ahhb4    #hf3a ,this forecast of
 the service which photography might    
render to  library catalogues would seem
 to have been inspired by the very      
spirit  of prophecy4 ,see1 in the       
,american ,library ,journal for ,march  
#ahii1  an account by ,a4 ,j4 ,rudolph  
of the success of the ,newberry         
,library1  ,chicago1 in printing a      
catalogue of the accessions accumulated 
in  the ,british ,museum since #ahhj to 
date1 in one general alphabet by the    
so-called blue-print process1 a method  

of photo-printing4 ,if the  ,newberry   
,library can do this1 the ,british      
,museum ought to be able  to incorporate
 its accession-titles with the general  
catalogue1 and  reissue the latter from 
time to time1 as frequently recommended 
in  this volume1 and in a remarkable    
article in the ,quarterly ,review for   
,october #ahih4          ,,the ,,past1  
,,present1 ,,and ,,future ,,of ,,the    
,,british ,,museum ,,catalogue#hg3a     
,the present and the future of the      
,british ,museum ,catalogue are so much 
more important than its past1 that this 
part of our subject must be  touched    
with brevity4 ,resisting1 therefore1    
every temptation to  expatiate upon the 
desert of ancient cataloguers1 further  
than by the  observation that ,moses and
 ,homer were of the brotherhood1 we     
begin with  ,june #ba1 #agei1 when the  
,trustees of the ,british ,museum1 which
  institution had been opened to the    
public in the preceding ,january1       
recorded the following remarkable       

minute3--    ,the ,committee think      
proper to add that the requiring the    
attendance of  the officers during the  
whole six hours that the ,museum is kept
 open is  not a wanton or useless piece 
of severity1 as the two vacant hours 7if
  it is not thought a burden upon the   
officers7 might very usefully be        
employed by them in better ranging the  
several collections2 especially  in the 
,department of ,manuscripts1 and        
preparing catalogues for  publication1  
which last the ,committee think so      
necessary a work that  till it is       
performed the several collections can be
 but imperfectly  useful to the public4 
,from this we learn that the officers of
 the ,museum had at that primitive      
period of its history but two hours to  
spare from conducting visitors  over the
 building2 that the ,committee rather   
expected to be censured for  requiring  
any other duty from them2 and that1     
though the ,trustees  themselves thought
 catalogues useful and even necessary1  

there were  those who deemed otherwise4 
,the ,museum ,library dispensed with a  
printed  catalogue until #aghg1 when one
 was issued in two volumes folio1 the   
work  of three persons1 two-thirds of   
whose time was otherwise occupied4 ,it  
would therefore be unjust as well as    
unbecoming to criticise its many        
defects with asperity4 ,the compilers   
seem to have adopted as their  principle
 that the cataloguer who looks beyond   
the title-page is lost4  ,they therefore
 enter ,the ,london ,prodigal and       
,mucedorus under  ,shakespeare with no  
impertinent scepticism as to the        
authorship2  bewilder themselves with no
 nice distinctions between the ,william 
,bedloe  who wrote against ,mahometanism
 in #afae1 and the ,william ,bedloe who 
swore  away the lives of ,roman         
,catholics in #afhj2 and achieve their  
crowning  glory by cataloguing the      
thirty-three thousand ,civil ,war tracts
 at a  stroke under ,anglia as a large  
collection of pamphlets4 ,if they had   

tried to do more they would probably    
have done nothing4 ,their list1  meagre 
in every sense1 and at the present day  
less interesting for what  it contains  
than for what it does not contain1      
served for twenty years1  when a        
beginning was made towards superseding  
it by the more elaborate  performance of
 ,sir ,henry ,ellis and ,mr4 ,baber4    
,this catalogue1 commenced  in #ahjg1   
was completed in #ahai4 ,the portion    
executed by ,sir ,henry ,ellis  has been
 severely criticised4 ,it was certainly 
unfortunate that pastor  paganus should 
have been treated as the equivalent of  
sacerdos  ethnicus1 and ,emanuel ,prince
 of ,peace mistaken for ,emanuel ,king  
of  ,portugal4 ,its virtue1 however1 of 
portable brevity1 has rendered it so    
useful a substitute for its colossal    
successor on those not unfrequent       
occasions when the wood could not be    
seen for the trees1 that those thus     
beholden to it will be little inclined  
to deal hardly with its notorious       

errors and deficiencies4    ,ellis and  
,baber's catalogue had scarcely been    
completed ere the need of  a new one    
began to be felt1 partly on account of  
the magnificent  donation of the #fj1jjj
 volumes and #bj1jjj pamphlets of the   
,king's  ,library4 ,notions of          
classification were then in the         
ascendant1 and in  #ahbf the ,rev4 ,t4  
,hartwell ,horne1 a bibliographer famed 
for strict method  and plodding         
industry1 was engaged as a temporary    
assistant to carry  them out2 together  
with ,mr4 7afterwards ,sir ,frederic7   
,madden1 ,mr4 ,tidd  ,pratt1 and other  
persons of literary ability4 ,seldom has
 an undertaking  so extensive left so   
little trace behind it4 ,mr4 ,horne's   
assistants  ascended to higher spheres1 
or evaporated entirely1 and when called 
upon  in #ahcd to report the progress of
 the previous year1 he could only state 
that he had personally arranged the     
classes of chemical and medical         
philosophy2 the latter1 indeed1 under   

twenty divisions1 with such             
subdivisions as ,treatises on ,plethora1
 ,treatises on the ,vis  ,medicatrix    
,natur1 ,use of ,flagellation1 ,friction
 and ,philtres4 ,the  list may be       
commended to the study of those who     
think classification a  simple matter1  
or a classed catalogue serviceable      
otherwise than as an  index to an       
alphabetical one4 ,seven thousand pounds
 had been expended  upon the simple     
sorting of titles1 a task merely        
preliminary to that of  printing them1  
which might be considered as at least   
nearly half done1  if only the influx of
 new titles could be stopped1 which was 
impossible4  ,the ,trustees wisely      
determined to throw no more good money  
after bad2  and the episode of          
classification came to an end in ,july  
#ahcd4 ,mr4  ,baber1 ,keeper of ,printed
 ,books1 had already proposed a plan for
 a new  printed catalogue1 to be        
executed under the superintendence of a 
single  competent person1 a description 

denoting ,panizzi1 then an extra        
assistant librarian4 ,this scheme was   
set aside in favour of a far  inferior  
plan1 by which the execution of the     
catalogue was entrusted to  four persons
 of very unequal degrees of capacity1   
virtually independent  of each other4   
,the consequence was that the little    
they did required to  be done again4    
,panizzi became head of the ,printed    
,book ,department in  #ahcg1 and the    
long discussions which ensued between   
him and the ,trustees  resulted         
eventually in the ninety-one famous     
rules which have since  formed the      
foundation of scientific cataloguing    
drawn up by him with  the assistance of 
,messrs4 ,winter ,jones1 ,watts1 ,parry1
 and ,edwards4 ,their  number has       
afforded a theme for much good-natured  
and ill-natured  satire2 on examination1
 however1 it will be found that a third 
of them  relate merely to arrangement1  
and that the remainder are far from     
providing for all conceivable cases4 ,it

 may be granted that their  complexity  
was incompatible with the ,trustees'    
desire to produce a  printed catalogue  
at an early date1 a desire in which     
their officer was  far from             
participating4 ,the ,trustees defeated  
their own object1 partly  by allowing   
the catalogue to be commenced on so     
extensive a scale2  partly by requiring1
 or rather letting themselves be thought
 to have  required1 that it should be   
actually printed1 instead of merely     
ready  for press1 by ,december #ahdd4   
,this decision necessitated printing in 
alphabetical succession1 hence diverting
 much of the force which should  have   
been applied to compiling the catalogue1
 to the correction of the  press4 ,it   
further condemned the work to inevitable
 imperfection1 since  it was impossible 
to foresee what titles would be required
 to be written  under ,a1 and such      
titles1 excluded from the printed volume
 embracing  that letter1 kept           
continually turning up during the entire

 progress of  the work4 ,as the         
imperfections of this volume 7published 
in #ahda7 became  more notorious1 the   
demand for a printed catalogue gradually
 died away1  and ,panizzi was left in   
possession of his ideal--a manuscript   
catalogue1  executed with a thoroughness
 and on a scale which seemed to render  
printing for ever impossible4 ,this1 as 
we shall see1 was destined to  break    
down in its turn2 and the great         
librarian's objections to print  have   
met with a practical refutation4 ,at the
 same time it must be  candidly         
acknowledged that1 although ,panizzi was
 wrong in abstract  principle1 he was   
right as regarded the requirements of   
his own day4 ,the  collection of books  
was at the time too limited to justify a
 printed  catalogue1 and not too        
extensive to render a manuscript        
catalogue  inconveniently unwieldy4     
,panizzi's opposition to print was      
justifiable  under the circumstances    
then existing2 his error was in failing 

to  foresee and provide for the far     
different state of things which he      
himself was calling into existence4 ,if1
 while maintaining the old order1  he   
had recognised and promoted the         
inevitable advent of the new1 he  would 
not have left the renown of the         
introduction of print to a young        
officer of the ,manuscript ,department1 
who1 during the heat of the strife  over
 the question of print in #ahdh1 was1 as
 ,sir ,frederic ,madden informed  the   
,royal ,commission1 employed in seeing  
through the press the general  index to 
the ,manuscript catalogues in the       
,reading ,room4 ,and ,i must say  that  
,mr4 ,bond has proved a most efficient  
and most praiseworthy  assistant4       
,panizzi wanted a catalogue3 he had     
framed the rules for it with            
completeness and precision never        
imagined before his time1 but he was    
entirely averse to the catalogue being  
printed4 ,in his report of  ,november   
#ag1 #ahcg1 he declared it unreasonable 

to expect that the public  should spend 
the enormous sum that the printing of a 
catalogue of the  whole of such a       
library requires1 to suit the           
convenience of a small  portion of the  
community4 ,there was much weight in the
 argument1 and the  propounder of it    
could not foresee that he would himself 
in the long run  overthrow it by the    
extraordinary development he was        
destined to impart  to the library1 and 
by consequence to the catalogue4 ,when1 
eight years  after the date of the      
report just quoted1 ,panizzi's          
persevering efforts  obtained an annual 
grant of #aj1jjj to remedy the          
deficiencies of the  library1 he started
 the catalogue on a road whose          
inevitable goal was  print4 ,library and
 catalogue increasing pari passu1 it    
became  abundantly clear that recourse  
must some day be had to print for the   
mere sake of reducing the bulk of the   
latter4 ,this consummation was          
accelerated by another of ,panizzi's    

great measures--the introduction1 at    
the independent and almost simultaneous 
suggestion of ,mr4 ,wilson ,croker  and 
the late ,mr4 ,roy1 of the ,library1 of 
the system of keeping up the  catalogue 
by slips pasted on the leaf1 and        
therefore easily removable1  thus       
preventing the disturbance of           
alphabetical order4 ,as this gave  three
 thicknesses to the leaf1 and the slips 
were at first pasted widely  apart1 and 
were not1 moreover1 transcribed with any
 special regard to  economy of space1   
the hundred and fifty volumes placed in 
the ,reading  ,room in #ahej had swollen
 to fifteen times that number by #ahge4 
,this  development was attended by      
another unforeseen consequence2 it      
became  actually more expensive to      
transcribe the catalogue than to print  
it4  ,the number of transcribers        
employed to copy titles1 of             
incorporators  required to assign these 
to their proper places1 of binders' men 
to  perform the manual work1 the        

incessant shifting and relaying1        
inserting  new leaves and dividing and  
rebinding old volumes1 were attended by 
financial results which frequently      
elicited communications from the        
,treasury4 ,one of these happened to    
arrive in #ahge1 shortly after the      
writer of these pages had become        
,superintendent of the ,reading ,room4  
,being now in a position to report upon 
the subject1 he pointed out what  had   
long been exceedingly plain to him1 that
 the space available for the            
accommodation of the catalogue was all  
but exhausted1 and that on this  ground 
alone it would be imperative to reduce  
its bulk by printing at  least a portion
 of it4 ,in #ahgh his representations   
were renewed1 this  time with great     
encouragement from ,sir ,charles        
,newton1 then acting as  ,principal     
,librarian1 but nothing decisive was    
done until the accession  of the late   
,principal ,librarian1 ,mr4 ,e4 ,a4     
,bond1 in the autumn of the  same year4 

,mr4 ,bond had long made up his mind1 on
 literary grounds1 that  the catalogue  
ought to be printed2 and finding himself
 now enabled to  give effect to his     
views1 initiated negotiations with the  
,treasury which  led in due course to   
the desired result4 ,in #ahhj print was 
adopted for  the entries of all future  
additions to the library1 thus putting  
an  effectual curb upon the growth of   
the catalogue4 ,in #ahha the printing of
  the catalogue as a whole was          
commenced1 and has since been carried on
  uninterruptedly4 ,the order of        
publication was not at first            
alphabetical1  the ,treasury's support  
having been partly gained by the promise
 to deal1  in the first instance1 with  
the overgrown volumes in various parts  
of  the catalogue which would otherwise 
have required rebinding and  relaying4  
,this accomplished1 however1            
publication1 as had always been  ,mr4   
,bond's intention1 glided into as close 
an alphabetical sequence as  is         

consistent with the fact that different 
portions of the same letter  are        
necessarily taken up simultaneously1 and
 that some are much more  difficult to  
prepare for press than others4 ,with the
 adoption of print  the history of the  
,museum ,catalogue may be said to       
terminate for the  present1 while its   
actual condition will appear from the   
statement now  to be given of the       
progress hitherto made4    ,by the time 
that these pages see the light about    
#aij parts or volumes of  the catalogue 
will have been issued4 ,averaging the   
number of entries as  #ejjj to a volume 
7notwithstanding that the volumes have  
of late been  made thicker71 it will    
appear that #iej1jjj titles have been   
printed1 or  nearly one-third of the    
entire work1 allowing for the constant  
accession  of new material during its   
progress1 as will be explained further  
on4  ,this gives an average of about    
twenty-four parts annually since the    
commencement of printing in #ahha2 but  

as the amount of the ,treasury  grant   
did not admit of the publication of more
 than fifteen parts  annually for the   
first two years1 the average publication
 at present may  be taken as thirty4    
,speaking generally1 it may be said that
 the  catalogue is in type from ,a to   
the end of ,g1 and from ,v to the end of
  the alphabet4 ,this is nearly a third 
of the whole1 and at the present  rate  
of progress it seems reasonable to      
conclude that the printing may  be      
completed in about twelve years4 ,it    
should be hardly necessary to  explain  
to the reader who may be familiar with  
the appearance of the  catalogue in the 
,reading ,room1 that the ponderous folio
 he is accustomed  to there presents    
little resemblance to the parts as      
issued to  subscribers4 ,special copies 
of the latter1 printed on one side of   
the  paper only1 are laid down for      
,reading ,room use on considerably      
larger  sheets of the strongest and     
toughest vellum paper procurable1 and   

thus  the quartos are converted into    
folios4 ,the printed strip when pasted  
down occupies only the left side of the 
leaf1 the blank portion  opposite1 as   
well as that above and below1 being     
reserved for the  additions continually 
accruing from the titles of new books   
received  after the printing of the     
volume1#if3a which is further supplied  
with  guards to allow of interleaving4  
,it has been computed that each volume  
would contain #ijjj titles1 after which 
it must be divided1 and that the        
,reading ,room will accommodate #bjjj   
volumes1 providing room for eighteen    
millions of titles1 or1 at the present  
rate of cataloguing1 for the            
accumulation of three centuries to come4
 ,in #ahhj1 just before the             
introduction of printing1 there was not 
room to place another volume4 ,a  column
 of the type used in printing the       
catalogue weighs ten pounds1 so  that   
supposing the work1 when through the    
press1 to consist of #fjj  volumes      

averaging #bej columns each1 a million  
and a half pounds' weight  of type will 
have been employed4    ,from the        
preparation of the catalogue for        
strictly ,museum purposes1 we  pass to  
the arrangements for its issue to the   
public4 ,here we are  confronted by two 
very remarkable facts--one as gratifying
 as the other  is the reverse4 ,for the 
original subscribers the ,museum        
,catalogue is  one of the cheapest books
 in the world4 ,at its commencement it  
was not  expected that more than fifteen
 parts could be issued annually1 and the
  annual subscription was fixed at three
 pounds4 ,in fact1 however1 the  rate of
 publication has for some years past    
averaged thirty parts1 while  the terms 
of subscription remain unaltered4 ,the  
subscription is1  therefore1 virtually  
reduced by one-half1 and the cost of    
each part1  with its #bej columns and   
#ejjj titles1 is just two shillings4 ,it
 may be  doubted whether equal          
liberality has ever been shown by any   

public  institution4 ,the case1 however1
 of the subscribers of the future is far
  otherwise1 or rather say would be1 if 
such subscribers could exist4  ,nobody  
will take an imperfect catalogue1 and   
the sum required for the  parts already 
printed is an almost insuperable        
obstacle in the way of  new subscribers1
 and an effectual bar to the further    
dissemination of  the catalogue1 except 
by donation4 ,it would be well worth    
while to  offer the parts already       
printed as a bonus1 at a nominal or     
greatly  reduced price4 ,unfortunately1 
however1 the number of copies printed   
during the first year was comparatively 
limited1 and the impression1 as  regards
 these1 would be exhausted almost       
immediately4 ,the difficulty  would     
disappear if the ,museum possessed that 
indispensable auxiliary to  its         
progress1 a photographic department1 in 
which the photographer's  salary and the
 cost of chemicals should be paid by the
 ,state2 thus  allowing photographic    

work to be done gratuitously for the    
institution1  and at a merely nominal   
rate for the public4 ,in this case the  
deficient  volumes would be supplied    
without any expense whatever1 and the   
offer of  the perfected sets to the     
public at a nominal cost would probably 
ensure  sufficient subscribers for the  
remainder of the work4 ,until this great
  step towards the popular dissemination
 of the ,museum's treasures in all      
departments has been taken1 it will be  
necessary to reprint the earlier        
volumes of the catalogue2 and the #aejj 
required for this purpose might         
probably be obtained from subscribers on
 condition of the other back  volumes   
being thrown in as a bonus at a greatly 
reduced price4 ,the  longer the         
operation is delayed the more costly    
will it be for the  ,museum1 which runs 
the risk of eventually finding itself   
with a hundred  sets1 mostly imperfect1 
on its hands1 of which it will be       
impossible to  get rid otherwise than by

 donation4 ,a subscription once         
commenced is not  likely to drop1 as the
 value of a set of the catalogue depends
 upon its  completeness4    ,it will now
 be naturally inquired1 at what period  
may the completion of  the catalogue be 
looked for8 ,the answer will be1 about  
the end of the  century1 if the         
,treasury grant is maintained at its    
present figure4 ,the  amount expended in
 printing1 inclusive of that incurred   
for printing the  titles of books added 
to the library1 is about #cjjj annually4
 ,two years  ago the grant for purchases
 throughout every department of the     
institution was reduced by two-fifths1  
and only half the amount has as  yet    
been restored4 ,if a similar mistaken   
spirit of economy had affected  the     
grant for printing1 the completion of   
the catalogue must have been            
proportionately delayed4 ,any           
expectation1 therefore1 which may be    
held  out of the accomplishment of the  
work by the end of the century1 or any  

other date1 must be understood to be    
entirely subject to the action of  the  
,chancellor of the ,exchequer1 who has  
it in his power to retard  progress     
indefinitely1 or interrupt it           
altogether4 ,it must be  acknowledged   
that the behaviour of the ,treasury     
towards this department  of the ,museum 
service has hitherto been very liberal2 
and that the grant  for printing is as  
large as1 with the numerous other       
demands upon the  library staff1 can be 
employed to advantage4 ,the preparation 
of copy for  the press1 and its         
subsequent correction and revision1     
occupy the entire  time of several of   
the best assistants2 and1 were absolute 
bibliographical accuracy aimed at1 would
 require that of several more4  ,this   
cannot be had1 and all pretension to    
minute accuracy has invariably  been    
disclaimed4 ,it has been felt all along 
that a number of trifling  errors are   
preferable to the huge and unpardonable 
error of not  accomplishing the work at 

all4 ,from what has been said1 it will  
be  apparent that the publication of    
this catalogue is carried on under very 
different conditions from those habitual
 in similar undertakings4 ,three        
thousand pounds a year must be spent    
upon it2 or1 as regards ,museum         
purposes1 must be thrown away4 ,any     
balance unexpended at the end of the    
financial year must revert to the       
,treasury1 and would be an              
uncompensated loss as regards the       
,museum4 ,this misfortune has hitherto  
been avoided--partly by an energy and   
diligence on the part of the  gentlemen 
employed1 of which it is impossible to  
speak too warmly or too                 
gratefully--partly by a resolute        
determination not to aim at an ideal    
perfection1 which1 under the            
circumstances1 would be absolutely      
mischievous4    ,ordinary visitors to   
the library may from one point of view  
be divided  into two classes1 those who 
are astonished that it has not got every

  book in the world1 and those who      
marvel that it possesses so many books  
as it does4 ,nothing is commoner than   
the remark1 ,i suppose you have         
everything that ever was printed1 unless
 it is the exclamation1 ,you  surely do 
not keep all the rubbish6 ,these two    
sets of ideas may be  taken to represent
 the two tendencies which affect every  
public library2  and by consequence     
every complete catalogue of its         
contents1 that of  mechanical accretion1
 and that of intelligent selection4 ,the
 operation  of the ,copyright ,act is1  
of course1 responsible for most of the  
element  of rubbish in the catalogue2   
while a moment's thought will show the  
impossibility of making the librarian a 
censor1 and allowing him to  exclude    
whatever might not square with his      
prejudices or fancies4 ,a  considerable 
part of the catalogue1 therefore1 must  
be devoted to  recording publications of
 little intrinsic value1 but even here  
there is  an important reservation to be

 made4 ,time1 which in so many instances
  abates the value of what is really    
precious1 makes in a fashion amends  by 
bestowing worth on what was once of     
little account4 ,what would we not  give
 for a ,court ,gazette of the days of   
,augustus1 or a list of odds at  the    
,olympic games8 ,there is absolutely no 
telling what value the most             
insignificant details of the nineteenth 
century may possess for the  nineteenth 
millennium3 even now men of letters     
might find the same  intellectual       
stimulus in many a trivial page of the  
,museum ,catalogue1 as  a distinguished 
living orator is said to find in        
,johnson's ,dictionary4  ,next to this  
automatic factor in the increase of the 
catalogue may be  named the element of  
seeming accident--the addition to the   
library of  various classes of books1   
now at one time1 now at another1 as     
apparent  chance1 but actual law has    
prescribed4 ,if we can imagine the      
various  constituents of the ,museum    

,library piled upon one another in      
chronological sequence1 and a shaft     
driven down from the top1 we may        
conceive ourselves coming upon a        
succession of strata1 as the geologist  
finds when he bores for coal1 or the    
archologist when he explores the  site  
of a city where men have dwelt from the 
age of ,hercules to the age  of         
,heraclius4 ,the ,museum was founded by 
a great physician2 the library1         
therefore1 rests upon a sound substratum
 of old medical books4 ,the ,king  was  
the next important benefactor2 next     
above early medicine and natural        
history1 accordingly1 comes a stratum of
 royal libraries from the first  ,tudor 
to the last ,stuart1 each a miniature   
representative of the best  literature  
of its time4 ,the ,hanoverian           
sovereigns1 though no great  patrons of 
letters1 were diligent collectors of    
pamphlets3 hence the  priceless         
collection of ,civil ,war and other     
important tracts which  immediately     

succeeded the donations already         
mentioned4 ,as the growth of  the       
,museum attracted further liberality    
7,to him that hath shall be  given71 the
 collection naturally took an impress   
from the tastes of the  private         
collectors by whom it was enriched4     
,hence abundant wealth in  classics and 
the early literature of the ,latin      
family of languages1  accompanied by    
poverty in languages which the          
collectors did not  understand1 and     
subjects for which they did not care4   
,when1 thanks to  ,panizzi1 the library 
at last obtained an adequate grant for  
purchases1  the librarian's own         
intelligence became a much more         
important factor  than formerly4 ,to    
continue our metaphor1 the contents of  
the recent  strata would be found far   
more composite than of old1 and more    
puzzling  to the intellectual geologist4
 ,he would come upon various fragmentary
  formations1 as it were1 in which1     
trifling and remote effects of          

prodigious causes1 he would discern     
vestiges of the great events of the     
time4 ,thus the growth of ,greater      
,britain is legible in piles of colonial
  newspapers1 and the ,paris ,commune is
 represented by a mass of  caricatures  
and the scorched books of an ,imperial  
,prince1 literally  saved out of the    
fire4 ,it is the librarian's business at
 once to profit  by this tendency to the
 accumulation of specialities1 and to   
counteract  it3 to take advantage of    
every opportunity that may arise of     
enriching  the library in definite      
directions1 and at the same time of     
providing  for the steady influx of     
miscellaneous literature1 alike of the  
past and  of the present as regards     
foreign nations3 of ,english            
contemporary  literature the ,copyright 
,act1 as above explained1 takes         
sufficient care4  ,it seems paradoxical1
 but it is true1 that the ,museum should
 be the home  both of the books which   
every one expects to find in it1 and of 

those  which no one expects to find--of 
the literary freight which can ride the 
ocean1 and of that which would perish   
without the haven of a public  library4 
,the catalogue must be the mirror of the
 library1 and it is not  the least of   
the many advantages of print that the   
public have now much  better means than 
formerly of judging how the most        
difficult functions  of librarianship   
have been understood and discharged at  
the ,museum4 ,in  this connection       
mention may be made of a minor feature  
of the  publication of the catalogue of 
considerable importance3 the issue of   
extra copies of special articles as     
excerpts1 sold separately at the  lowest
 possible price4 ,in this manner        
bibliographies1 complete as far as  the 
,museum collections are concerned1 of   
,aristotle1 ,bacon1 ,bunyan1  ,byron1   
,dante1 ,goethe1 and other writers of   
special importance have been  issued4   
,these should be of great value to      
students1 and would probably  have a    

large sale if their existence were more 
generally known4 ,at  present1 like     
other ,museum publications1 they suffer 
from imperfect  publicity4 ,another very
 valuable appendix to the catalogue of  
printed  books is the catalogue of maps 
and plans1 reduced1 under ,professor    
,douglas's direction1 from upwards of   
three hundred of ,,ms4 to two volumes   
of print as issued to the public1 or    
fourteen as laid down for use in  the   
,reading ,room4 ,the four hundred and   
fifty ,,ms4 volumes of the  catalogue of
 music1 it is hoped1 are on the eve of  
undergoing similar  treatment4    ,apart
 from the errors which must inevitably  
creep into so vast a work1  dealing with
 such a variety of languages and        
literatures1 and now in  progress for   
more than fifty years1 a considerable   
amount of  imperfection is evidently    
inseparable from the very nature of the 
undertaking4 ,it does not and cannot    
represent the condition of the  library 
at any given moment4 ,the volumes       

containing ,a1 for example1 will        
comprise the books under that letter    
possessed by the ,museum in #ahhb or    
#ahhc2 but ,t1 which for reasons which  
we have no space to explain1 will       
probably be the last letter to be       
printed1 will represent the condition   
of the library1 as regards that letter1 
about the year #aijj4 ,during the  whole
 progress of the catalogue an incessant 
shower of new titles  representing the  
new books continually being acquired1   
will have been  descending at the rate  
of some #dj1jjj a year4 ,those belonging
 to letters  not yet at press will have 
been taken up and absorbed by the       
catalogue  in its progress2 those       
belonging to the letters already in type
 must  fall into a supplement4 ,the     
article ,thackeray1 therefore1 will be  
more  complete than ,dickens1 and       
,thucydides than ,herodotus4 ,as        
concerns the  student at the ,museum1   
this is of no importance2 the additions 
being  regularly incorporated in the    

,reading ,room catalogue in the manner  
above  described4 ,the catalogue as     
issued to subscribers1 however1 is      
necessarily imperfect and irregular4    
,supposing1 for example1 that ,lord     
,tennyson and ,mr4 ,browning were to    
simultaneously publish translations of  
,homer when the printing of the         
catalogue had reached the article       
,jones1  ,lord ,tennyson's version would
 appear under ,tennyson1 but not under  
,homer1 and ,mr4 ,browning's version    
would not appear at all4 ,there is but  
one way of obtaining a perfect index to 
the condition of the national  library  
at a given time3 the catalogue must be  
reprinted along with the  numerous      
accessions which have been accumulating 
while the first edition  has been going 
through the press--a national           
undertaking which will  commend itself  
to men of letters more readily than to  
ministers of  finance4 ,should1 however1
 the completion of the catalogue nearly 
coincide with the commencement of the   

twentieth century1 it may be hoped  that
 this will be one of the many ways in   
which1 if the new century does  not1    
like its predecessors1 find the nation  
traversing a crisis1 the  epoch will    
assuredly be commemorated4 ,it would    
remain to provide for the  regular      
reprinting of the catalogue with its    
accessions at intervals1  say of a      
quarter of a century4 ,england would    
then possess a complete  index to the   
growth of the national library1 and the 
world would have  the nearest approach  
to a register of all literature that1 in
 the  absence of any feasible scheme for
 a universal catalogue by co-operation  
among public libraries1 it seems likely 
to obtain4 ,even this more  ambitious   
project might be promoted if public     
libraries would consent to  take the    
,museum ,catalogue as a basis1 and      
publish lists of such of their  own     
books as are not to be found in it4 ,by 
this means the expense and  labour of   
cataloguing would be very greatly       

reduced1 and the combination  of these  
lists with the ,museum ,catalogue1 when 
this came to be printed  for the third  
time1 say about #aibe1 would at last    
provide the  desideratum of a universal 
register of literature4    ,ambitious   
undertakings like these1 however1 depend
 upon the co-operation  of many         
governments and many institutions4 ,we  
can speak with more  confidence of the  
efforts of the ,museum to provide what  
is only second  in importance to the    
catalogue itself--a classified index of 
its  contents4 ,with this object in view
 several copies of the catalogue are    
printed on one side only1 that when     
completed they may be cut up1 and  the  
titles sorted according to subject1 and 
re-arranged in classified  lists4 ,thus 
by simply putting together all titles   
bearing the press  mark ,e1 we shall    
obtain a separate catalogue of the      
,civil ,war ,tracts2  and a similar     
proceeding as respects the titles marked
 ,f1 will afford a  similar catalogue of

 the ,croker collection of pamphlets on 
the ,french  ,revolution4 ,classed      
indexes to the literature of any subject
 can be made  with equal facility1 and  
as several copies of the catalogue will 
be  available for treatment in the      
manner suggested1 they may be varied for
  different objects1 or to suit         
different systems of classification4    
,for  all strictly ,museum purposes it  
would suffice to paste the titles       
excerpted on sheets of paper1 but any of
 the indexes thus prepared might  be    
printed and published4 ,the only        
difficulty or delay would arise from    
the incorporation of the supplementary  
titles1 which1 as already  explained1   
will have been continually added during 
the printing of the  catalogue1 and even
 this could be obviated by reprinting   
the entire  catalogue as suggested      
above4    ,these hints1 imperfect as    
they are1 should convince the reader    
that the  future of the ,museum         
,catalogue1 supposing the institution to

 be  maintained in its present condition
 of efficiency1 will not be less        
remarkable than its past4 ,it will      
continue to make demands on the         
liberality of successive generations1   
which will be the more readily met  the 
more the voluminous development of      
literature enforces the  conviction     
that1 next to positive addition to the  
world's stock of  information1 the most 
important service to culture is the     
preserving1  arranging1 and rendering   
accessible the stores which the world   
already  possesses4 ,the recovery of the
 catalogue of the ,alexandrian ,library1
 if  a less delightful1 would probably  
be a more substantial gain to  knowledge
 than the recovery of any individual    
author4 ,but what the  literature of the
 world is to the literature of ancient  
,greece1 the  ,catalogue of the ,british
 ,museum is to that of the ,alexandrian 
,library4      ,,footnotes3    #hg3a    
,universal ,review1 ,october #ahhh4     
#if3a ,soon after this was printed1     

three columns instead of one were  left 
blank1 as the writer had recommended    
from the first4          ,,the ,,british
 ,,museum ,,catalogue ,,as ,,the ,,basis
 ,,of ,a ,,universal  ,,catalogue#aji3a 
,but little has of late been heard of   
the proposed ,universal ,catalogue of   
,literature1 which was a favourite      
subject of discussion some years ago4   
,the cause may partly be the loss of    
some like ,sir ,henry ,cole and the     
late lamented ,mr4 ,ernest ,thomas1 who 
were especially interested in the       
project2 but must be mainly1 ,i should  
think1 the growing perception of  the   
difficulty of the undertaking4 ,it could
 no doubt be performed by a             
sufficiently numerous body of competent 
persons1 working under efficient        
control1 guided by fixed rules1 and     
influenced by such consideration in  the
 shape of salary and pension as to      
induce them to devote their lives  to   
it4 ,there is not1 however1 the least   
probability of the endowment of  such a 

college of cataloguers4 ,if the         
,universal ,catalogue is ever to be     
attained1 we must submit to proceed by  
gradual approaches1 and to be  content  
with something very far short of        
perfection in the execution of  the     
work4 ,we must take the printed         
catalogue of that library which most    
nearly approaches universality as a     
basis1 and we must appeal to the        
administrators of other libraries to    
supplement its deficiencies2  without   
insisting upon too rigid a uniformity of
 method1 which could not  be enforced4  
,while the project for a ,universal     
,catalogue has remained in suspense1    
another catalogue has been silently     
growing up in print1 far enough  indeed 
from universality1 but approaching it   
more closely than any other  work of the
 kind4 ,commenced in #ahha1 and likely1 
if the ,treasury grant  is continued1 to
 be completed at or a little before the 
close of the  century1 the printed      
,museum ,catalogue will be the register 

of about a  million distinct            
publications4 ,if its contents do not   
comprise a  majority of the books       
existing in the world1 they undoubtedly 
comprise a  very great majority of the  
books which it is really important to   
catalogue4 ,my recommendation to those  
who desire to see a ,universal          
,catalogue--as all do in theory--is to  
accept this confessedly imperfect       
catalogue as a temporary substitute1 and
 labour to perfect it by the            
co-operation of the principal libraries 
throughout the world1 not by            
reconstruction1 which would introduce   
confusion and delay the  undertaking    
indefinitely1 but by the simple addition
 of such books in  their possession as  
the ,museum ,catalogue does not embrace4
 ,this would  further involve the       
establishment of some central authority 
to edit  these accessions1 either       
incorporated with the ,museum ,catalogue
 or  separately1 as circumstances might 
prescribe4    ,even the ,museum         

,catalogue1 however1 is at present      
inadequate to provide  a basis for a    
,universal ,catalogue1 for the reason   
that it is in  comparatively few hands4 
,if general co-operation towards        
perfecting it  is to be invited1 it must
 be widely disseminated4 ,it must be    
reprinted1  and distributed gratuitously
 to all important libraries4 ,it is1    
moreover1 defective in its published    
form 7not in the copy used in the       
,reading ,room71 even as regards the    
contents of the ,museum itself1 on      
account of the number of accession      
titles which will have been steadily    
accumulating during the eighteen or     
nineteen years of its passage  through  
the press4 ,a large portion of these    
have been absorbed during  the printing2
 an equal number1 perhaps1 are excluded 
by the publication  of the volume of    
catalogue before the appearance of the  
book4 ,letter ,b1  therefore1 is more   
complete than ,a1 ,c than ,b1 and so on4
 ,from the point  of view of the        

,universal ,catalogue1 reprinting is    
thus an absolute  necessity4 ,it should 
take place at the earliest practicable  
date after  the completion of the       
catalogue4 ,the ,government cannot be   
reasonably  expected to provide the     
funds without strong pressure from      
public  opinion1 and it is partly in the
 hope of stimulating this opinion that  
,i  have ventured these observations4   
,but if the ,universal ,catalogue is to 
be anything more than a fair vision1 we 
must do more than stimulate  others1 we 
must organise ourselves4 ,we must know  
what libraries  throughout the civilised
 world would be ready1 upon receiving a 
copy of  the republished ,museum        
,catalogue1 to supplement its           
deficiencies by  furnishing the titles  
of such of their own books as are not to
 be found  there4 ,we must establish a  
central committee or committees to take 
charge of such titles1 to cancel the    
innumerable duplicates1 to reduce  the  
others to approximate conformity with   

the rules on which the basis  catalogue 
has been executed4 ,we must have learned
 to what extent  pecuniary assistance to
 small or over-worked libraries may be  
necessary1  and have considered how to  
provide it4 ,we must have determined    
whether  the ,general ,catalogue is to  
embrace that of the ,museum or to be    
merely  supplementary1 and in either    
case have framed some estimate of the   
probable expense1 and of the means of   
meeting it4 ,we must have decided  some 
important questions1 as1 for instance1  
whether pamphlets1  newspapers1 public  
documents1 should be included1 whether  
oriental  books1 to what extent         
cross-references should be allowed1 if  
admitted at  all4 ,these points and many
 others cannot be settled without active
  intercommunication among librarians1  
and when ,i consider the attendant      
difficulties ,i own ,i am not sanguine  
that the project will have matured  by  
the time that the ,museum ,catalogue is 
in print4    ,when1 however1 the        

difficulties of organisation have been  
at length  overcome1 when the ,museum   
,catalogue is actually in the hands of  
the  directors of all important         
libraries1 and the task of supplying its
  deficiencies is being steadily        
prosecuted in a hundred different       
places2  when the editorial committee is
 fairly engaged upon its task of        
revision  and incorporation1 and public 
sympathy has been fully enlisted1 as    
would  ere long assuredly be the case1  
the record of the world's literature    
which now may seem to many an utopian   
project1 will have been brought  within 
reach4 ,in thus carrying it out we      
should have effected an object  of still
 greater importance--the establishment  
of an universal literary  registry1     
whose developments and ramifications it 
is impossible to  predict4 ,such an     
institution is hardly likely to come    
into being without  the tangible        
inducement of an ,universal ,catalogue2 
and it is on this  account1 quite as    

much as its own1 that an ,universal     
,catalogue is  desirable4 ,the          
organisation created to effect it would 
not be allowed to  perish1 but would be 
maintained for objects more important   
still4 ,all  these possibilities1       
however1 will remain but visions unless 
they are  based upon the firm ground of 
some actually existing catalogue1 which 
may serve as a stepping-stone to the    
ideal catalogue of the future4          
,cteris paribus1 there can be no doubt  
that the biggest catalogue must  be the 
best1 and it is on this ground1 and not 
from any claim of  superiority of       
execution1 that ,i venture to recommend 
the ,museum  ,catalogue as this         
necessary basis and stepping-stone1 and 
to affirm that  the problem of making an
 ,universal ,catalogue will be greatly  
simplified  if it is conceived as the   
problem of supplementing the            
deficiencies of  the most extensive     
partial catalogue we possess at present4
 ,the subject  is one eminently suitable

 for consideration at this conference1  
which1  as the first ever held upon the 
,continent1 possesses stronger claims to
  an international character than any of
 its predecessors4      ,,footnotes3    
#aji3a ,communicated to the ,fifteenth  
,annual ,meeting of the ,library        
,association1 ,paris1 ,september #ahib4 
,,introduction ,,of ,,european          
,,printing ,,into ,,the ,,east#aae3a    
,speaking to-night as ,president of the 
,bibliographical ,society1 ,i have      
found it necessary to select some point 
of bibliography as the subject  of my   
discourse4 ,the subjects which          
profitably occupy the ordinary  meetings
 of the ,society would not be           
appropriate to a numerous and  various  
assemblage like the present4 ,now that  
,internationalism and  ,imperialism are 
in the air1 and that the thoughts of the
 ,queen's  home-bred subjects have      
perforce been carried far beyond the    
precincts  of their native isles1 ,i    
have deemed that interest might be felt 

in a  brief retrospect of the first     
steps by which the most intellectually  
valuable of all the arts was            
transplanted from ,europe to the other  
quarters of the ,old ,world4 ,american  
typography ,i leave to our visitors1    
better qualified to treat it4 ,i prefer 
no claim to originality1 but  rather    
rest the utility of my paper upon the   
advantage of bringing to  one focus a   
number of facts hitherto scattered      
through a number of  books1 and by      
consequence but partially known4    ,i  
have often thought that our reunion with
 our ,aryan brethren of  ,hindostan1    
when1 after millenniums of separation1  
we ,europeans returned  to them in the  
characters of travellers1 merchants1 and
 missionaries1  may be compared to the  
meeting of ,jacob and ,esau4 ,as of old1
 the younger  brother had been the more 
prosperous4 ,we brought them more       
precious  gifts than any we could       
receive from them1 and among these was  
the art  of printing4 ,but it was out of

 our power to bestow such a boon upon   
the  more numerous yellow race1 for it  
already possessed it4 ,china and ,korea 
too had been acquainted with printing   
for centuries1 and not merely with      
block printing1 but with movable types4 
,these1 however1 were rarely  employed1 
in consequence1 ,i imagine1 of the great
 extent and complexity  of the ,chinese 
alphabet1 or rather syllabarium2 and it 
no more entered  into the head of a     
,chinese to print a foreign language    
than it occurred  to a ,greek of the    
,roman ,empire to translate a ,latin    
book4 ,amazing  consequences would have 
followed if ,china would but have       
reformed her  alphabet and communicated 
her art to her neighbours4 ,had it but  
found  its way to ,constantinople by the
 tenth century1 we should have preserved
  most of that lost classical literature
 for which1 with much to encourage  and 
much to dispirit1 we are now sifting the
 dust of ,egyptian catacombs4  ,it does 
indeed appear from recent discoveries   

among the papyri of  ,archduke ,rainier 
that the ,saracens of ,egypt had grasped
 the principle of  block printing in the
 tenth century1 probably from           
intercourse with  ,china4 ,but this does
 but increase the wonder that they      
should have  merely struck off a few    
insignificant documents and carried the 
idea no  further4    ,even when at      
length the art of printing became known 
in ,europe1 its  progress was for some  
time marvellously slow4 ,for several    
years its  practice was confined to a   
single city1 and this would probably    
have  continued still longer but for    
civil dissensions1 which drove the      
printers abroad4 ,we need not be        
surprised1 then1 that it should have    
been a hundred and six years after      
,gutenberg before any book proceeded    
from a ,european press upon the         
continent of ,asia2 or1 if we date from 
the voyage of ,vasco da ,gama1 now      
exactly four hundred years ago1 we      
shall see that sixty-four years1 or two 

generations1 elapsed before the         
,portuguese conquerors gave a           
printing-press to ,india4 ,there was    
probably  but little need for           
typography1 either in the military or   
the civil  service2 but in process of   
time another interest asserted          
itself--the  missionary4 ,we shall find 
that the larger number of ,spanish and  
,portuguese books printed abroad1       
whether in ,america or in the ,east1    
were  designed for the conversion and   
instruction of the natives4    ,this was
 not1 however1 precisely the case with  
the first book printed in  ,india1 or   
printed by ,europeans in any part of the
 ,old ,world outside of  ,europe1       
although it was a religious book1 ,the  
,spiritual ,compendium of  the          
,christian ,life1 by ,gaspar de ,leo1   
first ,archbishop of ,goa 7,goa1        
#aefa74 ,the author had come out as     
,archbishop in #aefj1 and this book     
appears to be either the full text or an
 abridgment of the sermons  preached by 

him in the visitation of his diocese in 
that year4 ,it is  much to be hoped that
 a book so memorable for the            
circumstances of its  publication may be
 still extant2 but ,silva1 in his       
,portuguese  bibliographical dictionary1
 does not1 as he usually does when he   
can1  intimate the existence of a copy  
in the ,national ,library of ,lisbon or 
elsewhere2 nor does ,martin ,antonio    
,fernandes allude to the existence of   
it1 or any other of ,archbishop ,leo's  
writings at ,goa1 in the sermon  which  
he preached on the occasion of the      
translation of his remains in  #ahfd4   
,archbishop ,leo printed two other books
 at ,goa--a tract against  the ,jews1   
and another against the ,mahometans2 but
 these were posterior  to the second    
,goa book1 a copy of which is in the    
,british ,museum--the  ,dialogues on    
,indian ,simples and ,drugs1 by ,garcia 
da ,horta1 printed at  ,goa in #aefc4   
,this is a work of great merit1 said to 
contain the first  account of ,asiatic  

cholera4 ,it is also remarkable as the  
first book in  which any production of  
,camoens was given to the world2 for1   
although  the ,lusian bard had written  
much1 he had published nothing previous 
to  the appearance of a complimentary   
copy of verses to da ,horta1 prefixed   
to this book4 ,the ,museum is1 no doubt1
 indebted for its copy of this  very    
rare work to its founder1 ,sir ,hans    
,sloane1 for whom it would have  much   
interest4 ,a ,latin translation went    
through many editions1 and the  original
 was reprinted in #ahgb4    ,thirteen   
books are enumerated by ,ribeiro dos    
,sanctos as having been  published at   
,goa up to #afee1 and there were        
probably others of a merely  ephemeral  
character4 ,the most interesting are a  
,life of ,st4 ,peter in  ,marathi1 by   
,estevo da ,cruz1 #afcd--;if not a      
translation1 perhaps the  first book1   
other than a catechism1 written by a    
,european in an ,indian  vernacular2 and
 the record of the proclamation of ,john

