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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f0f1372 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53163 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53163) diff --git a/old/53163-0.txt b/old/53163-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 56e105a..0000000 --- a/old/53163-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8849 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography, by -Richard Garnett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography - -Author: Richard Garnett - -Release Date: September 28, 2016 [EBook #53163] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP *** - - - - -Produced by MWS, Adrian Mastronardi, Lisa Reigel, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive). - - - - - - - - - - _The Library Series_ - - EDITED BY - - DR. RICHARD GARNETT - - - V - - ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP - AND BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - -_The Library Series_ - -EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTIONS, BY DR. RICHARD GARNETT, LATE KEEPER OF -PRINTED BOOKS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. - - - I. THE FREE LIBRARY: Its History and Present Condition. By J. - J. OGLE, of Bootle Free Library. - - II. LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECTURE, AND FITTINGS. By F. - J. BURGOYNE, of the Tate Central Library, Brixton. With 141 - Illustrations. - - III. LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION. By J. MACFARLANE, of the British - Museum. - - IV. PRICES OF BOOKS. By HENRY B. WHEATLEY, of the Society of - Arts. - - V. ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. By RICHARD - GARNETT, C.B., LL.D., late Keeper of Printed Books, British - Museum. - - - - -ESSAYS IN - -LIBRARIANSHIP AND - -BIBLIOGRAPHY - -BY - -RICHARD GARNETT, C.B., LL.D. - -LATE KEEPER OF PRINTED BOOKS, BRITISH MUSEUM - -[Illustration: George Allen colophon] - -NEW YORK: FRANCIS P. HARPER -LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN -1899 - - - - -PREFACE - - -The essays collected in this volume are for the most part occasional and -desultory, produced in compliance with requests of friends, or the -appeals of editors of bibliographical journals or organisers of library -congresses, to meet some special emergency, and treating of whatever -appropriate matter came readiest to hand. The most important of them, -however, though composed at considerable intervals, and devoid of any -conscious relation to each other, are yet united by the presence of a -pervading idea, which may be defined as the importance of scientific -processes as auxiliaries to library management. - -It seems almost preposterous to speak of typography as a scientific -process, yet such it is in its relation to the graphic art which it -superseded as an agent in the production of books. It would be the -merest surplusage to advocate the application of printing to any class -of manuscript books but one; and that, strangely enough, is the book of -books, the catalogue. When it is considered how few of the great -libraries of Europe have as yet managed to get their catalogues printed, -and in how many the introduction of print is as yet resisted, or beset -with impediments hitherto insurmountable, it is clear that the benefits -of printing may even now be set forth with profit. Fortunately, however, -the question is but historical as regards the only library of which the -present writer can presume to speak. Typography has now reigned at the -British Museum for nearly twenty years, and any discussion of its -advantages or disadvantages contained in the following essays may be -regarded as out of date. It is hoped, nevertheless, that the historical -interest attaching to the subject may excuse the reproduction of these -papers. "Public Libraries and their Catalogues" (1879) depicts the -hesitations of a transition period when the subject was in the air, but -when the precise manner in which the introduction of print would take -place was as yet uncertain. "The Printing of the British Museum -Catalogue" (1882) describes the results of nearly two years of actual -work; and "The Past, Present, and Future of the British Museum -Catalogue" (1888) reviews the entire subject, both historically and with -a view to the eventual republication of the catalogue. A fourth paper, -contributed to the American Library Conference of 1885, has been -withheld, to minimise the repetition which may be justly alleged as a -defect in the essays now reprinted. The indulgent reader will consider -that it was impossible to travel repeatedly over the same ground -without frequent recurrence to the same facts and arguments: and it has -been thought better to tolerate an admitted literary blemish than to run -any risk of impairing the documentary value of the articles. If the -writer had once begun to alter, he might have been tempted to alter -much. Readers of the present day may feel surprise at the tentative -character of some portions of the first essay in order of date, and at -what seems almost a discouragement of the idea of a complete printed -catalogue. The principal reason was the moderate expectation then -entertained of any substantial help from the Treasury. As a matter of -fact, the annual grant bestowed in the first instance would have kept -the catalogue forty years at press; and, had a strictly alphabetical -order of publication been adopted, it would after some years have been -pointed out with derision that the great British Museum Catalogue was -still in its A B C. The writer, therefore, exerted what influence he -possessed to keep the idea of a complete printed catalogue in the -background, and to enforce that of the publication of single articles -complete in themselves which would be valuable as special -bibliographies. A mere fragment of letter A, it was manifest, could be -of little use beyond the walls of the Museum, but a separate issue of -the article Aristotle might have great worth. 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 forty. The fragmentary system of publication was thereupon quietly -dropped, and printing went on in steady alphabetical sequence. It is due -to the Treasury to state that, since this augmentation of the grant, -their treatment of this branch of the Museum service has been uniformly -liberal. It is to be hoped that this bountiful spirit will not expire -with the completion of the catalogue, but will find expression in a -reprint incorporating all the accessions which have grown up while it -has been at press, as proposed in a very able article in the _Quarterly -Review_ for October 1898. - -After the application of print to the catalogue, mechanical process has -rendered no such service to the British Museum Library as the -introduction of the sliding-press, the subject of another essay. While, -however, printing was the result of half a century of incessant -controversy, the sliding-press seemed to fall from the clouds. Its -introduction was a _coup d'état_; five minutes sufficed to convince the -Principal Librarian of the soundness of the idea, and the thing was -virtually done. No more striking contrast can be conceived than that -between the condition of the Library the day before this feasibility was -demonstrated, oppressed by the apparently insoluble problem how to find -room for its books, and the condition of the Library the day after -solution, suddenly endowed with a practically indefinite capacity for -expansion, save only in the department of newspapers. No one -unacquainted with the internal economy of the Museum will fully -appreciate the saving of public money, to say no more, effected by this -simple contrivance. - -Print and the sliding-press are now, along with the electric light, -undisputed possessions of the Museum; but telegraphy and photography, -the two other applications of scientific ingenuity recommended in this -volume, have not yet been enlisted in her service. When the printing -telegraph obtains a footing, ample occupation will be found for it. Its -most useful as well as most striking application, however, will probably -always be the one principally dwelt upon here, the enabling every demand -for a book made in the reading-room to be simultaneously registered in -the Library, thus abolishing at a stroke the vexatious delays that now -intervene between the writing of a ticket and its delivery in the proper -quarter. 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 circumstances, which an intelligent course of experiments would -speedily determine. - -If telegraphy has been neglected, the same cannot be said of -photography. 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 public. Nevertheless, not a single step has been -taken since the writer brought the subject forward in 1884, preceded as -this had been by the successful introduction of photography at the -Bodleian Library in connection with the Oxford University Press. -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 papers; and -although the Museum has of late successfully resorted to photography for -its own publications, this has necessarily involved the employment of a -professional photographer, whose charges are an insuperable impediment -to any considerable extension of the system. It cannot be too -emphatically reiterated that the question is entirely one of expense. So -long as the photographer is a private tradesman he must of necessity be -paid by his customers, and for any extensive undertaking must inevitably -charge prices embarrassing to public institutions and prohibitive to -private individuals. Make him a public salaried officer, and by far the -larger part of the cost is eliminated at a stroke. What may be done is -shown by the recent exploit of the Newbery Library at Chicago, referred -to in a note at page 86, 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 singly, and then -combining the copies in a catalogue. It is quite possible that the -enterprise may prove financially unremunerative, 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 State, which on its part would have been -recouped, or nearly so, by the patronage of private customers. It is -only necessary to add that the State should on no account seek to make a -profit out of photography, and that all transactions between the Museum -or any other public department and the nation, where money is concerned, -should be conducted on the principle of affording the greatest possible -public advantage at the smallest possible cost. - -Of the essays and addresses unconnected with this particular group not -much need be said. As before mentioned, they are in general mere -occasional pieces, called into being by the casual need for a literary -contribution or a speech. On such occasions the writer has always -endeavoured to select some subject somewhat out of the common track, -with a distinctly bibliographical flavour if possible, but not quite so -dry as an exact collation of all the known copies of the Gutenberg -Bible. In such a line he would have been little likely to distinguish -himself. The Pope is not always a theologian, nor need the Keeper of -Printed Books inevitably be a devotee of black-letter lore. The -bibliographical erudition apparent in the essay on South American -bibliography is entirely derived from Señor Medina's classic work upon -the subject. - -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 librarianship. 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 calamo_. The fame, -however, of the man universally recognised as the second founder of the -British Museum, can well dispense with polished eulogy. The notices of -his successors, composed more at leisure, embody the writer's cordial -appreciation of public service, and grateful sense of personal kindness. -In conclusion, the author has to acknowledge his obligations to the -Council of the Library Association, to Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., and to -others, by whose permission these essays are reprinted. - - R. GARNETT. - -_May 18, 1899._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - ADDRESS TO THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 1 - - PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR CATALOGUES 32 - - THE PRINTING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE 67 - - THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE 87 - - THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSAL - CATALOGUE 109 - - INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN PRINTING INTO THE EAST 115 - - PARAGUAYAN AND ARGENTINE BIBLIOGRAPHY 127 - - THE EARLY ITALIAN BOOK TRADE 141 - - SOME BOOK-HUNTERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 161 - - LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 174 - - THE MANUFACTURE OF FINE PAPER IN ENGLAND IN THE EIGHTEENTH - CENTURY 191 - - ON SOME COLOPHONS OF THE EARLY PRINTERS 197 - - ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES FOLLOWED AT - THE BRITISH MUSEUM 210 - - SUBJECT-INDEXES TO TRANSACTIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES 225 - - PHOTOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES 234 - - THE TELEGRAPH IN THE LIBRARY 253 - - ON THE PROTECTION OF LIBRARIES FROM FIRE 258 - - THE SLIDING-PRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM 262 - - ON THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SPACE IN LIBRARIES 272 - - PREFACE TO BLADES' "ENEMIES OF BOOKS" 283 - - SIR ANTHONY PANIZZI, K.C.B. 288 - - THE LATE JOHN WINTER JONES, V.P.S.A. 304 - - THE LATE HENRY STEVENS, F.S.A. 325 - - THE LATE SIR EDWARD A. BOND, K.C.B. 335 - - INDEX 341 - - - - - ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP - AND BIBLIOGRAPHY - - - - -ADDRESS TO THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION[1:1] - - -There are times in the lives of institutions as well as individuals when -retrospect is a good thing; when it is desirable to look back and see -how far one has travelled, and by what road; whether the path of -progress has always been in the right direction; whether it may not have -been sometimes unnecessarily devious; whether valuable things may not -have been dropped or omitted, in quest of which it may be desirable to -travel back; whether, on the other hand, the journey may not have been -fertile in glad surprises, and have led to acquisitions and discoveries -of which, at starting, one entertained no notion. The interval of -sixteen years which has elapsed since the first meeting of this -Association at London, suggests that such a time may well have arrived -in its history. There is yet another reason why the present meeting -invites to retrospection. We can look back in every sense of the term. -All our past is behind us in a physical as well as in an intellectual -sense. We are as far north as ever we can go. There are, I rejoice to -think, British libraries and librarians even farther north than -Aberdeen, but it is almost safe to predict that there never will be -congresses. We are actually farther north than Moscow, almost as far as -St. Petersburg. 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 meetings, all alike conspicuous by the cordiality of our -reception, each specially conspicuous by some special remembrance, as— - - "Each garlanded with her peculiar flower, - Danced into light, and died into the shade." - -The temptation to linger upon these recollections is very strong, but I -must not yield to it, because more serious matters claim attention, and -because time would not suffice, and because the interest of our members -and any other auditors must necessarily be in proportion to the number -of meetings they have themselves attended, while the time, alas! slowly -but certainly approaches when the first meetings will not be remembered -by any one. Yet in a retrospective address it would be impossible to -pass without notice the first two meetings of all, for it was by them -that the character, since so admirably maintained, was impressed upon -the Association. We first met at the London Institution in Finsbury -Circus under the auspices of the man who, above all men, has the best -right to be accounted our founder—the present Bodleian Librarian, Mr. -Nicholson. Meetings in London, I may say for the information of our -northern friends, labour under a serious defect as compared with -Aberdeen and other more favoured places—a deficiency in the accessories -of sight-seeing and hospitality. Not that Londoners are any less -hospitable than other citizens, 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 government, and where -innumerable objects of interest are for the most part common -property—entertainments cannot be systematically organised, especially -at seasons of the year when unless, under the present dispensation, one -is an unpaired member of Parliament, it is almost a reproach to be found -in the metropolis. For all that, I scarcely think that any meeting was -enjoyed with zest equal to the gathering in that amphitheatre and -lecture room, nearly as subdued in light but nowise as cool as a -submarine grot. For we were doing then what we could not do afterwards -in the majestic hall of King's College, Cambridge, or in the splendid -deliberative chamber accorded to us by the liberality of the corporation -of Birmingham. We were legislating, we were tracing the lines of the -future; most interesting and important of all, we were proving whether -the conception of a Library Association, so attractive on paper, was -really a living conception that would work. 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 States. -These gentlemen knew what we only surmised; they had been accustomed to -regard themselves as members of an organised profession; they felt -themselves recognised and honoured as such; they had ample experience of -congresses and public canvasses and library journals; they were just the -men to inspire English librarians, not with the public spirit which they -possessed already, but with the _esprit de corps_ which, in their then -dispersed and unorganised condition, they could not possess. They came -to me at least as a revelation; the horizon widened all round, and the -life and spirit they infused into the meeting contributed largely to -make it the success it was. Had we gone away then with the sensation of -failure, it is not likely that I should now be addressing you in -Aberdeen or elsewhere. But there was another ordeal to be faced. Critics -say that the second book or picture is very commonly decisive of the -future of an author or artist whose _début_ has been successful—it -shows whether he possesses staying power. Well, when next year we came -to Oxford, in that sense of the term we did come to stay. The variety -and the interest of the papers, and the spirit of the discussions, -showed that there existed both ample material for our deliberations and -ample interest and ability to render deliberation profitable. Here again -we were largely indebted to individuals, and my words will find an echo -in all who knew the late Mr. Ernest Chester Thomas, when I say that -never did he exhibit his gifts to such advantage, never did he render -such services to the Association, as on this occasion. His courtesy, -tact, and good humour all can emulate; the advantages which he enjoyed -in finding himself so thoroughly at home could have been shared by any -other member of the University; but the peculiar brightness with which -he enlivened and irradiated the proceedings was something quite his own. -I must not suffer myself to dwell on other gatherings—all equally -agreeable, some almost as memorable; but, lest I seem forgetful of a -very important branch of the work of the Association, I must briefly -allude to the monthly meetings held in London, where so many valuable -papers have been read—subsequently made general property by publication -in the Journal of the Association, if originally delivered to audiences -probably very fit, certainly very few. It is greatly to be regretted -that provincial members cannot participate in these gatherings, but this -is practically impossible, save by the annihilation of time and -space—the modest request, says Pope, of absent lovers. - -I shall now proceed to take up some of the more interesting themes -broached at the first meeting of the Association, time not allowing me -to proceed further, and to remark upon the progress which may appear to -have been made in the interval towards accomplishing the objects then -indicated. I shall then venture some brief remarks on the library -movement at the present day, as concerns public feeling and public -sympathy in their effect on the status of librarianship as a profession. -My observations must of course be very desultory and imperfect, for an -adequate treatment of these subjects would absorb the entire time of the -present meeting. I have also always felt that the President's address, -though certainly an indispensable portion of our proceedings, is in one -aspect ornamental, and that the real business of a meeting, apart from -its legislative and administrative departments, is the reading of papers -and the discussion to which these give rise. I hope that these -discussions will be, like the Thames, "without o'erflowing, full." -Overflow we must not. It will be a great satisfaction to me if, when the -meeting is over, it should be found that everything written for it has -been heard by it, and that nothing has been "taken as read." - -The most important subject introduced at the Conference of 1877 was that -of free libraries in small towns, but any remarks which I may offer on -this will come more appropriately into a review of the progress which -libraries are now making. Next in importance, perhaps, certainly in -general interest, were the discussions on cataloguing. In this -department I may congratulate the Association on material progress, to -which its own labours have, in great measure, contributed. There is much -more unanimity than there used to be respecting the principles on which -catalogues should be made. Admirable catalogues have been issued, and -continue to be kept up by the principal libraries throughout the -country, and if now and then some very small and benighted library -issues a catalogue whose _naïvetés_ excite derision, such cases are -very exceptional. Rules have been promulgated both here and in the -United States which have met with general assent, and I do not -anticipate that any material departure from them will be made. I only -wish to say, as every librarian is naturally supposed to regard his own -catalogue as a model, that I do not regard the British Museum Catalogue -in this light so far as concerns libraries of average size and type. The -requirements of large and small libraries are very different, and that -may be quite right in one which would be quite wrong in another. I can, -perhaps, scarcely express this difference more accurately than by -remarking that while the catalogue of a small, and more especially of a -popular, library, should be a finding catalogue, that of a large library -representing all departments of literature must be to a great extent a -literary catalogue. It is not meant merely to enable the reader to -procure his book with the least possible delay, but also to present an -epitome of the life-work of every author, and to assist the researches -of the literary historian. Hence the explanation and justification of -some points which have on specious grounds been objected to in the -Museum Catalogue. It has been thought strange, for instance, 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 authors. Two excellent reasons may be given: because by so -entering the book the character of the catalogue as a bibliographical -record would be destroyed; and because by entering one description of -anonymous books in one way and another in another, there would be an end -to the uniformity of rule which is necessary to prevent a very extensive -catalogue from getting into confusion. Another instance is the -cataloguing of academical transactions and periodicals under the -respective heads of Academies and Periodical Publications, which has -been much criticised. It is quite true that the _Quarterly Review_ can -be found more easily under that head than under "Periodical -Publications, London," but it is also true that the grouping of all -academical and all periodical publications under these two great heads -is invaluable to the bibliographer, the literary historian, and the -statistician, who must be exceedingly thankful that the information of -which they are in quest is presented to them in a concentrated form, -instead of having to be sought for through an enormous catalogue. These -observations do not in any way apply to libraries of an essentially -popular character, 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 different, and that we must beware of a -cast-iron uniformity of rule. There is yet another intermediate class of -library, the comparatively small but highly select, such as college and -club libraries, which will probably find it more advantageous to pursue -an intermediate course, as I imagine they do, judging from the very -excellent specimens of cataloguing for which we are indebted to some of -them. And there is yet another class, the libraries of the collectors -of exceedingly rare literatures, such as the Chatsworth Library, Mr. -Huth's, and Mr. Locker-Lampson's. In such catalogues minuteness of -bibliographical detail is rightly carried to an extent uncalled for in -great miscellaneous catalogues like that of the British Museum, and -which, it is to be hoped, may never be attempted there, for if it were -it would disorganise the establishment. It is not the business of -librarians as public servants to provide recondite bibliographical -luxuries. These things are excellent, but they lie in the department of -specialists and amateurs, who may be expected to cultivate it in the -future as they have done in the past. The limits of public and private -enterprise must be kept distinct. - -Another question of cataloguing which occupied the attention of the -Conference of 1877 was the important one of subject catalogues. In this -I am able to announce the most satisfactory progress. In the face of the -mass of information continually pouring in, the world has become alive -to the importance of condensing, distributing, and rendering generally -available the information which it possesses already. Three very -remarkable achievements of this kind may be noticed. The first is -Poole's Index to Periodicals, with its continuation, a work so -invaluable that we now wonder how we could have existed without it, but -so laborious that we could hardly have hoped to see it exist at all, -especially considering that it is an achievement of co-operative -cataloguing. In illustration of the want it supplies, I may mention that -it has been found necessary at the British Museum to reproduce the -preliminary tables by photography in a number of copies, the originals -having been worn to pieces. The next work I shall mention is the subject -index to the modern books acquired by the British Museum since 1880—two -bulky volumes, prepared in non-official time, with the greatest zeal and -devotion, by the superintendent of the Reading Room, Mr. Fortescue, and -continued by him to the present time. They are simply invaluable, and it -is only to be regretted that they have been issued at too high a price -to be generally available to the public. This is not the case with the -third publication which I have to mention—the classed catalogue issued -by Mr. Swan Sonnenschein, the utility of which is very generally known. -A cognate feature of the times is the great comparative attention now -paid to indexing, which is sometimes carried to lengths almost -ludicrous. The author of a work of information who does not give an -index is sure to be called over the coals, and with reason, for how else -is the reviewer to pick out the plums unless he actually reads the book? -I am not sure that this extreme facilitation of knowledge is in all -respects a good thing, but it is at present a necessary thing, and -correlated with that prevalence of abridged histories and biographies -which it is easy to criticise, 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 class, and the fact that -information is thus diffused among many to whom it would have been -inaccessible under other circumstances. - -Connected with the subject of indexes is that of dictionary catalogues, -in which the alphabetical and the subject catalogues are found in a -single list. I retain the opinion I have always held, that this plan may -answer where the library and the catalogue are not extensive, but that -where they are, confusion results; the wood cannot be seen for the -trees. I therefore recommend the librarian of even a small library, in -planning his catalogue, as well as everything else, to make sure whether -his library may not be destined to become a great one. 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 institution. With this view of dictionary -catalogues, it is not likely that they will be adopted at the British -Museum, but I have already explained more than once the facilities which -the Museum possesses for forming an unequalled series of subject -catalogues by simply, when the great general catalogue has been printed, -cutting up copies printed on one side only, and arranging them in a -number of indexes. There is no doubt that the Museum can amply provide -for its own needs in this manner, and thus remove the reproach under -which it has always laboured, and still labours, of having no subject -catalogue except Mr. Fortescue's. 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 circulated. The -solution of this question rests with the Government, 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 act. The -question will probably become an actual one towards the end of the -present century. - -Mention of this question naturally leads to another, which occasioned -one of the most interesting discussions of the Conference of 1877—the -subject of the British Museum in its relation to provincial culture. -This was ably introduced by our friend Mr. Axon, 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 -catalogue. On both these I am enabled to announce the most satisfactory -progress since they were ventilated in 1877. As regards the distribution -of duplicates, indeed, further progress is impossible, for we have -distributed all we can spare. The subject was energetically taken up by -the present Principal Librarian, Mr. Maunde Thompson, shortly after his -accession to office, and the result has been that almost all the -principal libraries throughout the country have received important -benefactions from the Museum. Libraries of the rank of the Bodleian and -the Guildhall have, of course, received the first consideration; but -nearly all have had some accession, and in some instances provision has -been made for a regular supply of duplicate parliamentary papers. Since -the distribution of these duplicates the opportunity has further -presented itself, through the extensive purchases made at the sale of -the Hailstone Library, for enriching Yorkshire libraries with duplicate -tracts relating to that county, and I am sure that the trustees will -readily avail themselves of any subsequent occasions. I am aware that -some think that distribution might be carried even further, but I am -certain that this is not the case. We are bound in honour not to give -any presented books; valuable presented books must be protected by -second copies; copyright books cannot be parted with because receipts -have been given for them which, if the books disappeared, there would be -nothing to justify, while the books and the stamp showing the date of -reception may be required for legal purposes; finally, 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 -Convention. The progress made in the far more important department of -the printing of the catalogue is already well known to you. I have been -able to give the Association a satisfactory report of progress on two -occasions, and I am now able to state that we have entered into letter -P. Some important gaps remain to be filled up, but on the other hand the -latter part of the catalogue is printed and published from U to the end. -If the Treasury continues its aid, I have little doubt that the whole -will be published some time before the end of the century. Mr. Axon -certainly did not exaggerate the value which such a publication would -possess for general culture, and I am only sorry that it is not as yet -properly recognised. Every large town ought to have a copy of the Museum -Catalogue, and the supply of the accession parts ought to be regularly -kept up. It is too late now to do what might have been done if the -importance of the undertaking had been recognised from the first: but -the oversight can soon be repaired if the catalogue is reprinted as soon -as completed, with the inclusion of all the additional titles that have -since grown up. The edition can then be made as large as is necessary to -accommodate every important town in the United Kingdom. But this will -not be done without the application of considerable pressure to the -Government, 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 -present. This might, however, be created by judicious stimulus, which -must come in the first instance from librarians, who, though not -collectively a highly influential body, have many means of privately -influencing persons of weight, and making themselves directly and -indirectly heard in the public press. - -I will take the opportunity of adding a few words for the honour of a -late eminent librarian. In the numerous papers which I have written on -the subject of the Museum Catalogue, I have always made a point of -bringing forward the inestimable services of the late Principal -Librarian, Mr. Edward Augustus Bond, in relation to it. Everything -which I have said I repeat. Without Mr. Bond the catalogue would not now -exist in print, or its appearance would at any rate have been -indefinitely deferred. In examining, however, non-official papers, I -have lately ascertained that Mr. Thomas Watts, one of my predecessors as -Keeper of Printed Books, advocated the printing of the catalogue as -early as 1855. Like myself, when I recommended printing, not on abstract -grounds, but from the impossibility of any longer finding space for the -catalogue in the Reading Room, Mr. Watts was led to adopt his view by -collateral considerations, which it would take too much time to explain -now, but which will be understood when I publish his paper, which I -purpose doing. 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 possessed. - -Speaking of the publication of Museum catalogues since the foundation of -this Association, I ought not to forget that of the early English books -prior to 1640, edited by Mr. Bullen; or that of the maps, edited by -Professor Douglas; or the various catalogues of Oriental books and -manuscripts. The latter, prepared by Dr. Rieu, are treasures of -information, very much more than ordinary catalogues. - -Another subject was introduced at the Conference of 1877, which admits -of wider development than any of those already mentioned, and in which -very much more remains to be done. I allude to the question of the -employment of photography as an auxiliary to bibliography, broached by -our lamented friend the late Mr. Henry Stevens, in his paper on -"Photo-Bibliography." Though the ideas suggested by Mr. Stevens were -highly ingenious, they were perhaps better adapted for development by -private enterprise than by library organisations. But they led up -directly to another matter of much greater importance, 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 Museum. 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 facsimile, by which rare books and perishing -manuscripts could be multiplied to any extent; by which press copies -could be provided at a nominal expense for anything that it was desired -to reprint; by which legal documents could be placed beyond the reach of -injury, and the vexed question of the custody of parish registers solved -for ever; by which a great system of international exchange could be -established for the historical manuscripts of all countries. 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 photographer, at -present an inevitable and most useful individual, but who is sadly in -the way of larger public interests. So long as a private profit has to -be made, photography cannot be cheap. Transfer this duty to a public -officer paid by a public salary, and the chief element of expense has -disappeared; while the slight expense of this salary and cost of -material, if it is thought worth while to insist upon its repayment, -will be repaid over and over by a trifling charge imposed upon the -public. Our Association took the matter up, but nothing tangible has as -yet resulted from its efforts, nor can much be fairly expected. We are -not a body adapted for public agitation, nor can we be; we have too -little influence as individuals; as a corporation we are too dispersed; -our general meetings are necessarily infrequent; we want organisation -and momentum. Nevertheless, very important progress in this direction -may be recorded, or I should not have been able to include it in my -address. It is due to the University of Oxford, which has established a -photographic department in connection with the Bodleian Library and the -University Press, which has shown the practicability of the undertaking, -and has already rendered important services to private persons and -public institutions, the British Museum among the latter. We are as yet -far from the ideal, for the University must of necessity make a higher -charge than would be requisite in a Government department, which might -indeed be but nominal. But an important step has been taken, and Oxford -will always have the honour of having taken the lead in the systematic -application of photography to library purposes, as the sister University -has that of having been the first, not merely to print a catalogue but -to keep a catalogue up in print. - -Another subject which naturally attracted the attention of the -Association from the first was that of binding. There are few matters of -more consequence, and the increasing degeneracy of the bindings of -ordinary books, as issued by the publishers, renders it of more -importance to librarians than ever. This deterioration is, of course, -likely to extend to books bound for libraries, if librarians are not -very vigilant. I was amused the other day with the remark of an American -librarian, that he bound his newspapers in brown. I thought he exercised -a wise discretion, for the newspapers which were bound in green at the -Museum have become brown, like the withered leaf, and might as well have -been so from the first. I do not know that any important progress has -been made in ordinary binding, although our American friends, in their -_Library Journal_, are continually giving us ingenious hints which may -prove very useful. The buckram recommended by Mr. Nicholson has, I -think, maintained its ground; we use it to some extent at the Museum, -and are well satisfied. Goatskin also has been recently employed; it is -a beautiful binding, 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 upon. The better descriptions of -cloth seem to be improved, and very recommendable for books in moderate -use. I am continually struck with the excellence of the vellum bindings -we get from abroad, especially of old books, and wish very much that -means could be found of cheapening this most excellent material. In one -very important description of binding—roan and sheepskin—I fear we are -going back; not from any fault of the binders, but from the conditions -of modern life. I am informed that owing to the early age at which the -lives of sheep are now prematurely terminated, it is impossible to -obtain sheepskin of the soundness requisite for binding purposes, and -that books for which it is used must be expected to wear out much sooner -than formerly. It is also said, however, that this does not apply to the -sheep slaughtered in Australia and New Zealand, 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 parts, through the medium of the -Colonial Agents General or otherwise. - -Any positive progress that can be reported in binding rather relates to -the study, appreciation, and reproduction of old and precious bindings, -especially of foreign countries, and is mainly summed up in the record -of the exhibitions of bindings which have been held here, the literary -labours of Miss Prideaux and others, the numerous splendid reproductions -in chromo-lithography, published or to be published here or abroad, and -the tasteful designs of Mr. Zaehnsdorf, Mr. Cobden-Sanderson, and other -artists in this branch, which I am glad to see encouraged by the Arts -and Crafts Exhibition. The very deterioration of the bindings for the -many, to which I have had occasion to refer, stimulates the production -of choice bindings for the few. Liberal patronage will not be wanting, -and there is no reason why we should not have among us now Bedfords, -Roger Paynes, and even craftsmen of a more purely artistic type. Among -the signs of the times in this respect is to be noted the establishment -of the Grolier Club at New York, celebrated for the admirable examples -it has collected, and the interest and value of its publications. - -There is another subject which came before the Conference of 1877, -which, but for our American friends, 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 reported. It is that of -co-operative cataloguing, the subject of a note by M. Depping, and -indirectly of the late Mr. Cornelius Walford's paper on a general -catalogue of English literature. The success of Poole's Index has proved -that co-operative cataloguing, or at least indexing, is feasible. I -doubt if there is another instance, except one—a work of great national -importance, whose long condition of suspended animation and eventual -successful prosecution eloquently evince under what conditions -co-operation is practicable or impracticable. This is Dr. Murray's great -English dictionary, originally a project of the Philological Society. -Until Dr. Murray was invented, the Philological Society could do -nothing. The scheme absolutely required some one of competent ability -who would go into it heart and soul, sacrifice everything else to it, -and devote his whole time to it. When such a man was found in Dr. Murray -it is astonishing how soon willing co-workers abounded, and how readily -the mass of unorganised material already collected was got into shape. -So it will be, I believe, with all co-operative schemes. They will -require a head, a single directing mind. Whether this will be -forthcoming for the very useful work projected by the Association, 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 Museum, is to me problematical, but time will -show. I am, for my part, of opinion that the undertaking had better be -delayed until the publication of the second edition of the Museum -Catalogue, which it is intended to issue as soon as the printing of the -general catalogue is complete, as this would considerably abridge the -labour of preparing the supplement. I have already, in the paper read at -Paris last year, expressed my opinion that the Museum Catalogue, when -complete, will afford the only practicable basis for the far more -important and extensive undertaking of a universal catalogue. Success in -such an undertaking would indeed be the triumph of successful -co-operation, but when the enormous difficulties of establishing -co-operation among the libraries, not of a single country only, but of -the whole civilised world, are considered, the difficulty may well -appear insuperable, until the various countries shall have approximated -much more nearly to the condition of a single country than they have -done as yet. Such, however, is the unquestionable tendency of the times, -depending upon causes which, so far as can be foreseen, appear likely to -operate with augmented intensity, and this movement may proceed far -enough to eventually bring with it the universal catalogue along with -the universal language, the universal coin, and the universal stamp. -Till within a short time ago I had reason to believe that a co-operative -catalogue, which I myself proposed several years ago, was on the point -of being undertaken. 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 papers, without which that great -store of information is in a measure useless. This paper was -re-published in _Nature_, the idea was taken up by Mr. Collins of -Edgbaston, the compiler of the indexes to Herbert Spencer's works, and a -few weeks ago success seemed about to crown his efforts. I now learn -with regret that the scientific men who met in conclave on the project -have not been able to agree, and I suppose it will remain in abeyance -until some Hercules-Littré arises and does it by himself. - -Want of time precludes me from dwelling at length upon any other -subjects than those brought forward at the first Conference of our -Association. A brief enumeration, however, of some of the additional -subjects discussed at ensuing meetings, to within the ten years -immediately preceding our last meeting, will be serviceable as showing -the extent of its activity, and, did time permit, it would be possible -to show that satisfactory progress has been made in many of the -directions indicated. At Oxford, in 1878, besides recurring to many of -the themes previously treated, the Conference discussed the condition of -cathedral and provincial libraries, printing and printers in provincial -towns, size-notation, and, most interesting of all, the salaries of -librarians. At Manchester, in 1883, it considered the consolidation and -amendment of the Public Libraries Acts, the grouping of populous places -for library purposes, the free library in the connection which it has or -should have with the Board School, the extent to which novels should be -permitted in free libraries, and security against fire. In 1880, at -Edinburgh, the libraries of Scotland, and early printing in Scotland, -were the subjects of valuable communications, as were press and shelf -notation; copyrights, the disposal of duplicates, and the subject which -may be said to lie at the root of all the rest, "The Librarian and his -Work." In 1881, at London, besides important subjects previously -discussed, we heard of law libraries and library buildings. In 1882, at -Cambridge, 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 Catalogue, and papers were read on -the all-important subject of librarianship as a profession; on the work -of the nineteenth-century librarian for the librarian of the twentieth; -on public documents and their supply to public libraries; on local -bibliography; on the cataloguing of periodicals and academical -publications; and on electric lighting. - -Here I suspend my survey, but I think quite enough has been said to -indicate the number and importance of the subjects taken up by the -Association, while the present condition of some of them, compared with -that which they held before they had become subjects of public -discussion, proves that the Association's labours have not been in vain -in the past, 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 future. - -I may fitly conclude my address with some notice of this decided -increase of interest in libraries, especially as it relates to free -libraries; of the effect which it may be expected to produce upon the -status of our profession, and of the claims encouraged and the duties -imposed in consequence. Before coming to this division of my subject, -however, I ought, as this address is mainly retrospective, to record -briefly some exceedingly gratifying occurrences which the historian of -libraries will have to note. First among them I place two munificent -benefactions—Mr. Carnegie's gift of fifty thousand pounds to the people -of Edinburgh towards the formation of a public library, and Mrs. -Rylands' establishment of the Spencer Library, worth probably nearly a -quarter of a million, in the city of Manchester. The first is an -instance of that public spirit not unknown here, but I fear less known -than in the United States, which in that country frequently takes the -form of library donation or endowment, but here seldom enters that -channel except when a generous employer, like Mr. Brunner of Northwich, -builds a library mainly for his work-people. The second instance is -almost unprecedented. Donations of money for library purposes are not -infrequent, but that a public benefactor like Mrs. Rylands should -purchase a famous library at an enormous expense only to make it a -public library immediately afterwards, and should moreover take upon -herself the entire cost of the requisite buildings, and provide it with -a staff and funds for its further extension, are indeed an unprecedented -series of occurrences. I need not say that had Mrs. Rylands purchased -Lord Spencer's Library solely for herself, we should still have been -under deep obligation to her for preventing the books from going out of -the country. As it is, she has not only laid Britain under infinite -obligation, but I hope will prove to have in the long run raised the -standard of bibliographical research throughout the country, both by -bringing together so many bibliographical treasures, and by her -eminently judicious choice of a librarian. In this connection I may pass -on to another event of moment—the recent foundation of a -Bibliographical Society through the untiring exertions of Mr. Copinger. -It is very gratifying to find that the constituents of such a society -exist in a country where exact bibliography has been so little -cultivated, and there can be no doubt of the extent and interest of the -field which is open to such a body. - -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 Mr. -Alfred Pollard, and that these have amply repaid him. I may further -notice the recent appearance of two works of great importance to English -bibliography: Professor Arber's transcripts of the registers of the -Stationers' Company, now on the point of completion, and the supplement -to Allibone's Dictionary of English Authors. Two great advances in -library construction also call for a word of recognition; the -introduction of the sliding press at the British Museum, which -indefinitely adjourns the ever-pressing question of additional space -both in this and in every other library to which it can be adapted; and -the general employment of the electric light, which insures libraries -against the worst enemy of all. While touching on library construction, -I must briefly allude to a very remarkable recent publication, the -article "Bibliotheca" in the German Cyclopædia of Architecture. This -exhaustive disquisition is illustrated with a number of views of -libraries in all parts of the world; not merely of their plans and -elevations, their stately saloons and commodious reading rooms, but of -the most humble details of library furniture. It ought to be -translated.[27:1] - -I have now to offer some concluding observations on the present -prospects of the library movement, as it affects our country and -ourselves. In both points of view there is, I think, much matter for -congratulation. We have progressed very decidedly since the period to -which I have been carrying you back in retrospect. As is often the case, -the foundation of this Association was both a symptom and a cause. It -indicated the existence of a feeling that libraries had not hitherto -occupied that position in public esteem which they ought to have; it -further powerfully contributed to secure this due position for them. I -think they are obtaining it. We cannot but be conscious of a wave of -public feeling slowly rising, the action of which is visible in the -establishment of new libraries, in the adoption of the Free Libraries -Act by communities which had long resisted it, in improved library -buildings and appliances, in acts of munificence like Mr. Carnegie's and -Mrs. Rylands's, and as a natural consequence, in the improved salaries -and status of librarians. I am aware that very much remains to be done -in this latter respect. No one can more earnestly desire that the -librarian's position were better than it is. It would not only be a boon -to the individual, but a sign full of hope for the community. We are -progressing, but we must progress much further. The key of the position -seems to me the restrictions imposed upon rates for library purposes. -If we could obtain more freedom for the ratepayers in this respect, and, -which would be much more difficult, persuade them to use it when they -had it, our free libraries might be in general what some of the more -favoured actually are. It is discouraging indeed to observe in a not -very wealthy community, when all necessary expenses have been met, -including the librarian's very inadequate salary, what a ridiculous -trifle remains for the acquisition of books. - -There is only one way to obtain the desired end—to convince the public -that they are getting value for their money. The utility of the public -library must be visible to all men. It must be recognised as an -indispensable element of culture, and it must be shown, which is -unfortunately more difficult, that it is actually subserving this end, -not only for a few persons here and there, but for a considerable -proportion of the population. I am not opposing the admission of fiction -into public libraries, but it is evident that if fiction constitutes the -larger portion of the literature in request, the average ratepayer will -not think, nor ought he to think, that any case has been made out for -his inserting his hands more deeply into his pockets. I am quite aware, -of course, that librarians individually can do but little in this -direction. Whatever can be done should be done, for the entire case of -the librarian in claiming respect from the community and the material -advantages concatenated therewith is that he is, in however humble a -measure, a priest of literature and science; as truly, though not as -ostensibly, a public instructor as if he occupied the chair of a -professor. Let him endeavour to live up to this character, and in -proportion as the community itself becomes conscious of its shortcomings -and its needs, the librarian's estimation will rise and his position -improve. We need not despair; like Wordsworth's imprisoned patriot, "we -have great allies." The library movement itself is merely the fringe of -a great intellectual upheaval, most visibly personified in the School -Boards which now cover the country, but also obvious in many other -directions. This upheaval will elevate libraries along with it, if they -really are the instruments of intellectual culture we firmly believe -them to be. Let us ally ourselves with those concerned in the diffusion -of these educational agencies. Many of them feel, I know, that schools -ought to be the highway to something better, and that even if public -school instruction could be accepted as sufficient for the citizen, much -of it is inevitably lost from the divorce from all intellectual life -which too commonly supervenes when the boy leaves school. But, if the -school have but instilled a love of reading, the library steps in to -take its place:— - - "Chalice to bright wine - Which else had sunk into the thirsty earth." - -Let the librarian but recognise his true position, and eventually he -must find his true level. I do not think that librarians as a body are -chargeable with insensibility to their duties in this respect; but it -does need to be kept before their fellow-citizens, whose ideas of the -profession—derived from tradition, and from personal experience among -some of its inferior branches—are naturally different from those which -obtain among ourselves. The librarian will therefore do well to interest -himself in useful and philanthropic movements, avoiding, of course, -anything tinged with party spirit, political or religious. If he is a -vegetarian, or a theosophist, or anything that begins with _anti_, let -him be so unobtrusively. - -I must not conclude without mentioning an incident connected with our -profession, which has recently given me great pleasure—the acquaintance -I was enabled to make with the students of the Library School, mostly -young assistants in provincial libraries, on their visit to London last -summer. I received a most favourable impression of their modesty, -intelligence, eagerness to learn, and general interest in their calling. -This bodes well for the librarians of the future. I trust that they and -all of us, and all whom the profession may receive into their ranks from -other sources, will labour to preserve that high ideal of the librarian -as a minister of culture, and no less that other possession, which our -Association—if it did not actually create—has so greatly fostered that -it may almost be looked upon as its creation, the feeling of fellowship -and _esprit de corps_. We do not meet merely to read papers and exchange -ideas, and provide for our administrative arrangements, but to -encourage and renovate something "better than all treasures that in -books are found"—the consciousness of mutual interest, and the feeling -of mutual regard, which will, I trust, be found reflected in the harmony -and business-like conduct of our present meeting. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1:1] Aberdeen, September 1893. - -[27:1] It has since been used in Mr. Burgoyne's volume on Library -Architecture. - - - - -PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR CATALOGUES[32:1] - - -"At the laundress's at the Hole in the Wall, Cursitor's Alley, up three -pairs of stairs, the author of my Church History—you may also speak to -the gentleman who lies by him in the flock bed—my index-maker." Thus -Mr. Edmund Curll, _apud_ Dean Swift, and the direction certainly does -not convey an exalted idea of the social status of the gentleman who -shared the hole of the ecclesiastical historian. - -It is gratifying to remark the augmented consideration, in our day, of -this despised fraternity. There is no omission for which an author of -serious pretensions is now more frequently taken to task than that of an -index; and if on the one hand it is unsatisfactory that the offence -should be so frequent, it is on the other encouraging that its -obnoxiousness should be so generally recognised. "Every author," -sententiously observes an American sage, "every author should write his -own index. Anybody can write the book." Without going quite to this -length, very many are disposed to affirm of a book without an index what -the Rev. Dr. Folliott, in "Crotchet Castle," affirms of a book without -matter for a quotation, namely, that it is no book at all. Now, what Mr. -Curll's index-maker was to Mr. Curll, librarians are to the general -republic of letters. 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 index": their promotion in public consideration has -accordingly kept pace with that of their humbler allies, or rather -exceeded it, for if not starting originally from a point quite so -depressed, they have attained one much more exalted. The cause, however, -is the same in both cases—the enormous increase of knowledge, the need -of a rigorous classification of its accumulated stores, and the -development of a specialised class of workers to discharge this -function. Next to the importance of information existing at all is that -of its being garnered, classified, registered, made promptly available -for use. A good public library has been aptly compared to a substantial -bank, where drafts presented are duly honoured; and librarians, as such, -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 -themselves, but to put others into a condition to do it. As a -consequence, their collective organisation is much more complete than of -yore; and their calling assumes more and more the character of a -distinct profession requiring special training, with a distinct tendency -to gravitate towards the Civil Service. Time has been when a -librarianship was most probably a sinecure, or at best a "Semitic -department," created for the express benefit of desert too angular and -abnormal to fit into recognised grooves. Lessing was a typical specimen -of this class of librarian, installed at Wolfenbüttel nominally to -catalogue books but in reality to write them. This type is now nearly -extinct in England, except here and there in one of those colleges which -Mr. Bagehot thought existed to prevent people from over-reading -themselves, or some cathedral, where the functions of librarian are -entrusted to a church dignitary or a church mouse. Elsewhere the -professional character of the librarian's pursuits is pretty generally -recognised; the need of special training and special qualifications is -commonly admitted; and the result has been a general improvement in the -status and consideration of librarians, the more satisfactory as it is -in no degree due to quackery or self-assertion, but has come about by -the mere force of circumstances. It may not be uninteresting briefly to -trace the steps by which librarianship has become a recognised -profession, and the public library an acknowledged branch of the State -service. - -"Prior to the year 1835," says Mr. Winter Jones, in his inaugural -address before the first Conference of Librarians, "there had been -little discussion, if any, about public libraries." In that year—the -year of the publication of the epoch-making works of Strauss and De -Tocqueville, and of the removal of Copernicus and Galileo from the -_Index Expurgatorius_—the complaints of a discharged clerk led, _more -Britannico_, to an inquiry into the state of the British Museum, which -would at that time hardly have been granted upon public grounds. From -that inquiry dates everything that has since been done. Some not very -judicious changes in the administrative machinery of the Museum were the -chief ostensible results, 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 records. The way was then prepared for the truly -great man who assumed office as Keeper of the Printed Books in 1837, and -whose evidence had mainly created the impression to which we have -referred. To the administration of the British Museum, Sir Anthony -Panizzi brought powers that might have governed an Empire. Sir Rowland -Hill is not more thoroughly identified with the penny post than Sir A. -Panizzi with the improvements which have made the Museum what it is, and -not merely those affected immediately by himself, but those which owe, -or are yet to owe, their existence to the impulse originally -communicated by him. In 1839 the Museum received from Sir A. Panizzi and -his assistants its code of rules for the catalogue—the Magna Charta of -cataloguing. In 1846 the enormous deficiencies of the Library, as -ascertained by prodigious labour on the part of the librarian and his -staff, were fairly brought to the knowledge of the nation. In 1849 Sir -A. Panizzi's multitudinous reforms were tested and sanctioned by one of -the most competent royal commissions that ever sat, whose report offers -at this day a mass of most amusing and instructive reading. We may note -in its minutes of evidence, as subsequently in the yet more remarkable -instance of President Lincoln, how little able Mr. Carlyle is to -recognise his hero when he has got him, and may obtain a new insight -into the extraordinary powers of the late Professor De Morgan. In 1857 -Sir A. Panizzi's exertions received their visible consummation in the -erection of the new Reading Room and its appendages, capable of -accommodating a million volumes; and about the same time his political -and social influence raised the Museum grant to an amount capable of -filling this space within thirty years. Such an example could not fail -to elevate the standard of librarianship all over the country, and it -was now to be supplemented by the movement with which the name of Mr. -Ewart is chiefly associated. The comparative failure of the Mechanics' -Institutes, from which so much had been expected, had led the friends of -popular education to take up the subject of free libraries. Mr. Ewart's -Act (1850) forms another era in library history, and its operation, -while slowly but surely covering the country with libraries supported -out of the rates, has tended more than anything else to elevate the -profession by making it a branch of the public service, and offering -some real, though as yet hardly adequate, inducement to men of ability -and culture to follow it. The recent library conferences have shown what -an admirable body of public servants England possesses in these -administrators of her free libraries. The next great era in library -history dates from 1876, when the practical genius of the Americans led -them to perceive the benefit of giving bibliothecal science a visible -organisation. The Philadelphia Conference of that year resulted in the -foundation of the American Library Association, the prototype of our -own. About the same time the _American Library Journal_—now the organ -of the library associations of both countries—was established, and the -Bureau of Education issued its volume of reports, the most valuable -collection, not merely of statistics, but of close and sagacious -discussion of library questions, that has yet been produced anywhere. -That the American example should have been so promptly imitated in this -country is mainly due to Mr. E. W. B. Nicholson, the librarian of the -London Institution. Mr. Nicholson conceived the idea of an English -conference on the American model. Messrs. Tedder, Harrison, Overall, and -other distinguished metropolitan librarians, contributed their time and -their marked capacity for business towards carrying it out. Mr. Winter -Jones, as Principal Librarian of the British Museum, gave the conference -_éclat_ by accepting the office of President, and the welcome presence -of a strong deputation of American librarians, together with some -distinguished representatives of the profession from the Continent, -imparted the international character which it alone needed to ensure -success. The second conference, held at Oxford, was equally successful, -and the present year is to witness a similar gathering at Manchester. -An English Library Association has been called into being, and the -_Library Journal_, the organ of this Association, equally with the -American, indicates and records the active development of library -science in both countries. One thought clearly underlies all these -various undertakings—that library administration actually is a science -and a department of the public service, and that it is only by these -matters being thus generally regarded that the librarian can render full -service to the public, or the public full justice to the librarian. - -We now propose to offer a few observations on some of the points of -principal national concern connected with the administration of -libraries in general, and, as from this point of view is inevitable, of -the national library in particular. In so doing we must acknowledge our -special obligations to the following works, and recommend them to the -study of all interested in library subjects; 1. The Transactions and -Proceedings of the Conference of Librarians held in London, October -1877, edited by E. B. Nicholson and H. R. Tedder: Chiswick Press. 2. The -_Library Journal_, official organ of the Library Associations of America -and of the United Kingdom: Trübner. 3. Public Libraries in the United -States of America; Special Report. Washington: Bureau of Education. To -these may be added Mr. Axon's able article on the Public Libraries of -America in the last number of the "Companion to the Almanac." - -It might seem that not much could be said respecting the mere purchase -of books, but even this department is subject to the general law of -specialisation, and the character of a collection must vary as it falls -within the category of national, academical, or municipal libraries. The -mission of the national library is the simplest: its character is -determined for it by the enactment which in most civilised states -constitutes it the general receptacle of the national literature, good, -bad, and indifferent, and imposes the corresponding obligation of -rendering itself the epitome of foreign literatures, as far as its means -allow. Every such library is the mirror of its time, 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 past. This is -the apology of the librarian's anxiety to collect what the uninitiated -regard as trash. Yesterday's news-sheet, waste paper to-day, will be -precious after a century, and invaluable after a millennium. 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 nation, even when it comes in the costly shape of -a bibliographical rarity. A black-letter ballad on a Smithfield -martyrdom, a collection of cuttings illustrating Byron or Dickens, must -be secured for the national Museum if at all within the compass of its -resources. 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 art, -but adds nothing to the value or significance of its contents. Such -luxuries, the darlings of the genuine bibliographer, the tests of his -professional taste and the _chevaux de bataille_ of his collection, 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 exist. Even the ideal of rendering the library a -representative of the thought and knowledge of the age must either be -moderated, or pursued at the risk of incurring comparatively -expenditure. A new periodical gives pause: it must be taken, like a -wife, for better or worse; for once commenced it can seldom be dropped. -New editions of scientific works occasion much perplexity: it is equally -vexatious to be behind hand with the latest results of discovery, and to -spend money over something which is certain to be soon superseded by -something better still. In such cases compromise alone is possible, and -compromise can never be quite satisfactory. Such difficulties press less -heavily on the curators of academical libraries, where the demand for -universality is not preferred, and even an accidental circumstance may -legitimately impart a bias to the entire collection. The acquisition of -Professor De Morgan's books, for instance, has made it imperative upon -the University of London to be always strong in logic and mathematics, -at all events. The principle of specialisation, indeed, admits of being -carried very far in a large community, where it is possible to conceive -groups of libraries working in different directions to a common end, -and mutually completing each other. Such a system was supposed to have -been inaugurated at Oxford, although we have only heard of two colleges -which are actually working it out—Worcester, with its deliberate and -most laudable bent towards classical archæology; and All Souls', whose -noble collection of law books might, if law were more scientifically -taught in this country, contribute to make Oxford a great school of -jurisprudence. Some of the other college libraries, it is to be feared, -justify the philippic which Mr. Ernest Thomas, at the Oxford Conference, -clenched with this climax of scornful reference to a flagrant case, "The -librarian receives only ten pounds a year, and I am sorry to say that -even that is too much." - -The municipal librarian has his peculiar difficulties. His means are -seldom large, and out of them he has frequently to provide for branch -libraries, involving numerous duplicates. He has to study not only what -his public wants, but what it thinks it wants; not only to make ready -for guests, but to "compel them to come in." This raises the difficult -question how far the taste for fiction should be condescended to in free -libraries. We cannot agree with those who think that public money may be -properly expended upon trashy novels, in the chimerical hope that the -appetite for reading they will probably create may be devoted to -worthier objects. It is far more likely to destroy any latent capacity -for serious reading which a more judicious treatment might possibly have -called forth. At the same time, the adverse experience of mechanics' -institutes has shown that it will not answer to be too austere in such -matters, and indeed the man who is capable of relishing Thackeray or -George Eliot is not far from the kingdom of culture. Other novelists of -a less purely intellectual cast may awaken the love or stimulate the -pursuit of knowledge. Scott indirectly teaches not a little history, -Marryat not a little geography; either might provoke a craving for -further information, and both are adapted to keep the mind in a state of -healthy curiosity, susceptible of new impressions and ideas. The -municipal librarian will also consider the especial circumstances of his -locality. Leeds, we understand, collects everything relating to the -history or processes of the woollen manufacture, and the example will no -doubt be generally followed. 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 districts, as well -as the municipal documents which are rarely deposited in the British -Museum. It met with a cordial response, and we believe is being -extensively carried out. - -Due provision having been made for replenishing the library with the -books most appropriate to its circumstances, the question of the -catalogue next presents itself. The controversies which used to prevail -on this point may be regarded as in a great measure laid to rest. The -rules of cataloguing, framed in 1839 by Sir A. Panizzi, Mr. Winter -Jones, and their staff, will, we believe, be now generally accepted by -bibliographers as embodying the principles of sound cataloguing.[43:1] -They may not be equally satisfactory to the general public, with its -preference for rough and ready methods; a very short experience, -however, will convince any man that such methods in cataloguing mean -simply hopeless confusion, 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 random, with no endeavour at principle or uniformity. On -the part of almost all qualified bibliographers, the Museum Catalogue -receives the sincerest form of flattery—imitation: the few points still -debated, such as whether anonymous books with no proper name on the -title-page should be entered under the first substantive or the first -word, are not material; and the impediments sometimes experienced in -consulting it arise from no defect in its cataloguing rules, but from -the great difficulty in digesting such long and complicated articles as -Academies into a perspicuous and logical arrangement. The problem is no -longer one of cataloguing, but of classification, and in this department -ample room remains for discussion and scientific progress. The question -of the strictly classified catalogue _versus_ the strictly -alphabetical, may, indeed, be considered as decided. The former method -may have answered in the library of Alexandria; but the multiplicity of -the departments of knowledge in our own day, their intricacy and the -nicety with which they blend and shade into each other, render -cataloguing solely by subjects a delusion. A catalogue of books on any -special subject must either be imperfect, or must contain a large number -of entries repeated from other catalogues; while, in any case, 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 library. -If, nevertheless, a subject catalogue without a general alphabetical -arrangement is often useless, it must be admitted that an alphabetical -catalogue without a subject index is not always useful. It is somewhat -humiliating for the librarian unprovided with this valuable auxiliary, -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 catalogue. Even the Bodleian, -we perceive, is about taking measures to prepare an index of subjects, -and the Bodleian is a library for scholars who might not unfairly be -expected to bring their bibliographical information along with them. The -need must evidently be more imperative in libraries which assume a -distinctly educational function, and in those which, like the national -and most municipal collections, are supported at the expense of the -learned and the ignorant alike. The recognition of the want, however, -imposes an additional strain upon the resources of the institution, -which the British Museum, at all events, over-burdened as it is already, -cannot encounter without a considerable addition to its resources. The -question of classification is, moreover, most difficult of solution. -Only two points seem universally agreed upon: that the best subject -index must be far from perfect, and that the worst is far better than -none. Two principal methods are proposed for adoption. The first is the -simple and obvious one of recataloguing every book entered in the -Alphabetical Catalogue in the briefest possible form, and breaking up -these titles into sections, according to subject, the alphabetical order -being still preserved in each. Thus Simson's "History of the Gipsies" -would be found in the General Catalogue entered at length, and again in -an abridged form in a special index of books relating to the Gipsies, -which would refer the reader to the General Catalogue. The other system -is the so-called Dictionary Catalogue, which combines the main entry and -the subject entry in the same alphabetical series. In such a catalogue -Simson's book would be entered twice over, under Simson and under -Gipsies; while Paspati's "Dictionary of the Dialect of the Turkish -Gipsies," if the librarian were as accommodating as some of his -fraternity, would stand a chance of being catalogued four times over, -under Paspati, Gipsies, Turkey, and Dictionaries. This system, first -brought forward by Mr. Crestadoro, the very able librarian of the -Manchester Free Library, and retouched by Messrs. Jewett, Abbott, and -Noyes, in the United States, has been thoroughly discussed in Mr. -Cutter's masterly contribution to the American report on public -libraries. Mr. Cutter, on the whole, supports the plan, whose defects he -has nevertheless stated with his usual force and candour. The principal -objections are the great bulk of a catalogue constructed upon such a -plan, and the sacrifices of one of the principal advantages of an -alphabetical classed index, the congregation of a great number of minor -subjects into a grand whole. In such an index, for example, works on the -liberty of the subject, Bankruptcy, Divorce, though formed into special -lists, would still be found together within the covers of the same -comprehensive volume on law, and, taken all together, would afford a -general view of whatever existed in print upon that grand division of -human knowledge. In the Dictionary Catalogue, where authors and subjects -are thrown together in the same alphabetical series, this advantage -would be lost; Bankruptcy would be in one part of the catalogue, Divorce -in another, and a general view of the entire body of legal literature -would not be available at all. The inconvenient bulk of a Dictionary -Catalogue (except in the case of small libraries, and any small library -may one day become a large one), would be owing to the necessity for -multiplying cross-references. To take Mr. Cutter's own illustration, 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 -Punishment." The average reader, however, will not think of looking for -it there. He will turn to "Death" or under "Penalty," and, not finding -the book under either heading, will conclude that it does not exist in -the library. Two cross-references to "Capital Punishment" must -accordingly be made for his accommodation; and, after a few generations -of literary industry, the catalogue, like the proverbial wood, would be -invisible on account of the entries, generally speaking; the cardinal -error of plans for dictionary catalogues appears to us to be an -excessive deference to the claims of the average reader. Nothing can be -more natural, considering that these plans originated in Manchester and -were perfected in the United States, where the educational character is -much more distinctly impressed upon libraries than in England, and where -the appetite for knowledge is as yet in advance of the standard of -culture. It is fortunate when the librarian is able to consider not -merely what may be most acceptable to a miscellaneous body of -constituents, but also what is intrinsically fit and reasonable. - -We must hold, then, that the alphabetical index of subjects should be -the auxiliary and complement of the Alphabetical Catalogue, not a part -of it; that each book should be entered in it, as in the catalogue, once -and once only; that the minor indexes should be grouped together so as -to form collectively a whole (_e.g._ ornithology and ichthyology, as -sub-sections of zoology); and that the operations of cataloguing and -indexing should go on _pari passu_. If this is attended to for the -future, the future will take care of itself; but "not Heaven itself upon -the past has power," and it is discouraging to think upon the immense -leeway which remains to be made up in most of our great public -libraries. The experience of the Bodleian will be very valuable, and we -must confess to much curiosity to see how long the operation of -classifying its multifarious contents will take. In the British Museum -the foundation of a classed catalogue has already been laid by a simple -process. As fast as the titles have been transcribed for insertion in -the three copies of the catalogue by a manifold writer, a fourth copy -has been taken, and this copy is arranged in the order of the books on -the shelves. As the various subjects are kept together in the library, -such an arrangement is practically equivalent to a rough classed -catalogue, which could be digested into order with comparative facility. -The publication of such a classified index, reduced to the utmost -possible brevity, offers, as it seems to us, the best solution of the -vexed question of the publication of the Museum Catalogue. On this point -much remains to be said. Meanwhile, before quitting the subject of -cataloguing methods, a tribute is due to Mr. Cutter's important -contribution to the subject, in his rules for his Dictionary Catalogue. -Next after the settlement of the Museum rules in 1839, these form the -most important epoch in the history of cataloguing. Agreeing with the -latter rules in the main, and when differing, generally, as we must -think, not differing for the better, they nevertheless contain a most -valuable body of acute reasoning and apt illustration, which it did not -fall within the province of the Museum authorities to provide; they -bring unusual experience and ability to bear upon the intricate subject -of classification, and are further reinforced by most ingenious remarks -on the economy and manipulation of print, making the mere variations of -type instructive. - -Assuming the catalogue to be completed, the question remains for -decision whether it shall be printed. In most cases this question is -easily determined with reference to the circumstances of the individual -library; but in one instance the nation claims a voice in the matter. It -is hardly necessary to say that we refer to the Catalogue of the British -Museum, the theme of forty years' controversy. Every one will admit the -intrinsic superiority of a catalogue in print over a catalogue in MS. -The question is, whether the advantage may not be bought too dear. To -form a sound opinion on this point it is necessary to have an -approximate estimate of the extent of the Museum Catalogue, and of the -expenditure and the time involved in the undertaking to print it. Some -statistics may accordingly be useful. The printed volume of the -catalogue containing letter A, published in 1841, has about 20,000 -entries. It forms about a twentieth part of the catalogue as it now -exists, which would accordingly comprise about 2,000,000 entries, in -about 100 folio volumes. In addition, however, to these titles now -existing in the catalogue, there are about 200,000 titles and -cross-references awaiting final revision, and which, unless the present -state of this revision is very considerably accelerated, will not be -ready for several years. During all this period, titles for new -acquisitions will keep pouring in at the rate of 40,000 per annum. All -the time that the catalogue is at press, somewhere between a decade and -a generation, they will continue to pour in, and will have to be -included as far as possible. We must consequently expect to have to deal -with from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 titles, occupying from 150 to 200 -volumes folio. It is clear that no private individual could afford -either to purchase or to store such a catalogue. It would, therefore, -only be useful to such institutions as might buy it or receive it as a -gift. Unlike the newspapers we have mentioned, its usefulness would -diminish in the ratio of its antiquity, and it could only be kept up to -the mark by a succession of supplements. The total cost of providing it, -minus these supplements, may be roughly estimated at £100,000. We -scarcely think that Government will incur such an expenditure for such a -purpose. - -We should ourselves have little hesitation in pronouncing it undesirable -to print the Museum Catalogue as it stands, merely for the convenience -of the public. It is quite another question whether a recourse to print -may not be desirable in the interests of the Museum itself, and from -this point of view the answer must be widely different. It is desirable, -and will shortly become imperative. The reason is prosaic, but -unanswerable: the MS. catalogue cannot be much longer accommodated in -the Reading Room. Partly from necessity, partly from oversights, the -Museum Catalogue is most extravagant in the matter of space. To preserve -the alphabetical order of the entries, the titles are necessarily -movable, pasted, therefore, on each side of the catalogue leaf, thus -trebling the thickness of the latter. It is equally indispensable that -wide spaces should be left between the entries when a volume is first -laid down, and that when these become insufficient from the number of -additions, as is continually happening, the over-charged volume should -be divided into three or four. These inconveniences are unavoidable. It -can only be regretted that part of the available space of every slip is -lost in transcription; that scarcely a single transcriber appears to -have studied the art of packing; and that the catalogue is over-run with -practically duplicate entries of slightly differing editions, -transcribed at full length while they might have been expressed in a -single line. From all these causes the Museum Catalogue is rapidly -becoming unmanageable, and the time is approaching when the Reading Room -will contain it no longer. Something might no doubt be done to postpone -the evil day by excluding the map and music catalogues from the room; -but apart from its inconvenience, such a measure is obviously a mere -temporary palliative and ultimate aggravation of a difficulty which -acquires strength not _eundo_, but by standing still. The bulk of the -catalogue must be reduced, and we are not aware that any method has been -suggested, or exists, except a recourse to print. It is unfortunate that -this purely administrative measure, founded on no preference for print -over manuscript as such, but the simple dictate of an economic -necessity, should be so constantly confounded with the totally different -proposition to print and publish the catalogue like any other book, on -the expense and inutility of which we have already commented. -Publication is not in question: it is simply for the authorities to -consider whether the bulk of the MS. catalogue will not some day shut -out the public from access to it; and if this is found to be the case to -lose no time in averting the evil. We do not believe that the present -Principal Librarian, or his predecessor, entertains any doubt upon the -subject; the ultimate decision, however, rests neither with the -Principal Librarian nor the Trustees, but with the Treasury. From the -Treasury's point of view, it is to be observed that the present system -is financially justifiable only on condition of its being persisted in -to the end of time. If a resort to print will one day be compulsory, -existing arrangements are the climax of inconsiderate wastefulness. That -transcribing is cheaper than printing may be admitted, though it has -hardly been demonstrated. But to print is manifestly cheaper than to -print and transcribe also. Yet this is just what the Museum is doing if -the catalogue is ever to be printed at all. There are about 250,000 -titles for the new catalogue still remaining to be transcribed. To -transcribe these at the present rate of progression would occupy about -fifteen years, but let us say ten. During this period titles for new -acquisitions would be coming in at the rate of 40,000 a year. These -would also be transcribed. The total number of transcripts would thus be -650,000. 