 ,,iv4 in #afda1 when  ,portugal        
recovered her independence4 ,this book1 
which is in the ,british  ,museum1      
indicates the lowest stage of           
typographical debasement1 but is        
interesting from its patriotic feeling4 
,two ,tamil books are said to have been 
printed by the ,jesuits in #aegg and    
#aeih respectively1 at ,ambalakata1 a   
place on the ,malabar coast1 probably   
now ruined or known by some other name4 
,before leaving ,india1 ,i may mention a
 remarkable circumstance1 not1 so  far  
as ,i know1 hitherto recorded in        
typographical history4 ,it appears  from
 that marvellously interesting book1 too
 soon interrupted1 ,mr4  ,sainsbury's   
,calendar of the ,papers of the ,east   
,india ,company1 that in  #afbd the     
,shah of ,persia1 having an earnest     
desire to bring into his  country the   
art of printing1 was very importunate   
with the agents of  the ,company at     
,ispahan1 to write for men skilful in   
the science1 whom  he promises to       

maintain at his own charge4 ,it does not
 appear that the  ,company1 who were    
then meditating the relinquishment of   
their ,persian  branch as unprofitable1 
took any steps to fulfil the ,shah's    
wishes1 and  of course the casting of   
,oriental types in ,persia1 or their    
transport  thither1 would have been very
 difficult undertakings4 ,but the desire
 to  endow ,persia with a printing-press
 nevertheless reflects the highest      
honour upon the ,shah1 who was no less  
famous a person than ,abbas the  ,great4
    ,from ,india we pass to ,china1 and 
here an important discovery has been    
made of late years4 ,it has until very  
lately been universally believed  that  
the first book printed by ,europeans in 
,china was ,eduardus de ,sande1  ,de    
,missione legatorum ,japanensium ad     
,romanam ,curiam 7,macao1 #aeij74 ,my   
friend1 ,seor ,jos ,t4 ,medina1 the     
,hercules and ,lynceus of ,south        
,american  bibliographers1 has1 however1
 found from the book itself that this   

cannot be the case1 for the writer of   
the preliminary address1 ,alexander     
,valignanus1 states that he has himself 
previously published at the same  place 
a book by ,joannes ,bonifacius1 ,de     
honesta puerorum institutione4  ,this   
must have appeared in #aehi1 if not     
sooner1 and is undoubtedly the  first   
book printed by ,europeans in ,china4   
,unfortunately it cannot be  produced1  
for it is not to be found4 ,a copy may  
still be lurking in some  ancient       
library1 and great will be his merit who
 brings it to light4 ,it  may be        
mentioned that although the book ,de    
,missione principally  relates to       
,europe1 and was compiled under the     
fiction of imaginary  conversations with
 the ,japanese ambassadors 7who really  
had visited  ,europe and returned7 for  
the information of the ,japanese pupils 
of the  ,jesuits1 one chapter is an     
account of ,china for the benefit of    
,european  readers4 ,it is full of      
interest2 and although its particulars  

have long  become common property1 it   
would be well worth translating as a    
contemporary account4 ,sande's book1 it 
is needless to state1 is of  exceeding  
rarity4 ,it may be seen in a show-case  
in the ,king's library at  the ,british 
,museum1 side by side with the very     
oldest ,south ,american  books4         
,european publications in ,china since  
#aeij are numerous1 and have been       
enumerated by that distinguished        
,sinologue1 ,m4 ,henri ,cordier1 in his 
epoch-making bibliography4 ,time1       
however1 compels me to pass to ,japan1  
where the subject has received most     
important illustration from the  labours
 of the present ,english minister to    
that country1 ,sir ,ernest  ,mason      
,satow4 ,sir ,ernest found examples of  
the use of movable types in  ,japan     
about #aeih1 and endeavoured to         
ascertain whether the art had been      
imported from ,korea1 where1 as ,i have 
already stated1 it existed at a  much   
earlier period1 or whether it was taught

 to the ,japanese by the  ,jesuit       
missionaries4 ,the point remains        
undecided2 but ,sir ,ernest's           
researches have acquainted him with     
fourteen books printed by the           
missionaries between #aeia and          
#afje--some in ,latin1 some in          
,japanese1  some in both languages4     
,some are religious in character1 others
  philological4 ,one1 exceptionally1 is 
a translation into ,japanese of  sop's  
,fables1 thus curiously restored to the 
,east whence they  originally came4 ,sir
 ,ernest1 himself a ,japanese scholar1  
has given a  minute account of all1 with
 the aid of numerous facsimiles4 ,all1  
of  course1 are of the greatest rarity1 
and chiefly to be found in the  public  
libraries of ,london1 ,paris1 ,lisbon1  
,oxford1 ,leyden1 and ,rome1 or  in the 
collection of the ,earl of ,crawford4   
,sir ,ernest ,satow mentions1 in  an    
appendix1 others which have been stated 
to exist1 but have not been  recovered4 
,some of these1 it is probable1 were    

merely manuscripts4 ,it  may be added   
that the frontispieces of these books1  
engraved by natives  under ,european    
direction1 evince much talent1 and that 
the same is the  case with similar work 
subsequently executed in ,south ,america
 and the  ,philippines4    ,the         
extirpation of ,christianity in ,japan  
destroyed ,european printing in  that   
country2 but books relating to ,japan1  
chiefly acts of ,japanese  martyrs1     
continued for some time to be produced  
at ,manila1 the capital  of the         
,philippines4 ,the history of ,manila   
printing is thoroughly  investigated in 
the classical work of ,seor ,medina1    
whom ,i have already  named as the      
discoverer of the real beginning of     
printing at ,macao4 ,it  seems probable 
that the art was directly imported into 
,manila from the  latter city4 ,two     
books--one in ,spanish and ,tagala1 the 
other in  ,chinese--appear as printed in
 #aeic1 then follows a gap of nine      
years1  after which publications begin  

to be tolerably frequent1 and altogether
  a hundred and twelve are enumerated up
 to the end of the seventeenth  century4
 ,a large proportion are in the         
vernacular languages4 ,it is  remarkable
 that the ,caxton of the ,philippines   
was a ,chinese convert1  whose celestial
 origin is disguised under the name of  
,juan de ,vera4 ,this  fact is only     
known by the testimony of a ,dominican1 
since it is another  remarkable         
circumstance and peculiar to the        
,philippines1 that for a very  long time
 the name of no private individual      
appears as that of a  printer1 the      
imprint being always that of some       
religious or educational  institution4  
,one other important city in the        
,eastern ,archipelago possessed printing
  at an early date4 ,this was ,batavia4 
,the ,museum possesses treaties with    
native princes printed there in #affh1  
and these were probably not the  first4 
,a printed book also is referred to the 
same year4    ,now1 like ,scipio1 we    

must carry the war into ,africa4 ,as    
might be  expected in the ,dark         
,continent1 the appearance of the first 
,african  printed book is a matter of   
some obscurity2 not that the statements 
respecting time and place and authorship
 are not precise1 but because it  has   
hitherto been impossible to verify them4
 ,nicolas ,antonio1 in his  ,bibliotheca
 ,hispanica1 distinctly mentions ,theses
 rhetoric1 varia  eruditione refert1 by 
,antonio ,macedo1 a celebrated          
,portuguese ,jesuit  who is said to have
 had a hand in the conversion of ,queen 
,christina of  ,sweden1 as printed at   
,funchal in ,madeira in #afcg4 ,i cannot
 find that  this book has ever come to  
light1 or that any other early          
production of  the ,funchal press has   
been recorded1 though one would think   
that such  must have existed4 ,i need   
not say that the first ,african book    
would be a  treasure almost rivalling   
the volume with which ,mexico initiated 
,american typography in #aeci1 or the   

,goa and ,macao books whose probable    
disappearance we have been lamenting4   
,there is room for error2 ,antonio      
hardly appears to have himself seen the 
book4 ,but1 on the other hand1  there   
may well be copies in the possession of 
persons to whom the  imprint ,funchal   
suggests nothing4 ,a ,macao or ,manila  
book at once  announces itself as       
something extraordinary by the          
peculiarity of its  paper1 but a book   
printed in ,madeira would probably be   
indistinguishable  in general appearance
 from contemporary productions on the   
,portuguese  mainland1 whose appearance 
at the period was fully in keeping with 
the  then fallen fortunes of the nation4
 ,if1 therefore1 the book ever  existed1
 ,i shall not despair of its being      
found1 most probably at  ,lisbon1       
,funchal1 or ,rome4 ,if its existence is
 mythical1 the first  ,african printed  
book would probably be the catechism on 
baptism in the  ,angola language by     
,francisco ,pacconio1 executed at       

,loanda1 the capital  of the ,portuguese
 settlements on the west coast1 said at 
least to have  been printed there in    
#afda1 but perhaps only sent out from   
,lisbon4 ,if  actually printed at       
,loanda1 it would be the first book     
printed on the  ,african mainland1 and  
hence of the highest bibliographical    
interest4 ,but  it may have been        
confounded with a similar catechism by  
the same author1  published at ,lisbon  
in #afdb4 ,books were printed at ,santa 
,cruz de  ,tenerife at least as early as
 #aged4 ,port ,louis1 the capital of    
,mauritius1 followed soon afterwards4   
,apart from official documents1 the     
first book printed in ,south ,africa is 
,g4 ,f4 ,grand's ,memoirs of a          
,gentleman 7,cape ,town1 #ahad71        
exhibited at the ,british ,museum4 ,to  
prevent misunderstanding1 it may be     
remarked that the honour due to the     
first ,african book has been claimed for
 a narrative of the capture of  the     
island of ,terceira by the ,marquis de  

,santa ,cruz in #aehc1 but it is  clear 
that the date ,angra1 the capital of the
 island1 is not an imprint1  but refers 
merely to the place where the despatch  
was written1 and that  it was printed in
 ,spain4    ,i am not quite sure whether
 ,australia properly belongs to my      
subject1  but two circumstances of      
especial interest induce me to include  
it4 ,one  is that the first ,australian 
publication1 the official ,sydney       
,gazette  of #ahjc1 is1 ,i understand1  
at present a visitor to ,england in the 
custody of ,mr4 ,anderson1 librarian of 
the public library at ,sydney1 who      
contemplates reproducing it4 ,the other 
is that what is believed to be  the     
first ,australian book1 as distinguished
 from a newspaper or official           
notification1 has been very recently    
acquired by the ,british ,museum4 ,it   
is a narrative of the crimes and death  
of ,william ,howe1 the last and  worst  
of the bushrangers of ,tasmania1 and was
 printed at ,hobart ,town in  #ahag4 ,it

 was noticed by the ,quarterly ,review  
so long ago as #ahai1 when  it was      
prophesied that ,australian             
bibliographers would one day fight for  
it as fiercely as ,english collectors   
contend for ,caxton's ,reynard the      
,fox4 ,if they do1 they must fight with 
the ,sydney ,public ,library1 which1  ,i
 am informed1 has three copies4 ,there  
is also a copy in the ,bodleian4    ,the
 subject of the beginning of printing by
 ,europeans in ,asia and ,africa  is one
 which must gain in interest as printing
 itself extends4  ,typography in these  
countries is as yet but in its infancy1 
for it has  not laid hold of the mass of
 the people4 ,it seems evident that the 
cumbrous ,oriental alphabets must       
eventually give way to the simplicity   
of ,roman type1 and then one great bar  
to the intercommunication of ideas      
among ,oriental nations will have ceased
 to exist4 ,it may be that they  will go
 a step further1 and employ a single    
language for the purposes of  general   

intercourse4 ,so far as we can see at   
present1 this language can  hardly be   
any other than ,english4 ,should this   
come to pass1 ,lord  ,beaconsfield's    
celebrated saying1 ,england is a great  
,asiatic power1  will prove true in a   
deeper and wider sense than he intended1
 and we  shall look back with augmented 
veneration to the labours of the zealous
  and disinterested men who paved the   
way for ,european culture by first      
bringing the ,european printing-press to
 the far ,east4      ,,footnotes3       
#aae3a ,read before the ,london ,meeting
 of the ,library ,association1 #ahif4   
,,paraguayan ,,and ,,argentine          
,,bibliography#abg3a    ,bibliographica1
 vol4 i41 pt4 #c1 published by ,messrs4 
,kegan ,paul   ,co4      ,the great     
merit of the ,spanish and ,portuguese   
bibliographers has in some  degree      
missed recognition from the exceptional 
character of their  themes4 ,they have  
done little for general bibliography or 
the literary  history of other nations1 

but1 observant of the ,german precept1  
have  swept before their own doors in   
the most thorough manner4 ,nicolas      
,antonio and ,barbosa ,machado have     
given magnificent examples of what may  
be termed bio-bibliography1 where not   
only the literary productiveness1  but  
the life of the author is the subject of
 investigation4 ,there are  few books of
 the class to which resort can be made  
with so fair a  prospect of being able  
to find exactly what is required4 ,the  
dimensions  of modern literature forbid 
the hope of such works being ever seen  
again4 ,bibliography and biography must 
henceforth walk apart1 or at  most1 as  
in our own ,dictionary of ,national     
,biography1 one must sink into  a mere  
appendage to the other4 ,works like     
,antonio's or ,machado's belong  to the 
extinct mammoths of the past3 yet more  
modern ,spanish and  ,portuguese        
bibliographers have displayed equal     
diligence in more  restricted fields4   
,it would be difficult to praise too    

highly the  research of a ,mendez1 a    
,salva1 or an ,icazbalceta1 who1 like   
their  predecessors1 manage to convey   
the impression of having exhausted their
  subjects4 ,to these is now to be added
 ,seor ,jose ,toribio ,medina1 a        
,chilian gentleman who has taken an     
entire continent for his province4 ,in  
#ahia he produced his bibliography of   
,chilian literature to #ahaj1 the era   
of ,south ,american independence4 ,in   
#ahib the assistance of the ,museo de   
la ,plata1 stimulated by the approaching
 congress at ,huelva in  commemoration  
of the discovery of ,america1 enabled   
him to publish his  bibliography of the 
,argentine ,republic1 including         
,paraguay and ,uruguay1  on a scale1 and
 with a wealth of illustration1 to      
ensure the book1 if  not the author1 a  
foremost place amongst bibliographical  
mammoths1 and  to suggest that it might 
be used as collateral security for a new
  ,argentine loan1 could such things be4
 ,compared with the tiny but            

serviceable lists of early ,south       
,american books which ,seor ,medina has 
so frequently published in limited      
editions1 his present volume is as  the 
,genie outside the vase to the ,genie   
within1 and it must be the  earnest hope
 of all interested in bibliographical   
research1 and  especially of all those  
who from personal acquaintance have     
learned to  appreciate his indefatigable
 patriotism and single-minded           
earnestness1  that the step now taken in
 advance may not be retraced1 but that  
he may  find encouragement to produce   
the still more important bibliography of
  ,peru1 now nearly ready for the press1
 with equal completeness1 if not on  a  
scale equally magnificent4 ,when this   
has been effected1 ,seor ,medina  will  
be at no loss for more worlds to        
conquer4 ,we shall follow up the        
subject1 he says1 with the history of   
printing in the  ,captain-,generalship  
of ,quito1 in ,bogota1 ,havana1         
,guatemala1 and1 please  ,heaven1 in the

 ,viceroyalty of ,mexico1 the cradle of 
the typographic art  in ,america4       
,finally1 we shall publish the general  
history of printing in  the old ,spanish
 colonies1 for which we shall be able to
 employ a great  number of documents    
hitherto entirely unknown4    ,the      
history of ,south ,american typography  
is as interesting in a  bibliographical1
 as it is barren in a literary point of 
view4 ,the  hand-list of the productions
 of the ,lima ,press in colonial days1  
already  published by ,seor ,medina1    
would alone be a sufficient indictment  
of  ,spanish rule1 and a sufficient     
apology for the mistakes of the         
emancipated colonists4 ,apart from      
religious books published in the  native
 languages1 and the grammars and        
dictionaries associated with  them1     
scarcely anything can be found          
indicative of intellectual life1 or     
imparting anything that the citizen     
needs to know4 ,public ceremonies1      
bull-fights1 legends of saints1 theses  

in scholastic philosophy1 make up  the  
dreary catalogue1 and show how a lively 
and gifted people were  systematically  
condemned1 in so far as their rulers'   
power extended1 to  frivolity1          
superstition and ignorance4 ,but if     
,south ,america was for  nearly three   
centuries a desert for literature1 it   
was and is a happy  hunting-ground for  
bibliography4 ,the limited interest and 
limited  circulation of such books as   
were produced conspired to make them    
rare2  the best religious and           
philological works in ,indian languages 
were  commonly worn out or mutilated by 
constant use2 local difficulties        
occasioned the production of others     
under peculiar and even romantic        
circumstances2 such as the half-dozen   
perhaps printed1 certainly  published at
 ,juli1 twelve thousand feet above the  
level of the sea2 or  those rude but    
deeply interesting ,paraguayan books    
which form the  subject of ,seor        
,medina's first chapter4#acj3a    ,the  

extreme difficulty of introducing any   
kind of literature into ,south  ,america
 under the ,spanish rgime1 cannot be    
better illustrated than by  the history 
of the first ,paraguayan book1 now      
extant in a single copy in  the library 
of ,seor ,trelles1 a citizen of the     
,argentine ,republic4 ,first  of all1   
about #afic1 ,father ,jose ,serrano     
translates ,father ,nieremberg's        
treatise on the difference between      
things temporal and things  eternal1    
into ,guarani1 the vernacular of the    
,paraguay ,indians4 ,father  ,tirso     
,gonzalez1 the head of the mission1     
thinks it well that this  translation   
and another of ,ribadeneira's ,flos     
,sanctorum1 also made by  ,father       
,serrano1 should be printed nearer home 
than at ,lima1 the only  city in the    
vast ,south ,american continent then in 
possession of a  printing-press4 ,though
 they are religious works of the most   
edifying  character1 it is necessary to 
memorialise the ,council of the ,indies4

  ,father ,gonzalez does not make up his
 mind to this step until ,december      
#afii4 ,at length1 however1 he writes to
 ,spain1 obtains permission1 and1  by   
the beginning of #agjc1 types have been 
cast and the numerous  engravings in the
 ,antwerp edition of ,nieremberg's      
treatise copied by the  native ,indians1
 whose extraordinary imitative talent is
 celebrated by  ,father ,labbe1 who     
visited ,la ,plata about this time4 ,i  
have seen1 he  says1 beautiful pictures 
executed by them1 books very correctly  
printed  by them1 organs and all kinds  
of musical instruments4 ,they make      
pocket  timepieces1 draw plans1 engrave 
maps1 c4#aca3a ,one thing1 however1     
they could not do1 found types of proper
 hardness1 inasmuch as the  requisite   
metal for alloy did not exist4 ,the     
consequent blurred  appearance of the   
impression has led high authorities to  
assert that  the types were made of hard
 wood1 which would not a priori have    
appeared improbable4 ,the late lamented 

,mr4 ,talbot ,reed1 however1 assured    
the present writer that this could not  
have been the case2 and ,seor  ,medina  
proves by an official letter1 written in
 #aghd1 more than twenty  years after   
the ruin of the missions1 that the      
material was tin4 ,the  types which     
existed at that period have disappeared1
 the remains of the  printing-press are 
still extant in the ,la ,plata ,museum4 
,seor ,medina  thinks that they ought to
 be restored3 and so do we1 provided    
only that  enough remains to distinguish
 restoration from re-creation4    ,the  
book1 announced as about to be printed  
in ,january #agjc1 eventually  made its 
appearance in #agje2 with the licenses  
of the ,viceroy of ,peru1  the ,dean of 
,asuncion1 and the acting provincial of 
the ,jesuits1 two  recommendations by   
divines1 and two dedications by ,father 
,serrano  himself1 the first to the     
,holy ,spirit1 who is addressed as ,your
  ,majesty2 the second to ,father       
,gonzalez4 ,the place of imprint is     

given  as en las ,doctrinas1 probably   
the mission station of ,santa ,maria la 
,mayor4 ,we must refer our readers to   
,seor ,medina's volume for the          
interesting and minute bibliographical  
particulars it affords1 as well  as for 
the facsimiles of the original          
engravings1 a remarkable episode  in the
 history of the art1 and only made      
accessible through ,seor  ,medina's     
instrumentality1 since the original     
exists in but a single  copy4    ,the   
reader will have observed ,father       
,labbe's statement that he has seen     
books printed by the ,indians4 ,at least
 one other book1 therefore1  should have
 been executed by them between #agje and
 #agaj1 and ,father  ,serrano           
undoubtedly intended to publish his     
,guarani version of  ,ribadeneira's     
,flos ,sanctorum4 ,if he did1 no trace  
of the publication  exists at present1  
nor is any further record of typography 
in ,paraguay  found until #agba1 when a 
little liturgical manual for the use of 

missionaries1 entirely in ,guarani1 with
 the exception of the first  fifteen    
leaves1 was printed at the mission      
station of ,loreto4 ,in #agbb  and #agbd
 the ,vocabulario de la ,lengua ,guarani
 and the ,arte de la  ,lengua ,guarani1 
both by ,antonio ,ruiz de ,montoya1 a   
,peruvian missionary  of the seventeenth
 century1 were reprinted from the       
original ,spanish  editions1 with       
copious additions1 those to the latter  
work certainly1  those to the former    
probably1 by ,paulo ,restivo4 ,both     
these books were  printed at ,santa     
,maria la ,mayor1 as also was the       
catechism of ,nicolas  ,yapuguai1 a     
native ,paraguayan1 in #agbd4 ,his      
,sermones y ,exemplos  appeared at ,san 
,francisco ,xavier in #agbg1 and in the 
same year and at  the same place was    
printed the letter of the unfortunate   
ex-governor  ,joseph ,antequera y       
,castro1 indited in his prison at ,lima1
 to his  adversary the ,bishop of       
,paraguay1 who apparently only allowed  

it to be  printed that he might add a   
more prolix reply4 ,from this time until
  after the overthrow of ,spanish       
authority1 all trace of a press in      
,paraguay disappears4 ,it should be     
added that the seven books recorded  are
 undoubtedly productions of one and the 
same press1 although the  place of      
imprint is frequently varied4 ,one      
curiosity remains to be  mentioned1 a   
fragment of a ,guarani catechism and    
syllabary1 consisting  of two wooden    
leaves paginated #d and #ac1 on which   
characters are cut in  relief precisely 
as in ,chinese stereotypic printing4 ,it
 is to be  supposed that they are older 
than the books printed with movable     
types4  ,they are in the library of     
,seor ,lamas1 to whom they were         
presented by  an ,english traveller4    
,four out of these seven books are in   
the ,british ,museum--the ,vocabulario  
and ,arte of ,ruiz de ,montoya1         
,yapuguai's ,catechism1 and the letter  
of  ,antequera y ,castro4 ,the first two

 were presented in #ahah by ,mr4 ,george
  ,bellas ,greenough1 the founder of the
 ,geological ,society4 ,the ,catechism  
was purchased in #ahhi1 and the letter  
in #ahic4 ,the latter is the only  copy 
hitherto known1 and is the only one of  
the seven books of which  some portion  
is not facsimiled by ,seor ,medina4     
,printing had died out in ,paraguay     
before its introduction into any other  
portion of the great ,la ,plata region4 
,it revived under ,jesuit auspices  at  
,cordova1 where towards the end of the  
seventeenth century a college  had been 
founded by ,duarte y ,quiros1 which had 
become the chief  educational           
institution of the country4 ,by #agfe it
 had attained  sufficient consequence to
 become sensible of the inconvenience of
 being  unable to print its theses and  
other academical documents1 which1 so   
wretched was the provision then made for
 the intellectual needs of the  ,spanish
 colonies1 could only be done at ,lima1 
more than a thousand miles  off on the  

other side of the ,andes4 ,the ,viceroy 
of ,peru was accordingly  appealed to1  
and permission obtained1 fenced with all
 imaginable  precautions and            
restrictions4 ,no time was lost in      
printing five  panegyrical orations upon
 the pious founder ,duarte y ,quiros1   
probably by  ,father ,peramas1 which    
appeared in #agff4 ,two1 or possibly    
three1 minor  publications1 now entirely
 lost1 had followed1 when the existence 
of the  press was abruptly terminated by
 the suppression of the ,jesuits1 and   
,cordova never saw another until after  
the independence4 ,the types1  however1 
not tin like the ,paraguayan1 but       
imported from ,spain and cast  secundum 
artem1 were preserved in the college1   
and in #aghj were  transferred to       
,buenos ,ayres1 where it had been       
resolved to introduce  typography2 not  
for its own sake1 but as a means of     
raising money  towards the support of a 
foundling hospital1 endowed with the    
proceeds  of the printing-press4        

,official and ecclesiastical patronage  
were not  wanting2 by the end of #agha  
twenty-seven publications of various    
descriptions1 mostly of course on a very
 small scale1 had issued from  the      
,buenos ,ayres press4 ,the first of any 
kind was a proclamation  relating to the
 militia1 facsimiled by ,seor ,medina2  
the first deserving  the character of a 
book was1 as in ,british ,north         
,america1 an almanac4  ,the most        
interesting from their subject were     
pastoral letters by two  bishops on the 
overthrow of the rebel cacique ,tupac   
,amaru in ,peru4 ,the  press continued  
to thrive1 and in #aghi it was necessary
 to procure a  new fount of type from   
,spain4 ,the total number of            
publications known to  the end of #ahaj 
is #hea--;a very large proportion of    
which1 however1 are  merely fly-sheets4 
,some1 nevertheless1 are of exceptional 
interest1 such  as the translation of   
,dodsley's ,economy of ,human ,life1    
perhaps the  first translation of an    

,english book ever published in ,spanish
 ,america1  and the numerous broadsides 
attesting the impression at first       
produced  in the colonies by ,napoleon's
 invasion of the mother country4 ,eight 
proclamations by ,general ,beresford    
during the brief occupation of the  city
 by the ,british forces in #ahjf are of 
especial interest to  ,englishmen4 ,in  
one ,beresford endeavours to conciliate 
the good-will of  the inhabitants by    
promising deliverance from the financial
 oppression  of the ,spanish colonial   
system4 ,they soon afterwards took the  
matter  into their own hands3 the       
publications for the last months over   
which  ,seor ,medina's labours extend   
are chiefly proclamations by the ,junta 
and  similar revolutionary documents4   
,among them1 duly facsimiled by ,seor   
,medina1 is the proclamation of the     
,junta1 with the date of ,may #bc1      
#ahaj1  announcing the virtual          
deposition of the ,viceroy1 the first   
document of  ,buenos ,ayrean            

independence1 although the authority of 
,ferdinand the  ,seventh is still       
acknowledged in name1 and the autonomy  
of the country  was not proclaimed until
 #ahaf4 ,another curiosity1 also        
facsimiled1 is a  proclamation in       
,spanish and ,quichua1 from the most    
persecuted  ,american1 ,iturri ,patio1  
to the inhabitants of ,cochabamba in    
,upper  ,peru1 more than a thousand     
miles from ,buenos ,ayres1 exhorting    
them to  welcome their deliverers4 ,the 
interest is greatly enhanced by ,seor   
,medina's industry in tracing out other 
works of the writers1 published  in     
other parts of ,south ,america4    ,the 
story of the introduction1 expulsion1   
and revival of printing in  ,monte      
,video is one of the most curious--we   
might almost say  dramatic--episodes in 
the history of the art4 ,the city1 which
 had  existed nearly two hundred years  
without any more typographical          
implement than a stamping machine1 was  
taken by an ,english expedition in      

,february #ahjg4 ,with the invaders came
 an enterprising ,briton whose name  is 
unfortunately not recorded1 but who1    
before leaving ,england1 had  invested  
in a printing-press and types1 and      
brought them with him with  the view of 
earning an honest penny by dissipating  
,south ,american  darkness4 ,he received
 every encouragement from the ,english  
military and  naval authorities1 but    
most probably had to train native       
compositors1  who could not be          
extemporised in a city destitute of a   
printing-press4  ,at all events he did  
not get to work till ,may1 when the     
first production  of his press was a    
proclamation1 from which it appears that
 ,general  ,whitelock1 whose expedition 
was to end so disastrously1 at the time 
considered himself entitled to exercise 
authority over the whole of  ,south     
,america4 ,and whereas it has been      
asserted that wherever an  ,englishman  
goes the first institution he creates is
 a public-house1 be  it noted that the  

next official announcement imposes a    
swinging tax  upon the public-houses    
already existing1 without any loophole  
for local  option4 ,on ,may #bc1 an     
eventful date in ,argentine history1    
appeared the  first numbers of ,the     
,southern ,star1 ,la ,estrella de ,sur1 
a journal in  ,english and ,spanish1    
conducted by ,adjutant-,general         
,bradford1 proudly  displaying the lion 
and the unicorn1 and addressing the     
native  population as fellow-subjects1 a
 description softened in the ,spanish   
version into amigos4 ,the consternation 
produced by this portent at  ,buenos    
,ayres was excessive4 ,the enemies of   
our holy religion1 of our  king1 and of 
the weal of mankind1 declared the       
,audiencia1 have chosen  the            
printing-press as their most effectual  
weapon4 ,they are diffusing  papers full
 of the most detestable ideas1 even to  
the pitch of asserting  that their      
infamous and abominable religion differs
 very little from  ours4 ,the           

misfortunes of the ,british arms1       
however1 extinguished ,the  ,southern   
,star after the third number1 and the   
publisher1 whose property  in his press 
and types was guaranteed by the         
capitulation1 was glad to  sell them to 
the ,buenos ,ayres ,foundling ,hospital 
for five thousand  pesos1 which1 whether
 in the spirit of speculation or by     
reason of the  deficiency of the        
circulating medium so unhappily chronic 
in those  regions1 he received in       
cascarilla at the rate of twelve reals a
 pound4  ,the object of the authorities 
was no doubt to get the press and its   
appurtenances away from ,monte ,video4  
,within three short years ,buenos       
,ayres became the focus of revolution1  
while ,monte ,video was still           
precariously loyal4 ,the ,princess      
,regent and her advisers1 then          
established at ,rio de ,janeiro1 finding
 that the revolutionists were  flooding 
the country with their pamphlets1       
invoked the power they had  striven to  

suppress1 and deeming to cast out ,satan
 by ,beelzebub1 shipped  a quantity of  
,brazilian type1 very bad1 to judge by  
,seor ,medina's  facsimile1 to ,monte   
,video1 where1 for the short remaining  
period  comprehended in ,seor ,medina's 
work1 it was employed in producing      
,government manifestos and an official  
journal2 edited for a time by  ,father  
,cirilo de ,alameda1 of whom it is      
recorded that he never wrote  anything  
tolerable except a defence of the       
,spanish constitution1 and  that this   
was adapted from a panegyric on the     
,virgin4    ,this slight notice can give
 but a very imperfect idea of the varied
  interest and splendid execution of    
,seor ,medina's volume1 a work as       
creditable to the country which has     
produced it for the excellence of  the  
typography and the beauty of the        
numerous facsimiles1 as to the  author  
for the extent and accuracy of his      
research1 and the curious and           
interesting particulars1 biographical as

 well as bibliographical1 which  he     
brings to light on every page4 ,could   
the remainder of ,spanish ,america  be  
treated in a similar style1 that        
much-neglected part of the world  would 
rival1 if not surpass1 any ,european    
country in the external  dignity of its 
bibliographical record4 ,this may be too
 much to expect1  but it is greatly to  
be hoped that ,seor ,medina will find   
means for  giving to the world what is  
actually indispensable to the completion
 of  his important task4 ,he is a       
citizen of the most prosperous1         
progressive1 and orderly state in ,south
 ,america4 ,it would be to the  honour  
of the rulers of ,chili if1 overlooking 
all political differences1  they gave   
their distinguished fellow-citizen the  
means of associating  the name of his   
country1 as well as his own1 with as    
meritorious an  undertaking as ever     
appealed to the sympathy of an          
enlightened ,state4      ,,footnotes3   
#abg3a ,historia y ,bibliografia de la  

,imprenta en la ,america  ,espaola4     
7,parte ,segunda1 ,paraguay y el        
,vireinato del ,rio de la  ,plata47 ,por
 ,jose ,toribio ,medina 7,la ,plata1    
#ahib74    #acj3a ,it has always been   
supposed that ,paraguay was the first   
country of ,south ,america to possess a 
printing-press after ,peru1  but this   
honour may possibly be due to ,brazil4  
,in the memorial of  the inhabitants of 
the province of ,pernambuco to ,john    
,,iv41 ,king of  ,portugal1 beseeching  
his assistance in the expulsion of the  
,dutch  invaders 7#afde71 printed in ,o 
,valoroso ,lucideno by ,manoel ,calado1 
,lisbon1 #afdh1 the ,dutch are accused  
of having propagated heresy by  means of
 tracts1 which have been found in the   
hands of many persons of  tender age4   
,these cartilhas must evidently have    
been in ,portuguese1  they are more     
likely to have been printed than in     
,,ms41 and it is  perhaps more probable 
that they were printed on the spot than 
exported  from ,holland4 ,if this is the

 case1 ,pernambuco is entitled to the   
honour of being the first city in ,south
 ,america in which printing was         
exercised after ,lima4    #aca3a        
,several ,spanish books printed at      
,manila in the eighteenth  century have 
frontispieces admirably engraved by     
native artists4  ,we have seen an       
,english pamphlet printed in the ,orange
 ,free ,state1  prefaced by an apology  
for mistakes of the press on the ground 
that the  compositors were ,hottentots4 
,,the ,,early ,,italian ,,book ,,trade  
,bibliographica1 vol4 i4 pt4 #c1        
published by ,messrs4 ,kegan ,paul  ,co4
      ,there are few inquiries more     
interesting than one into the character 
and  tendencies of an epoch1 as         
ascertained by their reflection in its  
literature4 ,such an investigation1 if  
referring to modern times and  extended 
beyond a single country1 must generally 
be incomplete on  account of the great  
mass of the materials1 which defies any 
exhibition  of the literary tendencies  

prevailing at any given period over the 
whole  of ,europe4 ,in the first age of 
printing alone the number of books is   
not  absolutely unmanageable1 and their 
bibliographical interest has ensured    
their accurate description in           
catalogues4 ,it would not be beyond the 
power of industry to make a digest of   
the incunabula of the fifteenth         
century1 so far as to show the number of
 books printed in each country1  their  
respective subjects1 the frequency of   
reprints1 the ratio of the  various     
classes to each other1 the proportion of
 ,latin to vernacular  books1 and other 
particulars of this nature by which the 
intellectual  currents of the age might 
be mapped out4    ,the present essay is 
to be regarded as no more than a very   
imperfect  indication of the feasibility
 of such an undertaking4 ,observations1 
sufficiently desultory1 on the general  
character of the literature  published  
in ,italy1 from the introduction of     
printing into the country  to the end of

 the century1 have suggested some       
remarks on the kind of  books which the 
early ,italian printers found it        
profitable to produce1  and some        
inferences respecting the taste of the  
day1 and the classes  which would be    
reached by the printing-press4 ,to      
afford a really  satisfactory           
ground-work for such an inquiry1 all    
known publications  should be enumerated
 7although the briefest titles would    
serve71 and  tabulated according to     
their subjects4 ,deductions regarding   
the  intellectual aspects of the time   
might then be made with some            
confidence1 and the apparently dry and  
unpromising ground-work would  admit of 
rich illustration from the stores of    
contemporary literary  history4 ,any    
such fulness of treatment is1 of course1
 as incompatible  with the space        
available in ,bibliographica as with the
 time at the  disposal of the writer4   
,enough1 it is hoped1 will have been    
done to show  how interesting a detailed

 analysis of the subject might be made4 
,the  ,roman and ,venetian presses have 
been chiefly dwelt upon1 inasmuch as    
these two cities1 the first in ,italy to
 possess printing-presses1 also  served 
to test the opposite systems of reliance
 upon patronage in high  quarters1 or   
upon the free life of a busy and        
prosperous community4 ,the  result is   
instructive1 and has been confirmed by  
every similar  experiment in later      
times4    ,in examining the literature  
of the age1 as represented by the       
contemporary productions of the press1  
we are particularly impressed by  its   
utilitarian1 and1 as a corollary1 its   
essentially popular character4  ,we do  
not employ this latter term as          
indicative of a relation between  the   
printers and the mass of the people1 who
 at that period were  generally unable  
to read1 but between the printers and   
their limited  public4 ,in our times a  
considerable proportion of the current  
literature  of the day is produced      

without any reference to the needs and  
tastes of  the reading public4 ,the     
author knows that he will not be read1  
but it  nevertheless suits him to put   
his opinions1 his experiences1 or his   
skill in composition upon record2 for   
the gratification of his  self-esteem1  
it may be1 or the expression of his     
emotions1 or as a  document for future  
reference1 or as an act of duty1 or for 
the pleasure  of friends1 or for any one
 or more of these and many other        
conceivable  reasons4 ,were it not for  
the safety-valve afforded by the        
periodical  press1 the number of books  
thus existing for the author's          
individual  sake would be very much more
 considerable4 ,hardly anything of this 
is to  be observed in the early ages of 
publishing4 ,scarcely a book is to be   
found for which a public might not be   
reasonably expected1 and which1         
therefore1 would not be produced without
 the expectation of profit4 ,we  know   
that this expectation was not always    

realised from ,sweynheym and            
,pannartz's petition to ,pope ,sixtus   
,,iv41 that he would indemnify them by  
some public appointment for the loss of 
capital sunk in their unsold            
publications1 but the books were such as
 promised to command a sale1 and  the   
reason of their failure was probably the
 competition of other  ,italian presses4
 ,they were principally classical       
authors or ,fathers of  the ,church1 and
 it may be that exigencies of ,papal    
patronage led  ,sweynheym and his       
partner to produce more of the latter   
class than was  prudent on strictly     
commercial grounds4 ,if so1 the case was
 quite  exceptional1 and does not       
invalidate the general proposition that 
the  ,italian printers of the           
,renaissance looked entirely1 and in the
 main  intelligently1 to the needs of   
their public4 ,it is thus easy to       
discover  the character of this         
constituency1 and to estimate its       
requirements4    ,for long after the    

invention of printing the books produced
 consist  mainly of four classes3--7#a7 
,classical1 7#b7 ,grammatical1 7#c7     
,theological1 7#d7 ,legal4 ,the immense 
proportion of these in comparison  with 
other subjects demonstrates that the    
great majority of readers  belonged to  
the professional classes--teachers1 or  
at least students at  the universities1 
divines1 and practitioners of civil or  
canon law4 ,had  a leisured and cultured
 class existed1 as in our times1 we     
should have  seen more modern history   
and biography1 more essays and faceti1  
more  vernacular poetry and fiction--all
 departments very slenderly  represented
 in the fifteenth century4 ,men         
evidently read for practical  ends1 and 
invested their money in the expectation 
of a substantial  rather than an        
intellectual return4 ,the class that now
 reads principally  for amusement1 did  
not in that age read at all2 but if it  
had1 books  could not then be produced  
at the cheap rate required to ensure an 

extensive circulation4 ,if such books   
are costly1 they must at all events  be 
solid1 to give the purchaser an apparent
 return for his money2 or the  expense  
must be distributed over a wide area by 
the agency of  circulating libraries1 an
 institution which implies a numerous   
reading  public4 ,hence1 a fact         
honourable to ,renaissance literature1  
it includes  hardly anything that can be
 called trash4 ,copious in the number of
 its  publications1 it is               
disappointingly meagre in their themes2 
many  branches of human activity hardly 
exist for it1 but1 at all events1       
almost every one of its publications was
 produced in response to a real  need4  
,most of them have inevitably become    
obsolete1 few have ever been1  or will  
be1 utterly valueless4    ,the drawback 
to the generally sterling character of  
the early  ,renaissance printing was    
want of enterprise on the part of the   
printers1  who were also the publishers4
 ,at the present day culture is greatly 

promoted by the ambitious and           
competitive spirit of publishers1 who   
look  far and wide for subjects likely  
to touch sympathetic chords in the      
breast of the public1 are always ready  
to listen to new ideas1 to which  they  
frequently accord generous              
encouragement1 compete among themselves 
for promising writers1 and are          
continually devising new schemes to     
attract patronage by elegance1          
cheapness1 artistic decoration1 or the  
supply of some want which the public has
 not yet found out for itself4  ,very   
little of this is to be discovered in   
the fifteenth century4  ,publishers     
seldom cared to transgress the safe     
ordinary round of  classics1 divinity1  
and law4 ,occasionally there are        
symptoms of  alertness to the events of 
the day3 thus1 as soon as ,cardinal     
,rovere  becomes ,pope1 his treatises on
 the ,redemption and the perpetual      
virginity of ,mary are printed at ,rome2
 and when the ,jews are accused of      

murdering a ,christian boy1             
circumstantial accounts of the tragedy  
appear  in different parts of ,europe4  
,but1 notwithstanding the intellectual  
curiosity of the age1 it would seem to  
have been a very unpromising one  for   
the literary manifestation of original  
genius of any kind4 ,works of           
contemporary authors1 other than of a   
purely utilitarian character1 are  very 
rare4 ,one of the most remarkable       
exceptions is the publication at        
,naples in #adgf of the ,novellini of   
,masuccio1 a book whose scandalous      
character would be sure to obtain it    
readers4 ,towards the end of the        
century1 works by living authors of     
eminence became more frequent1 but  even
 then they are most commonly those of   
men like ,sanazzaro1  influential in    
courts1 and enjoying literary           
distinction long before  they went to   
press4 ,one of the press's most         
important functions1 the  encouragement 
of unknown ability1 was hardly performed

 at all in that  age1 and the principal 
reason was that the printers1 though    
sometimes of  classical acquirements1   
were either too exclusively commercial  
in their  views or too limited in their 
resources to promote literary activity  
outside of the beaten track4 ,our own   
,caxton appears a model of  intelligent 
adaptation to the tastes of his public1 
but he never finds  an author or exerts 
himself to give superior finish or      
elegance to a  book4 ,it cannot but be  
thought that if ,italy had in the       
fifteenth  century possessed a publisher
 of enterprising spirit and ample means1
 a  powerful impulse might have been    
imparted to ,italian vernacular         
literature4 ,such a person1 indeed1     
would have perceived that the public    
for such a literature1 apart from its   
few classical examples1 did not  then   
exist1 but he would have deemed that the
 multitude of intelligent  men who could
 not read ,latin would read ,italian1 if
 ,italian were put  before them4        

,instead of hiring editors he would have
 hired authors1 and  his enterprise     
might have been attended by momentous   
consequences4    ,another token of the  
lack of a far-seeing speculative spirit 
is the  extraordinary period which      
elapsed before an ,italian printer      
ventured  upon the publication of a     
,greek book4 ,the interest in ,greek    
literature  must have been very general1
 but instructors were probably scarce1  
and  few ,italians had taken the trouble
 to learn it4 ,the educational value of 
the language1 apart from the contents of
 the books composed in it1 was  utterly 
unsurmised1 and the reader was fully    
satisfied if he could  obtain a faithful
 ,latin translation1 which in the       
majority of cases was  not yet to be    
had4 ,had printed ,greek texts been     
placed in the way of  readers1 a vast   
impulse would have been given to the    
study of the  language1 and a publisher 
of genius1 labouring to create the taste
 he  did not find1 might have greatly   

accelerated the course of ,european     
culture4 ,greek grammar1 even1 awaited  
the typographer until #adgf1 and  ,greek
 literature for some years longer4 ,no  
originality was infused into  the       
business of publishing until the advent 
of ,aldus1 almost as much the  father of
 modern bookselling as ,gutenberg is the
 father of printing4    ,leaving the    
question of what the ,renaissance       
printers and publishers of  ,italy might
 have done1 we proceed to illustrate    
what they did by a brief  analysis of   
the character of their productions      
during the first few  years of their    
activity1 especially in ,rome and       
,venice4 ,the survey is  necessarily    
very imperfect1 for a large proportion  
of their productions  are not dated1 and
 the exact year is usually a matter of  
conjecture4 ,we  must confine ourselves 
to the list of dated books given by     
,panzer1 which  might admit of          
considerable extension4 ,it is not      
likely1 however1 that  this would       

materially affect the mutual proportion 
of the various  classes of literature1  
the point with which we are principally 
concerned4    ,printing was established 
at ,rome in #adfg by the removal of     
,sweynheym and  ,pannartz from ,subiaco4
 ,five books are recorded to have been  
printed  there in that year2 two        
classics 7,cicero's ,de ,oratore and    
,epistol ad  ,familiares71 two editions 
of the fathers1 and one grammatical     
work4 ,in  #adfh six more make their    
appearance1 one classical1 three        
patristic1 one  theological1 and one    
medical4 ,in #adfi commences the great  
run upon  classical writers1 which      
continued for some years4 ,of the twelve
 books  enumerated by ,panzer as        
produced in this year1 all but one are  
classics1 and the apparent exception is 
a defence of ,plato by ,cardinal        
,bessarion4 ,all but one are printed by 
,sweynheym and ,pannartz1 with  prefaces
 by the ,bishop of ,aleria as           
editor-general4 ,this striking          

development of activity indicates the   
first organised attempt to  monopolise a
 special department of the book-trade1  
which might possibly  have succeeded if 
,rome had then1 as now1 been the capital
 of an united  ,italy4 ,the other       
,italian cities1 however1 had no        
intention of being  excluded from the   
practice of the new art1 and the same   
year witnessed  the introduction of     
typography into its true ,italian       
metropolis1 ,venice1  combined1 however1
 with an audacious attempt to obtain a  
monopoly4  ,joannes de ,spira1 the first
 printer in ,venice1 not content with   
obtaining protection for his            
publications1 claimed and obtained the  
sole  right of printing books in the    
city for five years4 ,men had evidently 
as  yet but little conception of the    
importance of the new art2 but the      
death of the printer within the year    
released the ,venetian ,state from  the 
obligation it had so inconsiderately    
undertaken1 and it was by this  time    

sufficiently enlightened not to renew it
 in favour of his brother  ,vindelinus1 
who1 however1 remained for some time    
among the most  distinguished of        
,venetian printers4#adi3a    ,before    
leaving the year #adfi1 we should       
mention the first ,italian  instance of 
a printed translation of a ,greek       
classic1 the ,italian  ,strabo1         
published by ,sweynheym and ,pannartz   
without date1 but which is  known to    
have belonged to this year4 ,in #adgj   
the run on classics  continues1 the same
 number as in the previous year being   
printed1 mostly  by ,sweynheym and      
,pannartz1 but a revival is apparent in 
other branches  of literature1 the      
number of books in theology being nearly
 equal to  that of the classics4        
,another translation from the ,greek    
appears1 that  of ,plutarch's ,lives1   
rendered by various hands1 with the     
preface of ,j4  ,a4 ,campanus4 ,the most
 remarkable production of the ,roman    
press for this  year1 however1 is a     

small tract1 which affords the first    
example of  recourse to printing by a   
,pope for an official purpose4 ,it is   
the brief  of ,pope ,paul ,,ii41        
enacting that the ,jubilee shall        
henceforth be  celebrated every         
twenty-fifth year1 and consequently in  
#adge1 which he  did not live to see4   
,this interesting document has been     
recently  acquired by the ,british      
,museum4 ,in #adga1 as is most probable1
 another  ,government publication       
appeared1 ,the ,civic ,statutes of      
,rome1 as  revised by ,paul ,,ii42 and  
the election of his successor ,sixtus1  
in the  same year1 produced the first   
two examples of official publications1  
afterwards very frequent1 the           
congratulatory harangues pronounced by  
ambassadors upon occasion of their      
tendering homage to the ,pope4          
,twelve classical publications grace the
 year1 mostly from the press of         
,sweynheym and ,pannartz1 as well as the
 first volume of their great  edition of

 the ,biblical ,commentary of ,nicolaus 
de ,lyra4 ,the remaining  four volumes  
appeared in the year following1 and the 
last was freighted  with the memorable  
appeal to ,pope ,sixtus ,,iv41 composed 
by the ,bishop of  ,aleria in the name  
of the printers1 which throws so vivid a
 light on the  vicissitudes of the      
book-trade in ,rome4 ,they have printed 
#ab1dge sheets1  acervum ingentem1 for  
which it is marvellous that paper or    
types  should have been found4 ,their   
spacious premises are choked with       
unbound  sheets in quinions             
7quinterniones71 but void of victual and
 drink4  ,will the ,pope give them some 
little office1 by aid of which they may 
be  able to provide for themselves and  
their families8 ,rome was manifestly  no
 place for classical publishers1 even   
under a ,pope who did so much for  the  
encouragement of learning as ,sixtus4   
,the forlorn estate of ,sweynheym  and  
,pannartz1 contrasted1 as we shall see1 
with the flourishing  condition of the  

,venetian book-trade at the time1 shows 
that even at a  period when reading1 to 
say nothing of the scholarship required 
to  master the literature of the day1   
was not a general accomplishment1 the   
bookseller's best patron was the public4
 ,probably1 however1 the  hardships of  
the firm may have been somewhat         
exaggerated by the eloquent  pen of the 
,bishop of ,aleria2 for in this very    
year they appear as  printing ten books1
 and in the following year seven4 ,two  
of these are  new editions of works     
previously issued by them1 showing not  
only that  the original impression was  
sold out1 but that it was thought       
profitable  to undertake another4    ,in
 #adgd the names of the printers        
entirely disappear as partners4         
,sweynheym is known to have died before 
#adgh 7when the ,ptolemy1 which he  had 
begun to prepare for the press1 was     
published by ,arnold ,buckingk71  but at
 what particular time is uncertain4     
,pannartz comes forward by  himself in  

,december #adgd1 and in the following   
year he occurs as the  printer of eight 
books1 chiefly classical4 ,in #adgf he  
prints three1 but  his activity abruptly
 terminates in ,march1 a period         
coinciding with a  collapse in ,roman   
publishing1 best illustrated by a       
comparative table3--        #adge  #ec  
books4      #adgf  #bd  books4          
#adgg  #ad  books4      #adgh  #ae      
books4      #adgi  #aa  books4          
#adhj   #i  books4    ,no doubt many    
undated books were published in these   
years1 and after  #adhj some revival is 
apparent1 but the quality of the        
publication is  greatly lowered4        
,classics continued to be printed1 but  
they retire into  the background before 
canon and civil law1 and the apparent   
number is  greatly helped out by        
ephemeral pamphlets1 such as papal      
briefs and  addresses on public         
occasions4 ,the endeavour to render     
,rome an  intellectual centre had       
manifestly failed1 nor has she deserved 

this  character at any subsequent       
period1 except for the few years during 
which wits and scholars gathered around 
,leo ,x4 ,before leaving the  subject1  
nevertheless1 a tribute should be paid  
to the merits of ,joannes  ,philippus de
 ,lignamine1 a native of ,messina1      
apparently a man of good  family1 and   
not improbably the first native ,italian
 to exercise the  typographic art1 in   
whose productions may be traced         
rudimentary ideas of  a higher order    
than were vouchsafed to his mercantile  
contemporaries4 ,it  can hardly be by   
accident that the same man who in #adgb 
prints the first  vernacular book that  
had appeared in ,rome1 should in the    
same year  publish1 although in ,latin1 
the first biography of an ,italian      
contemporary1 his own memoir of his own 
sovereign1 ,ferdinand of ,naples2       
should in #adgc issue the vernacular    
poetry of ,petrarch2 and in #adgd a     
book of such national interest as the   
,italia ,illustrata of ,flavio  ,biondo4

 ,his publications are always of high   
quality1 and it would be  interesting to
 learn more respecting him4 ,he is      
described as a member of  the ,pope's   
household1 and was certainly something  
more than a  professional printer4      
,the establishment of printing at ,rome 
had naturally ensued upon the  migration
 of the printers from the small         
adjoining town of ,subiaco1 and  the    
choice of the latter place as the cradle
 of ,italian typography had  probably   
been determined by the ,german          
nationality of the majority of  the     
inmates of its celebrated monastery4    
,the introduction of printing  into     
,venice1 two years after ,rome1 was     
probably less the effect of  accident4  
,joannes de ,spira1 who1 as we have     
seen1 so promptly secured a  monopoly of
 so much value as the exclusive exercise
 of printing for five  years1 must have 
been an enterprising and far-seeing man1
 to whom the  opulence and comparative  
freedom of ,venice would offer greater  

attractions than the doubtful patronage 
of an ,italian despot4 ,this view  of   
his character is confirmed by the       
boldness of his first undertakings4     
,before obtaining any privilege he had  
produced two of the most  voluminous    
works of antiquity then                 
accessible--,pliny's ,natural ,history  
and ,cicero's ,epistol ad ,familiares4  
,the soundness of his judgment was      
evinced by the demand for a second      
edition of his ,cicero within four      
months1 an unusual occurrence in the    
history of early printing4 ,tacitus     
followed1 and the ,german printer's     
patriotism is indicated by his          
description of the ,germania as libellus
 aureus4 ,his brother and  successor1   
,vindelinus1 displays even greater      
energy1 producing fifteen  books within 
the year #adgj1 among them so important 
a work as ,livy's  ,history1 and gaining
 especial honour as the first printer of
 ,petrarch4  ,the rest are almost       
entirely classical1 and so are the few  

books printed  in this year by his      
rival1 ,nicolas ,jenson1 the most       
elegant of all the  ,italian printers4  
,in #adga ,venetian printing takes a    
wider range2 law  books increase2       
,jensen produces books of morals and of 
religious  edification in the           
vernacular2 ,christopher ,valdarfer     
publishes the  ,decameron of ,boccaccio4
 ,more important still is the appearance
 of two  independent ,italian           
translations of the ,bible1 one from the
 press of  ,vindelinus1 one without name
 of printer4 ,as no other ,italian city 
emulated the example of ,venice1 an     
example frequently repeated by her      
before the close of the century1 we are 
justified in assuming that in no  other 
,italian city could such a thing be     
done4 ,interesting too is a  vernacular 
translation of ,cardinal ,bessarion's   
exhortation to the  ,italian princes to 
take arms against the ,turk1 showing a  
public for  productions of contemporary 
interest1 outside the ranks of those who

  could read ,latin4 ,in the following  
year1 #adgb1 printed editions of no     
fewer than six classical authors make   
their appearance at ,venice1  ,cicero's 
,tusculan ,questions2 ,catullus1 with   
,tibullus and ,propertius1 and  the     
,silv of ,statius2 ,ausonius1 with a    
considerable appendix of minor  poets2  
,macrobius's commentary on the ,somnium 
,scipionis1 and the  authors of ,de ,re 
,rustica4 ,although some of the cities  
dependent upon  ,venice--,padua1        
,treviso1 ,verona--were beginning to    
have printing-presses1  their           
typographers were not equal to such     
undertakings1 and ,venice must  have    
been the headquarters of production and 
distribution for her  extensive and     
opulent territory1 and probably for many
 of the  neighbouring states4 ,her      
abundant capital and industry1 liberal  
administration in non-political matters1
 and the confluence of strangers  must  
be reckoned among the principal causes  
of this activity1 to which  ,mr4        

,horatio ,brown adds another1 the       
abundance and excellence of paper1      
which the ,venetian senate had protected
 a century before by prohibiting  the   
export of rags from their dominions4    
,the extent and growth of the ,venetian 
book-trade will appear by the  following
 notice of the number of works printed  
from #adfi to #adhf1 which  would be    
considerably augmented if dates could be
 safely assigned to  undated books3--   
#adfi    #d  books4      #adgj   #bb    
books4      #adga   #dh  books4         
#adgb   #cf  books4      #adgc   #bh    
books4      #adgd   #dj  books4         
#adge   #cg  books4      #adgf   #eb    
books4      #adgg   #ee  books4         
#adgh   #fd  books4      #adgi   #af    
books4      #adhj   #ga  books4         
#adha   #gi  books4      #adhb   #gd    
books4      #adhc  #ajd  books4         
#adhd   #ff  books4      #adhe   #hd    
books4      #adhf   #ga  books4    ,by  
#adie the number of publications has    
risen to #aai1 the general  character of

 the books remaining much as before4    
,the productions of the  ,venetian press
 from #adfi to #aejj occupy more space  
in ,panzer's catalogue  than those of   
,rome1 ,florence1 ,naples1 ,milan1      
,bologna1 ,brescia1 ,ferrara1  ,padua1  
,parma1 and ,treviso put together4      
,space allows only a brief glance at the
 typographical productions of the  five 
most important of the seven ,italian    
cities which possessed  printing-presses
 by #adga--;,bologna1 ,ferrara1         
,florence1 ,milan and ,naples4          
,bologna1 as might be expected in a     
university city1 especially produces    
erudite books1 particularly in          
philosophy1 mathematics1 and medicine4  
,petrarch and ,boccaccio1 however1      
relieve the general aridity1 and there  
is a fair sprinkling of classics4       
,ferrara's taste lies much in the same  
direction1 but it is remarkable for a   
school of ,hebrew printing1 and  does   
itself honour by the editio princeps of 
,seneca's tragedies1 and  even more so  

by that of ,boccaccio's ,teseide1 the   
first publication of  an ,italian epic  
poem other than the ,divina ,commedia4  
,florence appears  more tardy in        
developing the new art than might have  
been expected under  ,medicean rule2 and
 her early productions would seem       
comparatively  unimportant but for      
,bettini's ,monte ,sancto di ,dio       
7#adgg71 the first  example of a printed
 book containing copperplate engraving1 
and the  famous ,dante of #adha1 partly 
illustrated in the same manner4 ,the    
artistic eminence of ,florence renders  
the production of this work within  her 
precincts especially significant2 and in
 #adij a school of  wood-engraving      
arises which surpasses the ,venetian1   
and often confers  great artistic value 
upon typographical productions otherwise
 of little  account4 ,another           
interesting feature of ,florentine      
typography1 from  about #adhj until the 
end of the century1 is the number of    
original  publications by native men of 

letters1 such as ,politian1 the ,pulcis1
  and1 in quite a different manner1     
,savonarola4 ,florence understood the   
duty of encouraging contemporary talent 
better than any other ,italian  city2   
yet1 although she was the ,athens of    
,italy1 and possessed its  ,pericles1   
the comparison between the extent of her
 typographical  production and that of  
,venice shows that the public is the    
better  patron4 ,when1 at a much later  
period1 wealth and public spirit        
departed  from ,venice to an extent     
which they never did from ,florence1 the
 lead  passed to the latter city4       
,milan is1 for the first few years1     
principally devoted to the classics1    
upon which law and theology gradually   
gain ground4 ,its great glory is  the   
first book printed in                   
,greek--,lascaris's ,grammar1 #adgf4    
,simoneta's  ,history of ,francesco     
,sforza1 put forth by the authority of  
,lodovico  ,sforza about #adgi1 is also 
a memorable book4 ,naples1 where        

printing was  never very active1 does   
little for classical literature1 but    
produce  numerous works by local writers
 of distinction1 from ,archbishop       
,caraccioli to the licentious ,masuccio4
 ,the number of ,hebrew books is a      
remarkable feature4    ,this slight     
degustation--analysis it cannot be      
called--of the fruits of  ,italian      
,renaissance literature confirms the    
proposition with which we  began1 that  
it was far more utilitarian than that of
 ages often  stigmatised as             
matter-of-fact and prosaic4 ,the        
reproductions of  classical authors were
 not in general stimulated by enthusiasm
 for their  beauties1 but by their      
utility1 either for the information they
  contained1 or as books for school or  
college4 ,outside their circle very     
little of a fanciful or imaginative     
character appeared1 and this chiefly  in
 the shape of impressions of vernacular 
authors1 such as ,dante1  ,petrarch1 and
 ,boccaccio4 ,original genius was at    

almost as low an ebb as  it has ever    
been1 although a band of most gracefully
 accomplished men of  letters surrounded
 ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 and ,ariosto and 
,machiavelli were  growing up4 ,in      
partial explanation of this             
circumstance1 it may be  remarked that  
the fifteenth century1 brilliant in its 
inventions and  discoveries1 was1 in a  
literary point of view1 one of the most 
unproductive periods in ,european       
history4 ,petrarch and ,boccaccio in    
,italy1 ,chaucer in ,england1 left no   
successors2 with the exception of  neas 
,sylvius1 it would be difficult to point
 to any writer of the first  half of the
 century eminent by his achievements in 
elegant literature4  ,had printing been 
invented in the thirteenth century1 or  
in the age of  ,elizabeth1 we might have
 had a different story to record2 but it
 must  now be said that for a long time 
it did little for the encouragement of  
genius1 hardly even of high talent4 ,yet
 the age as a whole was by no  means    

flat or prosaic1 only its imagination   
was more powerfully  attracted to art   
than to letters1 and a spiritual charm  
is chiefly  recognisable among its books
 in proportion as art has influenced    
them1  whether in the design of         
exquisite type or of beautiful          
illustration4  ,this utilitarian        
character of literature1 as we have     
remarked1 tended to  discourage readers 
for amusement or for the love of        
letters2 and this in  turn discouraged  
printers and publishers from any serious
 effort to  provide vernacular reading4 
,literature accordingly remained for a  
long  time the property of the          
humanists1 which is as much as to say   
that it  was imitative and not creative4
 ,the merits and defects of this        
excellent  class of men cannot be better
 exhibited than by their attitude       
towards  ,greek4 ,it was not one of     
indifference1 they translated ,greek    
authors  into ,latin with exemplary     
pains2 but they thought this quite      

sufficient1 and made no effort to render
 the originals accessible4 ,they  valued
 ,greek authors for their information1  
not for their style1 and had  no idea of
 the value of the language as an        
instrument of education4 ,a  creative   
epoch was required for this1 such as    
speedily came with the  overthrow of the
 old order of ,italy1 with the discovery
 of ,america1  above all1 with the      
,reformation4 ,no age can bestow so     
great a boon upon  literature as the    
fifteenth century did by the invention  
of printing2  but it was not an age in  
which the hero flourished conspicuously 
as man  of letters4      ,,footnotes3   
#adi3a ,it seems to have been afterwards
 sought to imply that ,spira's  monopoly
 was intended only to protect his       
copyright in books actually  published  
by him1 but the language of the original
 document is clear4  ,it may be remarked
 that1 did not other arguments          
abundantly suffice1  this transaction   
would prove the date #adfa1 in ,nicolas 

,jenson's ,decor  ,puellarum1 to be a   
misprint1 as if he had printed before   
#adfi he would  have acquired a locus   
standi which could not have been ignored
 in  ,spira's favour4          ,,some   
,,book-,,hunters ,,of ,,the             
,,seventeenth ,,century#afa3a      ,i   
feel that ,i owe an apology for         
presenting you with anything so scrappy 
and disconnected as the paper you are to
 hear to-night4 ,being  unexpectedly    
called upon to fill a gap at a time when
 pressure of  occupation prevented my   
writing anything requiring care or      
study1 ,i  bethought me of the story of 
the minister who1 when about to         
officiate  as a substitute for another1 
received at the same time a hint that   
the  congregation were particular about 
quantity no less than quality1 and  that
 they would expect the length of his    
public exercises to attain the  average 
of the regular incumbent4 ,the absent   
gentleman was remarkable  for fluency1  
the locum tenens was a man of few words4

 ,he did his best1  but by-and-by found 
himself with a vacant quarter of an hour
 and a  vacant head2 when suddenly a    
happy thought flashed into the void1 and
 he  exclaimed1 ,and now1 ,o ,lord1 ,i  
will relate an anecdote4 ,i too in my   
emergency have taken refuge in          
anecdotage1 and1 in default of anything 
of my own1 ,i am about to bore or       
entertain you with some anecdotes of    
book-collectors of the seventeenth      
century1 borrowed from that  illustrious
 gossip and anecdote monger1 ,nicius    
,erythrus1 with a brief  account of whom
 ,i will preface my paper4    ,i        
scarcely think that ,i shall underrate  
the amount of information  respecting   
,nicius ,erythrus current at this time  
in this country by  remarking that the  
name is probably best known as a        
pseudonym of  ,coleridge1 under which   
his poem of ,lewti1 a ,circassian       
love-chant1 was  first given to the     
world1 and most readers will have deemed
 his adoption  of it a mere freak4 ,i   

confess that ,i am myself unable to     
discover what  ,nicius ,erythrus has to 
do with the ,circassians1 but it is not 
an  imaginary name1 being the           
,latinisation of that of ,vittorio d    
,rossi1 an  ,italian ,jesuit1 who       
flourished during the last quarter of   
the sixteenth1  and the first half of   
the seventeenth century1 and1 always    
writing in  ,latin1 translated his      
vernacular appellation into that        
language4 ,the  circumstance of his     
having written in ,latin is no doubt one
 principal  reason why he is now so     
little remembered4 ,he was one of the   
pioneers of  a reviving form of         
literature1 the anecdotic4 ,poggio      
,bracciolini had  written a very popular
 book of anecdotes in the fifteenth     
century1 but  his tales are often mere  
,joe ,millers1 and not always authentic4
 ,nicius's  stories are bona-fide       
anecdotes or reminiscences of actual    
personages1  with most of whom he had   
conversed4 ,all roads1 it is said1 lead 

to ,rome1  and his position as an       
ecclesiastic about the ,papal court1    
albeit a  hungry and discontented one   
7he had sorely prejudiced himself by a  
romance1 the ,eudemia1 in which he had  
made too free with the  characters of   
influential people71 brought him into   
contact with every  man of mark who     
resorted to it1 whether a denizen of    
,rome or a foreign  visitor4 ,his       
gallery of portraits includes two       
persons of much interest  to ,britain1  
,john ,barclay1 ,scot by descent if     
,french by birth1 author of  the        
,argenis2 and ,teresa1 the fair         
,armenian1 who wedded our countryman    
,sir ,robert ,sherley1 in his           
adventurous ,persian travels4 ,in my    
opinion he  is a most entertaining      
writer1 lively and animated1 with a     
bright  descriptive touch2 an elegant   
,latinist1 and though much given to     
relating stories which the subjects of  
them would have wished to consign  to   
oblivion1 he is at bottom very          

good-natured4 ,his principal work is    
his ,pinacotheca1 or ,portrait ,gallery1
 in three parts1 each containing  a     
hundred sketches of contemporaries1 all 
people of some note1 if only  for their 
eccentricities1 and many of whom1 but   
for him1 would now be  utterly unknown4 
,he doubtless retails much gossip at    
second-hand1 but ,i  do not think that  
he has invented anything1 and ,i believe
 that we see  his contemporaries in his 
pages much as they really were4 ,for    
proofs1  authorities1 pices             
justificatives1 you must look elsewhere1
 and  ,nicius shuns a date as if it were
 the number of the beast4    ,perhaps   
the most interesting of the particulars 
relating to library  matters imparted by
 my author are those respecting a man   
second only to  ,grolier as a patron of 
fine binding1 but of whose personal     
character  and habits1 were it not for  
,nicius1 we should know nothing4 ,every 
one  interested in the bibliopegic art  
is more or less acquainted with the     

beautiful bindings executed for         
,demetrius ,canevarius1 physician to    
,urban  ,,vii41 elected ,pope in #aeij1 
but whom all his leech's skill could not
  keep alive upon the ,papal throne for 
more than twelve days4 ,this  certainly 
does not seem to have been the fault of 
the physician1 who  was1 ,nicius tells  
us1 a ,genoese of noble family1 who     
condescended to the  medical profession 
in the hope of becoming rich4 ,in this  
there is  nothing to criticise2 but     
unfortunately1 avarice seems to have    
been his  master passion1 indeed his    
only passion1 except the love of books1 
which  has given him an honourable place
 in literary history4 ,having removed   
from ,genoa to ,rome1 he soon obtained  
the confidence of many of the           
,cardinals1 and became the most         
celebrated and opulent physician of his 
day4 ,but his habits were most          
parsimonious2 he never1 in his own      
house1  says ,nicius1 tasted fowl or    
fish1 or anything that any sumptuary law

  could have forbidden in any age4 ,he  
lived by himself2 his meals1  consisting
 of bread1 soup1 and a scrap of meat1   
were brought him by an  old woman who   
never entered the house1 and drawn up to
 the first floor  in a basket4 ,he      
bought his new clothes ready made1 and  
his second-hand  clothes from the ,jews4
 ,as soon as he got any money1 he put it
 out to  interest1 and when he got the  
interest upon that1 he put it out again4
  ,the one exception to this parsimony  
was the expense to which he went in     
buying books4 ,dry as pumice1 says      
,nicius1 in every other respect1 in     
this he was most liberal2 if you look1  
that is1 to the total sum he  expended1 
and not to the prices he gave for       
individual books4 ,for he  beat the     
booksellers down unrelentingly1 and     
would carry off their books  at much    
lower prices than they asked1           
notwithstanding their lamentations  and 
complaints that they were going to be   
ruined4 ,how could he achieve  this8 ,by

 the magic of ready money2 the          
bibliopole found it better after  all to
 part with the book at a small profit   
for money down than to keep  it on his  
shelves till some one bought it and     
forgot to pay4 ,thus was  ,canevarius   
unknowingly a forerunner of the         
political economists1 and an  initiator 
of the principle of small profits and   
quick returns4 ,of the  bindings which  
constitute his glory with posterity     
,nicius says nothing2  but ascribes his 
prowess as a collector in great measure 
to a love of  fame4 ,no unworthy motive 
either1 but it is likely that public    
spirit had  quite as much to do with it2
 for ,canevarius not merely collected   
the  library which he expected to       
perpetuate his name with posterity1 but 
bequeathed it to his native city of     
,genoa1 and left by his will an  annuity
 of two hundred crowns to a caretaker4  
,it would be interesting to  learn what 
became of the books and the pension2 if 
the facts are not  already upon record  

they ought to be investigated4 ,from the
 preface to a  posthumous work of       
,canevarius1 published by his brother1  
it would almost  seem that the family   
had some control over it1 and if so they
 may have  dilapidated it4 ,if the      
library1 when transmitted to ,genoa1    
contained all  the elaborate bindings   
which are now esteemed so precious1 it  
was a  bequest of more value than could 
have been supposed at the time4 ,though 
stingy and covetous in his life1        
,canevarius was a benefactor to many at 
his death4 ,he left1 ,nicius says1 such 
a multitude of legacies1 and such  a    
host of minute directions to be observed
 after his decease1 that his  will was  
as big as a book4 ,the ruling passion of
 parsimony remained with  him1 and he   
gave a remarkable instance of it in his 
last illness4  ,when1 says ,nicius1 ten 
days before his death1 an old woman who 
had  come to nurse him gave him an egg  
to suck1 and then took a new napkin     
from a cupboard to wipe his lips2 ',what

 mean you1' cried he1 'by  spoiling a   
new napkin8 was there never a tattered  
one in the house8  ,depart to the       
infernal regions6' ,yet even here       
,canevarius emerges  victorious1 for the
 disparaging biographer is constrained  
to admit that  he had a new napkin4     
,the next chapter of bibliographical    
anecdote which ,i propose to cite  from 
,nicius ,erythrus is not derived from   
his ,pinacotheca1 but from his          
,epistles4 ,it relates to persons of    
more importance than ,demetrius         
,canevarius1 to no less a man1 indeed1  
than ,cardinal ,mazarin1 and to the     
eminent ,french scholar ,gabriel ,naud1 
then 7#afde7 employed as his agent  in  
collecting the first ,mazarin ,library1 
so unhappily destroyed and  dispersed a 
few years afterwards by the hostile     
,parliament of ,paris4  ,naud has       
deplored the fate of the collection in a
 book devoted to it1  and ,nicius1 his  
intimate friend and correspondent1      
powerfully confirms  the loss which     

letters thus received by his description
 of ,naud's  exertions as a collector1  
in a letter he writes to ,cardinal      
,chigi1 ,papal  nuncio in ,germany4     
,after mentioning that ,naud had        
seventeen years  before obtained great  
credit by a work ,on the ,formation of  
,public  ,libraries1 and that ,mazarin  
having laid the foundation of his       
library  by buying that of a ,canon of  
,limoges1 consisting of six thousand    
volumes1 ,naud had doubled this number  
by purchases within one year2 he  adds1 
,finding nothing more to buy in ,paris  
he went to ,belgium1 and  there took the
 pick of the market2 and this year has  
come to ,italy1  where the booksellers' 
shops seem devastated as by a whirlwind4
 ,he buys  up everything1 printed or    
manuscript1 in all languages1 leaves the
  shelves empty behind him1 and         
sometimes comes down upon them with a   
rule1 and insists upon taking their     
contents by the yard4 ,often1 seeing    
masses of books accumulated together1 he

 asks the price of the entire  lot2 it  
is named2 differences ensue2 but1 by    
dint of urging1 bullying1  storming1 our
 man gets his way1 and often acquires   
excellent books among  the heap1 for    
less than if they had been pears or     
lemons4 ,when the  vendor comes to think
 over the matter1 he concludes that he  
has been  bewitched1 and complains that 
he would have fared better with the     
butterman1 or the grocer4 ,did you see  
our ,naud coming out of a  bookseller's 
shop you could never help laughing1 so  
covered from head  to foot is he with   
cobwebs1 and that learned dust which    
sticks to books1  from which neither    
thumps nor brushes1 it seems1 would ever
 be able to  free him4 ,i have seen     
multitudes of ,hebrew books in his      
bedroom1 so  stained and greasy and     
stinking1 that one's nose seemed damaged
  irrecoverably2 they must have been    
disinterred from ,jewish kitchens1      
smelling as they did of smoke1 soup1    
cheese1 pickles1 or rather of a  mixture

 of each and all these aromas4 ,if he   
gives them a place in his  library1 he  
will undoubtedly bring in the mice2 they
 will flock in from  ,paris and the     
suburbs1 hold their feasts1 convoke     
their parliaments1 and  deliberate on   
the ways and means of resisting the     
cats1 their capital  enemies4 ,but1     
without joking1 ,naud means that ,paris 
shall have the  finest public library in
 ,europe4    ,i need not dwell further  
on the sad fate of this magnificent     
collection1  nor remind you that        
,mazarin formed a second which1         
especially for one  book's sake1 has    
endeared him to many who know little of 
him as a  statesman1 and that little not
 always to his advantage4 ,after hearing
 of  his munificence and indomitable    
spirit in the collection of books1 we   
may feel more reconciled to the first   
book ever printed in ,europe being      
popularly associated with his name1     
although ,gutenberg ,bible would  still 
be the more appropriate designation4    

,my next anecdote relates to a          
book-hunter not less enthusiastic and   
determined than ,mazarin or ,naud1 but  
much less known to fame1 unknown1  in   
fact1 were it not for our good ,nicius  
,erythrus4 ,prosper ,podianus1 a        
,perugian1 but living at ,rome1 cared1  
says ,nicius1 from his youth upwards    
but to find out who had written a book  
upon any subject1 at what price  it was 
to be had1 and how he was to get it4    
,his life was consequently  spent in    
frequenting booksellers' shops and      
stalls1 which latter seem to  have      
become an established institution in    
,nicius's time1 although1 as  would     
appear1 the dealers were not always     
sufficiently civilised to have  actual  
stalls1 but merely strewed the books    
upon the ground4 7,it would  be highly  
interesting could we ascertain when and 
where the art of  printing first        
acquired sufficient development to make 
it practicable  and profitable to set up
 a second-hand bookstall47 ,as ,podianus

 really  was a connoisseur1 and knew    
well what he was about1 he frequently   
picked  up some precious volume for a   
trifle1 and was far from imitating the  
conscientiousness of ,giovenale ,ancina1
 ,bishop of ,saluzzo4 ,this excellent   
prelate1 it is credibly reported1 having
 observed a valuable book amid a  pile  
heaped upon the ground1 as above        
mentioned1 on learning that it was  to  
be had for a penny1 turned short upon   
the bookseller1 rated him  soundly for  
his ignorance1 and gave him a scudo4    
,different indeed from  the conduct of a
 lady narrated to me the other day1 who1
 seeing a copy  of the first edition of 
,george ,meredith's ,poems1 commercially
 worth ten  or twelve guineas1 priced at
 two shillings1 and knowing its value   
right  well1 marched with it into the   
shop and beat the bookseller down to    
eighteenpence4 ,i know not whether ,i   
more admire or execrate that woman4     
,podianus could hardly be expected to   
emulate the magnanimity of ,bishop      

,ancina1 considering that if he had     
often had to give scudi for his  books1 
he would have been reduced to the       
necessity of stealing them4 ,he  was    
rich1 however1 in a thrifty wife1 to    
whom her husband's goings-on  were an   
enigma and an abomination4 ,finding that
 remonstrances availed  nothing1        
whenever money for housekeeping was     
absolutely necessary1 she  would lay    
hold of a book1 and pledge it with the  
butcher or baker or  candlestick-maker1 
when ,podianus would be necessitated to 
redeem it  somehow4 ,he himself rarely  
dined and did not always sleep at home1 
being  sure of free quarters from other 
bibliophiles1 who hoped that he would   
one day bequeath them his library4 ,at  
length he was persuaded to make a       
donation of it in his lifetime1 on      
condition that the books should  remain 
in his possession until his death4      
,either oblivious of this1 or  wishing  
to secure other patrons1 he made another
 prospective donation of  the books to  

the fathers of a certain monastery1 who 
inscribed the  record of his benefaction
 upon a marble tablet1 to be put up in  
their  chapel after his death4 ,when    
this event took place1 they swooped down
  upon the prize1 only to find a still  
more recent beneficiary in  possession4 
,in their mortification they effaced the
 laudatory  inscription from the tablet1
 only leaving the initial letters ,d4   
,o4 ,m41  which were commonly           
interpreted1 ,daturis ,opes ,majores--to
 those who  shall leave us a more       
substantial legacy4    ,nicius mentions 
one more mighty book-hunter1 ,cardinal  
,peranda1 of whom1  however1 beyond the 
fact that he was enthusiastic and       
indefatigable in  the pursuit1 we learn 
nothing bibliographically memorable but 
his  misadventure with a pet monkey1    
which1 having got hold of the cotton    
stopper of the ink-bottle 7for so ,i    
must render gossypium according to  my  
present lights7 saturated with ink1 must
 needs employ it upon the  most precious

 book in his whole library4 ,an enemy of
 books this which  has escaped the      
attention of ,mr4 ,blades4 ,i will      
conclude with an  anecdote not strictly 
bibliographic or bibliopolic1 but not   
unconnected  with the special objects of
 our ,association1 inasmuch as it proves
 the  use in ,italy1 early in the       
seventeenth century1 of a minor         
invention  serviceable to               
bookmen--blotting-paper4 ,it is the     
story of ,muzio ,oddi1  mathematician   
and engineer1 who1 though debarred from 
pen and ink1  solaced his imprisonment  
at ,pesaro by the composition of        
mathematical  treatises1 written on     
sheets of blotting-paper1 at first by   
charcoal cut  to a point1 afterwards1   
having given more stability to his paper
 by  pressing several sheets together1  
by a reed-pen dipped in ink made from   
charcoal and water1 and kept in a walnut
 shell4 ,sir ,edward ,thompson has      
shown from an old record that           
blotting-paper was known in ,england in 

the middle of the fifteenth century2 yet
 sand was in more common use to  a      
comparatively recent date4 ,it is a     
remarkable circumstance that sand  was  
used instead of blotting-paper in the   
,reading ,room of the ,british  ,museum 
as late as #ahch1 and was then only     
discontinued on the  representation of  
,mr4 ,panizzi that it got into the      
books4 ,if1 however1  ,oddi was able to 
procure so many sheets of it when he    
could not get  writing-paper1 it must   
have been common in ,italy at the period
 of his  imprisonment1 which would      
probably be about #afbj4 ,i must not    
omit to add  that this ingenious man    
made the compasses he required out of   
twigs of  olive wood1 that the books he 
composed under such difficulties were   
actually published1 and that he was     
eventually liberated1 and died in       
wealth and honour4    ,these few        
anecdotes from a restricted field of    
human activity may afford  some idea of 
the opulence of ,nicius ,erythrus in    

humorous1 and at the  same time urbane  
gossip4 ,he was a quaint1 pleasant man1 
something  between ,pepys and ,aubrey1  
not of the highest intellectual powers1 
but a  fair judge of other men1 a good  
scholar and ,latinist1 and with quite   
sufficient sense to know when a story   
was worth repeating4 ,he has  preserved 
much that would have been lost without  
him1 and has made a  sunshine in that   
very shady place1 the ,rome of the      
seventeenth century4  ,his main defect1 
ornate prolixity when simple brevity    
would have been  more appropriate1 is   
the besetting sin of most ,jesuit prose 
writers4 ,he  seems just the sort of    
useful1 entertaining1 neglected writer1 
whom the  presses of our ,universities  
might advantageously reproduce1 and the 
illustration of his text would afford   
congenial employment to an  accomplished
 editor4      ,,footnotes3    #afa3a    
,read before the ,monthly ,meeting of   
the ,library ,association1  ,london1    
,april #ahih4          ,,librarianship  

,,in ,,the ,,seventeenth ,,century#agd3a
      ,the natural reaction against     
over-statements respecting the darkness 
of  the dark ages1 has led to the       
counter-statement that they were not    
dark  at all4 ,we librarians know       
better4 ,we know that they must have    
been in  darkness1 inasmuch as our body 
did not exist to enlighten them4 ,there 
can have been no librarians where there 
were no libraries2 and the lists  of    
collections of manuscripts preserved to 
our times sufficiently prove  that no   
set of men professionally interested in 
the custody of stores so  diminutive can
 have been required4 ,the function of   
librarian must have  been one of the    
numerous offices discharged cumulatively
 by a single  monk1 upon whom it may    
sometimes have been imposed by way of   
penance4 ,it  was otherwise in classical
 antiquity4 ,to say nothing of the      
,alexandrian  ,library1 and its         
connection with men as distinguished as 
,callimachus and  ,apollonius1 so late  

as near the close of the third century  
of our era  the decree of the ,emperor  
,tacitus1 that the historical works of  
his  illustrious namesake should be     
transcribed and placed in the public    
libraries throughout the empire1        
indicates the existence of numerous     
institutions of this description1 under 
responsible officers1 servants  of the  
,state1 or the municipality4    ,almost 
all personal trace1 however1 of the     
famous librarians of  antiquity has     
disappeared2 but the interest attaching 
to the slow  emergence of their modern  
representatives from the flood of       
ignorance  and barbarism rivals that    
which the history of their prototypes   
would  excite1 could this be recovered4 
,it would be interesting to know when   
and where in ,renaissance1 or           
post-,renaissance times1 the            
accumulation of  books first became so  
considerable as to demand the whole time
 of the  officer entrusted with their   
custody1 and thus to give birth to      

librarianship as a distinct profession4 
,into this inquiry ,i do not  propose to
 enter4 ,i wish merely1 on the present  
occasion1 to direct your  attention to  
the evidence borne about the middle of  
the seventeenth  century to the         
development at that period attained by  
librarianship1 and  the conception of   
its duties and possibilities entertained
 by ,john ,dury1  a man in advance of   
his times4    ,dury was by birth a      
,scotchman1 and by profession a divine4 
,he had  signalised his appreciation of 
libraries at an early age by repairing  
to  ,oxford with the object of studying 
in the ,bodleian4 ,he is entitled to    
figure on the roll of librarians        
himself1 having been appointed          
deputy-keeper of the ,royal ,library    
after the execution of ,charles ,i41    
which charge may very probably have     
suggested to him those thoughts on  the 
duties of librarians and the standard of
 librarianship1 of which ,i  am to give 
you an account4 ,the main object of his 

life1 however1 was the  even more       
important but certainly less hopeful    
undertaking of allaying  the acrimony of
 religious zealots4 ,in pursuance of    
this mission we find  him almost more   
abroad than at home2 ever labouring to  
appease the  dissensions of             
,protestants1 now negotiating with      
,gustavus ,adolphus1 now  with the      
,synod of ,transylvania2 now at         
,utrecht1 now at ,brandenburgh1 now  at 
,metz1 where he submitted to the loss of
 his great1 square1 white  beard1 as a  
peace offering to the prejudices of     
,french ,protestantism4  ,he eventually1
 long after the ,restoration1 died in   
,hesse1 where he was  entertained and   
protected by the ,regent4 ,it is to be  
feared that nothing  came of his        
well-meant endeavours but the witness of
 a good conscience  and the blessing    
that rests upon peace-makers4 ,it may1  
perhaps1 have  been inferred that he was
 not in all respects the most practical 
of men1  and this1 indeed1 appears from 

his works on education rather than from 
his suggestions on libraries4 ,but his  
utopianism was less owing to  infirmity 
of judgment than to the habitual        
elevation of his moral and  intellectual
 standard4 ,he thought better of his    
fellow-men than they  deserved1 and was 
himself a man of eminent desert4 ,if his
 own writings  did not survive to speak 
for him1 it would be sufficient to      
record that  he was the intimate friend 
of ,samuel ,hartlib1 the foreign guest  
to whom  ,england is so greatly indebted
 as philanthropist and practical        
agriculturist1 and to whom several of   
his own treatises are inscribed4    ,the
 tract in which ,dury published his     
ideas respecting the duties of a        
librarian is entitled ,the ,reformed    
,library ,keeper2 with a ,supplement to 
the ,reformed ,school1 as subordinate to
 ,colleges in ,universities  7,london1  
#afej74 ,it appears with a brief preface
 by ,samuel ,hartlib1 to  whom the      
,library ,keeper is addressed in the    

form of two letters1 and  who had       
already published ,dury's ,reformed     
,school1 to which another  portion of   
the tiny pamphlet is a supplement4      
,from the general drift of ,dury's      
observations1 it would appear that in   
his view1 which was very probably       
correct1 librarianship had in his day   
reached such a degree of development as 
to have become an independent           
profession1 but not such a degree as to 
be a very useful one4 ,it was  necessary
 to have librarians1 but librarians1 as 
such1 had not enough to  do to          
constitute them very important or       
valuable members of the  community4 ,the
 remedy for this state of things was    
destined to come  slowly1 partly by     
increase of books1 and even more by an  
increase of  readers4 ,we know that the 
profession at present finds ample       
employment  for well-nigh all the       
energies of its most active members4    
,this was far  from the case in ,dury's 
day1 and being unable so to accelerate  

the march  of intellect as to find      
sufficing occupation for the librarian1 
and at  the same time hating to see a   
functionary potentially so important    
comparatively useless1 he not           
unnaturally sought to provide him with  
other vocations in which the more       
technical work of librarianship would   
have been merged4 ,in so doing he       
anticipated the modern idea1 especially 
rife in ,america1 that the librarian    
should not only be a custodian and      
distributor of books1 but a missionary  
of culture4 ,hence came the  further    
idea that more being expected of the    
librarian more should be  given him1 and
 the office thus made worthy of the     
acceptance of men of  parts and         
learning4 ,thus we find ,dury1 from a   
comparative outsider's  point of view1  
coming to magnify the librarian's office
 and demand  generous treatment for its 
incumbent1 very much in the tone now    
held by  the organs and representatives 
of the profession itself4 ,it must be   

borne in mind that he speaks not so much
 in the interest of librarians  as of   
the public2 and pleads for them less in 
their capacity as  custodians of books  
than with reference to the educational  
functions  which he wishes to see       
superadded to their ordinary duties4    
,it will now be well to let him speak   
for himself4    ,the library keeper's   
place and office in most countries are  
looked upon  as places of profit and    
gain4    ,rather a startling statement  
to us1 who have been accustomed to look 
upon librarianship as under the special 
influence of the planet ,saturn1  which 
is said to preside over all occupations 
in which money is obtained  with very   
great difficulty4 ,it would seem1       
however1 that mean as the  prizes of    
librarianship might be1 they were yet   
scrambled for4    ,and so1 he continues1
 accordingly sought after and valued in 
that  regard and not in regard of the   
service which is to be done by them unto
  the ,commonwealth of ,israel4 ,for the

 most part men look after the           
maintenance and livelihood settled upon 
their places more than upon the  end and
 usefulness of their employments4 ,they 
seek themselves and not  the public     
therein1 and so they subordinate all the
 advantages of their  places to purchase
 mainly two things thereby1 viz41 an    
easy subsistence  and some credit in    
comparison of others1 nor is the last   
much regarded  if the first may be had4 
,to speak in particular of library      
keepers in  most universities that ,i   
know1 nay1 indeed1 in all1 their places 
are but  mercenary1 and their employment
 of little or no use further than to    
look  to the books committed to their   
custody1 that they may not be lost or   
embezzled by those that use them1 and   
this is all4    ,dury has1 no doubt1    
here put his finger upon the main cause 
of the low  condition of the            
librarianship of his day4 ,the general  
conception of the  librarian's functions
 was far too narrow4 ,he was allowed no 

share in the  government of his own     
library4 ,he had not necessarily        
anything to do  with the selection of   
new books1 nor was it expected of him   
that he  should advise and direct the   
studies of those resorting to the       
collections committed to his care4 ,in  
fact he was not usually qualified  for  
such activity1 or even for the minor    
task of making these  collections       
serviceable by means of catalogues and  
indexes4 ,the  development of literature
 had advanced so far as to necessitate  
the  library custodian1 but had not yet 
produced the library  administrator--the
 ,denis and ,audiffredi of the          
succeeding century4 ,dury  saw this1 and
 also saw that the ideal librarian he   
had conceived in his  own mind would    
need better pay that he might do better 
work4 ,one  exception to his apparently 
sweeping statements must be noted4      
,bodley's  librarians in the seventeenth
 century were undoubtedly men of high   
literary distinction4 ,yet even here the

 arrangements for the librarian's       
remuneration were unsatisfactory1 and   
wrong in principle4    ,i have been     
informed1 says ,dury1 that in ,oxford   
the settled  maintenance of the library 
keeper is not above fifty or sixty      
pounds per  annum1 but that it is       
accidentally viis et modis1 sometimes   
worth a  hundred pound4 ,what the       
accidents are1 and the ways and means by
 which  they come1 ,i have not been     
curious to search after4    ,so we are  
not to know by what shifts ,mr4         
,nicholson's seventeenth-century        
predecessor mended his salary4 ,hay and 
oats1 says ,dean ,swift1 in the  hands  
of a skilful groom will make excellent  
wine1 as well as ale1 but  this ,i only 
hint4    ,dury now proceeds to develop  
his ideas in a fine and wise passage3-- 
,i have thought that if the proper      
employments of library keepers were     
taken into consideration as they are1 or
 may be made useful to the  advancement 
of learning2 and were ordered and       

maintained  proportionately to the ends 
which ought to be intended thereby1 they
  would be of exceeding great use to all
 scholars1 and have an universal        
influence upon all the parts of         
learning1 to produce and propagate the  
same into perfection4 ,for if library   
keepers did understand themselves  in   
the nature of their work1 and would make
 themselves1 as they ought to  be1      
useful in their places in a public way1 
they ought to become agents  for the    
advancement of universal learning2 and  
to this effect ,i could  wish that their
 places might not be made1 as everywhere
 they are1  mercenary1 but rather       
honorary2 and that with the competent   
allowance of  two hundred pounds a year 
equivalent to about six hundred         
nowadays1  some employments should be   
put upon them further than a bare       
keeping of  the books4 ,it is true that 
a fair library is not only an adornment 
and  credit to the place where it is1   
but an useful commodity by itself to    

the public2 yet in effect it is no more 
than a dead body as now it is           
constituted1 in comparison of what it   
might be1 if it were animated with  a   
public spirit to keep and use it1 and   
ordered as it might be for  public      
service4 ,for if such an allowance were 
settled upon the  employment as might   
maintain a man of parts and generous    
thoughts1 then  a condition might be    
annexed to the bestowing of the place2  
that none  should be called thereunto   
but such as had approved themselves     
zealous  and profitable in some public  
ways of learning to advance the same1 or
  that should be bound to certain tasks 
to be prosecuted towards that end1      
whereof a list might be made1 and the   
way to try their abilities in           
prosecuting the same should be          
described1 lest in after times          
unprofitable men creep into the place to
 frustrate the public of the  benefit   
intended by the donors towards          
posterity4 ,the proper charge1  then1 of

 the honorary library keeper in a       
university should be thought  upon1 and 
the end of that employment1 in my       
conception1 is to keep the  public stock
 of learning1 which is in books and     
manuscripts2 to increase  it1 and to    
propose it to others in the way which   
may be most useful unto  all2 his work1 
then1 is to be a factor and trader for  
helps to learning1  and a treasurer to  
keep them1 and a dispenser to apply them
 to use1 or  to see them well used1 or  
at least not abused4    ,this           
established1 ,dury proceeds to point out
 how the library should be  made useful4
 ,his main idea is that a library should
 be a kind of  factory1 and it is       
astonishing how often he contrives to   
introduce the  word trade into his      
proposals4 ,underlying this peculiar    
phraseology is  the thought that so long
 as the library only exists for the     
advantage of  those who may choose to   
resort to it1 it is like a talent buried
 in a  napkin2 that to be really useful 

it must go to the public1 and that the  
librarian must place himself in active  
communication with men of  learning4 ,it
 was hardly conceived in ,dury's day    
that any but scholars  could have       
occasion for libraries1 but translating 
his proposals into  the language of our 
time1 it will appear that they          
contemplate such an  ideal of           
librarianship as is professed in        
,america1 and is realised with  no small
 success in many of our leading free    
libraries4 ,the first  condition is a   
good catalogue3--    ,that is1 says     
,dury1 all the books and manuscripts    
according to the  titles whereunto they 
belong1 are to be ranked in an order    
most easy and  obvious to be found1     
which ,i think is that of sciences and  
languages1  when first all the books are
 divided into their subjectam materiam  
whereof they treat1 and then every kind 
of matter subdivided into their  several
 languages4    ,evidently ,dury was     
little troubled with the questions which

 have so  exercised librarians since his
 time4 ,the subject-matter of which a   
book  treats is not always easy to      
ascertain4 ,it might have puzzled ,dury 
himself to decide whether his own tract 
should be catalogued along with  books  
on libraries1 or with the ,reformed     
,school to which it is  professedly an  
appendix1 and to which half its contents
 have a direct  relation4 ,the          
suggestion that books should be         
catalogued by languages  was propounded 
before the ,british ,museum ,commission 
of #ahdi1 and  promptly dismissed as the
 fancy of an amateur4 ,it would be      
curious to  see ,pope's ,homer in one   
catalogue1 ,voss's in another1 and the  
original  in a third4    ,dury next     
judiciously adds that room must be left 
in the library for the  increase of     
books1 an indispensable condition not   
always easy of  fulfilment2 and that in 
the printed catalogue a reference is to 
be made  to the place where the books   
are to be found in their shelves or     

repositories4 ,that is1 the catalogue   
must have press-marks2 in which         
suggestion ,dury was two centuries ahead
 of many of the most important  foreign 
libraries4 ,it will be observed that he 
takes it for granted that  the catalogue
 shall be printed1 and in this he was   
ahead of almost all  the libraries of   
his time1 and until lately of the       
,british ,museum4 ,in  fact he could not
 be otherwise1 for a printed catalogue  
is an essential  condition of his       
dominant idea that the librarian should 
be a factor  to trade with learned men  
and corporations for mutual profit4     
,hence he  prescribes a catalogue of    
additionals1 which every year within the
  universities is to be published in    
writing within the library itself1  and 
every three years to be put in print and
 made common to those that  are abroad4 
,the full plan of communication is      
unfolded in the following passage3--    
,when the stock is thus known and fitted
 to be exposed to the view of  the      