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 print, and rendered -absolutely useless. After paying, let us say, threepence a slip to do -its work, the nation is to pay fourpence a slip more to undo it, and is -to be charged altogether twice as much as it need have been if it had -known what it wanted from the first. It is, indeed, 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 manuscript. If MS., let -the idea of print be authoritatively discountenanced; but if print, let -the ruinous system be abandoned of paying highly for work performed only -to be undone. - -The solution of these perplexities will be found, we think, in a strict -adherence to the principle that administrative arrangements must -primarily have respect to the advantage of the institution, which will -in the long run prove to be the advantage of the public. The Museum is -not bound to undertake the publication of an enormous printed catalogue -merely for the convenience of persons at a distance; but it will -introduce print in so far as print tends to economise its own funds, and -to obviate confusion and encumbrance in its own rooms. The two vital -points are to stop the waste incurred by transcribing what must -ultimately be printed, and to put an effectual check upon the portentous -growth of the catalogue. The first object may be attained by simply -resorting to print for the future, and pasting the printed slips into -the catalogue as the MS. slips are pasted now. The second can best be -accomplished by tolerating the mixture of printed and MS. slips in each -volume of the catalogue, until the volume has arrived from constant -accessions at such a bulk as to require breaking up, then printing the -MS. entries in that volume, and profiting by the economy in space of -print over MS. to rearrange the contents in double columns, which would -afford room for additions for an indefinite period. In this manner the -cost of printing would be spread over a long series of years, 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 -silk. Any requisite number of printed slips might be produced, and -offered by subscription to public institutions and private individuals. -The former might thus in process of time acquire the whole catalogue -without any violent strain upon their resources; the latter might -procure what they wanted without being compelled to take what they did -not want. It would at the same time be beneficial to the Museum and to -literature, 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 catalogue. Such articles as Bible, Shakespeare, -Luther, Homer, embracing nearly complete bibliographies of the -respective subjects, would probably command a fair sale, and effect -something towards diminishing the inevitable cost of print. - -The formation of a subject index to the Alphabetical Catalogue is a -matter of much less urgency to the Museum itself, but one of even -greater importance to the public. It could not be undertaken without -special assistance from the State, but would probably repay its cost in -a great degree, and has in any event the very strongest claims upon the -support of an enlightened government. It is moreover much less -formidable than appears at first sight. 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 shelves. The apparent -magnitude of the task is further diminished by the following -considerations: 1. It requires no cross-references. 2. Titles may be -abbreviated to the utmost. 3. It can be temporarily suspended upon the -completion of any section. 4. The section of biography is classified -already, merely requiring the cross-references from the subjects of -biographies to be brought together; and several other extensive sections -need not be classified at all. Nobody, at least nobody worth taking into -account, wants catalogues of the titles of novels, plays, and sermons. -Classified lists of some other subjects, on the other hand, would be of -inestimable value, and there is one which, in the interests of the -Museum itself, should be undertaken without delay. 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 -library. Naturalists cannot study without books any more than without -specimens; but the Government which gratuitously created the want seems -in no hurry to supply it. The principle of a grant appears indeed to be -admitted; but at the rate at which this grant seems likely to be doled -out, English Natural Science will be placed at a serious disadvantage -for many years. Something may possibly be done by transferring -duplicates from Bloomsbury (a question, however, not to be decided in -haste), and some anonymous writers in scientific journals have modestly -suggested that all books on Natural History might go to Kensington; so -that a student of the physiology of colour, for example, would have to -read his Wallace at one end of the town and his Tyndall at the other. -We should, however, just as soon expect Parliament to decree on similar -grounds the cutting of the zoological articles out of the encyclopædias -as to enact that the national library of England should be the only -professedly imperfect library in the world. Indeed the argument cuts two -ways, for if it is fair that the mineral department should have -Cresconius Corippus to illustrate its gems, it must be equally fair that -the library should have the mineralogist's gems to illustrate its -Cresconius Corippus. Until then, the Natural History departments can -acquire a library of their own, it must be desirable for them to possess -a catalogue of everything relating to their subjects extant in the -British Museum. An abridged list, classified according to subject, might -be speedily furnished if Government would provide the compilers, and -would be an invaluable boon to the scientific world at large, abroad -quite as much as in England. Scientific authorities, of course, would be -consulted respecting the principles of classification, and we may take -this opportunity of repeating that while probably no subject-index has -been or can be free from inconsistency and ambiguity, none has ever been -too bad to be useful. That a high degree of excellence is attainable is -shown by Messrs. Low & Marston's alphabet of subjects to the London -Catalogue. The meritorious compiler, we should suppose, can hardly have -seen all the books he indexes; yet, so far as we are aware, he has only -committed one positive error, the very pardonable one of enumerating -Mr. Gosse's "On Viol and Flute" among works on musical instruments. - -In connection with the subject of classification, reference should be -made to the excellent classified catalogue of manuscripts prepared by -the present Principal Librarian when keeper of the MS. department. It is -not yet printed or entirely complete, but is sufficiently advanced to be -exceedingly serviceable. Like most of Mr. Bond's reforms, it has been -achieved so quietly and unostentatiously, with no help from paragraphic -puffery, that few know of it except those whom it actually concerns. The -scholar goes to the Museum with no expectation of finding any such aid -to his pursuits, and hardly realises the boon until he finds himself -profiting by it. 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 1641, -or just the period when books were beginning to be useful. The project -bespeaks a very imperfect appreciation of the needs of the institution -and the public. When the great problem of the Museum is to diminish the -pressure on its space, it is proposed to afflict it with yet another -catalogue. When the public is crying out for classified lists as aids to -knowledge, it is offered an alphabetical list with no attempt at -classification, and containing nothing worth classifying. When libraries -are becoming more and more valuable in proportion as they subserve -educational purposes, it is proposed to employ money and labour in -telling a few specialists what they already know. When the overworked -library is unable to discharge some of its most obvious duties, it is -proposed to detach not a little of its best strength for an utter -superfluity. Not only are new books to remain uncatalogued, but even the -final revision of the old books is to be delayed indefinitely, that what -has been already catalogued may be catalogued again.[59:1] The project -would hardly demand discussion, but for the possibility that it may -after all be forced upon the Museum, notwithstanding its repugnance to -the common-sense of the late and the present Principal Librarian. If -ridicule could kill, it could hardly have survived the discussion which -arose among its advocates at the late Oxford Conference. Those external -to the Museum suggested that the Museum should catalogue not only the -old English books it possessed, but also those it did not possess. The -Museum representatives, enamoured with the project as they were, pleaded -that it would be unreasonable to expect them to describe what they had -never seen. The other side concurred, but represented in turn that a -catalogue of such English books only as happened to be in a particular -library would be very imperfect, and of very little use. Having thus -mutually demonstrated the unreasonableness of the proposal from one -point of view, and its inutility from another, they agreed that it -should by all means be persevered with, and went home. - -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 Journal_, Mr. Melvil -Dewey. Mr. Dewey—a remarkable instance of the combination of -disinterested enthusiasm with thorough business capacity—is devoted to -several other causes beside the causes of libraries, and among these is -the cause of the decimal system. His experience in the latter field has -given him the idea of dividing the departments of human knowledge -decimally. His scheme provides for a thousand divisions. Every tenth -number embraces some important section of knowledge, and the following -nine as many subjections or allied subjects admitting of classification -under the principal head. Thus number 500 might represent mathematics in -general, and 501 conic sections, analytical geometry, or any other -branch of the general subject. Further subdivisions, if needed, would be -made by appending letters to these numerals, as 501_a_, 501_b_. Each -book would be numbered in the order of its accession to the library, and -receive its place upon the shelves accordingly, so that there never -would be any doubt as to the press-mark or position of a book that had -once been properly classed. Our space does not permit us to dwell upon -many other points connected with the working of this ingenious scheme, -which, if inapplicable to the great old libraries whose catalogues, like -the Abbé Vertot's siege, are already done, deserves the most careful -consideration on the part of the founders of new institutions. It must, -as the inventor admits, receive some modification in practice from the -impossibility of accommodating books of all sizes upon the same shelf; -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 altogether. Space is the librarian's capital enemy, and the more -cruel as it turns his own weapons against himself. The more ample the -catalogue, the more liberal the expenditure, the more comprehensive the -classification, the greater, sooner or later, are the difficulties from -lack of space. It is not too early to direct the earnest attention of -the public to the question of the accommodation of the national library. -The pressure upon its capacity, now merely beginning to be felt, will -soon become serious. It cannot from the nature of the case be divided or -dispersed; books required by readers must be within reach of the Reading -Room, or they might as well be nowhere. If the library does not receive -its fair share of the space about to be vacated by the Natural History -departments, the consequence will most assuredly be, first some years of -confusion and deadlock as regards all new acquisitions, and then a large -expenditure, superfluous with better management, upon new buildings, -whose space will be mortgaged before they are completed. It does not -seem to us very difficult to devise means for economising the existing -space to the utmost, and reconciling the interests of all the -departments concerned—but we must not be seduced into a disquisition -upon architecture.[62:1] - -Free libraries and public reading-rooms are among the most important -departments of library administration in our day, and constitute the -most distinct expression of the growing conviction that the librarian is -called upon to be a great popular educator. This sentiment has attained -its fullest development in the United States, where the great free -libraries have taken a most important place among national institutions. -Not merely are such cities as Chicago and Cincinnati provided with -libraries of which any city might be proud, but the custodians have in -many instances gone beyond the strict limits of professional duty by not -merely furnishing reading for the people, but instructing the people -what to read. "They have tried," says Mr. Axon in the paper cited -already, "and with no small measure of success, to lead readers to -higher levels of intellectual interest, and to help all students to the -fullest acquaintance with the capabilities of the library." There are no -more remarkable examples of popular bibliography than the various -catalogues and helps published by the Boston Public Library. These -sheets, prepared by Mr. Justin Winsor, have been continued at Harvard -since the indefatigable editor's removal thither as professor of -bibliography. They include lists of the most important books in all -departments of literature, with a selection of the notices of the press -best adapted to explain their purport. Special bibliographies of great -value are frequently interspersed, and when it is considered that the -whole is rather a labour of love than of duty on Professor Winsor's -part, his diligence and acumen will appear not more worthy of praise -than his disinterested zeal. It might be well for the directors of -English free libraries to consider whether something similar could not -be produced by co-operation. The list of scientific books recommended to -students at the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, is most useful and creditable -as far as it goes. Generally speaking, the condition of free public -libraries in England may be considered satisfactory; among the directors -are many men not merely of administrative quality, but of high -bibliographical attainments. The principal obstacles to their usefulness -may be briefly characterised as the popular and municipal parsimony. Of -the former we have spoken; the latter requires to be dealt with -tenderly, and is not equally applicable to every locality; it is -nevertheless the fact that in many towns the allotted grant is -insufficient to maintain the library and librarian together. Nowhere is -the cause of free libraries so backward as in London, although the -Guildhall library is an honour to the city. The other metropolitan -districts, notwithstanding, continue deaf to Mr. Nicholson's earnest -expostulations; and although the number of readers at the British Museum -is as large as that institution can well deal with, 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 community. The suggested opening at night -by the aid of the electric light would almost certainly attract a new -and valuable class of students, at present virtually excluded. It would -be premature to say much about the recent experiments with the electric -lamp; but we believe it may be stated that they have been highly -encouraging as far as they have gone, and that the question is safe in -the hands of Mr. Bond, to whom the public are already indebted for so -many signal improvements.[64:1] Should the experiments result in perfect -success, it is to be hoped that their object will not be frustrated by -the propensity of all governments to save where they ought to spend, -that they may spend where they ought to save. 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 causas_. - -We have left ourselves no space for any observations upon the -circumstances of libraries on the Continent, although there is ample -evidence both of the activity of librarians and the public recognition -of their functions in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Nor can we -remark at length, as we gladly should have done, upon the tendency of -the peculiar circumstances of the United States to develop a most -valuable type of librarian, destined to exert more and more influence in -Europe as libraries become more and more the possession of the people at -large. Every advance in general knowledge tends to make them so, 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 reference; that this important function devolves to a considerable -extent upon them; and that, to qualify themselves for its discharge, -they must begin by perfecting their own systems. - - NOTE.—The advocacy of printing in this essay may appear - somewhat undecided, and the tone towards the catalogue of the - early English books altogether unjustifiable. The former - peculiarity is explained by the writer's uncertainty what turn - the negotiations with the Treasury for the introduction of - printing might take, and his dread of compromising the plans - of Sir Edward Bond, who knew nothing of the article until it - was in type, when he read it, and returned it without remark. - (See also pp. 75, 76, of this volume.) The observations - respecting the early English catalogue were dictated by no - hostility towards that undertaking in the abstract, but by - indignation at the largeness of the staff employed upon a - non-essential, while the final revision of the catalogue, the - indispensable preliminary to a complete printed catalogue, was - so languidly prosecuted that it seemed in danger of coming to - a standstill. So matters continued until 1882, when the - decided interference of the Principal Librarian, and the - adoption of a suggestion tendered by the present writer, - brought the final revision to a speedy completion, and removed - the principal objection to the English catalogue. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[32:1] _New Quarterly Review_, April 1879. - -[43:1] A revised edition of these rules, substantially the same in -principle, but different in wording and arrangement, was prepared in -the Department of Printed Books in 1895, and printed privately in the -following year. - -[59:1] The line was drawn here to eliminate the Thomason tracts, -a special catalogue of which would be really valuable: just as in -"Erewhon," the date of operation of the retrospective enactment -prohibiting machinery was fixed in the middle of the fifteenth century, -in order to include a certain mangle. - -[62:1] Within a few years the difficulty was solved by the introduction -of the sliding-press, the subject of another paper in this volume. - -[64:1] It is almost needless to remark that soon after these lines were -printed the electric light was in successful operation at the Reading -Room. - - - - -THE PRINTING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE[67:1] - - -The subject of my paper is one which has for many years attracted a -large share of attention from the world of letters. It formed a topic of -discussion at the first meeting of this Association; 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 -progress, but that the titles of all books received were also printed, -and issued in the form of an Accession Catalogue. Having already had the -honour of giving some account of the latter department of the -undertaking to the Conference at Manchester, I shall on the present -occasion confine myself principally to the printed catalogue of books -actually in the Library. 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 extended; to indicate with -corresponding brevity what is doing now; to answer some natural -inquiries by anticipation; and, finally, having shown, I trust, that the -Museum is performing its part, to appeal for the national support -requisite to expedite the progress of this truly national undertaking. -Though compelled to withhold much illustrative matter of great interest, -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 -Cambridge, whose library has, I believe, the honour of being the first -to demonstrate the practicability, not merely of printing a catalogue, -but of keeping a catalogue up in print. Three particulars will, I think, -clearly appear from this brief retrospect. That the initiation of the -British Museum Catalogue was the act of the Trustees of the British -Museum themselves. That, having prematurely commenced the publication of -an imperfect catalogue, they acted wisely and rightly in suspending it -until it could be resumed with effect. That, acting under the guidance -of Mr. Bond, whose name will ever be the name especially connected with -the Museum Catalogue in its aspect of a catalogue in print, they have -resumed it at the right time, and in the right manner. - -I am unable to ascertain that any public demand for a printed catalogue -of the Museum Library existed in the year 1834. On April 12 of that -year, the Trustees of their own motion called upon Mr. Baber, then -keeper of printed books, to report upon the subject. This he did on -April 26. On April 30 he attended personally before them, stated his -views, and in particular offered the earnest advice to send no portion -of the catalogue to press until the whole was ready. During the -remainder of his keepership, and the early portion of that of his -successor Mr. Panizzi, the catalogue was the theme of constant -communication between these officers and the Trustees. On December 17, -1838, the Trustees announced their determination to commence not merely -the compilation but the printing of a catalogue, comprising all books -then in the Library, in the following year. Mr. Panizzi, though entirely -concurring with Mr. Baber's views as to the inexpediency of going thus -prematurely to press, accepted the responsibility imposed upon him by a -letter dated the next day. In the spring of 1839 the famous ninety-one -rules of cataloguing were framed by him, with the assistance of Messrs. -Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. On July 13 these rules were -sanctioned by the Trustees, and on August 8 the commencement of the -undertaking was formally announced by Mr. Panizzi, in a circular -addressed to the whole department. In July 1841, the first, and last, -volume of the catalogue was issued to the public. It was an admirable -catalogue, reflecting high credit upon all who had taken part in it, -especially Mr. Winter Jones, who had exercised a general -superintendence, Mr. Bullen, who had prepared the extensive and -difficult article Aristotle, and Mr. Rye, who had read the whole in -proof. But, although the catalogue continued to be actively prosecuted -in manuscript, the Trustees ceased to urge the continuance of the -printing, and not another sheet ever went to press. - -Whence this abortive result? Mainly because the entire undertaking was -premature. The unfortunate determination to print letter A before the -whole catalogue was ready, excluded a considerable portion of letter A -itself. As other letters were proceeded with, 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 A, according to the new rules. Cross-references under A -were continually springing up, of course too late to be printed. In -fact, however, the publication of a printed catalogue at that time was -inexpedient for a more weighty reason. The Library was too deficient in -most branches of literature to deserve one; and it was not until these -deficiencies had been remedied by the unexampled exertions of Mr. -Panizzi, that an exact register of its contents could be contemplated -with satisfaction. - -While discussion respecting the printing of the Museum Catalogue was -proceeding, the character of the catalogue itself was undergoing -modification. Great additions were daily being made to the number of -books. 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 Mr. Baber. Two alphabetical -series of titles, one printed and the other manuscript, were thus -comprised within the same volumes. The amalgamation of these two sets of -titles, and the consequent absorption of the catalogue commenced in 1839 -into a more extensive general catalogue, was effected by the ingenious -and admirable suggestion, made independently in 1849 by Mr. Wilson -Croker and Mr. Roy, of the Library, that the entries, instead of being -written upon the leaf itself, should be written upon movable slips -pasted upon it, so that insertions might be made without any disturbance -of alphabetical order. The suggestion was promptly adopted, transcribers -were engaged to copy the great mass of accumulated titles, and, all -thoughts of printing the catalogue commenced in 1839 being laid aside -for the present, the titles prepared for it were also transcribed and -incorporated with those written for the books newly acquired. In 1851 -this new catalogue, transcribed fourfold by the "carbonic" process, and -with copious space provided for insertions and interleavings, was placed -in the Reading Room in 150 volumes, or about as many as are now occupied -by letter B alone. The catalogue of 1839 and the supplementary catalogue -were thus put into a fair way to become one, and it became obvious that -printing must be deferred until the amalgamation was complete. It was -still, however, a fair question whether the catalogue might not be kept -up in print; whether it was better to transcribe titles fourfold as we -did then, or to multiply them indefinitely by print as we do now. I -cannot find that the practicability of keeping up a continually -augmenting catalogue in print was seriously considered, until, in -October 1861, it was proved by the introduction of print into the -University Library of Cambridge. Some years afterwards the system was -strongly pressed upon the attention of the Museum by the Treasury, -which had remarked the gradual and inevitable increase of expenditure in -binding, breaking up, interleaving and relaying the volumes of the -manuscript catalogue, increased by this time from 150 to 1500. I well -remember the pains which Mr. Rye, then keeper of the printed books, took -in investigating the subject, and I believe I may say that had it -depended upon him, the transition to print would have been effected -immediately. Other views, however, prevailed for the time; and when, in -October 1875, the subject was again brought forward by the Treasury, it -fell to my lot to treat it from a new point of view, suggested by my -observations in my capacity as superintendent of the Reading Room. I saw -that, waiving the question as to the advantage or disadvantage of print -in the abstract, it would soon be necessary to resort to it for the sake -of economy of space. There were by this time 2000 volumes of manuscript -catalogue in the Reading Room, exclusive of the catalogues of maps and -music. There would be 3000 by the time that the incorporation of the -general and supplementary catalogues was complete. Hundreds of these -volumes in the earlier letters of the alphabet were already swollen with -entries, and required to be broken up and divided into three. Sooner or -later every volume would have undergone this process. By that time there -would be 9000 volumes of manuscript catalogue, three times as many as -the Reading Room could contain, or the public conveniently consult. The -only remedy was to put a check upon the growth of the catalogue by -printing all new entries for the future, and to mature meanwhile a plan -for converting the entire catalogue into a printed one. I prepared, at -the request of Mr. Bullen, a memorandum embodying these ideas, and -entered into the subject more fully when, in January 1878, it was again -brought forward by the Treasury. These views, however, did not find -acceptance at the time. Mr. Winter Jones, and Mr. Newton, acting on the -latter occasion as deputy Principal Librarian, were, indeed, both -theoretically in favour of print; but it was thought that the desired -financial economy, the only point on which the Treasury laid any stress, -could be better obtained by the employment of Civil Service writers. The -question was thus left for Mr. Bond, who became Principal Librarian in -the following August. As keeper of the manuscripts, Mr. Bond's attention -had never been officially drawn to the catalogue of printed books, but, -as a man of letters, he had formed an opinion respecting it; 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 public, as to -effect the other great reforms that have signalised his administration. -From the moment of his accession the question may be said to have been -virtually decided. In April 1879, I published an article in the _New -Quarterly Magazine_, foreshadowing almost everything that has since been -accomplished. In the summer of the same year, Mr. Bond, having secured -the concurrence of the Trustees, proposed to the Treasury to substitute -print for transcription in the case of all additions henceforth made to -the catalogue, a proposal which the Treasury could not refuse to -entertain, as it had originally come from itself. It was accordingly -accepted; the details of the scheme were settled by Mr. Bond in concert -with Mr. Bullen and the assistant keepers; the general supervision of -the printing was entrusted to my colleague Professor Douglas; and by the -beginning of the new year the press was fully at work. We had thus -successfully introduced print into the catalogue, and by diminishing the -size of the entries checked the enormous pressure upon our space which -threatened to swamp the catalogue altogether. We had also, by providing -for the issue of the new printed titles in parts at regular intervals, -enabled any subscriber to obtain a complete list of future additions to -the Museum. But this related to the future only; nothing had yet been -done to meet the public demand for a printed catalogue of all books -already in the Library. The satisfaction of this demand was the second -item in Mr. Bond's programme. In recommending his proposal to the -Treasury, he relied upon the same grounds that had been shown to exist -in the case of the Accession Catalogue. He pointed out the enormous -number of manuscript volumes, the ponderous unwieldiness of many among -them, the expense of perpetual breaking up, rebinding, and relaying; the -manifest advantage of compressing many volumes into one, and providing -space for additions for a practically indefinite period. On these -grounds, and not on literary grounds, the Treasury assented to the -proposal, and agreed to devote, for as long as they should see fit, a -certain annual sum for the gradual conversion of the manuscript into a -printed catalogue. It is desirable that this should be thoroughly -understood, as it affords the answer to some questions which may very -naturally be asked respecting the method of publication adopted for the -catalogue. Why is it not brought out at once, complete from A to Z? -Because the Treasury have not granted £100,000 for the purpose. They -simply make an annual allowance of limited amount, liable to be -withdrawn at any time. Might not, however, the allotted sum be employed -as far as it will go in printing the catalogue consecutively from the -beginning, instead of in selected portions? To this there are several -things to be said. The grant is made upon condition that it shall before -all things be employed in remedying the defects signalised by ourselves, -bringing cumbrous, overgrown volumes into a handy form, and putting a -stop to the perpetual rebinding and relaying. The most bulky volumes, -therefore, must in general be those selected for printing. An equally -powerful consideration is that we thus escape all danger of the reproach -that has hitherto attached to almost every similar undertaking, "This -man began, and was not able to finish." The funds on which we relied -might at any time fail us, and we might never progress beyond our A, B, -C. By making the printing a portion of the daily life of the -institution, a piece of administrative routine like cataloguing or -binding, we escape alike ambitious professions and ambitious failures. -Once more, a strictly alphabetical procedure would destroy one of the -most valuable features of the scheme, the separate issue of important -special articles, not merely to our limited body of subscribers, but -offered on a large scale to the public generally. We have already the -article Virgil in the press on this principle, and it is hoped that -Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, Dante, Academies, Periodicals, and -others, may ere long be added to the list. Even our ordinary volumes -frequently contain articles better printed now than twenty years hence: -one of the last completed, for instance, contains the article Gladstone. -It would indeed be well if our resources admitted of these three -operations being carried on simultaneously, the consecutive publication -of the catalogue, the compression of overgrown volumes wherever -occurring, the independent issue of important special articles. With -sufficient means to defray the additional cost of printing and provide -the needful literary revision, all three might very well go on _pari -passu_. I hope that the liberality of the Treasury, of which I desire to -speak with every acknowledgment, will rise still nearer to the height of -the occasion, and I believe it will. It will be seen that, granting the -principle of the conversion of the manuscript catalogue into a printed -one, there is no economy, but the reverse, in spreading the operation -over a long period. The longer it lasts, the greater will be the -accumulation of titles for accessions, to be included in the general -catalogue when the volumes to which they belong come to be printed in -their turn. Supposing that the whole catalogue could be put into type -to-morrow by the stroke of an enchanter's wand, we should have printed -three millions of titles. If the metamorphosis were deferred for forty -years, we should then print five millions. But if the work of printing -goes on during the forty years, as at its present rate of progress it -will, we shall have printed and paid for six millions, because half of -the two million accession titles will have been printed and paid for -twice over, first as accession titles, and again after their -incorporation into the general. It is not, however, so much upon such -economical considerations that I rely, as upon the conviction that the -Government will ultimately recognise our work as a truly national one; -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 -accorded. Before entering further into this department of the subject, I -will briefly state what has been effected already, and describe the -method of procedure. Of the Accession Catalogue I have already spoken at -Manchester, and I have little to add to my observations upon that -occasion. The titles written for new acquisitions, instead of being -transcribed fourfold, are now sent to the printer as soon as a -sufficient number have accumulated. They are divided into three -principal sections; new English and foreign books; old English books; -old foreign books. They come back printed in regular alphabetical order, -and after the press has been corrected are distributed to subscribers -and such institutions as receive them gratuitously. Four copies are cut -up, and the titles inserted into the General Catalogue in their proper -places, occupying a mere fraction of the room required for the old -manuscript entries. The arrangements are under the superintendence of -Professor Douglas, and up to the present time about 130,000 entries have -passed under his inspection. The publication of the General printed -Catalogue proceeds as follows. Three or four volumes of the manuscript -catalogue having been selected to be combined in a volume of print, they -undergo in the first place a literary revision. Queries respecting -headings, authorship, and date are raised and settled, mistranscriptions -and wrong punctuation corrected, and the catalogue is weeded of its -practically duplicate entries by cutting these down to the mere phrase -"another edition; another copy," as the case may require. A second and -more troublesome revision then becomes necessary, for the order of the -entries frequently admits of great improvement. The titles having been -incorporated by a variety of persons, and the process of insertion -having now gone on for more than thirty years, many errors and -inconsistencies have inevitably crept in, and these require to be -rectified by an assistant of especial ability and experience in this -department of work, whose researches frequently originate a new set of -catalogue queries. At last, however, the copy goes to press, the proof -is promptly returned and corrected (we are content with a single -revise), and the three or four bulky volumes of manuscript are condensed -into a single handy and portable volume of type, printed in double -columns and on ordinary paper for subscribers, but for reading-room use -in single column on a strong vellum paper, adapted to bear rough -handling, the opposite column being left blank for insertions, and the -book supplied with guards to allow of interleaving. There have hitherto -been on the average 220 columns or 110 folios to a volume. On the -average of twenty entries to a column, which is rather under the mark, -this gives 4400 titles to each volume. The blank space left for -insertions and the provision for interleaving would allow of this number -of titles being quadrupled, but the weight of the paper prescribes a -limit which it would be inconvenient to transgress. Supposing that each -volume will take 9000 titles only, then, as the Reading Room will -accommodate 2000 volumes of catalogue without encroachment on the -reference library, sufficient space will have been provided for eighteen -millions of titles, or for three centuries' accumulations at the present -annual rate of increase. A year or two ago we were at an utter loss how -to accommodate less than three million titles. Several volumes are now -(September 1882) in hand in various stages of progress. The number fully -completed and placed in the Reading Room is twenty-two, which comprise -the contents of about 70 manuscript volumes, including, with many -others, all in letter A after the article Aristotle to the end. They -have cost, in round figures, £2450, or about £110 each. Arrangements -lately completed will diminish this cost by nearly a sixth, and the sum -economised will be available for additional printing. It ought to be -stated that all the extra work entailed by printing has been performed -by the ordinary Museum staff, with no addition to its resources, except -an arrangement by which two gentlemen work two or three hours' overtime. - -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 enlarged. We may one day see the whole of the printing -of the Museum a special department, like the Clarendon or Cambridge -University press, with a head and a staff of its own, and carrying on -operations by the side of which those I have been describing will appear -diminutive. At present the Museum force and the Museum grant are nicely -adapted to each other. With a stronger staff we could easily spend much -more money, with a weaker staff we could not spend what we do. Every -effort is of course made to expend the full amount within the year, not -only that it may not return unused into the Exchequer, but, from -consideration to the just claims of our printers, who have engaged a -number of extra hands whom they cannot afford to keep idle. Hence, as I -have stated, we are content with a single revise, and deliberately -prefer systematic energy to minute accuracy. Misprints and other -oversights will, no doubt, be detected, which a more deliberate -procedure would have obviated. I do not desire to have the air of -apologising for a catalogue which, even if tried by a severe standard, -will, I am persuaded, be pronounced a creditable work; but I wish it to -be understood that these blemishes, as well as some defects of -arrangement manifested in long sets of cross-references, are not unknown -or overlooked. They will diminish as the work proceeds; confident, -meanwhile, of a generous construction, 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—arrear. -Other shortcomings are necessitated by the fact that the Museum Library -is not an inert mass, but a living organism. You have not to deal with a -closed collection of books like the King's Library, whose authors are -dead, and to which no addition can ever be made. The very titles before -you have been prepared during the last forty years by twice forty -persons of various idiosyncrasies, whose work, with every care, it is -often no easy matter to harmonise. While the product of their -heterogeneous authorship is at press, the Accession Catalogue is in -progress under independent management; thousands of titles are annually -written and entered which will one day have to be amalgamated with the -general series, and discrepancies must sometimes occur. Moreover, the -catalogue of the world's literature partakes of the mobility of the -world itself. Designations are altered, as when successful generals -become barons, or popular churchmen bishops; anonymous authors are -brought to light; periodicals and works in progress are completed or -relinquished; errors are detected and corrected; improvements and -modifications are introduced. The catalogue of an institution like the -British Museum, dealing with a mass of matter already accumulated, and -intended to register an ever-accumulating mass of matter for ever and -ever, must not aspire to absolute perfection, and can never attain -finality. - -A few words, in conclusion, upon the duty and interest of the public to -support the Museum undertakings, and the practical end at which, as it -seems to me, we ought to aim. The catalogue cannot, at the present rate -of progress, be completely printed in much less than forty years. We -shall all agree that this progress ought to be accelerated, but this can -only be by increased liberality from the Treasury. This will be accorded -in proportion to the Treasury's conviction of the value of our work, and -this conviction will greatly depend upon the appreciation of this -usefulness manifested by the public. If we are to do a national work, we -must have national recognition. I am not at all using the language of -complaint or disappointment. It would be well worth the Museum's while -to print the catalogue for its own sake, even if it did not dispose of a -single copy; and in fact the number of subscriptions is very much what -was expected. I wish, however, that we could succeed in this, as in some -other things, beyond expectation. Something is probably to be ascribed -to the peculiarly quiet manner in which this great change was effected. -Mr. Bond's reforms "come not with observation." A question which had -been so long and clamorously agitated while unripe was, being ripe, -settled in a few conversations, and with a little official -correspondence, so noiselessly and unostentatiously, that many of those -most interested in the matter have never heard of it. Many who have -heard of it are probably under the impression that the original high -terms of subscription have been maintained. This is not so. All the -sections of the Accession Catalogue are now issued for an annual -subscription of £3; and all volumes of the General Catalogue for an -annual subscription of £3, 10s. This does not bring it within the reach -of every purse: 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 world. Our late lamented -friend and colleague, Professor Jevons, was a type of the class I have -in my mind; and I know that on the eve of his death he had determined to -become a subscriber. 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 Catalogue. At -present a Universal Catalogue is a Utopian Catalogue. I have the -greatest respect for those who have advocated it as an undertaking -immediately practicable. I have no doubt that the twentieth century will -speak of them as men before their age. But they _are_ before it. Their -project is at present intricate, indefinite, intangible. They want a -base of operations. As Sir Henry Cole himself discerned when he made his -not altogether fortunate experiment of printing a specimen article from -the Museum Catalogue, this catalogue supplies such a base. Let us know -clearly what is in it and what is not; let whatever it contains be put -clearly before the world in type; and we shall be able to proceed -systematically and intelligently to fill up its lacunæ from the -catalogues of other libraries, and from the special bibliographies which -are increasing and multiplying year by year. In saying "then" I would -not foreshadow a date which many of this generation may not hope to see. -My aspiration is that the completion of the Museum Catalogue in print -may coincide with the completion of the present century. This is an age -of anniversary demonstrations. When a great man dies he bequeaths to his -country—his centenary. 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 together. Well, 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 centuries. -Such a register the British Museum Catalogue, if then completed, would -afford; and a precedent would be set for a similar issue every -succeeding century, or half or quarter century, as might be found most -expedient, which would show at one view what that particular interval of -time had effected for mankind in literature. Evidently, however, the -catalogue cannot at the close of this century be absolutely complete as -respects the Museum, as a host of accession titles will have been -growing up, a great part of which, coming after the volume which would -otherwise have included them has been printed, will be too late to be -comprised in the general alphabetical series. It may not, perhaps, 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 titles, that the -literary register may be as complete as possible, and to provide for the -regular repetition of the process at definite intervals. If, however, -this is not done, there is still another agent that may be invoked. When -the Museum shall have adopted Photography as it has adopted Electricity; -when it shall possess—and I trust that long ere that period it will -possess—a photographic department, an established branch of its -organisation in which, the salaries of the staff being defrayed as in -other departments by the State, there will be no expense to be -considered beyond the mere cost of chemicals, there need be no limit to -the reproduction of its treasures. Sculptures, coins, and prints can be -disseminated over every hamlet; manuscripts can be multiplied -indefinitely and exchanged with foreign libraries for corresponding -donations, illustrative of English history and antiquities; foreign and -country scholars will be able to consult rare books and unique -manuscripts without leaving their arm-chairs; and, above all, the -scattered portions of the nearest approach the world will have made to a -Universal Catalogue may be brought together, digested into alphabetical -order, and, reproduced in facsimile by this beautiful art—fit mate of -Printing in that she too preserves what would else perish, and brings -light into many a dark place—be given to the world.[86:1] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[67:1] Read before the Library Association, Cambridge, Sept. 1882. - -[86:1] This forecast of the service which photography might render to -library catalogues would seem to have been inspired by the very spirit -of prophecy. See, in the _American Library Journal_ for March 1899, -an account by A. J. Rudolph of the success of the Newberry Library, -Chicago, "in printing a catalogue of the accessions accumulated in -the British Museum since 1880 to date, in one general alphabet by the -so-called blue-print process, a method of photo-printing." If the -Newberry Library can do this, the British Museum ought to be able -to incorporate its accession-titles with the general catalogue, and -reissue the latter from time to time, as frequently recommended in -this volume, and in a remarkable article in the _Quarterly Review_ for -October 1898. - - - - -THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE[87:1] - - -The present and the future of the British Museum Catalogue are so much -more important than its past, that this part of our subject must be -touched with brevity. Resisting, therefore, every temptation to -expatiate upon the desert of ancient cataloguers, further than by the -observation that Moses and Homer were of the brotherhood, we begin with -June 21, 1759, when the Trustees of the British Museum, which -institution had been opened to the public in the preceding January, -recorded the following remarkable minute:— - -"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 severity, as the two vacant hours (if -it is not thought a burden upon the officers) might very usefully be -employed by them in better ranging the several collections; especially -in the Department of Manuscripts, and preparing catalogues for -publication, which last the Committee think so necessary a work that -till it is performed the several collections can be but imperfectly -useful to the public." - -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 building; that the Committee rather expected to be censured for -requiring any other duty from them; and that, though the Trustees -themselves thought catalogues useful and even necessary, there were -those who deemed otherwise. The Museum Library dispensed with a printed -catalogue until 1787, when one was issued in two volumes folio, the work -of three persons, two-thirds of whose time was otherwise occupied. It -would therefore be unjust as well as unbecoming to criticise its many -defects with asperity. The compilers seem to have adopted as their -principle that the cataloguer who looks beyond the title-page is lost. -They therefore enter "The London Prodigal" and "Mucedorus" under -Shakespeare with no impertinent scepticism as to the authorship; -bewilder themselves with no nice distinctions between the William Bedloe -who wrote against Mahometanism in 1615, and the William Bedloe who swore -away the lives of Roman Catholics in 1680; and achieve their crowning -glory by cataloguing the thirty-three thousand Civil War tracts at a -stroke under "Anglia" as "a large collection of pamphlets." If they had -tried to do more they would probably have done nothing. Their list, -meagre in every sense, and at the present day less interesting for what -it contains than for what it does not contain, served for twenty years, -when a beginning was made towards superseding it by the more elaborate -performance of Sir Henry Ellis and Mr. Baber. This catalogue, commenced -in 1807, was completed in 1819. The portion executed by Sir Henry Ellis -has been severely criticised. It was certainly unfortunate that _pastor -paganus_ should have been treated as the equivalent of _sacerdos -ethnicus_, and Emanuel Prince of Peace mistaken for Emanuel King of -Portugal. Its virtue, however, of portable brevity, 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 trees, that those thus -beholden to it will be little inclined to deal hardly with its notorious -errors and deficiencies. - -Ellis and Baber's catalogue had scarcely been completed ere the need of -a new one began to be felt, partly on account of the magnificent -donation of the 60,000 volumes and 20,000 pamphlets of the King's -Library. Notions of classification were then in the ascendant, and in -1826 the Rev. T. Hartwell Horne, a bibliographer famed for strict method -and plodding industry, was engaged as a temporary assistant to carry -them out; together with Mr. (afterwards Sir Frederic) Madden, Mr. Tidd -Pratt, and other persons of literary ability. Seldom has an undertaking -so extensive left so little trace behind it. Mr. Horne's assistants -ascended to higher spheres, or evaporated entirely, and when called upon -in 1834 to report the progress of the previous year, he could only state -that he had personally arranged the classes of "chemical and medical -philosophy"; the latter, indeed, under twenty divisions, with such -subdivisions as "Treatises on Plethora," "Treatises on the Vis -Medicatrix Naturæ," "Use of Flagellation, Friction and Philtres." The -list may be commended to the study of those who think classification a -simple matter, or a classed catalogue serviceable otherwise than as an -index to an alphabetical one. Seven thousand pounds had been expended -upon the simple sorting of titles, a task merely preliminary to that of -printing them, which might be considered as at least nearly half done, -if only the influx of new titles could be stopped, which was impossible. -The Trustees wisely determined to throw no more good money after bad; -and the episode of classification came to an end in July 1834. Mr. -Baber, Keeper of Printed Books, had already proposed a plan for a new -printed catalogue, to be executed under the superintendence of a single -competent person, a description denoting Panizzi, then "an extra -assistant librarian." This scheme was set aside in favour of a far -inferior plan, by which the execution of the catalogue was entrusted to -four persons of very unequal degrees of capacity, virtually independent -of each other. The consequence was that the little they did required to -be done again. Panizzi became head of the Printed Book Department in -1837, 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 Messrs. Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. Their -number has afforded a theme for much good-natured and ill-natured -satire; on examination, however, it will be found that a third of them -relate merely to arrangement, and that the remainder are far from -providing for all conceivable cases. It may be granted that their -complexity was incompatible with the Trustees' desire to produce a -printed catalogue at an early date, a desire in which their officer was -far from participating. The Trustees defeated their own object, partly -by allowing the catalogue to be commenced on so extensive a scale; -partly by requiring, or rather letting themselves be thought to have -required, that it should be actually printed, instead of merely ready -for press, by December 1844. This decision necessitated printing in -alphabetical succession, hence diverting much of the force which should -have been applied to compiling the catalogue, to the correction of the -press. It further condemned the work to inevitable imperfection, since -it was impossible to foresee what titles would be required to be written -under A, and such titles, excluded from the printed volume embracing -that letter, kept continually turning up during the entire progress of -the work. As the imperfections of this volume (published in 1841) became -more notorious, the demand for a printed catalogue gradually died away, -and Panizzi was left in possession of his ideal—a manuscript catalogue, -executed with a thoroughness and on a scale which seemed to render -printing for ever impossible. This, as we shall see, was destined to -break down in its turn; and the great librarian's objections to print -have met with a practical refutation. At the same time it must be -candidly acknowledged that, although Panizzi was wrong in abstract -principle, he was right as regarded the requirements of his own day. The -collection of books was at the time too limited to justify a printed -catalogue, and not too extensive to render a manuscript catalogue -inconveniently unwieldy. Panizzi's opposition to print was justifiable -under the circumstances then existing; his error was in failing to -foresee and provide for the far different state of things which he -himself was calling into existence. If, while maintaining the old order, -he had recognised and promoted the inevitable advent of the new, he -would not have left the renown of the introduction of print to a young -officer of the Manuscript Department, who, during the heat of the strife -over the question of print in 1848, was, as Sir Frederic Madden informed -the Royal Commission, "employed in seeing through the press the general -index to the Manuscript catalogues in the Reading Room. And I must say -that Mr. Bond has proved a most efficient and most praiseworthy -assistant." - -Panizzi wanted a catalogue: he had framed the rules for it with -completeness and precision never imagined before his time, but he was -entirely averse to the catalogue being printed. In his report of -November 17, 1837, 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 requires, to suit the convenience of a small -portion of the community. There was much weight in the argument, 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 library, and by consequence to the catalogue. When, eight years -after the date of the report just quoted, Panizzi's persevering efforts -obtained an annual grant of £10,000 to remedy the deficiencies of the -library, he started the catalogue on a road whose inevitable goal was -print. Library and catalogue increasing _pari passu_, it became -abundantly clear that recourse must some day be had to print for the -mere sake of reducing the bulk of the latter. This consummation was -accelerated by another of Panizzi's great measures—the introduction, at -the independent and almost simultaneous suggestion of Mr. Wilson Croker -and the late Mr. Roy, of the Library, of the system of keeping up the -catalogue by slips pasted on the leaf, and therefore easily removable, -thus preventing the disturbance of alphabetical order. As this gave -three thicknesses to the leaf, and the slips were at first pasted widely -apart, and were not, moreover, transcribed with any special regard to -economy of space, the hundred and fifty volumes placed in the Reading -Room in 1850 had swollen to fifteen times that number by 1875. This -development was attended by another unforeseen consequence; it became -actually more expensive to transcribe the catalogue than to print it. -The number of transcribers employed to copy titles, of incorporators -required to assign these to their proper places, of binders' men to -perform the manual work, the incessant shifting and relaying, inserting -new leaves and dividing and rebinding old volumes, were attended by -financial results which frequently elicited communications from the -Treasury. One of these happened to arrive in 1875, shortly after the -writer of these pages had become Superintendent of the Reading Room. -Being now in a position to report upon the subject, he pointed out what -had long been exceedingly plain to him, that the space available for the -accommodation of the catalogue was all but exhausted, and that on this -ground alone it would be imperative to reduce its bulk by printing at -least a portion of it. In 1878 his representations were renewed, this -time with great encouragement from Sir Charles Newton, then acting as -Principal Librarian, but nothing decisive was done until the accession -of the late Principal Librarian, Mr. E. A. Bond, in the autumn of the -same year. Mr. Bond had long made up his mind, on literary grounds, that -the catalogue ought to be printed; and finding himself now enabled to -give effect to his views, initiated negotiations with the Treasury which -led in due course to the desired result. In 1880 print was adopted for -the entries of all future additions to the library, thus putting an -effectual curb upon the growth of the catalogue. In 1881 the printing of -the catalogue as a whole was commenced, and has since been carried on -uninterruptedly. The order of publication was not at first alphabetical, -the Treasury's support having been partly gained by the promise to deal, -in the first instance, with the overgrown volumes in various parts of -the catalogue which would otherwise have required rebinding and -relaying. This accomplished, however, publication, as had always been -Mr. Bond's intention, glided into as close an alphabetical sequence as -is consistent with the fact that different portions of the same letter -are necessarily taken up simultaneously, and that some are much more -difficult to prepare for press than others. With the adoption of print -the history of the Museum Catalogue may be said to terminate for the -present, while its actual condition will appear from the statement now -to be given of the progress hitherto made. - -By the time that these pages see the light about 190 parts or volumes of -the catalogue will have been issued. Averaging the number of entries as -5000 to a volume (notwithstanding that the volumes have of late been -made thicker), it will appear that 950,000 titles have been printed, or -nearly one-third of the entire work, allowing for the constant accession -of new material during its progress, as will be explained further on. -This gives an average of about twenty-four parts annually since the -commencement of printing in 1881; but as the amount of the Treasury -grant did not admit of the publication of more than fifteen parts -annually for the first two years, the average publication at present may -be taken as thirty. Speaking generally, it may be said that the -catalogue is in type from A to the end of G, and from V to the end of -the alphabet. This is nearly a third of the whole, and at the present -rate of progress it seems reasonable to conclude that the printing may -be completed in about twelve years. It should be hardly necessary to -explain to the reader who may be familiar with the appearance of the -catalogue in the Reading Room, that the ponderous folio he is accustomed -to there presents little resemblance to the parts as issued to -subscribers. Special copies of the latter, printed on one side of the -paper only, are laid down for Reading Room use on considerably larger -sheets of the strongest and toughest vellum paper procurable, and thus -the quartos are converted into folios. The printed strip when pasted -down occupies only the left side of the leaf, the blank portion -opposite, as well as that above and below, being reserved for the -additions continually accruing from the titles of new books received -after the printing of the volume,[96:1] which is further supplied with -guards to allow of interleaving. It has been computed that each volume -would contain 9000 titles, after which it must be divided, and that the -Reading Room will accommodate 2000 volumes, providing room for eighteen -millions of titles, or, at the present rate of cataloguing, for the -accumulation of three centuries to come. In 1880, just before the -introduction of printing, there was not room to place another volume. A -column of the type used in printing the catalogue weighs ten pounds, so -that supposing the work, when through the press, to consist of 600 -volumes averaging 250 columns each, a million and a half pounds' weight -of type will have been employed. - -From the preparation of the catalogue for strictly Museum purposes, we -pass to the arrangements for its issue to the public. Here we are -confronted by two very remarkable facts—one as gratifying as the other -is the reverse. For the _original subscribers_ the Museum Catalogue is -one of the cheapest books in the world. At its commencement it was not -expected that more than fifteen parts could be issued annually, and the -annual subscription was fixed at three pounds. In fact, however, the -rate of publication has for some years past averaged thirty parts, while -the terms of subscription remain unaltered. The subscription is, -therefore, virtually reduced by one-half, and the cost of each part, -with its 250 columns and 5000 titles, is just two shillings. It may be -doubted whether equal liberality has ever been shown by any public -institution. The case, however, of the subscribers of the future is far -otherwise, or rather say would be, if such subscribers could exist. -Nobody will take an imperfect catalogue, and the sum required for the -parts already printed is an almost insuperable obstacle in the way of -new subscribers, and an effectual bar to the further dissemination of -the catalogue, except by donation. It would be well worth while to -offer the parts already printed as a bonus, at a nominal or greatly -reduced price. Unfortunately, however, the number of copies printed -during the first year was comparatively limited, and the impression, as -regards these, would be exhausted almost immediately. The difficulty -would disappear if the Museum possessed that indispensable auxiliary to -its progress, a photographic department, in which the photographer's -salary and the cost of chemicals should be paid by the State; thus -allowing photographic work to be done gratuitously for the institution, -and at a merely nominal rate for the public. In this case the deficient -volumes would be supplied without any expense whatever, and the offer of -the perfected sets to the public at a nominal cost would probably ensure -sufficient subscribers for the remainder of the work. Until this great -step towards the popular dissemination of the Museum's treasures in all -departments has been taken, it will be necessary to reprint the earlier -volumes of the catalogue; and the £1500 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 price. The -longer the operation is delayed the more costly will it be for the -Museum, which runs the risk of eventually finding itself with a hundred -sets, mostly imperfect, on its hands, of which it will be impossible to -get rid otherwise than by donation. A subscription once commenced is not -likely to drop, as the value of a set of the catalogue depends upon its -completeness. - -It will now be naturally inquired, at what period may the completion of -the catalogue be looked for? The answer will be, about the end of the -century, if the Treasury grant is maintained at its present figure. The -amount expended in printing, inclusive of that incurred for printing the -titles of books added to the library, is about £3000 annually. Two years -ago the grant for purchases throughout every department of the -institution was reduced by two-fifths, and only half the amount has as -yet been restored. If a similar mistaken spirit of economy had affected -the grant for printing, the completion of the catalogue must have been -proportionately delayed. Any expectation, therefore, which may be held -out of the accomplishment of the work by the end of the century, or any -other date, must be understood to be entirely subject to the action of -the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has it in his power to retard -progress indefinitely, or interrupt it altogether. It must be -acknowledged that the behaviour of the Treasury towards this department -of the Museum service has hitherto been very liberal; and that the grant -for printing is as large as, with the numerous other demands upon the -library staff, can be employed to advantage. The preparation of copy for -the press, and its subsequent correction and revision, occupy the entire -time of several of the best assistants; and, were absolute -bibliographical accuracy aimed at, would require that of several more. -This cannot be had, and all pretension to minute accuracy has invariably -been disclaimed. 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 all. From what has been said, it will be -apparent that the publication of this catalogue is carried on under very -different conditions from those habitual in similar undertakings. Three -thousand pounds a year must be spent upon it; or, as regards Museum -purposes, must be thrown away. Any balance unexpended at the end of the -financial year must revert to the Treasury, and would be an -uncompensated loss as regards the Museum. This misfortune has hitherto -been avoided—partly by an energy and diligence on the part of the -gentlemen employed, of which it is impossible to speak too warmly or too -gratefully—partly by a resolute determination not to aim at an ideal -perfection, which, under the circumstances, would be absolutely -mischievous. - -Ordinary visitors to the library may from one point of view be divided -into two classes, those who are astonished that it has not got every -book in the world, and those who marvel that it possesses so many books -as it does. Nothing is commoner than the remark, "I suppose you have -everything that ever was printed," unless it is the exclamation, "You -surely do not keep all the rubbish!" These two sets of ideas may be -taken to represent the two tendencies which affect every public library; -and by consequence every complete catalogue of its contents, that of -mechanical accretion, and that of intelligent selection. The operation -of the Copyright Act is, of course, responsible for most of the element -of "rubbish" in the catalogue; while a moment's thought will show the -impossibility of making the librarian a censor, and allowing him to -exclude whatever might not square with his prejudices or fancies. A -considerable part of the catalogue, therefore, must be devoted to -recording publications of little intrinsic value, but even here there is -an important reservation to be made. Time, which in so many instances -abates the value of what is really precious, makes in a fashion amends -by bestowing worth on what was once of little account. What would we not -give for a _Court Gazette_ of the days of Augustus, or a list of odds at -the Olympic games? There is absolutely no telling what value the most -insignificant details of the nineteenth century may possess for the -nineteenth millennium: even now men of letters might find the same -intellectual stimulus in many a trivial page of the Museum Catalogue, as -a distinguished living orator is said to find in Johnson's Dictionary. -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 books, now at one time, now at another, as apparent -chance, but actual law has prescribed. If we can imagine the various -constituents of the Museum Library piled upon one another in -chronological sequence, and a shaft driven down from the top, we may -conceive ourselves coming upon a succession of strata, as the geologist -finds when he bores for coal, or the archæologist when he explores the -site of a city where men have dwelt from the age of Hercules to the age -of Heraclius. The Museum was founded by a great physician; the library, -therefore, rests upon a sound substratum of old medical books. The King -was the next important benefactor; next above early medicine and natural -history, accordingly, comes a stratum of royal libraries from the first -Tudor to the last Stuart, each a miniature representative of the best -literature of its time. The Hanoverian sovereigns, though no great -patrons of letters, were diligent collectors of pamphlets: hence the -priceless collection of Civil War and other important tracts which -immediately succeeded the donations already mentioned. As the growth of -the Museum attracted further liberality ("To him that hath shall be -given"), the collection naturally took an impress from the tastes of the -private collectors by whom it was enriched. Hence abundant wealth in -classics and the early literature of the Latin family of languages, -accompanied by poverty in languages which the collectors did not -understand, and subjects for which they did not care. When, thanks to -Panizzi, the library at last obtained an adequate grant for purchases, -the librarian's own intelligence became a much more important factor -than formerly. To continue our metaphor, the contents of the recent -strata would be found far more composite than of old, and more puzzling -to the intellectual geologist. He would come upon various fragmentary -formations, as it were, in which, trifling and remote effects of -prodigious causes, he would discern vestiges of the great events of the -time. Thus the growth of Greater Britain is legible in piles of colonial -newspapers, and the Paris Commune is represented by a mass of -caricatures and the scorched books of an Imperial Prince, literally -saved out of the fire. It is the librarian's business at once to profit -by this tendency to the accumulation of specialities, and to counteract -it: to take advantage of every opportunity that may arise of enriching -the library in definite directions, and at the same time of providing -for the steady influx of miscellaneous literature, alike of the past and -of the present as regards foreign nations: of English contemporary -literature the Copyright Act, as above explained, takes sufficient care. -It seems paradoxical, but it is true, that the Museum should be the home -both of the books which every one expects to find in it, and of those -which no one expects to find—of the literary freight which can ride the -ocean, and of that which would perish without the haven of a public -library. The catalogue must be the mirror of the library, 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 Museum. In -this connection mention may be made of a minor feature of the -publication of the catalogue of considerable importance: the issue of -extra copies of special articles as excerpts, sold separately at the -lowest possible price. In this manner bibliographies, complete as far as -the Museum collections are concerned, of Aristotle, Bacon, Bunyan, -Byron, Dante, Goethe, and other writers of special importance have been -issued. These should be of great value to students, and would probably -have a large sale if their existence were more generally known. At -present, like other Museum publications, they suffer from imperfect -publicity. Another very valuable appendix to the catalogue of printed -books is the catalogue of maps and plans, reduced, under Professor -Douglas's direction, from upwards of three hundred of MS. to two volumes -of print as issued to the public, or fourteen as laid down for use in -the Reading Room. The four hundred and fifty MS. volumes of the -catalogue of music, it is hoped, are on the eve of undergoing similar -treatment. - -Apart from the errors which must inevitably creep into so vast a work, -dealing with such a variety of languages and literatures, and now in -progress for more than fifty years, a considerable amount of -imperfection is evidently inseparable from the very nature of the -undertaking. It does not and cannot represent the condition of the -library at any given moment. The volumes containing A, for example, will -comprise the books under that letter possessed by the Museum in 1882 or -1883; but T, which for reasons which we have no space to explain, will -probably be the last letter to be printed, will represent the condition -of the library, as regards that letter, about the year 1900. During the -whole progress of the catalogue an incessant shower of new titles -representing the new books continually being acquired, will have been -descending at the rate of some 40,000 a year. Those belonging to letters -not yet at press will have been taken up and absorbed by the catalogue -in its progress; those belonging to the letters already in type must -fall into a supplement. The article Thackeray, therefore, will be more -complete than Dickens, and Thucydides than Herodotus. As concerns the -student at the Museum, this is of no importance; the additions being -regularly incorporated in the Reading Room catalogue in the manner above -described. The catalogue as issued to subscribers, however, is -necessarily imperfect and irregular. Supposing, for example, that Lord -Tennyson and Mr. Browning were to simultaneously publish translations of -Homer when the printing of the catalogue had reached the article Jones, -Lord Tennyson's version would appear under Tennyson, but not under -Homer, and Mr. Browning's version would not appear at all. There is but -one way of obtaining a perfect index to the condition of the national -library at a given time: 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 -finance. Should, however, the completion of the catalogue nearly -coincide with the commencement of the twentieth century, it may be hoped -that this will be one of the many ways in which, if the new century does -not, like its predecessors, find the nation traversing a crisis, the -epoch will assuredly be commemorated. It would remain to provide for the -regular reprinting of the catalogue with its accessions at intervals, -say of a quarter of a century. England would then possess a complete -index to the growth of the national library, and the world would have -the nearest approach to a register of all literature that, in the -absence of any feasible scheme for a universal catalogue by co-operation -among public libraries, it seems likely to obtain. Even this more -ambitious project might be promoted if public libraries would consent to -take the Museum Catalogue as a basis, and publish lists of such of their -own books as are not to be found in it. By this means the expense and -labour of cataloguing would be very greatly reduced, and the combination -of these lists with the Museum Catalogue, when this came to be printed -for the third time, say about 1925, would at last provide the -desideratum of a universal register of literature. - -Ambitious undertakings like these, however, depend upon the co-operation -of many governments and many institutions. 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 -contents. With this object in view several copies of the catalogue are -printed on one side only, that when completed they may be cut up, and -the titles sorted according to subject, and re-arranged in classified -lists. Thus by simply putting together all titles bearing the press -mark E, we shall obtain a separate catalogue of the Civil War Tracts; -and a similar proceeding as respects the titles marked F, will afford a -similar catalogue of the Croker collection of pamphlets on the French -Revolution. Classed indexes to the literature of any subject can be made -with equal facility, and as several copies of the catalogue will be -available for treatment in the manner suggested, they may be varied for -different objects, or to suit different systems of classification. For -all strictly Museum purposes it would suffice to paste the titles -excerpted on sheets of paper, but any of the indexes thus prepared might -be printed and published. The only difficulty or delay would arise from -the incorporation of the supplementary titles, which, as already -explained, will have been continually added during the printing of the -catalogue, and even this could be obviated by reprinting the entire -catalogue as suggested above. - -These hints, imperfect as they are, should convince the reader that the -future of the Museum Catalogue, supposing the institution to be -maintained in its present condition of efficiency, will not be less -remarkable than its past. It will continue to make demands on the -liberality of successive generations, which will be the more readily met -the more the voluminous development of literature enforces the -conviction that, next to positive addition to the world's stock of -information, the most important service to culture is the preserving, -arranging, and rendering accessible the stores which the world already -possesses. The recovery of the catalogue of the Alexandrian Library, if -a less delightful, would probably be a more substantial gain to -knowledge than the recovery of any individual author. But what the -literature of the world is to the literature of ancient Greece, the -Catalogue of the British Museum is to that of the Alexandrian Library. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[87:1] _Universal Review_, October 1888. - -[96:1] Soon after this was printed, three columns instead of one were -left blank, as the writer had recommended from the first. - - - - -THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSAL -CATALOGUE[109:1] - - -But little has of late been heard of the proposed Universal Catalogue of -Literature, which was a favourite subject of discussion some years ago. -The cause may partly be the loss of some like Sir Henry Cole and the -late lamented Mr. Ernest Thomas, who were especially interested in the -project; but must be mainly, I should think, the growing perception of -the difficulty of the undertaking. It could no doubt be performed by a -sufficiently numerous body of competent persons, working under efficient -control, guided by fixed rules, and influenced by such consideration in -the shape of salary and pension as to induce them to devote their lives -to it. There is not, however, the least probability of the endowment of -such a college of cataloguers. If the Universal Catalogue is ever to be -attained, we must submit to proceed by gradual approaches, and to be -content with something very far short of perfection in the execution of -the work. We must take the printed catalogue of that library which most -nearly approaches universality as a basis, and we must appeal to the -administrators of other libraries to supplement its deficiencies; -without insisting upon too rigid a uniformity of method, which could not -be enforced. - -While the project for a Universal Catalogue has remained in suspense, -another catalogue has been silently growing up in print, far enough -indeed from universality, but approaching it more closely than any other -work of the kind. Commenced in 1881, and likely, if the Treasury grant -is continued, to be completed at or a little before the close of the -century, the printed Museum Catalogue will be the register of about a -million distinct publications. If its contents do not comprise a -majority of the books existing in the world, they undoubtedly comprise a -very great majority of the books which it is really important to -catalogue. 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 substitute, and labour to perfect it by the -co-operation of the principal libraries throughout the world, not by -reconstruction, which would introduce confusion and delay the -undertaking indefinitely, but by the simple addition of such books in -their possession as the Museum Catalogue does not embrace. This would -further involve the establishment of some central authority to edit -these accessions, either incorporated with the Museum Catalogue or -separately, as circumstances might prescribe. - -Even the Museum Catalogue, however, is at present inadequate to provide -a basis for a Universal Catalogue, for the reason that it is in -comparatively few hands. If general co-operation towards perfecting it -is to be invited, it must be widely disseminated. It must be reprinted, -and distributed gratuitously to all important libraries. It is, -moreover, defective in its published form (not in the copy used in the -Reading Room), even as regards the contents of the Museum itself, 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 press. A large portion of these have been absorbed during -the printing; an equal number, perhaps, are excluded by the publication -of the volume of catalogue before the appearance of the book. Letter B, -therefore, is more complete than A, C than B, and so on. From the point -of view of the Universal Catalogue, reprinting is thus an absolute -necessity. It should take place at the earliest practicable date after -the completion of the catalogue. The Government cannot be reasonably -expected to provide the funds without strong pressure from public -opinion, and it is partly in the hope of stimulating this opinion that I -have ventured these observations. But if the Universal Catalogue is to -be anything more than a fair vision, we must do more than stimulate -others, we must organise ourselves. We must know what libraries -throughout the civilised world would be ready, upon receiving a copy of -the republished Museum Catalogue, to supplement its deficiencies by -furnishing the titles of such of their own books as are not to be found -there. We must establish a central committee or committees to take -charge of such titles, to cancel the innumerable duplicates, to reduce -the others to approximate conformity with the rules on which the basis -catalogue has been executed. We must have learned to what extent -pecuniary assistance to small or over-worked libraries may be necessary, -and have considered how to provide it. We must have determined whether -the General Catalogue is to embrace that of the Museum or to be merely -supplementary, and in either case have framed some estimate of the -probable expense, and of the means of meeting it. We must have decided -some important questions, as, for instance, whether pamphlets, -newspapers, public documents, should be included, whether oriental -books, to what extent cross-references should be allowed, if admitted at -all. These points and many others cannot be settled without active -intercommunication among librarians, 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 print. - -When, however, the difficulties of organisation have been at length -overcome, when the Museum Catalogue is actually in the hands of the -directors of all important libraries, and the task of supplying its -deficiencies is being steadily prosecuted in a hundred different places; -when the editorial committee is fairly engaged upon its task of revision -and incorporation, and public sympathy has been fully enlisted, as would -ere long assuredly be the case, the record of the world's literature -which now may seem to many an utopian project, will have been brought -within reach. In thus carrying it out we should have effected an object -of still greater importance—the establishment of an universal literary -registry, whose developments and ramifications it is impossible to -predict. Such an institution is hardly likely to come into being without -the tangible inducement of an Universal Catalogue; and it is on this -account, quite as much as its own, that an Universal Catalogue is -desirable. The organisation created to effect it would not be allowed to -perish, but would be maintained for objects more important still. All -these possibilities, however, will remain but visions unless they are -based upon the firm ground of some actually existing catalogue, which -may serve as a stepping-stone to the ideal catalogue of the future. - -_Cæteris paribus_, there can be no doubt that the biggest catalogue must -be the best, and it is on this ground, and not from any claim of -superiority of execution, that I venture to recommend the Museum -Catalogue as this necessary basis and stepping-stone, 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 present. The subject -is one eminently suitable for consideration at this conference, which, -as the first ever held upon the Continent, possesses stronger claims to -an international character than any of its predecessors. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[109:1] Communicated to the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Library -Association, Paris, September 1892. - - - - -INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN PRINTING INTO THE EAST[115:1] - - -Speaking to-night as President of the Bibliographical Society, I have -found it necessary to select some point of bibliography as the subject -of my discourse. The subjects which profitably occupy the ordinary -meetings of the Society would not be appropriate to a numerous and -various assemblage like the present. Now that Internationalism and -Imperialism are in the air, and that the thoughts of the Queen's -home-bred subjects have perforce been carried far beyond the precincts -of their native isles, 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 World. American typography I leave to our visitors, -better qualified to treat it. I prefer no claim to originality, 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 -books, and by consequence but partially known. - -I have often thought that our reunion with our Aryan brethren of -Hindostan, when, after millenniums of separation, we Europeans returned -to them in the characters of travellers, merchants, and missionaries, -may be compared to the meeting of Jacob and Esau. As of old, the younger -brother had been the more prosperous. We brought them more precious -gifts than any we could receive from them, and among these was the art -of printing. But it was out of our power to bestow such a boon upon the -more numerous yellow race, for it already possessed it. China and Korea -too had been acquainted with printing for centuries, and not merely with -block printing, but with movable types. These, however, were rarely -employed, in consequence, I imagine, of the great extent and complexity -of the Chinese alphabet, or rather syllabarium; 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 book. Amazing -consequences would have followed if China would but have reformed her -alphabet and communicated her art to her neighbours. Had it but found -its way to Constantinople by the tenth century, we should have preserved -most of that lost classical literature for which, with much to encourage -and much to dispirit, we are now sifting the dust of Egyptian catacombs. -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 century, probably from intercourse with -China. But this does but increase the wonder that they should have -merely struck off a few insignificant documents and carried the idea no -further. - -Even when at length the art of printing became known in Europe, its -progress was for some time marvellously slow. For several years its -practice was confined to a single city, and this would probably have -continued still longer but for civil dissensions, which drove the -printers abroad. We need not be surprised, then, that it should have -been a hundred and six years after Gutenberg before any book proceeded -from a European press upon the continent of Asia; or, if we date from -the voyage of Vasco da Gama, now exactly four hundred years ago, we -shall see that sixty-four years, or two generations, elapsed before the -Portuguese conquerors gave a printing-press to India. There was probably -but little need for typography, either in the military or the civil -service; but in process of time another interest asserted itself—the -missionary. We shall find that the larger number of Spanish and -Portuguese books printed abroad, whether in America or in the East, were -designed for the conversion and instruction of the natives. - -This was not, however, precisely the case with the first book printed in -India, or printed by Europeans in any part of the Old World outside of -Europe, although it was a religious book, "The Spiritual Compendium of -the Christian Life," by Gaspar de Leão, first Archbishop of Goa (Goa, -1561). The author had come out as Archbishop in 1560, 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 year. It is -much to be hoped that a book so memorable for the circumstances of its -publication may be still extant; but Silva, in his Portuguese -bibliographical dictionary, does not, as he usually does when he can, -intimate the existence of a copy in the National Library of Lisbon or -elsewhere; nor does Martin Antonio Fernandes allude to the existence of -it, or any other of Archbishop Leão's writings at Goa, in the sermon -which he preached on the occasion of the translation of his remains in -1864. Archbishop Leão printed two other books at Goa—a tract against -the Jews, and another against the Mahometans; but these were posterior -to the second Goa book, a copy of which is in the British Museum—the -"Dialogues on Indian Simples and Drugs," by Garcia da Horta, printed at -Goa in 1563. This is a work of great merit, said to contain the first -account of Asiatic cholera. It is also remarkable as the first book in -which any production of Camoens was given to the world; for, although -the Lusian bard had written much, he had published nothing previous to -the appearance of a complimentary copy of verses to da Horta, prefixed -to this book. The Museum is, no doubt, indebted for its copy of this -very rare work to its founder, Sir Hans Sloane, for whom it would have -much interest. A Latin translation went through many editions, and the -original was reprinted in 1872. - -Thirteen books are enumerated by Ribeiro dos Sanctos as having been -published at Goa up to 1655, and there were probably others of a merely -ephemeral character. The most interesting are a "Life of St. Peter in -Marathi," by Estevão da Cruz, 1634—if not a translation, perhaps the -first book, other than a catechism, written by a European in an Indian -vernacular; and the record of the proclamation of John IV. in 1641, when -Portugal recovered her independence. This book, which is in the British -Museum, indicates the lowest stage of typographical debasement, but is -interesting from its patriotic feeling. - -Two Tamil books are said to have been printed by the Jesuits in 1577 and -1598 respectively, at Ambalakata, a place on the Malabar coast, probably -now ruined or known by some other name. - -Before leaving India, I may mention a remarkable circumstance, not, so -far as I know, hitherto recorded in typographical history. It appears -from that marvellously interesting book, too soon interrupted, Mr. -Sainsbury's "Calendar of the Papers of the East India Company," that in -1624 the Shah of Persia, "having an earnest desire to bring into his -country the art of printing," was "very importunate" with the agents of -the Company at Ispahan, "to write for men skilful in the science, whom -he promises to maintain at his own charge." It does not appear that the -Company, who were then meditating the relinquishment of their Persian -branch as unprofitable, took any steps to fulfil the Shah's wishes, and -of course the casting of Oriental types in Persia, or their transport -thither, would have been very difficult undertakings. But the desire to -endow Persia with a printing-press nevertheless reflects the highest -honour upon the Shah, who was no less famous a person than Abbas the -Great. - -From India we pass to China, and here an important discovery has been -made of late years. It has until very lately been universally believed -that the first book printed by Europeans in China was Eduardus de Sande, -"De Missione legatorum Japanensium ad Romanam Curiam" (Macao, 1590). My -friend, Señor José T. Medina, the Hercules and Lynceus of South American -bibliographers, has, however, found from the book itself that this -cannot be the case, for the writer of the preliminary address, Alexander -Valignanus, states that he has himself previously published at the same -place a book by Joannes Bonifacius, "De honesta puerorum institutione." -This must have appeared in 1589, if not sooner, and is undoubtedly the -first book printed by Europeans in China. Unfortunately it cannot be -produced, for it is not to be found. A copy may still be lurking in some -ancient library, and great will be his merit who brings it to light. It -may be mentioned that although the book "De Missione" principally -relates to Europe, and was compiled under the fiction of imaginary -conversations with the Japanese ambassadors (who really had visited -Europe and returned) for the information of the Japanese pupils of the -Jesuits, one chapter is an account of China for the benefit of European -readers. It is full of interest; and although its particulars have long -become common property, it would be well worth translating as a -contemporary account. Sande's book, it is needless to state, is of -exceeding rarity. It may be seen in a show-case in the King's library at -the British Museum, side by side with the very oldest South American -books. - -European publications in China since 1590 are numerous, and have been -enumerated by that distinguished Sinologue, M. Henri Cordier, in his -epoch-making bibliography. Time, however, compels me to pass to Japan, -where the subject has received most important illustration from the -labours of the present English minister to that country, Sir Ernest -Mason Satow. Sir Ernest found examples of the use of movable types in -Japan about 1598, and endeavoured to ascertain whether the art had been -imported from Korea, where, as I have already stated, it existed at a -much earlier period, or whether it was taught to the Japanese by the -Jesuit missionaries. The point remains undecided; but Sir Ernest's -researches have acquainted him with fourteen books printed by the -missionaries between 1591 and 1605—some in Latin, some in Japanese, -some in both languages. Some are religious in character, others -philological. One, exceptionally, is a translation into Japanese of -"Æsop's Fables," thus curiously restored to the East whence they -originally came. Sir Ernest, himself a Japanese scholar, has given a -minute account of all, with the aid of numerous facsimiles. All, of -course, are of the greatest rarity, and chiefly to be found in the -public libraries of London, Paris, Lisbon, Oxford, Leyden, and Rome, or -in the collection of the Earl of Crawford. Sir Ernest Satow mentions, in -an appendix, others which have been stated to exist, but have not been -recovered. Some of these, it is probable, were merely manuscripts. It -may be added that the frontispieces of these books, engraved by natives -under European direction, evince much talent, and that the same is the -case with similar work subsequently executed in South America and the -Philippines. - -The extirpation of Christianity in Japan destroyed European printing in -that country; but books relating to Japan, chiefly acts of Japanese -martyrs, continued for some time to be produced at Manila, the capital -of the Philippines. The history of Manila printing is thoroughly -investigated in the classical work of Señor Medina, whom I have already -named as the discoverer of the real beginning of printing at Macao. It -seems probable that the art was directly imported into Manila from the -latter city. Two books—one in Spanish and Tagala, the other in -Chinese—appear as printed in 1593, then follows a gap of nine years, -after which publications begin to be tolerably frequent, and altogether -a hundred and twelve are enumerated up to the end of the seventeenth -century. A large proportion are in the vernacular languages. It is -remarkable that the Caxton of the Philippines was a Chinese convert, -whose celestial origin is disguised under the name of Juan de Vera. This -fact is only known by the testimony of a Dominican, since it is another -remarkable circumstance and peculiar to the Philippines, that for a very -long time the name of no private individual appears as that of a -printer, the imprint being always that of some religious or educational -institution. - -One other important city in the Eastern Archipelago possessed printing -at an early date. This was Batavia. The Museum possesses treaties with -native princes printed there in 1668, and these were probably not the -first. A printed book also is referred to the same year. - -Now, like Scipio, we must carry the war into Africa. As might be -expected in the Dark Continent, the appearance of the first African -printed book is a matter of some obscurity; not that the statements -respecting time and place and authorship are not precise, but because it -has hitherto been impossible to verify them. Nicolas Antonio, in his -"Bibliotheca Hispanica," distinctly mentions "Theses rhetoricæ, varia -eruditione refertæ," by Antonio Macedo, a celebrated Portuguese Jesuit -who is said to have had a hand in the conversion of Queen Christina of -Sweden, as printed at Funchal in Madeira in 1637. I cannot find that -this book has ever come to light, or that any other early production of -the Funchal press has been recorded, though one would think that such -must have existed. I need not say that the first African book would be a -treasure almost rivalling the volume with which Mexico initiated -American typography in 1539, or the Goa and Macao books whose probable -disappearance we have been lamenting. There is room for error; Antonio -hardly appears to have himself seen the book. But, on the other hand, -there may well be copies in the possession of persons to whom the -imprint Funchal suggests nothing. A Macao or Manila book at once -announces itself as something extraordinary by the peculiarity of its -paper, but a book printed in Madeira would probably be indistinguishable -in general appearance from contemporary productions on the Portuguese -mainland, whose appearance at the period was fully in keeping with the -then fallen fortunes of the nation. If, therefore, the book ever -existed, I shall not despair of its being found, most probably at -Lisbon, Funchal, or Rome. If its existence is mythical, the first -African printed book would probably be the catechism on baptism in the -Angola language by Francisco Pacconio, executed at Loanda, the capital -of the Portuguese settlements on the west coast, said at least to have -been printed there in 1641, but perhaps only sent out from Lisbon. If -actually printed at Loanda, it would be the first book printed on the -African mainland, and hence of the highest bibliographical interest. But -it may have been confounded with a similar catechism by the same author, -published at Lisbon in 1642. Books were printed at Santa Cruz de -Tenerife at least as early as 1754. Port Louis, the capital of -Mauritius, followed soon afterwards. Apart from official documents, the -first book printed in South Africa is G. F. Grand's "Memoirs of a -Gentleman" (Cape Town, 1814), exhibited at the British Museum. To -prevent misunderstanding, 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 1583, but it is -clear that the date Angra, the capital of the island, is not an imprint, -but refers merely to the place where the despatch was written, and that -it was printed in Spain. - -I am not quite sure whether Australia properly belongs to my subject, -but two circumstances of especial interest induce me to include it. One -is that the first Australian publication, the official _Sydney Gazette_ -of 1803, is, I understand, at present a visitor to England in the -custody of Mr. Anderson, librarian of the public library at Sydney, who -contemplates reproducing it. The other is that what is believed to be -the first Australian book, as distinguished from a newspaper or official -notification, has been very recently acquired by the British Museum. It -is a narrative of the crimes and death of William Howe, the last and -worst of the bushrangers of Tasmania, and was printed at Hobart Town in -1817. It was noticed by the _Quarterly Review_ so long ago as 1819, when -it was prophesied that Australian bibliographers would one day fight for -it as fiercely as English collectors contend for Caxton's "Reynard the -Fox." If they do, they must fight with the Sydney Public Library, which, -I am informed, has three copies. There is also a copy in the Bodleian. - -The subject of the beginning of printing by Europeans in Asia and Africa -is one which must gain in interest as printing itself extends. -Typography in these countries is as yet but in its infancy, for it has -not laid hold of the mass of the people. It seems evident that the -cumbrous Oriental alphabets must eventually give way to the simplicity -of Roman type, and then one great bar to the intercommunication of ideas -among Oriental nations will have ceased to exist. It may be that they -will go a step further, and employ a single language for the purposes of -general intercourse. So far as we can see at present, this language can -hardly be any other than English. Should this come to pass, Lord -Beaconsfield's celebrated saying, "England is a great Asiatic power," -will prove true in a deeper and wider sense than he intended, 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 East. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[115:1] Read before the London Meeting of the Library Association, 1896. - - - - -PARAGUAYAN AND ARGENTINE BIBLIOGRAPHY[127:1] - -[_Bibliographica_, vol. i., pt. 3, published by Messrs. Kegan Paul & -Co.] - - -The great merit of the Spanish and Portuguese bibliographers has in some -degree missed recognition from the exceptional character of their -themes. They have done little for general bibliography or the literary -history of other nations, but, observant of the German precept, have -"swept before their own doors" in the most thorough manner. Nicolas -Antonio and Barbosa Machado have given magnificent examples of what may -be termed bio-bibliography, where not only the literary productiveness, -but the life of the author is the subject of investigation. 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 required. The dimensions -of modern literature forbid the hope of such works being ever seen -again. Bibliography and biography must henceforth walk apart, or at -most, as in our own Dictionary of National Biography, one must sink into -a mere appendage to the other. Works like Antonio's or Machado's belong -to the extinct mammoths of the past: yet more modern Spanish and -Portuguese bibliographers have displayed equal diligence in more -restricted fields. It would be difficult to praise too highly the -research of a Mendez, a Salva, or an Icazbalceta, who, like their -predecessors, manage to convey the impression of having exhausted their -subjects. To these is now to be added Señor Jose Toribio Medina, a -Chilian gentleman who has taken an entire continent for his province. In -1891 he produced his bibliography of Chilian literature to 1810, the era -of South American independence. In 1892 the assistance of the Museo de -la Plata, stimulated by the approaching congress at Huelva in -commemoration of the discovery of America, enabled him to publish his -bibliography of the Argentine Republic, including Paraguay and Uruguay, -on a scale, and with a wealth of illustration, to ensure the book, if -not the author, a foremost place amongst bibliographical mammoths, and -to suggest that it might be used as collateral security for a new -Argentine loan, could such things be. Compared with the tiny but -serviceable lists of early South American books which Señor Medina has -so frequently published in limited editions, his present volume is as -the Genie outside the vase to the Genie within, and it must be the -earnest hope of all interested in bibliographical research, and -especially of all those who from personal acquaintance have learned to -appreciate his indefatigable patriotism and single-minded earnestness, -that the step now taken in advance may not be retraced, but that he may -find encouragement to produce the still more important bibliography of -Peru, now nearly ready for the press, with equal completeness, if not on -a scale equally magnificent. When this has been effected, Señor Medina -will be at no loss for more worlds to conquer. "We shall follow up the -subject," he says, "with the history of printing in the -Captain-Generalship of Quito, in Bogota, Havana, Guatemala, and, please -Heaven, in the Viceroyalty of Mexico, the cradle of the typographic art -in America. Finally, we shall publish the general history of printing in -the old Spanish colonies, for which we shall be able to employ a great -number of documents hitherto entirely unknown." - -The history of South American typography is as interesting in a -bibliographical, as it is barren in a literary point of view. The -hand-list of the productions of the Lima Press in colonial days, already -published by Señor Medina, would alone be a sufficient indictment of -Spanish rule, and a sufficient apology for the mistakes of the -emancipated colonists. Apart from religious books published in the -native languages, and the grammars and dictionaries associated with -them, scarcely anything can be found indicative of intellectual life, or -imparting anything that the citizen needs to know. Public ceremonies, -bull-fights, legends of saints, theses in scholastic philosophy, make up -the dreary catalogue, and show how a lively and gifted people were -systematically condemned, in so far as their rulers' power extended, to -frivolity, superstition and ignorance. But if South America was for -nearly three centuries a desert for literature, it was and is a happy -hunting-ground for bibliography. The limited interest and limited -circulation of such books as were produced conspired to make them rare; -the best religious and philological works in Indian languages were -commonly worn out or mutilated by constant use; local difficulties -occasioned the production of others under peculiar and even romantic -circumstances; such as the half-dozen perhaps printed, certainly -published at Juli, twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea; or -those rude but deeply interesting Paraguayan books which form the -subject of Señor Medina's first chapter.[130:1] - -The extreme difficulty of introducing any kind of literature into South -America under the Spanish régime, cannot be better illustrated than by -the history of the first Paraguayan book, now extant in a single copy in -the library of Señor Trelles, a citizen of the Argentine Republic. First -of all, about 1693, Father Jose Serrano translates Father Nieremberg's -treatise "on the difference between things temporal and things -eternal," into Guarani, the vernacular of the Paraguay Indians. Father -Tirso Gonzalez, the head of the mission, thinks it well that this -translation and another of Ribadeneira's "Flos Sanctorum," also made by -Father Serrano, should be printed nearer home than at Lima, the only -city in the vast South American continent then in possession of a -printing-press. Though they are religious works of the most edifying -character, it is necessary to memorialise the Council of the Indies. -Father Gonzalez does not make up his mind to this step until December -1699. At length, however, he writes to Spain, obtains permission, and, -by the beginning of 1703, types have been cast and the numerous -engravings in the Antwerp edition of Nieremberg's treatise copied by the -native Indians, whose extraordinary imitative talent is celebrated by -Father Labbe, who visited La Plata about this time. "I have seen," he -says, "beautiful pictures executed by them, books very correctly printed -by them, organs and all kinds of musical instruments. They make pocket -timepieces, draw plans, engrave maps, &c."[131:1] One thing, however, -they could not do, found types of proper hardness, inasmuch as the -requisite metal for alloy did not exist. The consequent blurred -appearance of the impression has led high authorities to assert that -the types were made of hard wood, which would not _a priori_ have -appeared improbable. The late lamented Mr. Talbot Reed, however, assured -the present writer that this could not have been the case; and Señor -Medina proves by an official letter, written in 1784, more than twenty -years after the ruin of the missions, that the material was tin. The -types which existed at that period have disappeared, the remains of the -printing-press are still extant in the La Plata Museum. Señor Medina -thinks that they ought to be restored: and so do we, provided only that -enough remains to distinguish restoration from re-creation. - -The book, announced as about to be printed in January 1703, eventually -made its appearance in 1705; with the licenses of the Viceroy of Peru, -the Dean of Asuncion, and the acting provincial of the Jesuits, two -recommendations by divines, and two dedications by Father Serrano -himself, the first to the Holy Spirit, who is addressed as "Your -Majesty"; the second to Father Gonzalez. The place of imprint is given -as "en las Doctrinas," probably the mission station of Santa Maria la -Mayor. We must refer our readers to Señor Medina's volume for the -interesting and minute bibliographical particulars it affords, as well -as for the facsimiles of the original engravings, a remarkable episode -in the history of the art, and only made accessible through Señor -Medina's instrumentality, since the original exists in but a single -copy. - -The reader will have observed Father Labbe's statement that he has seen -_books_ printed by the Indians. At least one other book, therefore, -should have been executed by them between 1705 and 1710, and Father -Serrano undoubtedly intended to publish his Guarani version of -Ribadeneira's "Flos Sanctorum." If he did, no trace of the publication -exists at present, nor is any further record of typography in Paraguay -found until 1721, when a little liturgical manual for the use of -missionaries, entirely in Guarani, with the exception of the first -fifteen leaves, was printed at the mission station of Loreto. In 1722 -and 1724 the "Vocabulario de la Lengua Guarani" and the "Arte de la -Lengua Guarani," both by Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, a Peruvian missionary -of the seventeenth century, were reprinted from the original Spanish -editions, with copious additions, those to the latter work certainly, -those to the former probably, by Paulo Restivo. Both these books were -printed at Santa Maria la Mayor, as also was the catechism of Nicolas -Yapuguai, a native Paraguayan, in 1724. His "Sermones y Exemplos" -appeared at San Francisco Xavier in 1727, and in the same year and at -the same place was printed the letter of the unfortunate ex-governor -Joseph Antequera y Castro, indited in his prison at Lima, to his -adversary the Bishop of Paraguay, who apparently only allowed it to be -printed that he might add a more prolix reply. From this time until -after the overthrow of Spanish authority, all trace of a press in -Paraguay disappears. It should be added that the seven books recorded -are undoubtedly productions of one and the same press, although the -place of imprint is frequently varied. One curiosity remains to be -mentioned, a fragment of a Guarani catechism and syllabary, consisting -of two wooden leaves paginated 4 and 13, on which characters are cut in -relief precisely as in Chinese stereotypic printing. It is to be -supposed that they are older than the books printed with movable types. -They are in the library of Señor Lamas, to whom they were presented by -an English traveller. - -Four out of these seven books are in the British Museum—the Vocabulario -and Arte of Ruiz de Montoya, Yapuguai's Catechism, and the letter of -Antequera y Castro. The first two were presented in 1818 by Mr. George -Bellas Greenough, the founder of the Geological Society. The Catechism -was purchased in 1889, and the letter in 1893. The latter is the only -copy hitherto known, and is the only one of the seven books of which -some portion is not facsimiled by Señor Medina. - -Printing had died out in Paraguay before its introduction into any other -portion of the great La Plata region. It revived under Jesuit auspices -at Cordova, where towards the end of the seventeenth century a college -had been founded by Duarte y Quiros, which had become the chief -educational institution of the country. By 1765 it had attained -sufficient consequence to become sensible of the inconvenience of being -unable to print its theses and other academical documents, which, so -wretched was the provision then made for the intellectual needs of the -Spanish colonies, could only be done at Lima, more than a thousand miles -off on the other side of the Andes. The Viceroy of Peru was accordingly -appealed to, and permission obtained, fenced with all imaginable -precautions and restrictions. No time was lost in printing five -panegyrical orations upon the pious founder Duarte y Quiros, probably by -Father Peramas, which appeared in 1766. Two, or possibly three, minor -publications, now entirely lost, had followed, when the existence of the -press was abruptly terminated by the suppression of the Jesuits, and -Cordova never saw another until after the independence. The types, -however, not tin like the Paraguayan, but imported from Spain and cast -_secundum artem_, were preserved in the college, and in 1780 were -transferred to Buenos Ayres, where it had been resolved to introduce -typography; not for its own sake, but as a means of raising money -towards the support of a foundling hospital, endowed with the proceeds -of the printing-press. Official and ecclesiastical patronage were not -wanting; by the end of 1781 twenty-seven publications of various -descriptions, mostly of course on a very small scale, had issued from -the Buenos Ayres press. The first of any kind was a proclamation -relating to the militia, facsimiled by Señor Medina; the first deserving -the character of a book was, as in British North America, an almanac. -The most interesting from their subject were pastoral letters by two -bishops on the overthrow of the rebel cacique Tupac Amaru in Peru. The -press continued to thrive, and in 1789 it was necessary to procure a -new fount of type from Spain. The total number of publications known to -the end of 1810 is 851—a very large proportion of which, however, are -merely fly-sheets. Some, nevertheless, are of exceptional interest, such -as the translation of Dodsley's "Economy of Human Life," perhaps the -first translation of an English book ever published in Spanish America, -and the numerous broadsides attesting the impression at first produced -in the colonies by Napoleon's invasion of the mother country. Eight -proclamations by General Beresford during the brief occupation of the -city by the British forces in 1806 are of especial interest to -Englishmen. In one Beresford endeavours to conciliate the good-will of -the inhabitants by promising deliverance from the financial oppression -of the Spanish colonial system. They soon afterwards took the matter -into their own hands: the publications for the last months over which -Señor Medina's labours extend are chiefly proclamations by the Junta and -similar revolutionary documents. Among them, duly facsimiled by Señor -Medina, is the proclamation of the Junta, with the date of May 23, 1810, -announcing the virtual deposition of the Viceroy, the first document of -Buenos Ayrean independence, although the authority of Ferdinand the -Seventh is still acknowledged in name, and the autonomy of the country -was not proclaimed until 1816. Another curiosity, also facsimiled, is a -proclamation in Spanish and Quichua, "from the most persecuted -American," Iturri Patiño, to the inhabitants of Cochabamba in Upper -Peru, more than a thousand miles from Buenos Ayres, exhorting them to -welcome their deliverers. The interest is greatly enhanced by Señor -Medina's industry in tracing out other works of the writers, published -in other parts of South America. - -The story of the introduction, expulsion, and revival of printing in -Monte Video is one of the most curious—we might almost say -dramatic—episodes in the history of the art. The city, which had -existed nearly two hundred years without any more typographical -implement than a stamping machine, was taken by an English expedition in -February 1807. With the invaders came an enterprising Briton whose name -is unfortunately not recorded, but who, before leaving England, had -invested in a printing-press and types, and brought them with him with -the view of earning an honest penny by dissipating South American -darkness. He received every encouragement from the English military and -naval authorities, but most probably had to train native compositors, -who could not be extemporised in a city destitute of a printing-press. -At all events he did not get to work till May, when the first production -of his press was a proclamation, from which it appears that General -Whitelock, whose expedition was to end so disastrously, at the time -considered himself entitled to exercise authority over the whole of -South America. And whereas it has been asserted that wherever an -Englishman goes the first institution he creates is a public-house, be -it noted that the next official announcement imposes a swinging tax -upon the public-houses already existing, without any loophole for local -option. On May 23, an eventful date in Argentine history, appeared the -first numbers of _The Southern Star, La Estrella de Sur_, a journal in -English and Spanish, conducted by Adjutant-General Bradford, proudly -displaying the lion and the unicorn, and addressing the native -population as "fellow-subjects," a description softened in the Spanish -version into _amigos_. The consternation produced by this portent at -Buenos Ayres was excessive. "The enemies of our holy religion, of our -king, and of the weal of mankind," declared the Audiencia, "have chosen -the printing-press as their most effectual weapon. They are diffusing -papers full of the most detestable ideas, even to the pitch of asserting -that their infamous and abominable religion differs very little from -ours." The misfortunes of the British arms, however, extinguished _The -Southern Star_ after the third number, and the publisher, whose property -in his press and types was guaranteed by the capitulation, was glad to -sell them to the Buenos Ayres Foundling Hospital for five thousand -pesos, which, whether in the spirit of speculation or by reason of the -deficiency of the circulating medium so unhappily chronic in those -regions, he received in cascarilla at the rate of twelve reals a pound. -The object of the authorities was no doubt to get the press and its -appurtenances away from Monte Video. Within three short years Buenos -Ayres became the focus of revolution, while Monte Video was still -precariously loyal. The Princess Regent and her advisers, then -established at Rio de Janeiro, finding that the revolutionists were -flooding the country with their pamphlets, invoked the power they had -striven to suppress, and deeming to cast out Satan by Beelzebub, shipped -a quantity of Brazilian type, very bad, to judge by Señor Medina's -facsimile, to Monte Video, where, for the short remaining period -comprehended in Señor Medina's work, it was employed in producing -Government manifestos and an official journal; edited for a time by -Father Cirilo de Alameda, of whom it is recorded that he never wrote -anything tolerable except a defence of the Spanish constitution, and -that this was adapted from a panegyric on the Virgin. - -This slight notice can give but a very imperfect idea of the varied -interest and splendid execution of Señor Medina's volume, a work as -creditable to the country which has produced it for the excellence of -the typography and the beauty of the numerous facsimiles, as to the -author for the extent and accuracy of his research, and the curious and -interesting particulars, biographical as well as bibliographical, which -he brings to light on every page. Could the remainder of Spanish America -be treated in a similar style, that much-neglected part of the world -would rival, if not surpass, any European country in the external -dignity of its bibliographical record. This may be too much to expect, -but it is greatly to be hoped that Señor Medina will find means for -giving to the world what is actually indispensable to the completion of -his important task. He is a citizen of the most prosperous, -progressive, and orderly state in South America. It would be to the -honour of the rulers of Chili if, overlooking all political differences, -they gave their distinguished fellow-citizen the means of associating -the name of his country, as well as his own, with as meritorious an -undertaking as ever appealed to the sympathy of an enlightened State. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[127:1] _Historia y Bibliografia de la Imprenta en la America -Española._ (Parte Segunda, Paraguay y el Vireinato del Rio de la -Plata.) Por Jose Toribio Medina (La Plata, 1892). - -[130:1] It has always been supposed that Paraguay was the first -country of South America to possess a printing-press after Peru, -but this honour may possibly be due to Brazil. In the memorial of -the inhabitants of the province of Pernambuco to John IV., King of -Portugal, beseeching his assistance in the expulsion of the Dutch -invaders (1645), printed in "O Valoroso Lucideno" by Manoel Calado, -Lisbon, 1648, the Dutch are accused of having propagated heresy by -means of tracts, "which have been found in the hands of many persons of -tender age." These _cartilhas_ must evidently have been in Portuguese, -they are more likely to have been printed than in MS., and it is -perhaps more probable that they were printed on the spot than exported -from Holland. If this is the case, Pernambuco is entitled to the -honour of being the first city in South America in which printing was -exercised after Lima. - -[131:1] Several Spanish books printed at Manila in the eighteenth -century have frontispieces admirably engraved by native artists. -We have seen an English pamphlet printed in the Orange Free State, -prefaced by an apology for mistakes of the press on the ground that the -compositors were Hottentots. - - - - -THE EARLY ITALIAN BOOK TRADE - -[_Bibliographica_, vol. i. pt. 3, published by Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co.] - - -There are few inquiries more interesting than one into the character and -tendencies of an epoch, as ascertained by their reflection in its -literature. Such an investigation, if referring to modern times and -extended beyond a single country, must generally be incomplete on -account of the great mass of the materials, which defies any exhibition -of the literary tendencies prevailing at any given period over the whole -of Europe. In the first age of printing alone the number of books is not -absolutely unmanageable, and their bibliographical interest has ensured -their accurate description in catalogues. It would not be beyond the -power of industry to make a digest of the _incunabula_ of the fifteenth -century, so far as to show the number of books printed in each country, -their respective subjects, the frequency of reprints, the ratio of the -various classes to each other, the proportion of Latin to vernacular -books, and other particulars of this nature by which the intellectual -currents of the age might be mapped out. - -The present essay is to be regarded as no more than a very imperfect -indication of the feasibility of such an undertaking. Observations, -sufficiently desultory, on the general character of the literature -published in Italy, from the introduction of printing into the country -to the end of the century, have suggested some remarks on the kind of -books which the early Italian printers found it profitable to produce, -and some inferences respecting the taste of the day, and the classes -which would be reached by the printing-press. To afford a really -satisfactory ground-work for such an inquiry, all known publications -should be enumerated (although the briefest titles would serve), and -tabulated according to their subjects. Deductions regarding the -intellectual aspects of the time might then be made with some -confidence, and the apparently dry and unpromising ground-work would -admit of rich illustration from the stores of contemporary literary -history. Any such fulness of treatment is, of course, as incompatible -with the space available in _Bibliographica_ as with the time at the -disposal of the writer. Enough, it is hoped, will have been done to show -how interesting a detailed analysis of the subject might be made. The -Roman and Venetian presses have been chiefly dwelt upon, inasmuch as -these two cities, the first in Italy to possess printing-presses, also -served to test the opposite systems of reliance upon patronage in high -quarters, or upon the free life of a busy and prosperous community. The -result is instructive, and has been confirmed by every similar -experiment in later times. - -In examining the literature of the age, as represented by the -contemporary productions of the press, we are particularly impressed by -its utilitarian, and, as a corollary, its essentially popular character. -We do not employ this latter term as indicative of a relation between -the printers and the mass of the people, who at that period were -generally unable to read, but between the printers and their limited -public. 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 public. The author knows that he will not be read, but it -nevertheless suits him to put his opinions, his experiences, or his -skill in composition upon record; for the gratification of his -self-esteem, it may be, or the expression of his emotions, or as a -document for future reference, or as an act of duty, or for the pleasure -of friends, or for any one or more of these and many other conceivable -reasons. Were it not for the safety-valve afforded by the periodical -press, the number of books thus existing for the author's individual -sake would be very much more considerable. Hardly anything of this is to -be observed in the early ages of publishing. Scarcely a book is to be -found for which a public might not be reasonably expected, and which, -therefore, would not be produced without the expectation of profit. We -know that this expectation was not always realised from Sweynheym and -Pannartz's petition to Pope Sixtus IV., that he would indemnify them by -some public appointment for the loss of capital sunk in their unsold -publications, but the books were such as promised to command a sale, and -the reason of their failure was probably the competition of other -Italian presses. They were principally classical authors or Fathers of -the Church, 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 grounds. If so, the case was quite -exceptional, and does not invalidate the general proposition that the -Italian printers of the Renaissance looked entirely, and in the main -intelligently, to the needs of their public. It is thus easy to discover -the character of this constituency, and to estimate its requirements. - -For long after the invention of printing the books produced consist -mainly of four classes:—(1) Classical, (2) Grammatical, (3) -Theological, (4) Legal. The immense proportion of these in comparison -with other subjects demonstrates that the great majority of readers -belonged to the professional classes—teachers, or at least students at -the universities, divines, and practitioners of civil or canon law. Had -a leisured and cultured class existed, as in our times, we should have -seen more modern history and biography, more essays and facetiæ, more -vernacular poetry and fiction—all departments very slenderly -represented in the fifteenth century. Men evidently read for practical -ends, and invested their money in the expectation of a substantial -rather than an intellectual return. The class that now reads principally -for amusement, did not in that age read at all; but if it had, books -could not then be produced at the cheap rate required to ensure an -extensive circulation. If such books are costly, they must at all events -be solid, to give the purchaser an apparent return for his money; or the -expense must be distributed over a wide area by the agency of -circulating libraries, an institution which implies a numerous reading -public. Hence, a fact honourable to Renaissance literature, it includes -hardly anything that can be called trash. Copious in the number of its -publications, it is disappointingly meagre in their themes; many -branches of human activity hardly exist for it, but, at all events, -almost every one of its publications was produced in response to a real -need. Most of them have inevitably become obsolete, few have ever been, -or will be, utterly valueless. - -The drawback to the generally sterling character of the early -Renaissance printing was want of enterprise on the part of the printers, -who were also the publishers. At the present day culture is greatly -promoted by the ambitious and competitive spirit of publishers, who look -far and wide for subjects likely to touch sympathetic chords in the -breast of the public, are always ready to listen to new ideas, to which -they frequently accord generous encouragement, compete among themselves -for promising writers, and are continually devising new schemes to -attract patronage by elegance, cheapness, artistic decoration, or the -supply of some want which the public has not yet found out for itself. -Very little of this is to be discovered in the fifteenth century. -Publishers seldom cared to transgress the safe ordinary round of -classics, divinity, and law. Occasionally there are symptoms of -alertness to the events of the day: thus, as soon as Cardinal Rovere -becomes Pope, his treatises on the Redemption and the perpetual -virginity of Mary are printed at Rome; and when the Jews are accused of -murdering a Christian boy, circumstantial accounts of the tragedy appear -in different parts of Europe. But, notwithstanding the intellectual -curiosity of the age, it would seem to have been a very unpromising one -for the literary manifestation of original genius of any kind. Works of -contemporary authors, other than of a purely utilitarian character, are -very rare. One of the most remarkable exceptions is the publication at -Naples in 1476 of the "Novellini" of Masuccio, a book whose scandalous -character would be sure to obtain it readers. Towards the end of the -century, works by living authors of eminence became more frequent, but -even then they are most commonly those of men like Sanazzaro, -influential in courts, and enjoying literary distinction long before -they went to press. One of the press's most important functions, the -encouragement of unknown ability, was hardly performed at all in that -age, and the principal reason was that the printers, though sometimes of -classical acquirements, were either too exclusively commercial in their -views or too limited in their resources to promote literary activity -outside of the beaten track. Our own Caxton appears a model of -intelligent adaptation to the tastes of his public, but he never finds -an author or exerts himself to give superior finish or elegance to a -book. It cannot but be thought that if Italy had in the fifteenth -century possessed a publisher of enterprising spirit and ample means, a -powerful impulse might have been imparted to Italian vernacular -literature. Such a person, indeed, would have perceived that the public -for such a literature, apart from its few classical examples, did not -then exist, but he would have deemed that the multitude of intelligent -men who could not read Latin would read Italian, if Italian were put -before them. Instead of hiring editors he would have hired authors, and -his enterprise might have been attended by momentous consequences. - -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 book. The interest in Greek literature -must have been very general, but instructors were probably scarce, and -few Italians had taken the trouble to learn it. The educational value of -the language, apart from the contents of the books composed in it, was -utterly unsurmised, and the reader was fully satisfied if he could -obtain a faithful Latin translation, which in the majority of cases was -not yet to be had. Had printed Greek texts been placed in the way of -readers, a vast impulse would have been given to the study of the -language, and a publisher of genius, labouring to create the taste he -did not find, might have greatly accelerated the course of European -culture. Greek grammar, even, awaited the typographer until 1476, and -Greek literature for some years longer. No originality was infused into -the business of publishing until the advent of Aldus, almost as much the -father of modern bookselling as Gutenberg is the father of printing. - -Leaving the question of what the Renaissance printers and publishers of -Italy might have done, we proceed to illustrate what they did by a brief -analysis of the character of their productions during the first few -years of their activity, especially in Rome and Venice. The survey is -necessarily very imperfect, for a large proportion of their productions -are not dated, and the exact year is usually a matter of conjecture. We -must confine ourselves to the list of dated books given by Panzer, which -might admit of considerable extension. It is not likely, however, that -this would materially affect the mutual proportion of the various -classes of literature, the point with which we are principally -concerned. - -Printing was established at Rome in 1467 by the removal of Sweynheym and -Pannartz from Subiaco. Five books are recorded to have been printed -there in that year; two classics (Cicero's "De Oratore" and "Epistolæ ad -Familiares"), two editions of the fathers, and one grammatical work. In -1468 six more make their appearance, one classical, three patristic, one -theological, and one medical. In 1469 commences the great run upon -classical writers, which continued for some years. Of the twelve books -enumerated by Panzer as produced in this year, all but one are -classics, and the apparent exception is a defence of Plato by Cardinal -Bessarion. All but one are printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz, with -prefaces by the Bishop of Aleria as editor-general. This striking -development of activity indicates the first organised attempt to -monopolise a special department of the book-trade, which might possibly -have succeeded if Rome had then, as now, been the capital of an united -Italy. The other Italian cities, however, had no intention of being -excluded from the practice of the new art, and the same year witnessed -the introduction of typography into its true Italian metropolis, Venice, -combined, however, with an audacious attempt to obtain a monopoly. -Joannes de Spira, the first printer in Venice, not content with -obtaining protection for his publications, claimed and obtained the sole -right of printing books in the city for five years. Men had evidently as -yet but little conception of the importance of the new art; but the -death of the printer within the year released the Venetian State from -the obligation it had so inconsiderately undertaken, and it was by this -time sufficiently enlightened not to renew it in favour of his brother -Vindelinus, who, however, remained for some time among the most -distinguished of Venetian printers.[149:1] - -Before leaving the year 1469, we should mention the first Italian -instance of a printed translation of a Greek classic, the Italian -Strabo, published by Sweynheym and Pannartz without date, but which is -known to have belonged to this year. In 1470 the run on classics -continues, the same number as in the previous year being printed, mostly -by Sweynheym and Pannartz, but a revival is apparent in other branches -of literature, the number of books in theology being nearly equal to -that of the classics. Another translation from the Greek appears, that -of Plutarch's Lives, rendered by various hands, with the preface of J. -A. Campanus. The most remarkable production of the Roman press for this -year, however, is a small tract, which affords the first example of -recourse to printing by a Pope for an official purpose. It is the brief -of Pope Paul II., enacting that the Jubilee shall henceforth be -celebrated every twenty-fifth year, and consequently in 1475, which he -did not live to see. This interesting document has been recently -acquired by the British Museum. In 1471, as is most probable, another -Government publication appeared, "The Civic Statutes of Rome," as -revised by Paul II.; and the election of his successor Sixtus, in the -same year, produced the first two examples of official publications, -afterwards very frequent, the congratulatory harangues pronounced by -ambassadors upon occasion of their tendering homage to the Pope. - -Twelve classical publications grace the year, mostly from the press of -Sweynheym and Pannartz, as well as the first volume of their great -edition of the "Biblical Commentary" of Nicolaus de Lyra. The remaining -four volumes appeared in the year following, and the last was freighted -with the memorable appeal to Pope Sixtus IV., composed by the Bishop of -Aleria in the name of the printers, which throws so vivid a light on the -vicissitudes of the book-trade in Rome. They have printed 12,475 sheets, -_acervum ingentem_, for which it is marvellous that paper or types -should have been found. Their spacious premises are choked with unbound -sheets in quinions (_quinterniones_), but void of victual and drink. -Will the Pope give them some little office, by aid of which they may be -able to provide for themselves and their families? Rome was manifestly -no place for classical publishers, even under a Pope who did so much for -the encouragement of learning as Sixtus. The forlorn estate of Sweynheym -and Pannartz, contrasted, as we shall see, with the flourishing -condition of the Venetian book-trade at the time, shows that even at a -period when reading, to say nothing of the scholarship required to -master the literature of the day, was not a general accomplishment, the -bookseller's best patron was the public. Probably, however, the -hardships of the firm may have been somewhat exaggerated by the eloquent -pen of the Bishop of Aleria; for in this very year they appear as -printing ten books, and in the following year seven. Two of these are -new editions of works previously issued by them, showing not only that -the original impression was sold out, but that it was thought profitable -to undertake another. - -In 1474 the names of the printers entirely disappear as partners. -Sweynheym is known to have died before 1478 (when the Ptolemy, which he -had begun to prepare for the press, was published by Arnold Buckingk), -but at what particular time is uncertain. Pannartz comes forward by -himself in December 1474, and in the following year he occurs as the -printer of eight books, chiefly classical. In 1476 he prints three, but -his activity abruptly terminates in March, a period coinciding with a -collapse in Roman publishing, best illustrated by a comparative table:— - - 1475 53 books. - 1476 24 books. - 1477 14 books. - 1478 15 books. - 1479 11 books. - 1480 9 books. - -No doubt many undated books were published in these years, and after -1480 some revival is apparent, but the quality of the publication is -greatly lowered. Classics continued to be printed, but they retire into -the background before canon and civil law, and the apparent number is -greatly helped out by ephemeral pamphlets, such as papal briefs and -addresses on public occasions. The endeavour to render Rome an -intellectual centre had manifestly failed, nor has she deserved this -character at any subsequent period, except for the few years during -which wits and scholars gathered around Leo X. Before leaving the -subject, nevertheless, a tribute should be paid to the merits of Joannes -Philippus de Lignamine, a native of Messina, apparently a man of good -family, and not improbably the first native Italian to exercise the -typographic art, in whose productions may be traced rudimentary ideas of -a higher order than were vouchsafed to his mercantile contemporaries. It -can hardly be by accident that the same man who in 1472 prints the first -vernacular book that had appeared in Rome, should in the same year -publish, although in Latin, the first biography of an Italian -contemporary, his own memoir of his own sovereign, Ferdinand of Naples; -should in 1473 issue the vernacular poetry of Petrarch; and in 1474 a -book of such national interest as the "Italia Illustrata" of Flavio -Biondo. His publications are always of high quality, and it would be -interesting to learn more respecting him. He is described as a member of -the Pope's household, and was certainly something more than a -professional printer. - -The establishment of printing at Rome had naturally ensued upon the -migration of the printers from the small adjoining town of Subiaco, 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 monastery. The introduction of printing -into Venice, two years after Rome, was probably less the effect of -accident. Joannes de Spira, who, as we have seen, so promptly secured a -monopoly of so much value as the exclusive exercise of printing for five -years, must have been an enterprising and far-seeing man, to whom the -opulence and comparative freedom of Venice would offer greater -attractions than the doubtful patronage of an Italian despot. This view -of his character is confirmed by the boldness of his first undertakings. -Before obtaining any privilege he had produced two of the most -voluminous works of antiquity then accessible—Pliny's Natural History -and Cicero's Epistolæ ad Familiares. The soundness of his judgment was -evinced by the demand for a second edition of his Cicero within four -months, an unusual occurrence in the history of early printing. Tacitus -followed, and the German printer's patriotism is indicated by his -description of the Germania as "libellus aureus." His brother and -successor, Vindelinus, displays even greater energy, producing fifteen -books within the year 1470, among them so important a work as Livy's -History, and gaining especial honour as the first printer of Petrarch. -The rest are almost entirely classical, and so are the few books printed -in this year by his rival, Nicolas Jenson, the most elegant of all the -Italian printers. In 1471 Venetian printing takes a wider range; law -books increase; Jensen produces books of morals and of religious -edification in the vernacular; Christopher Valdarfer publishes the -Decameron of Boccaccio. More important still is the appearance of two -independent Italian translations of the Bible, one from the press of -Vindelinus, one without name of printer. As no other Italian city -emulated the example of Venice, an example frequently repeated by her -before the close of the century, we are justified in assuming that in no -other Italian city could such a thing be done. Interesting too is a -vernacular translation of Cardinal Bessarion's exhortation to the -Italian princes to take arms against the Turk, showing a public for -productions of contemporary interest, outside the ranks of those who -could read Latin. In the following year, 1472, printed editions of no -fewer than six classical authors make their appearance at Venice, -Cicero's Tusculan Questions; Catullus, with Tibullus and Propertius, and -the Silvæ of Statius; Ausonius, with a considerable appendix of minor -poets; Macrobius's commentary on the "Somnium Scipionis," and the -authors of "De Re Rustica." Although some of the cities dependent upon -Venice—Padua, Treviso, Verona—were beginning to have printing-presses, -their typographers were not equal to such undertakings, and Venice must -have been the headquarters of production and distribution for her -extensive and opulent territory, and probably for many of the -neighbouring states. Her abundant capital and industry, liberal -administration in non-political matters, and the confluence of strangers -must be reckoned among the principal causes of this activity, to which -Mr. Horatio Brown adds another, the abundance and excellence of paper, -which the Venetian senate had protected a century before by prohibiting -the export of rags from their dominions. - -The extent and growth of the Venetian book-trade will appear by the -following notice of the number of works printed from 1469 to 1486, which -would be considerably augmented if dates could be safely assigned to -undated books:— - - 1469 4 books. - 1470 22 books. - 1471 48 books. - 1472 36 books. - 1473 28 books. - 1474 40 books. - 1475 37 books. - 1476 52 books. - 1477 55 books. - 1478 64 books. - 1479 16 books. - 1480 71 books. - 1481 79 books. - 1482 74 books. - 1483 104 books. - 1484 66 books. - 1485 84 books. - 1486 71 books. - -By 1495 the number of publications has risen to 119, the general -character of the books remaining much as before. The productions of the -Venetian press from 1469 to 1500 occupy more space in Panzer's catalogue -than those of Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Ferrara, -Padua, Parma, and Treviso put together. - -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 1471—Bologna, Ferrara, Florence, Milan and Naples. -Bologna, as might be expected in a university city, especially produces -erudite books, particularly in philosophy, mathematics, and medicine. -Petrarch and Boccaccio, however, relieve the general aridity, and there -is a fair sprinkling of classics. Ferrara's taste lies much in the same -direction, but it is remarkable for a school of Hebrew printing, and -does itself honour by the _editio princeps_ of Seneca's tragedies, and -even more so by that of Boccaccio's "Teseide," the first publication of -an Italian epic poem other than the "Divina Commedia." Florence appears -more tardy in developing the new art than might have been expected under -Medicean rule; and her early productions would seem comparatively -unimportant but for Bettini's "Monte Sancto di Dio" (1477), the first -example of a printed book containing copperplate engraving, and the -famous Dante of 1481, partly illustrated in the same manner. The -artistic eminence of Florence renders the production of this work within -her precincts especially significant; and in 1490 a school of -wood-engraving arises which surpasses the Venetian, and often confers -great artistic value upon typographical productions otherwise of little -account. Another interesting feature of Florentine typography, from -about 1480 until the end of the century, is the number of original -publications by native men of letters, such as Politian, the Pulcis, -and, in quite a different manner, Savonarola. Florence understood the -duty of encouraging contemporary talent better than any other Italian -city; yet, although she was the Athens of Italy, and possessed its -Pericles, the comparison between the extent of her typographical -production and that of Venice shows that the public is the better -patron. When, at a much later period, wealth and public spirit departed -from Venice to an extent which they never did from Florence, the lead -passed to the latter city. - -Milan is, for the first few years, principally devoted to the classics, -upon which law and theology gradually gain ground. Its great glory is -the first book printed in Greek—Lascaris's Grammar, 1476. Simoneta's -"History of Francesco Sforza," put forth by the authority of Lodovico -Sforza about 1479, is also a memorable book. Naples, where printing was -never very active, does little for classical literature, but produce -numerous works by local writers of distinction, from Archbishop -Caraccioli to the licentious Masuccio. The number of Hebrew books is a -remarkable feature. - -This slight degustation—analysis it cannot be called—of the fruits of -Italian Renaissance literature confirms the proposition with which we -began, that it was far more utilitarian than that of ages often -stigmatised as matter-of-fact and prosaic. The reproductions of -classical authors were not in general stimulated by enthusiasm for their -beauties, but by their utility, either for the information they -contained, or as books for school or college. Outside their circle very -little of a fanciful or imaginative character appeared, and this chiefly -in the shape of impressions of vernacular authors, such as Dante, -Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Original genius was at almost as low an ebb as -it has ever been, although a band of most gracefully accomplished men of -letters surrounded Lorenzo de' Medici, and Ariosto and Machiavelli were -growing up. In partial explanation of this circumstance, it may be -remarked that the fifteenth century, brilliant in its inventions and -discoveries, was, in a literary point of view, one of the most -unproductive periods in European history. Petrarch and Boccaccio in -Italy, Chaucer in England, left no successors; with the exception of -Æneas Sylvius, it would be difficult to point to any writer of the first -half of the century eminent by his achievements in elegant literature. -Had printing been invented in the thirteenth century, or in the age of -Elizabeth, we might have had a different story to record; but it must -now be said that for a long time it did little for the encouragement of -genius, hardly even of high talent. Yet the age as a whole was by no -means flat or prosaic, only its imagination was more powerfully -attracted to art than to letters, and a spiritual charm is chiefly -recognisable among its books in proportion as art has influenced them, -whether in the design of exquisite type or of beautiful illustration. -This utilitarian character of literature, as we have remarked, tended to -discourage readers for amusement or for the love of letters; and this in -turn discouraged printers and publishers from any serious effort to -provide vernacular reading. Literature accordingly remained for a long -time the property of the humanists, which is as much as to say that it -was imitative and not creative. The merits and defects of this excellent -class of men cannot be better exhibited than by their attitude towards -Greek. It was not one of indifference, they translated Greek authors -into Latin with exemplary pains; but they thought this quite -sufficient, and made no effort to render the originals accessible. They -valued Greek authors for their information, not for their style, and had -no idea of the value of the language as an instrument of education. A -creative epoch was required for this, such as speedily came with the -overthrow of the old order of Italy, with the discovery of America, -above all, with the Reformation. No age can bestow so great a boon upon -literature as the fifteenth century did by the invention of printing; -but it was not an age in which the hero flourished conspicuously as man -of letters. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[149:1] 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 him, but the language of the original document is clear. -It may be remarked that, did not other arguments abundantly suffice, -this transaction would prove the date 1461, in Nicolas Jenson's _Decor -Puellarum_, to be a misprint, as if he had printed before 1469 he would -have acquired a _locus standi_ which could not have been ignored in -Spira's favour. - - - - -SOME BOOK-HUNTERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY[161:1] - - -I feel that I owe an apology for presenting you with anything so scrappy -and disconnected as the paper you are to hear to-night. Being -unexpectedly called upon to fill a gap at a time when pressure of -occupation prevented my writing anything requiring care or study, I -bethought me of the story of the minister who, when about to officiate -as a substitute for another, received at the same time a hint that the -congregation were particular about quantity no less than quality, and -that they would expect the length of his public exercises to attain the -average of the regular incumbent. The absent gentleman was remarkable -for fluency, the _locum tenens_ was a man of few words. He did his best, -but by-and-by found himself with a vacant quarter of an hour and a -vacant head; when suddenly a happy thought flashed into the void, and he -exclaimed, "And now, O Lord, I will relate an anecdote." I too in my -emergency have taken refuge in anecdotage, and, in default of anything -of my own, I am about to bore or entertain you with some anecdotes of -book-collectors of the seventeenth century, borrowed from that -illustrious gossip and anecdote monger, Nicius Erythræus, with a brief -account of whom I will preface my paper. - -I scarcely think that I shall underrate the amount of information -respecting Nicius Erythræus current at this time in this country by -remarking that the name is probably best known as a pseudonym of -Coleridge, under which his poem of "Lewti," a Circassian love-chant, was -first given to the world, and most readers will have deemed his adoption -of it a mere freak. I confess that I am myself unable to discover what -Nicius Erythræus has to do with the Circassians, but it is not an -imaginary name, being the Latinisation of that of Vittorio dé Rossi, an -Italian Jesuit, who flourished during the last quarter of the sixteenth, -and the first half of the seventeenth century, and, always writing in -Latin, translated his vernacular appellation into that language. The -circumstance of his having written in Latin is no doubt one principal -reason why he is now so little remembered. He was one of the pioneers of -a reviving form of literature, the anecdotic. Poggio Bracciolini had -written a very popular book of anecdotes in the fifteenth century, but -his tales are often mere Joe Millers, and not always authentic. Nicius's -stories are _bona-fide_ anecdotes or reminiscences of actual personages, -with most of whom he had conversed. All roads, it is said, lead to Rome, -and his position as an ecclesiastic about the Papal court, albeit a -hungry and discontented one (he had sorely prejudiced himself by a -romance, the "Eudemia," in which he had made too free with the -characters of influential people), brought him into contact with every -man of mark who resorted to it, whether a denizen of Rome or a foreign -visitor. His gallery of portraits includes two persons of much interest -to Britain, John Barclay, Scot by descent if French by birth, author of -the "Argenis"; and Teresa, the fair Armenian, who wedded our countryman -Sir Robert Sherley, in his adventurous Persian travels. In my opinion he -is a most entertaining writer, lively and animated, with a bright -descriptive touch; an elegant Latinist, and though much given to -relating stories which the subjects of them would have wished to consign -to oblivion, he is at bottom very good-natured. His principal work is -his "Pinacotheca," or Portrait Gallery, in three parts, each containing -a hundred sketches of contemporaries, all people of some note, if only -for their eccentricities, and many of whom, but for him, would now be -utterly unknown. He doubtless retails much gossip at second-hand, but I -do not think that he has invented anything, and I believe that we see -his contemporaries in his pages much as they really were. For proofs, -authorities, _pièces justificatives_, you must look elsewhere, and -Nicius shuns a date as if it were the number of the beast. - -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 binding, but of whose personal character -and habits, were it not for Nicius, we should know nothing. Every one -interested in the bibliopegic art is more or less acquainted with the -beautiful bindings executed for Demetrius Canevarius, physician to Urban -VII., elected Pope in 1590, but whom all his leech's skill could not -keep alive upon the Papal throne for more than twelve days. This -certainly does not seem to have been the fault of the physician, who -was, Nicius tells us, a Genoese of noble family, who condescended to the -medical profession in the hope of becoming rich. In this there is -nothing to criticise; but unfortunately, avarice seems to have been his -master passion, indeed his only passion, except the love of books, which -has given him an honourable place in literary history. Having removed -from Genoa to Rome, he soon obtained the confidence of many of the -Cardinals, and became the most celebrated and opulent physician of his -day. But his habits were most parsimonious; he never, in his own house, -says Nicius, tasted fowl or fish, or anything that any sumptuary law -could have forbidden in any age. He lived by himself; his meals, -consisting of bread, soup, and a scrap of meat, were brought him by an -old woman who never entered the house, and drawn up to the first floor -in a basket. He bought his new clothes ready made, and his second-hand -clothes from the Jews. As soon as he got any money, he put it out to -interest, and when he got the interest upon that, he put it out again. -The one exception to this parsimony was the expense to which he went in -buying books. Dry as pumice, says Nicius, in every other respect, in -this he was most liberal; if you look, that is, to the total sum he -expended, and not to the prices he gave for individual books. For he -beat the booksellers down unrelentingly, and would carry off their books -at much lower prices than they asked, notwithstanding their lamentations -and complaints that they were going to be ruined. How could he achieve -this? By the magic of ready money; 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 pay. Thus was -Canevarius unknowingly a forerunner of the political economists, and an -initiator of the principle of small profits and quick returns. Of the -bindings which constitute his glory with posterity Nicius says nothing; -but ascribes his prowess as a collector in great measure to a love of -fame. No unworthy motive either, but it is likely that public spirit had -quite as much to do with it; for Canevarius not merely collected the -library which he expected to perpetuate his name with posterity, but -bequeathed it to his native city of Genoa, and left by his will an -annuity of two hundred crowns to a caretaker. It would be interesting to -learn what became of the books and the pension; if the facts are not -already upon record they ought to be investigated. From the preface to a -posthumous work of Canevarius, published by his brother, it would almost -seem that the family had some control over it, and if so they may have -dilapidated it. If the library, when transmitted to Genoa, contained all -the elaborate bindings which are now esteemed so precious, it was a -bequest of more value than could have been supposed at the time. Though -stingy and covetous in his life, Canevarius was a benefactor to many at -his death. He left, Nicius says, such a multitude of legacies, and such -a host of minute directions to be observed after his decease, that his -will was as big as a book. The ruling passion of parsimony remained with -him, and he gave a remarkable instance of it in his last illness. -"When," says Nicius, "ten days before his death, an old woman who had -come to nurse him gave him an egg to suck, and then took a new napkin -from a cupboard to wipe his lips; 'What mean you,' cried he, 'by -spoiling a new napkin? was there never a tattered one in the house? -Depart to the infernal regions!'" Yet even here Canevarius emerges -victorious, for the disparaging biographer is constrained to admit that -he _had_ a new napkin. - -The next chapter of bibliographical anecdote which I propose to cite -from Nicius Erythræus is not derived from his Pinacotheca, but from his -Epistles. It relates to persons of more importance than Demetrius -Canevarius, to no less a man, indeed, than Cardinal Mazarin, and to the -eminent French scholar Gabriel Naudé, then (1645) employed as his agent -in collecting the first Mazarin Library, so unhappily destroyed and -dispersed a few years afterwards by the hostile Parliament of Paris. -Naudé has deplored the fate of the collection in a book devoted to it, -and Nicius, his intimate friend and correspondent, powerfully confirms -the loss which letters thus received by his description of Naudé's -exertions as a collector, in a letter he writes to Cardinal Chigi, Papal -nuncio in Germany. After mentioning that Naudé had seventeen years -before obtained great credit by a work "On the Formation of Public -Libraries," and that Mazarin having laid the foundation of his library -by buying that of a Canon of Limoges, consisting of six thousand -volumes, Naudé had doubled this number by purchases within one year; he -adds, "Finding nothing more to buy in Paris he went to Belgium, and -there took the pick of the market; and this year has come to Italy, -where the booksellers' shops seem devastated as by a whirlwind. He buys -up everything, printed or manuscript, in all languages, leaves the -shelves empty behind him, and sometimes comes down upon them with a -rule, and insists upon taking their contents by the yard. Often, seeing -masses of books accumulated together, he asks the price of the entire -lot; it is named; differences ensue; but, by dint of urging, bullying, -storming, our man gets his way, and often acquires excellent books among -the heap, for less than if they had been pears or lemons. When the -vendor comes to think over the matter, he concludes that he has been -bewitched, and complains that he would have fared better with the -butterman, or the grocer. Did you see our Naudé coming out of a -bookseller's shop you could never help laughing, so covered from head -to foot is he with cobwebs, and that learned dust which sticks to books, -from which neither thumps nor brushes, it seems, would ever be able to -free him. I have seen multitudes of Hebrew books in his bedroom, so -stained and greasy and stinking, that one's nose seemed damaged -irrecoverably; they must have been disinterred from Jewish kitchens, -smelling as they did of smoke, soup, cheese, pickles, or rather of a -mixture of each and all these aromas. If he gives them a place in his -library, he will undoubtedly bring in the mice; they will flock in from -Paris and the suburbs, hold their feasts, convoke their parliaments, and -deliberate on the ways and means of resisting the cats, their capital -enemies. But, without joking, Naudé means that Paris shall have the -finest public library in Europe." - -I need not dwell further on the sad fate of this magnificent collection, -nor remind you that Mazarin formed a second which, especially for one -book's sake, has endeared him to many who know little of him as a -statesman, and that little not always to his advantage. After hearing of -his munificence and indomitable spirit in the collection of books, we -may feel more reconciled to the first book ever printed in Europe being -popularly associated with his name, although "Gutenberg Bible" would -still be the more appropriate designation. - -My next anecdote relates to a book-hunter not less enthusiastic and -determined than Mazarin or Naudé, but much less known to fame, unknown, -in fact, were it not for our good Nicius Erythræus. Prosper Podianus, a -Perugian, but living at Rome, cared, says Nicius, from his youth upwards -but to find out who had written a book upon any subject, at what price -it was to be had, and how he was to get it. His life was consequently -spent in frequenting booksellers' shops and stalls, which latter seem to -have become an established institution in Nicius's time, although, as -would appear, the dealers were not always sufficiently civilised to have -actual stalls, but merely strewed the books upon the ground. (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 bookstall.) As Podianus really -was a connoisseur, and knew well what he was about, he frequently picked -up some precious volume for a trifle, and was far from imitating the -conscientiousness of Giovenale Ancina, Bishop of Saluzzo. This excellent -prelate, it is credibly reported, having observed a valuable book amid a -pile heaped upon the ground, as above mentioned, on learning that it was -to be had for a penny, turned short upon the bookseller, rated him -soundly for his ignorance, and gave him a scudo. Different indeed from -the conduct of a lady narrated to me the other day, who, seeing a copy -of the first edition of George Meredith's Poems, commercially worth ten -or twelve guineas, priced at two shillings, and knowing its value right -well, marched with it into the shop and beat the bookseller down to -eighteenpence. I know not whether I more admire or execrate that woman. - -Podianus could hardly be expected to emulate the magnanimity of Bishop -Ancina, considering that if he had often had to give scudi for his -books, he would have been reduced to the necessity of stealing them. He -was rich, however, in a thrifty wife, to whom her husband's goings-on -were an enigma and an abomination. Finding that remonstrances availed -nothing, whenever money for housekeeping was absolutely necessary, she -would lay hold of a book, and pledge it with the butcher or baker or -candlestick-maker, when Podianus would be necessitated to redeem it -somehow. He himself rarely dined and did not always sleep at home, being -sure of free quarters from other bibliophiles, who hoped that he would -one day bequeath them his library. At length he was persuaded to make a -donation of it in his lifetime, on condition that the books should -remain in his possession until his death. Either oblivious of this, or -wishing to secure other patrons, he made another prospective donation of -the books to the fathers of a certain monastery, who inscribed the -record of his benefaction upon a marble tablet, to be put up in their -chapel after his death. When this event took place, they swooped down -upon the prize, only to find a still more recent beneficiary in -possession. In their mortification they effaced the laudatory -inscription from the tablet, only leaving the initial letters D. O. M., -which were commonly interpreted, Daturis Opes Majores—to those who -shall leave us a more substantial legacy. - -Nicius mentions one more mighty book-hunter, Cardinal Peranda, of whom, -however, beyond the fact that he was enthusiastic and indefatigable in -the pursuit, we learn nothing bibliographically memorable but his -misadventure with a pet monkey, which, having got hold of the cotton -stopper of the ink-bottle (for so I must render _gossypium_ according to -my present lights) saturated with ink, must needs employ it upon the -most precious book in his whole library. An enemy of books this which -has escaped the attention of Mr. Blades. I will conclude with an -anecdote not strictly bibliographic or bibliopolic, but not unconnected -with the special objects of our Association, inasmuch as it proves the -use in Italy, early in the seventeenth century, of a minor invention -serviceable to bookmen—blotting-paper. It is the story of Muzio Oddi, -mathematician and engineer, who, though debarred from pen and ink, -solaced his imprisonment at Pesaro by the composition of mathematical -treatises, written on sheets of blotting-paper, at first by charcoal cut -to a point, afterwards, having given more stability to his paper by -pressing several sheets together, by a reed-pen dipped in ink made from -charcoal and water, and kept in a walnut shell. Sir Edward Thompson has -shown from an old record that blotting-paper was known in England in -the middle of the fifteenth century; yet sand was in more common use to -a comparatively recent date. It is a remarkable circumstance that sand -was used instead of blotting-paper in the Reading Room of the British -Museum as late as 1838, and was then only discontinued on the -representation of Mr. Panizzi that it got into the books. If, however, -Oddi was able to procure so many sheets of it when he could not get -writing-paper, it must have been common in Italy at the period of his -imprisonment, which would probably be about 1620. I must not omit to add -that this ingenious man made the compasses he required out of twigs of -olive wood, that the books he composed under such difficulties were -actually published, and that he was eventually liberated, and died in -wealth and honour. - -These few anecdotes from a restricted field of human activity may afford -some idea of the opulence of Nicius Erythræus in humorous, and at the -same time urbane gossip. He was a quaint, pleasant man, something -between Pepys and Aubrey, not of the highest intellectual powers, but a -fair judge of other men, a good scholar and Latinist, and with quite -sufficient sense to know when a story was worth repeating. He has -preserved much that would have been lost without him, and has made a -sunshine in that very shady place, the Rome of the seventeenth century. -His main defect, ornate prolixity when simple brevity would have been -more appropriate, is the besetting sin of most Jesuit prose writers. He -seems just the sort of useful, entertaining, neglected writer, whom the -presses of our Universities might advantageously reproduce, and the -illustration of his text would afford congenial employment to an -accomplished editor. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[161:1] Read before the Monthly Meeting of the Library Association, -London, April 1898. - - - - -LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY[174:1] - - -The natural reaction against over-statements respecting the darkness of -the dark ages, has led to the counter-statement that they were not dark -at all. We librarians know better. We know that they must have been in -darkness, inasmuch as our body did not exist to enlighten them. There -can have been no librarians where there were no libraries; 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 required. The function of librarian must have -been one of the numerous offices discharged cumulatively by a single -monk, upon whom it may sometimes have been imposed by way of penance. It -was otherwise in classical antiquity. To say nothing of the Alexandrian -Library, and its connection with men as distinguished as Callimachus and -Apollonius, so late as near the close of the third century of our era -the decree of the Emperor Tacitus, that the historical works of his -illustrious namesake should be transcribed and placed in the public -libraries throughout the empire, indicates the existence of numerous -institutions of this description, under responsible officers, servants -of the State, or the municipality. - -Almost all personal trace, however, of the famous librarians of -antiquity has disappeared; 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 -excite, could this be recovered. It would be interesting to know when -and where in Renaissance, or post-Renaissance times, the accumulation of -books first became so considerable as to demand the whole time of the -officer entrusted with their custody, and thus to give birth to -librarianship as a distinct profession. Into this inquiry I do not -propose to enter. I wish merely, on the present occasion, to direct your -attention to the evidence borne about the middle of the seventeenth -century to the development at that period attained by librarianship, and -the conception of its duties and possibilities entertained by John Dury, -a man in advance of his times. - -Dury was by birth a Scotchman, and by profession a divine. He had -signalised his appreciation of libraries at an early age by repairing to -Oxford with the object of studying in the Bodleian. He is entitled to -figure on the roll of librarians himself, having been appointed -deputy-keeper of the Royal Library after the execution of Charles I., -which charge may very probably have suggested to him those thoughts on -the duties of librarians and the standard of librarianship, of which I -am to give you an account. The main object of his life, however, was the -even more important but certainly less hopeful undertaking of allaying -the acrimony of religious zealots. In pursuance of this mission we find -him almost more abroad than at home; ever labouring to appease the -dissensions of Protestants, now negotiating with Gustavus Adolphus, now -with the Synod of Transylvania; now at Utrecht, now at Brandenburgh, now -at Metz, where he submitted to the loss of his "great, square, white -beard," as a peace offering to the prejudices of French Protestantism. -He eventually, long after the Restoration, died in Hesse, where he was -entertained and protected by the Regent. 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-makers. It may, perhaps, have -been inferred that he was not in all respects the most practical of men, -and this, indeed, appears from his works on education rather than from -his suggestions on libraries. But his utopianism was less owing to -infirmity of judgment than to the habitual elevation of his moral and -intellectual standard. He thought better of his fellow-men than they -deserved, and was himself a man of eminent desert. If his own writings -did not survive to speak for him, it would be sufficient to record that -he was the intimate friend of Samuel Hartlib, the foreign guest to whom -England is so greatly indebted as philanthropist and practical -agriculturist, and to whom several of his own treatises are inscribed. - -The tract in which Dury published his ideas respecting the duties of a -librarian is entitled "The Reformed Library Keeper; with a Supplement to -the Reformed School, as subordinate to Colleges in Universities" -(London, 1650). It appears with a brief preface by Samuel Hartlib, to -whom the "Library Keeper" is addressed in the form of two letters, and -who had already published Dury's "Reformed School," to which another -portion of the tiny pamphlet is a supplement. - -From the general drift of Dury's observations, it would appear that in -his view, which was very probably correct, librarianship had in his day -reached such a degree of development as to have become an independent -profession, but not such a degree as to be a very useful one. It was -necessary to have librarians, but librarians, as such, had not enough to -do to constitute them very important or valuable members of the -community. The remedy for this state of things was destined to come -slowly, partly by increase of books, and even more by an increase of -readers. We know that the profession at present finds ample employment -for well-nigh all the energies of its most active members. This was far -from the case in Dury's day, and being unable so to accelerate the march -of intellect as to find sufficing occupation for the librarian, and at -the same time hating to see a functionary potentially so important -comparatively useless, he not unnaturally sought to provide him with -other vocations in which the more technical work of librarianship would -have been merged. In so doing he anticipated the modern idea, especially -rife in America, that the librarian should not only be a custodian and -distributor of books, but a missionary of culture. Hence came the -further idea that more being expected of the librarian more should be -given him, and the office thus made worthy of the acceptance of men of -parts and learning. Thus we find Dury, from a comparative outsider's -point of view, coming to magnify the librarian's office and demand -generous treatment for its incumbent, very much in the tone now held by -the organs and representatives of the profession itself. It must be -borne in mind that he speaks not so much in the interest of librarians -as of the public; 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 duties. - -It will now be well to let him speak for himself. - -"The library keeper's place and office in most countries are looked upon -as places of profit and gain." - -Rather a startling statement to us, who have been accustomed to look -upon librarianship as under the special influence of the planet Saturn, -which is said to preside over all occupations in which money is obtained -with very great difficulty. It would seem, however, that mean as the -prizes of librarianship might be, they were yet scrambled for. - -"And so," he continues, "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 Israel. For the most part men look after the -maintenance and livelihood settled upon their places more than upon the -end and usefulness of their employments. They seek themselves and not -the public therein, and so they subordinate all the advantages of their -places to purchase mainly two things thereby, viz., an easy subsistence -and some credit in comparison of others, nor is the last much regarded -if the first may be had. To speak in particular of library keepers in -most universities that I know, nay, indeed, in all, their places are but -mercenary, and their employment of little or no use further than to look -to the books committed to their custody, that they may not be lost or -embezzled by those that use them, and this is all." - -Dury has, no doubt, here put his finger upon the main cause of the low -condition of the librarianship of his day. The general conception of the -librarian's functions was far too narrow. He was allowed no share in the -government of his own library. He had not necessarily anything to do -with the selection of new books, nor was it expected of him that he -should advise and direct the studies of those resorting to the -collections committed to his care. In fact he was not usually qualified -for such activity, or even for the minor task of making these -collections serviceable by means of catalogues and indexes. The -development of literature had advanced so far as to necessitate the -library custodian, but had not yet produced the library -administrator—the Denis and Audiffredi of the succeeding century. Dury -saw this, and also saw that the ideal librarian he had conceived in his -own mind would need better pay that he might do better work. One -exception to his apparently sweeping statements must be noted. Bodley's -librarians in the seventeenth century were undoubtedly men of high -literary distinction. Yet even here the arrangements for the librarian's -remuneration were unsatisfactory, and wrong in principle. - -"I have been informed," says Dury, "that in Oxford the settled -maintenance of the library keeper is not above fifty or sixty pounds per -annum, but that it is accidentally _viis et modis_, sometimes worth a -hundred pound. What the accidents are, and the ways and means by which -they come, I have not been curious to search after." - -So we are not to know by what shifts Mr. Nicholson's seventeenth-century -predecessor mended his salary. "Hay and oats," says Dean Swift, "in the -hands of a skilful groom will make excellent wine, as well as ale, but -_this_ I only _hint_." - -Dury now proceeds to develop his ideas in a fine and wise passage:— - -"I have thought that if the proper employments of library keepers were -taken into consideration as they are, or may be made useful to the -advancement of learning; and were ordered and maintained -proportionately to the ends which ought to be intended thereby, they -would be of exceeding great use to all scholars, and have an universal -influence upon all the parts of learning, to produce and propagate the -same into perfection. For if library keepers did understand themselves -in the nature of their work, and would make themselves, as they ought to -be, useful in their places in a public way, they ought to become agents -for the advancement of universal learning; and to this effect I could -wish that their places might not be made, as everywhere they are, -mercenary, but rather honorary; and that with the competent allowance of -two hundred pounds a year [equivalent to about six hundred nowadays], -some employments should be put upon them further than a bare keeping of -the books. It is true that a fair library is not only an adornment and -credit to the place where it is, but an useful commodity by itself to -the public; yet in effect it is no more than a dead body as now it is -constituted, in comparison of what it might be, if it were animated with -a public spirit to keep and use it, and ordered as it might be for -public service. For if such an allowance were settled upon the -employment as might maintain a man of parts and generous thoughts, then -a condition might be annexed to the bestowing of the place; that none -should be called thereunto but such as had approved themselves zealous -and profitable in some public ways of learning to advance the same, or -that should be bound to certain tasks to be prosecuted towards that end, -whereof a list might be made, and the way to try their abilities in -prosecuting the same should be described, lest in after times -unprofitable men creep into the place to frustrate the public of the -benefit intended by the donors towards posterity. The proper charge, -then, of the honorary library keeper in a university should be thought -upon, and the end of that employment, in my conception, is to keep the -public stock of learning, which is in books and manuscripts; to increase -it, and to propose it to others in the way which may be most useful unto -all; his work, then, is to be a factor and trader for helps to learning, -and a treasurer to keep them, and a dispenser to apply them to use, or -to see them well used, or at least not abused." - -This established, Dury proceeds to point out how the library should be -made useful. His main idea is that a library should be a kind of -factory, and it is astonishing how often he contrives to introduce the -word "trade" into his proposals. 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 it, it is like a talent buried in a -napkin; that to be really useful it must go to the public, and that the -librarian must place himself in active communication with men of -learning. It was hardly conceived in Dury's day that any but scholars -could have occasion for libraries, but translating his proposals into -the language of our time, it will appear that they contemplate such an -ideal of librarianship as is professed in America, and is realised with -no small success in many of our leading free libraries. The first -condition is a good catalogue:— - -"That is," says Dury, "all the books and manuscripts according to the -titles whereunto they belong, are to be ranked in an order most easy and -obvious to be found, which I think is that of sciences and languages, -when first all the books are divided into their _subjectam materiam_ -whereof they treat, and then every kind of matter subdivided into their -several languages." - -Evidently Dury was little troubled with the questions which have so -exercised librarians since his time. "The subject-matter of which a book -treats" is not always easy to ascertain. It might have puzzled Dury -himself to decide whether his own tract should be catalogued along with -books on libraries, or with the "Reformed School" to which it is -professedly an appendix, and to which half its contents have a direct -relation. The suggestion that books should be catalogued by languages -was propounded before the British Museum Commission of 1849, and -promptly dismissed as the fancy of an amateur. It would be curious to -see Pope's Homer in one catalogue, Voss's in another, and the original -in a third. - -Dury next judiciously adds that room must be left in the library for the -increase of books, an indispensable condition not always easy of -fulfilment; 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 -repositories." That is, the catalogue must have press-marks; in which -suggestion Dury was two centuries ahead of many of the most important -foreign libraries. It will be observed that he takes it for granted that -the catalogue shall be printed, and in this he was ahead of almost all -the libraries of his time, and until lately of the British Museum. In -fact he could not be otherwise, 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 profit. Hence he -prescribes "a catalogue of additionals, which every year within the -universities is to be published in writing within the library itself, -and every three years to be put in print and made common to those that -are abroad." - -The full plan of communication is unfolded in the following passage:— - -"When the stock is thus known and fitted to be exposed to the view of -the learned world, then the way of trading with it, both at home and -abroad, is to be laid to heart both for the increase of the stock and -for the improvement of its use. For the increase of the stock both at -home and abroad, correspondence should be held with those that are -eminent in every science to trade with them for their profit, that what -they want and we have, they may receive upon condition; that what they -have and we want, they should impart in that faculty wherein their -eminence doth lie. As for such as are at home eminent in any kind, -because they may come by native right to have use of the library -treasure, they are to be traded with all in another way, viz., that the -things which are gained from abroad, which as yet are not made common -and put to public use, should be promised and imparted to them for the -increase of their private stock of knowledge, to the end that what they -have peculiar, may also be given in for a requital, so that the -particularities of gifts at home and abroad are to meet as in a centre -in the hand of the Library Keeper, and he is to trade with the one by -the other, to cause them to multiply the public stock, whereof he is a -treasurer and factor. - -"Thus he should trade with those that are at home and abroad out of the -university, and with those that are within the university, he should -have acquaintance to know all that are of any parts, and how their view -of learning doth lie, to supply helps unto them in their faculties from -without and from within the nation, to put them upon the keeping of -correspondence with men of their own strain, for the beating out of -matters not yet elaborated in sciences; so that they may be as his -assistants and subordinate factors in his trade and in their own for -gaining of knowledge." - -Further instructions follow respecting the control to be exercised over -the librarian, who is to give an account of his stewardship once a year -to the doctors of the university, who are themselves, each in his own -faculty, to suggest additional books proper to be added to the library. -Dury seems to have no doubt that funds will always be forthcoming, as -well as for the librarian's "extraordinary expenses in correspondencies -and transcriptions for the public good." It seems to be expected that he -will frequently make advances out of his own pocket. Dury glides lightly -over these ticklish financial details, which, however, remind him of the -existence of a law of copyright, and the probable accumulation of -accessions undesirable from the point of view of mere scholarship. His -observations on this point are full of liberality and good sense:— - -"I understand that all the book-printers or stationers of the -Commonwealth are bound of every book that is printed, to send a copy -into the University Library; and it is impossible for one man to read -all the books in all faculties, to judge of them what worth there is in -them; nor hath every one ability to judge of all kind of sciences what -every author doth handle, and how sufficiently; therefore I would have -at this time of giving accounts, the library keeper also bound to -produce the catalogue of all the books sent unto the University's -library by the stationers that printed them; to the end that every one -of the doctors in their own faculties should declare whether or no they -should be added, and where they should be placed in the catalogue of -additionals. For I do not think that all books and treatises, which in -this age are printed in all kinds, should be inserted into the -catalogue, and added to the stock of the library; discretion must be -used and confusion avoided, and a course taken to distinguish that -which is profitable from that which is useless; and according to the -verdict of that society, the usefulness of books for the public is to be -determined. Yet because there is seldom any books wherein there is not -something useful, and books freely given are not to be cast away, but -may be kept, therefore I would have a peculiar place appointed for such -books as shall be laid aside to keep them in, 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 referred." It -seems then, that if Dury could have advised Bodley, and Bodley had -listened to him, the Bodleian would have been rich in early -Shakespeares, and might have preserved many publications now entirely -lost. - -Dury's second letter on the subject merely repeats the ideas of the -first with less practical suggestion and in a more declamatory style. It -contains a striking passage on the ruin of the library of Heidelberg, a -terrible warning to librarians. It had books, it had manuscripts, but it -had no catalogue, and its candlestick was taken away. - -"What a great stir hath been heretofore, about the eminency of the -library of Heidelberg, but what use was made of it? It was engrossed -into the hands of a few, till it became a prey unto the enemies of the -truth. If the library keeper had been a man that would have traded with -it for the increase of true learning, it might have been preserved unto -this day in all the rareties thereof, not so much by the shuttings up of -the multitude of books, and the rareness thereof for antiquity, 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 -parts, and so the library rareties would not only have been preserved in -the spirits of men, but have fructified abundantly therein unto this -day, whereas they are now lost, because they were but a talent digged in -the ground." - -Well said! and it may be added that one good reason for printing the -catalogue of a great library is that, in the event of its destruction, -it may at least be known what it contained. The greatest library in the -world was within an ace of destruction under the Paris Commune: had it -perished, the very memory of a large part of its contents would have -been lost. Respecting Heidelberg, it should be remarked that the -destruction was not quite so irreparable as would appear from Dury's -passionate outburst. The books and manuscripts to a considerable extent -went not to the Devil but to the Pope, though Dury probably could see -little difference. But even the Pope did not ultimately retain them. No -fewer than eight hundred and ninety MSS. were subsequently carried off -by Napoleon, and being thus at Paris at the entry of the allies, were -reclaimed by the Bavarian Government, and restored to the University of -Heidelberg, with the sanction of the Pope, at the special instance of -the King of Prussia.[188:1] - -Appended to the tract is a short Latin account, also by Dury, of the -Duke of Brunswick's library at Wolfenbuttel, famous on many grounds, and -especially for having had Lessing as its librarian. It appears that on -May 21, 1649, it was estimated to contain 60,000 treatises by 37,000 -authors, bound in 20,000 volumes, all collected since 1604. It must -therefore have been administered with an energy corresponding to the -demands of Dury, who concludes his enthusiastic account with an -aspiration which every librarian will echo on behalf of the institution -with which he is himself connected:— - -"Faxit Deus, ut Thesaurus hic rerum divinarum æternarum sit et ipse -æternus, neque prius quam mundi machina laboret aut intercidat." - -It will have been observed that Dury's suggestions have reference solely -to university libraries. The conception of a really popular library did -not then exist, 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 literature, embodying every -variety of opinion, should be indiscriminately accessible to every -condition of men. But this very limitation of his views should render -his admonition, and his lofty standard of the librarian's duty, more -interesting and significant to the librarians of the nineteenth century. -For if the advising function was rightly deemed so important in him who -had to consult with university professors, men probably of more learning -than himself, much more is its judicious exercise required in him who -has to aid the researches and direct the studies of the comparatively -ignorant. "The Reformed Library Keeper," therefore, has a message for -our age as well as its own; and we need not regret the half-hour we have -spent with good old John Dury, the first who discovered that a librarian -had a soul to be saved. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[174:1] Read at the Monthly Meeting of the Library Association, March -1884. - -[188:1] See Wilken, "Geschichte der Bildung, Beraubung, und Vernichtung -der alten Heidelbergischen Büchersammlungen" (Heidelberg, 1817). - - - - -THE MANUFACTURE OF FINE PAPER IN ENGLAND IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY - - -The MS. correspondence of Conyers Middleton with Lord Hervey, acquired -by the British Museum in 1885, contains, incidentally, evidence -respecting the source from which fine paper, suitable for printing -handsome books, was derived by English publishers until nearly the -middle of the eighteenth century. Much of this correspondence relates to -the progress of Middleton's "Life of Cicero," Lord Hervey, to whom the -book was dedicated, and who had been zealous in procuring subscribers, -frequently urging more expedition, and Middleton assigning various -causes for delay. At last, under date of April 6, 1740, Middleton -mentions one which he regards as for the time insuperable. War against -Spain, it should be noticed, had been declared in November 1739, and -Spain had at the time troops in Italy, and considerable naval strength -in the Mediterranean. - -"As to Tully," says Middleton, "I am ashamed almost to mention it, on -account of a total cessation of the press from want of paper, occasioned -by the uncertain return of ships from Genoa since the commencement of -the war, during which our large paper is exhausted, and not a sheet of -it to be had in London till a fresh cargo arrives, which is expected, -however, every day. The booksellers did not give me the least hint of -this till it was too late to be remedied, knowing that it would vex me, -as it really has done, yet there is no help but patience. But we may -possibly retrieve this loss of time by employing several presses at once -as soon as we get paper, since I have now finished all my part, and -assure your lordship that there is not a subscriber so desirous to read -as I am to get it out of my hands." - -On April 27, Middleton repeats his assurance that "no one is half so -impatient to read as I am to publish." This does not satisfy Lord -Hervey, who writes on May 27: "I cannot, 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 work. I tell -the story of the disappointment you met with in the paper, but am -answered by almost everybody that this need not and should not hinder -your publishing at least the first volume. I could wish that some way -could be contrived, without you or your bookseller running any risk, to -let the first part come out immediately. Could you not do it by a -previous advertisement relating the misfortune of the paper, and saying -whoever was willing to pay the second payment should have the first part -delivered to them?" - -Middleton replies on June 3: "As to the publication, all I can say is -that as soon as paper arrives, your lordship shall be master both of the -time and the manner, so far as is in my power; but until we get a -recruit of paper, which has long been wholly exhausted, it is not -possible to publish the first volume, since there are two sections of it -still unprinted." - -On June 17, however, he reports a change for the better: "Our paper -arrived in the Downs last week, and is in port probably by this time, so -that we shall now carry on our work with all possible vigour; and if we -cannot publish both the volumes in Michaelmas term, which my managers, -however, promise me to do, I will undertake at least at all adventures -for the publication of the first." - -The work still did not progress. Middleton writes on August 24: "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 press, but I have the mortification still to -acquaint your lordship that we have not printed a sheet since I saw your -lordship, and though I wrote to my bookseller above three weeks ago to -know what end we are to expect to this unaccountable interruption, yet I -have not heard a word from him." - -But on September 4 he reports himself at the end of his troubles, so far -as concerns the supply of paper: "I could not omit the first opportunity -of acquainting your lordship that we have received a stock of paper at -last from Genoa, sufficient for finishing the first volume, _and have -provided a quantity also of our own manufacture, which is the better of -the two_, for carrying on the second volume at the same time, which I -have ordered to be committed immediately to the press, and hope that we -may be able still to publish both the volumes before Christmas." - -The book did, in fact, appear about February, 1741. An examination of -the copies in the King's and Cracherode Libraries, British Museum, -confirms the statements in Middleton's letters. The work is printed on -two different qualities and descriptions of paper. By much the larger -part of the first volume, extending in the King's Library copy to p. -472, sig. Ooo, and in the Cracherode copy to p. 464 (misprinted 264), -sig. Nnn, but not including the dedication, preface, or list of -subscribers, is impressed on a very fine thick paper, without name, -date, or device, except two watermarks, frequently interchanged, -resembling respectively an escutcheon and a _fleur-de-lis_. The -remainder of the volume, and the whole of vol. 2, are executed upon a -good, but thinner and inferior, paper, with no clue to the date or place -of manufacture. The first leaf for which this new paper is employed is -greatly stained in both copies, apparently from contact with the Italian -paper, as the same is the case with the last leaf of the preliminary -matter. Some other leaves are slightly stained, especially near the end. -The leaves in finest condition are those of the dedication to Lord -Hervey and the preface, which were printed last, and with which especial -care would be taken. The portion of the first volume printed on the -English paper is not so considerable as Middleton seems to have at one -time expected, consisting, instead of two sections, of only a portion of -section 6, the last in the volume. It must be supposed that the paper -"in the Downs" proved sufficient to carry the impression on to the point -where the Italian paper fails. The difference between the thickness of -the two papers is such that although vol. 2 has only 36 pages less than -vol. 1, it weighs 11¼ oz. less, or about ⅛. - -It appears unquestionable, then, that about the year 1740 English -publishers depended for the execution of fine books upon paper imported -from Genoa, and that the interruption of the supply from this quarter -occasioned great inconvenience for a time, keeping an important book at -a standstill for several months, but soon called the manufacture of fine -paper into activity, as a branch of English industry. It would be -interesting to know how long before 1740 this trade originated, and how -long after that date it continued. It is scarcely likely that it -flourished during the warlike times of Queen Anne; but it probably -revived during the quarter-century of tranquillity which followed the -Treaty of Utrecht. It is not probable that it long survived the -development of the manufacture of fine paper in England. Though inferior -to the Italian, the English paper was quite good enough to displace this -if it had the advantage of superior cheapness, as it certainly must have -had. Ample materials for deciding these questions probably exist on the -shelves of the King's Library. - -It should be mentioned that there was an impression of the "Life of -Cicero" on small paper, but the great majority of the splendid list of -subscribers prefixed to the work appear as subscribing for large-paper -copies. - - NOTE.—The writer might have remarked that Brian Walton, in - the preface to his superb edition of the Polyglott Bible - (1657) expresses, in a passage afterwards suppressed, his - obligation to the Protector and the Council of State, for - having remitted in his behalf the duty on paper; which is - undoubtedly to be understood of a tax on paper imported from - abroad. - - - - -ON SOME COLOPHONS OF THE EARLY PRINTERS[197:1] - - -The paper to which I am about to invite attention belongs to the class -which Mr. Chancellor Christie has very justly entitled "haphazard -papers," lying outside the proper work of the Library Association, and -contributing little or nothing to promote it. It is written to recommend -a slight literary undertaking which could not possibly find a place in -the programme of our body. It can only plead that a certain variety has -always been thought conducive to the interest of our gatherings; that it -may be well to show that no province of book-lore is altogether too -remote for our attention; and that a prolusion on an out-of-the-way -subject may have, so to speak, a kind of decorative value; as a sprig of -barberries, though nobody wants to eat it, may serve as garnish for a -substantial dish. The little enterprise I have to recommend is the -publishing, in a small volume, of such colophons, or attestations of the -completion of a book by a printer, as belong to the fifteenth century, -and possess individual features of interest, not being mere -matter-of-fact announcements or repetitions from former productions of -the same press. - -There are two main sources of interest in the colophon—the biographical -and the personal. Taking the former first, it may be remarked that for a -long time the colophon supplied the place of the title-page. It would be -impossible to give a catalogue of very early title-pages, for very early -books had no title-pages. In his charming and beautifully illustrated -papers on the "History of the Title-Page," recently published in the -_Universal Review_—which I strongly recommend to your perusal—Mr. -Alfred Pollard, of the British Museum, tells us that the first English -title-page is assigned to the year 1491. It had come into use sooner on -the Continent, but the first example, which still requires to be -definitely ascertained, was probably not earlier than 1476, or more than -twenty years subsequent to the invention of printing. It was not until -1490 that title-pages became the rule, or until 1493 that the printer's -or publisher's name began to be given upon the title. Up to this date, -then, even when the book has a title-page, the printer or publisher can -only be ascertained from the colophon, and before 1490 you must -generally go to the colophon even for the description of the book. The -reason is, no doubt, the extent to which the printer was influenced by -the example of his predecessor, the copyist. 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 leaf. In -expressing his satisfaction and thankfulness on the last page he would -naturally mention the name of the book he had been engaged upon, and -hence his successor, the printer, inherited the habit of giving all -information about a book not stated in a prologue or table of contents, -at the end instead of at the beginning—in a colophon rather than on a -title-page. The same custom had prevailed in classic times. The ancient -title, when inscribed within the covers of the manuscript, was, says -Rich, "written at the end instead of the commencement, at least it is so -placed in all the Herculanean MSS. which have been unrolled." Sometimes, -however, it was written on a separate label affixed to the roll so as to -hang down outside: and on the same principle it may be conjectured that -when manuscripts came to be bound, much of the inconvenience occasioned -by the want of a title was obviated by the title being written on the -binding. - -It must, nevertheless, seem surprising that so simple and useful a -contrivance as a title-page should not have been thought of sooner. In -one respect, however, the employment of the colophon for so long a -period is not to be regretted. If the title-page is more practical, the -colophon is more individual and characteristic. The title-page may tell -us something of the character of the author when it is his own wording, -but as a rule nothing of the printer beyond the bare facts of his -locality and his existence. But into the colophon the early printer has -managed to put a great deal of information about himself. He often -becomes, or at least hires, a poet. He boasts, and generally not without -ground, of his industry and accuracy. He usually records the precise day -when his work was completed, and sometimes the exact time spent upon it. -He sometimes, as in an instance quoted by Mr. Pollard, brings in a -bishop to help his book with a recommendation. - -All this is very interesting so far as it helps to make the old printers -real to us. We would fain know more of men to whom we are so greatly -indebted, and who, we are sure, must have been individually interesting. -I will not say that this early age was the heroic age of printing, for -the history of the art is fertile in examples of heroism down to this -day; and perhaps the greatest man who ever exercised it—Benjamin -Franklin—was a modern. But there certainly must have been a romance -about the early days of printing not easily reproduced now. Romantic -circumstances must have attended the flight of the first printers from -the besieged city of Mentz, where the art had been exclusively carried -on for so many years. - -When we see how largely these German emigrants settled in Italy and -France, and had almost a monopoly of Spain, we perceive that they must -have been men of great enterprise. How did they overcome the -difficulties that must have beset them as settlers in foreign countries? -Is it not a fair conjecture that the difficulty of language was partly -overcome by their being men of liberal education, and speaking Latin? -Still they would have workmen to direct; did they bring journeymen of -their own country with them, or instruct foreigners? The interest -attaching to this question tempts me to a brief digression into a -subject not properly comprised in my essay; the colophon, so far as I am -aware, throwing no light upon it. It seems probable that foreign -printers were attended in their migrations by bodies of journeymen; for -in the privilege granted by the Venetian Senate in 1469 to Joannes de -Spira, the first Venetian printer, he is said to have come to live in -Venice with his wife, his children, and his entire _familia_. The -_familia_, then, is expressly distinguished from his wife and children; -besides which the word never means in the classical writers, nor, so far -as I can discover, in the mediæval either, family in our sense of -kindred, but only in that of household: and as he is not likely to have -brought domestic servants with him, must be understood to denote here -the troop of workmen of whom he was the head; who had evidently also -immigrated with him. We are also told that a priest, Clemente Patavino, -probably the first Italian who ever exercised the art of printing, -taught himself by his own ingenuity, without having ever seen any one at -work. From this we may infer that the presses were jealously guarded, -and that the workmen were not Italians, or Clemente could not have been -the first Italian to learn the craft. His first book was printed in -1471, several years after the introduction of printing into Italy. - -Other interesting questions respecting the early printers remain which -we should much like to have answered. Did they try to keep their art and -mystery secret? Were they their own type-founders? Were their types cast -near the scene of their labours, or transported from great distances? -How did they set about obtaining the favour of the great men who -patronised them? Was their discovery universally welcomed by the -learned? or did some consider that books were low, and manuscripts alone -worthy the attention of a self-respecting collector? Were they stunned -by the objurgations of angry copyists? or endangered by any supposed -connection with the black art? Were they in general their own editors -and proof-correctors? and what were their relations with the scholars -who aided them with annotations, or wrote dedications for their books? -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 Plantin, at Antwerp. For these early times, except for such -information as may be derived from the accidental discovery of contracts -and similar documents, we must depend upon hints gleaned from the books -themselves, which are usually found in their colophons. - -Neither my time nor yours would admit of my entering into the matter -very deeply at present, but I have selected a few instances, entirely -from books printed at Rome and Venice, which may serve to indicate what -illumination colophons may occasionally contribute to the obscurity of -early typography, and sometimes to that of the manners and ideas of the -times. And here I may remark incidentally, that the history of early -printing is highly creditable to the age which fostered the art, and to -those who exercised it, without, one may almost say, producing a single -frivolous book for fifty years. An account of it mainly from the point -of view of its contact with human life—the books which the early -printers thought worth reproducing, the success of these, as attested by -the comparative frequency of their republication, the proportion in -which studies and professions, arts and trades, respectively benefited -by the new discovery, would make a fascinating story in the hands of a -writer of insight and sympathy. We have materials enough; it is now -required to make the dry bones live. - -In a colophon it will naturally be expected that among the sentiments -more frequently finding expression, should be the printer's joy in his -art, and assertion of its claims to admiration. Udalricus Gallus, of -Rome, boasts that he can print more matter in a day than a copyist can -transcribe in a year: "Imprimit ille die quantum non scribitur anno." -The same printer tells the geese that saved the Capitol that they may -keep their quills for the future, as the cock (_Gallus_) has cut them -out. Joannes de Spira, the first printer established at Venice, declares -that his first attempt has so far surpassed the work of the scribes that -the reader need set no bounds to his anticipations; just as an electric -light company might advertise "Gas entirely superseded." He celebrates -his type as more legible than manuscript: - - "Namque vir ingenio mirandus et arte Joannes - Exscribi docuit clarius ære libros." - -Now the word _docuit_ (_taught_) is not really appropriate to one who -merely exercised an art he had learned from others. The question might -be raised whether the reference is not to the inventor of printing, -Joannes Gutenberg, and whether in this book of 1469 we have not the -earliest testimony to his invention of printing. If so, this is indeed a -precious colophon; but I suppose it must be admitted to be more likely -that Spira was thinking of himself, or that his poet was not -over-discriminating in his praise of his employer. The point, however, -is worth considering. Spira's brother, Vindelinus, enunciates the -excellent maxim that the renown of a printer is rather to be estimated -by the beauty than by the number of his productions: - - "Nec vero tantum quia multa volumina, quantum - Qui perpulchra simul optimaque exhibeat." - -Nothing, indeed, is more characteristic of the early printers than the -stress they laid upon accuracy. From another colophon we learn that an -edition of Sallust at that early period consisted of five hundred -copies. In another the same printer declares that he will deign to sell -nothing that is not perfectly correct. In another he talks of having -carefully expurgated his author, as if he had been printing Juvenal or -Martial, but as the author is a divine the remark can only refer to the -correctness of the text. John of Cologne goes further still, and asserts -that his book is absolutely immaculate: - - "Emptor, habes careant omni qui crimine libri, - Quos securus emas, procul et quibus exulat error." - -Occasionally the corrector's name is mentioned. A remarkable instance of -this is where Vindelinus de Spira prints an Italian book, the "Divine -Comedy," the language of which he probably would not understand, when -Christoval Berardi, of Pesaro, is especially named as the corrector in -an Italian sonnet probably composed by himself. In an instance of an -arithmetical work the printer, Erhard Ratdolt, distinctly claims the -merit of the correctness of the press as his personal merit, and we -learn from other sources that he was a good mathematician. - -Another class of colophon sets forth the deserts of the author instead -of those of the printer, and it is noteworthy that these, when in verse, -are generally expressed in a more elegant style. It is to be regretted -that the verses written for Sweynheym and Pannartz, the fathers of the -art in Italy, were generally so bad; yet there is something to be -learned from them. We discover that they thought it necessary to -apologise for their uncouth German names (_Aspera ridebis Teutonica -nomina forsan_); 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 palace. We learn from other colophons that an edition -of Sallust consisting of four hundred copies, and that two editions of -Cicero's Epistles to his friends, were carried through the press in four -months. The comparative cheapness of typography is also a frequent -matter of congratulation. It is said to have brought Virgil within the -reach of all scholars, and to have enabled every man to be his own -lawyer; but the printer seldom tells us what the price of the volume -was. We observe that the trade of the book-producer has not yet become -differentiated into the two great classes of printers and publishers. -While, as before remarked, there is every reason to conclude that the -early printers were persons of liberal education, we do not, so far as I -am aware, find evidence of this mechanical craft being exercised by men -of gentle blood. I have, however, already mentioned the priestly -printer, Clemente Patavino, and a colophon reveals that the printers of -one book were two priests. One rather wonders what became meanwhile of -their religious duties. I suppose that a priest would not in general -have been allowed to follow a secular calling, at least openly, but in -this instance of printing there is no attempt at concealment. A -circumstance honourable in its way to the craft to which we owe our -existence, and suggesting that the ecclesiastical authorities of the -fifteenth century thought of printers as our friend Mr. Dewey rightly -tells we ought to think of librarians. - -Enough, perhaps, has been said to warrant the suggestion of a little -book of colophons, bringing together what must now be laboriously hunted -up from Panzer, Hain, and similar authorities. 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 -century; but every colophon should also be given which throws a light on -contemporary history and public feeling on any subject. I should, for -instance, include that in which the peaceful character of Paul II.'s -pontificate is recognised by the epithet "placatissimum," and any that -conveyed a compliment to a king, doge, or any leading personage of the -time. Such a little volume, tastefully executed, something after the -pattern of Monsieur Müntz's delightful little book in the Vatican -Library under Platina, would, I believe, be a favourite companion with -many an amateur of ancient typography. - -In conclusion, I may say a few words respecting what we are endeavouring -to do at the British Museum for the illustration of early printing. Of -the little exhibition of title-pages and colophons displayed at the -Association's visit to the Museum yesterday, since you have all seen it, -I need only say that the credit of collecting and arranging it is -entirely due to Mr. Pollard, whose essay on the subject I have already -recommended to your perusal. A more permanent collection is -contemplated, which I believe will be of substantial benefit to the -study of ancient printing. When the requisite funds are procured, as it -is hoped will shortly be the case, it is intended to provide additional -glazed presses in the library, with the view of bringing together -examples of every description of type used by a printer of incunabula, -that is, of books produced during the fifteenth century. Mr. Aldrich, a -gentleman deeply versed in typographic lore, to whom the selection of -these examples will be entrusted, will arrange them as far as possible -in the alphabetical order of the towns where the art of printing was -exercised, keeping the works of each printer together. This collection, -though not shown to the public, will always be accessible to experts. -Its value to them is obvious, and we hope it will also be of material -service in disclosing the numerous deficiencies of the Museum in -representative specimens of early type, and prompting efforts to make -them good. There is no idea of assembling together all the incunabula in -the Museum, which would be impracticable for many reasons, but only -representative examples of the various types. The foundation, however, -of a general catalogue of incunabula has been laid in a manner which I -have previously stated to the American Library Association, namely, by -printing copies of the catalogue on one side only. When the catalogue is -finished we shall, by merely cutting out the entries of any particular -description of books, obtain a classed catalogue of the entire subject, -among others, of our incunabula; this list can be placed in the -reading-room for general reference, and, if sufficient encouragement is -forthcoming, be reprinted and published as a distinct catalogue, revised -with the careful attention to minutiæ which would be out of place in a -general working catalogue like that of the entire library, but which may -well be expected in a speciality. The standard of accuracy has risen, -and bibliographers are dissatisfied with what many deemed excessive -nicety when the Museum rules were framed. It is improbable that I shall -have any concern with this catalogue of the future: if I had, 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 Bradshaw. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[197:1] Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, London, -October 1889. - - - - -ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES FOLLOWED AT THE -BRITISH MUSEUM[210:1] - - -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 library. - -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 catalogue, but only of such as possess sufficient importance -to occupy at least one book-press in the library. - -Subjects which from a philosophical point of view might properly be -separated, must in actual library arrangements frequently be combined -for want of room. - -It is further to be borne in mind that the classification now to be -described does not in absolute strictness apply to the entire library, -but to the acquisitions—comprising, however, nearly four-fifths of the -whole—made since Sir Anthony Panizzi's accession to office as keeper of -the printed books. The books in Montague House were indeed -scientifically arranged on their removal to the new premises, but space -was then wanting to carry out the views entertained by the officer -principally entrusted with their arrangement—the late Mr. Thomas Watts, -a gentleman of prodigious memory and encyclopædic learning. Mr. Watts -subsequently obtained space more in correspondence with the -comprehensiveness of his ideas, and the Museum library will bear the -impress of his mind for all ages. With his name will be associated that -of the late keeper, Mr. Rye, for many years his coadjutor, 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 collections. I trust to be excused this brief -reference to gentlemen prematurely lost to our profession—the former by -death, the latter by indisposition, brought on, it is to be feared, by -over-application to his official duties. 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 -own. - -The classification of a great library is equivalent to a classification -of human knowledge, and may, if men please, become the standard or -symbol of conflicting schools of thought. It might, for example, be -plausibly maintained that knowledge, and therefore the library, should -begin with the definition of man's relation to the unseen powers around -him—that is, with Natural Theology. Or with man himself as the unit of -all things human—that is, with Anthropology. Or, on Nature's own -pattern, with the most rudimentary forms of existence. Hence, as we -heard yesterday from the distinguished gentleman who here represents the -fifth part of the world, the reading-room library at Melbourne begins -with works on the subject of Sponges. Fortunately for the neutral -bibliographer, there exists a book which not only holds in civilised -countries a place unique among books, but which has further established -its claim to precedence by the practical test of being the first to get -itself printed. The Museum classification accordingly begins with the -Bible, and I venture to express the opinion that every sound -classification will do the same. - -When the next question emerges, how to arrange the Bible itself, we -alight at once upon a few simple principles, which, with the necessary -modifications, will prove applicable throughout. It is obvious that -entire Bibles should precede parts of Bibles; that originals should -precede translations; the more ancient originals, the more recent; and -Bibles in both the original tongues those in one only. We thus obtain -the following arrangement at starting: Polyglots, Hebrew Bibles, Greek -Bibles. It is equally apparent that Greek cannot be fitly succeeded by -any tongue but Latin; that Latin is most naturally followed by its -modern derivatives; that these draw after them the other European -languages in due order; the Slavonic forming a link with the Oriental, -which in their turn usher in the African, American, and Polynesian. - -Concordances, consisting of the words of the Bible detached from their -context, form a convenient link with Commentaries. The latter fall into -two principal sections, according as they relate to Scripture in its -entirety or to some particular part. In arranging the former, the -erudite labours of scholars are, as far as possible, kept apart from the -popular illustrative literature of modern days. The order of -commentaries on separate books must, of course, correspond with that of -the books themselves in the canon of the Bible. - -Next succeeds the very important class of literature representing the -Bible in contact with society through the medium of the Church. The most -obvious form of this relation is the liturgical. Liturgies accordingly -succeed Scripture in the Museum arrangement, precedence being given to -the various Churches in the order of their antiquity. A minor but very -extensive class of Liturgy, the Psalm and Hymn, naturally follows as an -appendix, preceding Private and Family Devotion, which prefaces works on -liturgical subjects in general. The next great department of this class -of literature ensues in the shape of Creeds and Catechisms. These pass -into formal expositions of dogmatic theology, including theological -libraries; which lead to the collected works of divines, commencing with -the Fathers. The same order is observed here as in the arrangement of -the Bible in its various languages: the Greek Fathers leading to the -Latin, the Latin to the divines of the nations speaking languages -derived from the Latin, and these to the Teutonic nations, a division -practically equivalent to one into Catholic and Protestant. The general -theological literature of each nation follows in the same order, -excluding works treating of special theological questions, but including -all the immense mass of printed material relating to the Reformation and -the controversies resulting from it down to the present day. With these -the subject of General Theology may be deemed concluded, and we enter -not only upon a fresh department, but upon a fresh numeration. The -book-presses embracing the subjects hitherto described all bear numbers -commencing with 3000. With the new department 4000 commences, and the -same remark, _mutatis mutandis_, is applicable to every succeeding -principal division. I must pass very lightly over the numerous sections -of this second section. Beginning with the fundamental questions of the -being of a God and the truth of Christianity, it embraces every special -question which has formed the subject of discussion among Christians, in -the order which commended itself as most logical to the original -designer of the arrangement. These controversies conduct to the common -ground of Religious Devotion and Contemplation, including the important -departments of Tracts and Religious Fiction; and these to devotion in -its hortatory form—_i.e._, Sermons, classified on the same linguistic -principle as Scripture, and divided into the great sections of collected -discourses and separate sermons. With these the subject of specifically -Christian Theology terminates, and is succeeded by the great and -growing department of Mythology and non-Christian Religion. Judaism -follows, leading by an easy transition to Church History. A few words on -the arrangement of this section will save much repetition, as the -principle here exemplified is never departed from. It demonstrates the -advantage of beginning with a subject like the Bible, respecting the -correct arrangement of which there can be no dispute, and which serves -as a norm for all the rest. As the Bible necessarily commenced with -Polyglots, so Church History begins with General Church History; the -various nations succeed in their linguistic, which is practically also -their geographical order, provision being, of course, made for the -intercalation of sub-sections where necessary, as for instance one on -English Nonconformity. Polynesia, as the last member of this -arrangement, naturally introduces the next subject—Missions—which in -turn brings on Religious Orders, including Freemasonry. Religious -Biography follows, arranged on the same principle as Religious History, -which is always carried out wherever practicable. Finally, the whole -class is concluded by the small but important division of Religious -Bibliography. - -Divine Law is evidently most fitly succeeded by Human Law, or -Jurisprudence. The fulness with which the preceding section has been -treated will enable me to pass very cursorily over this and its -successors. I may be pardoned, however, 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 general. In arranging a mere collection of Law Books it would be -proper to commence with works treating of the general principles of -Jurisprudence. In arranging a great library, regard must be had to the -harmonious connection of the parts, and accordingly the Museum -arrangement commences with Ecclesiastical Law as the natural sequel of -Theology. Bulls, Councils, Canon-Law and Modern Church-Law introduce the -great section of Roman Law. Oriental Law follows, the Laws of the -Continental Nations succeed in the order previously explained, and thus -room is only found for General Jurisprudence at a comparatively late -period, at the beginning of the numeral series 6000. It brings after it -such minor subjects as Prison-Discipline and Forensic Medicine. The -remaining space of the section is occupied by the Law of the -English-speaking nations, which requires most minute subdivision. - -Next to Divinity and Law, the third rank among the pursuits of the human -mind was anciently assigned to Medicine. We have learned to recognise -that Medicine, however practically important, ranks scientifically only -as a department of Biology. The next section, accordingly, commences -with general Natural History, continuing through the natural kingdoms of -Botany, Geology, and Zoology, including Veterinary Surgery, with their -appropriate subdivisions, and then embracing Medicine—first in its -general aspect, as medical principle and practice; then in its great -leading divisions of Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, &c.; again, as -Special Pathology; finally, in such comparative minutiæ as professional -controversies and bills of mortality. The divisions of Art—the next -class—are simple and obvious. They may be enumerated as Archæology, -Costumes, Numismatics, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, first as -treated collectively, and then as treated separately; and, finally, -Music. Fine Art is succeeded by Useful Art, and the interval bridged -over by Field-Sports, Games of Chance, and Games of Skill. No -subdivision of the Useful Arts has been attempted beyond the separation -of Cookery and Domestic Economy from the rest, and the addition of two -special sections, one for the catalogues of industrial exhibitions, the -other for the voluminous and important publications of the South -Kensington Museum. - -The extensive and miscellaneous division which succeeds may, perhaps, -best be defined under the head of Philosophy, alike in its scientific -principles and in its application to human life. Commencing with -Political Philosophy, or the Science of Government, it runs rapidly -through the politics of the various nations, in the geographical order -previously detailed, passes into Political Economy, with the allied -subjects of Finance, Commerce, and Social Science; thence into -Education, and, by the minor morals so intimately allied with the latter -subject, into Ethics, including works on the condition of Woman, Peace, -Temperance, and similar topics. Speculative Philosophy succeeds, -introducing Mathematics, on which hangs the great department of Applied -Mathematics, including all physical sciences except the biological. The -various branches are carefully discriminated, and room is found among -them for the so-called Occult Sciences, and for Military and Naval -matters, the series appropriately concluding with Chemistry, or the -science which aims at the resolution of all matter into its original -elements. The remaining sections, though most important and extensive, -are very simple in arrangement, and may be dismissed very briefly. They -are: History; Geography, with Voyages and Topography; Biography; Poetry -and the Drama; Belles Lettres, including Fiction; and Philology. The -arrangement is invariably the same: collected works on each subject -being placed first, and a geographical order being adopted for the rest -when the conditions of the case allow. Genealogy is regarded as an -appendix to History; Letters to Biography; Elocution, with Literary -Criticism and Bibliography, to Poetry and the Dramatic Art. The class of -Belles Lettres is headed by Libraries and Cyclopædias. - -It should be stated that the system here explained refers in the -strictest sense only to works complete in themselves, and not to -Periodicals, Academical Publications, and State Papers, which are placed -separately. Although, however, these constitute distinct series, the -principle of classification is practically identical. The same remarks -apply to the Oriental departments of the collection, the Grenville -library, and the reference-library of the reading-room. - -Such is, in its main features, the system of book-press arrangement -which I have undertaken to describe. I have no fear but that it will be -pronounced in essentials logical and philosophical. It has undoubtedly -proved eminently convenient in practice. That it should be open to -revision on some points is inevitable from the nature of things, and -from two circumstances more especially—its gradual development as -subject after subject was added to the library, and the degree in which -it represents the idiosyncrasy of a single mind. Some minor oversights -must be admitted. Geology, for example, should unquestionably have -preceded Botany. I venture more extensive criticisms with hesitation, -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 Geography; -while it appears to me that the Useful Arts would have formed, through -Domestic Economy, a more natural sequel to Medicine than Fine Art, and -in arranging the latter department I should have assigned the last -instead of the first place to Archæology and its allied subjects. -Forensic Medicine might also have been conveniently placed at the _end_ -of Law, to connect that subject with Natural Science. I should further -feel much inclined to form a class for Encyclopædias immediately after -Philology; both because dictionaries of general knowledge seem -legitimate successors to dictionaries of languages, and that the end of -the classification might be answerable in dignity to the beginning. I am -aware how much room for diversity of opinion may exist on these and -similar points. On a more serious defect there can be no difference of -opinion, but it is a defect inherent in all finite things. In an ideal -classification by book-press one separate press, at least, would be -provided for each subject, however minute. But an ideal library would -also have room for each subdivision. We cannot have the ideal -classification without the ideal library, and, although I hazard nothing -in saying that, thanks to the genius of the designer, Sir Anthony -Panizzi, economy of space in the new buildings of the Museum has been -carried to the utmost extent conceivable, space is still insufficient to -provide a distinct niche for every well-marked division of a subject. -Upwards of five hundred such subdivisions are provided for; nevertheless -this large number is not exhaustive. Without such an exhaustive -distribution, the actual classification on the shelves, which is all I -have undertaken to describe here, can never be conterminous with the -ideal classification of the study. If, however, the Museum library has -been unable to achieve an infinity of space, it has secured a -practically indefinite numerical expansiveness by the elastic system -referred to in our President's address, in further illustration of which -I may be allowed a few words. On the removal of the books from Montague -House, about 1838, the cumbrous and antiquated, but I imagine then -nearly universal system of press-notation by Roman letters was exchanged -for one by Arabic numerals.[221:1] These numbers were nevertheless -consecutive, and thus no space was left for insertions. Supposing, for -example, that you have three presses standing together, numbered 1, 2, -and 3, and respectively occupied by Botany, Horticulture, and -Agriculture, it is clear that when your press of Botany is full, you -must either duplicate your No. 1, or commence your subject afresh with -No. 4. Mr. Watts, however, set his numbers loose, leaving a set of spare -numbers after each, for future employment, proportioned to the probable -extent of the subject. Thus, in the case supposed, while his Botany -would still have been 1, his Horticulture might have been 10, and his -Agriculture 15. When more room is wanted for Botany, the other two -subjects are moved one press farther on, leaving the press formerly -occupied by Horticulture vacant for the Botanical additions. The -numbering of the presses is altered, but not the numbering of the books, -and the catalogue is not interfered with. The respective subjects thus -never get out of due numerical succession; and when, on the opening of -the new library in 1857, the books thus numbered were brought from their -former confined quarters, and spread over a far larger area, the -removal was effected without the alteration of a single press-mark. As -the books in any one press may thus come to occupy another, it is, as -observed by Mr. Winter Jones, essential that all presses should be -exactly of the same dimensions. - -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 it, although I adverted to it in the course of the -discussion yesterday. I allude to the fourth copy of the catalogue. It -is generally known that the titles of books catalogued at the Museum are -transcribed trebly on carbonic tissue-paper by a manifold writer, and -that the catalogue is thus kept up in triplicate. 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 time. These fourth slips are kept in -boxes, and then arranged, _not_ in alphabetical order as in the -catalogue, but according to the position of the books upon the shelves. -Now, as each shelf is restricted to a single subject, it follows that an -arrangement by shelves is tantamount to an arrangement by subjects—that -is, a classed catalogue. A great deal, of course, remains to be done -both in the way of subdivision and of incorporation; it is nevertheless -the fact that—thanks to the foresight of Sir Anthony Panizzi and Mr. -Winter Jones—the foundation of a classed Index to Universal Literature -has been laid by simply putting away titles as fast as transcribed, -without the nation having hitherto incurred any cost beyond that of the -pasteboard boxes. The apparently gigantic task being thus far -simplified, I earnestly trust that public aid may be forthcoming for its -completion, ere the accumulation of titles shall have rendered it too -arduous. Fully sympathising with our friend Mr. Axon's wish to see the -Museum Catalogue in print, I am yet averse to attempting to print it -just as it stands: in the first place, because I regard the undertaking -as beyond our strength; and in the second place, because, although such -a catalogue would tell the student at a distance what books by -particular _authors_ were in the library, it would not tell him what -books on particular _subjects_ existed there; the latter, as it appears -to me, being the more urgent necessity of the two. I should therefore be -inclined to recommend the preparation of an abridged classified index, -compiled from the fourth-copy slips I have been describing, and its -publication from time to time in sections severally complete in -themselves, as affording the best means for a gradual solution of the -problem. Most of these sections, I have little doubt, would by their -sale nearly repay the expense of publication, which a complete -alphabetical catalogue of the library certainly would not. These -remarks, it will be perceived, coincide with those made yesterday by Mr. -Vickers, which struck me as eminently sensible and practical. - -I have prepared a list of the subjects comprised in the classification -of the Museum, which I put in for your examination. For a list of the -principal systems proposed for the classification of libraries, I may -refer to Petzholdt's "Bibliotheca Bibliographica." It is in so far -deficient that it necessarily contains no reference to the recent -labours of our American friends and colleagues, who, coming to the -subject with unbiased minds and an inventive ingenuity and fertility -equalled by no other nation, have already done so much to advance the -frontiers of the librarian's science. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[210:1] Read before the London Conference of Librarians, October 1877. - -[221:1] It deserves to be recorded that at this period, and for some -time afterwards, books were not labelled externally, but merely -press-marked inside the covers. When labels were introduced, at the -suggestion of Mr. Winter Jones, the printing of the first set cost £800. - - - - -SUBJECT-INDEXES TO TRANSACTIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES[225:1] - - -We all remember the excellent paper read at the Oxford Conference by Mr. -J. B. Bailey, sub-librarian at the Radcliffe Library, upon the advantage -of a subject-index to scientific periodicals. Mr. Bailey spoke with just -praise of the splendid alphabetical catalogue issued by the Royal -Society, but observed that from the nature of the case this is "nearly -useless in making a bibliography of any given subject, unless one is -familiar with the names of all the authors who have written thereon." -This is manifestly the case. As an illustration both of the value and -the deficiencies of the Royal Society's index, I may mention that while -on the one hand it has enabled me to discover that my father, chiefly, -celebrated as a philologist, has written a paper on the curious and -perplexing subject of the formation of ice at the bottoms of rivers, the -existence of which was wholly unknown to his family, it does not on the -other hand assist me to ascertain, without a most tedious search, what -other writers may have investigated the subject, or, consequently, how -far his observations are in accordance with theirs. Multiply my little -embarrassment by several hundred thousand, and you will have some idea -of the amount of ignorance which the classified index suggested by Mr. -Bailey would enlighten. We may well believe that the only objection he -has heard alleged is the magnitude of the undertaking, and must -sympathise with his conviction that, granting this, it still ought not -to be put aside, merely because it is difficult. I hope to point out, -however, that so far as concerns the scientific papers, to which alone -Mr. Bailey's proposal relates, the difficulty has been over-estimated, -that the literary compilation need encounter no serious obstacle, and -that the foundation might be laid in a short time by a single competent -workman, such as Mr. Bailey himself. Of an index to literary papers I -shall speak subsequently; and, there, I must acknowledge, the -difficulties are much more formidable. But as regards scientific papers, -it appears to me that the only considerable impediment is the financial. -When the others are overcome, then, and not till then, we shall be in a -favourable position for overcoming this also. The reason why the -formation of a classified index to scientific papers is comparatively -easy, is that the groundwork has been already provided by the -alphabetical index of the Royal Society. We have the titles of all -scientific papers from 1800 to 1865 before us, and shall soon have them -to 1873. Though it might be interesting, it is not essential to go -further back. We have now to consider how best to distribute this -alphabetical series into a number of subject-indexes. To take the first -step we merely require a little money (the first condition of success in -most undertakings), and some leisure on the part of a gentleman -competent to distinguish the grand primary divisions of scientific -research from each other, and avoid the errors which cataloguers have -been known to commit in classing the star-fish with constellations, and -confusing Plato the philosopher with Plato a volcano in the moon. I need -only say that very many of our body would bring far more than this -necessary minimum of scientific knowledge to the task. I may instance -Mr. Bailey himself. The money would be required to procure two copies of -the alphabetical index (which, however, the Royal Society would very -likely present), and to pay an assistant for cutting these two copies up -into strips, each strip containing a single entry of a scientific paper, -and pasting the same upon cardboard. It would be necessary to have two -copies of the alphabetical catalogue, as this is printed on both sides -of the paper; and as the name of the writer is not repeated at the head -of each of his contributions, and would therefore have to be written on -the card, close supervision would be required, or else a very -intelligent workman. When this was done, the entire catalogue would -exist upon cards, in a movable form instead of an immovable. The work of -the arranger or arrangers would now begin. All that he or they would -have to do would be to write somewhere upon the card, say in the left -hand upper corner, the name of the broad scientific division, such as -astronomy, meteorology, geology, to which the printed title pasted upon -the card appertained, and to put each into a box appropriated to its -special object, preserving the alphabetical order of each division. We -should then have the classed index already in the rough, at a very small -relative expenditure of time, money, and labour. For the purposes of -science, however, a more minute subdivision would be necessary. Here the -functions of our Council would come into play, and it would have a great -opportunity of demonstrating its usefulness as an organising body by -inducing, whether by negotiation with individuals or with scientific -corporations like the Royal Society, competent men of science to -undertake the task of classifying the papers relating to their own -special studies. Men of science, we may be certain, are fully aware of -the importance of the undertaking, which is indeed designed for their -special benefit; and although they are a hard-worked race, I do not -question that a sufficient number of volunteers would be forthcoming. -When one looks, for example, at the immense labour of costly and -unremunerated research undertaken by a man like the late Mr. Carrington, -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 available. I am sure, for -instance, that such men as Mr. Knobel and Mr. Carruthers would most -readily undertake the classification of the astronomical and the -botanical departments respectively, provided that their other -engagements allowed; as to which, of course, I cannot affirm anything. -Supposing our scientific editors found, they would proceed exactly in -the same manner as the editor who had already accomplished the -classification in the rough. Each would take the cards belonging to his -own section, 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 referred; thus, opposite Botany—Lichen, -and so on. He would then put the title into the box or drawer belonging -to its sub-section, and when the work was complete, we should have the -whole catalogue in a classified form, digested under a number of -sub-headings. Some preliminary concert among the scientific editors -would, no doubt, be necessary, and a final revision in conformity with -settled rules. It might be questioned, for example, whether a -dissertation on camphor properly belonged to botany, chemistry, or -materia medica; whether the subject of the gymnotus was ichthyological, -anatomical, or electrical; whether in such dubious cases a paper should -be entered more than once. It would save time and trouble if these -points could be determined before the classification in the rough was -commenced; in any case considerable delay from unavoidable causes must -be anticipated. It is to be remembered, on the other hand, that the work -could under no circumstances be completed until the publication of the -Royal Society's alphabetical index of papers from 1865 to 1873 was -finished, which, I suppose, will not be the case for two or three years. -There will, therefore, be sufficient time to meet unforeseen causes of -delay. If the classified index could be ready shortly after the -alphabetical, if we could show the world that the work was not merely -talked about as desirable, but actually done in so far as depended upon -ourselves and the representatives of science; that it already existed in -the shape of a card catalogue, 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 present. I cannot think that so much good -work would be allowed to be lost. The catalogue, not being confined to -papers in the English language, would be equally useful in every country -where science is cultivated, and would find support all over the -civilised world. Either from the Government, or from learned societies, -or the universities, or the enterprise of publishers, or the interest of -individual subscribers, or private munificence, means would, sooner or -later, be forthcoming to bring the work out, and thus erect a most -substantial monument to the utility of our Association. It would -obviously be important to provide that scientific papers should be -indexed not only for the past, but for the future. If, as I trust, the -Royal Society intends to continue the publication of its alphabetical -index from time to time, the compilers of the classified index will -continue to enjoy the same facilities as at present. There must be some -very effectual machinery at the Society for registering new scientific -papers as they are published. What it is we may hope to learn from our -colleague, its eminent librarian, who must be the most competent of all -authorities on the subject. Mr. Bailey draws attention to several -scientific periodicals as useful for bibliographical purposes, and I may -mention one which seems to be very complete.