learned world1 then the way of trading  
with it1 both at home and  abroad1 is to
 be laid to heart both for the increase 
of the stock and  for the improvement of
 its use4 ,for the increase of the stock
 both at  home and abroad1              
correspondence should be held with those
 that are  eminent in every science to  
trade with them for their profit1 that  
what  they want and we have1 they may   
receive upon condition2 that what they  
have and we want1 they should impart in 
that faculty wherein their  eminence    
doth lie4 ,as for such as are at home   
eminent in any kind1  because they may  
come by native right to have use of the 
library  treasure1 they are to be traded
 with all in another way1 viz41 that the
  things which are gained from abroad1  
which as yet are not made common  and   
put to public use1 should be promised   
and imparted to them for the  increase  
of their private stock of knowledge1 to 
the end that what they  have peculiar1  
may also be given in for a requital1 so 

that the  particularities of gifts at   
home and abroad are to meet as in a     
centre  in the hand of the ,library     
,keeper1 and he is to trade with the one
 by  the other1 to cause them to        
multiply the public stock1 whereof he is
 a  treasurer and factor4    ,thus he   
should trade with those that are at home
 and abroad out of the  university1 and 
with those that are within the          
university1 he should  have acquaintance
 to know all that are of any parts1 and 
how their view  of learning doth lie1 to
 supply helps unto them in their        
faculties from  without and from within 
the nation1 to put them upon the keeping
 of  correspondence with men of their   
own strain1 for the beating out of      
matters not yet elaborated in sciences2 
so that they may be as his  assistants  
and subordinate factors in his trade and
 in their own for  gaining of knowledge4
    ,further instructions follow        
respecting the control to be exercised  
over  the librarian1 who is to give an  

account of his stewardship once a year  
to the doctors of the university1 who   
are themselves1 each in his own         
faculty1 to suggest additional books    
proper to be added to the library4      
,dury seems to have no doubt that funds 
will always be forthcoming1 as  well as 
for the librarian's extraordinary       
expenses in correspondencies  and       
transcriptions for the public good4 ,it 
seems to be expected that he  will      
frequently make advances out of his own 
pocket4 ,dury glides lightly  over these
 ticklish financial details1 which1     
however1 remind him of the  existence of
 a law of copyright1 and the probable   
accumulation of  accessions undesirable 
from the point of view of mere          
scholarship4 ,his  observations on this 
point are full of liberality and good   
sense3--    ,i understand that all the  
book-printers or stationers of the      
,commonwealth are bound of every book   
that is printed1 to send a copy  into   
the ,university ,library2 and it is     

impossible for one man to read  all the 
books in all faculties1 to judge of them
 what worth there is in  them2 nor hath 
every one ability to judge of all kind  
of sciences what  every author doth     
handle1 and how sufficiently2 therefore 
,i would have  at this time of giving   
accounts1 the library keeper also bound 
to  produce the catalogue of all the    
books sent unto the ,university's       
library by the stationers that printed  
them2 to the end that every one  of the 
doctors in their own faculties should   
declare whether or no they  should be   
added1 and where they should be placed  
in the catalogue of  additionals4 ,for  
,i do not think that all books and      
treatises1 which in  this age are       
printed in all kinds1 should be inserted
 into the  catalogue1 and added to the  
stock of the library2 discretion must be
  used and confusion avoided1 and a     
course taken to distinguish that  which 
is profitable from that which is        
useless2 and according to the  verdict  

of that society1 the usefulness of books
 for the public is to be  determined4   
,yet because there is seldom any books  
wherein there is not  something useful1 
and books freely given are not to be    
cast away1 but  may be kept1 therefore  
,i would have a peculiar place appointed
 for such  books as shall be laid aside 
to keep them in1 and a catalogue of     
their  titles made alphabetically in    
reference to the author's name and a    
note  of distinction to show the science
 to which they are to be referred4 ,it  
seems then1 that if ,dury could have    
advised ,bodley1 and ,bodley had        
listened to him1 the ,bodleian would    
have been rich in early  ,shakespeares1 
and might have preserved many           
publications now entirely  lost4        
,dury's second letter on the subject    
merely repeats the ideas of the  first  
with less practical suggestion and in a 
more declamatory style4 ,it  contains a 
striking passage on the ruin of the     
library of ,heidelberg1 a  terrible     

warning to librarians4 ,it had books1 it
 had manuscripts1 but it  had no        
catalogue1 and its candlestick was taken
 away4    ,what a great stir hath been  
heretofore1 about the eminency of the   
library of ,heidelberg1 but what use was
 made of it8 ,it was engrossed  into the
 hands of a few1 till it became a prey  
unto the enemies of the  truth4 ,if the 
library keeper had been a man that would
 have traded with  it for the increase  
of true learning1 it might have been    
preserved unto  this day in all the     
rareties thereof1 not so much by the    
shuttings up of  the multitude of books1
 and the rareness thereof for antiquity1
 as by  the understandings of men and   
their proficiency to improve and dilate 
knowledge upon the grounds which he     
might have suggested unto others of     
parts1 and so the library rareties would
 not only have been preserved in  the   
spirits of men1 but have fructified     
abundantly therein unto this  day1      
whereas they are now lost1 because they 

were but a talent digged in  the ground4
    ,well said6 and it may be added that
 one good reason for printing the       
catalogue of a great library is that1 in
 the event of its destruction1  it may  
at least be known what it contained4    
,the greatest library in the  world was 
within an ace of destruction under the  
,paris ,commune3 had it  perished1 the  
very memory of a large part of its      
contents would have  been lost4         
,respecting ,heidelberg1 it should be   
remarked that the  destruction was not  
quite so irreparable as would appear    
from ,dury's  passionate outburst4 ,the 
books and manuscripts to a considerable 
extent  went not to the ,devil but to   
the ,pope1 though ,dury probably could  
see  little difference4 ,but even the   
,pope did not ultimately retain them4   
,no  fewer than eight hundred and ninety
 ,,mss4 were subsequently carried off   
by ,napoleon1 and being thus at ,paris  
at the entry of the allies1 were        
reclaimed by the ,bavarian ,government1 

and restored to the ,university of      
,heidelberg1 with the sanction of the   
,pope1 at the special instance of  the  
,king of ,prussia4#ahh3a    ,appended to
 the tract is a short ,latin account1   
also by ,dury1 of the  ,duke of         
,brunswick's library at ,wolfenbuttel1  
famous on many grounds1 and  especially 
for having had ,lessing as its          
librarian4 ,it appears that on  ,may    
#ba1 #afdi1 it was estimated to contain 
#fj1jjj treatises by #cg1jjj  authors1  
bound in #bj1jjj volumes1 all collected 
since #afjd4 ,it must  therefore have   
been administered with an energy        
corresponding to the  demands of ,dury1 
who concludes his enthusiastic account  
with an  aspiration which every         
librarian will echo on behalf of the    
institution  with which he is himself   
connected3--    ,faxit ,deus1 ut        
,thesaurus hic rerum divinarum ternarum 
sit et ipse  ternus1 neque prius quam   
mundi machina laboret aut intercidat4   
,it will have been observed that ,dury's

 suggestions have reference solely  to  
university libraries4 ,the conception of
 a really popular library did  not then 
exist1 and it may be doubted whether in 
any case even one so  much in advance of
 his time could have reconciled himself 
to the idea of  a collection where every
 description of literature1 embodying   
every  variety of opinion1 should be    
indiscriminately accessible to every    
condition of men4 ,but this very        
limitation of his views should render   
his admonition1 and his lofty standard  
of the librarian's duty1 more           
interesting and significant to the      
librarians of the nineteenth century4   
,for if the advising function was       
rightly deemed so important in him who  
had to consult with university          
professors1 men probably of more        
learning  than himself1 much more is its
 judicious exercise required in him who 
has to aid the researches and direct the
 studies of the comparatively  ignorant4
 ,the ,reformed ,library ,keeper1       

therefore1 has a message for  our age as
 well as its own2 and we need not regret
 the half-hour we have  spent with good 
old ,john ,dury1 the first who          
discovered that a librarian  had a soul 
to be saved4      ,,footnotes3    #agd3a
 ,read at the ,monthly ,meeting of the  
,library ,association1 ,march  #ahhd4   
#ahh3a ,see ,wilken1 ,geschichte der    
,bildung1 ,beraubung1 und ,vernichtung  
der alten ,heidelbergischen             
,bchersammlungen 7,heidelberg1 #ahag74  
,,the ,,manufacture ,,of ,,fine ,,paper 
,,in ,,england ,,in ,,the ,,eighteenth  
,,century      ,the ,,ms4 correspondence
 of ,conyers ,middleton with ,lord      
,hervey1 acquired  by the ,british      
,museum in #ahhe1 contains1             
incidentally1 evidence  respecting the  
source from which fine paper1 suitable  
for printing  handsome books1 was       
derived by ,english publishers until    
nearly the  middle of the eighteenth    
century4 ,much of this correspondence   
relates to  the progress of ,middleton's

 ,life of ,cicero1 ,lord ,hervey1 to    
whom the  book was dedicated1 and who   
had been zealous in procuring           
subscribers1  frequently urging more    
expedition1 and ,middleton assigning    
various  causes for delay4 ,at last1    
under date of ,april #f1 #agdj1         
,middleton  mentions one which he       
regards as for the time insuperable4    
,war against  ,spain1 it should be      
noticed1 had been declared in ,november 
#agci1 and  ,spain had at the time      
troops in ,italy1 and considerable naval
 strength  in the ,mediterranean4    ,as
 to ,tully1 says ,middleton1 ,i am      
ashamed almost to mention it1 on        
account of a total cessation of the     
press from want of paper1 occasioned  by
 the uncertain return of ships from     
,genoa since the commencement of  the   
war1 during which our large paper is    
exhausted1 and not a sheet of  it to be 
had in ,london till a fresh cargo       
arrives1 which is expected1  however1   
every day4 ,the booksellers did not give

 me the least hint of  this till it was 
too late to be remedied1 knowing that it
 would vex me1  as it really has done1  
yet there is no help but patience4 ,but 
we may  possibly retrieve this loss of  
time by employing several presses at    
once  as soon as we get paper1 since ,i 
have now finished all my part1 and      
assure your lordship that there is not a
 subscriber so desirous to read  as ,i  
am to get it out of my hands4    ,on    
,april #bg1 ,middleton repeats his      
assurance that no one is half so        
impatient to read as ,i am to publish4  
,this does not satisfy ,lord  ,hervey1  
who writes on ,may #bg3 ,i cannot1 nor  
ought to conceal from you  the general  
dissatisfaction and murmuring there is  
among your  subscribers at the long     
delay of the publication of your work4  
,i tell  the story of the disappointment
 you met with in the paper1 but am      
answered by almost everybody that this  
need not and should not hinder  your    
publishing at least the first volume4 ,i

 could wish that some way  could be     
contrived1 without you or your          
bookseller running any risk1 to  let the
 first part come out immediately4 ,could
 you not do it by a  previous           
advertisement relating the misfortune of
 the paper1 and saying  whoever was     
willing to pay the second payment should
 have the first part  delivered to them8
    ,middleton replies on ,june #c3 ,as 
to the publication1 all ,i can say is   
that as soon as paper arrives1 your     
lordship shall be master both of the    
time and the manner1 so far as is in my 
power2 but until we get a  recruit of   
paper1 which has long been wholly       
exhausted1 it is not  possible to       
publish the first volume1 since there   
are two sections of it  still unprinted4
    ,on ,june #ag1 however1 he reports a
 change for the better3 ,our paper      
arrived in the ,downs last week1 and is 
in port probably by this time1 so  that 
we shall now carry on our work with all 
possible vigour2 and if we  cannot      

publish both the volumes in ,michaelmas 
term1 which my managers1  however1      
promise me to do1 ,i will undertake at  
least at all adventures  for the        
publication of the first4    ,the work  
still did not progress4 ,middleton      
writes on ,august #bd3 ,i  should sooner
 have paid my thanks if ,i had not been 
tempted to wait  these two or three     
posts by the daily expectation of being 
able to send  you some good news from   
the press1 but ,i have the mortification
 still to  acquaint your lordship that  
we have not printed a sheet since ,i saw
 your  lordship1 and though ,i wrote to 
my bookseller above three weeks ago to  
know what end we are to expect to this  
unaccountable interruption1 yet ,i  have
 not heard a word from him4    ,but on  
,september #d he reports himself at the 
end of his troubles1 so far  as concerns
 the supply of paper3 ,i could not omit 
the first opportunity  of acquainting   
your lordship that we have received a   
stock of paper at  last from ,genoa1    

sufficient for finishing the first      
volume1 and have  provided a quantity   
also of our own manufacture1 which is   
the better of  the two1 for carrying on 
the second volume at the same time1     
which ,i  have ordered to be committed  
immediately to the press1 and hope that 
we  may be able still to publish both   
the volumes before ,christmas4    ,the  
book did1 in fact1 appear about         
,february1 #agda4 ,an examination of    
the copies in the ,king's and           
,cracherode ,libraries1 ,british        
,museum1  confirms the statements in    
,middleton's letters4 ,the work is      
printed on  two different qualities and 
descriptions of paper4 ,by much the     
larger  part of the first volume1       
extending in the ,king's ,library copy  
to p4  #dgb1 sig4 ,ooo1 and in the      
,cracherode copy to p4 #dfd 7misprinted 
#bfd71  sig4 ,nnn1 but not including the
 dedication1 preface1 or list of        
subscribers1 is impressed on a very fine
 thick paper1 without name1  date1 or   

device1 except two watermarks1          
frequently interchanged1  resembling    
respectively an escutcheon and a        
fleur-de-lis4 ,the  remainder of the    
volume1 and the whole of vol4 #b1 are   
executed upon a  good1 but thinner and  
inferior1 paper1 with no clue to the    
date or place  of manufacture4 ,the     
first leaf for which this new paper is  
employed is  greatly stained in both    
copies1 apparently from contact with the
 ,italian  paper1 as the same is the    
case with the last leaf of the          
preliminary  matter4 ,some other leaves 
are slightly stained1 especially near   
the end4  ,the leaves in finest         
condition are those of the dedication to
 ,lord  ,hervey and the preface1 which  
were printed last1 and with which       
especial  care would be taken4 ,the     
portion of the first volume printed on  
the  ,english paper is not so           
considerable as ,middleton seems to have
 at one  time expected1 consisting1     
instead of two sections1 of only a      

portion of  section #f1 the last in the 
volume4 ,it must be supposed that the   
paper  in the ,downs proved sufficient  
to carry the impression on to the point 
where the ,italian paper fails4 ,the    
difference between the thickness of  the
 two papers is such that although vol4  
#b has only #cf pages less than  vol4   
#a1 it weighs #aa oz4 less1 or about 4  
,it appears unquestionable1 then1 that  
about the year #agdj ,english           
publishers depended for the execution of
 fine books upon paper imported  from   
,genoa1 and that the interruption of the
 supply from this quarter  occasioned   
great inconvenience for a time1 keeping 
an important book at  a standstill for  
several months1 but soon called the     
manufacture of fine  paper into         
activity1 as a branch of ,english       
industry4 ,it would be  interesting to  
know how long before #agdj this trade   
originated1 and how  long after that    
date it continued4 ,it is scarcely      
likely that it  flourished during the   

warlike times of ,queen ,anne2 but it   
probably  revived during the            
quarter-century of tranquillity which   
followed the  ,treaty of ,utrecht4 ,it  
is not probable that it long survived   
the  development of the manufacture of  
fine paper in ,england4 ,though inferior
  to the ,italian1 the ,english paper   
was quite good enough to displace this  
if it had the advantage of superior     
cheapness1 as it certainly must have    
had4 ,ample materials for deciding these
 questions probably exist on the        
shelves of the ,king's ,library4    ,it 
should be mentioned that there was an   
impression of the ,life of  ,cicero on  
small paper1 but the great majority of  
the splendid list of  subscribers       
prefixed to the work appear as          
subscribing for large-paper  copies4    
,,note4--,the writer might have remarked
 that ,brian ,walton1 in       the      
preface to his superb edition of the    
,polyglott ,bible       7#afeg7         
expresses1 in a passage afterwards      

suppressed1 his       obligation to the 
,protector and the ,council of ,state1  
for       having remitted in his behalf 
the duty on paper2 which is             
undoubtedly to be understood of a tax on
 paper imported from       abroad4      
,,on ,,some ,,colophons ,,of ,,the      
,,early ,,printers#aig3a      ,the paper
 to which ,i am about to invite         
attention belongs to the class  which   
,mr4 ,chancellor ,christie has very     
justly entitled haphazard  papers1 lying
 outside the proper work of the ,library
 ,association1 and  contributing little 
or nothing to promote it4 ,it is written
 to recommend  a slight literary        
undertaking which could not possibly    
find a place in  the programme of our   
body4 ,it can only plead that a certain 
variety has  always been thought        
conducive to the interest of our        
gatherings2 that it  may be well to show
 that no province of book-lore is       
altogether too  remote for our          
attention2 and that a prolusion on an   

out-of-the-way  subject may have1 so to 
speak1 a kind of decorative value2 as a 
sprig of  barberries1 though nobody     
wants to eat it1 may serve as garnish   
for a  substantial dish4 ,the little    
enterprise ,i have to recommend is the  
publishing1 in a small volume1 of such  
colophons1 or attestations of the       
completion of a book by a printer1 as   
belong to the fifteenth century1  and   
possess individual features of interest1
 not being mere  matter-of-fact         
announcements or repetitions from former
 productions of  the same press4        
,there are two main sources of interest 
in the colophon--the biographical  and  
the personal4 ,taking the former first1 
it may be remarked that for a  long time
 the colophon supplied the place of the 
title-page4 ,it would be  impossible to 
give a catalogue of very early          
title-pages1 for very early  books had  
no title-pages4 ,in his charming and    
beautifully illustrated  papers on the  
,history of the ,title-,page1 recently  

published in the  ,universal            
,review--which ,i strongly recommend to 
your perusal--,mr4  ,alfred ,pollard1 of
 the ,british ,museum1 tells us that the
 first ,english  title-page is assigned 
to the year #adia4 ,it had come into use
 sooner on  the ,continent1 but the     
first example1 which still requires to  
be  definitely ascertained1 was probably
 not earlier than #adgf1 or more than   
twenty years subsequent to the invention
 of printing4 ,it was not until  #adij  
that title-pages became the rule1 or    
until #adic that the printer's  or      
publisher's name began to be given upon 
the title4 ,up to this date1  then1 even
 when the book has a title-page1 the    
printer or publisher can  only be       
ascertained from the colophon1 and      
before #adij you must  generally go to  
the colophon even for the description of
 the book4 ,the  reason is1 no doubt1   
the extent to which the printer was     
influenced by  the example of his       
predecessor1 the copyist4 ,it was more  

natural for the  scribe to record the   
completion of his labours at the end of 
his  manuscript than to announce their  
commencement on the first leaf4 ,in     
expressing his satisfaction and         
thankfulness on the last page he would  
naturally mention the name of the book  
he had been engaged upon1 and  hence his
 successor1 the printer1 inherited the  
habit of giving all  information about a
 book not stated in a prologue or table 
of contents1  at the end instead of at  
the beginning--in a colophon rather than
 on a  title-page4 ,the same custom had 
prevailed in classic times4 ,the ancient
  title1 when inscribed within the      
covers of the manuscript1 was1 says     
,rich1 written at the end instead of the
 commencement1 at least it is so  placed
 in all the ,herculanean ,,mss4 which   
have been unrolled4 ,sometimes1         
however1 it was written on a separate   
label affixed to the roll so as to  hang
 down outside3 and on the same principle
 it may be conjectured that  when       

manuscripts came to be bound1 much of   
the inconvenience occasioned  by the    
want of a title was obviated by the     
title being written on the  binding4    
,it must1 nevertheless1 seem surprising 
that so simple and useful a  contrivance
 as a title-page should not have been   
thought of sooner4 ,in  one respect1    
however1 the employment of the colophon 
for so long a  period is not to be      
regretted4 ,if the title-page is more   
practical1 the  colophon is more        
individual and characteristic4 ,the     
title-page may tell  us something of the
 character of the author when it is his 
own wording1  but as a rule nothing of  
the printer beyond the bare facts of his
  locality and his existence4 ,but into 
the colophon the early printer has      
managed to put a great deal of          
information about himself4 ,he often    
becomes1 or at least hires1 a poet4 ,he 
boasts1 and generally not without       
ground1 of his industry and accuracy4   
,he usually records the precise day     

when his work was completed1 and        
sometimes the exact time spent upon it4 
,he sometimes1 as in an instance quoted 
by ,mr4 ,pollard1 brings in a  bishop to
 help his book with a recommendation4   
,all this is very interesting so far as 
it helps to make the old printers  real 
to us4 ,we would fain know more of men  
to whom we are so greatly  indebted1 and
 who1 we are sure1 must have been       
individually interesting4  ,i will not  
say that this early age was the heroic  
age of printing1 for  the history of the
 art is fertile in examples of heroism  
down to this  day2 and perhaps the      
greatest man who ever exercised         
it--,benjamin  ,franklin--was a modern4 
,but there certainly must have been a   
romance  about the early days of        
printing not easily reproduced now4     
,romantic  circumstances must have      
attended the flight of the first        
printers from  the besieged city of     
,mentz1 where the art had been          
exclusively carried  on for so many     

years4    ,when we see how largely these
 ,german emigrants settled in ,italy and
  ,france1 and had almost a monopoly of 
,spain1 we perceive that they must  have
 been men of great enterprise4 ,how did 
they overcome the  difficulties that    
must have beset them as settlers in     
foreign countries8  ,is it not a fair   
conjecture that the difficulty of       
language was partly  overcome by their  
being men of liberal education1 and     
speaking ,latin8  ,still they would have
 workmen to direct2 did they bring      
journeymen of  their own country with   
them1 or instruct foreigners8 ,the      
interest  attaching to this question    
tempts me to a brief digression into a  
subject not properly comprised in my    
essay2 the colophon1 so far as ,i am    
aware1 throwing no light upon it4 ,it   
seems probable that foreign  printers   
were attended in their migrations by    
bodies of journeymen2 for  in the       
privilege granted by the ,venetian      
,senate in #adfi to ,joannes de  ,spira1

 the first ,venetian printer1 he is said
 to have come to live in  ,venice with  
his wife1 his children1 and his entire  
familia4 ,the  familia1 then1 is        
expressly distinguished from his wife   
and children2  besides which the word   
never means in the classical writers1   
nor1 so far  as ,i can discover1 in the 
medival either1 family in our sense of  
kindred1 but only in that of household3 
and as he is not likely to have  brought
 domestic servants with him1 must be    
understood to denote here  the troop of 
workmen of whom he was the head2 who had
 evidently also  immigrated with him4   
,we are also told that a priest1        
,clemente ,patavino1  probably the first
 ,italian who ever exercised the art of 
printing1  taught himself by his own    
ingenuity1 without having ever seen any 
one at  work4 ,from this we may infer   
that the presses were jealously guarded1
  and that the workmen were not         
,italians1 or ,clemente could not have  
been  the first ,italian to learn the   

craft4 ,his first book was printed in   
#adga1 several years after the          
introduction of printing into ,italy4   
,other interesting questions respecting 
the early printers remain which  we     
should much like to have answered4 ,did 
they try to keep their art and  mystery 
secret8 ,were they their own            
type-founders8 ,were their types cast   
near the scene of their labours1 or     
transported from great distances8  ,how 
did they set about obtaining the favour 
of the great men who  patronised them8  
,was their discovery universally        
welcomed by the  learned8 or did some   
consider that books were low1 and       
manuscripts alone  worthy the attention 
of a self-respecting collector8 ,were   
they stunned  by the objurgations of    
angry copyists8 or endangered by any    
supposed  connection with the black art8
 ,were they in general their own editors
  and proof-correctors8 and what were   
their relations with the scholars  who  
aided them with annotations1 or wrote   

dedications for their books8  ,at a     
considerably later period we obtain most
 satisfactory insight into  the economy 
of a great printing establishment from  
the memoirs of the  house of ,plantin1  
at ,antwerp4 ,for these early times1    
except for such  information as may be  
derived from the accidental discovery of
 contracts  and similar documents1 we   
must depend upon hints gleaned from the 
books  themselves1 which are usually    
found in their colophons4    ,neither my
 time nor yours would admit of my       
entering into the matter  very deeply at
 present1 but ,i have selected a few    
instances1 entirely  from books printed 
at ,rome and ,venice1 which may serve to
 indicate what  illumination colophons  
may occasionally contribute to the      
obscurity of  early typography1 and     
sometimes to that of the manners and    
ideas of the  times4 ,and here ,i may   
remark incidentally1 that the history of
 early  printing is highly creditable to
 the age which fostered the art1 and to 

those who exercised it1 without1 one may
 almost say1 producing a single         
frivolous book for fifty years4 ,an     
account of it mainly from the point  of 
view of its contact with human life--the
 books which the early  printers thought
 worth reproducing1 the success of      
these1 as attested by  the comparative  
frequency of their republication1 the   
proportion in  which studies and        
professions1 arts and trades1           
respectively benefited  by the new      
discovery1 would make a fascinating     
story in the hands of a  writer of      
insight and sympathy4 ,we have materials
 enough2 it is now  required to make the
 dry bones live4    ,in a colophon it   
will naturally be expected that among   
the sentiments  more frequently finding 
expression1 should be the printer's joy 
in his  art1 and assertion of its claims
 to admiration4 ,udalricus ,gallus1 of  
,rome1 boasts that he can print more    
matter in a day than a copyist can      
transcribe in a year3 ,imprimit ille die

 quantum non scribitur anno4  ,the same 
printer tells the geese that saved the  
,capitol that they may  keep their      
quills for the future1 as the cock      
7,gallus7 has cut them  out4 ,joannes de
 ,spira1 the first printer established  
at ,venice1 declares  that his first    
attempt has so far surpassed the work of
 the scribes that  the reader need set  
no bounds to his anticipations2 just as 
an electric  light company might        
advertise ,gas entirely superseded4 ,he 
celebrates  his type as more legible    
than manuscript3        ,namque vir     
ingenio mirandus et arte ,joannes       
,exscribi docuit clarius re libros4     
,now the word docuit 7taught7 is not    
really appropriate to one who  merely   
exercised an art he had learned from    
others4 ,the question might  be raised  
whether the reference is not to the     
inventor of printing1  ,joannes         
,gutenberg1 and whether in this book of 
#adfi we have not the  earliest         
testimony to his invention of printing4 

,if so1 this is indeed a  precious      
colophon2 but ,i suppose it must be     
admitted to be more likely  that ,spira 
was thinking of himself1 or that his    
poet was not  over-discriminating in his
 praise of his employer4 ,the point1    
however1  is worth considering4 ,spira's
 brother1 ,vindelinus1 enunciates the   
excellent maxim that the renown of a    
printer is rather to be estimated  by   
the beauty than by the number of his    
productions3        ,nec vero tantum    
quia multa volumina1 quantum            
,qui perpulchra simul optimaque         
exhibeat4    ,nothing1 indeed1 is more  
characteristic of the early printers    
than the  stress they laid upon         
accuracy4 ,from another colophon we     
learn that an  edition of ,sallust at   
that early period consisted of five     
hundred  copies4 ,in another the same   
printer declares that he will deign to  
sell  nothing that is not perfectly     
correct4 ,in another he talks of having 
carefully expurgated his author1 as if  

he had been printing ,juvenal or        
,martial1 but as the author is a divine 
the remark can only refer to the        
correctness of the text4 ,john of       
,cologne goes further still1 and asserts
  that his book is absolutely           
immaculate3        ,emptor1 habes       
careant omni qui crimine libri1         
,quos securus emas1 procul et quibus    
exulat error4    ,occasionally the      
corrector's name is mentioned4 ,a       
remarkable instance of  this is where   
,vindelinus de ,spira prints an ,italian
 book1 the ,divine  ,comedy1 the        
language of which he probably would not 
understand1 when  ,christoval ,berardi1 
of ,pesaro1 is especially named as the  
corrector in  an ,italian sonnet        
probably composed by himself4 ,in an    
instance of an  arithmetical work the   
printer1 ,erhard ,ratdolt1 distinctly   
claims the  merit of the correctness of 
the press as his personal merit1 and we 
learn from other sources that he was a  
good mathematician4    ,another class of

 colophon sets forth the deserts of the 
author instead  of those of the printer1
 and it is noteworthy that these1 when  
in verse1  are generally expressed in a 
more elegant style4 ,it is to be        
regretted  that the verses written for  
,sweynheym and ,pannartz1 the fathers of
 the  art in ,italy1 were generally so  
bad2 yet there is something to be       
learned from them4 ,we discover that    
they thought it necessary to  apologise 
for their uncouth ,german names 7,aspera
 ridebis ,teutonica  nomina forsan72 and
 that a ,roman patrician named          
,maximus--a man to be  ever honoured for
 his public spirit--had given them and  
their press  house-room in his palace4  
,we learn from other colophons that an  
edition  of ,sallust consisting of four 
hundred copies1 and that two editions of
  ,cicero's ,epistles to his friends1   
were carried through the press in four  
months4 ,the comparative cheapness of   
typography is also a frequent  matter of
 congratulation4 ,it is said to have    

brought ,virgil within the  reach of all
 scholars1 and to have enabled every man
 to be his own  lawyer2 but the printer 
seldom tells us what the price of the   
volume  was4 ,we observe that the trade 
of the book-producer has not yet become 
differentiated into the two great       
classes of printers and publishers4     
,while1 as before remarked1 there is    
every reason to conclude that the  early
 printers were persons of liberal       
education1 we do not1 so far as ,i  am  
aware1 find evidence of this mechanical 
craft being exercised by men  of gentle 
blood4 ,i have1 however1 already        
mentioned the priestly  printer1        
,clemente ,patavino1 and a colophon     
reveals that the printers of  one book  
were two priests4 ,one rather wonders   
what became meanwhile of  their         
religious duties4 ,i suppose that a     
priest would not in general  have been  
allowed to follow a secular calling1 at 
least openly1 but in  this instance of  
printing there is no attempt at         

concealment4 ,a  circumstance honourable
 in its way to the craft to which we owe
 our  existence1 and suggesting that the
 ecclesiastical authorities of the      
fifteenth century thought of printers as
 our friend ,mr4 ,dewey rightly  tells  
we ought to think of librarians4        
,enough1 perhaps1 has been said to      
warrant the suggestion of a little  book
 of colophons1 bringing together what   
must now be laboriously hunted  up from 
,panzer1 ,hain1 and similar authorities4
 ,its principal aim should  be to       
collect whatever might illustrate the   
feelings with which the  ancient        
printers regarded themselves and their  
art in the fifteenth  century2 but every
 colophon should also be given which    
throws a light on  contemporary history 
and public feeling on any subject4 ,i   
should1 for  instance1 include that in  
which the peaceful character of ,paul   
,,ii4's  pontificate is recognised by   
the epithet placatissimum1 and any that 
conveyed a compliment to a king1 doge1  

or any leading personage of the  time4  
,such a little volume1 tastefully       
executed1 something after the  pattern  
of ,monsieur ,mntz's delightful little  
book in the ,vatican  ,library under    
,platina1 would1 ,i believe1 be a       
favourite companion with  many an       
amateur of ancient typography4    ,in   
conclusion1 ,i may say a few words      
respecting what we are endeavouring  to 
do at the ,british ,museum for the      
illustration of early printing4 ,of  the
 little exhibition of title-pages and   
colophons displayed at the              
,association's visit to the ,museum     
yesterday1 since you have all seen it1  
,i need only say that the credit of     
collecting and arranging it is  entirely
 due to ,mr4 ,pollard1 whose essay on   
the subject ,i have already  recommended
 to your perusal4 ,a more permanent     
collection is  contemplated1 which ,i   
believe will be of substantial benefit  
to the  study of ancient printing4 ,when
 the requisite funds are procured1 as it

  is hoped will shortly be the case1 it 
is intended to provide additional       
glazed presses in the library1 with the 
view of bringing together  examples of  
every description of type used by a     
printer of incunabula1  that is1 of     
books produced during the fifteenth     
century4 ,mr4 ,aldrich1 a  gentleman    
deeply versed in typographic lore1 to   
whom the selection of  these examples   
will be entrusted1 will arrange them as 
far as possible  in the alphabetical    
order of the towns where the art of     
printing was  exercised1 keeping the    
works of each printer together4 ,this   
collection1  though not shown to the    
public1 will always be accessible to    
experts4  ,its value to them is obvious1
 and we hope it will also be of material
  service in disclosing the numerous    
deficiencies of the ,museum in          
representative specimens of early type1 
and prompting efforts to make  them     
good4 ,there is no idea of assembling   
together all the incunabula in  the     

,museum1 which would be impracticable   
for many reasons1 but only              
representative examples of the various  
types4 ,the foundation1 however1  of a  
general catalogue of incunabula has been
 laid in a manner which ,i  have        
previously stated to the ,american      
,library ,association1 namely1 by       
printing copies of the catalogue on one 
side only4 ,when the catalogue is       
finished we shall1 by merely cutting out
 the entries of any particular          
description of books1 obtain a classed  
catalogue of the entire subject1  among 
others1 of our incunabula2 this list can
 be placed in the  reading-room for     
general reference1 and1 if sufficient   
encouragement is  forthcoming1 be       
reprinted and published as a distinct   
catalogue1 revised  with the careful    
attention to minuti which would be out  
of place in a  general working catalogue
 like that of the entire library1 but   
which may  well be expected in a        
speciality4 ,the standard of accuracy   

has risen1  and bibliographers are      
dissatisfied with what many deemed      
excessive  nicety when the ,museum rules
 were framed4 ,it is improbable that ,i 
shall  have any concern with this       
catalogue of the future3 if ,i had1 ,i  
would  ask the ,trustees' leave to      
dedicate it to the memory of the man to 
whom  we are chiefly indebted for this  
particular development of scientific    
cataloguing--,henry ,bradshaw4          
,,footnotes3    #aig3a ,read at the     
,annual ,meeting of the ,library        
,association1 ,london1  ,october #ahhi4 
,,on ,,the ,,system ,,of ,,classifying  
,,books ,,on ,,the ,,shelves ,,followed 
,,at ,,the  ,,british ,,museum#baj3a    
,the purpose of this paper is to present
 a brief account of the system  followed
 in the classification of books on the  
shelves of the ,british  ,museum        
library4    ,it will be understood that 
this does not amount to an enumeration  
of all  the subjects which might        
suitably be recognised as distinct in a 

classified catalogue1 but only of such  
as possess sufficient importance  to    
occupy at least one book-press in the   
library4    ,subjects which from a      
philosophical point of view might       
properly be  separated1 must in actual  
library arrangements frequently be      
combined  for want of room4    ,it is   
further to be borne in mind that the    
classification now to be  described does
 not in absolute strictness apply to the
 entire library1  but to the            
acquisitions--comprising1 however1      
nearly four-fifths of the  whole--made  
since ,sir ,anthony ,panizzi's accession
 to office as keeper of  the printed    
books4 ,the books in ,montague ,house   
were indeed  scientifically arranged on 
their removal to the new premises1 but  
space  was then wanting to carry out the
 views entertained by the officer       
principally entrusted with their        
arrangement--the late ,mr4 ,thomas      
,watts1  a gentleman of prodigious      
memory and encyclopdic learning4 ,mr4   

,watts  subsequently obtained space more
 in correspondence with the             
comprehensiveness of his ideas1 and the 
,museum library will bear the  impress  
of his mind for all ages4 ,with his name
 will be associated that  of the late   
keeper1 ,mr4 ,rye1 for many years his   
coadjutor1 and whose own  independent   
arrangement of the ,grenville library   
and the  reference-library of the       
reading-room will always be cited as    
models for  the disposition of limited  
collections4 ,i trust to be excused this
 brief  reference to gentlemen          
prematurely lost to our profession--the 
former by  death1 the latter by         
indisposition1 brought on1 it is to be  
feared1 by  over-application to his     
official duties4 ,to the example of the 
former  and the instruction of the      
latter ,i am indebted for whatever claim
 ,i may  have to address you on a       
subject to which ,i can contribute      
little of my  own4    ,the              
classification of a great library is    

equivalent to a classification  of human
 knowledge1 and may1 if men please1     
become the standard or  symbol of       
conflicting schools of thought4 ,it     
might1 for example1 be  plausibly       
maintained that knowledge1 and therefore
 the library1 should  begin with the    
definition of man's relation to the     
unseen powers around  him--that is1 with
 ,natural ,theology4 ,or with man       
himself as the unit of  all things      
human--that is1 with ,anthropology4 ,or1
 on ,nature's own  pattern1 with the    
most rudimentary forms of existence4    
,hence1 as we  heard yesterday from the 
distinguished gentleman who here        
represents the  fifth part of the world1
 the reading-room library at ,melbourne 
begins  with works on the subject of    
,sponges4 ,fortunately for the neutral  
bibliographer1 there exists a book which
 not only holds in civilised  countries 
a place unique among books1 but which   
has further established  its claim to   
precedence by the practical test of     

being the first to get  itself printed4 
,the ,museum classification accordingly 
begins with the  ,bible1 and ,i venture 
to express the opinion that every sound 
classification will do the same4        
,when the next question emerges1 how to 
arrange the ,bible itself1 we  alight at
 once upon a few simple principles1     
which1 with the necessary               
modifications1 will prove applicable    
throughout4 ,it is obvious that  entire 
,bibles should precede parts of ,bibles2
 that originals should  precede         
translations2 the more ancient          
originals1 the more recent2 and  ,bibles
 in both the original tongues those in  
one only4 ,we thus obtain  the following
 arrangement at starting3 ,polyglots1   
,hebrew ,bibles1 ,greek  ,bibles4 ,it is
 equally apparent that ,greek cannot be 
fitly succeeded by  any tongue but      
,latin2 that ,latin is most naturally   
followed by its  modern derivatives2    
that these draw after them the other    
,european  languages in due order2 the  

,slavonic forming a link with the       
,oriental1  which in their turn usher in
 the ,african1 ,american1 and           
,polynesian4    ,concordances1          
consisting of the words of the ,bible   
detached from their  context1 form a    
convenient link with ,commentaries4 ,the
 latter fall into  two principal        
sections1 according as they relate to   
,scripture in its  entirety or to some  
particular part4 ,in arranging the      
former1 the  erudite labours of scholars
 are1 as far as possible1 kept apart    
from the  popular illustrative          
literature of modern days4 ,the order of
  commentaries on separate books must1  
of course1 correspond with that of  the 
books themselves in the canon of the    
,bible4    ,next succeeds the very      
important class of literature           
representing the  ,bible in contact with
 society through the medium of the      
,church4 ,the most  obvious form of this
 relation is the liturgical4 ,liturgies 
accordingly  succeed ,scripture in the  

,museum arrangement1 precedence being   
given to  the various ,churches in the  
order of their antiquity4 ,a minor but  
very  extensive class of ,liturgy1 the  
,psalm and ,hymn1 naturally follows as  
an  appendix1 preceding ,private and    
,family ,devotion1 which prefaces works 
on  liturgical subjects in general4 ,the
 next great department of this class  of
 literature ensues in the shape of      
,creeds and ,catechisms4 ,these pass    
into formal expositions of dogmatic     
theology1 including theological         
libraries2 which lead to the collected  
works of divines1 commencing with  the  
,fathers4 ,the same order is observed   
here as in the arrangement of  the      
,bible in its various languages3 the    
,greek ,fathers leading to the  ,latin1 
the ,latin to the divines of the nations
 speaking languages  derived from the   
,latin1 and these to the ,teutonic      
nations1 a division  practically        
equivalent to one into ,catholic and    
,protestant4 ,the general  theological  

literature of each nation follows in the
 same order1  excluding works treating  
of special theological questions1 but   
including  all the immense mass of      
printed material relating to the        
,reformation and  the controversies     
resulting from it down to the present   
day4 ,with these  the subject of        
,general ,theology may be deemed        
concluded1 and we enter  not only upon a
 fresh department1 but upon a fresh     
numeration4 ,the  book-presses embracing
 the subjects hitherto described all    
bear numbers  commencing with #cjjj4    
,with the new department #djjj          
commences1 and the  same remark1 mutatis
 mutandis1 is applicable to every       
succeeding  principal division4 ,i must 
pass very lightly over the numerous     
sections  of this second section4       
,beginning with the fundamental         
questions of the  being of a ,god and   
the truth of ,christianity1 it embraces 
every special  question which has formed
 the subject of discussion among        

,christians1 in  the order which        
commended itself as most logical to the 
original  designer of the arrangement4  
,these controversies conduct to the     
common  ground of ,religious ,devotion  
and ,contemplation1 including the       
important  departments of ,tracts and   
,religious ,fiction2 and these to       
devotion in  its hortatory form--i4e41  
,sermons1 classified on the same        
linguistic  principle as ,scripture1 and
 divided into the great sections of     
collected  discourses and separate      
sermons4 ,with these the subject of     
specifically  ,christian ,theology      
terminates1 and is succeeded by the     
great and  growing department of        
,mythology and non-,christian ,religion4
 ,judaism  follows1 leading by an easy  
transition to ,church ,history4 ,a few  
words on  the arrangement of this       
section will save much repetition1 as   
the  principle here exemplified is never
 departed from4 ,it demonstrates the    
advantage of beginning with a subject   

like the ,bible1 respecting the  correct
 arrangement of which there can be no   
dispute1 and which serves  as a norm for
 all the rest4 ,as the ,bible           
necessarily commenced with  ,polyglots1 
so ,church ,history begins with ,general
 ,church ,history2 the  various nations 
succeed in their linguistic1 which is   
practically also  their geographical    
order1 provision being1 of course1 made 
for the  intercalation of sub-sections  
where necessary1 as for instance one on 
,english ,nonconformity4 ,polynesia1 as 
the last member of this  arrangement1   
naturally introduces the next           
subject--,missions--which in  turn      
brings on ,religious ,orders1 including 
,freemasonry4 ,religious  ,biography    
follows1 arranged on the same principle 
as ,religious ,history1  which is always
 carried out wherever practicable4      
,finally1 the whole  class is concluded 
by the small but important division of  
,religious  ,bibliography4    ,divine   
,law is evidently most fitly succeeded  

by ,human ,law1 or  ,jurisprudence4 ,the
 fulness with which the preceding       
section has been  treated will enable me
 to pass very cursorily over this and   
its  successors4 ,i may be pardoned1    
however1 one remark suggested by the    
introduction of a new division--that in 
the classification of a library  it     
should be considered whether the scope  
of the collection is special  or        
general4 ,in arranging a mere collection
 of ,law ,books it would be  proper to  
commence with works treating of the     
general principles of  ,jurisprudence4  
,in arranging a great library1 regard   
must be had to the  harmonious          
connection of the parts1 and accordingly
 the ,museum  arrangement commences with
 ,ecclesiastical ,law as the natural    
sequel of  ,theology4 ,bulls1 ,councils1
 ,canon-,law and ,modern ,church-,law   
introduce the  great section of ,roman  
,law4 ,oriental ,law follows1 the ,laws 
of the  ,continental ,nations succeed in
 the order previously explained1 and    

thus  room is only found for ,general   
,jurisprudence at a comparatively late  
period1 at the beginning of the numeral 
series #fjjj4 ,it brings after it  such 
minor subjects as ,prison-,discipline   
and ,forensic ,medicine4 ,the  remaining
 space of the section is occupied by the
 ,law of the  ,english-speaking nations1
 which requires most minute subdivision4
    ,next to ,divinity and ,law1 the    
third rank among the pursuits of the    
human  mind was anciently assigned to   
,medicine4 ,we have learned to recognise
  that ,medicine1 however practically   
important1 ranks scientifically only  as
 a department of ,biology4 ,the next    
section1 accordingly1 commences  with   
general ,natural ,history1 continuing   
through the natural kingdoms of         
,botany1 ,geology1 and ,zoology1        
including ,veterinary ,surgery1 with    
their  appropriate subdivisions1 and    
then embracing ,medicine--first in its  
general aspect1 as medical principle and
 practice2 then in its great  leading   

divisions of ,physiology1 ,pathology1   
,therapeutics1 c42 again1 as  ,special  
,pathology2 finally1 in such comparative
 minuti as professional  controversies  
and bills of mortality4 ,the divisions  
of ,art--the next  class--are simple and
 obvious4 ,they may be enumerated as    
,archology1  ,costumes1 ,numismatics1   
,architecture1 ,painting1 ,sculpture1   
first as  treated collectively1 and then
 as treated separately2 and1 finally1   
,music4 ,fine ,art is succeeded by      
,useful ,art1 and the interval bridged  
over by ,field-,sports1 ,games of       
,chance1 and ,games of ,skill4 ,no      
subdivision of the ,useful ,arts has    
been attempted beyond the separation  of
 ,cookery and ,domestic ,economy from   
the rest1 and the addition of two       
special sections1 one for the catalogues
 of industrial exhibitions1 the  other  
for the voluminous and important        
publications of the ,south  ,kensington 
,museum4    ,the extensive and          
miscellaneous division which succeeds   

may1 perhaps1  best be defined under the
 head of ,philosophy1 alike in its      
scientific  principles and in its       
application to human life4 ,commencing  
with  ,political ,philosophy1 or the    
,science of ,government1 it runs rapidly
  through the politics of the various   
nations1 in the geographical order      
previously detailed1 passes into        
,political ,economy1 with the allied    
subjects of ,finance1 ,commerce1 and    
,social ,science2 thence into           
,education1 and1 by the minor morals so 
intimately allied with the latter       
subject1 into ,ethics1 including works  
on the condition of ,woman1 ,peace1     
,temperance1 and similar topics4        
,speculative ,philosophy succeeds1      
introducing ,mathematics1 on which hangs
 the great department of ,applied       
,mathematics1 including all physical    
sciences except the biological4 ,the    
various branches are carefully          
discriminated1 and room is found among  
them for the so-called ,occult          

,sciences1 and for ,military and ,naval 
matters1 the series appropriately       
concluding with ,chemistry1 or the      
science which aims at the resolution of 
all matter into its original  elements4 
,the remaining sections1 though most    
important and extensive1  are very      
simple in arrangement1 and may be       
dismissed very briefly4 ,they  are3     
,history2 ,geography1 with ,voyages and 
,topography2 ,biography2 ,poetry  and   
the ,drama2 ,belles ,lettres1 including 
,fiction2 and ,philology4 ,the          
arrangement is invariably the same3     
collected works on each subject  being  
placed first1 and a geographical order  
being adopted for the rest  when the    
conditions of the case allow4 ,genealogy
 is regarded as an  appendix to         
,history2 ,letters to ,biography2       
,elocution1 with ,literary  ,criticism  
and ,bibliography1 to ,poetry and the   
,dramatic ,art4 ,the class of  ,belles  
,lettres is headed by ,libraries and    
,cyclopdias4    ,it should be stated    

that the system here explained refers in
 the  strictest sense only to works     
complete in themselves1 and not to      
,periodicals1 ,academical ,publications1
 and ,state ,papers1 which are placed   
separately4 ,although1 however1 these   
constitute distinct series1 the         
principle of classification is          
practically identical4 ,the same remarks
  apply to the ,oriental departments of 
the collection1 the ,grenville  library1
 and the reference-library of the       
reading-room4    ,such is1 in its main  
features1 the system of book-press      
arrangement  which ,i have undertaken to
 describe4 ,i have no fear but that it  
will be  pronounced in essentials       
logical and philosophical4 ,it has      
undoubtedly  proved eminently convenient
 in practice4 ,that it should be open to
  revision on some points is inevitable 
from the nature of things1 and  from two
 circumstances more especially--its     
gradual development as  subject after   
subject was added to the library1 and   

the degree in which  it represents the  
idiosyncrasy of a single mind4 ,some    
minor oversights  must be admitted4     
,geology1 for example1 should           
unquestionably have  preceded ,botany4  
,i venture more extensive criticisms    
with hesitation1  yet ,i cannot help    
remarking that ,i perceive no valid     
reason for the  severance of so manifest
 a branch of ,history as ,biography from
 the  parent stem by the intrusion of   
the entire department of ,geography2    
while it appears to me that the ,useful 
,arts would have formed1 through        
,domestic ,economy1 a more natural      
sequel to ,medicine than ,fine ,art1 and
  in arranging the latter department ,i 
should have assigned the last  instead  
of the first place to ,archology and its
 allied subjects4  ,forensic ,medicine  
might also have been conveniently placed
 at the end  of ,law1 to connect that   
subject with ,natural ,science4 ,i      
should further  feel much inclined to   
form a class for ,encyclopdias          

immediately after  ,philology2 both     
because dictionaries of general         
knowledge seem  legitimate successors to
 dictionaries of languages1 and that the
 end of  the classification might be    
answerable in dignity to the beginning4 
,i am  aware how much room for diversity
 of opinion may exist on these and      
similar points4 ,on a more serious      
defect there can be no difference of    
opinion1 but it is a defect inherent in 
all finite things4 ,in an ideal         
classification by book-press one        
separate press1 at least1 would be      
provided for each subject1 however      
minute4 ,but an ideal library would     
also have room for each subdivision4 ,we
 cannot have the ideal  classification  
without the ideal library1 and1 although
 ,i hazard nothing  in saying that1     
thanks to the genius of the designer1   
,sir ,anthony  ,panizzi1 economy of     
space in the new buildings of the       
,museum has been  carried to the utmost 
extent conceivable1 space is still      

insufficient to  provide a distinct     
niche for every well-marked division of 
a subject4  ,upwards of five hundred    
such subdivisions are provided for2     
nevertheless  this large number is not  
exhaustive4 ,without such an exhaustive 
distribution1 the actual classification 
on the shelves1 which is all ,i  have   
undertaken to describe here1 can never  
be conterminous with the  ideal         
classification of the study4 ,if1       
however1 the ,museum library has  been  
unable to achieve an infinity of space1 
it has secured a  practically indefinite
 numerical expansiveness by the elastic 
system  referred to in our ,president's 
address1 in further illustration of     
which  ,i may be allowed a few words4   
,on the removal of the books from       
,montague  ,house1 about #ahch1 the     
cumbrous and antiquated1 but ,i imagine 
then  nearly universal system of        
press-notation by ,roman letters was    
exchanged  for one by ,arabic           
numerals4#bba3a ,these numbers were     

nevertheless  consecutive1 and thus no  
space was left for insertions4          
,supposing1 for  example1 that you have 
three presses standing together1        
numbered #a1 #b1  and #c1 and           
respectively occupied by ,botany1       
,horticulture1 and  ,agriculture1 it is 
clear that when your press of ,botany is
 full1 you  must either duplicate your  
,no4 #a1 or commence your subject afresh
 with  ,no4 #d4 ,mr4 ,watts1 however1   
set his numbers loose1 leaving a set of 
spare  numbers after each1 for future   
employment1 proportioned to the probable
  extent of the subject4 ,thus1 in the  
case supposed1 while his ,botany  would 
still have been #a1 his ,horticulture   
might have been #aj1 and his            
,agriculture #ae4 ,when more room is    
wanted for ,botany1 the other two       
subjects are moved one press farther on1
 leaving the press formerly  occupied by
 ,horticulture vacant for the ,botanical
 additions4 ,the  numbering of the      
presses is altered1 but not the         

numbering of the books1  and the        
catalogue is not interfered with4 ,the  
respective subjects thus  never get out 
of due numerical succession2 and when1  
on the opening of  the new library in   
#aheg1 the books thus numbered were     
brought from their  former confined     
quarters1 and spread over a far larger  
area1 the  removal was effected without 
the alteration of a single press-mark4  
,as  the books in any one press may thus
 come to occupy another1 it is1 as      
observed by ,mr4 ,winter ,jones1        
essential that all presses should be    
exactly of the same dimensions4         
,there is one incidental circumstance   
connected with the ,museum              
press-arrangement of such importance    
that ,i may hope to be allowed a few    
words respecting it1 although ,i        
adverted to it in the course of the     
discussion yesterday4 ,i allude to the  
fourth copy of the catalogue4 ,it  is   
generally known that the titles of books
 catalogued at the ,museum are          

transcribed trebly on carbonic          
tissue-paper by a manifold writer1 and  
that the catalogue is thus kept up in   
triplicate4 ,but ,i suspect it was  not 
generally known until the delivery of   
the ,president's address that a  fourth 
copy is taken at the same time4 ,these  
fourth slips are kept in  boxes1 and    
then arranged1 not in alphabetical order
 as in the  catalogue1 but according to 
the position of the books upon the      
shelves4  ,now1 as each shelf is        
restricted to a single subject1 it      
follows that an  arrangement by shelves 
is tantamount to an arrangement by      
subjects--that  is1 a classed catalogue4
 ,a great deal1 of course1 remains to be
 done  both in the way of subdivision   
and of incorporation2 it is nevertheless
  the fact that--thanks to the foresight
 of ,sir ,anthony ,panizzi and ,mr4     
,winter ,jones--the foundation of a     
classed ,index to ,universal ,literature
  has been laid by simply putting away  
titles as fast as transcribed1  without 

the nation having hitherto incurred any 
cost beyond that of the  pasteboard     
boxes4 ,the apparently gigantic task    
being thus far  simplified1 ,i earnestly
 trust that public aid may be           
forthcoming for its  completion1 ere the
 accumulation of titles shall have      
rendered it too  arduous4 ,fully        
sympathising with our friend ,mr4       
,axon's wish to see the  ,museum        
,catalogue in print1 ,i am yet averse to
 attempting to print it  just as it     
stands3 in the first place1 because ,i  
regard the undertaking  as beyond our   
strength2 and in the second place1      
because1 although such  a catalogue     
would tell the student at a distance    
what books by  particular authors were  
in the library1 it would not tell him   
what  books on particular subjects      
existed there2 the latter1 as it appears
  to me1 being the more urgent necessity
 of the two4 ,i should therefore be     
inclined to recommend the preparation of
 an abridged classified index1  compiled

 from the fourth-copy slips ,i have been
 describing1 and its  publication from  
time to time in sections severally      
complete in  themselves1 as affording   
the best means for a gradual solution of
 the  problem4 ,most of these sections1 
,i have little doubt1 would by their    
sale nearly repay the expense of        
publication1 which a complete           
alphabetical catalogue of the library   
certainly would not4 ,these  remarks1 it
 will be perceived1 coincide with those 
made yesterday by ,mr4  ,vickers1 which 
struck me as eminently sensible and     
practical4    ,i have prepared a list of
 the subjects comprised in the          
classification  of the ,museum1 which ,i
 put in for your examination4 ,for a    
list of the  principal systems proposed 
for the classification of libraries1 ,i 
may  refer to ,petzholdt's ,bibliotheca 
,bibliographica4 ,it is in so far       
deficient that it necessarily contains  
no reference to the recent  labours of  
our ,american friends and colleagues1   

who1 coming to the  subject with        
unbiased minds and an inventive         
ingenuity and fertility  equalled by no 
other nation1 have already done so much 
to advance the  frontiers of the        
librarian's science4      ,,footnotes3  
#baj3a ,read before the ,london         
,conference of ,librarians1 ,october    
#ahgg4    #bba3a ,it deserves to be     
recorded that at this period1 and for   
some  time afterwards1 books were not   
labelled externally1 but merely         
press-marked inside the covers4 ,when   
labels were introduced1 at the          
suggestion of ,mr4 ,winter ,jones1 the  
printing of the first set cost #hjj4    
,,subject-,,indexes ,,to ,,transactions 
,,of ,,learned ,,societies#bbe3a        
,we all remember the excellent paper    
read at the ,oxford ,conference by ,mr4 
,j4 ,b4 ,bailey1 sub-librarian at the   
,radcliffe ,library1 upon the advantage 
of a subject-index to scientific        
periodicals4 ,mr4 ,bailey spoke with    
just  praise of the splendid            

alphabetical catalogue issued by the    
,royal  ,society1 but observed that from
 the nature of the case this is nearly  
useless in making a bibliography of any 
given subject1 unless one is  familiar  
with the names of all the authors who   
have written thereon4  ,this is         
manifestly the case4 ,as an illustration
 both of the value and  the deficiencies
 of the ,royal ,society's index1 ,i may 
mention that while  on the one hand it  
has enabled me to discover that my      
father1 chiefly1  celebrated as a       
philologist1 has written a paper on the 
curious and  perplexing subject of the  
formation of ice at the bottoms of      
rivers1 the  existence of which was     
wholly unknown to his family1 it does   
not on the  other hand assist me to     
ascertain1 without a most tedious       
search1 what  other writers may have    
investigated the subject1 or1           
consequently1 how  far his observations 
are in accordance with theirs4 ,multiply
 my little  embarrassment by several    

hundred thousand1 and you will have some
 idea  of the amount of ignorance which 
the classified index suggested by ,mr4  
,bailey would enlighten4 ,we may well   
believe that the only objection he  has 
heard alleged is the magnitude of the   
undertaking1 and must  sympathise with  
his conviction that1 granting this1 it  
still ought not  to be put aside1 merely
 because it is difficult4 ,i hope to    
point out1  however1 that so far as     
concerns the scientific papers1 to which
 alone  ,mr4 ,bailey's proposal relates1
 the difficulty has been over-estimated1
  that the literary compilation need    
encounter no serious obstacle1 and  that
 the foundation might be laid in a short
 time by a single competent  workman1   
such as ,mr4 ,bailey himself4 ,of an    
index to literary papers ,i  shall speak
 subsequently2 and1 there1 ,i must      
acknowledge1 the  difficulties are much 
more formidable4 ,but as regards        
scientific papers1  it appears to me    
that the only considerable impediment is

 the financial4  ,when the others are   
overcome1 then1 and not till then1 we   
shall be in a  favourable position for  
overcoming this also4 ,the reason why   
the  formation of a classified index to 
scientific papers is comparatively      
easy1 is that the groundwork has been   
already provided by the  alphabetical   
index of the ,royal ,society4 ,we have  
the titles of all  scientific papers    
from #ahjj to #ahfe before us1 and shall
 soon have them  to #ahgc4 ,though it   
might be interesting1 it is not         
essential to go  further back4 ,we have 
now to consider how best to distribute  
this  alphabetical series into a number 
of subject-indexes4 ,to take the first  
step we merely require a little money   
7the first condition of success in  most
 undertakings71 and some leisure on the 
part of a gentleman  competent to       
distinguish the grand primary divisions 
of scientific  research from each other1
 and avoid the errors which cataloguers 
have  been known to commit in classing  

the star-fish with constellations1 and  
confusing ,plato the philosopher with   
,plato a volcano in the moon4 ,i need   
only say that very many of our body     
would bring far more than this          
necessary minimum of scientific         
knowledge to the task4 ,i may instance  
,mr4 ,bailey himself4 ,the money would  
be required to procure two copies of    
the alphabetical index 7which1 however1 
the ,royal ,society would very  likely  
present71 and to pay an assistant for   
cutting these two copies up  into       
strips1 each strip containing a single  
entry of a scientific paper1  and       
pasting the same upon cardboard4 ,it    
would be necessary to have two  copies  
of the alphabetical catalogue1 as this  
is printed on both sides  of the paper2 
and as the name of the writer is not    
repeated at the head  of each of his    
contributions1 and would therefore have 
to be written on  the card1 close       
supervision would be required1 or else a
 very  intelligent workman4 ,when this  

was done1 the entire catalogue would    
exist upon cards1 in a movable form     
instead of an immovable4 ,the work of   
the arranger or arrangers would now     
begin4 ,all that he or they would  have 
to do would be to write somewhere upon  
the card1 say in the left  hand upper   
corner1 the name of the broad scientific
 division1 such as  astronomy1          
meteorology1 geology1 to which the      
printed title pasted upon  the card     
appertained1 and to put each into a box 
appropriated to its  special object1    
preserving the alphabetical order of    
each division4 ,we  should then have the
 classed index already in the rough1 at 
a very small  relative expenditure of   
time1 money1 and labour4 ,for the       
purposes of  science1 however1 a more   
minute subdivision would be necessary4  
,here the  functions of our ,council    
would come into play1 and it would have 
a great  opportunity of demonstrating   
its usefulness as an organising body by 
inducing1 whether by negotiation with   

individuals or with scientific          
corporations like the ,royal ,society1  
competent men of science to  undertake  
the task of classifying the papers      
relating to their own  special studies4 
,men of science1 we may be certain1 are 
fully aware of  the importance of the   
undertaking1 which is indeed designed   
for their  special benefit2 and although
 they are a hard-worked race1 ,i do not 
question that a sufficient number of    
volunteers would be forthcoming4  ,when 
one looks1 for example1 at the immense  
labour of costly and  unremunerated     
research undertaken by a man like the   
late ,mr4 ,carrington1  one cannot doubt
 that men will be found to undertake the
 humbler but  scarcely less useful and  
infinitely less onerous task of making  
the  discoveries of the ,carringtons    
generally available4 ,i am sure1 for    
instance1 that such men as ,mr4 ,knobel 
and ,mr4 ,carruthers would most  readily
 undertake the classification of the    
astronomical and the  botanical         

departments respectively1 provided that 
their other  engagements allowed2 as to 
which1 of course1 ,i cannot affirm      
anything4  ,supposing our scientific    
editors found1 they would proceed       
exactly in  the same manner as the      
editor who had already accomplished the 
classification in the rough4 ,each would
 take the cards belonging to his  own   
section1 and would write opposite to the
 general subject-title  written by the  
first classifier the heading of the     
minor sub-section to  which he thought  
it ought to be referred2 thus1 opposite 
,botany--,lichen1  and so on4 ,he would 
then put the title into the box or      
drawer belonging  to its sub-section1   
and when the work was complete1 we      
should have the  whole catalogue in a   
classified form1 digested under a number
 of  sub-headings4 ,some preliminary    
concert among the scientific editors    
would1 no doubt1 be necessary1 and a    
final revision in conformity with       
settled rules4 ,it might be questioned1 

for example1 whether a  dissertation on 
camphor properly belonged to botany1    
chemistry1 or  materia medica2 whether  
the subject of the gymnotus was         
ichthyological1  anatomical1 or         
electrical2 whether in such dubious     
cases a paper should  be entered more   
than once4 ,it would save time and      
trouble if these  points could be       
determined before the classification in 
the rough was  commenced2 in any case   
considerable delay from unavoidable     
causes must  be anticipated4 ,it is to  
be remembered1 on the other hand1 that  
the work  could under no circumstances  
be completed until the publication of   
the  ,royal ,society's alphabetical     
index of papers from #ahfe to #ahgc was 
finished1 which1 ,i suppose1 will not be
 the case for two or three years4       
,there will1 therefore1 be sufficient   
time to meet unforeseen causes of       
delay4 ,if the classified index could be
 ready shortly after the  alphabetical1 
if we could show the world that the work

 was not merely  talked about as        
desirable1 but actually done in so far  
as depended upon  ourselves and the     
representatives of science2 that it     
already existed in  the shape of a card 
catalogue1 and needed nothing but money 
to be made  accessible to               
everybody--then we should be in a very  
different position  from that which we  
occupy at present4 ,i cannot think that 
so much good  work would be allowed to  
be lost4 ,the catalogue1 not being      
confined to  papers in the ,english     
language1 would be equally useful in    
every country  where science is         
cultivated1 and would find support all  
over the  civilised world4 ,either from 
the ,government1 or from learned        
societies1  or the universities1 or the 
enterprise of publishers1 or the        
interest of  individual subscribers1 or 
private munificence1 means would1 sooner
 or  later1 be forthcoming to bring the 
work out1 and thus erect a most         
substantial monument to the utility of  

our ,association4 ,it would  obviously  
be important to provide that scientific 
papers should be  indexed not only for  
the past1 but for the future4 ,if1 as ,i
 trust1 the  ,royal ,society intends to 
continue the publication of its         
alphabetical  index from time to time1  
the compilers of the classified index   
will  continue to enjoy the same        
facilities as at present4 ,there must be
 some  very effectual machinery at the  
,society for registering new scientific 
papers as they are published4 ,what it  
is we may hope to learn from our        
colleague1 its eminent librarian1 who   
must be the most competent of all       
authorities on the subject4 ,mr4 ,bailey
 draws attention to several  scientific 
periodicals as useful for               
bibliographical purposes1 and ,i may    
mention one which seems to be very      
complete4#bca3a ,it is published at     
,rome4 ,the number for last ,december1  
which ,i have just seen1 is so  complete
 that1 among a very great number of     

scientific papers from all  quarters1 it
 records those on the telephone and the 
electric light1 in  the ,companion to   
the ,british ,almanac1 which1 ,i think1 
had then been  only announced here1 not 
published1 omitting the other           
contributions as  non-scientific4 ,it   
further gives a complete index to the   
contents of the  ,revista ,cientifica1 a
 ,barcelona periodical1 which had       
apparently just  reached the editor1    
from its commencement in the preceding  
,april4 ,by  this list ,i learn that the
 electric pen1 the subject of our       
colleague  ,mr4 ,frost's recent paper1  
had been the theme of a communication to
 a  ,barcelona society in ,may last4 ,it
 certainly seems as if any library that 
took this periodical in1 and transcribed
 the entries in its  bibliographical    
section on cards properly classed1 would
 be able to  keep up a pretty fair      
subject-index to scientific papers for  
the future4  ,i must1 in conclusion1 say
 a few words on a subject-index to the  

transactions of literary societies4 ,the
 prospect is here much more  remote1    
from the want of the almost             
indispensable groundwork of a  general  
alphabetical index4 ,we have seen what  
an infinity of trouble in  collecting1  
in cataloguing1 and in transcribing will
 be saved by the  ,royal ,society's list
 in the case of scientific papers1 and  
are in a  position to appreciate the    
impediments which must arise from the   
want of  one in this instance4 ,the work
 could be done by the ,british ,museum  
if it  had a proportionate addition to  
its staff1 or by a continuance of the   
disinterested efforts which are now     
devoted to the continuance of ,mr4      
,poole's index to periodicals4 ,failing 
these1 the most practical  suggestion   
appears to me ,mr4 ,bailey's1 that the  
undertaking might be to  a considerable 
extent promoted by the respective       
societies themselves4  ,if the          
secretaries of the more important of    
these bodies would cause the  titles of 

the papers occurring in their           
transactions to be transcribed  upon    
cards and deposited with this           
,association1 we should accumulate a    
mass of material worth working upon1 and
 which could be arranged while  awaiting
 a favourable opportunity for           
publication4 ,in some instances  even   
more might be done4 ,the library of the 
,royal ,asiatic ,society1 for  example1 
contains not merely its own             
transactions1 but those of every        
important society devoted to ,oriental  
studies1 as well as all similar         
periodicals4 ,our friend1 ,mr4 ,vaux1   
could probably1 in process of time1  not
 only procure transcripts of the papers 
contained in these  collections1 but    
could induce competent ,orientalists to 
prepare a scheme  of classification1 and
 such a classified list1 complete in    
itself and of  no unwieldy magnitude1   
could be published as a sample and      
forerunner of  the rest4 ,the initiative
 in such proposals1 as well as those    

referring  to scientific papers1 should 
be taken by our ,association1 which can 
negotiate with eminent men and learned  
bodies upon equal terms1 and  speak with
 effect where the voice of an individual
 would be lost4 ,the  desideratum of a  
classed index1 in a word1 affords our   
,society a great  opportunity of        
distinguishing itself4 ,it is this      
aspect of the matter1  no less than the 
importance of the matter itself1 that   
has encouraged me  to bring it under    
your notice4         ,,note4--,this     
paper1 the first on the subject1 so far 
as known       to the author1 attracted 
the attention of a gentleman of great   
ability1 ,mr4 ,collins of ,edgbaston1   
known as the indexer and       tabulator
 of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer's writings4  
,he pressed the       necessity of a    
classed index of scientific papers upon 
the       attention of the ,royal       
,society1 which at one period seemed    
about to take the matter up2 but the    
plan1 so far as concerned       ,mr4    

,collins1 was ultimately laid aside4    
,ere long1 however1 it       was        
revived1 and the task of classification 
is now being       actively carried out1
 upon what precise system the writer is 
not aware1 but doubtless upon one which 
has received mature       consideration4
      ,,footnotes3    #bbe3a ,read at   
the ,march ,monthly ,meeting of the     
,library ,association of  the ,united   
,kingdom1 and published in ,nature1     
,october #i1 #ahig4    #bca3a           
,bullettino di bibliografia e di storia 
delle scienze  matematiche e fisiche4   
,pubbl4 da ,b4 ,boncompagni 7,rome1     
#ahfh71 c4          ,,photography ,,in  
,,public ,,libraries#bcd3a      ,the    
subject of my paper has been already    
most advantageously introduced  to you  
by the precious broadside of ,william de
 ,machlinia1 exhibited  yesterday by    
,lord ,charles ,bruce2 which1 but for   
photography enlisted in  the cause of   
scholarship1 few of us would ever have  
beheld4 ,it is  equally commended by the

 pithy remark which fell from ,mr4      
,bradshaw1 ,the  best description of a  
book is the book itself4 ,it is1        
nevertheless1 my  desire to bring under 
your notice the advantage of annexing a 
photographic department to national     
libraries or other similar  institutions
 of first-class importance1 as an       
integral portion of the  institution4   
,the significance of the proposal       
consists in the last  clause4 ,at the   
present moment any public library can   
have almost  anything it wishes         
photographed by paying for it1 and so   
can any private  individual4 ,but       
private individuals do not fill their   
houses with  photographic reproductions 
of nature and art2 and in comparison    
with the  enormous results which might  
be obtained1 public libraries1 and1     
indeed1  public institutions of any     
kind1 have as yet hardly made more use  
of the  potent agent which science has  
put into their hands than the ,coreans1 
of whom ,mr4 ,bullen has told us1 made  

of the invention of movable type4       
,sure as ,i am of an indulgent audience1
 ,i shall perhaps yet more  powerfully  
bespeak your attention if ,i tell you   
that the special cause  which has       
determined me to bring this question    
forward at ,dublin is a  recent         
occurrence particularly interesting to  
,ireland--the transfer1 by  direction of
 the ,government1 of the ,irish portion 
of the ,ashburnham ,,mss4  from the     
,british ,museum to the ,royal ,irish   
,academy4 ,i am not here to  protest    
against this decision4 ,i accept it as  
an accomplished fact3 and  may sincerely
 profess that1 so far as the interests  
of ,celtic scholars  in ,ireland are    
promoted1 ,i am glad of it4 ,but on the 
same principle ,i  must condole with the
 ,celtic scholars in ,england1 many of  
them ,irishmen1  who must1 at least     
until the distant period when ,mr4      
,gilbert's truly  national undertaking  
is complete1 repair to ,dublin to       
consult what they  might have seen in   

,london4 ,the point to be insisted upon 
is1 that if the  ,museum had possessed a
 photographic department1 the question  
whose  interests were to be sacrificed  
could not have arisen at all4 ,though1  
as  recently pointed out by ,dr4        
,hessels1 the photograph may not be     
absolutely unerring in the reproduction 
of minute facsimile1 if made  with due  
care it is practically adequate in the  
vast majority of  instances4 ,we have   
just heard the ,dean of ,armagh's       
testimony to the  accuracy as well as   
the beauty of the facsimiles of ancient 
,irish ,,mss4  made under the direction 
of ,mr4 ,gilbert4 ,the photographic     
reproduction  is sometimes even         
preferable to the original manuscript1  
bringing out  and restoring faded       
letters4 ,given such a facsimile1 and1  
save as a  matter of sentiment1 it would
 be almost indifferent whether the      
original  reposed upon the shelves of   
,london or of ,dublin4 ,with it1 the    
scholar  need rarely brace himself up   

for a long and expensive journey to one 
city or the other4 ,with it1 the        
national treasure is doubly1 trebly1    
tenfold1 or a hundredfold if you like1  
protected against theft1 injury1  or    
destruction4 ,with it1 ,ireland might   
soon possess1 at a nominal cost1        
facsimiles of all ,,mss4 illustrating   
her ancient language or history1 and    
not merely the ,ashburnham4 ,but if     
these propositions are true of the      
,british ,museum1 they are true of every
 national institution4 ,if they  apply  
to ,celtic scholars1 they apply to all  
scholars4 ,if they apply to  the        
,ashburnham ,,mss41 they apply to all   
,,mss41 including parish registers  and 
public documents2 if to these1 then to  
printed books of rarity and  value2 and 
no less to every picture and statue1    
engraving and medal4  ,think of the     
boundless field thus opened up for the  
dissemination of  instruction and       
enjoyment1 for the insurance of         
irreplaceable wealth1  and great must be

 the wonder that scarcely a corner of it
 should  hitherto have been occupied4   
,the cause1 nevertheless1 is very       
simple4 ,photographic reproduction has  
not as yet been regarded as a duty      
incumbent upon a public library1 and    
has not1 accordingly1 been provided for 
out of the public funds4 ,the  same     
principle has not been applied to it    
which obtains in the case of  binding1  
lighting1 cleaning1 attendance1 and     
other things apart from the  buying of  
books which are recognised as essential 
to the efficiency of  such an           
institution4 ,it follows that           
photography is so dear as to be  rarely 
resorted to by private individuals2 and 
that its exercise by  public            
institutions is impeded not only by     
considerations of expense1  but also by 
indispensable but vexatious formalities 
and restrictions4  ,photography1 while  
in private hands1 must be costly2 first 
and foremost1  because the photographer 
must live4 ,again1 if he is an artist of

 the  accuracy of manipulation required 
for the work of a public library1 he    
must be enabled and entitled to put a   
high value on his services4 ,again1  he 
has invested capital both in his        
education and his working apparatus1  on
 which he must have interest4 ,once     
more1 he works by the piece1 and  piece 
labour is always the highest paid4 ,yet 
once again1 his  remuneration comes to  
him entirely in money1 and not in social
 position  or distinction4 ,besides1 the
 demand for the description of          
photographic  reproduction which a      
public library would require is as yet  
but limited1  and partly from these very
 difficulties of supply4 ,in            
portraiture1 for  which everybody is a  
customer1 and to a less degree in       
landscape and the  reproduction of works
 of art1 we see that competition has    
brought the  desired article within     
reach of the masses4 ,but in            
photographing books  and ,,mss4 the cost
 is still very disproportionate to the  

amount of labour  or the value of       
material4 ,we move in a vicious circle1 
the difficulty  of supply restricts     
demand1 and the feebleness of demand    
obstructs  supply4 ,nor1 were the demand
 more extensive1 would the public be    
effectually served by national          
institutions1 so long as the system of  
private photography and piece-work      
endured3 for the artist must have his   
profit1 put it how you will3 and it is  
this simple1 and in the present  state  
of things1 legitimate condition1 which  
cripples the library and  museum on this
 side of their activity2 and1 while     
enriching the  individual1 impoverishes 
the ,state in its spiritual aspect1 by  
impeding  the free circulation of       
intellectual wealth4    ,if the cause is
 as simple as ,i have stated1 the       
remedy1 fortunately1 is  no less so4 ,in
 so far as photography for public       
objects is concerned1 we  must suppress 
the photographer as a tradesman4 ,the   
,state must enlist  him1 pay him a fixed

 salary1 requiring his whole time in    
return1 and  minimise this source of    
expense by allowing him the rank of a   
civil  servant1 and a status on a par   
with that of any other head of a        
department4 ,it must also provide the   
assistance which would be  requisite1   
and the necessary apparatus and         
chemicals4 ,the photographer's  time    
being thus paid for1 his profit         
abolished1 and the material  provided   
for him1 what source of expense remains8
 ,absolutely none1 until  there is a tax
 upon sunshine4    ,it may still be     
fairly inquired3--    #a4 ,whether such 
an undertaking is within the legitimate 
sphere of  ,government8    #b4 ,whether 
it is of sufficient public utility to   
justify ,government  action8    #c4 ,how
 far such action would be remunerative  
financially8    ,on the first point ,i  
shall say hardly anything4 ,i can       
conceive no  greater objection in       
principle to an official photographer   
than to an  astronomer-royal1 and ,i do 

not expect to hear any objections to the
  latter functionary in the city of ,sir
 ,william ,rowan ,hamilton and ,dr4     
,ball4    ,nor do ,i apprehend that many
 among us will require to be convinced  
of  the advantage of photography as an  
auxiliary to library work4 ,it has      
already been sufficiently impressed upon
 us by our friend ,mr4 ,henry  ,stevens4
 ,we meet here1 however1 in the hope    
that our voice on this and  other       
subjects will penetrate beyond our own  
circle1 and arrest the  attention of    
many to whom these topics are at present
 unfamiliar4 ,it is1  further1 by       
proving the utility of photography as an
 auxiliary to  libraries and museums1   
and the extent to which these           
institutions are  trammelled by the     
present impediments to its exercise1    
that ,i shall best  encounter the more  
difficult question of the financial     
advantage of the  proposal4 ,for we     
shall all agree that the more generally 
useful anything  may be1 the more likely

 it is to be profitable4    ,i shall    
therefore point out very briefly the    
great benefit which the  ,british       
,museum1 the institution with which ,i  
am best acquainted1 might  derive from  
incorporating photography as an         
organised part of its  system1 instead  
of taking the photographer up to lay him
 down again4 ,i  shall next adduce      
several instances within my own         
knowledge in which  cheap photography   
would have been of material benefit to  
individual  frequenters of the ,museum2 
sufficient1 it seems to me1 to justify  
the  conclusion that a public need      
exists1 to supply which might be        
profitable even in a pecuniary sense4   
,lastly1 ,i shall look beyond the  needs
 of any individual library1 or any      
particular class of customers1  and     
endeavour to point out ways in which a  
national photographic  institution1     
preferably1 ,i think1 placed in         
connection with the ,british  ,museum1  
might subserve public objects of        

paramount importance4    ,i have said   
that1 to be adopted to any purpose by a 
public institution1  photography must   
become a portion of the organism of the 
institution  itself4 ,that is1 the      
institution must be the photographer's  
employer1  not his customer4 ,if        
otherwise1 all sorts of needful but     
troublesome  official formalities must  
exist1 which combine with the obstacle  
of  expense to reduce photographic      
enterprise to a minimum4 ,if a          
complicated  piece of official machinery
 has to be set in motion every time a   
photograph is wanted1 whether by a      
public department or a private          
individual1 the want is not likely to be
 often acknowledged1 much less  when a  
moderate outlay will soon bring both to 
the end of their tether4  ,abolish the  
relations of tradesman and customer1 pay
 the photographer  once for all by an   
adequate salary1 provide apparatus and  
chemicals with  sufficient liberality1  
and you at once cut off whatever has    

hitherto  hindered and arrested the     
enlistment of the art in the service of 
culture4 ,instead of an artist working  
now and then as he may happen to  get an
 order1 which he seldom does except in  
absolutely urgent cases1  you have one  
bound to devote the whole of his time to
 earning a moderate  fixed salary1 and1 
if he is the right sort of man1 making  
it his pride  and pleasure to do so4    
,instead of an institution doing        
comparatively  little work1 and         
supported by the reluctant contributions
 of  comparatively few customers1 you   
have one supported on a large scale at  
a cost individually imperceptible4      
,instead of heads of departments        
considering how little they can manage  
to spend1 you will have them  encouraged
 to tax their new auxiliary's resources 
to the utmost by the  consideration     
that1 the prime elements of expense     
being eliminated1 it  will1 in fact1    
hardly be possible to spend anything4   
,here ,i may be met  by an objection    

which deserves a reply4 ,granting1 it   
may be said1 the  propriety of employing
 the photographer for strictly national 
purposes1  why tax the entire community1
 however lightly1 for the benefit of the
  small portion of it which may happen  
to want photographs8 ,is it right to    
take a farthing out of ,brown's pocket  
to save ,jones five guineas8 ,i         
scarcely expect that any among us will  
raise that objection1 because1  pursued 
to its logical consequences1 it would   
abolish every museum and  library       
supported out of rates or taxes4 ,but1  
to anticipate it in the  quarters where 
it may be urged1 ,i shall prove that the
 benefits of cheap  photography1 applied
 to artistic and literary purposes1     
extend far  beyond the actual purchasers
 of photographs1 inasmuch as the present
  restrictions act injuriously and      
indeed prohibitively upon undertakings  
of admitted general utility1 both public
 and private4    ,in illustration of the
 impediments which the present system   

opposes to  such undertakings1 ,i may   
instance the difficulty of meeting the  
legitimate demands of provincial        
museums4 ,residents in the provinces1   
equally with residents in the           
metropolis1 contribute to the support of
  institutions like the ,british        
,museum1 and are entitled to expect that
  they should1 as far as possible1      
participate in its advantages4 ,there   
are1 ,i believe1 many well-meaning      
people so impressed with the justice  of
 this demand that to give it            
satisfaction they are prepared to       
permanently dislocate the national      
collection1 or to despatch portion      
after portion on an itinerating tour    
throughout the provinces4 ,i need  not  
seek to convince you that this specious 
suggestion is unsound2 that  the moral  
and historical and artistic significance
 of the collection  depend upon its     
universality and the preservation of the
 delicate links  and gradations of its  
several parts1 and that the loss of the 

metropolis  would by no means be the    
gain of the provinces4 ,it is           
nevertheless the  duty of the central   
institution to compensate the provinces 
in every  possible way for their        
inevitable disadvantages1 and though    
photography  will not do everything in  
this respect1 it will do much4 ,in      
sculpture1  coins1 engravings1 and      
drawings in outline or of neutral tint1 
the  smallest town in the kingdom might 
be almost on a par with the  metropolis 
for every purpose of instruction or     
refinement4 ,by enabling  them to be so 
we should not be creating a luxury1 but 
redressing a  grievance4 ,on this ground
 alone ,government might fairly be asked
 to move  in the matter4 ,how much1 too1
 might be effected by such artistic and 
archological handbooks1 photographically
 illustrated1 as could be  produced for 
a trifle if the process were no element 
in the expense6 ,how  much can be and is
 done even under existing difficulties  
is shown by the  exquisite autotype     

illustrations of some of the catalogues 
of selected  coins and medals recently  
published by the ,numismatic ,department
 of the  ,british ,museum4 ,they prove  
how easily the entire collection might  
be  made available for study and        
inspection all over the kingdom--ay1 and
 in  foreign countries and colonies--and
 confirm the proposition ,i have        
advanced1 that the expenditure of public
 money in cheapening  photographic      
reproduction is not merely a boon to the
 purchaser1 but to  the general public4 
,the circulation of photographs of works
 of art1 though important to  individual
 collectors1 is rather the affair of    
public institutions4 ,the  similar      
circulation of books and ,,mss41 the    
aspect of the question with  which we as
 librarians are particularly concerned1 
is more directly  interesting to private
 individuals1 and on this account has   
attracted  comparatively little notice4 
,i am not sure1 however1 that it is not 
the  more important of the two1 nor that

 it may not1 after all1 be the branch   
most susceptible of profitable          
development4 ,in the matter of rare     
books1 demand has now almost killed     
supply4 ,the wish to possess them is    
more general than ever1 but the means of
 gratifying it become from day  to day  
more restricted by the tendency of such 
books to drift into  public libraries1  
or into large private collections where 
they may be  locked up indefinitely1 and
 especially by the competition of       
,america4 ,at  this juncture1           
photography1 particularly in its form of
  photo-zincography1 steps in1 and      
offers the means of doing for the       
amateur of ancient and curious          
literature1 for maps and ,,mss41        
precisely  what the printing-press does 
for the great body of readers4 ,all we  
need  is that the obstacles which still 
render this process expensive1 except   
when applied to objects in great demand1
 should be removed1 that the  scholar   
should be enabled to procure a cheap    

photographic reproduction  as easily as 
the general reader can obtain a cheap   
book4 ,such scholars  are numerous      
enough1 ,i feel convinced1 to defray the
 cost of material  and of minor         
assistance1 leaving in the worst case   
nothing for the ,state  to pay but the  
insignificant salary of the chief       
photographic officer4  ,now let us take 
the case of another class of students1  
who deserve even  more consideration1   
the collators of ,,mss4 and rare books4 
,why should the  scholar of the         
nineteenth century be in no better      
position than the  scholar of the       
sixteenth8 ,why should he continue to be
 exposed to  hardships which science has
 met8 ,think of the waste of human      
effort1 the  fret and friction of human 
temper entailed by the inability to     
procure  accurate facsimiles4 ,why      
should the scholar of an age of light   
get no  good from the sun8 ,think of the
 long journeys1 the long residences1 the
  interminable correspondences of       

scholars1 the mechanical labour if they 
are their own copyists1 the expense and 
probable inaccuracy if they are  not4   
,do we often see a critical edition of a
 classic without a lament  that the     
editor has been unable to inspect some  
,,ms4 at ,madrid or ,moscow8  ,did not  
the ,biblical world wait thirty years   
for a facsimile of the  ,vatican ,,ms41 
which a photographer would have produced
 in a small  fraction of the time8 ,and 
did it not prove an imperfect facsimile 
after  all8 ,did not the learned        
,meibomius1 albeit a ponderous          
,dutchman1 ill  adapted for equitation1 
ride all the way from ,leyden to        
,bologna1 allured  by the unhappily     
misleading announcement1 ,habemus       
,petronium integrum8  ,to come nearer to
 our own times1 ,i may report 7since ,i 
rather suspect it  has been the germ of 
the whole subject in my mind7 a         
conversation ,i have  myself had with   
the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,hayman1 then editing the
 ,odyssey1 and most  anxious to take our

 ,museum ,,mss4 of the poem home to his 
rectory in the  north of ,lancashire4 ,i
 told him that the idea was contrary to 
the ,museum  statutes1 to ,act of       
,parliament1 and to the eternal fitness 
of things4 ,he  said that he would give 
security to any amount4 ,i said that    
money would  not compensate the ,museum 
or the world of letters for the loss of 
an  unique ,,ms41 and that it would be  
shocking to place a scholar1 possibly   
poor1 under obligations which might     
involve the loss of all he was  worth4  
,oh1 as to that1 he said1 as soon as ,i 
got the ,,ms4 home ,i  should insure it 
for its full value4 ,yes1 ,i replied1   
and deprive us  of the only security we 
had for your vigilance4 ,but ,i think we
 could  have trusted ,dr4 ,hayman with a
 photograph1 or he could probably have  
bought one for the cost of his railway  
fare to and from ,london4    ,let me now
 adduce some minor instances of the     
inconvenience created1 at  the ,museum  
alone1 by the absence of photographic   

facilities4 ,the  ,congress of          
,orientalists has felt the want of      
,oriental ,,mss4 deposited in  ,england 
so keenly as to have unanimously        
concurred in a perfectly futile         
memorial to allow them to be sent to the
 ,continent4 ,the ,austrian  ,government
 lately addressed an official request   
for the loan of an  exceedingly rare    
book1 which1 if the ,museum had         
possessed it1 they could  not have had1 
but of which1 if an official            
photographic department had  existed1   
they might have obtained the facsimile  
for a trifle4 ,with due  photographic   
facilities at ,basle we might each of us
 have taken home a  perfect facsimile of
 the memorable letter of ,fichet which  
,mr4 ,bullen has  brought to our notice1
 the accurate typographic reproduction  
of which  will assuredly tax the        
resources of the printers of the        
,library  ,chronicle4 ,the ,dean of     
,armagh could tell us how much he had   
recently to  pay for the transcription  

of an entire book on ,irish history at  
the  ,museum1 though the charge was as  
low as possible4 ,i have seen an        
accomplished lady1 the wife of a        
,professor of ,fine ,art1 toiling day   
after day for weeks together1           
laboriously tracing plans of            
architectural  structures for the       
illustration of her husband's lectures1 
which plans1  under the conditions      
contemplated1 she could have carried    
away in  facsimile for a few shillings4 
,i have known weeks employed and twenty 
pounds expended in copying a manuscript 
grammar of an ,african language2  and a 
rare old ,english book transcribed1     
every word of it1 to obtain a  reprint4 
,i have now a colleague in the ,museum  
coming early and staying  late out of   
his official time to transcribe an      
almost illegible ,coptic  manuscript1 a 
photograph of which would have answered 
every purpose4  ,another colleague      
wished to give a facsimile page of a    
very curious ,,ms4  he had edited for a 

learned society2 but was prevented by   
the cost2  conversely1 the same         
gentleman1 thanks to photography1 is at 
present  deciphering a most obstinate   
,,ms4 for the ,corporation of           
,stratford-on-,avon1 without having to  
go there or make himself  responsible   
for the safe custody of the document4 ,i
 know that the  charges of the skilful  
men who restore missing passages of     
books in  facsimile are1 inevitably ,i  
suppose1 so high that nobody who can    
help it  will employ them4 ,i have a    
mutilated book on my table at this      
moment  which ,i earnestly wish could be
 entrusted to one of them1 but ,i fear  
it  will not do4 ,now1 when we consider 
that it has been found practicable to   
facsimile the rare original edition of  
,goody ,two ,shoes1 with numerous       
woodcuts1 by photo-zincography1 and     
publish it at half-a-crown1 it is  clear
 that there must be something wrong     
about this exorbitant cost  which so    
effectually hinders the very work which 

photography1 in our  age1 seems so      
especially called upon to perform1 of   
counteracting the  inevitable tendency  
of old books to scarcity and consequent 
dearness4 ,of  the numerous official    
services which photography could render 
in a  library1 such as saving time in   
copying documents1 or restoring damaged 
leaves of catalogues1 ,i say nothing1   
for fear of occupying your time  unduly2
 and of the innumerable uses to which it
 can be turned by an  ingenious         
bibliographer ,i am also silent for the 
same reason1 and  because ,i regard this
 branch of the case as the especial     
property of ,mr4  ,henry ,stevens1 who  
has proved it experimentally1 and who   
has1 ,i hope1  more to tell us          
respecting it4 ,i will merely remark    
that under all  disadvantages1 the last 
four volumes of the ,british ,museum    
,catalogue of  ,greek ,coins contain    
#aaf autotype plates1 with              
representations of nearly  #bjjj coins4 
,what might not be done if the ,museum  

were its own  autotypist6    ,instances 
so numerous1 representative without     
doubt of a very large  number which have
 not come to my knowledge1 encourage the
 hope that the  establishment of a      
photographic department at the ,museum  
would be even  financially successful4  
,one very strong fact may be adduced1   
that  proposals have been actually made 
to obtain a photographic copy of the    
great ,chinese ,cyclopdia1 occupying    
eighteen hundred volumes4 ,the          
proposition1 needless if the ,museum had
 possessed a photographic  establishment
 of its own1 was that the parties should
 take the  ,cyclopdia away and          
photograph it themselves4 ,it could not 
be granted1  although the sum offered   
was no less than five hundred pounds1   
which  would have about paid the        
proposed photographic officer's salary  
for a  whole year4 ,the fact is         
conclusive both of the need of          
photography as an  auxiliary to library 
work1 and of the encouragement which a  

well-managed  endeavour would be sure to
 meet4 ,like the penny post and the     
telegraph1  once fairly launched1 it    
would raise the wind for itself4 ,work1 
says  ,george ,eliot1 breeds3 and the   
great initial difficulty removed1       
unsuspected developments and            
applications are sure to be thought of4 
,much prudence and judgment would be    
requisite in working the scheme4        
,competition with professional          
photographers must be avoided2 and the  
work of the institution confined to     
reproducing objects in its own          
collections1 or those of other public   
institutions1 or such in private  hands 
as possessed a distinct literary1       
artistic1 or scientific impress  and    
value4 ,the locality should be the      
,british ,museum1 because1 while we  are
 able to receive articles from any other
 place on deposit1 we are  disabled from
 even temporarily parting with our own4 
,if so1 the  management must1 of course1
 rest with the ,museum authorities1 as  

we  could not allow an imperium in      
imperio4 ,it will be admitted that under
  the present ,principal ,librarian the 
,museum has fully earned the  confidence
 of the public1 and that this has been  
largely gained by the  readiness shown  
to enlist mechanical processes in aid of
 library work1  particularly printing   
and electricity4 ,the introduction of   
photography  would be but a further     
development of the same principle2 and  
although  much consideration and        
discussion will evidently be necessary1 
,i am not  without hope that ,mr4 ,bond1
 who has brought print into the         
catalogue and  electricity into the     
,reading ,room1 may make the sun-crowned
 nymph1 now  an inmate who charges for  
her lodging instead of paying for it1 a 
daughter of the house4 ,many questions  
will arise which only experience  can   
solve4 ,the work which the institution  
does for itself and that which  it does 
for others must not be allowed to get   
into each other's way1 and  the         

adjustment of the scale of charges will 
require serious  consideration4 ,on the 
one hand1 the very essence of the scheme
 is to  reduce the cost of photography  
for literary or educational purposes to 
a  minimum2 and high prices would       
evidently be extortionate when the main 
elements of cost had been suppressed4   
,on the other hand1 the bona  fides of  
customers must be guaranteed2 and the   
,treasury will scarcely  help unless the
 obligation to recoup it as far as      
possible is  acknowledged and acted     
upon4 ,the best principle1 ,i apprehend1
 would be  to proportion charges as     
nearly as possible to the expenditure of
  material--a variable quantity1        
depending upon the amount of work       
done--and to look upon the salaries of  
the photographic officer and his        
assistants as expenses to be covered as 
far as possible--but with which  the    
,state is not bound to concern itself   
more than with the salaries of  other   
literary and artistic servants from whom

 it does not expect  pecuniary returns4 
,ere ,i quit the subject1 suffer me to  
advert to one aspect of it of  national 
and even international concern4 ,i      
allude to the service which  photography
 can render in the preservation and     
dissemination of the  national records4 
,the ,record ,office1 in ,london at     
least1 is no doubt as  nearly fireproof 
as a building can be made2 its guardians
 must say  whether it is so absolutely  
impregnable as to supersede all need for
 the  precaution of making a duplicate  
copy of any of its treasures4 ,but ,i   
know that it has unique documents       
relating to the most interesting  events
 in ,scotch history1 facsimiles of which
 would be acceptable  throughout        
,scotland4 ,i imagine that these are but
 types of a large class  of documents2  
and ,i am sure that the sight of papers 
relating to  memorable transactions1 or 
bearing the signatures of memorable men1
  would foster historical study and     
patriotic feeling throughout the  length

 and breadth of the land4 ,but there is 
another class of records1  for whose    
safety and accessibility measures should
 undoubtedly be taken4  ,i refer to the 
parish registers4 ,this is no new idea2 
it has been  frequently proposed that   
such documents should be removed to     
,london and  collected in a great       
central repository4 ,to this1 as regards
 the  originals1 ,i cannot assent1 both 
from respect for the rights of property 
and from the fear lest some unlucky day 
the registers of the entire  kingdom    
might disappear in one common           
catastrophe4 ,photography would  solve  
the problem4 ,with regard to the        
international aspect of the  question1  
it may be fairly expected that if we    
lead1 other nations will  follow1 and   
that we shall have to follow if we let  
them lead4 ,suppose  that ,france and we
 have taken the step in concert1 we     
shall be in a  position to mutually     
exchange copies of all the important    
documents  illustrative of the history  

of either nation contained in the       
archives  of both4 ,suppose ,italy and  
,spain to join1 and we may have the     
chief  materials of ,english history at 
home1 and shall no longer be obliged to 
despatch agents to calendar ,venetian   
state papers1 or unriddle the  ciphered 
scrolls of ,simancas4 ,the conception is
 so fruitful1 its  application is so    
manifold and momentous1 that ,i half    
recoil1 like ,fear1  afraid of the      
picture myself have painted4 ,yet ,i    
believe there is  nothing in it that    
upon sober examination will not be found
 to follow  naturally from the simple   
propositions with which ,i began1 that  
the  photographic reproduction of       
national property should be the concern 
of  the nation2 and that to a great     
museum or library photography should be1
  not a tool1 but a limb4               
,,footnotes3    #bcd3a ,read before the 
,library ,association1 ,dublin1         
,september #cj1 #ahhd4          ,,the   
,,telegraph ,,in ,,the ,,library        