[231:1] It is published at -Rome. The number for last December, which I have just seen, is so -complete that, among a very great number of scientific papers from all -quarters, it records those on the telephone and the electric light, in -the "Companion to the British Almanac," which, I think, had then been -only announced here, not published, omitting the other contributions as -non-scientific. It further gives a complete index to the contents of the -_Revista Cientifica_, a Barcelona periodical, which had apparently just -reached the editor, from its commencement in the preceding April. By -this list I learn that the electric pen, the subject of our colleague -Mr. Frost's recent paper, had been the theme of a communication to a -Barcelona society in May last. It certainly seems as if any library that -took this periodical in, and transcribed the entries in its -bibliographical section on cards properly classed, would be able to -keep up a pretty fair subject-index to scientific papers for the future. -I must, in conclusion, say a few words on a subject-index to the -transactions of literary societies. The prospect is here much more -remote, from the want of the almost indispensable groundwork of a -general alphabetical index. We have seen what an infinity of trouble in -collecting, in cataloguing, and in transcribing will be saved by the -Royal Society's list in the case of scientific papers, and are in a -position to appreciate the impediments which must arise from the want of -one in this instance. The work could be done by the British Museum if it -had a proportionate addition to its staff, or by a continuance of the -disinterested efforts which are now devoted to the continuance of Mr. -Poole's index to periodicals. Failing these, the most practical -suggestion appears to me Mr. Bailey's, that the undertaking might be to -a considerable extent promoted by the respective societies themselves. -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 Association, we should accumulate a -mass of material worth working upon, and which could be arranged while -awaiting a favourable opportunity for publication. In some instances -even more might be done. The library of the Royal Asiatic Society, for -example, contains not merely its own transactions, but those of every -important society devoted to Oriental studies, as well as all similar -periodicals. Our friend, Mr. Vaux, could probably, in process of time, -not only procure transcripts of the papers contained in these -collections, but could induce competent Orientalists to prepare a scheme -of classification, and such a classified list, complete in itself and of -no unwieldy magnitude, could be published as a sample and forerunner of -the rest. The initiative in such proposals, as well as those referring -to scientific papers, should be taken by our Association, which can -negotiate with eminent men and learned bodies upon equal terms, and -speak with effect where the voice of an individual would be lost. The -desideratum of a classed index, in a word, affords our Society a great -opportunity of distinguishing itself. It is this aspect of the matter, -no less than the importance of the matter itself, that has encouraged me -to bring it under your notice. - - NOTE.—This paper, the first on the subject, so far as known - to the author, attracted the attention of a gentleman of great - ability, Mr. Collins of Edgbaston, known as the indexer and - tabulator of Mr. Herbert Spencer's writings. He pressed the - necessity of a classed index of scientific papers upon the - attention of the Royal Society, which at one period seemed - about to take the matter up; but the plan, so far as concerned - Mr. Collins, was ultimately laid aside. Ere long, however, it - was revived, and the task of classification is now being - actively carried out, upon what precise system the writer is - not aware, but doubtless upon one which has received mature - consideration. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[225:1] Read at the March Monthly Meeting of the Library Association of -the United Kingdom, and published in _Nature_, October 9, 1897. - -[231:1] _Bullettino di bibliografia e di storia delle scienze -matematiche e fisiche._ Pubbl. da B. Boncompagni (Rome, 1868), &c. - - - - -PHOTOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES[234:1] - - -The subject of my paper has been already most advantageously introduced -to you by the precious broadside of William de Machlinia, exhibited -yesterday by Lord Charles Bruce; which, but for photography enlisted in -the cause of scholarship, few of us would ever have beheld. It is -equally commended by the pithy remark which fell from Mr. Bradshaw, "The -best description of a book is the book itself." It is, nevertheless, my -desire to bring under your notice the advantage of annexing a -photographic department to national libraries or other similar -institutions of first-class importance, as an integral portion of the -institution. The significance of the proposal consists in the last -clause. At the present moment any public library can have almost -anything it wishes photographed by paying for it, and so can any private -individual. But private individuals do not fill their houses with -photographic reproductions of nature and art; and in comparison with the -enormous results which might be obtained, public libraries, and, indeed, -public institutions of any kind, have as yet hardly made more use of the -potent agent which science has put into their hands than the Coreans, -of whom Mr. Bullen has told us, made of the invention of movable type. - -Sure as I am of an indulgent audience, 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 transfer, by -direction of the Government, of the Irish portion of the Ashburnham MSS. -from the British Museum to the Royal Irish Academy. I am not here to -protest against this decision. I accept it as an accomplished fact: and -may sincerely profess that, so far as the interests of Celtic scholars -in Ireland are promoted, I am glad of it. But on the same principle I -must condole with the Celtic scholars in England, many of them Irishmen, -who must, at least until the distant period when Mr. Gilbert's truly -national undertaking is complete, repair to Dublin to consult what they -might have seen in London. The point to be insisted upon is, that if the -Museum had possessed a photographic department, the question whose -interests were to be sacrificed could not have arisen at all. Though, as -recently pointed out by Dr. Hessels, the photograph may not be -absolutely unerring in the reproduction of minute facsimile, if made -with due care it is practically adequate in the vast majority of -instances. We have just heard the Dean of Armagh's testimony to the -accuracy as well as the beauty of the facsimiles of ancient Irish MSS. -made under the direction of Mr. Gilbert. The photographic reproduction -is sometimes even preferable to the original manuscript, bringing out -and restoring faded letters. Given such a facsimile, and, save as a -matter of sentiment, it would be almost indifferent whether the original -reposed upon the shelves of London or of Dublin. With it, the scholar -need rarely brace himself up for a long and expensive journey to one -city or the other. With it, the national treasure is doubly, trebly, -tenfold, or a hundredfold if you like, protected against theft, injury, -or destruction. With it, Ireland might soon possess, at a nominal cost, -facsimiles of all MSS. illustrating her ancient language or history, and -not merely the Ashburnham. But if these propositions are true of the -British Museum, they are true of every national institution. If they -apply to Celtic scholars, they apply to all scholars. If they apply to -the Ashburnham MSS., they apply to all MSS., including parish registers -and public documents; if to these, then to printed books of rarity and -value; and no less to every picture and statue, engraving and medal. -Think of the boundless field thus opened up for the dissemination of -instruction and enjoyment, for the insurance of irreplaceable wealth, -and great must be the wonder that scarcely a corner of it should -hitherto have been occupied. - -The cause, nevertheless, is very simple. Photographic reproduction has -not as yet been regarded as a duty incumbent upon a public library, and -has not, accordingly, been provided for out of the public funds. The -same principle has not been applied to it which obtains in the case of -binding, lighting, cleaning, attendance, and other things apart from the -buying of books which are recognised as essential to the efficiency of -such an institution. It follows that photography is so dear as to be -rarely resorted to by private individuals; and that its exercise by -public institutions is impeded not only by considerations of expense, -but also by indispensable but vexatious formalities and restrictions. -Photography, while in private hands, must be costly; first and foremost, -because the photographer must live. Again, if he is an artist of the -accuracy of manipulation required for the work of a public library, he -must be enabled and entitled to put a high value on his services. Again, -he has invested capital both in his education and his working apparatus, -on which he must have interest. Once more, he works by the piece, and -piece labour is always the highest paid. Yet once again, his -remuneration comes to him entirely in money, and not in social position -or distinction. Besides, the demand for the description of photographic -reproduction which a public library would require is as yet but limited, -and partly from these very difficulties of supply. In portraiture, for -which everybody is a customer, and to a less degree in landscape and the -reproduction of works of art, we see that competition has brought the -desired article within reach of the masses. But in photographing books -and MSS. the cost is still very disproportionate to the amount of labour -or the value of material. We move in a vicious circle, the difficulty -of supply restricts demand, and the feebleness of demand obstructs -supply. Nor, were the demand more extensive, would the public be -effectually served by national institutions, so long as the system of -private photography and piece-work endured: for the artist must have his -profit, put it how you will: and it is this simple, and in the present -state of things, legitimate condition, which cripples the library and -museum on this side of their activity; and, while enriching the -individual, impoverishes the State in its spiritual aspect, by impeding -the free circulation of intellectual wealth. - -If the cause is as simple as I have stated, the remedy, fortunately, is -no less so. In so far as photography for public objects is concerned, we -must suppress the photographer as a tradesman. The State must enlist -him, pay him a fixed salary, requiring his whole time in return, and -minimise this source of expense by allowing him the rank of a civil -servant, and a status on a par with that of any other head of a -department. It must also provide the assistance which would be -requisite, and the necessary apparatus and chemicals. The photographer's -time being thus paid for, his profit abolished, and the material -provided for him, what source of expense remains? Absolutely none, until -there is a tax upon sunshine. - -It may still be fairly inquired:— - -1. Whether such an undertaking is within the legitimate sphere of -Government? - -2. Whether it is of sufficient public utility to justify Government -action? - -3. How far such action would be remunerative financially? - -On the first point I shall say hardly anything. I can conceive no -greater objection in principle to an official photographer than to an -astronomer-royal, and I do not expect to hear any objections to the -latter functionary in the city of Sir William Rowan Hamilton and Dr. -Ball. - -Nor do I apprehend that many among us will require to be convinced of -the advantage of photography as an auxiliary to library work. It has -already been sufficiently impressed upon us by our friend Mr. Henry -Stevens. We meet here, however, in the hope that our voice on this and -other subjects will penetrate beyond our own circle, and arrest the -attention of many to whom these topics are at present unfamiliar. It is, -further, by proving the utility of photography as an auxiliary to -libraries and museums, and the extent to which these institutions are -trammelled by the present impediments to its exercise, that I shall best -encounter the more difficult question of the financial advantage of the -proposal. For we shall all agree that the more generally useful anything -may be, the more likely it is to be profitable. - -I shall therefore point out very briefly the great benefit which the -British Museum, the institution with which I am best acquainted, might -derive from incorporating photography as an organised part of its -system, instead of taking the photographer up to lay him down again. 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 Museum; sufficient, it seems to me, to justify the -conclusion that a public need exists, to supply which might be -profitable even in a pecuniary sense. Lastly, I shall look beyond the -needs of any individual library, or any particular class of customers, -and endeavour to point out ways in which a national photographic -institution, preferably, I think, placed in connection with the British -Museum, might subserve public objects of paramount importance. - -I have said that, to be adopted to any purpose by a public institution, -photography must become a portion of the organism of the institution -itself. That is, the institution must be the photographer's employer, -not his customer. If otherwise, all sorts of needful but troublesome -official formalities must exist, which combine with the obstacle of -expense to reduce photographic enterprise to a minimum. If a complicated -piece of official machinery has to be set in motion every time a -photograph is wanted, whether by a public department or a private -individual, the want is not likely to be often acknowledged, much less -when a moderate outlay will soon bring both to the end of their tether. -Abolish the relations of tradesman and customer, pay the photographer -once for all by an adequate salary, provide apparatus and chemicals with -sufficient liberality, and you at once cut off whatever has hitherto -hindered and arrested the enlistment of the art in the service of -culture. Instead of an artist working now and then as he may happen to -get an order, which he seldom does except in absolutely urgent cases, -you have one bound to devote the whole of his time to earning a moderate -fixed salary, and, if he is the right sort of man, making it his pride -and pleasure to do so. Instead of an institution doing comparatively -little work, and supported by the reluctant contributions of -comparatively few customers, you have one supported on a large scale at -a cost individually imperceptible. Instead of heads of departments -considering how little they can manage to spend, you will have them -encouraged to tax their new auxiliary's resources to the utmost by the -consideration that, the prime elements of expense being eliminated, it -will, in fact, hardly be possible to spend anything. Here I may be met -by an objection which deserves a reply. "Granting," it may be said, "the -propriety of employing the photographer for strictly national purposes, -why tax the entire community, however lightly, for the benefit of the -small portion of it which may happen to want photographs? Is it right to -take a farthing out of Brown's pocket to save Jones five guineas?" I -scarcely expect that any among us will raise that objection, because, -pursued to its logical consequences, it would abolish every museum and -library supported out of rates or taxes. But, to anticipate it in the -quarters where it may be urged, I shall prove that the benefits of cheap -photography, applied to artistic and literary purposes, extend far -beyond the actual purchasers of photographs, inasmuch as the present -restrictions act injuriously and indeed prohibitively upon undertakings -of admitted general utility, both public and private. - -In illustration of the impediments which the present system opposes to -such undertakings, I may instance the difficulty of meeting the -legitimate demands of provincial museums. Residents in the provinces, -equally with residents in the metropolis, contribute to the support of -institutions like the British Museum, and are entitled to expect that -they should, as far as possible, participate in its advantages. There -are, I believe, 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 collection, or to despatch portion -after portion on an itinerating tour throughout the provinces. I need -not seek to convince you that this specious suggestion is unsound; 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 parts, and that the loss of the metropolis -would by no means be the gain of the provinces. It is nevertheless the -duty of the central institution to compensate the provinces in every -possible way for their inevitable disadvantages, and though photography -will not do everything in this respect, it will do much. In sculpture, -coins, engravings, and drawings in outline or of neutral tint, the -smallest town in the kingdom might be almost on a par with the -metropolis for every purpose of instruction or refinement. By enabling -them to be so we should not be creating a luxury, but redressing a -grievance. On this ground alone Government might fairly be asked to move -in the matter. How much, too, might be effected by such artistic and -archæological handbooks, photographically illustrated, as could be -produced for a trifle if the process were no element in the expense! 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 Museum. They prove how easily the entire collection might be -made available for study and inspection all over the kingdom—ay, and in -foreign countries and colonies—and confirm the proposition I have -advanced, that the expenditure of public money in cheapening -photographic reproduction is not merely a boon to the purchaser, but to -the general public. - -The circulation of photographs of works of art, though important to -individual collectors, is rather the affair of public institutions. The -similar circulation of books and MSS., the aspect of the question with -which we as librarians are particularly concerned, is more directly -interesting to private individuals, and on this account has attracted -comparatively little notice. I am not sure, however, that it is not the -more important of the two, nor that it may not, after all, be the branch -most susceptible of profitable development. In the matter of rare -books, demand has now almost killed supply. The wish to possess them is -more general than ever, but the means of gratifying it become from day -to day more restricted by the tendency of such books to drift into -public libraries, or into large private collections where they may be -locked up indefinitely, and especially by the competition of America. At -this juncture, photography, particularly in its form of -photo-zincography, steps in, and offers the means of doing for the -amateur of ancient and curious literature, for maps and MSS., precisely -what the printing-press does for the great body of readers. All we need -is that the obstacles which still render this process expensive, except -when applied to objects in great demand, should be removed, that the -scholar should be enabled to procure a cheap photographic reproduction -as easily as the general reader can obtain a cheap book. Such scholars -are numerous enough, I feel convinced, to defray the cost of material -and of minor assistance, leaving in the worst case nothing for the State -to pay but the insignificant salary of the chief photographic officer. -Now let us take the case of another class of students, who deserve even -more consideration, the collators of MSS. and rare books. Why should the -scholar of the nineteenth century be in no better position than the -scholar of the sixteenth? Why should he continue to be exposed to -hardships which science has met? Think of the waste of human effort, the -fret and friction of human temper entailed by the inability to procure -accurate facsimiles. Why should the scholar of an age of light get no -good from the sun? Think of the long journeys, the long residences, the -interminable correspondences of scholars, the mechanical labour if they -are their own copyists, the expense and probable inaccuracy if they are -not. Do we often see a critical edition of a classic without a lament -that the editor has been unable to inspect some MS. at Madrid or Moscow? -Did not the Biblical world wait thirty years for a facsimile of the -Vatican MS., which a photographer would have produced in a small -fraction of the time? And did it not prove an imperfect facsimile after -all? Did not the learned Meibomius, albeit a ponderous Dutchman, ill -adapted for equitation, ride all the way from Leyden to Bologna, allured -by the unhappily misleading announcement, _Habemus Petronium integrum_? -To come nearer to our own times, I may report (since I rather suspect it -has been the germ of the whole subject in my mind) a conversation I have -myself had with the Rev. Dr. Hayman, then editing the Odyssey, and most -anxious to take our Museum MSS. of the poem home to his rectory in the -north of Lancashire. I told him that the idea was contrary to the Museum -statutes, to Act of Parliament, and to the eternal fitness of things. He -said that he would give security to any amount. I said that money would -not compensate the Museum or the world of letters for the loss of an -unique MS., and that it would be shocking to place a scholar, possibly -poor, under obligations which might involve the loss of all he was -worth. "Oh, as to that," he said, "as soon as I got the MS. home I -should insure it for its full value." "Yes," I replied, "and deprive us -of the only security we had for your vigilance." But I think we could -have trusted Dr. Hayman with a photograph, or he could probably have -bought one for the cost of his railway fare to and from London. - -Let me now adduce some minor instances of the inconvenience created, at -the Museum alone, by the absence of photographic facilities. The -Congress of Orientalists has felt the want of Oriental MSS. deposited in -England so keenly as to have unanimously concurred in a perfectly futile -memorial to allow them to be sent to the Continent. The Austrian -Government lately addressed an official request for the loan of an -exceedingly rare book, which, if the Museum had possessed it, they could -not have had, but of which, if an official photographic department had -existed, they might have obtained the facsimile for a trifle. With due -photographic facilities at Basle we might each of us have taken home a -perfect facsimile of the memorable letter of Fichet which Mr. Bullen has -brought to our notice, the accurate typographic reproduction of which -will assuredly tax the resources of the printers of the "Library -Chronicle." 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 -Museum, though the charge was as low as possible. I have seen an -accomplished lady, the wife of a Professor of Fine Art, toiling day -after day for weeks together, laboriously tracing plans of architectural -structures for the illustration of her husband's lectures, which plans, -under the conditions contemplated, she could have carried away in -facsimile for a few shillings. I have known weeks employed and twenty -pounds expended in copying a manuscript grammar of an African language; -and a rare old English book transcribed, every word of it, to obtain a -reprint. I have now a colleague in the Museum coming early and staying -late out of his official time to transcribe an almost illegible Coptic -manuscript, a photograph of which would have answered every purpose. -Another colleague wished to give a facsimile page of a very curious MS. -he had edited for a learned society; but was prevented by the cost; -conversely, the same gentleman, thanks to photography, is at present -deciphering a most obstinate MS. for the Corporation of -Stratford-on-Avon, without having to go there or make himself -responsible for the safe custody of the document. I know that the -charges of the skilful men who restore missing passages of books in -facsimile are, inevitably I suppose, so high that nobody who can help it -will employ them. I have a mutilated book on my table at this moment -which I earnestly wish could be entrusted to one of them, but I fear it -will not do. Now, when we consider that it has been found practicable to -facsimile the rare original edition of "Goody Two Shoes," with numerous -woodcuts, by photo-zincography, and publish it at half-a-crown, it is -clear that there must be something wrong about this exorbitant cost -which so effectually hinders the very work which photography, in our -age, seems so especially called upon to perform, of counteracting the -inevitable tendency of old books to scarcity and consequent dearness. Of -the numerous official services which photography could render in a -library, such as saving time in copying documents, or restoring damaged -leaves of catalogues, I say nothing, for fear of occupying your time -unduly; and of the innumerable uses to which it can be turned by an -ingenious bibliographer I am also silent for the same reason, and -because I regard this branch of the case as the especial property of Mr. -Henry Stevens, who has proved it experimentally, and who has, I hope, -more to tell us respecting it. I will merely remark that under all -disadvantages, the last four volumes of the British Museum Catalogue of -Greek Coins contain 116 autotype plates, with representations of nearly -2000 coins. What might not be done if the Museum were its own -autotypist! - -Instances so numerous, representative without doubt of a very large -number which have not come to my knowledge, encourage the hope that the -establishment of a photographic department at the Museum would be even -financially successful. One very strong fact may be adduced, that -proposals have been actually made to obtain a photographic copy of the -great Chinese Cyclopædia, occupying eighteen hundred volumes. The -proposition, needless if the Museum had possessed a photographic -establishment of its own, was that the parties should take the -Cyclopædia away and photograph it themselves. It could not be granted, -although the sum offered was no less than five hundred pounds, which -would have about paid the proposed photographic officer's salary for a -whole year. The fact is conclusive both of the need of photography as an -auxiliary to library work, and of the encouragement which a well-managed -endeavour would be sure to meet. Like the penny post and the telegraph, -once fairly launched, it would raise the wind for itself. "Work," says -George Eliot, "breeds:" and the great initial difficulty removed, -unsuspected developments and applications are sure to be thought of. -Much prudence and judgment would be requisite in working the scheme. -Competition with professional photographers must be avoided; and the -work of the institution confined to reproducing objects in its own -collections, or those of other public institutions, or such in private -hands as possessed a distinct literary, artistic, or scientific impress -and value. The locality should be the British Museum, because, while we -are able to receive articles from any other place on deposit, we are -disabled from even temporarily parting with our own. If so, the -management must, of course, rest with the Museum authorities, as we -could not allow an _imperium in imperio_. It will be admitted that under -the present Principal Librarian the Museum has fully earned the -confidence of the public, and that this has been largely gained by the -readiness shown to enlist mechanical processes in aid of library work, -particularly printing and electricity. The introduction of photography -would be but a further development of the same principle; and although -much consideration and discussion will evidently be necessary, I am not -without hope that Mr. Bond, who has brought print into the catalogue and -electricity into the Reading Room, may make the sun-crowned nymph, now -an inmate who charges for her lodging instead of paying for it, a -daughter of the house. Many questions will arise which only experience -can solve. 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 way, and -the adjustment of the scale of charges will require serious -consideration. On the one hand, the very essence of the scheme is to -reduce the cost of photography for literary or educational purposes to a -minimum; and high prices would evidently be extortionate when the main -elements of cost had been suppressed. On the other hand, the _bona -fides_ of customers must be guaranteed; and the Treasury will scarcely -help unless the obligation to recoup it as far as possible is -acknowledged and acted upon. The best principle, I apprehend, would be -to proportion charges as nearly as possible to the expenditure of -material—a variable quantity, 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 returns. - -Ere I quit the subject, suffer me to advert to one aspect of it of -national and even international concern. I allude to the service which -photography can render in the preservation and dissemination of the -national records. The Record Office, in London at least, is no doubt as -nearly fireproof as a building can be made; 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 treasures. But I -know that it has unique documents relating to the most interesting -events in Scotch history, facsimiles of which would be acceptable -throughout Scotland. I imagine that these are but types of a large class -of documents; and I am sure that the sight of papers relating to -memorable transactions, or bearing the signatures of memorable men, -would foster historical study and patriotic feeling throughout the -length and breadth of the land. But there is another class of records, -for whose safety and accessibility measures should undoubtedly be taken. -I refer to the parish registers. This is no new idea; it has been -frequently proposed that such documents should be removed to London and -collected in a great central repository. To this, as regards the -originals, I cannot assent, 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 catastrophe. Photography would -solve the problem. With regard to the international aspect of the -question, it may be fairly expected that if we lead, other nations will -follow, and that we shall have to follow if we let them lead. Suppose -that France and we have taken the step in concert, 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 both. Suppose Italy and Spain to join, and we may have the chief -materials of English history at home, and shall no longer be obliged to -despatch agents to calendar Venetian state papers, or unriddle the -ciphered scrolls of Simancas. The conception is so fruitful, its -application is so manifold and momentous, that I half recoil, like Fear, -afraid of the picture myself have painted. 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 began, that the -photographic reproduction of national property should be the concern of -the nation; and that to a great museum or library photography should be, -not a tool, but a limb. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[234:1] Read before the Library Association, Dublin, September 30, 1884. - - - - -THE TELEGRAPH IN THE LIBRARY - - -Library administration, like all other departments of human activity in -this age, must experience the results of the unexampled development of -science in its application to the affairs of life. The most immediately -obvious of these are the mechanical: so simple a device as the -sliding-press, as will be shown in its place, has saved the nation -thousands of pounds. The most promising field for such achievements has -hitherto been the United States of America, where the application of -scientific contrivances to ordinary purposes is more general than in -Europe, and where the more important libraries are new structures, where -improvements can form part of the original plan, with no fear of -impediment from arrangements already existing. Next to mechanics, -photography and electricity may be named as the scientific agencies -chiefly adapted for the promotion of library service. Photography has -been sufficiently treated in another essay in this volume. The services -of electricity will be most cordially acknowledged by those who best -remember the paralysis of literary work, alike official and private, -engendered by a fog at the British Museum, and in particular recall the -appearance of the Reading Room, a Byzantine "tower of darkness," with a -lantern dimly burning in the centre, the windows presenting the -appearance of slate, 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 books. All this nuisance has been abolished by the electric -light, which not only renders the Reading Room available for the public -on dark days, but allows the ordinary work of the Museum to be carried -on in all departments; the same may be said of all other libraries. The -beautiful, potent, and above all safe electric ray is an advantage to -all, and in dark days a passage from death unto life for those libraries -where, as in the Museum, gas has been proscribed on account of its -danger and its injurious effects upon books. - -The services of electricity to libraries, however, are by no means -exhausted by the electric light. It is capable of rendering aid even -more important, and the more so in proportion to the extent of the -library. The need for rapid communication throughout large buildings has -been in some measure met by the telephone, whose usefulness is impaired -by its incapacity for transmitting and recording written messages. -Recourse must be had to the telegraph—not, of course, that ordinary -description of the instrument where the record is made in dots and -dashes, intelligibly solely to the expert—but the printing telegraph, -where the message appears in clear type, or a facsimile of the -transmitter's handwriting. The use of such telegraphs for various -purposes, especially those of the Stock Exchange, is now very familiar, -and there is perhaps no place where it could be introduced with more -signal advantage than the Reading Room of the British Museum. - -There is no great reason at present for complaint of delay in bringing -books from the Museum library to the Reading Room; but the system is -not, as so many other points of Museum administration are, one to -challenge the administration and emulation of other libraries. It is -impossible to observe its working without pronouncing it cumbrous and -below the present level of civilised ingenuity. The reader writes his -ticket at the catalogue desk, generally with a pen trying to his temper, -and the captive of his bow and spear. He then walks some distance to -deposit it in a basket on the counter, where it remains until a boy is -at hand to carry it to the corridor outside the Reading Room, where it -is put into a clip and drawn up to the gallery. All these operations are -indispensable so long as recourse is solely had to human muscle, but -they evidently involve great loss of time. 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 Room_; and this seeming impossibility can be achieved by the -employment of a writing telegraph by which, as fast as the message is -written at one end of the wire, it is recorded in facsimile at the -other. The present writer has experimented with the American -Telautograph, and, so far as the experiments went, nothing could be more -satisfactory. No knowledge of telegraphy whatever is required from the -operator: he simply inscribes his message with a style on a piece of -tissue-paper, and it reappears simultaneously at the other end of the -wire. Nothing seems necessary but to furnish the catalogue desks with -electrical transmitters (which occupy no great space) instead of -inkstands, and to provide for the carrying of the wires out of the room. -When the writer endeavoured to introduce electrical communication in -1894, he feared that this requisite would present difficulties, but was -assured by experts that it really offered none. The ticket written by -the reader might be retained by him as a memorandum: if it could be -repeated in _duplicate_ at the other end, one copy might be treated as -now; the other, with any necessary correction, might be pasted at once -into the register, saving all the time now occupied in registration. - -It is of course perfectly possible that hitches and breakings down might -at first occur from time to time, from the delicacy of the machine -employed, or from other causes. The machines have not been properly -tested, nor can they be, except by a continuous course of experiment. -But whence this morbid fear of experiment? After Darwin's definition, -the apprehension should surely be on the other side. A single machine, -kept at work for a week, would be sufficient to test the principle. The -first experiments with the electric light at the Museum were anything -but promising, but Sir Edward Bond persevered, and the result is what we -see. - -And how brilliant a result the establishment of telegraphic -communication would be! The saving of time is no doubt the most -practical consideration, but apart from this, how vast the improvement -in the economy of the Reading Room! No more troops of boy attendants, -with the inevitable noise and bustle; nothing but the invisible -messenger speeding on his silent errand, and the quiet delivery of books -at the desks: an unparalleled scene of perfect physical repose in the -midst of intense mental activity. Of course the improvement would not -stop with the Reading Room, and ere long all departments would be -connected by the writing telegraph. - -This paper, of course, is not written with any view of recommending the -Telautograph. Instruments better adapted for the purpose may exist, -although the writer has not met with them. He originally proposed the -employment of a printing telegraph as a means of abridging delays in the -Reading Room as long ago as 1876. The great improvements in -administration introduced at that time, however, rendered the need less -urgent; nor, perhaps, was electrical science itself then sufficiently -developed. Acquaintance with the Telautograph led him to take the -subject up again in 1893 and 1894, and he still hopes to find the -electric force a match for _vis inertiæ_. - - - - -ON THE PROTECTION OF LIBRARIES FROM FIRE - - -Of all the library's enemies, the most terrible is fire. Water is bad -enough; is it not recorded that the 450 copies of the Bible Society's -translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into Manchu, printed on the -soft silken paper of China, were destroyed by an inundation of the Neva? -But such damage can rarely occur, unless when the element of the Sylph -is invoked to combat the element of the Salamander. The muddy waters of -the Neva, also, were probably more pernicious than the "salt sea -streams" would have been. We ourselves have transcribed manuscripts of -Shelley's which had been for months at the bottom of the Mediterranean, -and which, although protected by package, had evidently been soaked with -salt water. Exposure to fire for a hundred-thousandth part of the period -would not have left a letter legible. - -The librarian's vigilance and resource, accordingly, ought to be -enlisted against fire in an especial manner, and no contrivance should -be overlooked that seems to afford the least prospect of controlling or -mitigating its ravages. - -On July 17, 1884, experiments were made in the garden of Mr. Bernard -Quaritch, the eminent bookseller, with fire-proof cases devised by Mr. -Zaehnsdorf, equally distinguished as a binder, and were reported in the -_Academy_ of July 26. Three books, each enclosed in a separate case, -were put into a fire, and kept there for half-an-hour. On their being -extracted, "one, which had been in a case lined with tin, unpierced with -air-holes, suffered only in its binding, which had been slightly -damaged, not directly by the fire, but only by the heated metal. A -second, of which the case was of the usual kind, but also unpierced with -air-holes, came out intact. The third, in a case resembling that of the -second, but pierced with air-holes of good diameter, suffered most, the -fire, and the water by which the fire was extinguished, having both -found admission through those punctures, the water being the more -deleterious agent of the two. This book was, however, not materially -injured. From this experiment it may be concluded that a good case will -in almost all instances preserve a book from destruction by fire, that a -metal lining to the case is not necessary, and that the air-holes (which -experiments of a different kind have proved to be indispensable) should -be small and numerous, distributed over the top and front edges, and not -only on the top." - -In 1894, the chief part of the library of Lord Carysfort at Elton Hall, -Peterborough, was destroyed by fire, these books only escaping which had -been protected by Mr. Zaehnsdorf's cases. On October 3, 1896, Lord -Carysfort wrote: "A few of my books which were in cases were quite -preserved from serious injury, the cases having been blackened and -destroyed, while the book and its binding were scarcely discoloured. -Since the fire I have had all my valuable books put into cases such as -you make." - -These circumstances having accidentally become known to the writer, he -thought it his duty to test Mr. Zaehnsdorf's cases for himself. Two of -these, filled with printed papers of no value, were placed (April 1897) -on a very hot fire in the writer's own study, in the presence of Mr. -Zaehnsdorf and several officers of the library of the British Museum. -The result was highly satisfactory. Though the cases were greatly -damaged, the papers received very little injury, and this only when they -were in actual contact with the bottom and sides of the cases. Had they -been bound volumes, nothing would have suffered except the edges of the -binding. - -It seems evident that Mr. Zaehnsdorf's invention well deserves the -attention of wealthy collectors of precious books. There is a serious -obstacle to its introduction on an extensive scale into great libraries -from the expense of the cases, which at present average about a pound a -piece. It is probable, however, that cases could be contrived to take -books by the shelf-ful instead of single volumes. In any event, however, -it would be well worth while to employ them for the protection of books -of extreme rarity and inestimable manuscripts, as well as the archives -of great libraries, and artistic and scientific departments in general, -which, when calendared, as they must one day be if they have not been -burned first, will be among the most valuable of materials for the -history of culture. - -It is no doubt true that the best protection against fire is not any -mechanical device, but the contiguity of a good fire brigade. But at -Elton Hall the nearest brigade was many miles off, and, be it as near as -it will, it is also true that such devices are not exposed to the -negligences, misunderstandings, and other infirmities incident to -mortals which may in an evil hour paralyse the operations of human -agents; and that the most efficient brigade will be greatly helped by -anything which, by retarding the progress of a conflagration, holds it -back from gaining the mastery before the opposing forces have been fully -brought into play. This important object might also be promoted by the -employment of wood specially seasoned by a chemical process. Experiments -made on behalf of the British Museum in the spring of 1898 have been -highly satisfactory, evincing that although wood so treated will char, -it will not, properly speaking, burn, and that the use of it for floors -and shelving would materially impede the process of combustion. - - - - -THE SLIDING-PRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM[262:1] - - -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 Museum, and to suggest -the importance of its introduction elsewhere where possible, and of -regard being had to it in forming the plans of libraries hereafter to be -built. Every successful library is destined to be confronted sooner or -later with the problem how to enlarge its insufficient space. Without -considerable financial resources such enlargement has hitherto been -absolutely impracticable, and even where practicable has rarely been -carried into effect without a long period of makeshift, discomfort, and -disorganisation, for which the enlargement itself affords only a -temporary remedy. The great advantages of the sliding-press in this -point of view are two: it allows expansion within the edifice itself, -without the necessity of additional building, 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 edifice. - -I may assume that all present have seen, or will see, the photographs of -the Museum sliding-press exhibited to the Conference, with the -accompanying description. I may therefore be very brief in my account of -it here, 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 enlarge, provided with handles for moving it backwards and -forwards, working by rollers running on metal ribs projecting laterally -from the above-mentioned beams or rods, and so suspended from these ribs -as absolutely not to touch the ground anywhere. These are its essential -characteristics, without which it would be indeed an additional -book-press, but not a hanging-press or sliding-press. In recommending -this system of additional accommodation, I by no means wish to insist -upon this special form as the only one adapted for the necessities of a -library. I have no doubt that in very many libraries the arrangement of -the projecting beams or rods would be inapplicable, and that it would be -better to resort to the original form of the idea, from which the Museum -derived its own application of it—the idea, namely, of a skeleton door -made in shelves, hinged upon the press requiring expansion, running on a -wheel resting upon a metal quadrant let into the floor, and opening and -shutting like any ordinary door. I have merely to affirm that for the -Museum the adaptation we have made is a very great improvement; but -this is due to the peculiar construction of the rooms to which the new -press has hitherto been chiefly confined. Rooms of this pattern do not -generally exist in public libraries, and where they are not found I am -inclined to think that the plan which I have just described, the -prototype of the Museum sliding-press, may be found the more -advantageous. I also think, however, that for reasons quite unconnected -with the sliding-press, this pattern of room ought to be imitated in -libraries hereafter to be built, and when this is the case, it must -inevitably bring the Museum press after it. It will therefore be worth -while to describe this style of building, in order that the mutual -adaptation of it and of the sliding-press may be clear. It consists of -three storeys lighted entirely from the top. It is therefore necessary -for the transmission of light from top to bottom that the floors of the -two upper storeys should be open; and they are in fact iron gratings. It -follows that the floor of the highest storey must form the ceiling of -the second, and the floor of the second the ceiling of the third. Here -is the key to the sliding-press system. 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 grating, and did not require to -be introduced. Nothing was needful but to provide them with flanking -ribs projecting at right angles, from which, as you see in the -photographs, the additional press could be suspended by rollers, -admitting of easy working backwards and forwards, and then the -sliding-press was fully developed out of the skeleton door. No thought -of it had ever crossed the minds of the original designers of the -building; yet they could have made no better arrangement had this been -planned with an especial view to its introduction. They had even made -the storeys of exactly the right height, eight feet. I have not hitherto -mentioned that the press takes books both before and behind, because -this feature is not essential, and must indeed be departed from when the -press is applied to the accommodation of newspapers and such like large -folios. For ordinary books it is manifestly a great advantage, but -carries with it the obligation that the presses shall not be higher than -eight feet, or, when full on both sides, they will be too heavy to work -with comfort, unless, which I do not think impracticable, machinery for -the purpose should be introduced. - -The principle of a sliding or hanging-press is, so far as I know, -entirely peculiar to the British Museum, and hardly could have -originated elsewhere than in a building possessing, like the Museum, -floors and ceilings entirely grated. The main point, however, the -provision of supplementary presses to increase the capacity of the -library without requiring additional space, had previously been worked -out in at least two libraries. The earliest example, apart from casual -and accidental applications at Trinity College, Dublin, and, as I have -been told, the Bodleian, was, I believe, at Bradford Free Library, and -the gentleman entitled to the credit of its introduction there was Mr. -Virgo, the librarian. Mr. Virgo's contrivance was, I understand, a -double door, not hinged on to the original press in one piece, as in the -pattern I have just described, but opening in two divisions to right and -left, as frequently the case in cupboards. I speak, however, with some -uncertainty, for when, writing on the subject in Mr. Dewey's _Library -Notes_, and most anxious to give Mr. Virgo all due credit, I applied to -him for particulars of his invention, modesty, as I must suppose, -rendered him silent, or at best but insufficiently articulate. I hope he -may be present to-day, and that the Conference may hear the particulars -from himself. It is due, however, to the Bethnal Green Library, the -other institution to which I have referred as having given effect to the -principle of press expansion _in situ_, to state most explicitly that -the idea of its application at the Museum was derived wholly and solely -from Bethnal Green; that the Bradford example, though it had been set -for some years previously, was never heard of at the Museum until the -model had been constructed and the first presses ordered; and that I am -satisfied that Bethnal Green knew as little of Bradford as the Museum -did. The Bethnal Green inventor was, I am informed, the late Dr. Tyler, -the founder and principal benefactor of the institution, and, as -elsewhere, 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 Office. The introduction of the -principle at the Museum dates from a November evening of 1886, when, -going down to attend a little festivity on occasion of the reopening of -the Bethnal Green Library after renovation, I was shown the -supplementary presses by the librarian, Mr. Hilcken. I immediately saw -the value of the idea, and next morning sent for Mr. Jenner, assistant -in the Printed Book Department, in whose special fitness I felt great -confidence, from his admirable performance of the duty of placing the -books daily added to the Museum, which frequently requires much -ingenuity and contrivance. I told Mr. Jenner what I had seen, and -desired him to consider whether he could devise a method of adapting the -Bethnal Green system to the exigencies of the British Museum. He did -consider: he went down to Bethnal Green and saw the presses employed -there, and, to his infinite credit, hit upon the plan of suspending the -presses from the grated floors of the upper storey in the manner shown -by the photograph, which, as I have already pointed out, is entirely -original. A model was constructed by the aid of Mr. Sparrow, the -ingenious locksmith of the Museum. Mr. Bond, then principal librarian, -took the matter up warmly, the first batch of presses was ordered early -in 1887, and from that time forward we have had no difficulty at the -Museum in providing space for ordinary books, although some structural -alterations will be requisite before the sliding-press can be applied to -the whole of the New Library, and it must be modified if it is to be -made serviceable for newspapers. A new room in the White Wing, not -admitting of a grated ceiling, has been specially adapted with a view to -the introduction of the press, and may be usefully studied by librarians -about to build, although I think that some modifications will be found -expedient. I have pleasure in adding that on my report of June 1, 1888, -in which I went into the whole matter very fully, the trustees obtained -from the Treasury a gratuity of £100 for Mr. Jenner and of £20 for Mr. -Sparrow, in recognition of their services. - -I have designedly said recognition, not recompense, for no grant likely -to be awarded by the Treasury would bear any proportion to the saving -effected on behalf of the nation. To make this clear I will adduce some -particulars stated in my report to the trustees. Eight hundred -sliding-presses can be added to the New Library at the Museum without -any modification of the building as it stands, and 300 more by certain -structural alterations. The cost of a press being about £13, this gives -£14,300 for the 1100 presses, or, with a liberal allowance for the cost -of the alterations, say £15,000 altogether. Each press will contain on -the average about 400 volumes, showing a total of 440,000 volumes, or -about seven times the number of books in the great King's Library added -to the capacity of the New Library, without taking in another square -inch of ground. Excluding newspapers, periodicals, Oriental -books—otherwise provided for—and tracts bound in bundles, and assuming -an annual addition of 20,000 volumes of other descriptions, this -provides for twenty-two years. But much more may be said, for, whether -in the form of swinging door or sliding-press, the principle of -expansion _in situ_ can undoubtedly be carried out through the greater -part of the Old Library, as well as in the basement of the New.[269:1] -What additional space this would afford, I have not endeavoured to -estimate. Another immense advantage connected with the system is the -facility it offers of gradual expansion. Any other enlargement requires -new building; new building requires a large sum to be raised by a great -effort of rating, borrowing, or subscribing; and too frequently the -adjoining ground is preoccupied, and must be acquired at a great -additional expense. Fifty thousand pounds would, I believe, be a very -moderate estimate for such accommodation, if obtained by building, as -the Museum gets from the sliding-press for £15,000, supposing even that -the ground were free to build upon. In our case, however, this ground -must have been purchased. We may well imagine the Trojan siege we should -have had to lay to the Treasury, to obtain the money; the delays of -building when this was eventually forthcoming; and the fearful -inconvenience which would have existed meanwhile. 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 year, introduce them -wherever they seem to be necessary, and hope to go on thus for an -indefinite number of years. Any new apartment, complete in itself, must -involve waste, for some parts of it must necessarily fill up faster than -others; but in the sliding-press is a beautiful elasticity; it can be -introduced wherever it is seen to be wanted, and nowhere else. Finally, -and for the Museum this is most important, the additional space gained -is in the close vicinity of the Reading Room. A new building must have -been at a distance, involving either great inconvenience in the supply -of books to readers, or an additional Reading Room, catalogue, reference -library, and staff. - -I think enough has been said to convince librarians of the expediency of -taking the sliding-press, or some analogous contrivance, into account, -in plans for the enlargement of old libraries, or the construction of -new ones. Some libraries will not require it, either because they are on -too small a scale; or because, like branch libraries in great towns, -they admit of being kept within limits; or because, like Archbishop -Marsh's Library at Dublin, they are restricted to special collections. -But all experience shows that it is impossible to provide for the wants -of a great and growing library on too generous a scale, or to exhibit -too much forethought in preparing for distant, it may be, but ultimately -inevitable contingencies. York Cathedral Library might have seemed safe, -but see the burden which Mr. Hailstone's recent benefaction has laid -upon it. To the librarian it may be said of Space what the poet said of -Love:— - - "Whoe'er thou art, thy master see, - He was, or is, or is to be." - -I should add that the cost of a sliding-press, or of a door-press, -might probably be much less to a provincial library than to the Museum, -where the shelves are constructed in the most elaborate manner for -special security against fire. - -In fact, I believe that the sliding-press is only one corner of a great -question, and that in planning large libraries it will be necessary to -take mechanical contrivances into account to a much greater extent than -hitherto. I am especially led to this conclusion by some particulars -which have reached me respecting the new Congressional Library at -Washington. I am unable to state these with the requisite accuracy, but -I hope that some American friend may be present who can supply the -deficiency. - -I have to add that the photographs of the sliding-press here exhibited -by me were taken by Mr. Charles Praetorius, and that copies can be -obtained from him. He may be addressed at the Museum. I hope that they -fulfil their purpose; they cannot, however, of course, represent the -press so well as the model of it constructed by Mr. Sparrow for the -exhibition of library appliances at Antwerp, where it was shown last -year. This is now exhibited to the public in the King's Library, and Mr. -Sparrow could probably produce copies of it if desired. An account of -the press was contributed by Mr. Jenner to the _Library Chronicle_, and -by me to Mr. Melville Dewey's _Library Notes_, both in 1887. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[262:1] Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, held at -Nottingham, September 1891. - -[269:1] Since this was written, the engineers of the Board of Works -have reported that the sliding-press system can be safely extended to -the galleries, which more than doubles the estimate of increased space -given on the preceding page. - - - - -ON THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SPACE IN LIBRARIES[272:1] - - -The interesting paper[272:2] 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 books, so -immensely important for all libraries, but especially so for public -libraries, and for these in the ratio of their probable extent and -consequent usefulness. When I had an opportunity of describing the -British Museum sliding-press to the Nottingham conference, I dwelt upon -the utility of the invention in this point of view as much as upon the -mechanism of the press itself; and as the point is one which cannot be -too much insisted upon, I shall take this opportunity of returning to -it. Before doing so, however, or mentioning any further contrivances for -economising space that may have suggested themselves, I may be allowed -to tender my personal acknowledgments to Mr. Mayhew for the ingenuity -which he has evinced, and to say that I am very desirous that his -invention should be brought into practical operation at the Museum as -soon as possible. We ought, I think, to exemplify every useful device -both in press construction and other departments of library work that we -may have the good fortune to introduce, both for our own credit and for -the advantage of other libraries which may be disposed to inquire into -our methods. I hardly expect that the pivot-press will replace the -sliding-press to any great extent at the Museum, because, as I have -previously stated, although the designers of the larger portion of our -library had not the most remote conception of the sliding-press, they -could not have provided for it more effectively if they had foreseen and -contemplated its introduction. But, when the need for procuring -additional space by mechanical contrivance makes itself felt, as must -inevitably be the case one day in all really important libraries, -difficulties will be found in the introduction of the sliding-press -which will not exist in the case of the pivot-press. Unless expressly so -designed, libraries will seldom be provided, as the Museum was, with a -grated ceiling from which the sliding-press can be suspended without -more ado, and the construction of such a ceiling is a formidable and -expensive piece of work. This difficulty may indeed be overcome by -making the sliding-press run upon the ground, as at Bethnal Green and -the basement of the Museum, but this throws the entire weight upon the -floor, which, though unobjectionable on a basement, may be dangerous in -upper storeys. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the pivot-press -may be used with excellent effect in many instances, especially from -its simplicity and ease of construction, when a sudden need arises for -the accommodation of a new accession of books. I may further draw -attention to a special merit—its singular lightness even when full of -volumes. A child can work it with ease, unlike the sliding-press, which, -when quite full, may tax the strength of a powerful man. - -Respecting the history of this press I have only to say that, so far as -I am aware, it originated with Mr. Mayhew at the British Museum; I -should, nevertheless, be in no way surprised to learn that it, or -something resembling it, had already been in use in other libraries. If -so, this is not known at the Museum. It did not, like the sliding-press, -come to us as an importation to be developed, but originated, so far as -I know, entirely with Mr. Mayhew. If he took a hint from any quarter, it -may have been from those revolving book-stands which some of us, no -doubt, use in our own studies, so admirable for their compactness and -the readiness with which the desired book is brought to hand, but -unfortunately so dear. I do not know why they should always be -constructed in wood, and have often thought that if Birmingham -manufacturers would turn them out on a large scale in metal, they would -meet with a remunerative demand. - -I now come to the general question of providing space in libraries for -indefinite future accessions. This does not seem to me to have as yet -received attention in any degree proportionate to its importance. -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 Museum. The want of space for particular descriptions of -books was thus daily forced upon my attention, as well as the alarming -prospect of a total failure of space at no very distant day, unless this -could be averted by some mechanical contrivance, the possibility of -which dawned upon nobody until that accidental visit of mine to the -Bethnal Green Library, which I have related to you upon a former -occasion. The problem, you must remember, was not merely to find space -for books, but to find it near the Reading Room. The Trustees might -conceivably have acquired then, as they have most happily acquired last -summer, extensive space for building in the neighbourhood, and this -might be invaluable for the deposit of particular classes of literature, -such as newspapers and official publications. But this would not have -helped us with the mass of literature continually required for the -Reading Room, for it is absolutely necessary that this should be close -at hand. Supposing that room could have been provided in a new building -for the classes of publications I have mentioned, the difficulty would -have recurred as soon as the space thus gained had been filled up; and -ultimately we should have had to choose between allowing the library to -fall into a condition of chaos, and removing the Antiquities Department -elsewhere, thus devoting noble rooms to purposes for which they were not -constructed, and for which they are in no respect adapted. Things were, -indeed, fast approaching this point when the introduction of the -sliding-press, like a breeze springing up for the rescue of a drifting -vessel, carried us safely past the rock upon which we seemed destined to -strike. - -The answer to the question whether libraries in general will not, -without special precautions, find themselves in the position which the -British Museum has so fortunately escaped, depends upon the reply to -another question, which we must all answer in the affirmative, or we -should not be here: "Is the system of free public libraries going to be -a success?" If so, it is evident that the present development of free -libraries very imperfectly represents that which they are destined to -attain within a century. They cannot be kept at the level of public -requirements without being continually supplied with the best and newest -literature. 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 accurate, or histories not brought down to date, or fiction -reflecting the taste of the last generation. Periodicals and newspapers -will have continued to prolong themselves automatically; municipal and -other local records will have multiplied; and, if the library has really -done its work, and compelled recognition as an essential constituent of -civilisation, the funds provided for its augmentation will no longer be -upon their present restricted footing, and it will have been largely -enriched by donations. Evidently, therefore, the question of space will -have become very pressing, 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 them. One rough-and-ready method -of providing space might indeed be suggested—to sell the old books, and -buy new ones with the proceeds; but to say nothing of the invariably -unsuccessful financial results of such operations, and the -discouragement to students and to donors, I need not point out that a -library administered on such principles would be no better than a book -club. I am not aware how far any of our free libraries may already be -suffering embarrassment in the matter of space, but I can mention a -circumstance which may appear significant. We used to hear a great deal -about the stores of duplicate books accumulated at the British Museum, -and the advantage which would ensue from their distribution among -provincial libraries. Well, a few years ago we acted upon the -suggestion, and did distribute all that could be spared. When only a few -volumes could be given all went smoothly; but when long sets, especially -of parliamentary papers, were offered, with a promise of their being -kept up, if possible, we met with an unexpected coyness; some libraries -declined, others made difficulties; and one, which is entitled to -receive continuations regularly, has now postponed taking its due for -more than a year. I know not how to account for this, except on the -hypothesis of deficient space. - -The question whether I am right in laying so much stress on the timely -provision of space in libraries depends, as I have intimated, upon the -more serious question, whether the library movement is to prove a -success. If it is not, we need not trouble ourselves. 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 present; if they are not to become the -pride of their respective districts, and to be supported by them upon a -much more liberal scale than is now the case; if they are not to expect -liberal accessions from the generosity of private donors; if they are -not to be affiliated with whatever agencies exist around them for the -promotion of culture; if, shedding from time to time what they may deem -their obsolete books, they are to renounce all claim to an historical -character, and only provide for those needs for which the circulating -library exists already; then, indeed, the question of space need not -concern us. But if the reverse of all this is to be the case; if they -are to become noble libraries, store-houses of local and municipal as -well as merely utilitarian literature; if all descriptions of English -literature are to be at least fairly represented; if private collectors -are to be made to see that the local library would afford a worthy -repository for their books; then the question of space cannot be too -attentively considered, or, in the height of success, the library may -break down. You know the value of land in large towns, and the -costliness of extending any premises that may be situated in a good -quarter, and surrounded by shops, or warehouses, or public buildings. -The possibilities of future extension should never be lost sight of when -a site for a library is selected. But, as the most desirable site cannot -always be had, it is still more important so to plan the library from -the first that it may be susceptible of inner development, without -trenching upon the adjoining land; and where, in the case of existing -libraries, this precaution has been neglected, to lose no time in -adapting the library for interior extension, if possible. At the Museum -we have at present two methods—the sliding-press, whether suspended or -resting on the ground, and the pivot-press. Both these have been -described to you. But they by no means exhaust the possibilities of -economising space, and I wish to draw your attention to other ingenious -methods, which, however, I am not about to describe, for I take this to -be the proper business of the inventor. That they must be worth -attention you will all agree, when I tell you they are devised by Mr. -Virgo. Mr. Virgo, as his name seems to imply, is a gentleman of singular -modesty. I do not think that, but for me, he would ever have received -the credit due to him for his share in the invention of the -sliding-press; nor do I think that he has done nearly enough to bring -his ingenious ideas forward for the general good. I hope he will do so, -either at this meeting, or ere long in the pages of THE LIBRARY, or some -other suitable medium. I shall not attempt to trespass upon his ground, -but will very briefly make a suggestion for book accommodation in a -restricted space, which his ingenious contrivances may have prompted, -although to find its exact prototype we must go back to the earliest -libraries that have ever existed. - -These, as we all know, were the libraries of the kings of Babylon and -Assyria. Paper and parchment not having been then invented, literature -could only be inscribed on some hard substance. Wood or metal might have -been used, but the substances employed by the Assyrians seem to have -been almost exclusively stone, clay, or terra cotta. An incised stone -slab may be an excellent vehicle for a brief record intended to remain -fixed in the same place, but for a chronicle or a liturgy, or a set of -astronomical observations, or any other of the staple productions of -Babylonian or Assyrian literature it is objectionable in two -respects—it is profuse of space, and it is not easily portable. The -King of Assyria, like the King of Persia of a later date, had doubtless -frequent occasion to send for the chronicles of his kingdom to refresh -his memory respecting the treason of some Bigthan or Teresh, or the -services of some Mordecai. The Assyrian historians or librarians, -therefore, devised the inscription of their literature upon cylinders, -usually hexagonal prisms, giving six faces instead of one, and -possessing the double advantage of easy portability, and of bringing the -largest amount of writing possible into the smallest possible space. The -question of portability does not concern us now (though I may remark -incidentally that in very extensive libraries it offers a decisive -argument against the card catalogue), but it does appear to me worthy of -consideration whether, in endeavouring to make room for our books, we -might not occasionally employ the hexagonal form of press, fixed or -revolving, and thus revert with advantage to the method which our most -primitive predecessors adopted to make room for their writings. The -hexagonal prism has the advantage of affording more space practically -available within less area than any other geometrical figure. It seems -well adapted for use in the central area of large rooms as a supplement -to the wall space; for the extension of wall space when presses are run -out from the sides towards the centre of the room; and for the storage -of valuable books or other objects which it is desirable to keep apart. -A case of this description could be partially glazed to allow of the -exhibition of a portion of the contents level with the eye; and many -other applications might probably be found for the hexagonal book-press -or cabinet in libraries constructed with an especial view to its -introduction. It may be that such presses or cabinets, admitting as they -would of being made of any degree of strength, or of being lined or -protected in any manner, and of being wholly or partially glazed or -unglazed as desired, would be best of all adapted for the custody of -objects of art or archæology—"infinite riches in a little room." Yet, -even if so, libraries and museums are so frequently under the same -management that the subject cannot be deemed inappropriate for a -congress of librarians. - -I will finally mention another method of obtaining increased space for -the display of books, MSS., and other exhibited objects. The lower part -of ordinary bookcases can be converted into show-cases by placing -against them, attached or unattached, light tables with glazed tops, -resting on wheels to allow of easy withdrawal when access to the case is -required. This would greatly increase the exhibition space in libraries -and museums, and might sometimes allow the centre of a fine room to be -free from obstruction, and available for lectures and meetings. Applied -to ordinary wall cases, it might admit of the display of many objects -supposed to be exhibited, but which in reality are not so, being placed -too high or too low to be seen. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[272:1] Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, Belfast, -September 1894. - -[272:2] A paper by Mr. H. M. Mayhew, of the British Museum, on "A -Revolving Extension Press." - - - - -PREFACE TO BLADES' "ENEMIES OF BOOKS"[283:1] - - -The precept "Love your Enemies" was never intended for the enemies of -books, because the enemy of books is not an individual foe, but _hostis -humani generis_. The value of books, as of other things, may be -superstitiously overrated. We are accustomed to speak of them as if they -were in themselves the wisdom, or the knowledge, or the genius, of which -they are, in fact, only the receptacles. They are not the honey of the -human hive, but only the treasure-cells in which it is stored, and the -analogue of the bee is the author. But even in this restricted point of -view, their function is so important that to destroy them is a crime of -_lèse-humanité_; and it is not known that any one ever enunciated their -destruction as a sound principle, unless it were the Caliph Omar. Even -he, if the famous _bon-mot_ attributed to him is genuine, was willing to -spare one book; and could his life have been prolonged for a century or -two, he would have discovered that in reprieving the Koran he had -authorised the creation of a very considerable literature. The number of -commentaries upon the Koran actually existing is not small; what would -it have been had it been necessary to prove that all history, and -geography, and astronomy, and everything else that man needed to know, -was implicitly taught therein? - -No such gigantic figure as the destroyer of the Alexandrian Library, -brandishing, like the spectre of Fawdon, a blazing rafter, whose light -streams down the centuries, occupies a post of honour in Mr. Blades' -volume. In comparison, he may almost be likened to that poet who -adjured, "Now, Muse, let's sing of rats," having previously struck out -mice as below the dignity of the subject. The foes he enumerates are -Fire, Water, Gas and Heat, Dust and Neglect, Ignorance, Book-worms, -Other Vermin, Bookbinders, and Collectors. To these another might be -added—Sinister Interests, which cannot be classified under the head of -Ignorance, for they know well that the existence of books is -incompatible with their own. It would be a curious subject of inquiry -whether these interests, whose potency in mutilating valuable books and -hindering their dissemination, sometimes until it has become too late -for the world to profit by them, is unfortunately quite unquestionable, -have ever succeeded in actually destroying any work of real importance -to mankind. The number that have on this account never been written at -all is no doubt enormous, but from the nature of the case cannot be -ascertained, and the loss from this cause must be in every sense of the -word inestimable. It would, however, probably be found that the book -which once got written also managed to get printed, though sometimes -with such secrecy that it might almost as well have remained in -manuscript. Far more mischievous was the effect of pressure upon the -books which did appear under the authority of a licenser, either -emasculated by him or by the author. Whether the censors ever succeeded -in suppressing a worthy book or not, it is pretty certain that they -never succeeded in suppressing a pernicious one. - -Such speculations would have been alien to the pacific and debonair -spirit of Mr. Blades—a man devoid of gall, and ill-equipped for -thornier paths of controversy than the definition of a folio or the date -of a Caxton. In these he was formidable, not merely from his natural -ability, but from his practical acquaintance with the mysteries of -printing, an accomplishment rarely possessed by bibliographers. He was -able to deal, and willing to receive, hard blows; but his gentle spirit -doubtless rejoiced to find in the "Enemies of Books," as he conceived -and treated the theme, a subject on which all the world thought as he -did. No one, even in this age of rehabilitations, is likely to -constitute himself the apologist of mice and book-worms. If a criticism -were ventured on Mr. Blades' method, it might be whether, with the -exception of these zoological enmities, the various forms of hostility -of which he treats should not be grouped under a single head—that of -Ignorance. Ignorance misleads the peccant bookbinder, so sternly rebuked -by Mr. Blades; ignorance (when it is not hard necessity) exposes books -to the decomposing effects of gas; ignorance overlooks the need for -ventilation; ignorance appraises a book by its exterior, and sacrifices, -it may be the "o'er-dusted gold" of a Caxton, or it may be a work of -true genius in a cheap and ordinary edition. Mr. Blades, on the one -hand, has rescued Pynsons on their way to the butter-shop; and we, on -our part, have redeemed Emily Brontë's last verses—almost the noblest -poem ever written by a woman in the English language—from a volume half -torn up, because, forsooth, it had little to boast in the way of -external appearance. There is another kind of ignorance, 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 heard, or vast antiquity to one no older than his -grandfather. Numbers of books, especially in the United States, have -owed their preservation to such amiable delusions; but unfortunately -their preservation is in most cases a very small benefit. - -Whether or no Mr. Blades' treatise might have been more comprehensive -and philosophical, it is undoubtedly very practical, and all its -precepts deserve respectful attention, especially those which have any -reference to heat or ventilation. Book-worms in this favoured country -are now nearly as extinct as wolves (we have seen some imported from -Candia); and against book thieves there is no remedy but lock and key. -The spiritual enemies of literature in this age accomplish their -purpose less by the destruction of good books than by the -multiplication of bad ones, and the present is hardly a suitable -occasion to deal with them. To part, as Mr. Blades would have desired, -so far as may be in charity with all men, 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 -bibliophilists, whether bookhunters or booksellers. If books had always -received the care and attention which they ought to receive, the -occupation of this interesting class would be as gone as Othello's. The -Gutenberg Bible would exist in two hundred and fifty copies, more or -less. The Caxtons would be numerous, perfect, and in excellent -condition. To find a unique, one would have to resort to such -curiosities as a single impression on vellum, or a special copy prepared -for presentation upon some extraordinary occasion. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[283:1] Edition of 1896. - - - - -SIR ANTHONY PANIZZI, K.C.B.[288:1] - - -Italy has been fertile in eminent librarians. Magliabecchi was probably -the most learned librarian that ever lived; Audiffredi was the creator -of scientific cataloguing; to Battezzati the practical librarians of the -United States confess themselves indebted for some of their apparently -most original ideas. 