,library administration1 like all other 
departments of human activity in  this  
age1 must experience the results of the 
unexampled development of  science in   
its application to the affairs of life4 
,the most immediately  obvious of these 
are the mechanical3 so simple a device  
as the  sliding-press1 as will be shown 
in its place1 has saved the nation      
thousands of pounds4 ,the most promising
 field for such achievements has        
hitherto been the ,united ,states of    
,america1 where the application of      
scientific contrivances to ordinary     
purposes is more general than in        
,europe1 and where the more important   
libraries are new structures1 where     
improvements can form part of the       
original plan1 with no fear of          
impediment from arrangements already    
existing4 ,next to mechanics1           
photography and electricity may be named
 as the scientific agencies  chiefly    
adapted for the promotion of library    
service4 ,photography has  been         

sufficiently treated in another essay in
 this volume4 ,the services  of         
electricity will be most cordially      
acknowledged by those who best  remember
 the paralysis of literary work1 alike  
official and private1  engendered by a  
fog at the ,british ,museum1 and in     
particular recall the  appearance of the
 ,reading ,room1 a ,byzantine tower of  
darkness1 with a  lantern dimly burning 
in the centre1 the windows presenting   
the  appearance of slate1 and dubious   
figures gliding or stumbling through    
the gloom--attendants brought in from   
the library to take care that the       
handful of discontented readers did not 
profit by the opportunity to  steal the 
books4 ,all this nuisance has been      
abolished by the electric  light1 which 
not only renders the ,reading ,room     
available for the public  on dark days1 
but allows the ordinary work of the     
,museum to be carried  on in all        
departments2 the same may be said of all
 other libraries4 ,the  beautiful1      

potent1 and above all safe electric ray 
is an advantage to  all1 and in dark    
days a passage from death unto life for 
those libraries  where1 as in the       
,museum1 gas has been proscribed on     
account of its  danger and its injurious
 effects upon books4    ,the services of
 electricity to libraries1 however1 are 
by no means  exhausted by the electric  
light4 ,it is capable of rendering aid  
even  more important1 and the more so in
 proportion to the extent of the        
library4 ,the need for rapid            
communication throughout large buildings
 has  been in some measure met by the   
telephone1 whose usefulness is impaired 
by its incapacity for transmitting and  
recording written messages4  ,recourse  
must be had to the telegraph--not1 of   
course1 that ordinary  description of   
the instrument where the record is made 
in dots and  dashes1 intelligibly solely
 to the expert--but the printing        
telegraph1  where the message appears in
 clear type1 or a facsimile of the      

transmitter's handwriting4 ,the use of  
such telegraphs for various  purposes1  
especially those of the ,stock          
,exchange1 is now very familiar1  and   
there is perhaps no place where it could
 be introduced with more  signal        
advantage than the ,reading ,room of the
 ,british ,museum4    ,there is no great
 reason at present for complaint of     
delay in bringing  books from the       
,museum library to the ,reading ,room2  
but the system is  not1 as so many other
 points of ,museum administration are1  
one to  challenge the administration and
 emulation of other libraries4 ,it is   
impossible to observe its working       
without pronouncing it cumbrous and     
below the present level of civilised    
ingenuity4 ,the reader writes his       
ticket at the catalogue desk1 generally 
with a pen trying to his temper1  and   
the captive of his bow and spear4 ,he   
then walks some distance to  deposit it 
in a basket on the counter1 where it    
remains until a boy is  at hand to carry

 it to the corridor outside the ,reading
 ,room1 where it  is put into a clip and
 drawn up to the gallery4 ,all these    
operations are  indispensable so long as
 recourse is solely had to human muscle1
 but  they evidently involve great loss 
of time4 ,the object to be aimed at     
should be the delivery of the ticket at 
the table of the attendants who  procure
 the book in the library simultaneously 
with its being written in  the ,reading 
,room2 and this seeming impossibility   
can be achieved by the  employment of a 
writing telegraph by which1 as fast as  
the message is  written at one end of   
the wire1 it is recorded in facsimile at
 the  other4 ,the present writer has    
experimented with the ,american         
,telautograph1 and1 so far as the       
experiments went1 nothing could be more 
satisfactory4 ,no knowledge of          
telegraphy whatever is required from the
  operator3 he simply inscribes his     
message with a style on a piece of      
tissue-paper1 and it reappears          

simultaneously at the other end of the  
wire4 ,nothing seems necessary but to   
furnish the catalogue desks with        
electrical transmitters 7which occupy no
 great space7 instead of  inkstands1 and
 to provide for the carrying of the     
wires out of the room4  ,when the writer
 endeavoured to introduce electrical    
communication in  #ahid1 he feared that 
this requisite would present            
difficulties1 but was  assured by       
experts that it really offered none4    
,the ticket written by  the reader might
 be retained by him as a memorandum3 if 
it could be  repeated in duplicate at   
the other end1 one copy might be treated
 as  now2 the other1 with any necessary 
correction1 might be pasted at once     
into the register1 saving all the time  
now occupied in registration4    ,it is 
of course perfectly possible that       
hitches and breakings down might  at    
first occur from time to time1 from the 
delicacy of the machine  employed1 or   
from other causes4 ,the machines have   

not been properly  tested1 nor can they 
be1 except by a continuous course of    
experiment4  ,but whence this morbid    
fear of experiment8 ,after ,darwin's    
definition1  the apprehension should    
surely be on the other side4 ,a single  
machine1  kept at work for a week1 would
 be sufficient to test the principle4   
,the  first experiments with the        
electric light at the ,museum were      
anything  but promising1 but ,sir       
,edward ,bond persevered1 and the result
 is what we  see4    ,and how brilliant 
a result the establishment of           
telegraphic  communication would be6    
,the saving of time is no doubt the most
  practical consideration1 but apart    
from this1 how vast the improvement  in 
the economy of the ,reading ,room6 ,no  
more troops of boy attendants1  with the
 inevitable noise and bustle2 nothing   
but the invisible  messenger speeding on
 his silent errand1 and the quiet       
delivery of books  at the desks3 an     
unparalleled scene of perfect physical  

repose in the  midst of intense mental  
activity4 ,of course the improvement    
would not  stop with the ,reading ,room1
 and ere long all departments would be  
connected by the writing telegraph4     
,this paper1 of course1 is not written  
with any view of recommending the       
,telautograph4 ,instruments better      
adapted for the purpose may exist1      
although the writer has not met with    
them4 ,he originally proposed the       
employment of a printing telegraph as a 
means of abridging delays in the        
,reading ,room as long ago as #ahgf4    
,the great improvements in              
administration introduced at that time1 
however1 rendered the need less  urgent2
 nor1 perhaps1 was electrical science   
itself then sufficiently  developed4    
,acquaintance with the ,telautograph led
 him to take the  subject up again in   
#ahic and #ahid1 and he still hopes to  
find the  electric force a match for vis
 inerti4          ,,on ,,the            
,,protection ,,of ,,libraries ,,from    

,,fire      ,of all the library's       
enemies1 the most terrible is fire4     
,water is bad  enough2 is it not        
recorded that the #dej copies of the    
,bible ,society's  translation of the   
,gospel of ,st4 ,matthew into ,manchu1  
printed on the  soft silken paper of    
,china1 were destroyed by an inundation 
of the ,neva8  ,but such damage can     
rarely occur1 unless when the element of
 the ,sylph  is invoked to combat the   
element of the ,salamander4 ,the muddy  
waters of  the ,neva1 also1 were        
probably more pernicious than the salt  
sea  streams would have been4 ,we       
ourselves have transcribed manuscripts  
of  ,shelley's which had been for months
 at the bottom of the ,mediterranean1   
and which1 although protected by        
package1 had evidently been soaked with 
salt water4 ,exposure to fire for a     
hundred-thousandth part of the period   
would not have left a letter legible4   
,the librarian's vigilance and resource1
 accordingly1 ought to be  enlisted     

against fire in an especial manner1 and 
no contrivance should  be overlooked    
that seems to afford the least prospect 
of controlling or  mitigating its       
ravages4    ,on ,july #ag1 #ahhd1       
experiments were made in the garden of  
,mr4 ,bernard  ,quaritch1 the eminent   
bookseller1 with fire-proof cases       
devised by ,mr4  ,zaehnsdorf1 equally   
distinguished as a binder1 and were     
reported in the  ,academy of ,july #bf4 
,three books1 each enclosed in a        
separate case1  were put into a fire1   
and kept there for half-an-hour4 ,on    
their being  extracted1 one1 which had  
been in a case lined with tin1 unpierced
 with  air-holes1 suffered only in its  
binding1 which had been slightly        
damaged1 not directly by the fire1 but  
only by the heated metal4 ,a  second1 of
 which the case was of the usual kind1  
but also unpierced with  air-holes1 came
 out intact4 ,the third1 in a case      
resembling that of the  second1 but     
pierced with air-holes of good diameter1

 suffered most1 the  fire1 and the water
 by which the fire was extinguished1    
having both  found admission through    
those punctures1 the water being the    
more  deleterious agent of the two4     
,this book was1 however1 not materially 
injured4 ,from this experiment it may be
 concluded that a good case will  in    
almost all instances preserve a book    
from destruction by fire1 that a  metal 
lining to the case is not necessary1 and
 that the air-holes 7which  experiments 
of a different kind have proved to be   
indispensable7 should  be small and     
numerous1 distributed over the top and  
front edges1 and not  only on the top4  
,in #ahid1 the chief part of the library
 of ,lord ,carysfort at ,elton ,hall1   
,peterborough1 was destroyed by fire1   
these books only escaping which had     
been protected by ,mr4 ,zaehnsdorf's    
cases4 ,on ,october #c1 #ahif1 ,lord    
,carysfort wrote3 ,a few of my books    
which were in cases were quite          
preserved from serious injury1 the cases

 having been blackened and  destroyed1  
while the book and its binding were     
scarcely discoloured4  ,since the fire  
,i have had all my valuable books put   
into cases such as  you make4    ,these 
circumstances having accidentally become
 known to the writer1 he  thought it his
 duty to test ,mr4 ,zaehnsdorf's cases  
for himself4 ,two of  these1 filled with
 printed papers of no value1 were placed
 7,april #ahig7  on a very hot fire in  
the writer's own study1 in the presence 
of ,mr4  ,zaehnsdorf and several        
officers of the library of the ,british 
,museum4  ,the result was highly        
satisfactory4 ,though the cases were    
greatly  damaged1 the papers received   
very little injury1 and this only when  
they  were in actual contact with the   
bottom and sides of the cases4 ,had they
  been bound volumes1 nothing would have
 suffered except the edges of the       
binding4    ,it seems evident that ,mr4 
,zaehnsdorf's invention well deserves   
the  attention of wealthy collectors of 

precious books4 ,there is a serious     
obstacle to its introduction on an      
extensive scale into great libraries    
from the expense of the cases1 which at 
present average about a pound a  piece4 
,it is probable1 however1 that cases    
could be contrived to take  books by the
 shelf-ful instead of single volumes4   
,in any event1 however1  it would be    
well worth while to employ them for the 
protection of books  of extreme rarity  
and inestimable manuscripts1 as well as 
the archives  of great libraries1 and   
artistic and scientific departments in  
general1  which1 when calendared1 as    
they must one day be if they have not   
been  burned first1 will be among the   
most valuable of materials for the      
history of culture4    ,it is no doubt  
true that the best protection against   
fire is not any  mechanical device1 but 
the contiguity of a good fire brigade4  
,but at  ,elton ,hall the nearest       
brigade was many miles off1 and1 be it  
as near as  it will1 it is also true    

that such devices are not exposed to the
  negligences1 misunderstandings1 and   
other infirmities incident to  mortals  
which may in an evil hour paralyse the  
operations of human  agents2 and that   
the most efficient brigade will be      
greatly helped by  anything which1 by   
retarding the progress of a             
conflagration1 holds it  back from      
gaining the mastery before the opposing 
forces have been fully  brought into    
play4 ,this important object might also 
be promoted by the  employment of wood  
specially seasoned by a chemical        
process4 ,experiments  made on behalf of
 the ,british ,museum in the spring of  
#ahih have been  highly satisfactory1   
evincing that although wood so treated  
will char1  it will not1 properly       
speaking1 burn1 and that the use of it  
for floors  and shelving would          
materially impede the process of        
combustion4          ,,the              
,,sliding-,,press ,,at ,,the ,,british  
,,museum#bfb3a      ,the object of this 

paper is to give a short account of the 
sliding-press  or hanging book-press now
 in use at the ,british ,museum1 and to 
suggest  the importance of its          
introduction elsewhere where possible1  
and of  regard being had to it in       
forming the plans of libraries hereafter
 to be  built4 ,every successful library
 is destined to be confronted sooner or 
later with the problem how to enlarge   
its insufficient space4 ,without        
considerable financial resources such   
enlargement has hitherto been           
absolutely impracticable1 and even where
 practicable has rarely been  carried   
into effect without a long period of    
makeshift1 discomfort1 and              
disorganisation1 for which the          
enlargement itself affords only a       
temporary remedy4 ,the great advantages 
of the sliding-press in this  point of  
view are two3 it allows expansion within
 the edifice itself1  without the       
necessity of additional building1 and it
 enables this  expansion to be effected 

gradually out of the regular income of  
the  library without the need of        
appealing for the large sums which would
 be  required by extensive structural   
additions to the existing edifice4    ,i
 may assume that all present have seen1 
or will see1 the photographs of  the    
,museum sliding-press exhibited to the  
,conference1 with the  accompanying     
description4 ,i may therefore be very   
brief in my account of  it here1 and    
simply characterise it as an additional 
bookcase hung in  the air from beams or 
rods projecting in front of the bookcase
 which it  is desired to enlarge1       
provided with handles for moving it     
backwards and  forwards1 working by     
rollers running on metal ribs projecting
 laterally  from the above-mentioned    
beams or rods1 and so suspended from    
these ribs  as absolutely not to touch  
the ground anywhere4 ,these are its     
essential  characteristics1 without     
which it would be indeed an additional  
book-press1 but not a hanging-press or  

sliding-press4 ,in recommending  this   
system of additional accommodation1 ,i  
by no means wish to insist  upon this   
special form as the only one adapted for
 the necessities of a  library4 ,i have 
no doubt that in very many libraries the
 arrangement of  the projecting beams or
 rods would be inapplicable1 and that it
 would be  better to resort to the      
original form of the idea1 from which   
the ,museum  derived its own application
 of it--the idea1 namely1 of a skeleton 
door  made in shelves1 hinged upon the  
press requiring expansion1 running on a 
wheel resting upon a metal quadrant let 
into the floor1 and opening and         
shutting like any ordinary door4 ,i have
 merely to affirm that for the  ,museum 
the adaptation we have made is a very   
great improvement2 but  this is due to  
the peculiar construction of the rooms  
to which the new  press has hitherto    
been chiefly confined4 ,rooms of this   
pattern do not  generally exist in      
public libraries1 and where they are not

 found ,i am  inclined to think that the
 plan which ,i have just described1 the 
prototype of the ,museum sliding-press1 
may be found the more  advantageous4 ,i 
also think1 however1 that for reasons   
quite unconnected  with the             
sliding-press1 this pattern of room     
ought to be imitated in  libraries      
hereafter to be built1 and when this is 
the case1 it must  inevitably bring the 
,museum press after it4 ,it will        
therefore be worth  while to describe   
this style of building1 in order that   
the mutual  adaptation of it and of the 
sliding-press may be clear4 ,it consists
 of  three storeys lighted entirely from
 the top4 ,it is therefore necessary    
for the transmission of light from top  
to bottom that the floors of the  two   
upper storeys should be open2 and they  
are in fact iron gratings4 ,it  follows 
that the floor of the highest storey    
must form the ceiling of  the second1   
and the floor of the second the ceiling 
of the third4 ,here  is the key to the  

sliding-press system4 ,the beams or rods
 which ,i have  described as projecting 
from the presses that line the wall     
already  existed in the shape of the    
bars of the grating1 and did not require
 to  be introduced4 ,nothing was needful
 but to provide them with flanking  ribs
 projecting at right angles1 from which1
 as you see in the  photographs1 the    
additional press could be suspended by  
rollers1  admitting of easy working     
backwards and forwards1 and then the    
sliding-press was fully developed out of
 the skeleton door4 ,no thought  of it  
had ever crossed the minds of the       
original designers of the  building2 yet
 they could have made no better         
arrangement had this been  planned with 
an especial view to its introduction4   
,they had even made  the storeys of     
exactly the right height1 eight feet4 ,i
 have not hitherto  mentioned that the  
press takes books both before and       
behind1 because  this feature is not    
essential1 and must indeed be departed  

from when the  press is applied to the  
accommodation of newspapers and such    
like large  folios4 ,for ordinary books 
it is manifestly a great advantage1 but 
carries with it the obligation that the 
presses shall not be higher than  eight 
feet1 or1 when full on both sides1 they 
will be too heavy to work  with comfort1
 unless1 which ,i do not think          
impracticable1 machinery for  the       
purpose should be introduced4    ,the   
principle of a sliding or hanging-press 
is1 so far as ,i know1  entirely        
peculiar to the ,british ,museum1 and   
hardly could have  originated elsewhere 
than in a building possessing1 like the 
,museum1  floors and ceilings entirely  
grated4 ,the main point1 however1 the   
provision of supplementary presses to   
increase the capacity of the  library   
without requiring additional space1 had 
previously been worked  out in at least 
two libraries4 ,the earliest example1   
apart from casual  and accidental       
applications at ,trinity ,college1      

,dublin1 and1 as ,i have  been told1 the
 ,bodleian1 was1 ,i believe1 at         
,bradford ,free ,library1 and  the      
gentleman entitled to the credit of its 
introduction there was ,mr4  ,virgo1 the
 librarian4 ,mr4 ,virgo's contrivance   
was1 ,i understand1 a  double door1 not 
hinged on to the original press in one  
piece1 as in the  pattern ,i have just  
described1 but opening in two divisions 
to right and  left1 as frequently the   
case in cupboards4 ,i speak1 however1   
with some  uncertainty1 for when1       
writing on the subject in ,mr4 ,dewey's 
,library  ,notes1 and most anxious to   
give ,mr4 ,virgo all due credit1 ,i     
applied to  him for particulars of his  
invention1 modesty1 as ,i must suppose1 
rendered him silent1 or at best but     
insufficiently articulate4 ,i hope he   
may be present to-day1 and that the     
,conference may hear the particulars    
from himself4 ,it is due1 however1 to   
the ,bethnal ,green ,library1 the  other
 institution to which ,i have referred  

as having given effect to the  principle
 of press expansion in situ1 to state   
most explicitly that  the idea of its   
application at the ,museum was derived  
wholly and solely  from ,bethnal ,green2
 that the ,bradford example1 though it  
had been set  for some years previously1
 was never heard of at the ,museum until
 the  model had been constructed and the
 first presses ordered2 and that ,i am  
satisfied that ,bethnal ,green knew as  
little of ,bradford as the ,museum  did4
 ,the ,bethnal ,green inventor was1 ,i  
am informed1 the late ,dr4 ,tyler1  the 
founder and principal benefactor of the 
institution1 and1 as  elsewhere1 the    
device was resorted to by him under the 
pressure of a  temporary emergency--in  
this case the accumulation of           
specifications of  patents annually     
presented by the ,patent ,office4 ,the  
introduction of the  principle at the   
,museum dates from a ,november evening  
of #ahhf1 when1  going down to attend a 
little festivity on occasion of the     

reopening of  the ,bethnal ,green       
,library after renovation1 ,i was shown 
the  supplementary presses by the       
librarian1 ,mr4 ,hilcken4 ,i immediately
 saw  the value of the idea1 and next   
morning sent for ,mr4 ,jenner1 assistant
  in the ,printed ,book ,department1 in 
whose special fitness ,i felt great     
confidence1 from his admirable          
performance of the duty of placing the  
books daily added to the ,museum1 which 
frequently requires much  ingenuity and 
contrivance4 ,i told ,mr4 ,jenner what  
,i had seen1 and  desired him to        
consider whether he could devise a      
method of adapting the  ,bethnal ,green 
system to the exigencies of the ,british
 ,museum4 ,he did  consider3 he went    
down to ,bethnal ,green and saw the     
presses employed  there1 and1 to his    
infinite credit1 hit upon the plan of   
suspending the  presses from the grated 
floors of the upper storey in the manner
 shown  by the photograph1 which1 as ,i 
have already pointed out1 is entirely   

original4 ,a model was constructed by   
the aid of ,mr4 ,sparrow1 the  ingenious
 locksmith of the ,museum4 ,mr4 ,bond1  
then principal librarian1  took the     
matter up warmly1 the first batch of    
presses was ordered early  in #ahhg1 and
 from that time forward we have had no  
difficulty at the  ,museum in providing 
space for ordinary books1 although some 
structural  alterations will be         
requisite before the sliding-press can  
be applied to  the whole of the ,new    
,library1 and it must be modified if it 
is to be  made serviceable for          
newspapers4 ,a new room in the ,white   
,wing1 not  admitting of a grated       
ceiling1 has been specially adapted with
 a view to  the introduction of the     
press1 and may be usefully studied by   
librarians  about to build1 although ,i 
think that some modifications will be   
found  expedient4 ,i have pleasure in   
adding that on my report of ,june #a1   
#ahhh1  in which ,i went into the whole 
matter very fully1 the trustees obtained

  from the ,treasury a gratuity of #ajj 
for ,mr4 ,jenner and of #bj for ,mr4    
,sparrow1 in recognition of their       
services4    ,i have designedly said    
recognition1 not recompense1 for no     
grant likely  to be awarded by the      
,treasury would bear any proportion to  
the saving  effected on behalf of the   
nation4 ,to make this clear ,i will     
adduce some  particulars stated in my   
report to the trustees4 ,eight hundred  
sliding-presses can be added to the ,new
 ,library at the ,museum without  any   
modification of the building as it      
stands1 and #cjj more by certain        
structural alterations4 ,the cost of a  
press being about #ac1 this gives       
#ad1cjj for the #aajj presses1 or1 with 
a liberal allowance for the cost  of the
 alterations1 say #ae1jjj altogether4   
,each press will contain on  the average
 about #djj volumes1 showing a total of 
#ddj1jjj volumes1 or  about seven times 
the number of books in the great ,king's
 ,library added  to the capacity of the 

,new ,library1 without taking in another
 square  inch of ground4 ,excluding     
newspapers1 periodicals1 ,oriental      
books--otherwise provided for--and      
tracts bound in bundles1 and assuming   
an annual addition of #bj1jjj volumes of
 other descriptions1 this  provides for 
twenty-two years4 ,but much more may be 
said1 for1 whether  in the form of      
swinging door or sliding-press1 the     
principle of  expansion in situ can     
undoubtedly be carried out through the  
greater  part of the ,old ,library1 as  
well as in the basement of the          
,new4#bfi3a  ,what additional space this
 would afford1 ,i have not endeavoured  
to  estimate4 ,another immense advantage
 connected with the system is the       
facility it offers of gradual expansion4
 ,any other enlargement requires  new   
building2 new building requires a large 
sum to be raised by a great  effort of  
rating1 borrowing1 or subscribing2 and  
too frequently the  adjoining ground is 
preoccupied1 and must be acquired at a  

great  additional expense4 ,fifty       
thousand pounds would1 ,i believe1 be a 
very  moderate estimate for such        
accommodation1 if obtained by building1 
as  the ,museum gets from the           
sliding-press for #ae1jjj1 supposing    
even that  the ground were free to build
 upon4 ,in our case1 however1 this      
ground  must have been purchased4 ,we   
may well imagine the ,trojan siege we   
should  have had to lay to the          
,treasury1 to obtain the money2 the     
delays of  building when this was       
eventually forthcoming2 and the fearful 
inconvenience which would have existed  
meanwhile4 ,now we simply put down  a   
sum in the annual estimates for as many 
sliding-presses as are likely  to be    
required during the ensuing financial   
year1 introduce them  wherever they seem
 to be necessary1 and hope to go on thus
 for an  indefinite number of years4    
,any new apartment1 complete in itself1 
must  involve waste1 for some parts of  
it must necessarily fill up faster than 

others2 but in the sliding-press is a   
beautiful elasticity2 it can be         
introduced wherever it is seen to be    
wanted1 and nowhere else4 ,finally1  and
 for the ,museum this is most important1
 the additional space gained  is in the 
close vicinity of the ,reading ,room4 ,a
 new building must have  been at a      
distance1 involving either great        
inconvenience in the supply  of books to
 readers1 or an additional ,reading     
,room1 catalogue1 reference  library1   
and staff4    ,i think enough has been  
said to convince librarians of the      
expediency of  taking the sliding-press1
 or some analogous contrivance1 into    
account1  in plans for the enlargement  
of old libraries1 or the construction of
  new ones4 ,some libraries will not    
require it1 either because they are on  
too small a scale2 or because1 like     
branch libraries in great towns1  they  
admit of being kept within limits2 or   
because1 like ,archbishop  ,marsh's     
,library at ,dublin1 they are restricted

 to special collections4  ,but all      
experience shows that it is impossible  
to provide for the wants  of a great and
 growing library on too generous a      
scale1 or to exhibit  too much          
forethought in preparing for distant1 it
 may be1 but ultimately  inevitable     
contingencies4 ,york ,cathedral ,library
 might have seemed safe1  but see the   
burden which ,mr4 ,hailstone's recent   
benefaction has laid  upon it4 ,to the  
librarian it may be said of ,space what 
the poet said of  ,love3--              
,whoe'er thou art1 thy master see1      
,he was1 or is1 or is to be4    ,i      
should add that the cost of a           
sliding-press1 or of a door-press1      
might probably be much less to a        
provincial library than to the ,museum1 
where the shelves are constructed in the
 most elaborate manner for  special     
security against fire4    ,in fact1 ,i  
believe that the sliding-press is only  
one corner of a great  question1 and    
that in planning large libraries it will

 be necessary to  take mechanical       
contrivances into account to a much     
greater extent than  hitherto4 ,i am    
especially led to this conclusion by    
some particulars  which have reached me 
respecting the new ,congressional       
,library at  ,washington4 ,i am unable  
to state these with the requisite       
accuracy1 but  ,i hope that some        
,american friend may be present who can 
supply the  deficiency4    ,i have to   
add that the photographs of the         
sliding-press here exhibited  by me were
 taken by ,mr4 ,charles ,praetorius1 and
 that copies can be  obtained from him4 
,he may be addressed at the ,museum4 ,i 
hope that they  fulfil their purpose2   
they cannot1 however1 of course1        
represent the  press so well as the     
model of it constructed by ,mr4 ,sparrow
 for the  exhibition of library         
appliances at ,antwerp1 where it was    
shown last  year4 ,this is now exhibited
 to the public in the ,king's ,library1 
and ,mr4  ,sparrow could probably       

produce copies of it if desired4 ,an    
account of  the press was contributed by
 ,mr4 ,jenner to the ,library           
,chronicle1 and  by me to ,mr4 ,melville
 ,dewey's ,library ,notes1 both in      
#ahhg4      ,,footnotes3    #bfb3a ,read
 at the ,annual ,meeting of the ,library
 ,association1 held at  ,nottingham1    
,september #ahia4    #bfi3a ,since this 
was written1 the engineers of the ,board
 of ,works  have reported that the      
sliding-press system can be safely      
extended to  the galleries1 which more  
than doubles the estimate of increased  
space  given on the preceding page4     
,,on ,,the ,,provision ,,of ,,additional
 ,,space ,,in ,,libraries#bgb3a         
,the interesting paper#bgb3b to which   
you have just listened may well  serve  
as introductory to a somewhat fuller    
treatment on my part of the  question of
 providing adequate space for future    
accessions of books1 so  immensely      
important for all libraries1 but        
especially so for public  libraries1 and

 for these in the ratio of their        
probable extent and  consequent         
usefulness4 ,when ,i had an opportunity 
of describing the  ,british ,museum     
sliding-press to the ,nottingham        
conference1 ,i dwelt upon  the utility  
of the invention in this point of view  
as much as upon the  mechanism of the   
press itself2 and as the point is one   
which cannot be  too much insisted upon1
 ,i shall take this opportunity of      
returning to  it4 ,before doing so1     
however1 or mentioning any further      
contrivances for  economising space that
 may have suggested themselves1 ,i may  
be allowed  to tender my personal       
acknowledgments to ,mr4 ,mayhew for the 
ingenuity  which he has evinced1 and to 
say that ,i am very desirous that his   
invention should be brought into        
practical operation at the ,museum as   
soon as possible4 ,we ought1 ,i think1  
to exemplify every useful device  both  
in press construction and other         
departments of library work that we  may

 have the good fortune to introduce1    
both for our own credit and for  the    
advantage of other libraries which may  
be disposed to inquire into  our        
methods4 ,i hardly expect that the      
pivot-press will replace the            
sliding-press to any great extent at the
 ,museum1 because1 as ,i have           
previously stated1 although the         
designers of the larger portion of our  
library had not the most remote         
conception of the sliding-press1 they   
could not have provided for it more     
effectively if they had foreseen and    
contemplated its introduction4 ,but1    
when the need for procuring  additional 
space by mechanical contrivance makes   
itself felt1 as must  inevitably be the 
case one day in all really important    
libraries1  difficulties will be found  
in the introduction of the sliding-press
  which will not exist in the case of   
the pivot-press4 ,unless expressly so   
designed1 libraries will seldom be      
provided1 as the ,museum was1 with a    

grated ceiling from which the           
sliding-press can be suspended without  
more ado1 and the construction of such a
 ceiling is a formidable and  expensive 
piece of work4 ,this difficulty may     
indeed be overcome by  making the       
sliding-press run upon the ground1 as at
 ,bethnal ,green and  the basement of   
the ,museum1 but this throws the entire 
weight upon the  floor1 which1 though   
unobjectionable on a basement1 may be   
dangerous in  upper storeys4 ,i am      
inclined to believe1 therefore1 that the
 pivot-press  may be used with excellent
 effect in many instances1 especially   
from  its simplicity and ease of        
construction1 when a sudden need arises 
for  the accommodation of a new         
accession of books4 ,i may further draw 
attention to a special merit--its       
singular lightness even when full of    
volumes4 ,a child can work it with ease1
 unlike the sliding-press1 which1  when 
quite full1 may tax the strength of a   
powerful man4    ,respecting the history

 of this press ,i have only to say that1
 so far as  ,i am aware1 it originated  
with ,mr4 ,mayhew at the ,british       
,museum2 ,i  should1 nevertheless1 be in
 no way surprised to learn that it1 or  
something resembling it1 had already    
been in use in other libraries4 ,if  so1
 this is not known at the ,museum4 ,it  
did not1 like the sliding-press1  come  
to us as an importation to be developed1
 but originated1 so far as  ,i know1    
entirely with ,mr4 ,mayhew4 ,if he took 
a hint from any quarter1 it  may have   
been from those revolving book-stands   
which some of us1 no  doubt1 use in our 
own studies1 so admirable for their     
compactness and  the readiness with     
which the desired book is brought to    
hand1 but  unfortunately so dear4 ,i do 
not know why they should always be      
constructed in wood1 and have often     
thought that if ,birmingham             
manufacturers would turn them out on a  
large scale in metal1 they would  meet  
with a remunerative demand4    ,i now   

come to the general question of         
providing space in libraries for        
indefinite future accessions4 ,this does
 not seem to me to have as yet  received
 attention in any degree proportionate  
to its importance4  ,perhaps ,i am the  
more impressed with it from its having  
been my duty for  a long series of years
 to place the new acquisitions of books 
received  at the ,british ,museum4 ,the 
want of space for particular            
descriptions of  books was thus daily   
forced upon my attention1 as well as the
 alarming  prospect of a total failure  
of space at no very distant day1 unless 
this  could be averted by some          
mechanical contrivance1 the possibility 
of  which dawned upon nobody until that 
accidental visit of mine to the         
,bethnal ,green ,library1 which ,i have 
related to you upon a former  occasion4 
,the problem1 you must remember1 was not
 merely to find space  for books1 but to
 find it near the ,reading ,room4 ,the  
,trustees might  conceivably have       

acquired then1 as they have most happily
 acquired last  summer1 extensive space 
for building in the neighbourhood1 and  
this  might be invaluable for the       
deposit of particular classes of        
literature1  such as newspapers and     
official publications4 ,but this would  
not have  helped us with the mass of    
literature continually required for the 
,reading ,room1 for it is absolutely    
necessary that this should be close  at 
hand4 ,supposing that room could have   
been provided in a new building  for the
 classes of publications ,i have        
mentioned1 the difficulty would  have   
recurred as soon as the space thus      
gained had been filled up2 and          
ultimately we should have had to choose 
between allowing the library to  fall   
into a condition of chaos1 and removing 
the ,antiquities ,department  elsewhere1
 thus devoting noble rooms to purposes  
for which they were not  constructed1   
and for which they are in no respect    
adapted4 ,things were1  indeed1 fast    

approaching this point when the         
introduction of the  sliding-press1 like
 a breeze springing up for the rescue of
 a drifting  vessel1 carried us safely  
past the rock upon which we seemed      
destined to  strike4    ,the answer to  
the question whether libraries in       
general will not1  without special      
precautions1 find themselves in the     
position which the  ,british ,museum has
 so fortunately escaped1 depends upon   
the reply to  another question1 which we
 must all answer in the affirmative1 or 
we  should not be here3 ,is the system  
of free public libraries going to be  a 
success8 ,if so1 it is evident that the 
present development of free  libraries  
very imperfectly represents that which  
they are destined to  attain within a   
century4 ,they cannot be kept at the    
level of public  requirements without   
being continually supplied with the best
 and newest  literature4 ,it will be    
useless to expect the community to      
interest  itself for a library full of  

obsolete treatises or statistics which  
have  ceased to be accurate1 or         
histories not brought down to date1 or  
fiction  reflecting the taste of the    
last generation4 ,periodicals and       
newspapers  will have continued to      
prolong themselves automatically2       
municipal and  other local records will 
have multiplied2 and1 if the library has
 really  done its work1 and compelled   
recognition as an essential constituent 
of  civilisation1 the funds provided for
 its augmentation will no longer be     
upon their present restricted footing1  
and it will have been largely  enriched 
by donations4 ,evidently1 therefore1 the
 question of space will  have become    
very pressing1 and the librarians of the
 future will have  good reason to       
reproach the short-sightedness of their 
predecessors if  the problem has been   
left entirely to them4 ,one             
rough-and-ready method  of providing    
space might indeed be suggested--to sell
 the old books1 and  buy new ones with  

the proceeds2 but to say nothing of the 
invariably  unsuccessful financial      
results of such operations1 and the     
discouragement to students and to       
donors1 ,i need not point out that a    
library administered on such principles 
would be no better than a book  club4 ,i
 am not aware how far any of our free   
libraries may already be  suffering     
embarrassment in the matter of space1   
but ,i can mention a  circumstance which
 may appear significant4 ,we used to    
hear a great deal  about the stores of  
duplicate books accumulated at the      
,british ,museum1  and the advantage    
which would ensue from their            
distribution among  provincial          
libraries4 ,well1 a few years ago we    
acted upon the  suggestion1 and did     
distribute all that could be spared4    
,when only a few  volumes could be given
 all went smoothly2 but when long sets1 
especially  of parliamentary papers1    
were offered1 with a promise of their   
being  kept up1 if possible1 we met with

 an unexpected coyness2 some libraries  
declined1 others made difficulties2 and 
one1 which is entitled to  receive      
continuations regularly1 has now        
postponed taking its due for  more than 
a year4 ,i know not how to account for  
this1 except on the  hypothesis of      
deficient space4    ,the question       
whether ,i am right in laying so much   
stress on the timely  provision of space
 in libraries depends1 as ,i have       
intimated1 upon the  more serious       
question1 whether the library movement  
is to prove a  success4 ,if it is not1  
we need not trouble ourselves4 ,if the  
present  free libraries--at least those 
in populous towns and centres of        
intellect and industry--are not to be   
the nuclei of much more important       
institutions than they are at present2  
if they are not to become the  pride of 
their respective districts1 and to be   
supported by them upon a  much more     
liberal scale than is now the case2 if  
they are not to expect  liberal         

accessions from the generosity of       
private donors2 if they are  not to be  
affiliated with whatever agencies exist 
around them for the  promotion of       
culture2 if1 shedding from time to time 
what they may deem  their obsolete      
books1 they are to renounce all claim to
 an historical  character1 and only     
provide for those needs for which the   
circulating  library exists already2    
then1 indeed1 the question of space need
 not  concern us4 ,but if the reverse of
 all this is to be the case2 if they    
are to become noble libraries1          
store-houses of local and municipal as  
well as merely utilitarian literature2  
if all descriptions of ,english         
literature are to be at least fairly    
represented2 if private collectors  are 
to be made to see that the local library
 would afford a worthy  repository for  
their books2 then the question of space 
cannot be too  attentively considered1  
or1 in the height of success1 the       
library may  break down4 ,you know the  

value of land in large towns1 and the   
costliness of extending any premises    
that may be situated in a good  quarter1
 and surrounded by shops1 or warehouses1
 or public buildings4  ,the             
possibilities of future extension should
 never be lost sight of when  a site for
 a library is selected4 ,but1 as the    
most desirable site cannot  always be   
had1 it is still more important so to   
plan the library from  the first that it
 may be susceptible of inner            
development1 without  trenching upon the
 adjoining land2 and where1 in the case 
of existing  libraries1 this precaution 
has been neglected1 to lose no time in  
adapting the library for interior       
extension1 if possible4 ,at the ,museum 
we have at present two methods--the     
sliding-press1 whether suspended or     
resting on the ground1 and the          
pivot-press4 ,both these have been      
described to you4 ,but they by no means 
exhaust the possibilities of            
economising space1 and ,i wish to draw  

your attention to other ingenious       
methods1 which1 however1 ,i am not about
 to describe1 for ,i take this to  be   
the proper business of the inventor4    
,that they must be worth  attention you 
will all agree1 when ,i tell you they   
are devised by ,mr4  ,virgo4 ,mr4       
,virgo1 as his name seems to imply1 is a
 gentleman of singular  modesty4 ,i do  
not think that1 but for me1 he would    
ever have received  the credit due to   
him for his share in the invention of   
the  sliding-press2 nor do ,i think that
 he has done nearly enough to bring  his
 ingenious ideas forward for the general
 good4 ,i hope he will do so1  either at
 this meeting1 or ere long in the pages 
of ,,the ,,library1 or some  other      
suitable medium4 ,i shall not attempt to
 trespass upon his ground1  but will    
very briefly make a suggestion for book 
accommodation in a  restricted space1   
which his ingenious contrivances may    
have prompted1  although to find its    
exact prototype we must go back to the  

earliest  libraries that have ever      
existed4    ,these1 as we all know1 were
 the libraries of the kings of ,babylon 
and  ,assyria4 ,paper and parchment not 
having been then invented1 literature   
could only be inscribed on some hard    
substance4 ,wood or metal might have    
been used1 but the substances employed  
by the ,assyrians seem to have  been    
almost exclusively stone1 clay1 or terra
 cotta4 ,an incised stone  slab may be  
an excellent vehicle for a brief record 
intended to remain  fixed in the same   
place1 but for a chronicle or a liturgy1
 or a set of  astronomical observations1
 or any other of the staple productions 
of  ,babylonian or ,assyrian literature 
it is objectionable in two  respects--it
 is profuse of space1 and it is not     
easily portable4 ,the  ,king of         
,assyria1 like the ,king of ,persia of a
 later date1 had doubtless  frequent    
occasion to send for the chronicles of  
his kingdom to refresh  his memory      
respecting the treason of some ,bigthan 

or ,teresh1 or the  services of some    
,mordecai4 ,the ,assyrian historians or 
librarians1  therefore1 devised the     
inscription of their literature upon    
cylinders1  usually hexagonal prisms1   
giving six faces instead of one1 and    
possessing the double advantage of easy 
portability1 and of bringing the        
largest amount of writing possible into 
the smallest possible space4 ,the       
question of portability does not concern
 us now 7though ,i may remark           
incidentally that in very extensive     
libraries it offers a decisive  argument
 against the card catalogue71 but it    
does appear to me worthy of             
consideration whether1 in endeavouring  
to make room for our books1 we  might   
not occasionally employ the hexagonal   
form of press1 fixed or  revolving1 and 
thus revert with advantage to the method
 which our most  primitive predecessors 
adopted to make room for their writings4
 ,the  hexagonal prism has the advantage
 of affording more space practically    

available within less area than any     
other geometrical figure4 ,it seems     
well adapted for use in the central area
 of large rooms as a supplement  to the 
wall space2 for the extension of wall   
space when presses are run  out from the
 sides towards the centre of the room2  
and for the storage  of valuable books  
or other objects which it is desirable  
to keep apart4  ,a case of this         
description could be partially glazed to
 allow of the  exhibition of a portion  
of the contents level with the eye2 and 
many  other applications might probably 
be found for the hexagonal book-press   
or cabinet in libraries constructed with
 an especial view to its  introduction4 
,it may be that such presses or         
cabinets1 admitting as they  would of   
being made of any degree of strength1 or
 of being lined or  protected in any    
manner1 and of being wholly or partially
 glazed or  unglazed as desired1 would  
be best of all adapted for the custody  
of  objects of art or                   

archology--infinite riches in a little  
room4 ,yet1  even if so1 libraries and  
museums are so frequently under the same
  management that the subject cannot be 
deemed inappropriate for a  congress of 
librarians4    ,i will finally mention  
another method of obtaining increased   
space for  the display of books1 ,,mss41
 and other exhibited objects4 ,the lower
 part  of ordinary bookcases can be     
converted into show-cases by placing    
against them1 attached or unattached1   
light tables with glazed tops1  resting 
on wheels to allow of easy withdrawal   
when access to the case is  required4   
,this would greatly increase the        
exhibition space in libraries  and      
museums1 and might sometimes allow the  
centre of a fine room to be  free from  
obstruction1 and available for lectures 
and meetings4 ,applied  to ordinary wall
 cases1 it might admit of the display of
 many objects  supposed to be exhibited1
 but which in reality are not so1 being 
placed  too high or too low to be seen4 