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 men. He governed his library as his friend -Cavour governed his country, and in a spirit and with objects nearly -similar, perfecting its internal organisation with one hand, while he -extended its frontiers with the other. - -Born on September 16, 1797, at Brescello, in the province of Reggio, in -the duchy of Modena, at that time a part of the Cisalpine Republic, -Antonio Panizzi came into the world as the citizen of at least a -nominally free state, but grew up the subject, first of a foreign -intruder, and afterwards of the worst of the petty despots of Italy. -These circumstances indirectly determined his future career. As a man -of thought and feeling he could but be a patriot; as a man of action he -could but be a conspirator. After receiving his education at the Lyceum -of Reggio and the University of Parma, which he quitted with honourable -attestations of his proficiency, he prepared to practise as an advocate, -but speedily became implicated in the political commotions of the time. -It was the day of the Holy Alliance, when the Spanish Revolution had -called the Italian into life:— - - "Spain calls her now, as with its thrilling thunder - Vesuvius wakens Ætna, and the cold - Snow-crags by its reply are cloven in sunder." - -While Shelley was writing, Panizzi was acting. In 1821 he was denounced -to the Modenese Government, saved himself by flight, narrowly escaped -arrest by the Austrians at Cremona, and, after a short residence in -Switzerland, whence he was expelled at the instance of Austria and -Sardinia, arrived in England in the May of 1823. The Modenese -authorities proceeded to try him in his absence, and having duly -sentenced him to be executed in effigy (October 1823), sent him a bill -for the legal expenses thus incurred. Panizzi, with equal humour, -replied negatively in a letter subscribed "L'anima di Panizzi," and -dated "Campi Elisei, regno diabolico," rather a shock to received ideas -of geography. - -The Elysian Fields were apparently at that time situated in Liverpool, -whither Panizzi had repaired, provided with introductions from Ugo -Foscolo to Dr. Shepherd and to William Roscoe, the men who, with James -Martineau, have given Liverpool a place in the history of letters. -Liberality of opinion united him to both these eminent persons, and his -Italian origin and Italian enthusiasm necessarily proved the most potent -recommendations to the historian of Lorenzo de' Medici and Leo X. From -Roscoe, indeed, he received all the affection of a parent, but these -were the days of the Liverpool scholar's adversity. Panizzi, -nevertheless, probably owed to him the introduction to Lord Brougham -which proved the turning-point in his career. He is said to have been of -great assistance to Brougham in the Wakefield trial. In 1828, furnished -with further introductions from Roscoe to Samuel Rogers and Sir Henry -Ellis, he quitted Liverpool to assume, at Brougham's invitation, the -post of Professor of Italian in University College, London. He had -supported himself while in Liverpool as a teacher of Italian; little -record remains of the struggle, but it must have been severe. The -present writer has heard him say, while lamenting the miserable salaries -paid to supernumerary assistants in the Museum thirty years ago, that he -had notwithstanding maintained himself upon much less. One indispensable -acquisition he made at Liverpool, a ready command of our language, -entirely unacquainted with it as he was upon his arrival in this -country. Neither his accent nor his idiom was ever free from traces of -his foreign extraction, but when he wrote the latter circumstance was -rather favourable to him. The peculiarity of manner contributed to the -general impression of originality, and the massiveness of his thoughts -was agreeably relieved by the raciness of his style. - -The study of Italian, an indispensable branch of polite accomplishment -in Elizabeth's time, was becoming a speciality or a tradition in George -IV.'s. The professorship existed rather for the College's sake than the -students'. Panizzi produced an Italian Grammar and Reading Book, and -gave oral instruction to the few who required it. His attention, -however, was mainly engrossed by a much more important undertaking, -which would have given him reputation, had he achieved nothing else. -Nearly three centuries had elapsed without an edition of Boiardo's -"Orlando Innamorato," of which the "Orlando Furioso" is but a -continuation, and without which the latter poem is not fully -intelligible. Some occasional rusticity of diction, so pedantic is -Italian purism, had sufficed to obscure the merits of a poem which -Signor Villari, writing in an age more familiar with generous ideas, -celebrates for "its moral seriousness, its singular elevation, its world -full of variety, of imagination, of affection,"—qualities, indeed, -which had militated against it in the day of Italy's degeneracy, and had -caused preference to be universally accorded to the brilliant but -half-jocular _rifacimento_ by Berni. Sir Anthony Panizzi was the man to -be attracted by such qualities; he must, moreover, have felt an especial -interest in Boiardo as a native of the same district of Reggio from -which he himself sprang. He determined to rescue him from oblivion, and -effectually accomplished his purpose by editing him along with Ariosto -(1830-1834). The first volume of this fine edition, dedicated to his -benefactor Roscoe, is occupied by his celebrated dissertation on Italian -romantic poetry, especially remarkable for the reference of mediæval -romances to Celtic sources, and containing analyses of the "Teseide," -the "Morgante," the "Amadigi," and others of the less read Italian -romantic epics. It is further graced by translations contributed by Lady -Dacre, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Sotheby. The second volume is prefaced by a -memoir of Boiardo, with an essay making him full amends for the long -usurpation of his fame by his adapter Berni. The corrupt text of the -"Orlando Innamorato" is restored with great acumen from a collation of -rare editions principally contributed by the Right Hon. Thomas -Grenville, and, as well as that of the "Furioso," is accompanied by -valuable notes. At a later period Sir Anthony edited Boiardo's minor -poems. - -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 society. His urbanity and charm of manner, no less than his -accomplishments, made him irresistible. He was intimate at Holland -House, and on terms of personal friendship with most of the Liberal -statesmen who mainly directed English policy for the next thirty years. -His friends now came into power, 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 (April 27, 1831). When one considers what Panizzi found the -Museum and what he left it, one is in danger of being betrayed into -injustice to the institution and its administrators at that period. -Miserably inadequate as it must appear if tried by our present standard, -there was no conscious deficiency on the part of its official -representatives, and it fully corresponded to the ideal of the public. -The nation, in fact, had scarcely the remotest idea of the organisation -of literary and artistic collections as a branch of the public service. -The records were in a shameful state of dilapidation; the Museum itself -existed only by accident; the National Gallery did not as yet exist at -all. Men like Hallam could honestly confess their perfect content with -the Museum as it was, and, unquestionably, it numbered among its -officers persons of the highest eminence. To mention only Sir Anthony's -immediate official superiors, the Keeper of the Printed Books was a most -accomplished scholar, the Assistant-Keeper had made the standard -translation of Dante. If there was an uneasy spot anywhere it was the -catalogue. The old printed catalogue had become inadequate. Mr. Hartwell -Horne had for some time been engaged on the compilation of a classed -catalogue, which did not seem to promise good results. Mr. Baber, the -Keeper, saw that a good alphabetical catalogue was the indispensable -condition of a classed catalogue, and Panizzi loyally supported him. The -Trustees appeared to be irresolute. While this question was in agitation -the grievances of an assistant, very properly dismissed from the MS. -Department, brought about a Parliamentary inquiry into the general -management of the Museum. In July 1836, Panizzi appeared before the -Committee, and courageously, yet with perfect good taste and official -decorum, laid bare the enormous deficiencies of the national library. A -still more valuable contribution was the mass of evidence supplied by -him with reference to the condition and administration of foreign -libraries, the result of journeys to the Continent undertaken with the -express object of collecting it, and occupying many hundred folio pages -in the Appendix to the Committee's Report. Most valuable of all, -perhaps, was his clear enunciation of the principle that the Museum -ought not to be a mere show-place, as the Government and the country -then practically concurred in regarding it, but a great educational -agency. This principle, emphatically expressed by him before the -Committee, gives the keynote of all his administrative action. - -Merits like these could not go unrecompensed, even though they might -have rather alienated than conciliated some of those whose duty it was -to reward them. In July 1835, a proposal to raise Panizzi's salary had -been shelved in a manner which so excited Mr. Grenville's indignation -that he never attended another meeting of the Trustees. In 1837 Mr. -Baber's resignation of the Keepership of the Printed Books placed -Panizzi in a delicate position. Mr. Cary, the translator of Dante, his -immediate superior in office, had every claim to promotion on the -grounds of seniority and literary distinction, but Mr. Cary had recently -recovered from an attack of insanity. In reply to incessant -insinuations, Mr. Panizzi's high-minded conduct in the matter was -reluctantly stated by himself before the Royal Commission of 1849, and -the account is fully confirmed by a narrator who had himself had sharp -conflicts with him, Mr. Edwards, in his "Founders of the British -Museum." Mr. Cary, it ultimately appeared, thought that his past -services entitled him to "that alleviation of labour which is gained by -promotion to a superior place"(!). It must be remembered that there were -no superannuation allowances in those days. - -Panizzi did not expect or intend his labours to be alleviated by -promotion. He took office at a most critical time, when the books were -being transferred from Montague House to their new quarters, when the -question of the catalogue was ripe for decision, and when the public -were beginning to suspect the deficiencies of the library. The removal -was promptly effected, and some of the assistants temporarily engaged to -aid in it remained, and proved most valuable officers of the Museum. The -undertaking of the catalogue led to much tedious discussion, but in -December 1838, Panizzi declared his readiness to accept this formidable -addition to his ordinary duties, and early in 1839 the cataloguing -rules, which have ever since been regarded as models, were framed by him -with the assistance of Messrs. Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. -Mr. Jones assumed the general direction of the catalogue; Mr. Watts -undertook the arrangement of the new acquisitions on the shelves; the -cataloguing of these was chiefly intrusted to the Rev. Richard Garnett, -Mr. Cary's successor as Assistant-Keeper. A misunderstanding, for which -Panizzi was in no respect responsible, interfered with the progress of -the general catalogue. It was announced that it must be proceeded with -in alphabetical order, and much time was lost before Panizzi was -permitted to resort to the more expeditious plan of cataloguing the -books shelf by shelf. The Trustees were further represented as demanding -that it should all be in type by a fixed date, and much time and labour -were accordingly wasted in printing the first volume, containing letter -A, which, as books requiring to be entered under headings commencing -with this initial constantly occurred during the subsequent progress of -the catalogue, inevitably proved exceedingly defective. The catalogue -has nevertheless been now for a long time substantially completed in -MS., and for the most part incorporated with the much more extensive -supplementary catalogue of books acquired during its progress; the -question whether and how it should be printed is too extensive to be -entered upon here. Even more of Panizzi's attention was claimed by his -third task, the ascertainment of the deficiencies of the library. Rich -in classics, in the bibliographic treasures collected by such amateurs -as Mr. Cracherode, in history and some other subjects to which especial -attention had been paid by the King's Librarian, in its unique -collections of English and French revolutionary tracts, in the -departments of natural science represented by the Banksian Library, the -Museum was still deplorably poor in most branches of general literature, -in German almost ludicrously so. Aided by Mr. Jones and Mr. Watts, -Panizzi commenced an active investigation into the condition of the -library in this respect. The results were embodied in his celebrated -report of 1845, subsequently published as a Parliamentary paper, which, -backed by his political and social influence, caused an increase to -£10,000 of the annual grant for the purchase of books. Another important -step in the same direction was the enforcement of the Copyright Act, -hitherto but negligently attended to by the Secretary to the Museum. -Upon this duty being intrusted to Panizzi, he discharged it with a -vigour that soon brought reluctant publishers to their senses, and he -even personally undertook an expedition through Scotland, Wales, and -Ireland, for the sake of enforcing the observance of the Act. Yet -another accession due to him was the matchless Grenville Library, -perhaps the finest collection of books ever formed by a private -individual. Mr. Grenville himself declared that the nation was solely -indebted to Mr. Panizzi's influence with him for this magnificent gift; -and Panizzi's minute instructions for its removal, addressed to Mr. -Rye, afterwards Keeper of the Printed Books, are still extant to evince -his anxious care for the collection, his perfect knowledge of it, and -his grasp of every administrative detail, from the greatest to the -smallest. With such accessions from so many sources, it is hardly -surprising that the volumes originally under Mr. Panizzi's charge should -have multiplied fivefold by the time he quitted the Museum. It would be -endless to describe his numerous improvements in such matters of library -detail as stamping, binding, and supplying the Reading Room. The most -important of any was the introduction of movable and multifold slips -into the catalogue, largely due to a suggestion from Mr. Wilson Croker. - -The Royal Commission of 1847-49 deserves to be considered the -turning-point of Sir A. Panizzi's administration. Up to this time, -however caressed in highly cultivated circles, he had been unpopular -with the public, who could not be expected to know how his plans were -cramped and thwarted, and were in many instances illiberally prejudiced -against him as a foreigner. The Commission gave him a welcome -opportunity of at once challenging inquiry into complaints, and of -making known the signal improvements already effected by him. His -invitation to complainants to come forward—widely circulated through -the notice taken of it by this journal—elicited a number of attacks, -which, with the replies, may be found in the Parliamentary Blue Book, -and form as instructive and amusing a body of reading as ever Blue Book -contained. The Commissioners, who included men of letters like Lord -Ellesmere, and men of business like Lord Canning and the present Duke of -Somerset, could but report that not one charge had been established in -any single particular. It is abundantly clear that very few of the -complainants had any definite notion of what they wanted, and the -frivolousness of their imputations, even had they been well founded, -arouses something like indignation when contrasted with the immense -services which Panizzi was at the time rendering without receiving any -credit at all. This triumphant vindication of his management, however, -made him omnipotent with the Trustees and the Government, and paved the -way for the greatest undertaking of his life. It is needless to describe -a structure so familiar to all English men of letters as the new Reading -Room. The original design, sketched by Mr. Panizzi on April 18, 1852, -was submitted to the Trustees on May 5 following. By May 1854, its -originator's indomitable perseverance and extensive influence had -prevailed to obtain the large grant necessary for the commencement of -the work, which was completed and opened to the public in May 1857. The -part generally visible—Mr. Smirke's contribution to the plan—though -architecturally the most imposing, is hardly the most remarkable portion -of a structure providing space for three hundred readers and a million -volumes on ground previously wasted and useless. Every detail was either -devised or superintended by Sir A. Panizzi, 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 things. One thing alone is wanting, that the reference -library should be as far above competition as the Reading Room, and -this, too, will be accomplished when the exigencies of space allow the -present Principal Librarian's plans to be carried out. The attempts that -have been made to deprive Sir A. Panizzi of the credit of the conception -are futile. Any one could see that the space in the quadrangle was -wasted. The present writer himself made the remark to an officer of the -Museum at the age of fourteen. But it was one thing to discern the evil -and another to provide the remedy. - -In 1856 Sir A. Panizzi succeeded Sir Henry Ellis as Principal Librarian, -being himself succeeded as Keeper of the Printed Books by Mr. Winter -Jones. His administration of the Museum as a whole was carried on in the -same spirit as his administration of the library, but, except for the -great impetus given to purchases generally, was not distinguished by -equally striking incidents. His work for the library had been mostly -performed, and the affairs of the other departments afforded less scope -for the display of his peculiar qualities. Two or three slight -administrative mistakes may be admitted without derogation to his fame, -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 subordinates. This was ever a passion with him, and every -improvement in the position of the officials of the Museum effected -during his connection with the establishment may be traced to his -influence. Exhausted at length with work, he retired on his full salary -in July 1866. He took up his residence in Bloomsbury Square, almost -within call of the Museum, and ceased not to the last to exhibit the -warmest interest in the institution. In 1869 he accepted the honour of -knighthood, which he had frequently declined. His death on April 8 has -already been recorded in our pages. - -Little can be said here of Sir A. Panizzi's activity as a politician and -patriot. It was probably little less important or beneficial than his -activity as a librarian, and possibly occupied hardly less of his time -and thoughts. It was, however, wholly below the surface, and the -materials for defining and appreciating it are at present wanting. There -can be no question that he served the cause of Italy most effectually by -his intimacy with the leading English statesmen, who admired and -confided in him. Thoroughly Anglicised, he knew how to appreciate the -currents of English sentiment, and predicted to Lord Palmerston that the -Conspiracy Bill would occasion the downfall of his government. With this -statesman, as well as Lord Russell, he was most intimate; and he -received touching proofs in his last illness of the regard of Mr. -Gladstone, whose famous pamphlet on the Neapolitan prisons sounded a -note originally struck by Panizzi. Sir James Hudson, the English Envoy -at Turin, was one of his most trusted friends, and their mutual -understanding was of great service to the Italian cause. Cavour -thoroughly confided in him, and vainly tempted him to a political career -in Italy by the offer of a senatorship. Though devoted to the house of -Savoy, he cordially sympathised with Garibaldi, in whose English -reception he had a great share, and whom he accompanied on that occasion -to the tomb of Ugo Foscolo. He reckoned the Orleans princes among his -friends, and a community of literary tastes especially linked him to the -Duke d'Aumale. While his sympathies and connections were thus Liberal, -his relations with statesmen on the other side were always most -amicable. We believe that the flattering resolutions of the Trustees -passed on occasion of his resignation were moved by Mr. Walpole and -seconded by Lord Beaconsfield. - -Besides the works we have mentioned, Sir Anthony Panizzi was the author -of an essay in Italian entitled "Chi era Francesco da Bologna?" in which -that artist, the inventor of italic type, is identified with the great -painter Francesco Francia; and the editor of Lord Vernon's sumptuous -verbatim reprint of the first four editions of the Divine Comedy, -respectively printed at Foligno, Jesi, Mantua, and Naples. He further -wrote some pamphlets on questions connected with the British Museum and -the Catalogue of the Royal Society's Library, and contributed several -articles on political and literary subjects to the _Edinburgh_, -_Quarterly_, and _North British Reviews_. - -Sir Anthony Panizzi's was a rich and complex nature, and his character -cannot be sketched in a phrase; else we might feel tempted to sum it up -in two characteristics, magnanimity and warmth of heart. Other traits, -however, must be added to complete the portrait—prodigious power of -will, indomitable perseverance, hatred of inefficiency and pretence, -active and disinterested kindness, impetuosity held in check by -circumspect sagacity. He might be said to combine the characteristics of -the land of his birth and the land of his adoption: his moral nature -seemed English, his intellect Italian. Warmth of feeling gave after all -the keynote to his existence. He was, indeed, jealous of his well-won -fame, but fame was not his main object. If he greatly helped his Museum, -his country, his colleagues, it was because he began by greatly caring -for them. In labouring for the public he erected an imperishable -monument for himself:— - - "Ipsa quidem virtus sibimet pulcherrima merces; - Dulce tamen venit ad manes, cum gloria vitæ - Durat apud superos nec edunt oblivia laudem." - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[288:1] _Athenæum_, April 19, 1879. - - - - - THE LATE JOHN WINTER JONES, V.P.S.A., - PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AND - FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION - OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.[304:1] - - -The conference of the Library Association at London, in 1881, was -painfully signalised by the funeral in the same city of its first -President, who had presided over its inauguration at the preliminary -London conference four years previously, and to whose countenance it had -been indebted for much of the success which attended its establishment. -A short notice of Mr. 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 President, no less than by the position -which, in his capacity of Principal Librarian of the British Museum, he -so long occupied at the head of the profession of librarianship in this -country. - -John Winter Jones was born at Lambeth, June 16, 1805, and belonged to a -family long established in Carmarthenshire, and already honourably -connected with literature. His father, John Jones, Esq., author of -"Hawthorn Cottage" and other tales, for many years edited the _Naval -Chronicle_ and _European Magazine_. His grandfather, Mr. Giles Jones, -had been secretary to the York Buildings Water-Works, 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 & Co., including the renowned "Goody Two Shoes." No -more conclusive proof of the merit of "Goody Two Shoes" could be given -than the able argument by which Mr. Charles Welsh has recently sought to -attribute the authorship to Goldsmith. While agreeing with Mr. Welsh -that the book is not unworthy of Goldsmith in humour, philanthropy, and -simple truth to nature, we are unable to discover any such similarity of -style as to warrant its being ascribed to him. On the other hand, the -peculiar vein of dry humour characteristic of "Goody Two Shoes" -reappeared in Mr. Winter Jones's conversation in so remarkable a degree -as to justify the impression that he had preserved a family trait. -Assuredly, had he ever essayed his powers in the field of imaginative -literature, "Goody Two Shoes" is the kind of work which one would have -expected him to have produced. A great-uncle, Mr. Griffith Jones, had -been the friend of Johnson and Goldsmith; an uncle, Mr. Stephen Jones, -was also known in literature, especially as the author of "Masonic -Miscellanies," and editor and continuer of Baker's "Biographia -Dramatica." Mr. Winter Jones's mother, Mary Walker, was cousin to the -academician Smirke; nor, in the list of remarkable persons connected -with him, should his nurse be forgotten, Anne Parker, widow of the -unfortunate Parker who was executed as ringleader of the mutiny at the -Nore. - -Mr. Jones received his education at St. Paul's School. He does not -appear to have been eminent as a classical scholar, but some youthful -letters show how early he had acquired the power of writing excellent -English. He was, moreover, unusually precocious as an author, although -his first attempt was by no means ambitious. In 1822 appeared an -anonymous little book, now exceedingly rare, "Riddles, Charades, and -Conundrums: with a Preface on the Antiquity of Riddles," containing a -considerable number of original enigmas—a truly quaint and exceptional -performance for a youth of seventeen. Mr. Jones's juvenile ambition, -however, was stimulated to this undertaking by an accomplished lady, -Mrs. Davies, mother of Sir Lancelot Shadwell, who thought highly of his -talents, and had a considerable share in it. - -The profession designed for Mr. Jones was that of a Chancery barrister. -After leaving school he became the pupil of Mr. Bythewood, of Lincoln's -Inn, the most eminent conveyancer of his day, who had a very high -opinion of him.[306:1] He must, however, have devoted much of his time -to studies not of a legal nature, for about this time he became an -excellent scholar in the modern languages, not taught, or taught -imperfectly, in St. Paul's School. His proficiency is proved by a little -volume undertaken for his own amusement, but published at the suggestion -of his sister: "A Translation of all the Greek, Latin, Italian, and -French Quotations in Blackstone's Commentaries, and in the notes of the -editions by Christian, Archbold, and Williams. By J. Winter Jones, -1823." He also made the index to the new edition of Wynne's "Eunomus, or -Dialogues concerning the Law and Constitution of England." - -Just as Mr. Jones was looking forward to being called to the Chancery -Bar his prospects were clouded, and his course in life altogether -changed, by a most serious illness, greatly aggravated by the improper -treatment of a physician who entirely mistook the nature of the -complaint. The result was a temporary loss of voice, accompanied by a -weakness of the chest which for several years rendered any speaking in -public impossible. Between ill-health and the want of introductions and -connections in any but the legal profession, Mr. Jones seems to have -been unable for some years to follow any definite calling. He pursued -his studies as far as possible, learned Spanish from the refugees who at -that time abounded in Islington and Somers Town, and even acquired some -knowledge of Russian, destined to be very useful in future years. To -this time also belonged his acquaintance with Jerdan and Godwin. He knew -the latter intimately, and was impressed by his intellectual eminence, -but used to describe him as a man selfish in minor things, who must, -like Harold Skimpole, always have his plate of fruit, no matter the -price or the season. Of the second Mrs. Godwin he had a higher opinion -than seems to have been usually entertained by her acquaintance. A -narrow escape of his life which he had at this time may be best narrated -in his own words, so characteristic of the man's coolness and aversion -to fuss or display, even when the occasion might seem to excuse them:— - - "SOUTHAMPTON, _September 9, 1833_. - - "MY DEAR FATHER,—I am extremely sorry that I cannot profit by - your directions for swimming. On Friday week I went to bathe at - the new baths, being my second attempt in cold water. No one - was in the bath at the time, nor was there any rope, but as I - thought the place was perfectly safe, I plunged in backwards - according to the directions I had received. I sank, of course, - and throwing up my chest rose immediately, but when in the - water I lay on my back motionless from cramp in my stomach. - By no effort that I could make could I force down my feet or - turn, and my struggles caused my head to dip so frequently - that had assistance been delayed a minute longer I must have - been suffocated. I fortunately recollected having read that - persons are sure to float if they throw back the head as far as - possible, thereby elevating the chest, and remain quite quiet. - This saved me. I mentioned the circumstance to Dr. Shadwell, - and he strongly recommended me to abstain from the water at - present, as it evidently did not agree with me." - -About two years from the date of this letter, Mr. Jones obtained his -first important public employment as a secretary to that then itinerant -body, the Charity Commissioners. The charitable institutions of England, -long corrupted and misused, were receiving a much-needed overhauling, -one of the indirect fruits of the Reform agitation. Perambulating bodies -of commissioners were traversing the length and breadth of the land, -"wanting to know, you know," and eliciting an amount of information -which could not have been obtained without the direct personal pressure -of inquisitors upon the spot. Their labours produced much excellent -fruit, and restored a vast amount of charitable endowment to its -legitimate uses. The records survive in ponderous Blue-Books; and the -student of general literature may derive an idea of the nature of their -investigations, which it is to be hoped he will not take too literally, -from the lively ridicule of "Crotchet Castle." When the satirist -declared that the labours of the Commissioners did no good to any living -soul, he certainly ought to have excepted Mr. Winter Jones, 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 air. This object he fully attained. The few letters he wrote to -his family on his tour that have been preserved are full of racy -humour, and suggest what a page of English life might have been -presented by a record of the more private experiences of the Commission, -too familiar to be registered in Blue-Books. As nothing of the sort -exists, it may not be improper to preserve two specimens here, -notwithstanding their want of connection with bibliography:— - - "MARKET HARBOROUGH, _Nov. 20, 1836_. - - "Harborough is a monstrously stupid place, possessing no - interest that I have yet discovered either in the form of - situation or antiquities. The inhabitants of the county are - principally graziers and fox-hunters, men of substance, - coarse in their manners, and tolerably hospitable. Of the - few clergymen I have yet seen, little can be said in praise. - One has been suspended for his profligate habits; another - drinks so hard that he is incapable of performing the duties - of his church, being frequently insane; and a third attended - yesterday at our board with his church-warden, both of whom - were so fuddled that they could with difficulty make themselves - understood. . . . We have a vast deal of business to transact, - and every prospect of our work increasing. The labour is not so - much occasioned by the extent or intricacy of the charities, - as by the provoking stolidity of those who ought to be fully - informed upon the subject. There exists in this part of the - county a very extraordinary charity founded by a clergyman - named Hanbury, who prepared seventeen deeds for the foundation - of various branches of one grand charity. The property settled - is directed to accumulate until the proceeds amount to £10,000 - per annum (they are at present about £500), when a cathedral - is to be erected at a cost of £150,000, and professorships - of music, poetry, philosophy, botany, &c. &c., established. - One of his deeds he heads, 'Beef for ever,' another, 'Organs - for ever,' a third, 'Schools for ever,' with much of the same - oddity. He has published a thick octavo volume with an account - of his charity and a copy of his foundation deeds. The latter - occupy 248 pages of the work, so if I have to abstract the - whole of them it is impossible to say when my labours will end." - - "LEICESTER, _Feb. 5, 1837_. - - "Our third and last visit was to a Mr. Hildebrand, a clergyman, - and head-master of the Kibworth free grammar school. This poor - fellow has just had his wife, mother-in-law, eight children, - and two servants confined to their beds with influenza, and - I never beheld an assemblage of more ghastly objects than we - formed at the dinner-table. With the exception of one, we had - all pale cheeks, red eyes, and every other sort of _phizzical_ - ugliness, the excepted one had a blue complexion approaching to - black. Mr. Hildebrand, however, assured me the next morning at - breakfast that the hearty dinner he had made, and drinking as - much wine as pleased him (he was, by-the-bye, a long time in - being pleased) had completely removed his disorder. I may make - the same remark respecting myself. The necessity I have been - under of drinking wine every day has almost totally removed my - complaint. I have nothing now to complain of but a considerable - degree of nervous debility, which I hope will depart in a few - days." - -The conclusion of the rural peregrinations of the Commission at the -beginning of 1837 threatened Mr. Jones with loss of employment, although -he was still engaged in town in reducing its voluminous proceedings to -print, and the extant correspondence shows that his work was very -important. He says in a letter of this period:— - -"I am ready to be knocked down to the highest bidder in any honourable -service, and have no objection to write speeches and pamphlets and frame -bills for laws and schemes for mines provided I am properly remunerated, -but there's the rub." The real occupation of his life, however, was -unexpectedly at hand. Within two months after writing as above he was -appointed (April 1837) to the situation of permanent assistant in the -Printed Book Department of the British Museum. The suggestion that he -should apply for this post seems to have come from his friend Mr. -Nicholas Carlisle, an assistant-officer who had come to the Museum from -Windsor, along with the King's Library, and who is perhaps best -remembered by a work on the endowed grammar schools of England, valuable -in its time. The application was, moreover, strongly supported by Mr. -Johnstone, a member of the Charity Commission, who had been greatly -impressed by Mr. Jones's efficiency in his secretaryship, and who -enlisted his father, Sir Alexander Johnstone's, influence with the -Archbishop of Canterbury, in whose hands all appointments to the Museum -then practically rested. At the end of 1837, upon the resignation of the -Assistant-Keeper, Mr. Cary, Mr. Jones became a candidate for the office. -Short as his connection with the Museum had then been, he still had the -claim of seniority. But he had gained the esteem and confidence of Mr. -Panizzi, the Keeper, and Mr. Panizzi was obnoxious to persons -influential with the Archbishop, who accordingly replied that "his -connection with the establishment is of recent date," and apprehended -"that due consideration for the claims of others will put it out of my -power to serve him upon the present occasion." Who these others were did -not appear, and it seemed still more difficult to identify them when, -after some delay, the appointment was conferred upon a gentleman, -undoubtedly possessed of the highest talents and the greatest -attainments, but who could have no claim upon the Museum, as he had no -connection with it. It is to Mr. Jones's honour that he manifested no -resentment, and always maintained the most friendly relations with his -successful competitor, whose son now records the fact. "But," he said to -the writer many years afterwards, "from that hour I determined that I -would be Principal Librarian." - -From this time forward Mr. Jones's history is almost entirely identified -with that of the library of the British Museum. He was entering upon -his duties at the period of the most important changes that have ever -taken place in that institution. The Parliamentary Committees of 1835-36 -had proved the necessity for extensive reforms in every department of -the Museum. The Trustees had already been for some years occupied with -plans for a new catalogue of printed books. The removal of the library -from its old quarters in Montague House to the new buildings was about -to take place. It was fortunate, indeed, that just at this juncture the -library should have acquired so eminent an administrator as Sir Anthony -Panizzi, and in Mr. Jones an assistant who, though not especially gifted -with the power of initiative, was in diligence, fidelity, accuracy, -intelligence, and calm good sense as efficient a lieutenant as an able -administrator could desire. - -After the removal of the library had been completed, with the assistance -of Messrs. Watts and Bullen, the next important task was the preparation -of the rules for the new catalogue, in which it is probable that Mr. -Jones took the largest share. They were prepared under Mr. Panizzi's -chief direction, with the co-operation of Messrs. Jones, Watts, Parry, -and Edwards. The extent of time devoted to them, and the extreme -thoroughness of the discussion, appears from Mr. Parry's evidence before -the Royal Commission of 1849, and Mr. Edwards's history of the British -Museum. They were finally accepted by the Trustees and officially -promulgated in July 1839. In one important respect, the rule to be -adopted for cataloguing anonymous books, the judgment of the compilers -was overruled by the Trustees, and this is the source of many of the -criticisms to which the rules themselves have been subjected. As a -whole, they have received almost universal approbation; 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 -nature. Very much of the discrepancy of opinion as regards cataloguing -results from the failure to distinguish between the requisites of large -and small libraries. 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 think, its indirect -effect in providing, in the case of anonymous books, some kind of a -substitute for what was then, and is still, the great deficiency of the -British Museum library, an index of subjects. The same remark applies to -the adoption of the headings "Academies," "Ephemerides," and "Periodical -Publications," the introduction of biographical cross-references, and -other features of the catalogue, perhaps exceptionable in theory, but -assuredly very convenient in practice. - -The catalogue was now (August 1839) fairly commenced under the immediate -personal direction and responsibility of Mr. Panizzi. Mr. Jones, -however, held from the first a primacy among the assistants actually -engaged in its compilation, which became enhanced as the difficulties of -the task became more apparent from day to day. It had been supposed -that the old titles might pass with slight examination: they proved to -require the most careful revision; and the work of the revisers needed -to be in its turn revised. Subject to a reference to Mr. Panizzi in -extreme cases, Mr. Jones was the ultimate authority. His clear head, -legal habit of mind, and attention to minute bibliographical accuracy, -rendered him invaluable in this capacity, and his decisions constitute -the basis and most essential part of the body of unprinted law which -unforeseen exigencies gradually superinduced upon the original rules. He -also took a leading part in the revision of the proofs. 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 -Association, that it is needless to enter upon them here. It made no -difference to the amount of Mr. Jones's labours, except as regarded the -correction of the press. He continued to work upon the catalogue and -also upon the supplementary catalogue of books added to the library, -both as reviser and as general supervisor, until he became Keeper of -Printed Books in 1856. His other duties were numerous and important: he -exercised, in particular, the immediate control of the attendants, a -responsibility the more onerous in proportion to the continual increase -of the establishment. In 1843 he was engaged along with Mr. Watts in -collecting the materials on which Mr. Panizzi based his famous report on -the deficiencies of the library, which ultimately occasioned so large -an increase in the annual grant. In 1849 he prepared for the Royal -Commission that crushing exposure of Mr. J. P. Collier's notions of -short and easy methods of cataloguing which should be especially valued -by librarians, as it is perhaps the best practical illustration to be -found anywhere of the difficulties attaching to the correct -bibliographical description of a book. He was also enabled to devote -some attention to literature. About 1842 he wrote a large number of -articles for the Dictionary of Universal Biography, edited by Mr. George -Long for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, a great and -meritorious undertaking, unfortunately not carried beyond letter A, -although the continuation as far as BE was actually in type. Mr. Jones's -articles chiefly treated of obscure or forgotten writers, and required -much research. He also contributed to the _Quarterly_ and _North -British_ Reviews; his article in the latter on the British Museum -Library (1851) is the best account of its administration to be found -anywhere. He carried on an extensive correspondence with Mr. Wilson -Croker, who continually had recourse to him for information on literary -subjects. In 1847 he contributed to the _Archæologia_ "Observations on -the Division of Man's Life into Stages," with especial reference to -Shakespeare's descriptions of the seven ages of man, and about this time -wrote several other papers. In 1850 he edited for the Hakluyt Society -"Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America"; and in 1856, "The -Travels of Nicolò Conti in the East," translated from the Italian of -Poggio Bracciolini. In 1858 he translated for the same Society the -Oriental travels of Lodovico di Varthema, edited, with a preface, by his -friend Dr. G. P. Badger. - -Upon the death of the Rev. Richard Garnett in 1850, Mr. Jones became -Assistant-Keeper of Printed Books, and succeeded Mr. Panizzi as Keeper -upon the latter's promotion to the Principal Librarianship in March -1856. His period of office as Assistant-Keeper was chiefly distinguished -by the erection of the new Reading Room, and the libraries in connection -with it. The design of this grand and commodious structure belongs -entirely to Sir A. Panizzi; but Mr. Jones saw the original sketch -(engraved in the catalogue of the Reading Room reference library) as -soon as it was made, and was consulted upon every detail during the -progress of the work. One of his first duties as Keeper was to edit, -with a valuable preface, the above-mentioned catalogue, which had been -entirely prepared by Mr. W. B. Rye, late Keeper of the Printed Books. As -Keeper Mr. Jones paid the greatest attention to the organisation of his -department, which he maintained in the highest condition of efficiency. -The number of titles written annually for the catalogue was unequalled -before or since, and the department never had so many assistants of -literary distinction. He followed in his predecessor's steps in using -every possible endeavour to increase the library, both numerically and -by the acquisition of special bibliographical treasures. The annual -grant, long diminished from want of room to store accessions, was -raised to £10,000 in 1857, and Mr. Jones proceeded to expend it with the -assistance of the vast literary knowledge of his colleague Mr. Watts, -and valuable aid in the acquisition of German and other old foreign -books from Mr. Albert Cohn, of Berlin; in American literature from the -enterprising and indefatigable Mr. Henry Stevens; and in ancient -service-books from Mr. William Maskell. Among the many important -official documents prepared by him may be mentioned a memorandum of -objections to the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners; and -reports on additions to the staff, on the superannuation of assistants, -on Civil Service examinations, and on vellum books. - -In July 1866, Mr. Winter Jones, having previously acted as Deputy -Principal Librarian from December 1862 to May 1863, became Principal -Librarian on the retirement of Sir A. Panizzi. 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 alterations, and such was precisely the part -marked out for him by the character of the times. The institution, -thoroughly reorganised during the last thirty years, required rest, and -no impulse was felt towards the reforms and developments which have -proved practicable and salutary under his successor. The great question -of the removal of the Natural History collections to South Kensington -had been determined for good or ill before he took office, and no -question of corresponding public interest arose under his -administration. He presided, however, over a committee formed to -consider the proposed transfer of the South Kensington Museum to the -Trustees of the British Museum, but its deliberations led to no result. -He was especially careful in ascertaining the qualifications of persons -recommended for appointments in the Museum. His method, -clear-headedness, and general capacity for business rendered him highly -acceptable to the Trustees, especially those who, like the Duke of -Somerset, Mr. Walpole, and Mr. Grote, took a peculiarly active share in -the affairs of the institution. With Mr. Grote he was particularly -intimate, and frequently visited him, and subsequently his widow, at -their charming residence near Shere. - -In 1877 his health, which for the last forty years had been good, began -so far to fail as to render a winter residence in London exceedingly -difficult to him. He obtained a four months' leave of absence, in the -hope of an amelioration which did not take place. That his mental, and -to a considerable degree his physical vigour were unimpaired, he had -just proved by the transaction which entitles him to a record in the -_Transactions of the Library Association_. It will be remembered how -upon the foundation of the Association, a proposition, well calculated -to enlist support, was made, that its presidency should be conferred -upon a gentleman whose writings have laid the profession under deep -obligations.[320:1] It is not the least of Mr. E. B. Nicholson's many -services to the Association which he called into being, to have -discerned that it could not in its infant stage prosper without official -patronage, and that, without prejudice to individual claims, its fitting -head at that period would be the chief librarian of the chief library, -the Principal Librarian of the British Museum. He accordingly invited -Mr. Jones to accept the office of President, and to invest the young -society with the sanction of official prestige, by consenting to open -its first Congress, and deliver an inaugural address. Mr. Jones, however -favourably disposed to Mr. Nicholson's project, might well have declined -on the ground of engrossing public duties and delicate health, but he -did not. The members of the Association will long recollect his -appearance in the chair at the preliminary London meeting of 1877; the -staunch persistence with which, though evidently suffering from -indisposition, he delivered his carefully prepared inaugural discourse; -and the firmness and dignity with which he conducted the proceedings -until the close of the morning's meeting. It was his last act of -importance as a librarian. His temporary retirement during the ensuing -winter having failed to recruit his health, he resigned in August 1878, -receiving a farewell address from his colleagues, and the individual -tributes of several of the leading Trustees. He withdrew to Henley, -where he had erected a residence at a considerable elevation, commanding -a charming view; his winters were spent at Penzance, where, not long -before his death, he showed his undiminished interest in research by -delivering a lecture upon the Assyrian discoveries. The present writer -visited him at Henley in June 1881, and found him, although suffering -somewhat from asthma, in tolerable health and excellent spirits, -interested in the affairs of the world, and happy in the affection of -his family. On the morning of September 7, after having entertained a -party of young people to a late hour with great good humour, he was -found dead in his bed. He had died of disease of the heart. He was -interred at Kensal Green, his funeral being attended by most of his -Museum colleagues then in town. He had married in 1837 the daughter of -William Hewson, Esq., of Lisson Hall, Cumberland, a very amiable lady, -who predeceased him by a few years, and whose protracted indisposition -in the latter years of her life occasioned him much sorrow. He left one -married and one unmarried daughter. - - * * * * * - -It may surprise those slightly or only officially acquainted with Mr. -Jones to be informed that one of his principal characteristics was -extreme kindness of heart, but such would be the opinion of all who knew -him intimately. He was not emotional, but his affections were warm and -deep: he was not impressionable, but kindness was with him an innate -principle. If he ever seemed to act with harshness, it was from a -constraining sense of official duty, and it might easily be seen that -the necessity was very disagreeable to him. It was exceedingly -difficult, for instance, to get him to take steps for the removal of -attendants whose incapacity from ill health had long been notorious: and -he may be censured for having sometimes closed his eyes to circumstances -of which he should have taken notice. 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 genial. His was -indeed by no means an expansive nature, but it was a very genuine one; -he was deeply beloved in his family; his friendships were solid and -lasting; and he exhibited that general criterion of a good heart, -kindness to children and animals. He says in an early letter: "On Friday -last I went out fishing. The weather was very fine for sailing, but not -at all adapted for the sport we had in view: which was a great source of -satisfaction to me, for spitting the poor worms for bait was a dreadful -task to my unpractised nerves; and tearing the hook out of the throat of -the animal when caught was, if possible, still worse." He despised -claptrap popularity, and was perhaps even unduly indifferent to the -shows and surfaces of things. This concern for reality, however, -combined with his legal education, made him a lover of justice; and he -thus earned the respect and confidence of his subordinates, who knew -that they might fully rely upon his equitable consideration, and his -support in trials and difficulties. His judgment of men was in general -very correct, though he was capable of being swayed by long intimacy or -personal liking. He was on various occasions subjected to considerable -obloquy, but as this always arose from his opposition to the interested -views of individuals, it only redounded to his credit with those -acquainted with the circumstances. His literary tastes were such as -befitted the bibliographer, but he admired many poets and novelists, -especially Shakespeare, Goethe, Ariosto, and Wieland. He possessed a -peculiar vein of dry humour, which he occasionally manifested with great -effect. Intellectually, 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 utilitarian. - -He was not the man to innovate or originate, but was admirably qualified -for the work which actually fell to his lot—first to be the right hand -of a great architect, then to consolidate the structure he had helped to -erect, and prepare it for still vaster extension and more commanding -proportions in the times to come. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[304:1] Contributed to the _Transactions of the Library Association_, -1882. - -[306:1] Mr. Bythewood bequeathed to Mr. Jones his gold repeater watch, -valued at one hundred guineas; and Mr. Jones received in after years a -precisely similar legacy from Sir Anthony Panizzi. - -[320:1] Mr. Edward Edwards. - - - - -THE LATE HENRY STEVENS, F.S.A.[325:1] - - -With the exception of the death of the late Henry Bradshaw, taken away -so nearly at the same time, 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 Stevens, on February 28. Mr. Stevens's interest in the Association -has been so warm, his counsel so valuable, his genial presence and witty -discourse such recognised features of attraction at its gatherings, that -his loss must be felt as one almost impossible to supply. It must be -long indeed before any one can fill Mr. Stevens's place as a link -between the librarians of Europe and America, 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 individual. - -Henry Stevens was born August 24, 1819, at Barnet, Vermont, U.S., hence -the initials, G.M.B. (Green Mountain Boy), prized by him, there is -reason to surmise, above his academical and antiquarian distinctions. He -was sixth in descent from Cyprian Stevens, who had emigrated in the days -of Charles I. The family came originally from Devonshire. It had had -its share of colonial celebrity and adventure; one ancestor had -successfully defended a fort against the French; another had been stolen -by the Indians, and ransomed for a pony. After receiving a fair ordinary -education at the school of his native village, and two local seminaries, -Mr. Stevens, at the age of seventeen, began to teach with a view of -obtaining means to take him to college. He received from twelve to -sixteen dollars a month, boarding with his pupils' families, "three days -to a scholar, except when the girls were pretty, and in that case four." -In October 1838 he proceeded to Middlebury College, defraying his -travelling expenses by peddling cheeses contributed for that purpose by -his excellent mother. His father, a man of literary tastes and culture, -founder and President of the Vermont Historical and Antiquarian Society, -seems to have been always behindhand with the world, and to have been -unable to aid his son to any material extent. It was customary for -students thus destitute of support from home to defray their college -expenses by teaching in the winter months. Stevens obtained leave to try -his fortune at Washington, relying on the patronage of Governor Henry -Hubbard, then Senator for New Hampshire. He called upon him accordingly, -and though he was a Whig and the Senator a Democrat, he found himself, -as if by magic, clerk in the Treasury Department "in charge of the -records and correspondence of the Revenue Cutter Service," with a salary -of a thousand dollars a year. He was soon afterwards transferred to a -clerkship in the Senate, 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 Messrs. Clark & Force under a contract for -publishing the American Archives, which it was desired to terminate. -Much time and labour had been expended upon the volumes already printed, -but it was generally surmised that the contract would be broken, -because, as a Democrat remarked, "it would cost more than the building -of the Capitol, and, what was worse, both the editor and the printer -were Whigs." The Committee, who seem to have had no taste for literary -drudgery, turned the task of digesting the papers entirely over to Mr. -Stevens, who on his part, finding the documents intrusted to him -insufficient, scraped acquaintance with Colonel Peter Force himself, and -extracted abundant information from him without divulging his official -position. At length the digest was ready, and the Committee, convoked -for the purpose, heard their officer read the whole, up to the entirely -unexpected and unwelcome conclusion, "Resolved, that this contract -cannot be broken." Stevens was severely taken to task for his -presumption, when Daniel Webster, a member of the Committee, interfered -on his behalf, and advocated his view with such effect that "the -Committee was discharged from further consideration of the subject." The -contract was shortly afterwards rescinded. The service Stevens had -nevertheless rendered to Force had an important influence on his -subsequent career. Quitting Washington, as he had always intended to do, -and repairing to complete his education at Yale College, he took with -him a commission from the Colonel to collect books, pamphlets, and MSS. -in aid of the American Archives, which not only helped to provide the -expenses of his University course, but endowed him with knowledge, -tastes, and aptitudes qualifying him for future eminence as book-hunter -and bookseller. Another main source of income was his fine penmanship, -both as transcriber and teacher. He took his B.A. degree in 1843, and in -1843-44 studied law at Harvard under Justice Story, continuing to act as -agent for Colonel Force, and forming connections with other collectors. -At length, in 1845, he determined to visit England on literary errands, -not expecting to be absent more than one or two years. Fortified by -introductions from Francis Parkman and Jared Sparks, he took his -departure, and in July 1845 found himself at the North and South -American Coffee-House, the bearer of a huge bag of despatches for the -United States Minister, Mr. Everett, and of a tiny one of forty -sovereigns of his own. Mr. Everett's influence opened the State Paper -Office to him; and ere the sun set on his first day in London he had -visited the four great second-hand dealers of the day, Rodd, Thorpe, -Pickering, and Rich. The last-named had just acquired the valuable -library of M. Ternaux-Compans, and Mr. Stevens immediately purchased -£800 worth on behalf of Mr. John Carter Brown of Providence, Rhode -Island, from whom he had a general commission to forage, and who showed -wisdom as well as spirit in ratifying his agent's decided action. Those -were the golden days of speculation in books relating to America, when -rarities could be obtained for hardly more shillings than they now cost -pounds. Mr. Stevens probably contributed more than any other man to -terminate this happy state of things. While, on the one hand, he -ransacked the chief European capitals as agent for wealthy American -collectors, on the other hand he drained America on behalf of the -British Museum, then for the first time entering into the market to any -considerable extent. Mr. Panizzi had just prepared his celebrated report -on the deficiencies of the Museum Library, in which he had said: "The -expense requisite for accomplishing what is here suggested—that is, for -forming in a few years a public library containing from 600,000 to -700,000 printed volumes, giving the necessary information on all -branches of human learning, from all countries, in all languages, -properly arranged, substantially and well bound, minutely and fully -catalogued, easily accessible and yet safely preserved, capable for some -years to come of keeping pace with the increase of human knowledge—will -no doubt be great; but so is the nation which is to bear it. What might -be extravagant and preposterous to suggest to one country may be looked -upon not only as moderate, but as indispensable in another." With such -views on Panizzi's part, he and Stevens fortunately encountered. Ere -they had been long acquainted, a proposal came from the former, that -Stevens should undertake the agency for the supply of American books. -Stevens at first hesitated; he had not contemplated remaining in Europe. -He soon saw his way to accept it, and, in his words, "an exodus of -American books to the British Museum commenced that has not ceased at -the present time." - -It would be impossible within the limits of this notice to enumerate all -the important transactions in which Mr. Stevens was engaged, or the -numerous instances in which his ready and inventive intellect was -exerted for the furtherance of bibliography. One of his most important -enterprises was the purchase of Humboldt's library, which resulted in -disappointment. The Civil War supervening, his American patrons "shut up -like clam shells," and most of the books were ultimately destroyed by -fire while warehoused in London. A portion, however, had been previously -separated, and the British Museum possesses numerous presentation copies -to Humboldt, with the autographs of the authors. Members of the Library -Association who were present at the Liverpool meeting will long remember -Mr. Stevens's humorous account of his dealings with Mr. Peabody, and of -his dismay when the collection formed by the philanthropist for -presentation to his native town, at an average cost of one shilling a -volume, was described in the local paper as the special selection of -that intelligent bibliographer, Henry Stevens, Esq. Mr. Stevens's -relations with the most important of all his customers, Mr. James -Lennox, 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 monographs, affording an excellent idea of the writer's -quaint, shrewd, and anecdotical conversation. It has been republished by -his son in an elegant volume. Another remarkable passage in his life was -his active share in originating and organising the Bible department of -the Caxton Exhibition, when he propounded views respecting Miles -Coverdale which involved him in many a polemic, and devised for the two -different recensions of the Bible of 1611 the appellations of "Great He" -and "Great She" Bible, which they seem likely to retain. The most -interesting, perhaps, of all Mr. Stevens's achievements was his -redemption of Franklin's MSS. from oblivion. Bequeathed by Franklin to -his grandson, they had been only partially published, 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 Government. In fact they had been put aside and forgotten after -Temple Franklin's death in Paris, and had eventually come into the -possession of an old friend of his who repeatedly offered them for sale, -but could find no customer, from the universal belief that they had -already been printed and published. Mr. Stevens acquired them in 1851, -and after thirty years' delay, and spending a thousand pounds over and -above the original price in cataloguing, binding and adding to their -number, ultimately disposed of them to the United States Government. -Their eventful history, involving a complete vindication of Temple -Franklin and the British Government, is told in a privately printed -volume of his own, accompanied with beautifully engraved portraits and a -valuable bibliography of books by and concerning Franklin. The -collection is also the subject of an article in the _Century_ for June -1886. - -Notwithstanding the engrossing nature of his pursuits, Mr. Stevens was -always striving to aid bibliography by his pen. For this, in addition to -his knowledge and acumen, and a cultivated taste which served him -admirably on questions of typography, he possessed the qualifications of -untiring industry and great facility of composition. He did much, and -would have done more but for the sanguine temper which led him to -undertake more than he could complete, and the fastidiousness which -indisposed him to let work go out of his hands while anything seemed -lacking to perfection. He left several bibliographical or biographical -memoirs wanting hardly anything of completeness but the final -imprimatur. Among them may be mentioned a life of Thomas Heriot, the -mathematician, and a friend of Ralegh; an essay on Columbus's -administration in the West Indies; and an account of the newly -discovered globe by John Schoner. Another work of which he frequently -spoke, a volume of British Museum reminiscences supplementary to Mr. -Fagan's life of Sir Anthony Panizzi, existed, it must be feared, only as -a project. It would have required leisure which he never possessed. The -most purely literary and perhaps the most important of his publications -was his _Historical and Geographical Notes on the earliest discoveries -in America_, a subject on which he was most enthusiastic. His catalogue -of the American literature in the British Museum to the year 1856 is -also a valuable publication, as are likewise his _Bibles in the Caxton -Exhibition_, already mentioned, and his catalogues of the -bibliographical curiosities relating to America in his own possession, -issued under the title of _Historical Nuggets_, in 1862. A second series -was in course of publication at his death. He had devoted great -attention to the reproduction of title-pages and frontispieces by -photography and photo-gravure. His admirable paper on the subject, read -in 1877, will be fresh in the memory of members of the Association, as -also the companion essay entitled "Who spoils our English Books?" read -at the Cambridge meeting, a characteristic example of his humorous -manner, not intended to be taken quite _au pied de la lettre_. His -letters from Europe to his father are, we trust, destined to see the -light. He was a frequent contributor to the _Athenæum_, especially on -the history of the English Bible and early discovery in America, and his -communications were always highly valued. - -It is unnecessary to enter at length into Mr. Stevens's personal -character when addressing a public to most of whom he was personally -known. Perhaps his most distinguishing characteristic was his eminent -large-heartedness. He had room in his mind for every individual and -every interest. He was cheerful, genial, expansive, and preserved his -buoyancy of spirit under circumstances the most trying and vexatious. He -possessed great sweetness as well as great liberality of disposition; -his combativeness was devoid of every particle of rancour; shrewd and -crafty, he was yet open and candid. Intent, as he could not help being, -on his own advantage as a trader, the interests of his customer had a -very definite place in his mind. He worked for his patrons even more -than for himself, and prided himself more upon having made another man's -library than he would have done upon having made his own fortune. As a -man of business, his principal defect was an over-sanguine temper; the -spring, nevertheless, of his enterprise, and hence of his success. "Si -non errasset fecerat ille minus." - -Mr. Stevens died of a general decay of constitution resulting in dropsy, -against which his vigorous constitution and indomitable cheerfulness -contended with great hope of success to the very last. He had been -married for upwards of thirty years to a highly accomplished lady, whose -daughter by a former marriage is the widow of Mr. Hawker, the celebrated -Vicar of Morwenstow. His son, Mr. H. N. Stevens, succeeds to the -direction of his business, and inherits his literary and bibliographical -tastes. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[325:1] _Library Chronicle_, vol. iii., 1885. - - - - -THE LATE SIR EDWARD A. BOND, K.C.B.[335:1] - - -The record of the life of the late Sir Edward Augustus Bond is one of -steady unbroken success, 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 reformer. Born on December 31, 1815, the son of a -clergyman and schoolmaster at Hanwell, he entered the Record Office at -seventeen, and there, under the tuition of Sir Thomas Hardy and the Rev. -Joseph Hunter, laid the foundation of his extensive palæographical -acquirements. Having obtained a thorough acquaintance with mediæval -hand-writings, so far as this is attainable from English and French -records and charters, he passed in 1837 to the more varied and extensive -field afforded by the British Museum, where continuous experience made -him a master of palæography in every department. The sudden and much -regretted death of Mr. John Holmes in 1854 made Bond Assistant-Keeper of -Manuscripts sooner than could have been anticipated, and in 1867 he -succeeded his chief, Sir Frederic Madden, as head of the department. -During thirty years he had been known as an exemplary and diligent -official, who enjoyed the confidence and esteem both of his immediate -superior and of the head of the Museum, Sir A. Panizzi; yet few were -prepared for the sweeping and vigorous measures by which, within a few -years, he reorganised his department, reformed many defects which had -been allowed to creep in, did away with the extraordinary mass of -arrears which he found existing, and brought the work up to the high -standard of regularity and efficiency which it has maintained ever -since. Concurrently with these reforms, he executed the classified index -of MSS. which has proved of such essential assistance to students, and -performed a service, felt far beyond the precincts of the Museum, by the -foundation of the Palæographical Society, whose selections of authentic -facsimiles from MSS. of varied character in separate libraries may be -said to have made palæography an exact science. Their value was evinced -in the celebrated controversy respecting the date of the Utrecht -Psalter, in which Bond took the leading part. This, however, was about -the only occasion on which he came prominently before the public. His -modesty and reserve kept him almost unknown beyond his own department; -it was a genuine surprise to the world and to himself when, in 1878, he -succeeded Mr. Winter Jones as Principal Librarian. The appointment had -been looked upon as the appanage of Sir Charles Newton, at that time the -most conspicuous officer of the Museum, and he might undoubtedly have -filled it, if a brief experience as Mr. Jones's deputy of its arduous -and engrossing nature had not made him decline it as incompatible with -his cherished archæological pursuits. - -Sir Edward Bond's career as Principal Librarian repeated the history of -his keepership upon a larger scale. As before, he was inflexibly -diligent in his attention to routine duties, and boldly original when an -emergency arose requiring special action. He saw that the time had come -for the introduction of electric lighting into the Museum, and achieved -this invaluable improvement in the face of many discouragements. The -enormous bulk of the catalogue threatened to drive everything else out -of the Reading Room. Sir Edward Bond first curbed the evil by -introducing print for the accession titles, and then induced the -Treasury to consent to the printing of the entire catalogue, a vast -undertaking now on the verge of completion. His openness of mind was -shown in no respect more forcibly than in his prompt appreciation of the -sliding-press, an idea altogether new to him. An ordinary official would -have hesitated, objected, and deferred action until some other -institution had shown the way. Sir Edward Bond no sooner saw the model -than he adopted the invention, and won the honour for the Museum. In his -time the separation of the Natural History departments from the -Bloomsbury Museum was consummated, and the White Wing erected with its -newspaper rooms and admirable accommodation for the departments of MSS. -and prints and drawings. The facilities for public access to the Museum -were greatly extended under him. Of the many important acquisitions -made in his term of office, the Stowe Manuscripts were perhaps the most -remarkable. He retired in 1888, among the most gratifying testimonies of -the respect and affection he had won for himself. His manner had been -thought cold and reserved, and such was indeed the case; but the better -he was known the more apparent it became that this austerity veiled a -most kind heart and a truly elevated mind, far above every petty -consideration, and delighting to dwell in a purely intellectual sphere. -After his resignation he spent upwards of nine years in an honoured and -dignified retirement. He had been made a C.B. while Principal Librarian, -and his last days were solaced by the bestowal of the higher distinction -of K.C.B., which ought indeed to have been conferred much sooner. He -died at his house in Bayswater on January 2, 1898, two days after -completing his eighty-second year. - -As a palæographer, whose life had been spent among MSS., 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 books, but he well understood the duty in this -respect imposed upon him by his office as Principal Librarian, and -evinced this by presiding over the London meeting of 1887. He married a -relative, Miss Caroline Barham, daughter of the famous author of the -"Ingoldsby Legends." Lady Bond survives her husband, and he has left -five daughters, all married. He wrote no independent work, but edited -the _Statutes of the University of Oxford_, the _Trial of Warren -Hastings_, and several books for the Hakluyt and other Societies, -besides contributing numerous memoirs to the _Transactions_ of his own -special creation, the Palæographical Society. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[335:1] Contributed to _The Library_, May 1898. - - - - -INDEX - - - Abbas the Great, Shah of Persia, wishes to introduce printing into - Persia, 119 - - Africa, question as to first introduction of printing into, 123 - - Aldrich, Stephen J., of the British Museum, an authority on - incunabula, 208 - - Ancina, Bishop, his integrity, 169 - - Antequera Castro, Joseph, author of a book printed in Paraguay, 133 - - - Baber, Rev. H. H., his Museum catalogue, 85; - his plan for an improved catalogue, 90 - - Bailey, J. B., on subject indexes to scientific periodicals, 225 - - Beresford, General, prints proclamations in Buenos Ayres, 136 - - Bethnal Green Library, its contrivance for the accommodation of books, - the prototype of the British Museum sliding-press, 267 - - Bible, the foundation of the system of classification adopted at the - British Museum, 212 - - Blades, William, his "Enemies of Books," 283-287 - - Bond, Sir Edward Augustus, K.C.B., Principal Librarian of the British - Museum, his services to the British Museum Printed Catalogue, 15; - his negotiations with the Treasury, 65, 73, 94; - memoir of, 335-339 - - Bonifacius, Joannes, author of the first book printed by Europeans - in China, 121 - - Bradshaw, Henry, 209 - - British Museum Catalogue, how far a model for other catalogues, 7 - - - Canevarius, Antonius, collector of books and amateur of bindings, 164-166 - - Carlisle, Nicholas, 312 - - Cary, Rev. Henry, 295 - - Classed indexes to Museum Catalogue, how to be made, 106 - - Classification of Books on the shelves of the British Museum, Library, - 211 - - Clemente Patavino, early Italian printer, 201 - - Cole, Sir Henry, 84, 109 - - Collins, C. H., Esq., of Edgbaston, advocates a classified index of - scientific papers, 22 - - Colophons of the early printers, 197-209 - - Cordier, M. Henri, Chinese bibliographer, 121 - - Crestadoro, Mr., advocates dictionary catalogues, 46 - - Cutter, C. W., his report on catalogues, 46; - his cataloguing rules, 48 - - - Dewey, Melvil, on the decimal system of classification, 80 - - Douglas, Professor R. K., Keeper of Oriental Books and MSS., his - catalogue of the Museum collection of maps, 15; - supervises catalogue of accession titles, 74 - - Duarte y Quiros, founder of a college at Cordova, La Plata, 134 - - Dury, John, 175-190, _passim_ - - - Edwards, Edward, 320 - - Electric Light in British Museum, 253, 254 - - Ellis, Sir Henry, his Museum catalogue, 85 - - Ewart, William, M.P., founder of free public libraries in Great - Britain and Ireland, 36 - - - Fire, protection of libraries against, 258-261 - - Fortescue, G. W., Keeper of Printed Books, his subject indexes to - British Museum catalogue, 10 - - Foscolo, Ugo, 289 - - - Gallus, Udalricus, early Italian printer, 203 - - Garcia da Horta, author of the second book printed by Europeans in - India, 118 - - Grand, G. F., author of the first book printed in South Africa, 125 - - Grenville, Right Hon. Thomas, 292, 294 - - - Heidelberg Library, pillaged and partly restored, 187, 188 - - Hervey, Lord, and Conyers Middleton, 191-193 - - Horne, Rev. T. H., his project for a classed catalogue, 89 - - Howe, William, bushranger, book relating to him the first printed in - Australasia, 125 - - - Jenner, Henry, assistant in the Library of the British Museum, his - share in the introduction of the sliding-press, 267; - rewarded by the Treasury, 268 - - Johnstone, Mr., procures Mr. Winter Jones an appointment in the - British Museum, 313 - - Jones, Giles, author of "Goody Two Shoes," 305 - - Jones, John Winter, Principal Librarian of British Museum, memoir of, - 304-324 - - - Labbe, Father, his travels in La Plata, 130 - - Leão, Gaspar de, Archbishop of Goa, author of the first book printed - by Europeans in India, 117, 118 - - Lignamine, Joannes Philippus de, early Italian printer, 153 - - - Macedo, Antonio, his _Theses rhetoricæ_, 123 - - Mayhew, Henry M., assistant in library of the British Museum, his - invention of the pivot-press, 272 - - Mazarin, Cardinal, formation of his first library, 166 - - Medina, Señor Jose T., on first European printing in China, 120; - on South American bibliography, 128-140, _passim_ - - Middleton, Conyers, delay in publication of his "Life of Cicero," 190-195 - - Murray, Dr., his great English Dictionary, 20 - - - Naudé, Gabriel, collects books for Cardinal Mazarin, 166-168 - - Newton, Sir Charles, K.C.B., favours printing Museum catalogue, 94 - - Nicholson, E. W. B., Bodley's Librarian, founder of the Library - Association of the United Kingdom, 3, 37 - - Nicius, Erythræus, 162-173, _passim_ - - - Oddi, Muzio, his ingenuity, 171 - - - Panizzi, Sir Anthony, K.C.B., Principal Librarian of the British - Museum, his services to the British Museum, 35, 36; - undertakes printing of Museum catalogue, 69, 90-92; - memoir of 288-303 - - Paper, fine, manufacture of, in England, 191-196 - - Peranda, Cardinal, 171 - - Photography, advantages of its introduction as an official department - of the British Museum, 16, 17, 85, 86, 234-252 - - Podianus, Prosper, a mighty book-hunter, 168-170 - - Pollard, Alfred William, on the title-page, 198 - - Poole's Index to Periodicals, 9 - - - Ribeiro dos Sanctos, Portuguese bibliographer, 118 - - Roscoe, William, 290 - - Ruiz de Montoya, Antonio, author of books printed in Paraguay, 133 - - Rye, William Brenchley, Keeper of Printed Books, his services to the - classification of the Museum Library, 211 - - Rylands, Mrs., her public spirit, 25 - - - Sande, Eduardus de, author of the second book printed by Europeans in - China, 120 - - Sainsbury, William Noel, his calendar of the papers of the East India - Company, 119 - - Satow, Sir Ernest Mason, K.C.B., on printing in Japan, 121, 122 - - Scientific Papers, subject indexes to, 225-233 - - Serrano, Father Jose, his translation of Father Nieremberg into Guarani, - the first book printed in Paraguay, 131, 132 - - Sliding-Press, the, at the British Museum, 262-271 - - Sparrow, Mr., locksmith at the British Museum, 267, 271 - - Spira, the brothers, early printers at Venice, 149, 203, 205 - - Stevens, Henry, of Vermont, his paper on Photo-Bibliography, 16, 239; - memoir of, 325-334 - - Sweynheym and Pannartz, early printers at Rome, 143, 148, 149, 150, - 151, 152 - - - Telautographic writing telegraph, 256 - - Telegraph, writing, advantage of introduction of, into Reading Room of - British Museum, 254, 257 - - Thompson, Sir E. M., K.C.B., on use of blotting paper in the Middle Ages. - - - Universal Catalogue projected by Sir Henry Cole, 83, 84, 109-114 - - - Venetian book-trade, 153, 156 - - Vera, Juan de, first printer in the Philippines, 122 - - Virgo, Mr., his ingenuity, 266, 279 - - - Watts, Thomas, Keeper of Printed Books, British Museum, advocated - printing the catalogue in 1855, 15; - founder of the system of classification followed at the British - Museum, 211 - - Whitelock, General, prints proclamations in Monte Video, 137 - - Wolfenbuttel Library, 189 - - - Yapuguai, Nicolas, author of books printed in Paraguay, 133 - - - Zaehnsdorf, Mr., bookbinder, his device for the protection of books - against fire, 259-261 - - - THE END - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - Edinburgh & London - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - -Variations in spelling and hyphenation remain as in the original. - -Ellipses match the original. - -The following corrections have been made to the original text: - - Page 152: publication is greatly lowered.[original has a comma] - - Page 172: the Rome of the seventeenth[original has - "seventeeth"] century - - Page 321: the staunch[original has "stanch"] persistence with - which - - Page 341: Bible, the foundation of the system of - classification[original has "classifiation"] adopted - - Page 342: Photography, advantages of its introduction[was split - across a line break without a hyphen] as an official department - of the British Museum, 16, 17,[original has a semi-colon] 85, - 86,[original has a semi-colon] 234-252 - - Page 343: Thompson, Sir E. M., K.C.B., on use of blotting paper - in the Middle Ages, 171[original has a period instead of a - comma and page number is missing] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Essays in Librarianship and -Bibliography, by Richard Garnett - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP *** - -***** This file should be named 53163-0.txt or 53163-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/1/6/53163/ - -Produced by MWS, Adrian Mastronardi, Lisa Reigel, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive). - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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- } /* adds extra space at top of section and centers text */ - -.sectctrfn - { margin-top: 1.5em; - text-align: center; - font-weight: bold; - } /* adds extra space at top of footnote headers and centers text */ - -@media print, handheld -{ - .sectctrfn { page-break-before: avoid; - } -} - -.dateline - { text-align: right; - margin-right: 3%; - text-indent: 0em; - } /* date of letters in a bit from right margin */ - -.author - { text-align: right; - margin-right: 5%; - } /* right align and move signature of letter in a bit */ - -.notebox /* makes box around Transcriber's Notes */ - { margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - margin-top: 5%; - margin-bottom: 5%; - padding: 1em; - border: solid black 1px; - } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography, by -Richard Garnett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Essays in Librarianship and Bibliography - -Author: Richard Garnett - -Release Date: September 28, 2016 [EBook #53163] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP *** - - - - -Produced by MWS, Adrian Mastronardi, Lisa Reigel, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive). - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<div class="title"> -<p class="halftitleseries">The Library Series</p> - -<p class="halftitleauthor"><small>EDITED BY</small><br /> - -<span class="smcap">Dr.</span> RICHARD GARNETT</p> - - -<p class="firsttitle">V<br /> - -ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP<br /> -AND BIBLIOGRAPHY</p> -</div> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p class="center u">The Library Series</p> -</div> - -<p class="hang"><span class="smcap">Edited, with Introductions, by Dr. RICHARD GARNETT, late Keeper of -Printed Books in the British Museum.</span></p> - - - - -<div class="bqlist"> -<table summary="Volumes in The Library Series" border="0"> - <tr> - <td class="tdrightbl">I.</td> - <td class="tdlefthangbl">THE FREE LIBRARY: Its History and Present Condition. By <span class="smcap">J. -J. Ogle</span>, of Bootle Free Library.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdrightbl">II.</td> - <td class="tdlefthangbl">LIBRARY CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECTURE, AND FITTINGS. By <span class="smcap">F. J. -Burgoyne</span>, of the Tate Central Library, Brixton. With 141 -Illustrations.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdrightbl">III.</td> - <td class="tdlefthangbl">LIBRARY ADMINISTRATION. By <span class="smcap">J. Macfarlane</span>, of the British -Museum.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdrightbl">IV.</td> - <td class="tdlefthangbl">PRICES OF BOOKS. By <span class="smcap">Henry B. Wheatley</span>, of the Society of -Arts.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdrightbl">V.</td> - <td class="tdlefthangbl">ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP AND BIBLIOGRAPHY. By <span class="smcap">Richard -Garnett</span>, C.B., LL.D., late Keeper of Printed Books, British -Museum.</td> - </tr> -</table> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<div class="title"> -<h1>ESSAYS IN<br /> - -LIBRARIANSHIP AND<br /> - -BIBLIOGRAPHY</h1> -</div> - -<p class="tpother">BY</p> - -<p class="tpauthor">RICHARD GARNETT, C.B., LL.D.<br /> - -<small>LATE KEEPER OF PRINTED BOOKS, BRITISH MUSEUM</small></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/colophon.png" width="150" height="152" alt="George Allen colophon" /> -</div> - -<p class="tppublisher">NEW YORK: FRANCIS P. HARPER<br /> -LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN<br /> -1899</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page v --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The essays collected in this volume are for the most part occasional and -desultory, produced in compliance with requests of friends, or the -appeals of editors of bibliographical journals or organisers of library -congresses, to meet some special emergency, and treating of whatever -appropriate matter came readiest to hand. The most important of them, -however, though composed at considerable intervals, and devoid of any -conscious relation to each other, are yet united by the presence of a -pervading idea, which may be defined as the importance of scientific -processes as auxiliaries to library management.