,,footnotes3    #bgb3a ,read at the     
,annual ,meeting of the ,library        
,association1 ,belfast1  ,september     
#ahid4    #bgb3b ,a paper by ,mr4 ,h4   
,m4 ,mayhew1 of the ,british ,museum1 on
 ,a  ,revolving ,extension ,press4      
,,preface ,,to ,,blades' ,,enemies ,,of 
,,books#bhc3a      ,the precept ,love   
your ,enemies was never intended for the
 enemies of  books1 because the enemy of
 books is not an individual foe1 but    
hostis  humani generis4 ,the value of   
books1 as of other things1 may be       
superstitiously overrated4 ,we are      
accustomed to speak of them as if they  
were in themselves the wisdom1 or the   
knowledge1 or the genius1 of which  they
 are1 in fact1 only the receptacles4    
,they are not the honey of the  human   
hive1 but only the treasure-cells in    
which it is stored1 and the  analogue of
 the bee is the author4 ,but even in    
this restricted point of  view1 their   
function is so important that to destroy
 them is a crime of  lse-humanit2 and it

 is not known that any one ever         
enunciated their  destruction as a sound
 principle1 unless it were the ,caliph  
,omar4 ,even  he1 if the famous bon-mot 
attributed to him is genuine1 was       
willing to  spare one book2 and could   
his life have been prolonged for a      
century or  two1 he would have          
discovered that in reprieving the ,koran
 he had  authorised the creation of a   
very considerable literature4 ,the      
number of  commentaries upon the ,koran 
actually existing is not small2 what    
would  it have been had it been         
necessary to prove that all history1 and
  geography1 and astronomy1 and         
everything else that man needed to know1
  was implicitly taught therein8    ,no 
such gigantic figure as the destroyer of
 the ,alexandrian ,library1             
brandishing1 like the spectre of        
,fawdon1 a blazing rafter1 whose light  
streams down the centuries1 occupies a  
post of honour in ,mr4 ,blades'  volume4
 ,in comparison1 he may almost be       

likened to that poet who  adjured1 ,now1
 ,muse1 let's sing of rats1 having      
previously struck out  mice as below the
 dignity of the subject4 ,the foes he   
enumerates are  ,fire1 ,water1 ,gas and 
,heat1 ,dust and ,neglect1 ,ignorance1  
,book-worms1  ,other ,vermin1           
,bookbinders1 and ,collectors4 ,to these
 another might be  added--,sinister     
,interests1 which cannot be classified  
under the head of  ,ignorance1 for they 
know well that the existence of books is
  incompatible with their own4 ,it would
 be a curious subject of inquiry        
whether these interests1 whose potency  
in mutilating valuable books and        
hindering their dissemination1 sometimes
 until it has become too late  for the  
world to profit by them1 is             
unfortunately quite unquestionable1     
have ever succeeded in actually         
destroying any work of real importance  
to mankind4 ,the number that have on    
this account never been written at  all 
is no doubt enormous1 but from the      

nature of the case cannot be            
ascertained1 and the loss from this     
cause must be in every sense of the     
word inestimable4 ,it would1 however1   
probably be found that the book  which  
once got written also managed to get    
printed1 though sometimes  with such    
secrecy that it might almost as well    
have remained in  manuscript4 ,far more 
mischievous was the effect of pressure  
upon the  books which did appear under  
the authority of a licenser1 either     
emasculated by him or by the author4    
,whether the censors ever succeeded  in 
suppressing a worthy book or not1 it is 
pretty certain that they  never         
succeeded in suppressing a pernicious   
one4    ,such speculations would have   
been alien to the pacific and debonair  
spirit of ,mr4 ,blades--a man devoid of 
gall1 and ill-equipped for  thornier    
paths of controversy than the definition
 of a folio or the date  of a ,caxton4  
,in these he was formidable1 not merely 
from his natural  ability1 but from his 

practical acquaintance with the         
mysteries of  printing1 an              
accomplishment rarely possessed by      
bibliographers4 ,he was  able to deal1  
and willing to receive1 hard blows2 but 
his gentle spirit  doubtless rejoiced to
 find in the ,enemies of ,books1 as he  
conceived  and treated the theme1 a     
subject on which all the world thought  
as he  did4 ,no one1 even in this age of
 rehabilitations1 is likely to          
constitute himself the apologist of mice
 and book-worms4 ,if a criticism  were  
ventured on ,mr4 ,blades' method1 it    
might be whether1 with the  exception of
 these zoological enmities1 the various 
forms of hostility  of which he treats  
should not be grouped under a single    
head--that of  ,ignorance4 ,ignorance   
misleads the peccant bookbinder1 so     
sternly rebuked  by ,mr4 ,blades2       
ignorance 7when it is not hard          
necessity7 exposes books  to the        
decomposing effects of gas2 ignorance   
overlooks the need for  ventilation2    

ignorance appraises a book by its       
exterior1 and sacrifices1  it may be the
 o'er-dusted gold of a ,caxton1 or it   
may be a work of  true genius in a cheap
 and ordinary edition4 ,mr4 ,blades1 on 
the one  hand1 has rescued ,pynsons on  
their way to the butter-shop2 and we1 on
  our part1 have redeemed ,emily        
,bront's last verses--almost the noblest
  poem ever written by a woman in the   
,english language--from a volume half   
torn up1 because1 forsooth1 it had      
little to boast in the way of  external 
appearance4 ,there is another kind of   
ignorance1 which perhaps  operates      
towards the preservation of books--that 
fond conceit which  leads a man to      
ascribe incredible rarity to a book of  
which none of his  neighbours have      
heard1 or vast antiquity to one no older
 than his  grandfather4 ,numbers of     
books1 especially in the ,united        
,states1 have  owed their preservation  
to such amiable delusions2 but          
unfortunately  their preservation is in 

most cases a very small benefit4        
,whether or no ,mr4 ,blades' treatise   
might have been more comprehensive  and 
philosophical1 it is undoubtedly very   
practical1 and all its  precepts deserve
 respectful attention1 especially those 
which have any  reference to heat or    
ventilation4 ,book-worms in this        
favoured country  are now nearly as     
extinct as wolves 7we have seen some    
imported from  ,candia72 and against    
book thieves there is no remedy but lock
 and key4  ,the spiritual enemies of    
literature in this age accomplish their 
purpose less by the destruction of good 
books than by the  multiplication of bad
 ones1 and the present is hardly a      
suitable  occasion to deal with them4   
,to part1 as ,mr4 ,blades would have    
desired1  so far as may be in charity   
with all men1 we will conclude with the 
observation that this much may be said  
even for the enemies of  books--that    
they have unintentionally highly        
encouraged the race of  bibliophilists1 

whether bookhunters or booksellers4 ,if 
books had always  received the care and 
attention which they ought to receive1  
the  occupation of this interesting     
class would be as gone as ,othello's4   
,the  ,gutenberg ,bible would exist in  
two hundred and fifty copies1 more or   
less4 ,the ,caxtons would be numerous1  
perfect1 and in excellent  condition4   
,to find a unique1 one would have to    
resort to such  curiosities as a single 
impression on vellum1 or a special copy 
prepared  for presentation upon some    
extraordinary occasion4                 
,,footnotes3    #bhc3a ,edition of      
#ahif4          ,,sir ,,anthony         
,,panizzi1 ,k4,c4,b4#bhh3a      ,italy  
has been fertile in eminent librarians4 
,magliabecchi was probably  the most    
learned librarian that ever lived2      
,audiffredi was the creator  of         
scientific cataloguing2 to ,battezzati  
the practical librarians of the  ,united
 ,states confess themselves indebted for
 some of their apparently  most original

 ideas4 ,but it is ,sir ,anthony        
,panizzi's especial  distinction to have
 added to much of the erudition of a    
,magliabecchi and  all the              
bibliographical skill of an ,audiffredi 
the more commanding  qualities of a     
ruler of men4 ,he governed his library  
as his friend  ,cavour governed his     
country1 and in a spirit and with       
objects nearly  similar1 perfecting its 
internal organisation with one hand1    
while he  extended its frontiers with   
the other4    ,born on ,september #af1  
#agig1 at ,brescello1 in the province of
 ,reggio1 in  the duchy of ,modena1 at  
that time a part of the ,cisalpine      
,republic1  ,antonio ,panizzi came into 
the world as the citizen of at least a  
nominally free state1 but grew up the   
subject1 first of a foreign  intruder1  
and afterwards of the worst of the petty
 despots of ,italy4  ,these             
circumstances indirectly determined his 
future career4 ,as a man  of thought and
 feeling he could but be a patriot2 as a

 man of action he  could but be a       
conspirator4 ,after receiving his       
education at the ,lyceum  of ,reggio and
 the ,university of ,parma1 which he    
quitted with honourable  attestations of
 his proficiency1 he prepared to        
practise as an advocate1  but speedily  
became implicated in the political      
commotions of the time4  ,it was the day
 of the ,holy ,alliance1 when the       
,spanish ,revolution had  called the    
,italian into life3--        ,spain     
calls her now1 as with its thrilling    
thunder       ,vesuvius wakens tna1 and 
the cold       ,snow-crags by its reply 
are cloven in sunder4    ,while ,shelley
 was writing1 ,panizzi was acting4 ,in  
#ahba he was denounced  to the ,modenese
 ,government1 saved himself by flight1  
narrowly escaped  arrest by the         
,austrians at ,cremona1 and1 after a    
short residence in  ,switzerland1 whence
 he was expelled at the instance of     
,austria and  ,sardinia1 arrived in     
,england in the ,may of #ahbc4 ,the     

,modenese  authorities proceeded to try 
him in his absence1 and having duly     
sentenced him to be executed in effigy  
7,october #ahbc71 sent him a bill  for  
the legal expenses thus incurred4       
,panizzi1 with equal humour1  replied   
negatively in a letter subscribed       
,l'anima di ,panizzi1 and  dated ,campi 
,elisei1 regno diabolico1 rather a shock
 to received ideas  of geography4       
,the ,elysian ,fields were apparently at
 that time situated in ,liverpool1      
whither ,panizzi had repaired1 provided 
with introductions from ,ugo  ,foscolo  
to ,dr4 ,shepherd and to ,william       
,roscoe1 the men who1 with ,james       
,martineau1 have given ,liverpool a     
place in the history of letters4        
,liberality of opinion united him to    
both these eminent persons1 and his     
,italian origin and ,italian enthusiasm 
necessarily proved the most potent      
recommendations to the historian of     
,lorenzo de' ,medici and ,leo ,x4 ,from 
,roscoe1 indeed1 he received all the    

affection of a parent1 but these  were  
the days of the ,liverpool scholar's    
adversity4 ,panizzi1  nevertheless1     
probably owed to him the introduction to
 ,lord ,brougham  which proved the      
turning-point in his career4 ,he is said
 to have been of  great assistance to   
,brougham in the ,wakefield trial4 ,in  
#ahbh1 furnished  with further          
introductions from ,roscoe to ,samuel   
,rogers and ,sir ,henry  ,ellis1 he     
quitted ,liverpool to assume1 at        
,brougham's invitation1 the  post of    
,professor of ,italian in ,university   
,college1 ,london4 ,he had  supported   
himself while in ,liverpool as a teacher
 of ,italian2 little  record remains of 
the struggle1 but it must have been     
severe4 ,the  present writer has heard  
him say1 while lamenting the miserable  
salaries  paid to supernumerary         
assistants in the ,museum thirty years  
ago1 that he  had notwithstanding       
maintained himself upon much less4 ,one 
indispensable  acquisition he made at   

,liverpool1 a ready command of our      
language1  entirely unacquainted with it
 as he was upon his arrival in this     
country4 ,neither his accent nor his    
idiom was ever free from traces of  his 
foreign extraction1 but when he wrote   
the latter circumstance was  rather     
favourable to him4 ,the peculiarity of  
manner contributed to the  general      
impression of originality1 and the      
massiveness of his thoughts  was        
agreeably relieved by the raciness of   
his style4    ,the study of ,italian1 an
 indispensable branch of polite         
accomplishment  in ,elizabeth's time1   
was becoming a speciality or a tradition
 in ,george  ,,iv4's4 ,the professorship
 existed rather for the ,college's sake 
than the  students'4 ,panizzi produced  
an ,italian ,grammar and ,reading ,book1
 and  gave oral instruction to the few  
who required it4 ,his attention1        
however1 was mainly engrossed by a much 
more important undertaking1  which would
 have given him reputation1 had he      

achieved nothing else4  ,nearly three   
centuries had elapsed without an edition
 of ,boiardo's  ,orlando ,innamorato1 of
 which the ,orlando ,furioso is but a   
continuation1 and without which the     
latter poem is not fully  intelligible4 
,some occasional rusticity of diction1  
so pedantic is  ,italian purism1 had    
sufficed to obscure the merits of a poem
 which  ,signor ,villari1 writing in an 
age more familiar with generous ideas1  
celebrates for its moral seriousness1   
its singular elevation1 its world  full 
of variety1 of imagination1 of          
affection1--qualities1 indeed1  which   
had militated against it in the day of  
,italy's degeneracy1 and had  caused    
preference to be universally accorded to
 the brilliant but  half-jocular        
rifacimento by ,berni4 ,sir ,anthony    
,panizzi was the man to  be attracted by
 such qualities2 he must1 moreover1 have
 felt an especial  interest in ,boiardo 
as a native of the same district of     
,reggio from  which he himself sprang4  

,he determined to rescue him from       
oblivion1 and  effectually accomplished 
his purpose by editing him along with   
,ariosto  7#ahcj-ahcd74 ,the first      
volume of this fine edition1 dedicated  
to his  benefactor ,roscoe1 is occupied 
by his celebrated dissertation on       
,italian  romantic poetry1 especially   
remarkable for the reference of medival 
romances to ,celtic sources1 and        
containing analyses of the ,teseide1    
the ,morgante1 the ,amadigi1 and others 
of the less read ,italian  romantic     
epics4 ,it is further graced by         
translations contributed by ,lady       
,dacre1 ,mr4 ,rose1 and ,mr4 ,sotheby4  
,the second volume is prefaced by a     
memoir of ,boiardo1 with an essay making
 him full amends for the long           
usurpation of his fame by his adapter   
,berni4 ,the corrupt text of the        
,orlando ,innamorato is restored with   
great acumen from a collation of  rare  
editions principally contributed by the 
,right ,hon4 ,thomas  ,grenville1 and1  

as well as that of the ,furioso1 is     
accompanied by  valuable notes4 ,at a   
later period ,sir ,anthony edited       
,boiardo's minor  poems4    ,the        
distinguished assistance which ,panizzi 
had been able to command for  his       
edition evinces the hold which he had   
already acquired upon the best  ,english
 society4 ,his urbanity and charm of    
manner1 no less than his                
accomplishments1 made him irresistible4 
,he was intimate at ,holland  ,house1   
and on terms of personal friendship with
 most of the ,liberal  statesmen who    
mainly directed ,english policy for the 
next thirty years4  ,his friends now    
came into power1 and ,lord ,brougham    
used his influence  as an ex officio    
,trustee of the ,british ,museum to     
secure his  appointment as an extra     
assistant librarian of the ,printed     
,book  ,department 7,april #bg1 #ahca74 
,when one considers what ,panizzi found 
the  ,museum and what he left it1 one is
 in danger of being betrayed into       

injustice to the institution and its    
administrators at that period4          
,miserably inadequate as it must appear 
if tried by our present standard1  there
 was no conscious deficiency on the part
 of its official  representatives1 and  
it fully corresponded to the ideal of   
the public4  ,the nation1 in fact1 had  
scarcely the remotest idea of the       
organisation  of literary and artistic  
collections as a branch of the public   
service4  ,the records were in a        
shameful state of dilapidation2 the     
,museum itself  existed only by         
accident2 the ,national ,gallery did not
 as yet exist at  all4 ,men like ,hallam
 could honestly confess their perfect   
content with  the ,museum as it was1    
and1 unquestionably1 it numbered among  
its  officers persons of the highest    
eminence4 ,to mention only ,sir         
,anthony's  immediate official          
superiors1 the ,keeper of the ,printed  
,books was a most  accomplished scholar1
 the ,assistant-,keeper had made the    

standard  translation of ,dante4 ,if    
there was an uneasy spot anywhere it was
 the  catalogue4 ,the old printed       
catalogue had become inadequate4 ,mr4   
,hartwell  ,horne had for some time been
 engaged on the compilation of a classed
  catalogue1 which did not seem to      
promise good results4 ,mr4 ,baber1 the  
,keeper1 saw that a good alphabetical   
catalogue was the indispensable         
condition of a classed catalogue1 and   
,panizzi loyally supported him4 ,the    
,trustees appeared to be irresolute4    
,while this question was in agitation   
the grievances of an assistant1 very    
properly dismissed from the ,,ms4       
,department1 brought about a            
,parliamentary inquiry into the general 
management of the ,museum4 ,in ,july    
#ahcf1 ,panizzi appeared before the     
,committee1 and courageously1 yet with  
perfect good taste and official         
decorum1 laid bare the enormous         
deficiencies of the national library4 ,a
  still more valuable contribution was  

the mass of evidence supplied by  him   
with reference to the condition and     
administration of foreign  libraries1   
the result of journeys to the ,continent
 undertaken with the  express object of 
collecting it1 and occupying many       
hundred folio pages  in the ,appendix to
 the ,committee's ,report4 ,most        
valuable of all1  perhaps1 was his clear
 enunciation of the principle that the  
,museum  ought not to be a mere         
show-place1 as the ,government and the  
country  then practically concurred in  
regarding it1 but a great educational   
agency4 ,this principle1 emphatically   
expressed by him before the  ,committee1
 gives the keynote of all his           
administrative action4    ,merits like  
these could not go unrecompensed1 even  
though they might  have rather alienated
 than conciliated some of those whose   
duty it was  to reward them4 ,in ,july  
#ahce1 a proposal to raise ,panizzi's   
salary had  been shelved in a manner    
which so excited ,mr4 ,grenville's      

indignation  that he never attended     
another meeting of the ,trustees4 ,in   
#ahcg ,mr4  ,baber's resignation of the 
,keepership of the ,printed ,books      
placed  ,panizzi in a delicate position4
 ,mr4 ,cary1 the translator of ,dante1  
his  immediate superior in office1 had  
every claim to promotion on the  grounds
 of seniority and literary distinction1 
but ,mr4 ,cary had recently  recovered  
from an attack of insanity4 ,in reply to
 incessant  insinuations1 ,mr4          
,panizzi's high-minded conduct in the   
matter was  reluctantly stated by       
himself before the ,royal ,commission of
 #ahdi1 and  the account is fully       
confirmed by a narrator who had himself 
had sharp  conflicts with him1 ,mr4     
,edwards1 in his ,founders of the       
,british  ,museum4 ,mr4 ,cary1 it       
ultimately appeared1 thought that his   
past  services entitled him to that     
alleviation of labour which is gained by
  promotion to a superior place7674 ,it 
must be remembered that there were  no  

superannuation allowances in those days4
    ,panizzi did not expect or intend   
his labours to be alleviated by         
promotion4 ,he took office at a most    
critical time1 when the books were      
being transferred from ,montague ,house 
to their new quarters1 when the         
question of the catalogue was ripe for  
decision1 and when the public  were     
beginning to suspect the deficiencies of
 the library4 ,the removal  was promptly
 effected1 and some of the assistants   
temporarily engaged to  aid in it       
remained1 and proved most valuable      
officers of the ,museum4 ,the           
undertaking of the catalogue led to much
 tedious discussion1 but in  ,december  
#ahch1 ,panizzi declared his readiness  
to accept this formidable  addition to  
his ordinary duties1 and early in #ahci 
the cataloguing  rules1 which have ever 
since been regarded as models1 were     
framed by him  with the assistance of   
,messrs4 ,winter ,jones1 ,watts1 ,parry1
 and ,edwards4  ,mr4 ,jones assumed the 

general direction of the catalogue2 ,mr4
 ,watts  undertook the arrangement of   
the new acquisitions on the shelves2 the
  cataloguing of these was chiefly      
intrusted to the ,rev4 ,richard         
,garnett1  ,mr4 ,cary's successor as    
,assistant-,keeper4 ,a misunderstanding1
 for which  ,panizzi was in no respect  
responsible1 interfered with the        
progress of  the general catalogue4 ,it 
was announced that it must be proceeded 
with  in alphabetical order1 and much   
time was lost before ,panizzi was       
permitted to resort to the more         
expeditious plan of cataloguing the     
books shelf by shelf4 ,the ,trustees    
were further represented as demanding   
that it should all be in type by a fixed
 date1 and much time and labour  were   
accordingly wasted in printing the first
 volume1 containing letter  ,a1 which1  
as books requiring to be entered under  
headings commencing  with this initial  
constantly occurred during the          
subsequent progress of  the catalogue1  

inevitably proved exceedingly defective4
 ,the catalogue  has nevertheless been  
now for a long time substantially       
completed in  ,,ms41 and for the most   
part incorporated with the much more    
extensive  supplementary catalogue of   
books acquired during its progress2 the 
question whether and how it should be   
printed is too extensive to be  entered 
upon here4 ,even more of ,panizzi's     
attention was claimed by his  third     
task1 the ascertainment of the          
deficiencies of the library4 ,rich  in  
classics1 in the bibliographic treasures
 collected by such amateurs  as ,mr4    
,cracherode1 in history and some other  
subjects to which especial  attention   
had been paid by the ,king's ,librarian1
 in its unique  collections of ,english 
and ,french revolutionary tracts1 in the
  departments of natural science        
represented by the ,banksian ,library1  
the  ,museum was still deplorably poor  
in most branches of general literature1 
in ,german almost ludicrously so4 ,aided

 by ,mr4 ,jones and ,mr4 ,watts1        
,panizzi commenced an active            
investigation into the condition of the 
library in this respect4 ,the results   
were embodied in his celebrated  report 
of #ahde1 subsequently published as a   
,parliamentary paper1 which1  backed by 
his political and social influence1     
caused an increase to  #aj1jjj of the   
annual grant for the purchase of books4 
,another important  step in the same    
direction was the enforcement of the    
,copyright ,act1  hitherto but          
negligently attended to by the          
,secretary to the ,museum4  ,upon this  
duty being intrusted to ,panizzi1 he    
discharged it with a  vigour that soon  
brought reluctant publishers to their   
senses1 and he  even personally         
undertook an expedition through         
,scotland1 ,wales1 and  ,ireland1 for   
the sake of enforcing the observance of 
the ,act4 ,yet  another accession due to
 him was the matchless ,grenville       
,library1  perhaps the finest collection

 of books ever formed by a private      
individual4 ,mr4 ,grenville himself     
declared that the nation was solely     
indebted to ,mr4 ,panizzi's influence   
with him for this magnificent gift2  and
 ,panizzi's minute instructions for its 
removal1 addressed to ,mr4  ,rye1       
afterwards ,keeper of the ,printed      
,books1 are still extant to evince  his 
anxious care for the collection1 his    
perfect knowledge of it1 and  his grasp 
of every administrative detail1 from the
 greatest to the  smallest4 ,with such  
accessions from so many sources1 it is  
hardly  surprising that the volumes     
originally under ,mr4 ,panizzi's charge 
should  have multiplied fivefold by the 
time he quitted the ,museum4 ,it would  
be  endless to describe his numerous    
improvements in such matters of library 
detail as stamping1 binding1 and        
supplying the ,reading ,room4 ,the most 
important of any was the introduction of
 movable and multifold slips  into the  
catalogue1 largely due to a suggestion  

from ,mr4 ,wilson ,croker4    ,the      
,royal ,commission of #ahdg-di deserves 
to be considered the  turning-point of  
,sir ,a4 ,panizzi's administration4 ,up 
to this time1  however caressed in      
highly cultivated circles1 he had been  
unpopular  with the public1 who could   
not be expected to know how his plans   
were  cramped and thwarted1 and were in 
many instances illiberally prejudiced   
against him as a foreigner4 ,the        
,commission gave him a welcome          
opportunity of at once challenging      
inquiry into complaints1 and of  making 
known the signal improvements already   
effected by him4 ,his  invitation to    
complainants to come forward--widely    
circulated through  the notice taken of 
it by this journal--elicited a number of
 attacks1  which1 with the replies1 may 
be found in the ,parliamentary ,blue    
,book1  and form as instructive and     
amusing a body of reading as ever ,blue 
,book  contained4 ,the ,commissioners1  
who included men of letters like ,lord  

,ellesmere1 and men of business like    
,lord ,canning and the present ,duke of 
,somerset1 could but report that not one
 charge had been established in  any    
single particular4 ,it is abundantly    
clear that very few of the  complainants
 had any definite notion of what they   
wanted1 and the  frivolousness of their 
imputations1 even had they been well    
founded1  arouses something like        
indignation when contrasted with the    
immense  services which ,panizzi was at 
the time rendering without receiving any
  credit at all4 ,this triumphant       
vindication of his management1 however1 
made him omnipotent with the ,trustees  
and the ,government1 and paved the  way 
for the greatest undertaking of his     
life4 ,it is needless to describe  a    
structure so familiar to all ,english   
men of letters as the new ,reading      
,room4 ,the original design1 sketched by
 ,mr4 ,panizzi on ,april #ah1 #aheb1    
was submitted to the ,trustees on ,may  
#e following4 ,by ,may #ahed1 its       

originator's indomitable perseverance   
and extensive influence had  prevailed  
to obtain the large grant necessary for 
the commencement of  the work1 which was
 completed and opened to the public in  
,may #aheg4 ,the  part generally        
visible--,mr4 ,smirke's contribution to 
the plan--though  architecturally the   
most imposing1 is hardly the most       
remarkable portion  of a structure      
providing space for three hundred       
readers and a million  volumes on ground
 previously wasted and useless4 ,every  
detail was either  devised or           
superintended by ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi1 and 
it is not too much to  affirm that no   
edifice has existed more perfectly      
reconciling grandeur  of general effect 
with an accurate adaptation of means to 
ends in the  very smallest things4 ,one 
thing alone is wanting1 that the        
reference  library should be as far     
above competition as the ,reading ,room1
 and  this1 too1 will be accomplished   
when the exigencies of space allow the  

present ,principal ,librarian's plans to
 be carried out4 ,the attempts that     
have been made to deprive ,sir ,a4      
,panizzi of the credit of the conception
  are futile4 ,any one could see that   
the space in the quadrangle was  wasted4
 ,the present writer himself made the   
remark to an officer of the  ,museum at 
the age of fourteen4 ,but it was one    
thing to discern the evil  and another  
to provide the remedy4    ,in #ahef ,sir
 ,a4 ,panizzi succeeded ,sir ,henry     
,ellis as ,principal ,librarian1  being 
himself succeeded as ,keeper of the     
,printed ,books by ,mr4 ,winter  ,jones4
 ,his administration of the ,museum as a
 whole was carried on in the  same      
spirit as his administration of the     
library1 but1 except for the  great     
impetus given to purchases generally1   
was not distinguished by  equally       
striking incidents4 ,his work for the   
library had been mostly  performed1 and 
the affairs of the other departments    
afforded less scope  for the display of 

his peculiar qualities4 ,two or three   
slight  administrative mistakes may be  
admitted without derogation to his fame1
  for they can be shown to have         
originated in every instance from an    
excessive regard for what he himself    
considered the true interests of  his   
subordinates4 ,this was ever a passion  
with him1 and every  improvement in the 
position of the officials of the ,museum
 effected  during his connection with   
the establishment may be traced to his  
influence4 ,exhausted at length with    
work1 he retired on his full salary  in 
,july #ahff4 ,he took up his residence  
in ,bloomsbury ,square1 almost  within  
call of the ,museum1 and ceased not to  
the last to exhibit the  warmest        
interest in the institution4 ,in #ahfi  
he accepted the honour of  knighthood1  
which he had frequently declined4 ,his  
death on ,april #h has  already been    
recorded in our pages4    ,little can be
 said here of ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi's       
activity as a politician and  patriot4  

,it was probably little less important  
or beneficial than his  activity as a   
librarian1 and possibly occupied hardly 
less of his time  and thoughts4 ,it was1
 however1 wholly below the surface1 and 
the  materials for defining and         
appreciating it are at present wanting4 
,there  can be no question that he      
served the cause of ,italy most         
effectually by  his intimacy with the   
leading ,english statesmen1 who admired 
and  confided in him4 ,thoroughly       
,anglicised1 he knew how to appreciate  
the  currents of ,english sentiment1 and
 predicted to ,lord ,palmerston that the
  ,conspiracy ,bill would occasion the  
downfall of his government4 ,with this  
statesman1 as well as ,lord ,russell1 he
 was most intimate2 and he  received    
touching proofs in his last illness of  
the regard of ,mr4  ,gladstone1 whose   
famous pamphlet on the ,neapolitan      
prisons sounded a  note originally      
struck by ,panizzi4 ,sir ,james ,hudson1
 the ,english ,envoy  at ,turin1 was one

 of his most trusted friends1 and their 
mutual  understanding was of great      
service to the ,italian cause4 ,cavour  
thoroughly confided in him1 and vainly  
tempted him to a political career  in   
,italy by the offer of a senatorship4   
,though devoted to the house of  ,savoy1
 he cordially sympathised with          
,garibaldi1 in whose ,english  reception
 he had a great share1 and whom he      
accompanied on that occasion  to the    
tomb of ,ugo ,foscolo4 ,he reckoned the 
,orleans princes among his  friends1 and
 a community of literary tastes         
especially linked him to the  ,duke     
d',aumale4 ,while his sympathies and    
connections were thus ,liberal1  his    
relations with statesmen on the other   
side were always most  amicable4 ,we    
believe that the flattering resolutions 
of the ,trustees  passed on occasion of 
his resignation were moved by ,mr4      
,walpole and  seconded by ,lord         
,beaconsfield4    ,besides the works we 
have mentioned1 ,sir ,anthony ,panizzi  

was the author  of an essay in ,italian 
entitled ,chi era ,francesco da         
,bologna8 in which  that artist1 the    
inventor of italic type1 is identified  
with the great  painter ,francesco      
,francia2 and the editor of ,lord       
,vernon's sumptuous  verbatim reprint of
 the first four editions of the ,divine 
,comedy1  respectively printed at       
,foligno1 ,jesi1 ,mantua1 and ,naples4  
,he further  wrote some pamphlets on    
questions connected with the ,british   
,museum and  the ,catalogue of the      
,royal ,society's ,library1 and         
contributed several  articles on        
political and literary subjects to the  
,edinburgh1  ,quarterly1 and ,north     
,british ,reviews4    ,sir ,anthony     
,panizzi's was a rich and complex       
nature1 and his character  cannot be    
sketched in a phrase2 else we might feel
 tempted to sum it up  in two           
characteristics1 magnanimity and warmth 
of heart4 ,other traits1  however1 must 
be added to complete the                

portrait--prodigious power of  will1    
indomitable perseverance1 hatred of     
inefficiency and pretence1  active and  
disinterested kindness1 impetuosity held
 in check by  circumspect sagacity4 ,he 
might be said to combine the            
characteristics of  the land of his     
birth and the land of his adoption3 his 
moral nature  seemed ,english1 his      
intellect ,italian4 ,warmth of feeling  
gave after all  the keynote to his      
existence4 ,he was1 indeed1 jealous of  
his well-won  fame1 but fame was not his
 main object4 ,if he greatly helped his 
,museum1  his country1 his colleagues1  
it was because he began by greatly      
caring  for them4 ,in labouring for the 
public he erected an imperishable       
monument for himself3--        ,ipsa    
quidem virtus sibimet pulcherrima       
merces2       ,dulce tamen venit ad     
manes1 cum gloria vit       ,durat apud 
superos nec edunt oblivia laudem4       
,,footnotes3    #bhh3a ,athenum1 ,april 
#ai1 #ahgi4            ,,the ,,late     

,,john ,,winter ,,jones1 ,v4,p4,s4,a41  
,,principal ,,librarian ,,of ,,the      
,,british ,,museum1 ,,and    ,,first    
,,president ,,of ,,the ,,library        
,,association    ,,of ,,the ,,united    
,,kingdom4#cjd3a      ,the conference of
 the ,library ,association at ,london1  
in #ahha1 was  painfully signalised by  
the funeral in the same city of its     
first  ,president1 who had presided over
 its inauguration at the preliminary    
,london conference four years           
previously1 and to whose countenance it 
had  been indebted for much of the      
success which attended its              
establishment4  ,a short notice of ,mr4 
,winter ,jones's distinguished career as
 a librarian  seems to be demanded by   
his services to the ,association and his
 peculiar  relation to it as its first  
,president1 no less than by the position
  which1 in his capacity of ,principal  
,librarian of the ,british ,museum1 he  
so long occupied at the head of the     
profession of librarianship in this     

country4    ,john ,winter ,jones was    
born at ,lambeth1 ,june #af1 #ahje1 and 
belonged to a  family long established  
in ,carmarthenshire1 and already        
honourably  connected with literature4  
,his father1 ,john ,jones1 ,esq41 author
 of  ,hawthorn ,cottage and other tales1
 for many years edited the ,naval       
,chronicle and ,european ,magazine4 ,his
 grandfather1 ,mr4 ,giles ,jones1  had  
been secretary to the ,york ,buildings  
,water-,works1 and according to  the    
unanimous tradition of the family was   
author of several of the  admirable     
little books published for children     
about the middle of last  century by    
,newbery  ,co41 including the renowned  
,goody ,two ,shoes4 ,no  more conclusive
 proof of the merit of ,goody ,two      
,shoes could be given  than the able    
argument by which ,mr4 ,charles ,welsh  
has recently sought to  attribute the   
authorship to ,goldsmith4 ,while        
agreeing with ,mr4 ,welsh  that the book
 is not unworthy of ,goldsmith in       

humour1 philanthropy1 and  simple truth 
to nature1 we are unable to discover any
 such similarity of  style as to warrant
 its being ascribed to him4 ,on the     
other hand1 the  peculiar vein of dry   
humour characteristic of ,goody ,two    
,shoes  reappeared in ,mr4 ,winter      
,jones's conversation in so remarkable a
 degree  as to justify the impression   
that he had preserved a family trait4   
,assuredly1 had he ever essayed his     
powers in the field of imaginative      
literature1 ,goody ,two ,shoes is the   
kind of work which one would have       
expected him to have produced4 ,a       
great-uncle1 ,mr4 ,griffith ,jones1 had 
been the friend of ,johnson and         
,goldsmith2 an uncle1 ,mr4 ,stephen     
,jones1  was also known in literature1  
especially as the author of ,masonic    
,miscellanies1 and editor and continuer 
of ,baker's ,biographia  ,dramatica4    
,mr4 ,winter ,jones's mother1 ,mary     
,walker1 was cousin to the  academician 
,smirke2 nor1 in the list of remarkable 

persons connected  with him1 should his 
nurse be forgotten1 ,anne ,parker1 widow
 of the  unfortunate ,parker who was    
executed as ringleader of the mutiny at 
the  ,nore4    ,mr4 ,jones received his 
education at ,st4 ,paul's ,school4 ,he  
does not  appear to have been eminent as
 a classical scholar1 but some youthful 
letters show how early he had acquired  
the power of writing excellent          
,english4 ,he was1 moreover1 unusually  
precocious as an author1 although  his  
first attempt was by no means ambitious4
 ,in #ahbb appeared an  anonymous little
 book1 now exceedingly rare1 ,riddles1  
,charades1 and  ,conundrums3 with a     
,preface on the ,antiquity of ,riddles1 
containing a  considerable number of    
original enigmas--a truly quaint and    
exceptional  performance for a youth of 
seventeen4 ,mr4 ,jones's juvenile       
ambition1  however1 was stimulated to   
this undertaking by an accomplished     
lady1  ,mrs4 ,davies1 mother of ,sir    
,lancelot ,shadwell1 who thought highly 

of his  talents1 and had a considerable 
share in it4    ,the profession designed
 for ,mr4 ,jones was that of a ,chancery
 barrister4  ,after leaving school he   
became the pupil of ,mr4 ,bythewood1 of 
,lincoln's  ,inn1 the most eminent      
conveyancer of his day1 who had a very  
high  opinion of him4#cjf3a ,he must1   
however1 have devoted much of his time  
to studies not of a legal nature1 for   
about this time he became an  excellent 
scholar in the modern languages1 not    
taught1 or taught  imperfectly1 in ,st4 
,paul's ,school4 ,his proficiency is    
proved by a little  volume undertaken   
for his own amusement1 but published at 
the suggestion  of his sister3 ,a       
,translation of all the ,greek1 ,latin1 
,italian1 and  ,french ,quotations in   
,blackstone's ,commentaries1 and in the 
notes of the  editions by ,christian1   
,archbold1 and ,williams4 ,by ,j4       
,winter ,jones1  #ahbc4 ,he also made   
the index to the new edition of ,wynne's
 ,eunomus1 or  ,dialogues concerning the

 ,law and ,constitution of ,england4    
,just as ,mr4 ,jones was looking forward
 to being called to the ,chancery  ,bar 
his prospects were clouded1 and his     
course in life altogether  changed1 by a
 most serious illness1 greatly          
aggravated by the improper  treatment of
 a physician who entirely mistook the   
nature of the  complaint4 ,the result   
was a temporary loss of voice1          
accompanied by a  weakness of the chest 
which for several years rendered any    
speaking in  public impossible4 ,between
 ill-health and the want of             
introductions and  connections in any   
but the legal profession1 ,mr4 ,jones   
seems to have  been unable for some     
years to follow any definite calling4   
,he pursued  his studies as far as      
possible1 learned ,spanish from the     
refugees who at  that time abounded in  
,islington and ,somers ,town1 and even  
acquired some  knowledge of ,russian1   
destined to be very useful in future    
years4 ,to  this time also belonged his 

acquaintance with ,jerdan and ,godwin4  
,he knew  the latter intimately1 and was
 impressed by his intellectual eminence1
  but used to describe him as a man     
selfish in minor things1 who must1  like
 ,harold ,skimpole1 always have his     
plate of fruit1 no matter the  price or 
the season4 ,of the second ,mrs4 ,godwin
 he had a higher opinion  than seems to 
have been usually entertained by her    
acquaintance4 ,a  narrow escape of his  
life which he had at this time may be   
best narrated  in his own words1 so     
characteristic of the man's coolness and
 aversion  to fuss or display1 even when
 the occasion might seem to excuse      
them3--                                 
,,southampton1 ,september #i1 #ahcc4    
,,my ,,dear ,,father1--,i am extremely  
sorry that ,i cannot profit by      your
 directions for swimming4 ,on ,friday   
week ,i went to bathe at      the new   
baths1 being my second attempt in cold  
water4 ,no one      was in the bath at  
the time1 nor was there any rope1 but as

 ,i      thought the place was perfectly
 safe1 ,i plunged in backwards          
according to the directions ,i had      
received4 ,i sank1 of course1      and  
throwing up my chest rose immediately1  
but when in the      water ,i lay on my 
back motionless from cramp in my        
stomach4      ,by no effort that ,i     
could make could ,i force down my feet  
or      turn1 and my struggles caused my
 head to dip so frequently      that had
 assistance been delayed a minute longer
 ,i must have      been suffocated4 ,i  
fortunately recollected having read that
      persons are sure to float if they 
throw back the head as far as           
possible1 thereby elevating the chest1  
and remain quite quiet4      ,this saved
 me4 ,i mentioned the circumstance to   
,dr4 ,shadwell1      and he strongly    
recommended me to abstain from the water
 at      present1 as it evidently did   
not agree with me4    ,about two years  
from the date of this letter1 ,mr4      
,jones obtained his  first important    

public employment as a secretary to that
 then itinerant  body1 the ,charity     
,commissioners4 ,the charitable         
institutions of ,england1  long         
corrupted and misused1 were receiving a 
much-needed overhauling1  one of the    
indirect fruits of the ,reform          
agitation4 ,perambulating bodies  of    
commissioners were traversing the length
 and breadth of the land1  wanting to   
know1 you know1 and eliciting an amount 
of information  which could not have    
been obtained without the direct        
personal pressure  of inquisitors upon  
the spot4 ,their labours produced much  
excellent  fruit1 and restored a vast   
amount of charitable endowment to its   
legitimate uses4 ,the records survive in
 ponderous ,blue-,books2 and the        
student of general literature may derive
 an idea of the nature of their         
investigations1 which it is to be hoped 
he will not take too literally1  from   
the lively ridicule of ,crotchet        
,castle4 ,when the satirist  declared   

that the labours of the ,commissioners  
did no good to any living  soul1 he     
certainly ought to have excepted ,mr4   
,winter ,jones1 who accepted  his       
appointment--as he told the present     
writer--mainly in the hope of           
re-establishing his shattered health by 
a course of travel and living in  the   
open air4 ,this object he fully         
attained4 ,the few letters he wrote to  
his family on his tour that have been   
preserved are full of racy  humour1 and 
suggest what a page of ,english life    
might have been  presented by a record  
of the more private experiences of the  
,commission1  too familiar to be        
registered in ,blue-,books4 ,as nothing 
of the sort  exists1 it may not be      
improper to preserve two specimens here1
  notwithstanding their want of         
connection with bibliography3--         
,,market ,,harborough1 ,nov4 #bj1 #ahcf4
        ,harborough is a monstrously    
stupid place1 possessing no             
interest that ,i have yet discovered    

either in the form of      situation or 
antiquities4 ,the inhabitants of the    
county are      principally graziers and
 fox-hunters1 men of substance1         
coarse in their manners1 and tolerably  
hospitable4 ,of the      few clergymen  
,i have yet seen1 little can be said in 
praise4      ,one has been suspended for
 his profligate habits2 another         
drinks so hard that he is incapable of  
performing the duties      of his       
church1 being frequently insane2 and a  
third attended      yesterday at our    
board with his church-warden1 both of   
whom      were so fuddled that they     
could with difficulty make themselves   
understood4 4 4 4 ,we have a vast deal  
of business to transact1      and every 
prospect of our work increasing4 ,the   
labour is not so      much occasioned by
 the extent or intricacy of the         
charities1      as by the provoking     
stolidity of those who ought to be fully
      informed upon the subject4 ,there 
exists in this part of the      county a

 very extraordinary charity founded by a
 clergyman      named ,hanbury1 who     
prepared seventeen deeds for the        
foundation      of various branches of  
one grand charity4 ,the property settled
      is directed to accumulate until   
the proceeds amount to #aj1jjj      per 
annum 7they are at present about #ejj71 
when a cathedral      is to be erected  
at a cost of #aej1jjj1 and              
professorships      of music1 poetry1   
philosophy1 botany1 c4 c41 established4 
,one of his deeds he heads1 ',beef for  
ever1' another1 ',organs      for ever1'
 a third1 ',schools for ever1' with much
 of the same      oddity4 ,he has       
published a thick octavo volume with an 
account      of his charity and a copy  
of his foundation deeds4 ,the latter    
occupy #bdh pages of the work1 so if ,i 
have to abstract the      whole of them 
it is impossible to say when my labours 
will end4                               
,,leicester1 ,feb4 #e1 #ahcg4           
,our third and last visit was to a ,mr4 

,hildebrand1 a clergyman1      and      
head-master of the ,kibworth free       
grammar school4 ,this poor      fellow  
has just had his wife1 mother-in-law1   
eight children1      and two servants   
confined to their beds with influenza1  
and      ,i never beheld an assemblage  
of more ghastly objects than we         
formed at the dinner-table4 ,with the   
exception of one1 we had      all pale  
cheeks1 red eyes1 and every other sort  
of phizzical      ugliness1 the excepted
 one had a blue complexion approaching  
to      black4 ,mr4 ,hildebrand1        
however1 assured me the next morning at 
breakfast that the hearty dinner he had 
made1 and drinking as      much wine as 
pleased him 7he was1 by-the-bye1 a long 
time in      being pleased7 had         
completely removed his disorder4 ,i may 
make      the same remark respecting    
myself4 ,the necessity ,i have been     
under of drinking wine every day has    
almost totally removed my               
complaint4 ,i have nothing now to       

complain of but a considerable          
degree of nervous debility1 which ,i    
hope will depart in a few      days4    
,the conclusion of the rural            
peregrinations of the ,commission at the
  beginning of #ahcg threatened ,mr4    
,jones with loss of employment1 although
  he was still engaged in town in       
reducing its voluminous proceedings to  
print1 and the extant correspondence    
shows that his work was very  important4
 ,he says in a letter of this period3-- 
,i am ready to be knocked down to the   
highest bidder in any honourable        
service1 and have no objection to write 
speeches and pamphlets and frame  bills 
for laws and schemes for mines provided 
,i am properly remunerated1  but there's
 the rub4 ,the real occupation of his   
life1 however1 was  unexpectedly at     
hand4 ,within two months after writing  
as above he was  appointed 7,april      
#ahcg7 to the situation of permanent    
assistant in the  ,printed ,book        
,department of the ,british ,museum4    

,the suggestion that he  should apply   
for this post seems to have come from   
his friend ,mr4  ,nicholas ,carlisle1 an
 assistant-officer who had come to the  
,museum from  ,windsor1 along with the  
,king's ,library1 and who is perhaps    
best  remembered by a work on the       
endowed grammar schools of ,england1    
valuable  in its time4 ,the application 
was1 moreover1 strongly supported by    
,mr4  ,johnstone1 a member of the       
,charity ,commission1 who had been      
greatly  impressed by ,mr4 ,jones's     
efficiency in his secretaryship1 and who
  enlisted his father1 ,sir ,alexander  
,johnstone's1 influence with the        
,archbishop of ,canterbury1 in whose    
hands all appointments to the ,museum   
then practically rested4 ,at the end of 
#ahcg1 upon the resignation of the      
,assistant-,keeper1 ,mr4 ,cary1 ,mr4    
,jones became a candidate for the       
office4  ,short as his connection with  
the ,museum had then been1 he still had 
the  claim of seniority4 ,but he had    

gained the esteem and confidence of ,mr4
  ,panizzi1 the ,keeper1 and ,mr4       
,panizzi was obnoxious to persons       
influential with the ,archbishop1 who   
accordingly replied that his  connection
 with the establishment is of recent    
date1 and apprehended  that due         
consideration for the claims of others  
will put it out of my  power to serve   
him upon the present occasion4 ,who     
these others were did  not appear1 and  
it seemed still more difficult to       
identify them when1  after some delay1  
the appointment was conferred upon a    
gentleman1  undoubtedly possessed of the
 highest talents and the greatest       
attainments1 but who could have no claim
 upon the ,museum1 as he had no         
connection with it4 ,it is to ,mr4      
,jones's honour that he manifested no   
resentment1 and always maintained the   
most friendly relations with his        
successful competitor1 whose son now    
records the fact4 ,but1 he said to  the 
writer many years afterwards1 from that 

hour ,i determined that ,i  would be    
,principal ,librarian4    ,from this    
time forward ,mr4 ,jones's history is   
almost entirely identified  with that of
 the library of the ,british ,museum4   
,he was entering upon  his duties at the
 period of the most important changes   
that have ever  taken place in that     
institution4 ,the ,parliamentary        
,committees of #ahce-cf  had proved the 
necessity for extensive reforms in every
 department of  the ,museum4 ,the       
,trustees had already been for some     
years occupied with  plans for a new    
catalogue of printed books4 ,the removal
 of the library  from its old quarters  
in ,montague ,house to the new buildings
 was about  to take place4 ,it was      
fortunate1 indeed1 that just at this    
juncture the  library should have       
acquired so eminent an administrator as 
,sir ,anthony  ,panizzi1 and in ,mr4    
,jones an assistant who1 though not     
especially gifted  with the power of    
initiative1 was in diligence1 fidelity1 

accuracy1  intelligence1 and calm good  
sense as efficient a lieutenant as an   
able  administrator could desire4       
,after the removal of the library had   
been completed1 with the assistance  of 
,messrs4 ,watts and ,bullen1 the next   
important task was the preparation  of  
the rules for the new catalogue1 in     
which it is probable that ,mr4  ,jones  
took the largest share4 ,they were      
prepared under ,mr4 ,panizzi's  chief   
direction1 with the co-operation of     
,messrs4 ,jones1 ,watts1 ,parry1  and   
,edwards4 ,the extent of time devoted to
 them1 and the extreme  thoroughness of 
the discussion1 appears from ,mr4       
,parry's evidence before  the ,royal    
,commission of #ahdi1 and ,mr4          
,edwards's history of the ,british      
,museum4 ,they were finally accepted by 
the ,trustees and officially            
promulgated in ,july #ahci4 ,in one     
important respect1 the rule to be       
adopted for cataloguing anonymous books1
 the judgment of the compilers  was     

overruled by the ,trustees1 and this is 
the source of many of the  criticisms to
 which the rules themselves have been   
subjected4 ,as a  whole1 they have      
received almost universal approbation2  
and their merit  is sufficiently        
established by the circumstance of their
 having formed  an epoch in bibliography
 as the basis of all subsequent work of 
the same  nature4 ,very much of the     
discrepancy of opinion as regards       
cataloguing  results from the failure to
 distinguish between the requisites of  
large  and small libraries4 ,the present
 writer is bound to say that in his     
opinion the alteration introduced by the
 ,trustees is justified by a            
consideration of which the ,trustees    
probably did not think1 its indirect    
effect in providing1 in the case of     
anonymous books1 some kind of a         
substitute for what was then1 and is    
still1 the great deficiency of the      
,british ,museum library1 an index of   
subjects4 ,the same remark applies to   

the adoption of the headings ,academies1
 ,ephemerides1 and ,periodical          
,publications1 the introduction of      
biographical cross-references1 and      
other features of the catalogue1 perhaps
 exceptionable in theory1 but  assuredly
 very convenient in practice4    ,the   
catalogue was now 7,august #ahci7 fairly
 commenced under the immediate  personal
 direction and responsibility of ,mr4   
,panizzi4 ,mr4 ,jones1  however1 held   
from the first a primacy among the      
assistants actually  engaged in its     
compilation1 which became enhanced as   
the difficulties of  the task became    
more apparent from day to day4 ,it had  
been supposed  that the old titles might
 pass with slight examination3 they     
proved to  require the most careful     
revision2 and the work of the revisers  
needed  to be in its turn revised4      
,subject to a reference to ,mr4 ,panizzi
 in  extreme cases1 ,mr4 ,jones was the 
ultimate authority4 ,his clear head1    
legal habit of mind1 and attention to   

minute bibliographical accuracy1        
rendered him invaluable in this         
capacity1 and his decisions constitute  
the basis and most essential part of the
 body of unprinted law which  unforeseen
 exigencies gradually superinduced upon 
the original rules4 ,he  also took a    
leading part in the revision of the     
proofs4 ,the causes of  the suspension  
of the printing of the catalogue have   
been so fully  treated by the writer in 
a paper at the ,cambridge meeting of the
 ,library  ,association1 that it is     
needless to enter upon them here4 ,it   
made no  difference to the amount of    
,mr4 ,jones's labours1 except as        
regarded the  correction of the press4  
,he continued to work upon the catalogue
 and  also upon the supplementary       
catalogue of books added to the library1
  both as reviser and as general        
supervisor1 until he became ,keeper of  
,printed ,books in #ahef4 ,his other    
duties were numerous and important3 he  
exercised1 in particular1 the immediate 

control of the attendants1 a            
responsibility the more onerous in      
proportion to the continual increase  of
 the establishment4 ,in #ahdc he was    
engaged along with ,mr4 ,watts in       
collecting the materials on which ,mr4  
,panizzi based his famous report on  the
 deficiencies of the library1 which     
ultimately occasioned so large  an      
increase in the annual grant4 ,in #ahdi 
he prepared for the ,royal  ,commission 
that crushing exposure of ,mr4 ,j4 ,p4  
,collier's notions of  short and easy   
methods of cataloguing which should be  
especially valued  by librarians1 as it 
is perhaps the best practical           
illustration to be  found anywhere of   
the difficulties attaching to the       
correct  bibliographical description of 
a book4 ,he was also enabled to devote  
some attention to literature4 ,about    
#ahdb he wrote a large number of        
articles for the ,dictionary of         
,universal ,biography1 edited by ,mr4   
,george  ,long for the ,society for the 

,diffusion of ,useful ,knowledge1 a     
great and  meritorious undertaking1     
unfortunately not carried beyond letter 
,a1  although the continuation as far as
 ,,be was actually in type4 ,mr4        
,jones's  articles chiefly treated of   
obscure or forgotten writers1 and       
required  much research4 ,he also       
contributed to the ,quarterly and ,north
  ,british ,reviews2 his article in the 
latter on the ,british ,museum  ,library
 7#ahea7 is the best account of its     
administration to be found  anywhere4   
,he carried on an extensive             
correspondence with ,mr4 ,wilson        
,croker1 who continually had recourse to
 him for information on literary        
subjects4 ,in #ahdg he contributed to   
the ,archologia ,observations on  the   
,division of ,man's ,life into ,stages1 
with especial reference to              
,shakespeare's descriptions of the seven
 ages of man1 and about this time  wrote
 several other papers4 ,in #ahej he     
edited for the ,hakluyt ,society        

,divers ,voyages touching the ,discovery
 of ,america2 and in #ahef1 ,the        
,travels of ,nicol ,conti in the ,east1 
translated from the ,italian of  ,poggio
 ,bracciolini4 ,in #aheh he translated  
for the same ,society the  ,oriental    
travels of ,lodovico di ,varthema1      
edited1 with a preface1 by his  friend  
,dr4 ,g4 ,p4 ,badger4    ,upon the death
 of the ,rev4 ,richard ,garnett in      
#ahej1 ,mr4 ,jones became               
,assistant-,keeper of ,printed ,books1  
and succeeded ,mr4 ,panizzi as ,keeper  
upon the latter's promotion to the      
,principal ,librarianship in ,march     
#ahef4 ,his period of office as         
,assistant-,keeper was chiefly          
distinguished  by the erection of the   
new ,reading ,room1 and the libraries in
 connection  with it4 ,the design of    
this grand and commodious structure     
belongs  entirely to ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi2 
but ,mr4 ,jones saw the original sketch 
7engraved in the catalogue of the       
,reading ,room reference library7 as    

soon as it was made1 and was consulted  
upon every detail during the  progress  
of the work4 ,one of his first duties as
 ,keeper was to edit1  with a valuable  
preface1 the above-mentioned catalogue1 
which had been  entirely prepared by    
,mr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,rye1 late ,keeper of the  
,printed ,books4 ,as  ,keeper ,mr4      
,jones paid the greatest attention to   
the organisation of his  department1    
which he maintained in the highest      
condition of efficiency4  ,the number of
 titles written annually for the        
catalogue was unequalled  before or     
since1 and the department never had so  
many assistants of  literary            
distinction4 ,he followed in his        
predecessor's steps in using  every     
possible endeavour to increase the      
library1 both numerically and  by the   
acquisition of special bibliographical  
treasures4 ,the annual  grant1 long     
diminished from want of room to store   
accessions1 was  raised to #aj1jjj in   
#aheg1 and ,mr4 ,jones proceeded to     

expend it with the  assistance of the   
vast literary knowledge of his colleague
 ,mr4 ,watts1  and valuable aid in the  
acquisition of ,german and other old    
foreign  books from ,mr4 ,albert ,cohn1 
of ,berlin2 in ,american literature from
 the  enterprising and indefatigable    
,mr4 ,henry ,stevens2 and in ancient    
service-books from ,mr4 ,william        
,maskell4 ,among the many important     
official documents prepared by him may  
be mentioned a memorandum of  objections
 to the recommendations of the ,royal   
,commissioners2 and  reports on         
additions to the staff1 on the          
superannuation of assistants1  on ,civil
 ,service examinations1 and on vellum   
books4    ,in ,july #ahff1 ,mr4 ,winter 
,jones1 having previously acted as      
,deputy  ,principal ,librarian from     
,december #ahfb to ,may #ahfc1 became   
,principal  ,librarian on the retirement
 of ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi4 ,it will have    
been  inferred from the tenor of the    
preceding narrative that his abilities  

rather qualified him to maintain an     
existing system in a high state of      
efficiency than to initiate alterations1
 and such was precisely the part  marked
 out for him by the character of the    
times4 ,the institution1  thoroughly    
reorganised during the last thirty      
years1 required rest1 and  no impulse   
was felt towards the reforms and        
developments which have  proved         
practicable and salutary under his      
successor4 ,the great question  of the  
removal of the ,natural ,history        
collections to ,south ,kensington  had  
been determined for good or ill before  
he took office1 and no  question of     
corresponding public interest arose     
under his  administration4 ,he presided1
 however1 over a committee formed to    
consider the proposed transfer of the   
,south ,kensington ,museum to the       
,trustees of the ,british ,museum1 but  
its deliberations led to no result4  ,he
 was especially careful in ascertaining 
the qualifications of persons           

recommended for appointments in the     
,museum4 ,his method1  clear-headedness1
 and general capacity for business      
rendered him highly  acceptable to the  
,trustees1 especially those who1 like   
the ,duke of  ,somerset1 ,mr4 ,walpole1 
and ,mr4 ,grote1 took a peculiarly      
active share in  the affairs of the     
institution4 ,with ,mr4 ,grote he was   
particularly  intimate1 and frequently  
visited him1 and subsequently his widow1
 at  their charming residence near      
,shere4    ,in #ahgg his health1 which  
for the last forty years had been good1 
began  so far to fail as to render a    
winter residence in ,london exceedingly 
difficult to him4 ,he obtained a four   
months' leave of absence1 in the  hope  
of an amelioration which did not take   
place4 ,that his mental1 and  to a      
considerable degree his physical vigour 
were unimpaired1 he had  just proved by 
the transaction which entitles him to a 
record in the  ,transactions of the     
,library ,association4 ,it will be      

remembered how  upon the foundation of  
the ,association1 a proposition1 well   
calculated  to enlist support1 was made1
 that its presidency should be conferred
  upon a gentleman whose writings have  
laid the profession under deep          
obligations4#cbj3a ,it is not the least 
of ,mr4 ,e4 ,b4 ,nicholson's many       
services to the ,association which he   
called into being1 to have  discerned   
that it could not in its infant stage   
prosper without official  patronage1 and
 that1 without prejudice to individual  
claims1 its fitting  head at that period
 would be the chief librarian of the    
chief library1  the ,principal          
,librarian of the ,british ,museum4 ,he 
accordingly invited  ,mr4 ,jones to     
accept the office of ,president1 and to 
invest the young  society with the      
sanction of official prestige1 by       
consenting to open  its first ,congress1
 and deliver an inaugural address4 ,mr4 
,jones1 however  favourably disposed to 
,mr4 ,nicholson's project1 might well   

have declined  on the ground of         
engrossing public duties and delicate   
health1 but he  did not4 ,the members of
 the ,association will long recollect   
his  appearance in the chair at the     
preliminary ,london meeting of #ahgg2   
the  staunch persistence with which1    
though evidently suffering from         
indisposition1 he delivered his         
carefully prepared inaugural discourse2 
and the firmness and dignity with which 
he conducted the proceedings  until the 
close of the morning's meeting4 ,it was 
his last act of  importance as a        
librarian4 ,his temporary retirement    
during the ensuing  winter having failed
 to recruit his health1 he resigned in  
,august #ahgh1  receiving a farewell    
address from his colleagues1 and the    
individual  tributes of several of the  
leading ,trustees4 ,he withdrew to      
,henley1  where he had erected a        
residence at a considerable elevation1  
commanding  a charming view2 his winters
 were spent at ,penzance1 where1 not    

long  before his death1 he showed his   
undiminished interest in research by    
delivering a lecture upon the ,assyrian 
discoveries4 ,the present writer        
visited him at ,henley in ,june #ahha1  
and found him1 although suffering       
somewhat from asthma1 in tolerable      
health and excellent spirits1           
interested in the affairs of the world1 
and happy in the affection of  his      
family4 ,on the morning of ,september   
#g1 after having entertained a  party of
 young people to a late hour with great 
good humour1 he was  found dead in his  
bed4 ,he had died of disease of the     
heart4 ,he was  interred at ,kensal     
,green1 his funeral being attended by   
most of his  ,museum colleagues then in 
town4 ,he had married in #ahcg the      
daughter of  ,william ,hewson1 ,esq41 of
 ,lisson ,hall1 ,cumberland1 a very     
amiable lady1  who predeceased him by a 
few years1 and whose protracted         
indisposition  in the latter years of   
her life occasioned him much sorrow4 ,he

 left one  married and one unmarried    
daughter4           99       99       99
       99       99    ,it may surprise  
those slightly or only officially       
acquainted with ,mr4  ,jones to be      
informed that one of his principal      
characteristics was  extreme kindness of
 heart1 but such would be the opinion of
 all who knew  him intimately4 ,he was  
not emotional1 but his affections were  
warm and  deep3 he was not              
impressionable1 but kindness was with   
him an innate  principle4 ,if he ever   
seemed to act with harshness1 it was    
from a  constraining sense of official  
duty1 and it might easily be seen that  
the necessity was very disagreeable to  
him4 ,it was exceedingly  difficult1 for
 instance1 to get him to take steps for 
the removal of  attendants whose        
incapacity from ill health had long been
 notorious3 and  he may be censured for 
having sometimes closed his eyes to     
circumstances  of which he should have  
taken notice4 ,what seemed in him       

stiffness--and  had all the             
disadvantageous effects of              
stiffness--was in reality a  reserve    
which made him appear constrained where 
men of less real  courtesy and kindness 
would have seemed facile and genial4    
,his was  indeed by no means an         
expansive nature1 but it was a very     
genuine one2  he was deeply beloved in  
his family2 his friendships were solid  
and  lasting2 and he exhibited that     
general criterion of a good heart1      
kindness to children and animals4 ,he   
says in an early letter3 ,on ,friday    
last ,i went out fishing4 ,the weather  
was very fine for sailing1 but not  at  
all adapted for the sport we had in     
view3 which was a great source of       
satisfaction to me1 for spitting the    
poor worms for bait was a dreadful  task
 to my unpractised nerves2 and tearing  
the hook out of the throat of  the      
animal when caught was1 if possible1    
still worse4 ,he despised  claptrap     
popularity1 and was perhaps even unduly 

indifferent to the  shows and surfaces  
of things4 ,this concern for reality1   
however1  combined with his legal       
education1 made him a lover of justice2 
and he  thus earned the respect and     
confidence of his subordinates1 who knew
  that they might fully rely upon his   
equitable consideration1 and his        
support in trials and difficulties4 ,his
 judgment of men was in general  very   
correct1 though he was capable of being 
swayed by long intimacy or  personal    
liking4 ,he was on various occasions    
subjected to considerable  obloquy1 but 
as this always arose from his opposition
 to the interested  views of            
individuals1 it only redounded to his   
credit with those  acquainted with the  
circumstances4 ,his literary tastes were
 such as  befitted the bibliographer1   
but he admired many poets and novelists1
  especially ,shakespeare1 ,goethe1     
,ariosto1 and ,wieland4 ,he possessed a 
peculiar vein of dry humour1 which he   
occasionally manifested with great      

effect4 ,intellectually1 he represented 
one of the most frequent types in  the  
generation to which he belonged--the    
generation of ,grote and ,mill  and     
,cornewall ,lewis--the essentially      
utilitarian4    ,he was not the man to  
innovate or originate1 but was admirably
 qualified  for the work which actually 
fell to his lot--first to be the right  
hand  of a great architect1 then to     
consolidate the structure he had helped 
to  erect1 and prepare it for still     
vaster extension and more commanding    
proportions in the times to come4       
,,footnotes3    #cjd3a ,contributed to  
the ,transactions of the ,library       
,association1  #ahhb4    #cjf3a ,mr4    
,bythewood bequeathed to ,mr4 ,jones his
 gold repeater watch1  valued at one    
hundred guineas2 and ,mr4 ,jones        
received in after years a  precisely    
similar legacy from ,sir ,anthony       
,panizzi4    #cbj3a ,mr4 ,edward        
,edwards4          ,,the ,,late ,,henry 
,,stevens1 ,f4,s4,a4#cbe3a      ,with   

the exception of the death of the late  
,henry ,bradshaw1 taken away  so nearly 
at the same time1 the ,library          
,association could have sustained  no   
loss more sincerely regarded by its     
members in the light of a  personal     
bereavement than that which it has      
suffered by the death of  ,henry        
,stevens1 on ,february #bh4 ,mr4        
,stevens's interest in the ,association 
has been so warm1 his counsel so        
valuable1 his genial presence and witty 
discourse such recognised features of   
attraction at its gatherings1 that  his 
loss must be felt as one almost         
impossible to supply4 ,it must be  long 
indeed before any one can fill ,mr4     
,stevens's place as a link  between the 
librarians of ,europe and ,america1 and 
it may be much longer  yet before the   
happy union of bibliographical          
attainments with social  qualities is   
witnessed to a like extent in the same  
individual4    ,henry ,stevens was born 
,august #bd1 #ahai1 at ,barnet1         

,vermont1 ,u4,s41 hence  the initials1  
,g4,m4,b4 7,green ,mountain ,boy71      
prized by him1 there is  reason to      
surmise1 above his academical and       
antiquarian distinctions4 ,he  was sixth
 in descent from ,cyprian ,stevens1 who 
had emigrated in the days  of ,charles  
,i4 ,the family came originally from    
,devonshire4 ,it had had  its share of  
colonial celebrity and adventure2 one   
ancestor had  successfully defended a   
fort against the ,french2 another had   
been stolen  by the ,indians1 and       
ransomed for a pony4 ,after receiving a 
fair ordinary  education at the school  
of his native village1 and two local    
seminaries1  ,mr4 ,stevens1 at the age  
of seventeen1 began to teach with a view
 of  obtaining means to take him to     
college4 ,he received from twelve to    
sixteen dollars a month1 boarding with  
his pupils' families1 three days  to a  
scholar1 except when the girls were     
pretty1 and in that case four4  ,in     
,october #ahch he proceeded to          

,middlebury ,college1 defraying his     
travelling expenses by peddling cheeses 
contributed for that purpose by  his    
excellent mother4 ,his father1 a man of 
literary tastes and culture1  founder   
and ,president of the ,vermont          
,historical and ,antiquarian ,society1  
seems to have been always behindhand    
with the world1 and to have been  unable
 to aid his son to any material extent4 
,it was customary for  students thus    
destitute of support from home to defray
 their college  expenses by teaching in 
the winter months4 ,stevens obtained    
leave to try  his fortune at            
,washington1 relying on the patronage of
 ,governor ,henry  ,hubbard1 then       
,senator for ,new ,hampshire4 ,he called
 upon him accordingly1  and though he   
was a ,whig and the ,senator a          
,democrat1 he found himself1  as if by  
magic1 clerk in the ,treasury           
,department in charge of the  records   
and correspondence of the ,revenue      
,cutter ,service1 with a salary  of a   

thousand dollars a year4 ,he was soon   
afterwards transferred to a  clerkship  
in the ,senate1 where after a while he  
was employed as clerk to  the ,senate   
branch of the ,joint ,committee of the  
,congress for  investigating the claims 
of ,messrs4 ,clark  ,force under a      
contract for  publishing the ,american  
,archives1 which it was desired to      
terminate4  ,much time and labour had   
been expended upon the volumes already  
printed1  but it was generally surmised 
that the contract would be broken1      
because1 as a ,democrat remarked1 it    
would cost more than the building  of   
the ,capitol1 and1 what was worse1 both 
the editor and the printer  were ,whigs4
 ,the ,committee1 who seem to have had  
no taste for literary  drudgery1 turned 
the task of digesting the papers        
entirely over to ,mr4  ,stevens1 who on 
his part1 finding the documents         
intrusted to him  insufficient1 scraped 
acquaintance with ,colonel ,peter ,force
 himself1 and  extracted abundant       

information from him without divulging  
his official  position4 ,at length the  
digest was ready1 and the ,committee1   
convoked  for the purpose1 heard their  
officer read the whole1 up to the       
entirely  unexpected and unwelcome      
conclusion1 ,resolved1 that this        
contract  cannot be broken4 ,stevens was
 severely taken to task for his         
presumption1 when ,daniel ,webster1 a   
member of the ,committee1 interfered  on
 his behalf1 and advocated his view with
 such effect that the  ,committee was   
discharged from further consideration of
 the subject4 ,the  contract was shortly
 afterwards rescinded4 ,the service     
,stevens had  nevertheless rendered to  
,force had an important influence on his
  subsequent career4 ,quitting          
,washington1 as he had always intended  
to do1  and repairing to complete his   
education at ,yale ,college1 he took    
with  him a commission from the ,colonel
 to collect books1 pamphlets1 and ,,mss4
  in aid of the ,american ,archives1    

which not only helped to provide the    
expenses of his ,university course1 but 
endowed him with knowledge1  tastes1 and
 aptitudes qualifying him for future    
eminence as book-hunter  and bookseller4
 ,another main source of income was his 
fine penmanship1  both as transcriber   
and teacher4 ,he took his ,b4,a4 degree 
in #ahdc1 and in  #ahdc-dd studied law  
at ,harvard under ,justice ,story1      
continuing to act as  agent for ,colonel
 ,force1 and forming connections with   
other collectors4  ,at length1 in #ahde1
 he determined to visit ,england on     
literary errands1  not expecting to be  
absent more than one or two years4      
,fortified by  introductions from       
,francis ,parkman and ,jared ,sparks1 he
 took his  departure1 and in ,july #ahde
 found himself at the ,north and ,south 
,american ,coffee-,house1 the bearer of 
a huge bag of despatches for the        
,united ,states ,minister1 ,mr4         
,everett1 and of a tiny one of forty    
sovereigns of his own4 ,mr4 ,everett's  

influence opened the ,state ,paper      
,office to him2 and ere the sun set on  
his first day in ,london he had  visited
 the four great second-hand dealers of  
the day1 ,rodd1 ,thorpe1  ,pickering1   
and ,rich4 ,the last-named had just     
acquired the valuable  library of ,m4   
,ternaux-,compans1 and ,mr4 ,stevens    
immediately purchased  #hjj worth on    
behalf of ,mr4 ,john ,carter ,brown of  
,providence1 ,rhode  ,island1 from whom 
he had a general commission to forage1  
and who showed  wisdom as well as spirit
 in ratifying his agent's decided       
action4 ,those  were the golden days of 
speculation in books relating to        
,america1 when  rarities could be       
obtained for hardly more shillings than 
they now cost  pounds4 ,mr4 ,stevens    
probably contributed more than any other
 man to  terminate this happy state of  
things4 ,while1 on the one hand1 he     
ransacked the chief ,european capitals  
as agent for wealthy ,american          
collectors1 on the other hand he drained

 ,america on behalf of the  ,british    
,museum1 then for the first time        
entering into the market to any         
considerable extent4 ,mr4 ,panizzi had  
just prepared his celebrated report  on 
the deficiencies of the ,museum         
,library1 in which he had said3 ,the    
expense requisite for accomplishing what
 is here suggested--that is1 for        
forming in a few years a public library 
containing from #fjj1jjj to  #gjj1jjj   
printed volumes1 giving the necessary   
information on all  branches of human   
learning1 from all countries1 in all    
languages1  properly arranged1          
substantially and well bound1 minutely  
and fully  catalogued1 easily accessible
 and yet safely preserved1 capable for  
some  years to come of keeping pace with
 the increase of human knowledge--will  
no doubt be great2 but so is the nation 
which is to bear it4 ,what might  be    
extravagant and preposterous to suggest 
to one country may be looked  upon not  
only as moderate1 but as indispensable  

in another4 ,with such  views on        
,panizzi's part1 he and ,stevens        
fortunately encountered4 ,ere  they had 
been long acquainted1 a proposal came   
from the former1 that  ,stevens should  
undertake the agency for the supply of  
,american books4  ,stevens at first     
hesitated2 he had not contemplated      
remaining in ,europe4  ,he soon saw his 
way to accept it1 and1 in his words1 an 
exodus of  ,american books to the       
,british ,museum commenced that has not 
ceased at  the present time4    ,it     
would be impossible within the limits of
 this notice to enumerate all  the      
important transactions in which ,mr4    
,stevens was engaged1 or the  numerous  
instances in which his ready and        
inventive intellect was  exerted for the
 furtherance of bibliography4 ,one of   
his most important  enterprises was the 
purchase of ,humboldt's library1 which  
resulted in  disappointment4 ,the ,civil
 ,war supervening1 his ,american patrons
 shut up  like clam shells1 and most of 

the books were ultimately destroyed by  
fire while warehoused in ,london4 ,a    
portion1 however1 had been previously   
separated1 and the ,british ,museum     
possesses numerous presentation copies  
to ,humboldt1 with the autographs of the
 authors4 ,members of the ,library      
,association who were present at the    
,liverpool meeting will long remember   
,mr4 ,stevens's humorous account of his 
dealings with ,mr4 ,peabody1 and of  his
 dismay when the collection formed by   
the philanthropist for  presentation to 
his native town1 at an average cost of  
one shilling a  volume1 was described in
 the local paper as the special         
selection of  that intelligent          
bibliographer1 ,henry ,stevens1 ,esq4   
,mr4 ,stevens's  relations with the most
 important of all his customers1 ,mr4   
,james  ,lennox1 have been so recently  
detailed to the ,association that it is 
needless to do more than allude to his  
narrative as one of the most racy  of   
literary monographs1 affording an       

excellent idea of the writer's  quaint1 
shrewd1 and anecdotical conversation4   
,it has been republished by  his son in 
an elegant volume4 ,another remarkable  
passage in his life was  his active     
share in originating and organising the 
,bible department of  the ,caxton       
,exhibition1 when he propounded views   
respecting ,miles  ,coverdale which     
involved him in many a polemic1 and     
devised for the two  different          
recensions of the ,bible of #afaa the   
appellations of ,great ,he  and ,great  
,she ,bible1 which they seem likely to  
retain4 ,the most  interesting1 perhaps1
 of all ,mr4 ,stevens's achievements was
 his  redemption of ,franklin's ,,mss4  
from oblivion4 ,bequeathed by ,franklin 
to  his grandson1 they had been only    
partially published1 after a long delay 
and with suppressions which exposed     
,william ,temple ,franklin to the       
unjust imputation of having disposed of 
a great part of them to the  ,british   
,government4 ,in fact they had been put 

aside and forgotten after  ,temple      
,franklin's death in ,paris1 and had    
eventually come into the  possession of 
an old friend of his who repeatedly     
offered them for sale1  but could find  
no customer1 from the universal belief  
that they had  already been printed and 
published4 ,mr4 ,stevens acquired them  
in #ahea1  and after thirty years'      
delay1 and spending a thousand pounds   
over and  above the original price in   
cataloguing1 binding and adding to their
  number1 ultimately disposed of them to
 the ,united ,states ,government4       
,their eventful history1 involving a    
complete vindication of ,temple         
,franklin and the ,british ,government1 
is told in a privately printed  volume  
of his own1 accompanied with beautifully
 engraved portraits and a  valuable     
bibliography of books by and concerning 
,franklin4 ,the  collection is also the 
subject of an article in the ,century   
for ,june  #ahhf4    ,notwithstanding   
the engrossing nature of his pursuits1  

,mr4 ,stevens was  always striving to   
aid bibliography by his pen4 ,for this1 
in addition to  his knowledge and       
acumen1 and a cultivated taste which    
served him  admirably on questions of   
typography1 he possessed the            
qualifications of  untiring industry and
 great facility of composition4 ,he did 
much1 and  would have done more but for 
the sanguine temper which led him to    
undertake more than he could complete1  
and the fastidiousness which  indisposed
 him to let work go out of his hands    
while anything seemed  lacking to       
perfection4 ,he left several            
bibliographical or biographical  memoirs
 wanting hardly anything of completeness
 but the final  imprimatur4 ,among them 
may be mentioned a life of ,thomas      
,heriot1 the  mathematician1 and a      
friend of ,ralegh2 an essay on          
,columbus's  administration in the ,west
 ,indies2 and an account of the newly   
discovered globe by ,john ,schoner4     
,another work of which he frequently    

spoke1 a volume of ,british ,museum     
reminiscences supplementary to ,mr4     
,fagan's life of ,sir ,anthony ,panizzi1
 existed1 it must be feared1 only as  a 
project4 ,it would have required leisure
 which he never possessed4 ,the  most   
purely literary and perhaps the most    
important of his publications  was his  
,historical and ,geographical ,notes on 
the earliest discoveries  in ,america1 a
 subject on which he was most           
enthusiastic4 ,his catalogue  of the    
,american literature in the ,british    
,museum to the year #ahef is  also a    
valuable publication1 as are likewise   
his ,bibles in the ,caxton  ,exhibition1
 already mentioned1 and his catalogues  
of the  bibliographical curiosities     
relating to ,america in his own         
possession1  issued under the title of  
,historical ,nuggets1 in #ahfb4 ,a      
second series  was in course of         
publication at his death4 ,he had       
devoted great  attention to the         
reproduction of title-pages and         

frontispieces by  photography and       
photo-gravure4 ,his admirable paper on  
the subject1 read  in #ahgg1 will be    
fresh in the memory of members of the   
,association1 as  also the companion    
essay entitled ,who spoils our ,english 
,books8 read  at the ,cambridge meeting1
 a characteristic example of his        
humorous  manner1 not intended to be    
taken quite au pied de la lettre4 ,his  
letters from ,europe to his father are1 
we trust1 destined to see the  light4   
,he was a frequent contributor to the   
,athenum1 especially on  the history of 
the ,english ,bible and early discovery 
in ,america1 and his  communications    
were always highly valued4    ,it is    
unnecessary to enter at length into ,mr4
 ,stevens's personal  character when    
addressing a public to most of whom he  
was personally  known4 ,perhaps his most
 distinguishing characteristic was his  
eminent  large-heartedness4 ,he had room
 in his mind for every individual and   
every interest4 ,he was cheerful1       

genial1 expansive1 and preserved his    
buoyancy of spirit under circumstances  
the most trying and vexatious4 ,he      
possessed great sweetness as well as    
great liberality of disposition2  his   
combativeness was devoid of every       
particle of rancour2 shrewd and  crafty1
 he was yet open and candid4 ,intent1 as
 he could not help being1  on his own   
advantage as a trader1 the interests of 
his customer had a  very definite place 
in his mind4 ,he worked for his patrons 
even more  than for himself1 and prided 
himself more upon having made another   
man's  library than he would have done  
upon having made his own fortune4 ,as a 
man of business1 his principal defect   
was an over-sanguine temper2 the        
spring1 nevertheless1 of his enterprise1
 and hence of his success4 ,si  non     
errasset fecerat ille minus4    ,mr4    
,stevens died of a general decay of     
constitution resulting in dropsy1       
against which his vigorous constitution 
and indomitable cheerfulness  contended 

with great hope of success to the very  
last4 ,he had been  married for upwards 
of thirty years to a highly accomplished
 lady1 whose  daughter by a former      
marriage is the widow of ,mr4 ,hawker1  
the celebrated  ,vicar of ,morwenstow4  
,his son1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,n4 ,stevens1        
succeeds to the  direction of his       
business1 and inherits his literary and 
bibliographical  tastes4                
,,footnotes3    #cbe3a ,library         
,chronicle1 vol4 iii41 #ahhe4           
,,the ,,late ,,sir ,,edward ,a4 ,,bond1 
,k4,c4,b4#cce3a      ,the record of the 
life of the late ,sir ,edward ,augustus 
,bond is one of  steady unbroken        
success1 so quiet and uniform as almost 
to conceal the  credit to which he is   
entitled as a man of original mind and a
 vigorous  innovator and reformer4 ,born
 on ,december #ca1 #ahae1 the son of a  
clergyman and schoolmaster at ,hanwell1 
he entered the ,record ,office at       
seventeen1 and there1 under the tuition 
of ,sir ,thomas ,hardy and the ,rev4    

,joseph ,hunter1 laid the foundation of 
his extensive palographical             
acquirements4 ,having obtained a        
thorough acquaintance with medival      
hand-writings1 so far as this is        
attainable from ,english and ,french    
records and charters1 he passed in #ahcg
 to the more varied and extensive  field
 afforded by the ,british ,museum1 where
 continuous experience made  him a      
master of palography in every           
department4 ,the sudden and much        
regretted death of ,mr4 ,john ,holmes in
 #ahed made ,bond ,assistant-,keeper of 
,manuscripts sooner than could have been
 anticipated1 and in #ahfg he  succeeded
 his chief1 ,sir ,frederic ,madden1 as  
head of the department4  ,during thirty 
years he had been known as an exemplary 
and diligent  official1 who enjoyed the 
confidence and esteem both of his       
immediate  superior and of the head of  
the ,museum1 ,sir ,a4 ,panizzi2 yet few 
were  prepared for the sweeping and     
vigorous measures by which1 within a few

  years1 he reorganised his department1 
reformed many defects which had  been   
allowed to creep in1 did away with the  
extraordinary mass of  arrears which he 
found existing1 and brought the work up 
to the high  standard of regularity and 
efficiency which it has maintained ever 
since4 ,concurrently with these reforms1
 he executed the classified index  of   
,,mss4 which has proved of such         
essential assistance to students1 and   
performed a service1 felt far beyond the
 precincts of the ,museum1 by the       
foundation of the ,palographical        
,society1 whose selections of authentic 
facsimiles from ,,mss4 of varied        
character in separate libraries may be  
said to have made palography an exact   
science4 ,their value was evinced  in   
the celebrated controversy respecting   
the date of the ,utrecht  ,psalter1 in  
which ,bond took the leading part4      
,this1 however1 was about  the only     
occasion on which he came prominently   
before the public4 ,his  modesty and    

reserve kept him almost unknown beyond  
his own department2  it was a genuine   
surprise to the world and to himself    
when1 in #ahgh1 he  succeeded ,mr4      
,winter ,jones as ,principal ,librarian4
 ,the appointment had  been looked upon 
as the appanage of ,sir ,charles        
,newton1 at that time the  most         
conspicuous officer of the ,museum1 and 
he might undoubtedly have  filled it1 if
 a brief experience as ,mr4 ,jones's    
deputy of its arduous  and engrossing   
nature had not made him decline it as   
incompatible with  his cherished        
archological pursuits4    ,sir ,edward  
,bond's career as ,principal ,librarian 
repeated the history of  his keepership 
upon a larger scale4 ,as before1 he was 
inflexibly  diligent in his attention to
 routine duties1 and boldly original    
when an  emergency arose requiring      
special action4 ,he saw that the time   
had come  for the introduction of       
electric lighting into the ,museum1 and 
achieved  this invaluable improvement in

 the face of many discouragements4 ,the 
enormous bulk of the catalogue          
threatened to drive everything else out 
of the ,reading ,room4 ,sir ,edward     
,bond first curbed the evil by          
introducing print for the accession     
titles1 and then induced the  ,treasury 
to consent to the printing of the entire
 catalogue1 a vast  undertaking now on  
the verge of completion4 ,his openness  
of mind was  shown in no respect more   
forcibly than in his prompt appreciation
 of the  sliding-press1 an idea         
altogether new to him4 ,an ordinary     
official would  have hesitated1         
objected1 and deferred action until some
 other  institution had shown the way4  
,sir ,edward ,bond no sooner saw the    
model  than he adopted the invention1   
and won the honour for the ,museum4 ,in 
his  time the separation of the ,natural
 ,history departments from the          
,bloomsbury ,museum was consummated1 and
 the ,white ,wing erected with its      
newspaper rooms and admirable           

accommodation for the departments of    
,,mss4  and prints and drawings4 ,the   
facilities for public access to the     
,museum  were greatly extended under    
him4 ,of the many important acquisitions
  made in his term of office1 the ,stowe
 ,manuscripts were perhaps the most     
remarkable4 ,he retired in #ahhh1 among 
the most gratifying testimonies of  the 
respect and affection he had won for    
himself4 ,his manner had been  thought  
cold and reserved1 and such was indeed  
the case2 but the better  he was known  
the more apparent it became that this   
austerity veiled a  most kind heart and 
a truly elevated mind1 far above every  
petty  consideration1 and delighting to 
dwell in a purely intellectual sphere4  
,after his resignation he spent upwards 
of nine years in an honoured and        
dignified retirement4 ,he had been made 
a ,c4,b4 while ,principal ,librarian1   
and his last days were solaced by the   
bestowal of the higher distinction  of  
,k4,c4,b41 which ought indeed to have   

been conferred much sooner4 ,he  died at
 his house in ,bayswater on ,january #b1
 #ahih1 two days after  completing his  
eighty-second year4    ,as a            
palographer1 whose life had been spent  
among ,,mss41 ,sir ,edward ,bond  could 
not be expected to take the same warm   
interest in the ,library  ,association  
that may reasonably be looked for in a  
librarian chiefly  conversant with      
printed books1 but he well understood   
the duty in this  respect imposed upon  
him by his office as ,principal         
,librarian1 and  evinced this by        
presiding over the ,london meeting of   
#ahhg4 ,he married a  relative1 ,miss   
,caroline ,barham1 daughter of the      
famous author of the  ,ingoldsby        
,legends4 ,lady ,bond survives her      
husband1 and he has left  five          
daughters1 all married4 ,he wrote no    
independent work1 but edited  the       
,statutes of the ,university of ,oxford1
 the ,trial of ,warren  ,hastings1 and  
several books for the ,hakluyt and other

 ,societies1  besides contributing      
numerous memoirs to the ,transactions of
 his own  special creation1 the         
,palographical ,society4                
,,footnotes3    #cce3a ,contributed to  
,the ,library1 ,may #ahih4              
,,index        ,abbas the ,great1 ,shah 
of ,persia1 wishes to introduce printing
 into        ,persia1 #aai      ,africa1
 question as to first introduction of   
printing into1 #abc      ,aldrich1      
,stephen ,j41 of the ,british ,museum1  
an authority on        incunabula1 #bjh 
,ancina1 ,bishop1 his integrity1 #afi   
,antequera ,castro1 ,joseph1 author of a
 book printed in ,paraguay1 #acc        
,baber1 ,rev4 ,h4 ,h41 his ,museum      
catalogue1 #he2      his plan for an    
improved catalogue1 #ij      ,bailey1   
,j4 ,b41 on subject indexes to          
scientific periodicals1 #bbe            
,beresford1 ,general1 prints            
proclamations in ,buenos ,ayres1 #acf   
,bethnal ,green ,library1 its           
contrivance for the accommodation of    

books1        the prototype of the      
,british ,museum sliding-press1 #bfg    
,bible1 the foundation of the system of 
classification adopted at the           
,british ,museum1 #bab      ,blades1    
,william1 his ,enemies of ,books1       
#bhc-bhg      ,bond1 ,sir ,edward       
,augustus1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,principal        
,librarian of the ,british              
,museum1 his services to the ,british   
,museum ,printed ,catalogue1 #ae2       
his negotiations with the ,treasury1    
#fe1 #gc1 #id2      memoir of1 #cce-cci 
,bonifacius1 ,joannes1 author of the    
first book printed by ,europeans        
in ,china1 #aba      ,bradshaw1 ,henry1 
#bji      ,british ,museum ,catalogue1  
how far a model for other catalogues1 #g
        ,canevarius1 ,antonius1         
collector of books and amateur of       
bindings1 #afd-aff      ,carlisle1      
,nicholas1 #cab      ,cary1 ,rev4       
,henry1 #bie      ,classed indexes to   
,museum ,catalogue1 how to be made1 #ajf
      ,classification of ,books on the  

shelves of the ,british ,museum1        
,library1        #baa      ,clemente    
,patavino1 early ,italian printer1 #bja 
,cole1 ,sir ,henry1 #hd1 #aji           
,collins1 ,c4 ,h41 ,esq41 of ,edgbaston1
 advocates a classified index of        
scientific papers1 #bb      ,colophons  
of the early printers1 #aig-bji         
,cordier1 ,m4 ,henri1 ,chinese          
bibliographer1 #aba      ,crestadoro1   
,mr41 advocates dictionary catalogues1  
#df      ,cutter1 ,c4 ,w41 his report on
 catalogues1 #df2      his cataloguing  
rules1 #dh        ,dewey1 ,melvil1 on   
the decimal system of classification1   
#hj      ,douglas1 ,professor ,r4 ,k41  
,keeper of ,oriental ,books and ,,mss41 
his        catalogue of the ,museum     
collection of maps1 #ae2      supervises
 catalogue of accession titles1 #gd     
,duarte y ,quiros1 founder of a college 
at ,cordova1 ,la ,plata1 #acd           
,dury1 ,john1 #age-aij1 passim          
,edwards1 ,edward1 #cbj      ,electric  
,light in ,british ,museum1 #bec1 #bed  

,ellis1 ,sir ,henry1 his ,museum        
catalogue1 #he      ,ewart1 ,william1   
,m4,p41 founder of free public libraries
 in ,great        ,britain and ,ireland1
 #cf        ,fire1 protection of        
libraries against1 #beh-bfa             
,fortescue1 ,g4 ,w41 ,keeper of ,printed
 ,books1 his subject indexes to         
,british ,museum catalogue1 #aj         
,foscolo1 ,ugo1 #bhi        ,gallus1    
,udalricus1 early ,italian printer1 #bjc
      ,garcia da ,horta1 author of the  
second book printed by ,europeans in    
,india1 #aah      ,grand1 ,g4 ,f41      
author of the first book printed in     
,south ,africa1 #abe      ,grenville1   
,right ,hon4 ,thomas1 #bib1 #bid        
,heidelberg ,library1 pillaged and      
partly restored1 #ahg1 #ahh             
,hervey1 ,lord1 and ,conyers ,middleton1
 #aia-aic      ,horne1 ,rev4 ,t4 ,h41   
his project for a classed catalogue1 #hi
      ,howe1 ,william1 bushranger1 book 
relating to him the first printed in    
,australasia1 #abe        ,jenner1      

,henry1 assistant in the ,library of the
 ,british ,museum1 his        share in  
the introduction of the sliding-press1  
#bfg2      rewarded by the ,treasury1   
#bfh      ,johnstone1 ,mr41 procures    
,mr4 ,winter ,jones an appointment in   
the        ,british ,museum1 #cac       
,jones1 ,giles1 author of ,goody ,two   
,shoes1 #cje      ,jones1 ,john ,winter1
 ,principal ,librarian of ,british      
,museum1 memoir of1        #cjd-cbd     
,labbe1 ,father1 his travels in ,la     
,plata1 #acj      ,leo1 ,gaspar de1     
,archbishop of ,goa1 author of the first
 book printed        by ,europeans in   
,india1 #aag1 #aah      ,lignamine1     
,joannes ,philippus de1 early ,italian  
printer1 #aec        ,macedo1 ,antonio1 
his ,theses rhetoric1 #abc      ,mayhew1
 ,henry ,m41 assistant in library of the
 ,british ,museum1 his        invention 
of the pivot-press1 #bgb      ,mazarin1 
,cardinal1 formation of his first       
library1 #aff      ,medina1 ,seor ,jose 
,t41 on first ,european printing in     

,china1 #abj2      on ,south ,american  
bibliography1 #abh-adj1 passim          
,middleton1 ,conyers1 delay in          
publication of his ,life of ,cicero1    
#aij-aie      ,murray1 ,dr41 his great  
,english ,dictionary1 #bj        ,naud1 
,gabriel1 collects books for ,cardinal  
,mazarin1 #aff-afh      ,newton1 ,sir   
,charles1 ,k4,c4,b41 favours printing   
,museum catalogue1 #id      ,nicholson1 
,e4 ,w4 ,b41 ,bodley's ,librarian1      
founder of the ,library                 
,association of the ,united ,kingdom1   
#c1 #cg      ,nicius1 ,erythrus1        
#afb-agc1 passim        ,oddi1 ,muzio1  
his ingenuity1 #aga        ,panizzi1    
,sir ,anthony1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,principal    
,librarian of the ,british              
,museum1 his services to the ,british   
,museum1 #ce1 #cf2      undertakes      
printing of ,museum catalogue1 #fi1     
#ij-ib2      memoir of #bhh-cjc         
,paper1 fine1 manufacture of1 in        
,england1 #aia-aif      ,peranda1       
,cardinal1 #aga      ,photography1      

advantages of its introduction as an    
official department        of the       
,british ,museum1 #af1 #ag1 #he1 #hf1   
#bcd-beb      ,podianus1 ,prosper1 a    
mighty book-hunter1 #afh-agj            
,pollard1 ,alfred ,william1 on the      
title-page1 #aih      ,poole's ,index to
 ,periodicals1 #i        ,ribeiro dos   
,sanctos1 ,portuguese bibliographer1    
#aah      ,roscoe1 ,william1 #bij       
,ruiz de ,montoya1 ,antonio1 author of  
books printed in ,paraguay1 #acc        
,rye1 ,william ,brenchley1 ,keeper of   
,printed ,books1 his services to the    
classification of the ,museum ,library1 
#baa      ,rylands1 ,mrs41 her public   
spirit1 #be        ,sande1 ,eduardus de1
 author of the second book printed by   
,europeans in        ,china1 #abj       
,sainsbury1 ,william ,noel1 his calendar
 of the papers of the ,east ,india      
,company1 #aai      ,satow1 ,sir ,ernest
 ,mason1 ,k4,c4,b41 on printing in      
,japan1 #aba1 #abb      ,scientific     
,papers1 subject indexes to1 #bbe-bcc   

,serrano1 ,father ,jose1 his translation
 of ,father ,nieremberg into ,guarani1  
the first book printed in ,paraguay1    
#aca1 #acb      ,sliding-,press1 the1 at
 the ,british ,museum1 #bfb-bga         
,sparrow1 ,mr41 locksmith at the        
,british ,museum1 #bfg1 #bga            
,spira1 the brothers1 early printers at 
,venice1 #adi1 #bjc1 #bje      ,stevens1
 ,henry1 of ,vermont1 his paper on      
,photo-,bibliography1 #af1 #bci2        
memoir of1 #cbe-ccd      ,sweynheym and 
,pannartz1 early printers at ,rome1     
#adc1 #adh1 #adi1 #aej1        #aea1    
#aeb        ,telautographic writing     
telegraph1 #bef      ,telegraph1        
writing1 advantage of introduction of1  
into ,reading ,room of        ,british  
,museum1 #bed1 #beg      ,thompson1 ,sir
 ,e4 ,m41 ,k4,c4,b41 on use of blotting 
paper in the ,middle ,ages4             
,universal ,catalogue projected by ,sir 
,henry ,cole1 #hc1 #hd1 #aji-aad        
,venetian book-trade1 #aec1 #aef        
,vera1 ,juan de1 first printer in the   

,philippines1 #abb      ,virgo1 ,mr41   
his ingenuity1 #bff1 #bgi        ,watts1
 ,thomas1 ,keeper of ,printed ,books1   
,british ,museum1 advocated             
printing the catalogue in #ahee1 #ae2   
founder of the system of classification 
followed at the ,british        ,museum1
 #baa      ,whitelock1 ,general1 prints 
proclamations in ,monte ,video1 #acg    
,wolfenbuttel ,library1 #ahi            
,yapuguai1 ,nicolas1 author of books    
printed in ,paraguay1 #acc              
,zaehnsdorf1 ,mr41 bookbinder1 his      
device for the protection of books      
against fire1 #bei-bfa        ,,the     
,,end      ,printed by ,,ballantyne1    
,,hanson  ,,co4    ,edinburgh  ,london  
,,transcriber',s ,,notes                
,variations in spelling and hyphenation 
remain as in the original4    ,ellipses 
match the original4    ,the following   
corrections have been made to the       
original text3        ,page #aeb3       
publication is greatly lowered4original 
has a comma        ,page #agb3 the ,rome

 of the seventeenthoriginal has         
seventeeth century        ,page #cba3   
the staunchoriginal has stanch          
persistence with      which        ,page
 #cda3 ,bible1 the foundation of the    
system of      classificationoriginal   
has classifiation adopted        ,page  
#cdb3 ,photography1 advantages of its   
introductionwas split      across a line
 break without a hyphen as an official  
department      of the ,british ,museum1
 #af1 #ag1original has a semi-colon #he1
      #hf1original has a semi-colon     
#bcd-beb        ,page #cdc3 ,thompson1  
,sir ,e4 ,m41 ,k4,c4,b41 on use of      
blotting paper      in the ,middle      
,ages1 #agaoriginal has a period instead
 of a      comma and page number is     
missing