</p> - -<p>It seems almost preposterous to speak of typography as a scientific -process, yet such it is in its relation to the graphic art which it -superseded as an agent in the production of books. It would be the -merest surplusage to advocate the application of printing to any class -of manuscript books but one; and that, strangely enough, is the book of -books, the catalogue. When it is considered how few of the great -libraries of Europe have as yet managed to get their catalogues printed, -and <!-- Page vi --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span>in how many the introduction of print is as yet resisted, or beset -with impediments hitherto insurmountable, it is clear that the benefits -of printing may even now be set forth with profit. Fortunately, however, -the question is but historical as regards the only library of which the -present writer can presume to speak. Typography has now reigned at the -British Museum for nearly twenty years, and any discussion of its -advantages or disadvantages contained in the following essays may be -regarded as out of date. It is hoped, nevertheless, that the historical -interest attaching to the subject may excuse the reproduction of these -papers. "Public Libraries and their Catalogues" (1879) depicts the -hesitations of a transition period when the subject was in the air, but -when the precise manner in which the introduction of print would take -place was as yet uncertain. "The Printing of the British Museum -Catalogue" (1882) describes the results of nearly two years of actual -work; and "The Past, Present, and Future of the British Museum -Catalogue" (1888) reviews the entire subject, both historically and with -a view to the eventual republication of the catalogue. A fourth paper, -contributed to the American Library Conference of 1885, has been -withheld, to minimise the repetition which may be justly alleged as a -defect in the essays now reprinted. The indulgent reader will consider -that it was impossible to travel <!-- Page vii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span>repeatedly over the same ground -without frequent recurrence to the same facts and arguments: and it has -been thought better to tolerate an admitted literary blemish than to run -any risk of impairing the documentary value of the articles. If the -writer had once begun to alter, he might have been tempted to alter -much. Readers of the present day may feel surprise at the tentative -character of some portions of the first essay in order of date, and at -what seems almost a discouragement of the idea of a complete printed -catalogue. The principal reason was the moderate expectation then -entertained of any substantial help from the Treasury. As a matter of -fact, the annual grant bestowed in the first instance would have kept -the catalogue forty years at press; and, had a strictly alphabetical -order of publication been adopted, it would after some years have been -pointed out with derision that the great British Museum Catalogue was -still in its A B C. The writer, therefore, exerted what influence he -possessed to keep the idea of a complete printed catalogue in the -background, and to enforce that of the publication of single articles -complete in themselves which would be valuable as special -bibliographies. A mere fragment of letter A, it was manifest, could be -of little use beyond the walls of the Museum, but a separate issue of -the article Aristotle might have great worth. The situation was entirely -altered when the Treasury <!-- Page viii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span>so increased their grant as to afford a -reasonable prospect of finishing the catalogue in twenty years instead -of forty. The fragmentary system of publication was thereupon quietly -dropped, and printing went on in steady alphabetical sequence. It is due -to the Treasury to state that, since this augmentation of the grant, -their treatment of this branch of the Museum service has been uniformly -liberal. It is to be hoped that this bountiful spirit will not expire -with the completion of the catalogue, but will find expression in a -reprint incorporating all the accessions which have grown up while it -has been at press, as proposed in a very able article in the <cite>Quarterly -Review</cite> for October 1898.</p> - -<p>After the application of print to the catalogue, mechanical process has -rendered no such service to the British Museum Library as the -introduction of the sliding-press, the subject of another essay. While, -however, printing was the result of half a century of incessant -controversy, the sliding-press seemed to fall from the clouds. Its -introduction was a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup d'état</i>; five minutes sufficed to convince the -Principal Librarian of the soundness of the idea, and the thing was -virtually done. No more striking contrast can be conceived than that -between the condition of the Library the day before this feasibility was -demonstrated, oppressed by the apparently insoluble problem how to find -room <!-- Page ix --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span>for its books, and the condition of the Library the day after -solution, suddenly endowed with a practically indefinite capacity for -expansion, save only in the department of newspapers. No one -unacquainted with the internal economy of the Museum will fully -appreciate the saving of public money, to say no more, effected by this -simple contrivance.</p> - -<p>Print and the sliding-press are now, along with the electric light, -undisputed possessions of the Museum; but telegraphy and photography, -the two other applications of scientific ingenuity recommended in this -volume, have not yet been enlisted in her service. When the printing -telegraph obtains a footing, ample occupation will be found for it. Its -most useful as well as most striking application, however, will probably -always be the one principally dwelt upon here, the enabling every demand -for a book made in the reading-room to be simultaneously registered in -the Library, thus abolishing at a stroke the vexatious delays that now -intervene between the writing of a ticket and its delivery in the proper -quarter. 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 circumstances, which an intelligent course of experiments would -speedily determine.</p> - -<p>If telegraphy has been neglected, the same cannot <!-- Page x --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span>be said of -photography. 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 public. Nevertheless, not a single step has been -taken since the writer brought the subject forward in 1884, preceded as -this had been by the successful introduction of photography at the -Bodleian Library in connection with the Oxford University Press. -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 papers; and -although the Museum has of late successfully resorted to photography for -its own publications, this has necessarily involved the employment of a -professional photographer, whose charges are an insuperable impediment -to any considerable extension of the system. It cannot be too -emphatically reiterated that the question is entirely one of expense. So -long as the photographer is a private tradesman he must of necessity be -paid by his customers, and for any extensive undertaking must inevitably -charge prices embarrassing to public institutions and prohibitive to -private individuals. Make him a public salaried officer, and by far the -larger part of the cost is eliminated at a stroke. What may be done is -shown by the <!-- Page xi --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span>recent exploit of the Newbery Library at Chicago, referred -to in a <a href="#Footnote_86:1_9">note</a> at page 86, 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 singly, and then -combining the copies in a catalogue. It is quite possible that the -enterprise may prove financially unremunerative, 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 State, which on its part would have been -recouped, or nearly so, by the patronage of private customers. It is -only necessary to add that the State should on no account seek to make a -profit out of photography, and that all transactions between the Museum -or any other public department and the nation, where money is concerned, -should be conducted on the principle of affording the greatest possible -public advantage at the smallest possible cost.</p> - -<p>Of the essays and addresses unconnected with this particular group not -much need be said. As before mentioned, they are in general mere -occasional pieces, called into being by the casual need for a literary -contribution or a speech. On such occasions the writer has always -endeavoured to select some subject somewhat out of the common track, -with a distinctly bibliographical flavour if possible, but not quite so -dry as an exact collation of all the <!-- Page xii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span>known copies of the Gutenberg -Bible. In such a line he would have been little likely to distinguish -himself. The Pope is not always a theologian, nor need the Keeper of -Printed Books inevitably be a devotee of black-letter lore. The -bibliographical erudition apparent in the essay on South American -bibliography is entirely derived from Señor Medina's classic work upon -the subject.</p> - -<p>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 librarianship. 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 <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">currente calamo</i>. The fame, -however, of the man universally recognised as the second founder of the -British Museum, can well dispense with polished eulogy. The notices of -his successors, composed more at leisure, embody the writer's cordial -appreciation of public service, and grateful sense of personal kindness. -In conclusion, the author has to acknowledge his obligations to the -Council of the Library Association, to Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., and to -others, by whose permission these essays are reprinted.</p> - -<p class="author">R. GARNETT.</p> - -<p><small><i>May 18, 1899.</i></small></p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /><p><!-- Page xiii --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> -</div> - - -<table summary="Table of Contents" border="0"> - <tr> - <td> </td> - <td class="tdpagecol">PAGE</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">ADDRESS TO THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR CATALOGUES</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE PRINTING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSAL - CATALOGUE</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN PRINTING INTO THE EAST</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">PARAGUAYAN AND ARGENTINE BIBLIOGRAPHY</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE EARLY ITALIAN BOOK TRADE</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">SOME BOOK-HUNTERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE MANUFACTURE OF FINE PAPER IN ENGLAND IN THE EIGHTEENTH - CENTURY</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">ON SOME COLOPHONS OF THE EARLY PRINTERS</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES FOLLOWED AT - THE BRITISH MUSEUM</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_210">210</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang"><!-- Page xiv --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span>SUBJECT-INDEXES TO TRANSACTIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">PHOTOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE TELEGRAPH IN THE LIBRARY</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">ON THE PROTECTION OF LIBRARIES FROM FIRE</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE SLIDING-PRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">ON THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SPACE IN LIBRARIES</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">PREFACE TO BLADES' "ENEMIES OF BOOKS"</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">SIR ANTHONY PANIZZI, K.C.B.</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_288">288</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE LATE JOHN WINTER JONES, V.P.S.A.</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_304">304</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE LATE HENRY STEVENS, F.S.A.</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">THE LATE SIR EDWARD A. BOND, K.C.B.</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_335">335</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdlefthang">INDEX</td> - <td class="tdpage"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 1 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> -<p class="firsttitle">ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP<br /> -AND BIBLIOGRAPHY</p> - - - - -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<h2 title="ADDRESS TO THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION"><a name="ADDRESS_TO_THE_LIBRARY_ASSOCIATION" id="ADDRESS_TO_THE_LIBRARY_ASSOCIATION"></a>ADDRESS TO THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION<a name="FNanchor_1:1_1" id="FNanchor_1:1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1:1_1" class="headerfn">[1:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>There are times in the lives of institutions as well as individuals when -retrospect is a good thing; when it is desirable to look back and see -how far one has travelled, and by what road; whether the path of -progress has always been in the right direction; whether it may not have -been sometimes unnecessarily devious; whether valuable things may not -have been dropped or omitted, in quest of which it may be desirable to -travel back; whether, on the other hand, the journey may not have been -fertile in glad surprises, and have led to acquisitions and discoveries -of which, at starting, one entertained no notion. The interval of -sixteen years which has elapsed since the first meeting of this -Association at London, suggests that such a time may well have arrived -in its history. There is yet another reason why the present meeting -invites to retrospection. We can look back in every sense of the <!-- Page 2 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>term. -All our past is behind us in a physical as well as in an intellectual -sense. We are as far north as ever we can go. There are, I rejoice to -think, British libraries and librarians even farther north than -Aberdeen, but it is almost safe to predict that there never will be -congresses. We are actually farther north than Moscow, almost as far as -St. Petersburg. 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 meetings, all alike conspicuous by the cordiality of our -reception, each specially conspicuous by some special remembrance, as—</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Each garlanded with her peculiar flower,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Danced into light, and died into the shade."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>The temptation to linger upon these recollections is very strong, but I -must not yield to it, because more serious matters claim attention, and -because time would not suffice, and because the interest of our members -and any other auditors must necessarily be in proportion to the number -of meetings they have themselves attended, while the time, alas! slowly -but certainly approaches when the first meetings will not be remembered -by any one. Yet in a retrospective address it would be impossible to -pass without notice the first two meetings of all, for it was by them -that the character, since so admirably maintained, was impressed upon -the Association. We first met at the London Institution in Finsbury -Circus under the auspices of the man who, above all men, has the best -right <!-- Page 3 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span>to be accounted our founder—the present Bodleian Librarian, Mr. -Nicholson. Meetings in London, I may say for the information of our -northern friends, labour under a serious defect as compared with -Aberdeen and other more favoured places—a deficiency in the accessories -of sight-seeing and hospitality. Not that Londoners are any less -hospitable than other citizens, 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 government, and where innumerable -objects of interest are for the most part common -property—entertainments cannot be systematically organised, especially -at seasons of the year when unless, under the present dispensation, one -is an unpaired member of Parliament, it is almost a reproach to be found -in the metropolis. For all that, I scarcely think that any meeting was -enjoyed with zest equal to the gathering in that amphitheatre and -lecture room, nearly as subdued in light but nowise as cool as a -submarine grot. For we were doing then what we could not do afterwards -in the majestic hall of King's College, Cambridge, or in the splendid -deliberative chamber accorded to us by the liberality of the corporation -of Birmingham. We were legislating, we were tracing the lines of the -future; most interesting and important of all, we were proving whether -the conception of a Library Association, so attractive on paper, was -really a living conception that would work. That this question was so -triumphantly answered I have always attributed in great measure <!-- Page 4 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>to the -presence among us of a choice band of librarians from the United States. -These gentlemen knew what we only surmised; they had been accustomed to -regard themselves as members of an organised profession; they felt -themselves recognised and honoured as such; they had ample experience of -congresses and public canvasses and library journals; they were just the -men to inspire English librarians, not with the public spirit which they -possessed already, but with the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">esprit de corps</i> which, in their then -dispersed and unorganised condition, they could not possess. They came -to me at least as a revelation; the horizon widened all round, and the -life and spirit they infused into the meeting contributed largely to -make it the success it was. Had we gone away then with the sensation of -failure, it is not likely that I should now be addressing you in -Aberdeen or elsewhere. But there was another ordeal to be faced. Critics -say that the second book or picture is very commonly decisive of the -future of an author or artist whose <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">début</i> has been successful—it -shows whether he possesses staying power. Well, when next year we came -to Oxford, in that sense of the term we did come to stay. The variety -and the interest of the papers, and the spirit of the discussions, -showed that there existed both ample material for our deliberations and -ample interest and ability to render deliberation profitable. Here again -we were largely indebted to individuals, and my words will find an echo -in all who knew the late Mr. Ernest Chester Thomas, when I say that -never did he exhibit his <!-- Page 5 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>gifts to such advantage, never did he render -such services to the Association, as on this occasion. His courtesy, -tact, and good humour all can emulate; the advantages which he enjoyed -in finding himself so thoroughly at home could have been shared by any -other member of the University; but the peculiar brightness with which -he enlivened and irradiated the proceedings was something quite his own. -I must not suffer myself to dwell on other gatherings—all equally -agreeable, some almost as memorable; but, lest I seem forgetful of a -very important branch of the work of the Association, I must briefly -allude to the monthly meetings held in London, where so many valuable -papers have been read—subsequently made general property by publication -in the Journal of the Association, if originally delivered to audiences -probably very fit, certainly very few. It is greatly to be regretted -that provincial members cannot participate in these gatherings, but this -is practically impossible, save by the annihilation of time and -space—the modest request, says Pope, of absent lovers.</p> - -<p>I shall now proceed to take up some of the more interesting themes -broached at the first meeting of the Association, time not allowing me -to proceed further, and to remark upon the progress which may appear to -have been made in the interval towards accomplishing the objects then -indicated. I shall then venture some brief remarks on the library -movement at the present day, as concerns public feeling and public -sympathy in their effect on the status of librarianship as a profession. -My <!-- Page 6 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>observations must of course be very desultory and imperfect, for an -adequate treatment of these subjects would absorb the entire time of the -present meeting. I have also always felt that the President's address, -though certainly an indispensable portion of our proceedings, is in one -aspect ornamental, and that the real business of a meeting, apart from -its legislative and administrative departments, is the reading of papers -and the discussion to which these give rise. I hope that these -discussions will be, like the Thames, "without o'erflowing, full." -Overflow we must not. It will be a great satisfaction to me if, when the -meeting is over, it should be found that everything written for it has -been heard by it, and that nothing has been "taken as read."</p> - -<p>The most important subject introduced at the Conference of 1877 was that -of free libraries in small towns, but any remarks which I may offer on -this will come more appropriately into a review of the progress which -libraries are now making. Next in importance, perhaps, certainly in -general interest, were the discussions on cataloguing. In this -department I may congratulate the Association on material progress, to -which its own labours have, in great measure, contributed. There is much -more unanimity than there used to be respecting the principles on which -catalogues should be made. Admirable catalogues have been issued, and -continue to be kept up by the principal libraries throughout the -country, and if now and then some very small and benighted library -issues a catalogue <!-- Page 7 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>whose <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">naïvetés</i> excite derision, such cases are -very exceptional. Rules have been promulgated both here and in the -United States which have met with general assent, and I do not -anticipate that any material departure from them will be made. I only -wish to say, as every librarian is naturally supposed to regard his own -catalogue as a model, that I do not regard the British Museum Catalogue -in this light so far as concerns libraries of average size and type. The -requirements of large and small libraries are very different, and that -may be quite right in one which would be quite wrong in another. I can, -perhaps, scarcely express this difference more accurately than by -remarking that while the catalogue of a small, and more especially of a -popular, library, should be a finding catalogue, that of a large library -representing all departments of literature must be to a great extent a -literary catalogue. It is not meant merely to enable the reader to -procure his book with the least possible delay, but also to present an -epitome of the life-work of every author, and to assist the researches -of the literary historian. Hence the explanation and justification of -some points which have on specious grounds been objected to in the -Museum Catalogue. It has been thought strange, for instance, 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 authors. Two excellent reasons may be given: because by so -entering the book the character of the catalogue as a bibliographical -record would be destroyed; and <!-- Page 8 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>because by entering one description of -anonymous books in one way and another in another, there would be an end -to the uniformity of rule which is necessary to prevent a very extensive -catalogue from getting into confusion. Another instance is the -cataloguing of academical transactions and periodicals under the -respective heads of Academies and Periodical Publications, which has -been much criticised. It is quite true that the <cite>Quarterly Review</cite> can -be found more easily under that head than under "Periodical -Publications, London," but it is also true that the grouping of all -academical and all periodical publications under these two great heads -is invaluable to the bibliographer, the literary historian, and the -statistician, who must be exceedingly thankful that the information of -which they are in quest is presented to them in a concentrated form, -instead of having to be sought for through an enormous catalogue. These -observations do not in any way apply to libraries of an essentially -popular character, 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 different, and that we must beware of a -cast-iron uniformity of rule. There is yet another intermediate class of -library, the comparatively small but highly select, such as college and -club libraries, which will probably find it more advantageous to pursue -an intermediate course, as I imagine they do, judging from the very -excellent specimens of cataloguing for which we are indebted to some of -them. And there is yet another class, the libraries <!-- Page 9 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>of the collectors -of exceedingly rare literatures, such as the Chatsworth Library, Mr. -Huth's, and Mr. Locker-Lampson's. In such catalogues minuteness of -bibliographical detail is rightly carried to an extent uncalled for in -great miscellaneous catalogues like that of the British Museum, and -which, it is to be hoped, may never be attempted there, for if it were -it would disorganise the establishment. It is not the business of -librarians as public servants to provide recondite bibliographical -luxuries. These things are excellent, but they lie in the department of -specialists and amateurs, who may be expected to cultivate it in the -future as they have done in the past. The limits of public and private -enterprise must be kept distinct.</p> - -<p>Another question of cataloguing which occupied the attention of the -Conference of 1877 was the important one of subject catalogues. In this -I am able to announce the most satisfactory progress. In the face of the -mass of information continually pouring in, the world has become alive -to the importance of condensing, distributing, and rendering generally -available the information which it possesses already. Three very -remarkable achievements of this kind may be noticed. The first is -Poole's Index to Periodicals, with its continuation, a work so -invaluable that we now wonder how we could have existed without it, but -so laborious that we could hardly have hoped to see it exist at all, -especially considering that it is an achievement of co-operative -cataloguing. In illustration of the want it supplies, I may mention that -it has been <!-- Page 10 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>found necessary at the British Museum to reproduce the -preliminary tables by photography in a number of copies, the originals -having been worn to pieces. The next work I shall mention is the subject -index to the modern books acquired by the British Museum since 1880—two -bulky volumes, prepared in non-official time, with the greatest zeal and -devotion, by the superintendent of the Reading Room, Mr. Fortescue, and -continued by him to the present time. They are simply invaluable, and it -is only to be regretted that they have been issued at too high a price -to be generally available to the public. This is not the case with the -third publication which I have to mention—the classed catalogue issued -by Mr. Swan Sonnenschein, the utility of which is very generally known. -A cognate feature of the times is the great comparative attention now -paid to indexing, which is sometimes carried to lengths almost -ludicrous. The author of a work of information who does not give an -index is sure to be called over the coals, and with reason, for how else -is the reviewer to pick out the plums unless he actually reads the book? -I am not sure that this extreme facilitation of knowledge is in all -respects a good thing, but it is at present a necessary thing, and -correlated with that prevalence of abridged histories and biographies -which it is easy to criticise, 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 class, and the fact that -information is thus diffused among many to whom <!-- Page 11 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>it would have been -inaccessible under other circumstances.</p> - -<p>Connected with the subject of indexes is that of dictionary catalogues, -in which the alphabetical and the subject catalogues are found in a -single list. I retain the opinion I have always held, that this plan may -answer where the library and the catalogue are not extensive, but that -where they are, confusion results; the wood cannot be seen for the -trees. I therefore recommend the librarian of even a small library, in -planning his catalogue, as well as everything else, to make sure whether -his library may not be destined to become a great one. 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 institution. With this view of dictionary -catalogues, it is not likely that they will be adopted at the British -Museum, but I have already explained more than once the facilities which -the Museum possesses for forming an unequalled series of subject -catalogues by simply, when the great general catalogue has been printed, -cutting up copies printed on one side only, and arranging them in a -number of indexes. There is no doubt that the Museum can amply provide -for its own needs in this manner, and thus remove the reproach under -which it has always laboured, and still labours, of having no subject -catalogue except Mr. Fortescue's. The question is whether the indexes -thus created are to become available for the service of libraries and -students <!-- Page 12 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>all over the world by being published and circulated. The -solution of this question rests with the Government, 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 act. The -question will probably become an actual one towards the end of the -present century.</p> - -<p>Mention of this question naturally leads to another, which occasioned -one of the most interesting discussions of the Conference of 1877—the -subject of the British Museum in its relation to provincial culture. -This was ably introduced by our friend Mr. Axon, 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 -catalogue. On both these I am enabled to announce the most satisfactory -progress since they were ventilated in 1877. As regards the distribution -of duplicates, indeed, further progress is impossible, for we have -distributed all we can spare. The subject was energetically taken up by -the present Principal Librarian, Mr. Maunde Thompson, shortly after his -accession to office, and the result has been that almost all the -principal libraries throughout the country have received important -benefactions from the Museum. Libraries of the rank of the Bodleian and -the Guildhall have, of course, received the first consideration; but -nearly all have had some accession, and in some instances provision has -been made for a regular supply of duplicate <!-- Page 13 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>parliamentary papers. Since -the distribution of these duplicates the opportunity has further -presented itself, through the extensive purchases made at the sale of -the Hailstone Library, for enriching Yorkshire libraries with duplicate -tracts relating to that county, and I am sure that the trustees will -readily avail themselves of any subsequent occasions. I am aware that -some think that distribution might be carried even further, but I am -certain that this is not the case. We are bound in honour not to give -any presented books; valuable presented books must be protected by -second copies; copyright books cannot be parted with because receipts -have been given for them which, if the books disappeared, there would be -nothing to justify, while the books and the stamp showing the date of -reception may be required for legal purposes; finally, 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 -Convention. The progress made in the far more important department of -the printing of the catalogue is already well known to you. I have been -able to give the Association a satisfactory report of progress on two -occasions, and I am now able to state that we have entered into letter -P. Some important gaps remain to be filled up, but on the other hand the -latter part of the catalogue is printed and published from U to the end. -If the Treasury continues its aid, I have little doubt that the whole -will be published some time before <!-- Page 14 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>the end of the century. Mr. Axon -certainly did not exaggerate the value which such a publication would -possess for general culture, and I am only sorry that it is not as yet -properly recognised. Every large town ought to have a copy of the Museum -Catalogue, and the supply of the accession parts ought to be regularly -kept up. It is too late now to do what might have been done if the -importance of the undertaking had been recognised from the first: but -the oversight can soon be repaired if the catalogue is reprinted as soon -as completed, with the inclusion of all the additional titles that have -since grown up. The edition can then be made as large as is necessary to -accommodate every important town in the United Kingdom. But this will -not be done without the application of considerable pressure to the -Government, 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 -present. This might, however, be created by judicious stimulus, which -must come in the first instance from librarians, who, though not -collectively a highly influential body, have many means of privately -influencing persons of weight, and making themselves directly and -indirectly heard in the public press.</p> - -<p>I will take the opportunity of adding a few words for the honour of a -late eminent librarian. In the numerous papers which I have written on -the subject of the Museum Catalogue, I have always made a point of -bringing forward the inestimable services of the late Principal -Librarian, Mr. Edward <!-- Page 15 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>Augustus Bond, in relation to it. Everything -which I have said I repeat. Without Mr. Bond the catalogue would not now -exist in print, or its appearance would at any rate have been -indefinitely deferred. In examining, however, non-official papers, I -have lately ascertained that Mr. Thomas Watts, one of my predecessors as -Keeper of Printed Books, advocated the printing of the catalogue as -early as 1855. Like myself, when I recommended printing, not on abstract -grounds, but from the impossibility of any longer finding space for the -catalogue in the Reading Room, Mr. Watts was led to adopt his view by -collateral considerations, which it would take too much time to explain -now, but which will be understood when I publish his paper, which I -purpose doing. 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 possessed.</p> - -<p>Speaking of the publication of Museum catalogues since the foundation of -this Association, I ought not to forget that of the early English books -prior to 1640, edited by Mr. Bullen; or that of the maps, edited by -Professor Douglas; or the various catalogues of Oriental books and -manuscripts. The latter, prepared by Dr. Rieu, are treasures of -information, very much more than ordinary catalogues.</p> - -<p>Another subject was introduced at the Conference of 1877, which admits -of wider development than any of those already mentioned, and in which -very much <!-- Page 16 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>more remains to be done. I allude to the question of the -employment of photography as an auxiliary to bibliography, broached by -our lamented friend the late Mr. Henry Stevens, in his paper on -"Photo-Bibliography." Though the ideas suggested by Mr. Stevens were -highly ingenious, they were perhaps better adapted for development by -private enterprise than by library organisations. But they led up -directly to another matter of much greater importance, 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 Museum. 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 facsimile, by which rare books and perishing -manuscripts could be multiplied to any extent; by which press copies -could be provided at a nominal expense for anything that it was desired -to reprint; by which legal documents could be placed beyond the reach of -injury, and the vexed question of the custody of parish registers solved -for ever; by which a great system of international exchange could be -established for the historical manuscripts of all countries. 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 photographer, at -present an inevitable and most useful individual, but who is sadly in -the way of larger public interests. So long as a private <!-- Page 17 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>profit has to -be made, photography cannot be cheap. Transfer this duty to a public -officer paid by a public salary, and the chief element of expense has -disappeared; while the slight expense of this salary and cost of -material, if it is thought worth while to insist upon its repayment, -will be repaid over and over by a trifling charge imposed upon the -public. Our Association took the matter up, but nothing tangible has as -yet resulted from its efforts, nor can much be fairly expected. We are -not a body adapted for public agitation, nor can we be; we have too -little influence as individuals; as a corporation we are too dispersed; -our general meetings are necessarily infrequent; we want organisation -and momentum. Nevertheless, very important progress in this direction -may be recorded, or I should not have been able to include it in my -address. It is due to the University of Oxford, which has established a -photographic department in connection with the Bodleian Library and the -University Press, which has shown the practicability of the undertaking, -and has already rendered important services to private persons and -public institutions, the British Museum among the latter. We are as yet -far from the ideal, for the University must of necessity make a higher -charge than would be requisite in a Government department, which might -indeed be but nominal. But an important step has been taken, and Oxford -will always have the honour of having taken the lead in the systematic -application of photography to library purposes, as the sister University -has <!-- Page 18 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>that of having been the first, not merely to print a catalogue but -to keep a catalogue up in print.</p> - -<p>Another subject which naturally attracted the attention of the -Association from the first was that of binding. There are few matters of -more consequence, and the increasing degeneracy of the bindings of -ordinary books, as issued by the publishers, renders it of more -importance to librarians than ever. This deterioration is, of course, -likely to extend to books bound for libraries, if librarians are not -very vigilant. I was amused the other day with the remark of an American -librarian, that he bound his newspapers in brown. I thought he exercised -a wise discretion, for the newspapers which were bound in green at the -Museum have become brown, like the withered leaf, and might as well have -been so from the first. I do not know that any important progress has -been made in ordinary binding, although our American friends, in their -<cite>Library Journal</cite>, are continually giving us ingenious hints which may -prove very useful. The buckram recommended by Mr. Nicholson has, I -think, maintained its ground; we use it to some extent at the Museum, -and are well satisfied. Goatskin also has been recently employed; it is -a beautiful binding, 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 upon. The better descriptions of -cloth seem to be improved, and very recommendable for books in moderate -use. <!-- Page 19 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>I am continually struck with the excellence of the vellum bindings -we get from abroad, especially of old books, and wish very much that -means could be found of cheapening this most excellent material. In one -very important description of binding—roan and sheepskin—I fear we are -going back; not from any fault of the binders, but from the conditions -of modern life. I am informed that owing to the early age at which the -lives of sheep are now prematurely terminated, it is impossible to -obtain sheepskin of the soundness requisite for binding purposes, and -that books for which it is used must be expected to wear out much sooner -than formerly. It is also said, however, that this does not apply to the -sheep slaughtered in Australia and New Zealand, 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 parts, through the medium of the -Colonial Agents General or otherwise.</p> - -<p>Any positive progress that can be reported in binding rather relates to -the study, appreciation, and reproduction of old and precious bindings, -especially of foreign countries, and is mainly summed up in the record -of the exhibitions of bindings which have been held here, the literary -labours of Miss Prideaux and others, the numerous splendid reproductions -in chromo-lithography, published or to be published here or abroad, and -the tasteful designs of Mr. Zaehnsdorf, Mr. Cobden-Sanderson, and other -artists in this branch, which I am glad to see encouraged by the Arts -and Crafts <!-- Page 20 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>Exhibition. The very deterioration of the bindings for the -many, to which I have had occasion to refer, stimulates the production -of choice bindings for the few. Liberal patronage will not be wanting, -and there is no reason why we should not have among us now Bedfords, -Roger Paynes, and even craftsmen of a more purely artistic type. Among -the signs of the times in this respect is to be noted the establishment -of the Grolier Club at New York, celebrated for the admirable examples -it has collected, and the interest and value of its publications.</p> - -<p>There is another subject which came before the Conference of 1877, -which, but for our American friends, 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 reported. It is that of -co-operative cataloguing, the subject of a note by M. Depping, and -indirectly of the late Mr. Cornelius Walford's paper on a general -catalogue of English literature. The success of Poole's Index has proved -that co-operative cataloguing, or at least indexing, is feasible. I -doubt if there is another instance, except one—a work of great national -importance, whose long condition of suspended animation and eventual -successful prosecution eloquently evince under what conditions -co-operation is practicable or impracticable. This is Dr. Murray's great -English dictionary, originally a project of the Philological Society. -Until Dr. Murray was invented, the Philological Society could do -nothing. The scheme absolutely <!-- Page 21 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>required some one of competent ability -who would go into it heart and soul, sacrifice everything else to it, -and devote his whole time to it. When such a man was found in Dr. Murray -it is astonishing how soon willing co-workers abounded, and how readily -the mass of unorganised material already collected was got into shape. -So it will be, I believe, with all co-operative schemes. They will -require a head, a single directing mind. Whether this will be -forthcoming for the very useful work projected by the Association, 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 Museum, is to me problematical, but time will -show. I am, for my part, of opinion that the undertaking had better be -delayed until the publication of the second edition of the Museum -Catalogue, which it is intended to issue as soon as the printing of the -general catalogue is complete, as this would considerably abridge the -labour of preparing the supplement. I have already, in the paper read at -Paris last year, expressed my opinion that the Museum Catalogue, when -complete, will afford the only practicable basis for the far more -important and extensive undertaking of a universal catalogue. Success in -such an undertaking would indeed be the triumph of successful -co-operation, but when the enormous difficulties of establishing -co-operation among the libraries, not of a single country only, but of -the whole civilised world, <!-- Page 22 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>are considered, the difficulty may well -appear insuperable, until the various countries shall have approximated -much more nearly to the condition of a single country than they have -done as yet. Such, however, is the unquestionable tendency of the times, -depending upon causes which, so far as can be foreseen, appear likely to -operate with augmented intensity, and this movement may proceed far -enough to eventually bring with it the universal catalogue along with -the universal language, the universal coin, and the universal stamp. -Till within a short time ago I had reason to believe that a co-operative -catalogue, which I myself proposed several years ago, was on the point -of being undertaken. 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 papers, without which that great -store of information is in a measure useless. This paper was -re-published in <cite>Nature</cite>, the idea was taken up by Mr. Collins of -Edgbaston, the compiler of the indexes to Herbert Spencer's works, and a -few weeks ago success seemed about to crown his efforts. I now learn -with regret that the scientific men who met in conclave on the project -have not been able to agree, and I suppose it will remain in abeyance -until some Hercules-Littré arises and does it by himself.</p> - -<p>Want of time precludes me from dwelling at length upon any other -subjects than those brought forward at the first Conference of our -Association. <!-- Page 23 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>A brief enumeration, however, of some of the additional -subjects discussed at ensuing meetings, to within the ten years -immediately preceding our last meeting, will be serviceable as showing -the extent of its activity, and, did time permit, it would be possible -to show that satisfactory progress has been made in many of the -directions indicated. At Oxford, in 1878, besides recurring to many of -the themes previously treated, the Conference discussed the condition of -cathedral and provincial libraries, printing and printers in provincial -towns, size-notation, and, most interesting of all, the salaries of -librarians. At Manchester, in 1883, it considered the consolidation and -amendment of the Public Libraries Acts, the grouping of populous places -for library purposes, the free library in the connection which it has or -should have with the Board School, the extent to which novels should be -permitted in free libraries, and security against fire. In 1880, at -Edinburgh, the libraries of Scotland, and early printing in Scotland, -were the subjects of valuable communications, as were press and shelf -notation; copyrights, the disposal of duplicates, and the subject which -may be said to lie at the root of all the rest, "The Librarian and his -Work." In 1881, at London, besides important subjects previously -discussed, we heard of law libraries and library buildings. In 1882, at -Cambridge, 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 <!-- Page 24 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>British Museum Catalogue, and papers were read on -the all-important subject of librarianship as a profession; on the work -of the nineteenth-century librarian for the librarian of the twentieth; -on public documents and their supply to public libraries; on local -bibliography; on the cataloguing of periodicals and academical -publications; and on electric lighting.</p> - -<p>Here I suspend my survey, but I think quite enough has been said to -indicate the number and importance of the subjects taken up by the -Association, while the present condition of some of them, compared with -that which they held before they had become subjects of public -discussion, proves that the Association's labours have not been in vain -in the past, 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 future.</p> - -<p>I may fitly conclude my address with some notice of this decided -increase of interest in libraries, especially as it relates to free -libraries; of the effect which it may be expected to produce upon the -status of our profession, and of the claims encouraged and the duties -imposed in consequence. Before coming to this division of my subject, -however, I ought, as this address is mainly retrospective, to record -briefly some exceedingly gratifying occurrences which the historian of -libraries will have to note. First among them I place two munificent -benefactions—Mr. Carnegie's gift of fifty thousand pounds to the people -of Edinburgh towards the <!-- Page 25 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>formation of a public library, and Mrs. -Rylands' establishment of the Spencer Library, worth probably nearly a -quarter of a million, in the city of Manchester. The first is an -instance of that public spirit not unknown here, but I fear less known -than in the United States, which in that country frequently takes the -form of library donation or endowment, but here seldom enters that -channel except when a generous employer, like Mr. Brunner of Northwich, -builds a library mainly for his work-people. The second instance is -almost unprecedented. Donations of money for library purposes are not -infrequent, but that a public benefactor like Mrs. Rylands should -purchase a famous library at an enormous expense only to make it a -public library immediately afterwards, and should moreover take upon -herself the entire cost of the requisite buildings, and provide it with -a staff and funds for its further extension, are indeed an unprecedented -series of occurrences. I need not say that had Mrs. Rylands purchased -Lord Spencer's Library solely for herself, we should still have been -under deep obligation to her for preventing the books from going out of -the country. As it is, she has not only laid Britain under infinite -obligation, but I hope will prove to have in the long run raised the -standard of bibliographical research throughout the country, both by -bringing together so many bibliographical treasures, and by her -eminently judicious choice of a librarian. In this connection I may pass -on to another event of moment—the recent foundation of a -Bibliographical Society through the untiring <!-- Page 26 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>exertions of Mr. Copinger. -It is very gratifying to find that the constituents of such a society -exist in a country where exact bibliography has been so little -cultivated, and there can be no doubt of the extent and interest of the -field which is open to such a body.</p> - -<p>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 Mr. -Alfred Pollard, and that these have amply repaid him. I may further -notice the recent appearance of two works of great importance to English -bibliography: Professor Arber's transcripts of the registers of the -Stationers' Company, now on the point of completion, and the supplement -to Allibone's Dictionary of English Authors. Two great advances in -library construction also call for a word of recognition; the -introduction of the sliding press at the British Museum, which -indefinitely adjourns the ever-pressing question of additional space -both in this and in every other library to which it can be adapted; and -the general employment of the electric light, which insures libraries -against the worst enemy of all. While touching on library construction, -I must briefly allude to a very remarkable recent publication, the -article "Bibliotheca" in the German Cyclopædia of Architecture. This -exhaustive disquisition is illustrated with a number of views of -libraries in all parts of the world; not merely of their plans and -elevations, their stately saloons and commodious <!-- Page 27 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>reading rooms, but of -the most humble details of library furniture. It ought to be -translated.<a name="FNanchor_27:1_2" id="FNanchor_27:1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_27:1_2" class="fnanchor">[27:1]</a></p> - -<p>I have now to offer some concluding observations on the present -prospects of the library movement, as it affects our country and -ourselves. In both points of view there is, I think, much matter for -congratulation. We have progressed very decidedly since the period to -which I have been carrying you back in retrospect. As is often the case, -the foundation of this Association was both a symptom and a cause. It -indicated the existence of a feeling that libraries had not hitherto -occupied that position in public esteem which they ought to have; it -further powerfully contributed to secure this due position for them. I -think they are obtaining it. We cannot but be conscious of a wave of -public feeling slowly rising, the action of which is visible in the -establishment of new libraries, in the adoption of the Free Libraries -Act by communities which had long resisted it, in improved library -buildings and appliances, in acts of munificence like Mr. Carnegie's and -Mrs. Rylands's, and as a natural consequence, in the improved salaries -and status of librarians. I am aware that very much remains to be done -in this latter respect. No one can more earnestly desire that the -librarian's position were better than it is. It would not only be a boon -to the individual, but a sign full of hope for the community. We are -progressing, but we must progress much further. The key of the position -seems to me the <!-- Page 28 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>restrictions imposed upon rates for library purposes. -If we could obtain more freedom for the ratepayers in this respect, and, -which would be much more difficult, persuade them to use it when they -had it, our free libraries might be in general what some of the more -favoured actually are. It is discouraging indeed to observe in a not -very wealthy community, when all necessary expenses have been met, -including the librarian's very inadequate salary, what a ridiculous -trifle remains for the acquisition of books.</p> - -<p>There is only one way to obtain the desired end—to convince the public -that they are getting value for their money. The utility of the public -library must be visible to all men. It must be recognised as an -indispensable element of culture, and it must be shown, which is -unfortunately more difficult, that it is actually subserving this end, -not only for a few persons here and there, but for a considerable -proportion of the population. I am not opposing the admission of fiction -into public libraries, but it is evident that if fiction constitutes the -larger portion of the literature in request, the average ratepayer will -not think, nor ought he to think, that any case has been made out for -his inserting his hands more deeply into his pockets. I am quite aware, -of course, that librarians individually can do but little in this -direction. Whatever can be done should be done, for the entire case of -the librarian in claiming respect from the community and the material -advantages concatenated therewith is that he is, in however humble a -<!-- Page 29 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>measure, a priest of literature and science; as truly, though not as -ostensibly, a public instructor as if he occupied the chair of a -professor. Let him endeavour to live up to this character, and in -proportion as the community itself becomes conscious of its shortcomings -and its needs, the librarian's estimation will rise and his position -improve. We need not despair; like Wordsworth's imprisoned patriot, "we -have great allies." The library movement itself is merely the fringe of -a great intellectual upheaval, most visibly personified in the School -Boards which now cover the country, but also obvious in many other -directions. This upheaval will elevate libraries along with it, if they -really are the instruments of intellectual culture we firmly believe -them to be. Let us ally ourselves with those concerned in the diffusion -of these educational agencies. Many of them feel, I know, that schools -ought to be the highway to something better, and that even if public -school instruction could be accepted as sufficient for the citizen, much -of it is inevitably lost from the divorce from all intellectual life -which too commonly supervenes when the boy leaves school. But, if the -school have but instilled a love of reading, the library steps in to -take its place:—</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Chalice to bright wine</div> - <div class="line indentq">Which else had sunk into the thirsty earth."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Let the librarian but recognise his true position, and eventually he -must find his true level. I do not think that librarians as a body are -chargeable <!-- Page 30 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>with insensibility to their duties in this respect; but it -does need to be kept before their fellow-citizens, whose ideas of the -profession—derived from tradition, and from personal experience among -some of its inferior branches—are naturally different from those which -obtain among ourselves. The librarian will therefore do well to interest -himself in useful and philanthropic movements, avoiding, of course, -anything tinged with party spirit, political or religious. If he is a -vegetarian, or a theosophist, or anything that begins with <em>anti</em>, let -him be so unobtrusively.</p> - -<p>I must not conclude without mentioning an incident connected with our -profession, which has recently given me great pleasure—the acquaintance -I was enabled to make with the students of the Library School, mostly -young assistants in provincial libraries, on their visit to London last -summer. I received a most favourable impression of their modesty, -intelligence, eagerness to learn, and general interest in their calling. -This bodes well for the librarians of the future. I trust that they and -all of us, and all whom the profession may receive into their ranks from -other sources, will labour to preserve that high ideal of the librarian -as a minister of culture, and no less that other possession, which our -Association—if it did not actually create—has so greatly fostered that -it may almost be looked upon as its creation, the feeling of fellowship -and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">esprit de corps</i>. We do not meet merely to read papers and exchange -ideas, and provide for our administrative arrangements, but <!-- Page 31 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>to -encourage and renovate something "better than all treasures that in -books are found"—the consciousness of mutual interest, and the feeling -of mutual regard, which will, I trust, be found reflected in the harmony -and business-like conduct of our present meeting.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_1:1_1" id="Footnote_1:1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1:1_1"><span class="label">[1:1]</span></a> Aberdeen, September 1893.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_27:1_2" id="Footnote_27:1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27:1_2"><span class="label">[27:1]</span></a> It has since been used in Mr. Burgoyne's volume on -Library Architecture.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 32 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR CATALOGUES"><a name="PUBLIC_LIBRARIES_AND_THEIR_CATALOGUES" id="PUBLIC_LIBRARIES_AND_THEIR_CATALOGUES"></a>PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND THEIR CATALOGUES<a name="FNanchor_32:1_3" id="FNanchor_32:1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_32:1_3" class="headerfn">[32:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>"At the laundress's at the Hole in the Wall, Cursitor's Alley, up three -pairs of stairs, the author of my Church History—you may also speak to -the gentleman who lies by him in the flock bed—my index-maker." Thus -Mr. Edmund Curll, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">apud</i> Dean Swift, and the direction certainly does -not convey an exalted idea of the social status of the gentleman who -shared the hole of the ecclesiastical historian.</p> - -<p>It is gratifying to remark the augmented consideration, in our day, of -this despised fraternity. There is no omission for which an author of -serious pretensions is now more frequently taken to task than that of an -index; and if on the one hand it is unsatisfactory that the offence -should be so frequent, it is on the other encouraging that its -obnoxiousness should be so generally recognised. "Every author," -sententiously observes an American sage, "every author should write his -own index. Anybody can write the book." Without going quite to this -length, very many are disposed to affirm of a book without an index what -the Rev. Dr. Folliott, in "Crotchet <!-- Page 33 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>Castle," affirms of a book without -matter for a quotation, namely, that it is no book at all. Now, what Mr. -Curll's index-maker was to Mr. Curll, librarians are to the general -republic of letters. 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 index": their promotion in public consideration has -accordingly kept pace with that of their humbler allies, or rather -exceeded it, for if not starting originally from a point quite so -depressed, they have attained one much more exalted. The cause, however, -is the same in both cases—the enormous increase of knowledge, the need -of a rigorous classification of its accumulated stores, and the -development of a specialised class of workers to discharge this -function. Next to the importance of information existing at all is that -of its being garnered, classified, registered, made promptly available -for use. A good public library has been aptly compared to a substantial -bank, where drafts presented are duly honoured; and librarians, as such, -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 -themselves, but to put others into a condition to do it. As a -consequence, their collective organisation is much more complete than of -yore; and their calling assumes more and more the character of a -distinct profession requiring special training, with a distinct tendency -to gravitate towards the Civil Service. Time has been when a -librarianship was most probably a sinecure, or at best a "Semitic -<!-- Page 34 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>department," created for the express benefit of desert too angular and -abnormal to fit into recognised grooves. Lessing was a typical specimen -of this class of librarian, installed at Wolfenbüttel nominally to -catalogue books but in reality to write them. This type is now nearly -extinct in England, except here and there in one of those colleges which -Mr. Bagehot thought existed to prevent people from over-reading -themselves, or some cathedral, where the functions of librarian are -entrusted to a church dignitary or a church mouse. Elsewhere the -professional character of the librarian's pursuits is pretty generally -recognised; the need of special training and special qualifications is -commonly admitted; and the result has been a general improvement in the -status and consideration of librarians, the more satisfactory as it is -in no degree due to quackery or self-assertion, but has come about by -the mere force of circumstances. It may not be uninteresting briefly to -trace the steps by which librarianship has become a recognised -profession, and the public library an acknowledged branch of the State -service.</p> - -<p>"Prior to the year 1835," says Mr. Winter Jones, in his inaugural -address before the first Conference of Librarians, "there had been -little discussion, if any, about public libraries." In that year—the -year of the publication of the epoch-making works of Strauss and De -Tocqueville, and of the removal of Copernicus and Galileo from the -<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Index Expurgatorius</cite>—the complaints of a discharged clerk led, <!-- Page 35 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span><i lang="la" xml:lang="la">more -Britannico</i>, to an inquiry into the state of the British Museum, which -would at that time hardly have been granted upon public grounds. From -that inquiry dates everything that has since been done. Some not very -judicious changes in the administrative machinery of the Museum were the -chief ostensible results, 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 records. The way was then prepared for the truly -great man who assumed office as Keeper of the Printed Books in 1837, and -whose evidence had mainly created the impression to which we have -referred. To the administration of the British Museum, Sir Anthony -Panizzi brought powers that might have governed an Empire. Sir Rowland -Hill is not more thoroughly identified with the penny post than Sir A. -Panizzi with the improvements which have made the Museum what it is, and -not merely those affected immediately by himself, but those which owe, -or are yet to owe, their existence to the impulse originally -communicated by him. In 1839 the Museum received from Sir A. Panizzi and -his assistants its code of rules for the catalogue—the Magna Charta of -cataloguing. In 1846 the enormous deficiencies of the Library, as -ascertained by prodigious labour on the part of the librarian and his -staff, were fairly brought to the knowledge of the nation. In 1849 Sir -A. Panizzi's multitudinous reforms were tested and sanctioned by one of -the <!-- Page 36 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>most competent royal commissions that ever sat, whose report offers -at this day a mass of most amusing and instructive reading. We may note -in its minutes of evidence, as subsequently in the yet more remarkable -instance of President Lincoln, how little able Mr. Carlyle is to -recognise his hero when he has got him, and may obtain a new insight -into the extraordinary powers of the late Professor De Morgan. In 1857 -Sir A. Panizzi's exertions received their visible consummation in the -erection of the new Reading Room and its appendages, capable of -accommodating a million volumes; and about the same time his political -and social influence raised the Museum grant to an amount capable of -filling this space within thirty years. Such an example could not fail -to elevate the standard of librarianship all over the country, and it -was now to be supplemented by the movement with which the name of Mr. -Ewart is chiefly associated. The comparative failure of the Mechanics' -Institutes, from which so much had been expected, had led the friends of -popular education to take up the subject of free libraries. Mr. Ewart's -Act (1850) forms another era in library history, and its operation, -while slowly but surely covering the country with libraries supported -out of the rates, has tended more than anything else to elevate the -profession by making it a branch of the public service, and offering -some real, though as yet hardly adequate, inducement to men of ability -and culture to follow it. The recent library conferences have shown what -an admirable body of public <!-- Page 37 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>servants England possesses in these -administrators of her free libraries. The next great era in library -history dates from 1876, when the practical genius of the Americans led -them to perceive the benefit of giving bibliothecal science a visible -organisation. The Philadelphia Conference of that year resulted in the -foundation of the American Library Association, the prototype of our -own. About the same time the <cite>American Library Journal</cite>—now the organ -of the library associations of both countries—was established, and the -Bureau of Education issued its volume of reports, the most valuable -collection, not merely of statistics, but of close and sagacious -discussion of library questions, that has yet been produced anywhere. -That the American example should have been so promptly imitated in this -country is mainly due to Mr. E. W. B. Nicholson, the librarian of the -London Institution. Mr. Nicholson conceived the idea of an English -conference on the American model. Messrs. Tedder, Harrison, Overall, and -other distinguished metropolitan librarians, contributed their time and -their marked capacity for business towards carrying it out. Mr. Winter -Jones, as Principal Librarian of the British Museum, gave the conference -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">éclat</i> by accepting the office of President, and the welcome presence -of a strong deputation of American librarians, together with some -distinguished representatives of the profession from the Continent, -imparted the international character which it alone needed to ensure -success. The second conference, held at Oxford, was equally successful, -and the <!-- Page 38 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>present year is to witness a similar gathering at Manchester. -An English Library Association has been called into being, and the -<cite>Library Journal</cite>, the organ of this Association, equally with the -American, indicates and records the active development of library -science in both countries. One thought clearly underlies all these -various undertakings—that library administration actually is a science -and a department of the public service, and that it is only by these -matters being thus generally regarded that the librarian can render full -service to the public, or the public full justice to the librarian.</p> - -<p>We now propose to offer a few observations on some of the points of -principal national concern connected with the administration of -libraries in general, and, as from this point of view is inevitable, of -the national library in particular. In so doing we must acknowledge our -special obligations to the following works, and recommend them to the -study of all interested in library subjects; 1. The Transactions and -Proceedings of the Conference of Librarians held in London, October -1877, edited by E. B. Nicholson and H. R. Tedder: Chiswick Press. 2. The -<cite>Library Journal</cite>, official organ of the Library Associations of America -and of the United Kingdom: Trübner. 3. Public Libraries in the United -States of America; Special Report. Washington: Bureau of Education. To -these may be added Mr. Axon's able article on the Public Libraries of -America in the last number of the "Companion to the Almanac."</p> - -<p><!-- Page 39 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p><p>It might seem that not much could be said respecting the mere purchase -of books, but even this department is subject to the general law of -specialisation, and the character of a collection must vary as it falls -within the category of national, academical, or municipal libraries. The -mission of the national library is the simplest: its character is -determined for it by the enactment which in most civilised states -constitutes it the general receptacle of the national literature, good, -bad, and indifferent, and imposes the corresponding obligation of -rendering itself the epitome of foreign literatures, as far as its means -allow. Every such library is the mirror of its time, 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 past. This is -the apology of the librarian's anxiety to collect what the uninitiated -regard as trash. Yesterday's news-sheet, waste paper to-day, will be -precious after a century, and invaluable after a millennium. 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 nation, even when it comes in the costly shape of -a bibliographical rarity. A black-letter ballad on a Smithfield -martyrdom, a collection of cuttings illustrating Byron or Dickens, must -be secured for the national Museum if at all within the compass of its -resources. 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 art, -but adds <!-- Page 40 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>nothing to the value or significance of its contents. Such -luxuries, the darlings of the genuine bibliographer, the tests of his -professional taste and the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">chevaux de bataille</i> of his collection, 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 exist. Even the ideal of rendering the library a -representative of the thought and knowledge of the age must either be -moderated, or pursued at the risk of incurring comparatively -expenditure. A new periodical gives pause: it must be taken, like a -wife, for better or worse; for once commenced it can seldom be dropped. -New editions of scientific works occasion much perplexity: it is equally -vexatious to be behind hand with the latest results of discovery, and to -spend money over something which is certain to be soon superseded by -something better still. In such cases compromise alone is possible, and -compromise can never be quite satisfactory. Such difficulties press less -heavily on the curators of academical libraries, where the demand for -universality is not preferred, and even an accidental circumstance may -legitimately impart a bias to the entire collection. The acquisition of -Professor De Morgan's books, for instance, has made it imperative upon -the University of London to be always strong in logic and mathematics, -at all events. The principle of specialisation, indeed, admits of being -carried very far in a large community, where it is possible to conceive -groups of libraries working in different directions to a <!-- Page 41 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>common end, -and mutually completing each other. Such a system was supposed to have -been inaugurated at Oxford, although we have only heard of two colleges -which are actually working it out—Worcester, with its deliberate and -most laudable bent towards classical archæology; and All Souls', whose -noble collection of law books might, if law were more scientifically -taught in this country, contribute to make Oxford a great school of -jurisprudence. Some of the other college libraries, it is to be feared, -justify the philippic which Mr. Ernest Thomas, at the Oxford Conference, -clenched with this climax of scornful reference to a flagrant case, "The -librarian receives only ten pounds a year, and I am sorry to say that -even that is too much."</p> - -<p>The municipal librarian has his peculiar difficulties. His means are -seldom large, and out of them he has frequently to provide for branch -libraries, involving numerous duplicates. He has to study not only what -his public wants, but what it thinks it wants; not only to make ready -for guests, but to "compel them to come in." This raises the difficult -question how far the taste for fiction should be condescended to in free -libraries. We cannot agree with those who think that public money may be -properly expended upon trashy novels, in the chimerical hope that the -appetite for reading they will probably create may be devoted to -worthier objects. It is far more likely to destroy any latent capacity -for serious reading which a more judicious treatment might possibly have -<!-- Page 42 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>called forth. At the same time, the adverse experience of mechanics' -institutes has shown that it will not answer to be too austere in such -matters, and indeed the man who is capable of relishing Thackeray or -George Eliot is not far from the kingdom of culture. Other novelists of -a less purely intellectual cast may awaken the love or stimulate the -pursuit of knowledge. Scott indirectly teaches not a little history, -Marryat not a little geography; either might provoke a craving for -further information, and both are adapted to keep the mind in a state of -healthy curiosity, susceptible of new impressions and ideas. The -municipal librarian will also consider the especial circumstances of his -locality. Leeds, we understand, collects everything relating to the -history or processes of the woollen manufacture, and the example will no -doubt be generally followed. 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 districts, as well -as the municipal documents which are rarely deposited in the British -Museum. It met with a cordial response, and we believe is being -extensively carried out.</p> - -<p>Due provision having been made for replenishing the library with the -books most appropriate to its circumstances, the question of the -catalogue next presents itself. The controversies which used to prevail -on this point may be regarded as in a great measure laid to rest. The -rules of <!-- Page 43 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>cataloguing, framed in 1839 by Sir A. Panizzi, Mr. Winter -Jones, and their staff, will, we believe, be now generally accepted by -bibliographers as embodying the principles of sound cataloguing.<a name="FNanchor_43:1_4" id="FNanchor_43:1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_43:1_4" class="fnanchor">[43:1]</a> -They may not be equally satisfactory to the general public, with its -preference for rough and ready methods; a very short experience, -however, will convince any man that such methods in cataloguing mean -simply hopeless confusion, 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 random, with no endeavour at principle or uniformity. On -the part of almost all qualified bibliographers, the Museum Catalogue -receives the sincerest form of flattery—imitation: the few points still -debated, such as whether anonymous books with no proper name on the -title-page should be entered under the first substantive or the first -word, are not material; and the impediments sometimes experienced in -consulting it arise from no defect in its cataloguing rules, but from -the great difficulty in digesting such long and complicated articles as -Academies into a perspicuous and logical arrangement. The problem is no -longer one of cataloguing, but of classification, and in this department -ample room remains for discussion and scientific progress. The question -of the strictly classified catalogue <!-- Page 44 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span><em>versus</em> the strictly -alphabetical, may, indeed, be considered as decided. The former method -may have answered in the library of Alexandria; but the multiplicity of -the departments of knowledge in our own day, their intricacy and the -nicety with which they blend and shade into each other, render -cataloguing solely by subjects a delusion. A catalogue of books on any -special subject must either be imperfect, or must contain a large number -of entries repeated from other catalogues; while, in any case, 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 library. -If, nevertheless, a subject catalogue without a general alphabetical -arrangement is often useless, it must be admitted that an alphabetical -catalogue without a subject index is not always useful. It is somewhat -humiliating for the librarian unprovided with this valuable auxiliary, -to find himself dependent upon the classified indexes to the London -publishers' list and Brunet's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Manuel du Libraire</cite> for information which -he ought to be able to supply from his own catalogue. Even the Bodleian, -we perceive, is about taking measures to prepare an index of subjects, -and the Bodleian is a library for scholars who might not unfairly be -expected to bring their bibliographical information along with them. The -need must evidently be more imperative in libraries which assume a -distinctly educational function, and in those which, like the national -and most municipal collections, are supported at the expense of the -learned and <!-- Page 45 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>the ignorant alike. The recognition of the want, however, -imposes an additional strain upon the resources of the institution, -which the British Museum, at all events, over-burdened as it is already, -cannot encounter without a considerable addition to its resources. The -question of classification is, moreover, most difficult of solution. -Only two points seem universally agreed upon: that the best subject -index must be far from perfect, and that the worst is far better than -none. Two principal methods are proposed for adoption. The first is the -simple and obvious one of recataloguing every book entered in the -Alphabetical Catalogue in the briefest possible form, and breaking up -these titles into sections, according to subject, the alphabetical order -being still preserved in each. Thus Simson's "History of the Gipsies" -would be found in the General Catalogue entered at length, and again in -an abridged form in a special index of books relating to the Gipsies, -which would refer the reader to the General Catalogue. The other system -is the so-called Dictionary Catalogue, which combines the main entry and -the subject entry in the same alphabetical series. In such a catalogue -Simson's book would be entered twice over, under Simson and under -Gipsies; while Paspati's "Dictionary of the Dialect of the Turkish -Gipsies," if the librarian were as accommodating as some of his -fraternity, would stand a chance of being catalogued four times over, -under Paspati, Gipsies, Turkey, and Dictionaries. This system, first -<!-- Page 46 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>brought forward by Mr. Crestadoro, the very able librarian of the -Manchester Free Library, and retouched by Messrs. Jewett, Abbott, and -Noyes, in the United States, has been thoroughly discussed in Mr. -Cutter's masterly contribution to the American report on public -libraries. Mr. Cutter, on the whole, supports the plan, whose defects he -has nevertheless stated with his usual force and candour. The principal -objections are the great bulk of a catalogue constructed upon such a -plan, and the sacrifices of one of the principal advantages of an -alphabetical classed index, the congregation of a great number of minor -subjects into a grand whole. In such an index, for example, works on the -liberty of the subject, Bankruptcy, Divorce, though formed into special -lists, would still be found together within the covers of the same -comprehensive volume on law, and, taken all together, would afford a -general view of whatever existed in print upon that grand division of -human knowledge. In the Dictionary Catalogue, where authors and subjects -are thrown together in the same alphabetical series, this advantage -would be lost; Bankruptcy would be in one part of the catalogue, Divorce -in another, and a general view of the entire body of legal literature -would not be available at all. The inconvenient bulk of a Dictionary -Catalogue (except in the case of small libraries, and any small library -may one day become a large one), would be owing to the necessity for -multiplying cross-references. To take Mr. Cutter's own illustration, a -treatise "On the <!-- Page 47 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>Abolition of the Death Penalty" must be entered along -with other books referring to the subject under the head of "Capital -Punishment." The average reader, however, will not think of looking for -it there. He will turn to "Death" or under "Penalty," and, not finding -the book under either heading, will conclude that it does not exist in -the library. Two cross-references to "Capital Punishment" must -accordingly be made for his accommodation; and, after a few generations -of literary industry, the catalogue, like the proverbial wood, would be -invisible on account of the entries, generally speaking; the cardinal -error of plans for dictionary catalogues appears to us to be an -excessive deference to the claims of the average reader. Nothing can be -more natural, considering that these plans originated in Manchester and -were perfected in the United States, where the educational character is -much more distinctly impressed upon libraries than in England, and where -the appetite for knowledge is as yet in advance of the standard of -culture. It is fortunate when the librarian is able to consider not -merely what may be most acceptable to a miscellaneous body of -constituents, but also what is intrinsically fit and reasonable.</p> - -<p>We must hold, then, that the alphabetical index of subjects should be -the auxiliary and complement of the Alphabetical Catalogue, not a part -of it; that each book should be entered in it, as in the catalogue, once -and once only; that the minor indexes should be grouped together so as -to form <!-- Page 48 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>collectively a whole (<i>e.g.</i> ornithology and ichthyology, as -sub-sections of zoology); and that the operations of cataloguing and -indexing should go on <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pari passu</i>. If this is attended to for the -future, the future will take care of itself; but "not Heaven itself upon -the past has power," and it is discouraging to think upon the immense -leeway which remains to be made up in most of our great public -libraries. The experience of the Bodleian will be very valuable, and we -must confess to much curiosity to see how long the operation of -classifying its multifarious contents will take. In the British Museum -the foundation of a classed catalogue has already been laid by a simple -process. As fast as the titles have been transcribed for insertion in -the three copies of the catalogue by a manifold writer, a fourth copy -has been taken, and this copy is arranged in the order of the books on -the shelves. As the various subjects are kept together in the library, -such an arrangement is practically equivalent to a rough classed -catalogue, which could be digested into order with comparative facility. -The publication of such a classified index, reduced to the utmost -possible brevity, offers, as it seems to us, the best solution of the -vexed question of the publication of the Museum Catalogue. On this point -much remains to be said. Meanwhile, before quitting the subject of -cataloguing methods, a tribute is due to Mr. Cutter's important -contribution to the subject, in his rules for his Dictionary Catalogue. -Next after the settlement of the Museum <!-- Page 49 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>rules in 1839, these form the -most important epoch in the history of cataloguing. Agreeing with the -latter rules in the main, and when differing, generally, as we must -think, not differing for the better, they nevertheless contain a most -valuable body of acute reasoning and apt illustration, which it did not -fall within the province of the Museum authorities to provide; they -bring unusual experience and ability to bear upon the intricate subject -of classification, and are further reinforced by most ingenious remarks -on the economy and manipulation of print, making the mere variations of -type instructive.</p> - -<p>Assuming the catalogue to be completed, the question remains for -decision whether it shall be printed. In most cases this question is -easily determined with reference to the circumstances of the individual -library; but in one instance the nation claims a voice in the matter. It -is hardly necessary to say that we refer to the Catalogue of the British -Museum, the theme of forty years' controversy. Every one will admit the -intrinsic superiority of a catalogue in print over a catalogue in MS. -The question is, whether the advantage may not be bought too dear. To -form a sound opinion on this point it is necessary to have an -approximate estimate of the extent of the Museum Catalogue, and of the -expenditure and the time involved in the undertaking to print it. Some -statistics may accordingly be useful. The printed volume of the -catalogue containing letter A, <!-- Page 50 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>published in 1841, has about 20,000 -entries. It forms about a twentieth part of the catalogue as it now -exists, which would accordingly comprise about 2,000,000 entries, in -about 100 folio volumes. In addition, however, to these titles now -existing in the catalogue, there are about 200,000 titles and -cross-references awaiting final revision, and which, unless the present -state of this revision is very considerably accelerated, will not be -ready for several years. During all this period, titles for new -acquisitions will keep pouring in at the rate of 40,000 per annum. All -the time that the catalogue is at press, somewhere between a decade and -a generation, they will continue to pour in, and will have to be -included as far as possible. We must consequently expect to have to deal -with from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 titles, occupying from 150 to 200 -volumes folio. It is clear that no private individual could afford -either to purchase or to store such a catalogue. It would, therefore, -only be useful to such institutions as might buy it or receive it as a -gift. Unlike the newspapers we have mentioned, its usefulness would -diminish in the ratio of its antiquity, and it could only be kept up to -the mark by a succession of supplements. The total cost of providing it, -minus these supplements, may be roughly estimated at £100,000. We -scarcely think that Government will incur such an expenditure for such a -purpose.</p> - -<p>We should ourselves have little hesitation in pronouncing it undesirable -to print the Museum <!-- Page 51 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>Catalogue as it stands, merely for the convenience -of the public. It is quite another question whether a recourse to print -may not be desirable in the interests of the Museum itself, and from -this point of view the answer must be widely different. It is desirable, -and will shortly become imperative. The reason is prosaic, but -unanswerable: the MS. catalogue cannot be much longer accommodated in -the Reading Room. Partly from necessity, partly from oversights, the -Museum Catalogue is most extravagant in the matter of space. To preserve -the alphabetical order of the entries, the titles are necessarily -movable, pasted, therefore, on each side of the catalogue leaf, thus -trebling the thickness of the latter. It is equally indispensable that -wide spaces should be left between the entries when a volume is first -laid down, and that when these become insufficient from the number of -additions, as is continually happening, the over-charged volume should -be divided into three or four. These inconveniences are unavoidable. It -can only be regretted that part of the available space of every slip is -lost in transcription; that scarcely a single transcriber appears to -have studied the art of packing; and that the catalogue is over-run with -practically duplicate entries of slightly differing editions, -transcribed at full length while they might have been expressed in a -single line. From all these causes the Museum Catalogue is rapidly -becoming unmanageable, and the time is approaching when the Reading Room -will contain it no longer. Something might no doubt be done <!-- Page 52 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>to postpone -the evil day by excluding the map and music catalogues from the room; -but apart from its inconvenience, such a measure is obviously a mere -temporary palliative and ultimate aggravation of a difficulty which -acquires strength not <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">eundo</i>, but by standing still. The bulk of the -catalogue must be reduced, and we are not aware that any method has been -suggested, or exists, except a recourse to print. It is unfortunate that -this purely administrative measure, founded on no preference for print -over manuscript as such, but the simple dictate of an economic -necessity, should be so constantly confounded with the totally different -proposition to print and publish the catalogue like any other book, on -the expense and inutility of which we have already commented. -Publication is not in question: it is simply for the authorities to -consider whether the bulk of the MS. catalogue will not some day shut -out the public from access to it; and if this is found to be the case to -lose no time in averting the evil. We do not believe that the present -Principal Librarian, or his predecessor, entertains any doubt upon the -subject; the ultimate decision, however, rests neither with the -Principal Librarian nor the Trustees, but with the Treasury. From the -Treasury's point of view, it is to be observed that the present system -is financially justifiable only on condition of its being persisted in -to the end of time. If a resort to print will one day be compulsory, -existing arrangements are the climax of inconsiderate wastefulness. That -transcribing is cheaper than <!-- Page 53 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>printing may be admitted, though it has -hardly been demonstrated. But to print is manifestly cheaper than to -print and transcribe also. Yet this is just what the Museum is doing if -the catalogue is ever to be printed at all. There are about 250,000 -titles for the new catalogue still remaining to be transcribed. To -transcribe these at the present rate of progression would occupy about -fifteen years, but let us say ten. During this period titles for new -acquisitions would be coming in at the rate of 40,000 a year. These -would also be transcribed. The total number of transcripts would thus be -650,000. 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 print, and rendered -absolutely useless. After paying, let us say, threepence a slip to do -its work, the nation is to pay fourpence a slip more to undo it, and is -to be charged altogether twice as much as it need have been if it had -known what it wanted from the first. It is, indeed, 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 manuscript. If MS., let -the idea of print be authoritatively discountenanced; but if print, let -the ruinous system be abandoned of paying highly for work performed only -to be undone.</p> - -<p>The solution of these perplexities will be found, we think, in a strict -adherence to the principle that <!-- Page 54 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>administrative arrangements must -primarily have respect to the advantage of the institution, which will -in the long run prove to be the advantage of the public. The Museum is -not bound to undertake the publication of an enormous printed catalogue -merely for the convenience of persons at a distance; but it will -introduce print in so far as print tends to economise its own funds, and -to obviate confusion and encumbrance in its own rooms. The two vital -points are to stop the waste incurred by transcribing what must -ultimately be printed, and to put an effectual check upon the portentous -growth of the catalogue. The first object may be attained by simply -resorting to print for the future, and pasting the printed slips into -the catalogue as the MS. slips are pasted now. The second can best be -accomplished by tolerating the mixture of printed and MS. slips in each -volume of the catalogue, until the volume has arrived from constant -accessions at such a bulk as to require breaking up, then printing the -MS. entries in that volume, and profiting by the economy in space of -print over MS. to rearrange the contents in double columns, which would -afford room for additions for an indefinite period. In this manner the -cost of printing would be spread over a long series of years, 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 -silk. Any requisite number of printed slips might be produced, and -<!-- Page 55 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>offered by subscription to public institutions and private individuals. -The former might thus in process of time acquire the whole catalogue -without any violent strain upon their resources; the latter might -procure what they wanted without being compelled to take what they did -not want. It would at the same time be beneficial to the Museum and to -literature, 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 catalogue. Such articles as Bible, Shakespeare, -Luther, Homer, embracing nearly complete bibliographies of the -respective subjects, would probably command a fair sale, and effect -something towards diminishing the inevitable cost of print.</p> - -<p>The formation of a subject index to the Alphabetical Catalogue is a -matter of much less urgency to the Museum itself, but one of even -greater importance to the public. It could not be undertaken without -special assistance from the State, but would probably repay its cost in -a great degree, and has in any event the very strongest claims upon the -support of an enlightened government. It is moreover much less -formidable than appears at first sight. 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 shelves. The apparent -magnitude of the task is further diminished by the following -considerations: 1. It requires no cross-references. 2. Titles may be -abbreviated to the utmost. 3. It <!-- Page 56 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>can be temporarily suspended upon the -completion of any section. 4. The section of biography is classified -already, merely requiring the cross-references from the subjects of -biographies to be brought together; and several other extensive sections -need not be classified at all. Nobody, at least nobody worth taking into -account, wants catalogues of the titles of novels, plays, and sermons. -Classified lists of some other subjects, on the other hand, would be of -inestimable value, and there is one which, in the interests of the -Museum itself, should be undertaken without delay. 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 -library. Naturalists cannot study without books any more than without -specimens; but the Government which gratuitously created the want seems -in no hurry to supply it. The principle of a grant appears indeed to be -admitted; but at the rate at which this grant seems likely to be doled -out, English Natural Science will be placed at a serious disadvantage -for many years. Something may possibly be done by transferring -duplicates from Bloomsbury (a question, however, not to be decided in -haste), and some anonymous writers in scientific journals have modestly -suggested that all books on Natural History might go to Kensington; so -that a student of the physiology of colour, for example, would have to -read his Wallace at one <!-- Page 57 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>end of the town and his Tyndall at the other. -We should, however, just as soon expect Parliament to decree on similar -grounds the cutting of the zoological articles out of the encyclopædias -as to enact that the national library of England should be the only -professedly imperfect library in the world. Indeed the argument cuts two -ways, for if it is fair that the mineral department should have -Cresconius Corippus to illustrate its gems, it must be equally fair that -the library should have the mineralogist's gems to illustrate its -Cresconius Corippus. Until then, the Natural History departments can -acquire a library of their own, it must be desirable for them to possess -a catalogue of everything relating to their subjects extant in the -British Museum. An abridged list, classified according to subject, might -be speedily furnished if Government would provide the compilers, and -would be an invaluable boon to the scientific world at large, abroad -quite as much as in England. Scientific authorities, of course, would be -consulted respecting the principles of classification, and we may take -this opportunity of repeating that while probably no subject-index has -been or can be free from inconsistency and ambiguity, none has ever been -too bad to be useful. That a high degree of excellence is attainable is -shown by Messrs. Low & Marston's alphabet of subjects to the London -Catalogue. The meritorious compiler, we should suppose, can hardly have -seen all the books he indexes; yet, so far as we are aware, he has only -committed one positive error, the <!-- Page 58 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>very pardonable one of enumerating -Mr. Gosse's "On Viol and Flute" among works on musical instruments.</p> - -<p>In connection with the subject of classification, reference should be -made to the excellent classified catalogue of manuscripts prepared by -the present Principal Librarian when keeper of the MS. department. It is -not yet printed or entirely complete, but is sufficiently advanced to be -exceedingly serviceable. Like most of Mr. Bond's reforms, it has been -achieved so quietly and unostentatiously, with no help from paragraphic -puffery, that few know of it except those whom it actually concerns. The -scholar goes to the Museum with no expectation of finding any such aid -to his pursuits, and hardly realises the boon until he finds himself -profiting by it. 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 1641, -or just the period when books were beginning to be useful. The project -bespeaks a very imperfect appreciation of the needs of the institution -and the public. When the great problem of the Museum is to diminish the -pressure on its space, it is proposed to afflict it with yet another -catalogue. When the public is crying out for classified lists as aids to -knowledge, it is offered an alphabetical list with no attempt at -classification, and containing nothing worth classifying. When libraries -are becoming more and more valuable in proportion as they subserve -educational purposes, <!-- Page 59 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>it is proposed to employ money and labour in -telling a few specialists what they already know. When the overworked -library is unable to discharge some of its most obvious duties, it is -proposed to detach not a little of its best strength for an utter -superfluity. Not only are new books to remain uncatalogued, but even the -final revision of the old books is to be delayed indefinitely, that what -has been already catalogued may be catalogued again.<a name="FNanchor_59:1_5" id="FNanchor_59:1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_59:1_5" class="fnanchor">[59:1]</a> The project -would hardly demand discussion, but for the possibility that it may -after all be forced upon the Museum, notwithstanding its repugnance to -the common-sense of the late and the present Principal Librarian. If -ridicule could kill, it could hardly have survived the discussion which -arose among its advocates at the late Oxford Conference. Those external -to the Museum suggested that the Museum should catalogue not only the -old English books it possessed, but also those it did not possess. The -Museum representatives, enamoured with the project as they were, pleaded -that it would be unreasonable to expect them to describe what they had -never seen. The other side concurred, but represented in turn that a -catalogue of such English books only as happened to be in a particular -library would be very imperfect, and of very little use. Having thus -mutually demonstrated the <!-- Page 60 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>unreasonableness of the proposal from one -point of view, and its inutility from another, they agreed that it -should by all means be persevered with, and went home.</p> - -<p>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 <cite>Library Journal</cite>, Mr. Melvil -Dewey. Mr. Dewey—a remarkable instance of the combination of -disinterested enthusiasm with thorough business capacity—is devoted to -several other causes beside the causes of libraries, and among these is -the cause of the decimal system. His experience in the latter field has -given him the idea of dividing the departments of human knowledge -decimally. His scheme provides for a thousand divisions. Every tenth -number embraces some important section of knowledge, and the following -nine as many subjections or allied subjects admitting of classification -under the principal head. Thus number 500 might represent mathematics in -general, and 501 conic sections, analytical geometry, or any other -branch of the general subject. Further subdivisions, if needed, would be -made by appending letters to these numerals, as 501<i>a</i>, 501<i>b</i>. Each -book would be numbered in the order of its accession to the library, and -receive its place upon the shelves accordingly, so that there never -would be any doubt as to the press-mark or position of a book that had -once been properly classed. Our space does not <!-- Page 61 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>permit us to dwell upon -many other points connected with the working of this ingenious scheme, -which, if inapplicable to the great old libraries whose catalogues, like -the Abbé Vertot's siege, are already done, deserves the most careful -consideration on the part of the founders of new institutions. It must, -as the inventor admits, receive some modification in practice from the -impossibility of accommodating books of all sizes upon the same shelf; -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 altogether. Space is the librarian's capital enemy, and the more -cruel as it turns his own weapons against himself. The more ample the -catalogue, the more liberal the expenditure, the more comprehensive the -classification, the greater, sooner or later, are the difficulties from -lack of space. It is not too early to direct the earnest attention of -the public to the question of the accommodation of the national library. -The pressure upon its capacity, now merely beginning to be felt, will -soon become serious. It cannot from the nature of the case be divided or -dispersed; books required by readers must be within reach of the Reading -Room, or they might as well be nowhere. If the library does not receive -its fair share of the space about to be vacated by the Natural History -departments, the consequence will most assuredly be, first some years of -confusion and deadlock as regards all new acquisitions, and then a large -expenditure, superfluous with better management, upon new <!-- Page 62 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>buildings, -whose space will be mortgaged before they are completed. It does not -seem to us very difficult to devise means for economising the existing -space to the utmost, and reconciling the interests of all the -departments concerned—but we must not be seduced into a disquisition -upon architecture.<a name="FNanchor_62:1_6" id="FNanchor_62:1_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_62:1_6" class="fnanchor">[62:1]</a></p> - -<p>Free libraries and public reading-rooms are among the most important -departments of library administration in our day, and constitute the -most distinct expression of the growing conviction that the librarian is -called upon to be a great popular educator. This sentiment has attained -its fullest development in the United States, where the great free -libraries have taken a most important place among national institutions. -Not merely are such cities as Chicago and Cincinnati provided with -libraries of which any city might be proud, but the custodians have in -many instances gone beyond the strict limits of professional duty by not -merely furnishing reading for the people, but instructing the people -what to read. "They have tried," says Mr. Axon in the paper cited -already, "and with no small measure of success, to lead readers to -higher levels of intellectual interest, and to help all students to the -fullest acquaintance with the capabilities of the library." There are no -more remarkable examples of popular bibliography than the various -catalogues and helps published by the Boston Public Library. These -sheets, prepared by Mr. <!-- Page 63 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>Justin Winsor, have been continued at Harvard -since the indefatigable editor's removal thither as professor of -bibliography. They include lists of the most important books in all -departments of literature, with a selection of the notices of the press -best adapted to explain their purport. Special bibliographies of great -value are frequently interspersed, and when it is considered that the -whole is rather a labour of love than of duty on Professor Winsor's -part, his diligence and acumen will appear not more worthy of praise -than his disinterested zeal. It might be well for the directors of -English free libraries to consider whether something similar could not -be produced by co-operation. The list of scientific books recommended to -students at the Radcliffe Library, Oxford, is most useful and creditable -as far as it goes. Generally speaking, the condition of free public -libraries in England may be considered satisfactory; among the directors -are many men not merely of administrative quality, but of high -bibliographical attainments. The principal obstacles to their usefulness -may be briefly characterised as the popular and municipal parsimony. Of -the former we have spoken; the latter requires to be dealt with -tenderly, and is not equally applicable to every locality; it is -nevertheless the fact that in many towns the allotted grant is -insufficient to maintain the library and librarian together. Nowhere is -the cause of free libraries so backward as in London, although the -Guildhall library is an honour to the city. The other metropolitan -districts, notwithstanding, continue <!-- Page 64 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>deaf to Mr. Nicholson's earnest -expostulations; and although the number of readers at the British Museum -is as large as that institution can well deal with, 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 community. The suggested opening at night -by the aid of the electric light would almost certainly attract a new -and valuable class of students, at present virtually excluded. It would -be premature to say much about the recent experiments with the electric -lamp; but we believe it may be stated that they have been highly -encouraging as far as they have gone, and that the question is safe in -the hands of Mr. Bond, to whom the public are already indebted for so -many signal improvements.<a name="FNanchor_64:1_7" id="FNanchor_64:1_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_64:1_7" class="fnanchor">[64:1]</a> Should the experiments result in perfect -success, it is to be hoped that their object will not be frustrated by -the propensity of all governments to save where they ought to spend, -that they may spend where they ought to save. To allow the infinitesimal -risk of accident to the institution to obstruct the full development of -its usefulness would indeed be <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">propter vitam vivendi perdere causas</i>.</p> - -<p>We have left ourselves no space for any observations upon the -circumstances of libraries on the Continent, although there is ample -evidence both <!-- Page 65 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>of the activity of librarians and the public recognition -of their functions in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Nor can we -remark at length, as we gladly should have done, upon the tendency of -the peculiar circumstances of the United States to develop a most -valuable type of librarian, destined to exert more and more influence in -Europe as libraries become more and more the possession of the people at -large. Every advance in general knowledge tends to make them so, 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 reference; that this important function devolves to a considerable -extent upon them; and that, to qualify themselves for its discharge, -they must begin by perfecting their own systems.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><strong>Note.</strong>—The advocacy of printing in this essay may appear -somewhat undecided, and the tone towards the catalogue of the -early English books altogether unjustifiable. The former -peculiarity is explained by the writer's uncertainty what turn -the negotiations with the Treasury for the introduction of -printing might take, and his dread of compromising the plans -of Sir Edward Bond, who knew nothing of the article until it -was in type, when he read it, and returned it without remark. -(See also pp. <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, of this volume.) The observations -respecting the early English catalogue were dictated by no -hostility towards that undertaking in the abstract, but by -indignation at the largeness of <!-- Page 66 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>the staff employed upon a -non-essential, while the final revision of the catalogue, the -indispensable preliminary to a complete printed catalogue, was -so languidly prosecuted that it seemed in danger of coming to -a standstill. So matters continued until 1882, when the -decided interference of the Principal Librarian, and the -adoption of a suggestion tendered by the present writer, -brought the final revision to a speedy completion, and removed -the principal objection to the English catalogue.</p></div> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_32:1_3" id="Footnote_32:1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32:1_3"><span class="label">[32:1]</span></a> <cite>New Quarterly Review</cite>, April 1879.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_43:1_4" id="Footnote_43:1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43:1_4"><span class="label">[43:1]</span></a> A revised edition of these rules, substantially the same -in principle, but different in wording and arrangement, was prepared in -the Department of Printed Books in 1895, and printed privately in the -following year.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_59:1_5" id="Footnote_59:1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59:1_5"><span class="label">[59:1]</span></a> The line was drawn here to eliminate the Thomason -tracts, a special catalogue of which would be really valuable: just as -in "Erewhon," the date of operation of the retrospective enactment -prohibiting machinery was fixed in the middle of the fifteenth century, -in order to include a certain mangle.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_62:1_6" id="Footnote_62:1_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62:1_6"><span class="label">[62:1]</span></a> Within a few years the difficulty was solved by the -introduction of the sliding-press, the subject of another paper in this -volume.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_64:1_7" id="Footnote_64:1_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64:1_7"><span class="label">[64:1]</span></a> It is almost needless to remark that soon after these -lines were printed the electric light was in successful operation at the -Reading Room.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 67 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE PRINTING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE"><a name="THE_PRINTING_OF_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE" id="THE_PRINTING_OF_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE"></a>THE PRINTING OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE<a name="FNanchor_67:1_8" id="FNanchor_67:1_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_67:1_8" class="headerfn">[67:1]</a></h2> -</div> - -<p>The subject of my paper is one which has for many years attracted a -large share of attention from the world of letters. It formed a topic of -discussion at the first meeting of this Association; 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 -progress, but that the titles of all books received were also printed, -and issued in the form of an Accession Catalogue. Having already had the -honour of giving some account of the latter department of the -undertaking to the Conference at Manchester, I shall on the present -occasion confine myself principally to the printed catalogue of books -actually in the Library. 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 extended; to indicate with -corresponding brevity what is doing now; to answer some natural -inquiries by anticipation; and, finally, having shown, I trust, that the -Museum is performing its part, to appeal for the national support -<!-- Page 68 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>requisite to expedite the progress of this truly national undertaking. -Though compelled to withhold much illustrative matter of great interest, -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 -Cambridge, whose library has, I believe, the honour of being the first -to demonstrate the practicability, not merely of printing a catalogue, -but of keeping a catalogue up in print. Three particulars will, I think, -clearly appear from this brief retrospect. That the initiation of the -British Museum Catalogue was the act of the Trustees of the British -Museum themselves. That, having prematurely commenced the publication of -an imperfect catalogue, they acted wisely and rightly in suspending it -until it could be resumed with effect. That, acting under the guidance -of Mr. Bond, whose name will ever be the name especially connected with -the Museum Catalogue in its aspect of a catalogue in print, they have -resumed it at the right time, and in the right manner.</p> - -<p>I am unable to ascertain that any public demand for a printed catalogue -of the Museum Library existed in the year 1834. On April 12 of that -year, the Trustees of their own motion called upon Mr. Baber, then -keeper of printed books, to report upon the subject. This he did on -April 26. On April 30 he attended personally before them, stated his -views, and in particular offered the earnest advice to send no portion -of the catalogue to press until the whole was ready. During the -remainder <!-- Page 69 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>of his keepership, and the early portion of that of his -successor Mr. Panizzi, the catalogue was the theme of constant -communication between these officers and the Trustees. On December 17, -1838, the Trustees announced their determination to commence not merely -the compilation but the printing of a catalogue, comprising all books -then in the Library, in the following year. Mr. Panizzi, though entirely -concurring with Mr. Baber's views as to the inexpediency of going thus -prematurely to press, accepted the responsibility imposed upon him by a -letter dated the next day. In the spring of 1839 the famous ninety-one -rules of cataloguing were framed by him, with the assistance of Messrs. -Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. On July 13 these rules were -sanctioned by the Trustees, and on August 8 the commencement of the -undertaking was formally announced by Mr. Panizzi, in a circular -addressed to the whole department. In July 1841, the first, and last, -volume of the catalogue was issued to the public. It was an admirable -catalogue, reflecting high credit upon all who had taken part in it, -especially Mr. Winter Jones, who had exercised a general -superintendence, Mr. Bullen, who had prepared the extensive and -difficult article Aristotle, and Mr. Rye, who had read the whole in -proof. But, although the catalogue continued to be actively prosecuted -in manuscript, the Trustees ceased to urge the continuance of the -printing, and not another sheet ever went to press.</p> - -<p>Whence this abortive result? Mainly because <!-- Page 70 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>the entire undertaking was -premature. The unfortunate determination to print letter A before the -whole catalogue was ready, excluded a considerable portion of letter A -itself. As other letters were proceeded with, 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 A, according to the new rules. Cross-references under A -were continually springing up, of course too late to be printed. In -fact, however, the publication of a printed catalogue at that time was -inexpedient for a more weighty reason. The Library was too deficient in -most branches of literature to deserve one; and it was not until these -deficiencies had been remedied by the unexampled exertions of Mr. -Panizzi, that an exact register of its contents could be contemplated -with satisfaction.</p> - -<p>While discussion respecting the printing of the Museum Catalogue was -proceeding, the character of the catalogue itself was undergoing -modification. Great additions were daily being made to the number of -books. 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 Mr. Baber. Two alphabetical -series of titles, one printed and the other manuscript, were thus -comprised within the same volumes. The amalgamation of these two sets of -titles, and the consequent absorption of the catalogue commenced in 1839 -into a more extensive general catalogue, was effected by the ingenious -and <!-- Page 71 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>admirable suggestion, made independently in 1849 by Mr. Wilson -Croker and Mr. Roy, of the Library, that the entries, instead of being -written upon the leaf itself, should be written upon movable slips -pasted upon it, so that insertions might be made without any disturbance -of alphabetical order. The suggestion was promptly adopted, transcribers -were engaged to copy the great mass of accumulated titles, and, all -thoughts of printing the catalogue commenced in 1839 being laid aside -for the present, the titles prepared for it were also transcribed and -incorporated with those written for the books newly acquired. In 1851 -this new catalogue, transcribed fourfold by the "carbonic" process, and -with copious space provided for insertions and interleavings, was placed -in the Reading Room in 150 volumes, or about as many as are now occupied -by letter B alone. The catalogue of 1839 and the supplementary catalogue -were thus put into a fair way to become one, and it became obvious that -printing must be deferred until the amalgamation was complete. It was -still, however, a fair question whether the catalogue might not be kept -up in print; whether it was better to transcribe titles fourfold as we -did then, or to multiply them indefinitely by print as we do now. I -cannot find that the practicability of keeping up a continually -augmenting catalogue in print was seriously considered, until, in -October 1861, it was proved by the introduction of print into the -University Library of Cambridge. Some years afterwards the system was -strongly pressed upon <!-- Page 72 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>the attention of the Museum by the Treasury, -which had remarked the gradual and inevitable increase of expenditure in -binding, breaking up, interleaving and relaying the volumes of the -manuscript catalogue, increased by this time from 150 to 1500. I well -remember the pains which Mr. Rye, then keeper of the printed books, took -in investigating the subject, and I believe I may say that had it -depended upon him, the transition to print would have been effected -immediately. Other views, however, prevailed for the time; and when, in -October 1875, the subject was again brought forward by the Treasury, it -fell to my lot to treat it from a new point of view, suggested by my -observations in my capacity as superintendent of the Reading Room. I saw -that, waiving the question as to the advantage or disadvantage of print -in the abstract, it would soon be necessary to resort to it for the sake -of economy of space. There were by this time 2000 volumes of manuscript -catalogue in the Reading Room, exclusive of the catalogues of maps and -music. There would be 3000 by the time that the incorporation of the -general and supplementary catalogues was complete. Hundreds of these -volumes in the earlier letters of the alphabet were already swollen with -entries, and required to be broken up and divided into three. Sooner or -later every volume would have undergone this process. By that time there -would be 9000 volumes of manuscript catalogue, three times as many as -the Reading Room could contain, or the public conveniently consult. The -only remedy was to put <!-- Page 73 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>a check upon the growth of the catalogue by -printing all new entries for the future, and to mature meanwhile a plan -for converting the entire catalogue into a printed one. I prepared, at -the request of Mr. Bullen, a memorandum embodying these ideas, and -entered into the subject more fully when, in January 1878, it was again -brought forward by the Treasury. These views, however, did not find -acceptance at the time. Mr. Winter Jones, and Mr. Newton, acting on the -latter occasion as deputy Principal Librarian, were, indeed, both -theoretically in favour of print; but it was thought that the desired -financial economy, the only point on which the Treasury laid any stress, -could be better obtained by the employment of Civil Service writers. The -question was thus left for Mr. Bond, who became Principal Librarian in -the following August. As keeper of the manuscripts, Mr. Bond's attention -had never been officially drawn to the catalogue of printed books, but, -as a man of letters, he had formed an opinion respecting it; 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 public, as to -effect the other great reforms that have signalised his administration. -From the moment of his accession the question may be said to have been -virtually decided. In April 1879, I published an article in the <cite>New -Quarterly Magazine</cite>, foreshadowing almost everything that has since been -accomplished. In the summer of the same year, Mr. Bond, having secured -the concurrence of the Trustees, proposed to the <!-- Page 74 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>Treasury to substitute -print for transcription in the case of all additions henceforth made to -the catalogue, a proposal which the Treasury could not refuse to -entertain, as it had originally come from itself. It was accordingly -accepted; the details of the scheme were settled by Mr. Bond in concert -with Mr. Bullen and the assistant keepers; the general supervision of -the printing was entrusted to my colleague Professor Douglas; and by the -beginning of the new year the press was fully at work. We had thus -successfully introduced print into the catalogue, and by diminishing the -size of the entries checked the enormous pressure upon our space which -threatened to swamp the catalogue altogether. We had also, by providing -for the issue of the new printed titles in parts at regular intervals, -enabled any subscriber to obtain a complete list of future additions to -the Museum. But this related to the future only; nothing had yet been -done to meet the public demand for a printed catalogue of all books -already in the Library. The satisfaction of this demand was the second -item in Mr. Bond's programme. In recommending his proposal to the -Treasury, he relied upon the same grounds that had been shown to exist -in the case of the Accession Catalogue. He pointed out the enormous -number of manuscript volumes, the ponderous unwieldiness of many among -them, the expense of perpetual breaking up, rebinding, and relaying; the -manifest advantage of compressing many volumes into one, and providing -space for additions for a practically indefinite period. <!-- Page 75 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>On these -grounds, and not on literary grounds, the Treasury assented to the -proposal, and agreed to devote, for as long as they should see fit, a -certain annual sum for the gradual conversion of the manuscript into a -printed catalogue. It is desirable that this should be thoroughly -understood, as it affords the answer to some questions which may very -naturally be asked respecting the method of publication adopted for the -catalogue. Why is it not brought out at once, complete from A to Z? -Because the Treasury have not granted £100,000 for the purpose. They -simply make an annual allowance of limited amount, liable to be -withdrawn at any time. Might not, however, the allotted sum be employed -as far as it will go in printing the catalogue consecutively from the -beginning, instead of in selected portions? To this there are several -things to be said. The grant is made upon condition that it shall before -all things be employed in remedying the defects signalised by ourselves, -bringing cumbrous, overgrown volumes into a handy form, and putting a -stop to the perpetual rebinding and relaying. The most bulky volumes, -therefore, must in general be those selected for printing. An equally -powerful consideration is that we thus escape all danger of the reproach -that has hitherto attached to almost every similar undertaking, "This -man began, and was not able to finish." The funds on which we relied -might at any time fail us, and we might never progress beyond our A, B, -C. By making the printing a portion of the daily life of the -institution, a piece of <!-- Page 76 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>administrative routine like cataloguing or -binding, we escape alike ambitious professions and ambitious failures. -Once more, a strictly alphabetical procedure would destroy one of the -most valuable features of the scheme, the separate issue of important -special articles, not merely to our limited body of subscribers, but -offered on a large scale to the public generally. We have already the -article Virgil in the press on this principle, and it is hoped that -Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, Homer, Dante, Academies, Periodicals, and -others, may ere long be added to the list. Even our ordinary volumes -frequently contain articles better printed now than twenty years hence: -one of the last completed, for instance, contains the article Gladstone. -It would indeed be well if our resources admitted of these three -operations being carried on simultaneously, the consecutive publication -of the catalogue, the compression of overgrown volumes wherever -occurring, the independent issue of important special articles. With -sufficient means to defray the additional cost of printing and provide -the needful literary revision, all three might very well go on <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pari -passu</i>. I hope that the liberality of the Treasury, of which I desire to -speak with every acknowledgment, will rise still nearer to the height of -the occasion, and I believe it will. It will be seen that, granting the -principle of the conversion of the manuscript catalogue into a printed -one, there is no economy, but the reverse, in spreading the operation -over a long period. The longer it lasts, the greater will be the -<!-- Page 77 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>accumulation of titles for accessions, to be included in the general -catalogue when the volumes to which they belong come to be printed in -their turn. Supposing that the whole catalogue could be put into type -to-morrow by the stroke of an enchanter's wand, we should have printed -three millions of titles. If the metamorphosis were deferred for forty -years, we should then print five millions. But if the work of printing -goes on during the forty years, as at its present rate of progress it -will, we shall have printed and paid for six millions, because half of -the two million accession titles will have been printed and paid for -twice over, first as accession titles, and again after their -incorporation into the general. It is not, however, so much upon such -economical considerations that I rely, as upon the conviction that the -Government will ultimately recognise our work as a truly national one; -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 -accorded. Before entering further into this department of the subject, I -will briefly state what has been effected already, and describe the -method of procedure. Of the Accession Catalogue I have already spoken at -Manchester, and I have little to add to my observations upon that -occasion. The titles written for new acquisitions, instead of being -transcribed fourfold, are now sent to the printer as soon as a -sufficient number have accumulated. They are divided into three -principal sections; new English and foreign books; old English <!-- Page 78 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>books; -old foreign books. They come back printed in regular alphabetical order, -and after the press has been corrected are distributed to subscribers -and such institutions as receive them gratuitously. Four copies are cut -up, and the titles inserted into the General Catalogue in their proper -places, occupying a mere fraction of the room required for the old -manuscript entries. The arrangements are under the superintendence of -Professor Douglas, and up to the present time about 130,000 entries have -passed under his inspection. The publication of the General printed -Catalogue proceeds as follows. Three or four volumes of the manuscript -catalogue having been selected to be combined in a volume of print, they -undergo in the first place a literary revision. Queries respecting -headings, authorship, and date are raised and settled, mistranscriptions -and wrong punctuation corrected, and the catalogue is weeded of its -practically duplicate entries by cutting these down to the mere phrase -"another edition; another copy," as the case may require. A second and -more troublesome revision then becomes necessary, for the order of the -entries frequently admits of great improvement. The titles having been -incorporated by a variety of persons, and the process of insertion -having now gone on for more than thirty years, many errors and -inconsistencies have inevitably crept in, and these require to be -rectified by an assistant of especial ability and experience in this -department of work, whose researches frequently originate a new set of -catalogue queries. <!-- Page 79 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>At last, however, the copy goes to press, the proof -is promptly returned and corrected (we are content with a single -revise), and the three or four bulky volumes of manuscript are condensed -into a single handy and portable volume of type, printed in double -columns and on ordinary paper for subscribers, but for reading-room use -in single column on a strong vellum paper, adapted to bear rough -handling, the opposite column being left blank for insertions, and the -book supplied with guards to allow of interleaving. There have hitherto -been on the average 220 columns or 110 folios to a volume. On the -average of twenty entries to a column, which is rather under the mark, -this gives 4400 titles to each volume. The blank space left for -insertions and the provision for interleaving would allow of this number -of titles being quadrupled, but the weight of the paper prescribes a -limit which it would be inconvenient to transgress. Supposing that each -volume will take 9000 titles only, then, as the Reading Room will -accommodate 2000 volumes of catalogue without encroachment on the -reference library, sufficient space will have been provided for eighteen -millions of titles, or for three centuries' accumulations at the present -annual rate of increase. A year or two ago we were at an utter loss how -to accommodate less than three million titles. Several volumes are now -(September 1882) in hand in various stages of progress. The number fully -completed and placed in the Reading Room is twenty-two, which comprise -the contents of about 70 manuscript volumes, including, with <!-- Page 80 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>many -others, all in letter A after the article Aristotle to the end. They -have cost, in round figures, £2450, or about £110 each. Arrangements -lately completed will diminish this cost by nearly a sixth, and the sum -economised will be available for additional printing. It ought to be -stated that all the extra work entailed by printing has been performed -by the ordinary Museum staff, with no addition to its resources, except -an arrangement by which two gentlemen work two or three hours' overtime.</p> - -<p>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 enlarged. We may one day see the whole of the printing -of the Museum a special department, like the Clarendon or Cambridge -University press, with a head and a staff of its own, and carrying on -operations by the side of which those I have been describing will appear -diminutive. At present the Museum force and the Museum grant are nicely -adapted to each other. With a stronger staff we could easily spend much -more money, with a weaker staff we could not spend what we do. Every -effort is of course made to expend the full amount within the year, not -only that it may not return unused into the Exchequer, but, from -consideration to the just claims of our printers, who have engaged a -number of extra hands whom they cannot afford to keep idle. Hence, as I -have stated, we are content with a single revise, and deliberately -prefer systematic energy to minute accuracy. Misprints and other -<!-- Page 81 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>oversights will, no doubt, be detected, which a more deliberate -procedure would have obviated. I do not desire to have the air of -apologising for a catalogue which, even if tried by a severe standard, -will, I am persuaded, be pronounced a creditable work; but I wish it to -be understood that these blemishes, as well as some defects of -arrangement manifested in long sets of cross-references, are not unknown -or overlooked. They will diminish as the work proceeds; confident, -meanwhile, of a generous construction, 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—arrear. -Other shortcomings are necessitated by the fact that the Museum Library -is not an inert mass, but a living organism. You have not to deal with a -closed collection of books like the King's Library, whose authors are -dead, and to which no addition can ever be made. The very titles before -you have been prepared during the last forty years by twice forty -persons of various idiosyncrasies, whose work, with every care, it is -often no easy matter to harmonise. While the product of their -heterogeneous authorship is at press, the Accession Catalogue is in -progress under independent management; thousands of titles are annually -written and entered which will one day have to be amalgamated with the -general series, and discrepancies must sometimes occur. Moreover, the -catalogue of the world's literature partakes of the mobility of the -world itself. Designations are altered, as when successful generals -become barons, <!-- Page 82 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>or popular churchmen bishops; anonymous authors are -brought to light; periodicals and works in progress are completed or -relinquished; errors are detected and corrected; improvements and -modifications are introduced. The catalogue of an institution like the -British Museum, dealing with a mass of matter already accumulated, and -intended to register an ever-accumulating mass of matter for ever and -ever, must not aspire to absolute perfection, and can never attain -finality.</p> - -<p>A few words, in conclusion, upon the duty and interest of the public to -support the Museum undertakings, and the practical end at which, as it -seems to me, we ought to aim. The catalogue cannot, at the present rate -of progress, be completely printed in much less than forty years. We -shall all agree that this progress ought to be accelerated, but this can -only be by increased liberality from the Treasury. This will be accorded -in proportion to the Treasury's conviction of the value of our work, and -this conviction will greatly depend upon the appreciation of this -usefulness manifested by the public. If we are to do a national work, we -must have national recognition. I am not at all using the language of -complaint or disappointment. It would be well worth the Museum's while -to print the catalogue for its own sake, even if it did not dispose of a -single copy; and in fact the number of subscriptions is very much what -was expected. I wish, however, that we could succeed in this, as in some -other things, beyond expectation. Something is probably to be ascribed -to the peculiarly <!-- Page 83 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>quiet manner in which this great change was effected. -Mr. Bond's reforms "come not with observation." A question which had -been so long and clamorously agitated while unripe was, being ripe, -settled in a few conversations, and with a little official -correspondence, so noiselessly and unostentatiously, that many of those -most interested in the matter have never heard of it. Many who have -heard of it are probably under the impression that the original high -terms of subscription have been maintained. This is not so. All the -sections of the Accession Catalogue are now issued for an annual -subscription of £3; and all volumes of the General Catalogue for an -annual subscription of £3, 10s. This does not bring it within the reach -of every purse: 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 world. Our late lamented -friend and colleague, Professor Jevons, was a type of the class I have -in my mind; and I know that on the eve of his death he had determined to -become a subscriber. 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 Catalogue. At -present a Universal Catalogue is a Utopian Catalogue. I have the -greatest respect for those who have advocated it as an undertaking -immediately practicable. I have no doubt that the twentieth century will -speak of them as men before their age. But they <em>are</em> before it. <!-- Page 84 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>Their -project is at present intricate, indefinite, intangible. They want a -base of operations. As Sir Henry Cole himself discerned when he made his -not altogether fortunate experiment of printing a specimen article from -the Museum Catalogue, this catalogue supplies such a base. Let us know -clearly what is in it and what is not; let whatever it contains be put -clearly before the world in type; and we shall be able to proceed -systematically and intelligently to fill up its lacunæ from the -catalogues of other libraries, and from the special bibliographies which -are increasing and multiplying year by year. In saying "then" I would -not foreshadow a date which many of this generation may not hope to see. -My aspiration is that the completion of the Museum Catalogue in print -may coincide with the completion of the present century. This is an age -of anniversary demonstrations. When a great man dies he bequeaths to his -country—his centenary. 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 together. Well, 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 centuries. -Such a register the British Museum Catalogue, if then completed, would -afford; and a precedent would be set for a similar issue every -succeeding century, or half or quarter century, as might be found most -expedient, which would show at one view what that particular interval of -time had effected for mankind in literature. <!-- Page 85 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>Evidently, however, the -catalogue cannot at the close of this century be absolutely complete as -respects the Museum, as a host of accession titles will have been -growing up, a great part of which, coming after the volume which would -otherwise have included them has been printed, will be too late to be -comprised in the general alphabetical series. It may not, perhaps, 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 titles, that the -literary register may be as complete as possible, and to provide for the -regular repetition of the process at definite intervals. If, however, -this is not done, there is still another agent that may be invoked. When -the Museum shall have adopted Photography as it has adopted Electricity; -when it shall possess—and I trust that long ere that period it will -possess—a photographic department, an established branch of its -organisation in which, the salaries of the staff being defrayed as in -other departments by the State, there will be no expense to be -considered beyond the mere cost of chemicals, there need be no limit to -the reproduction of its treasures. Sculptures, coins, and prints can be -disseminated over every hamlet; manuscripts can be multiplied -indefinitely and exchanged with foreign libraries for corresponding -donations, illustrative of English history and antiquities; foreign and -country scholars will be able to consult rare books and unique -manuscripts without leaving their arm-chairs; and, above <!-- Page 86 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>all, the -scattered portions of the nearest approach the world will have made to a -Universal Catalogue may be brought together, digested into alphabetical -order, and, reproduced in facsimile by this beautiful art—fit mate of -Printing in that she too preserves what would else perish, and brings -light into many a dark place—be given to the world.<a name="FNanchor_86:1_9" id="FNanchor_86:1_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_86:1_9" class="fnanchor">[86:1]</a></p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_67:1_8" id="Footnote_67:1_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67:1_8"><span class="label">[67:1]</span></a> Read before the Library Association, Cambridge, Sept. -1882.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_86:1_9" id="Footnote_86:1_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86:1_9"><span class="label">[86:1]</span></a> This forecast of the service which photography might -render to library catalogues would seem to have been inspired by the -very spirit of prophecy. See, in the <cite>American Library Journal</cite> for -March 1899, an account by A. J. Rudolph of the success of the Newberry -Library, Chicago, "in printing a catalogue of the accessions accumulated -in the British Museum since 1880 to date, in one general alphabet by the -so-called blue-print process, a method of photo-printing." If the -Newberry Library can do this, the British Museum ought to be able to -incorporate its accession-titles with the general catalogue, and reissue -the latter from time to time, as frequently recommended in this volume, -and in a remarkable article in the <cite>Quarterly Review</cite> for October 1898.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 87 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE"><a name="THE_PAST_PRESENT_AND_FUTURE_OF_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE" id="THE_PAST_PRESENT_AND_FUTURE_OF_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE"></a>THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE<a name="FNanchor_87:1_10" id="FNanchor_87:1_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_87:1_10" class="headerfn">[87:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The present and the future of the British Museum Catalogue are so much -more important than its past, that this part of our subject must be -touched with brevity. Resisting, therefore, every temptation to -expatiate upon the desert of ancient cataloguers, further than by the -observation that Moses and Homer were of the brotherhood, we begin with -June 21, 1759, when the Trustees of the British Museum, which -institution had been opened to the public in the preceding January, -recorded the following remarkable minute:—</p> - -<p>"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 severity, as the two vacant hours (if -it is not thought a burden upon the officers) might very usefully be -employed by them in better ranging the several collections; especially -in the Department of Manuscripts, and preparing catalogues for -publication, which last the Committee think so necessary a work that -till it is <!-- Page 88 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>performed the several collections can be but imperfectly -useful to the public."</p> - -<p>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 building; that the Committee rather expected to be censured for -requiring any other duty from them; and that, though the Trustees -themselves thought catalogues useful and even necessary, there were -those who deemed otherwise. The Museum Library dispensed with a printed -catalogue until 1787, when one was issued in two volumes folio, the work -of three persons, two-thirds of whose time was otherwise occupied. It -would therefore be unjust as well as unbecoming to criticise its many -defects with asperity. The compilers seem to have adopted as their -principle that the cataloguer who looks beyond the title-page is lost. -They therefore enter "The London Prodigal" and "Mucedorus" under -Shakespeare with no impertinent scepticism as to the authorship; -bewilder themselves with no nice distinctions between the William Bedloe -who wrote against Mahometanism in 1615, and the William Bedloe who swore -away the lives of Roman Catholics in 1680; and achieve their crowning -glory by cataloguing the thirty-three thousand Civil War tracts at a -stroke under "Anglia" as "a large collection of pamphlets." If they had -tried to do more they would probably have done nothing. Their list, -meagre in every sense, and at the present day less interesting for what -it contains than for what it does not contain, <!-- Page 89 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>served for twenty years, -when a beginning was made towards superseding it by the more elaborate -performance of Sir Henry Ellis and Mr. Baber. This catalogue, commenced -in 1807, was completed in 1819. The portion executed by Sir Henry Ellis -has been severely criticised. It was certainly unfortunate that <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pastor -paganus</i> should have been treated as the equivalent of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">sacerdos -ethnicus</i>, and Emanuel Prince of Peace mistaken for Emanuel King of -Portugal. Its virtue, however, of portable brevity, 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 trees, that those thus -beholden to it will be little inclined to deal hardly with its notorious -errors and deficiencies.</p> - -<p>Ellis and Baber's catalogue had scarcely been completed ere the need of -a new one began to be felt, partly on account of the magnificent -donation of the 60,000 volumes and 20,000 pamphlets of the King's -Library. Notions of classification were then in the ascendant, and in -1826 the Rev. T. Hartwell Horne, a bibliographer famed for strict method -and plodding industry, was engaged as a temporary assistant to carry -them out; together with Mr. (afterwards Sir Frederic) Madden, Mr. Tidd -Pratt, and other persons of literary ability. Seldom has an undertaking -so extensive left so little trace behind it. Mr. Horne's assistants -ascended to higher spheres, or evaporated entirely, and when called upon -in 1834 to report the progress of the previous year, he could only state -that he had personally <!-- Page 90 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>arranged the classes of "chemical and medical -philosophy"; the latter, indeed, under twenty divisions, with such -subdivisions as "<cite class="noitalic">Treatises on Plethora</cite>," "<cite class="noitalic">Treatises on the <span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Vis -Medicatrix Naturæ</span></cite>," "<cite class="noitalic">"Use of Flagellation, Friction and Philtres</cite>." The -list may be commended to the study of those who think classification a -simple matter, or a classed catalogue serviceable otherwise than as an -index to an alphabetical one. Seven thousand pounds had been expended -upon the simple sorting of titles, a task merely preliminary to that of -printing them, which might be considered as at least nearly half done, -if only the influx of new titles could be stopped, which was impossible. -The Trustees wisely determined to throw no more good money after bad; -and the episode of classification came to an end in July 1834. Mr. -Baber, Keeper of Printed Books, had already proposed a plan for a new -printed catalogue, to be executed under the superintendence of a single -competent person, a description denoting Panizzi, then "an extra -assistant librarian." This scheme was set aside in favour of a far -inferior plan, by which the execution of the catalogue was entrusted to -four persons of very unequal degrees of capacity, virtually independent -of each other. The consequence was that the little they did required to -be done again. Panizzi became head of the Printed Book Department in -1837, 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 <!-- Page 91 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>drawn up by him with -the assistance of Messrs. Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. Their -number has afforded a theme for much good-natured and ill-natured -satire; on examination, however, it will be found that a third of them -relate merely to arrangement, and that the remainder are far from -providing for all conceivable cases. It may be granted that their -complexity was incompatible with the Trustees' desire to produce a -printed catalogue at an early date, a desire in which their officer was -far from participating. The Trustees defeated their own object, partly -by allowing the catalogue to be commenced on so extensive a scale; -partly by requiring, or rather letting themselves be thought to have -required, that it should be actually printed, instead of merely ready -for press, by December 1844. This decision necessitated printing in -alphabetical succession, hence diverting much of the force which should -have been applied to compiling the catalogue, to the correction of the -press. It further condemned the work to inevitable imperfection, since -it was impossible to foresee what titles would be required to be written -under A, and such titles, excluded from the printed volume embracing -that letter, kept continually turning up during the entire progress of -the work. As the imperfections of this volume (published in 1841) became -more notorious, the demand for a printed catalogue gradually died away, -and Panizzi was left in possession of his ideal—a manuscript catalogue, -executed with a thoroughness and on a scale which seemed to <!-- Page 92 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>render -printing for ever impossible. This, as we shall see, was destined to -break down in its turn; and the great librarian's objections to print -have met with a practical refutation. At the same time it must be -candidly acknowledged that, although Panizzi was wrong in abstract -principle, he was right as regarded the requirements of his own day. The -collection of books was at the time too limited to justify a printed -catalogue, and not too extensive to render a manuscript catalogue -inconveniently unwieldy. Panizzi's opposition to print was justifiable -under the circumstances then existing; his error was in failing to -foresee and provide for the far different state of things which he -himself was calling into existence. If, while maintaining the old order, -he had recognised and promoted the inevitable advent of the new, he -would not have left the renown of the introduction of print to a young -officer of the Manuscript Department, who, during the heat of the strife -over the question of print in 1848, was, as Sir Frederic Madden informed -the Royal Commission, "employed in seeing through the press the general -index to the Manuscript catalogues in the Reading Room. And I must say -that Mr. Bond has proved a most efficient and most praiseworthy -assistant."</p> - -<p>Panizzi wanted a catalogue: he had framed the rules for it with -completeness and precision never imagined before his time, but he was -entirely averse to the catalogue being printed. In his report of -November 17, 1837, he declared it unreasonable to expect that the public -should spend the enormous <!-- Page 93 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>sum that the printing of a catalogue of the -whole of such a library requires, to suit the convenience of a small -portion of the community. There was much weight in the argument, 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 library, and by consequence to the catalogue. When, eight years -after the date of the report just quoted, Panizzi's persevering efforts -obtained an annual grant of £10,000 to remedy the deficiencies of the -library, he started the catalogue on a road whose inevitable goal was -print. Library and catalogue increasing <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">pari passu</i>, it became -abundantly clear that recourse must some day be had to print for the -mere sake of reducing the bulk of the latter. This consummation was -accelerated by another of Panizzi's great measures—the introduction, at -the independent and almost simultaneous suggestion of Mr. Wilson Croker -and the late Mr. Roy, of the Library, of the system of keeping up the -catalogue by slips pasted on the leaf, and therefore easily removable, -thus preventing the disturbance of alphabetical order. As this gave -three thicknesses to the leaf, and the slips were at first pasted widely -apart, and were not, moreover, transcribed with any special regard to -economy of space, the hundred and fifty volumes placed in the Reading -Room in 1850 had swollen to fifteen times that number by 1875. This -development was attended by another unforeseen consequence; it became -actually more expensive to <!-- Page 94 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>transcribe the catalogue than to print it. -The number of transcribers employed to copy titles, of incorporators -required to assign these to their proper places, of binders' men to -perform the manual work, the incessant shifting and relaying, inserting -new leaves and dividing and rebinding old volumes, were attended by -financial results which frequently elicited communications from the -Treasury. One of these happened to arrive in 1875, shortly after the -writer of these pages had become Superintendent of the Reading Room. -Being now in a position to report upon the subject, he pointed out what -had long been exceedingly plain to him, that the space available for the -accommodation of the catalogue was all but exhausted, and that on this -ground alone it would be imperative to reduce its bulk by printing at -least a portion of it. In 1878 his representations were renewed, this -time with great encouragement from Sir Charles Newton, then acting as -Principal Librarian, but nothing decisive was done until the accession -of the late Principal Librarian, Mr. E. A. Bond, in the autumn of the -same year. Mr. Bond had long made up his mind, on literary grounds, that -the catalogue ought to be printed; and finding himself now enabled to -give effect to his views, initiated negotiations with the Treasury which -led in due course to the desired result. In 1880 print was adopted for -the entries of all future additions to the library, thus putting an -effectual curb upon the growth of the catalogue. In 1881 the printing of -the catalogue as a whole was <!-- Page 95 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>commenced, and has since been carried on -uninterruptedly. The order of publication was not at first alphabetical, -the Treasury's support having been partly gained by the promise to deal, -in the first instance, with the overgrown volumes in various parts of -the catalogue which would otherwise have required rebinding and -relaying. This accomplished, however, publication, as had always been -Mr. Bond's intention, glided into as close an alphabetical sequence as -is consistent with the fact that different portions of the same letter -are necessarily taken up simultaneously, and that some are much more -difficult to prepare for press than others. With the adoption of print -the history of the Museum Catalogue may be said to terminate for the -present, while its actual condition will appear from the statement now -to be given of the progress hitherto made.</p> - -<p>By the time that these pages see the light about 190 parts or volumes of -the catalogue will have been issued. Averaging the number of entries as -5000 to a volume (notwithstanding that the volumes have of late been -made thicker), it will appear that 950,000 titles have been printed, or -nearly one-third of the entire work, allowing for the constant accession -of new material during its progress, as will be explained further on. -This gives an average of about twenty-four parts annually since the -commencement of printing in 1881; but as the amount of the Treasury -grant did not admit of the publication of more than fifteen parts -annually for the first two years, the average publication at present may -be taken as thirty. <!-- Page 96 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>Speaking generally, it may be said that the -catalogue is in type from A to the end of G, and from V to the end of -the alphabet. This is nearly a third of the whole, and at the present -rate of progress it seems reasonable to conclude that the printing may -be completed in about twelve years. It should be hardly necessary to -explain to the reader who may be familiar with the appearance of the -catalogue in the Reading Room, that the ponderous folio he is accustomed -to there presents little resemblance to the parts as issued to -subscribers. Special copies of the latter, printed on one side of the -paper only, are laid down for Reading Room use on considerably larger -sheets of the strongest and toughest vellum paper procurable, and thus -the quartos are converted into folios. The printed strip when pasted -down occupies only the left side of the leaf, the blank portion -opposite, as well as that above and below, being reserved for the -additions continually accruing from the titles of new books received -after the printing of the volume,<a name="FNanchor_96:1_11" id="FNanchor_96:1_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_96:1_11" class="fnanchor">[96:1]</a> which is further supplied with -guards to allow of interleaving. It has been computed that each volume -would contain 9000 titles, after which it must be divided, and that the -Reading Room will accommodate 2000 volumes, providing room for eighteen -millions of titles, or, at the present rate of cataloguing, for the -accumulation of three centuries to come. In 1880, just before the -<!-- Page 97 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>introduction of printing, there was not room to place another volume. A -column of the type used in printing the catalogue weighs ten pounds, so -that supposing the work, when through the press, to consist of 600 -volumes averaging 250 columns each, a million and a half pounds' weight -of type will have been employed.</p> - -<p>From the preparation of the catalogue for strictly Museum purposes, we -pass to the arrangements for its issue to the public. Here we are -confronted by two very remarkable facts—one as gratifying as the other -is the reverse. For the <em>original subscribers</em> the Museum Catalogue is -one of the cheapest books in the world. At its commencement it was not -expected that more than fifteen parts could be issued annually, and the -annual subscription was fixed at three pounds. In fact, however, the -rate of publication has for some years past averaged thirty parts, while -the terms of subscription remain unaltered. The subscription is, -therefore, virtually reduced by one-half, and the cost of each part, -with its 250 columns and 5000 titles, is just two shillings. It may be -doubted whether equal liberality has ever been shown by any public -institution. The case, however, of the subscribers of the future is far -otherwise, or rather say would be, if such subscribers could exist. -Nobody will take an imperfect catalogue, and the sum required for the -parts already printed is an almost insuperable obstacle in the way of -new subscribers, and an effectual bar to the further dissemination of -the catalogue, except by donation. It would be well <!-- Page 98 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>worth while to -offer the parts already printed as a bonus, at a nominal or greatly -reduced price. Unfortunately, however, the number of copies printed -during the first year was comparatively limited, and the impression, as -regards these, would be exhausted almost immediately. The difficulty -would disappear if the Museum possessed that indispensable auxiliary to -its progress, a photographic department, in which the photographer's -salary and the cost of chemicals should be paid by the State; thus -allowing photographic work to be done gratuitously for the institution, -and at a merely nominal rate for the public. In this case the deficient -volumes would be supplied without any expense whatever, and the offer of -the perfected sets to the public at a nominal cost would probably ensure -sufficient subscribers for the remainder of the work. Until this great -step towards the popular dissemination of the Museum's treasures in all -departments has been taken, it will be necessary to reprint the earlier -volumes of the catalogue; and the £1500 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 price. The -longer the operation is delayed the more costly will it be for the -Museum, which runs the risk of eventually finding itself with a hundred -sets, mostly imperfect, on its hands, of which it will be impossible to -get rid otherwise than by donation. A subscription once commenced is not -likely to drop, as the value of a set of the catalogue depends upon its -completeness.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 99 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p><p>It will now be naturally inquired, at what period may the completion of -the catalogue be looked for? The answer will be, about the end of the -century, if the Treasury grant is maintained at its present figure. The -amount expended in printing, inclusive of that incurred for printing the -titles of books added to the library, is about £3000 annually. Two years -ago the grant for purchases throughout every department of the -institution was reduced by two-fifths, and only half the amount has as -yet been restored. If a similar mistaken spirit of economy had affected -the grant for printing, the completion of the catalogue must have been -proportionately delayed. Any expectation, therefore, which may be held -out of the accomplishment of the work by the end of the century, or any -other date, must be understood to be entirely subject to the action of -the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has it in his power to retard -progress indefinitely, or interrupt it altogether. It must be -acknowledged that the behaviour of the Treasury towards this department -of the Museum service has hitherto been very liberal; and that the grant -for printing is as large as, with the numerous other demands upon the -library staff, can be employed to advantage. The preparation of copy for -the press, and its subsequent correction and revision, occupy the entire -time of several of the best assistants; and, were absolute -bibliographical accuracy aimed at, would require that of several more. -This cannot be had, and all pretension to minute accuracy has invariably -been disclaimed. It has been felt all along that a <!-- Page 100 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>number of trifling -errors are preferable to the huge and unpardonable error of not -accomplishing the work at all. From what has been said, it will be -apparent that the publication of this catalogue is carried on under very -different conditions from those habitual in similar undertakings. Three -thousand pounds a year must be spent upon it; or, as regards Museum -purposes, must be thrown away. Any balance unexpended at the end of the -financial year must revert to the Treasury, and would be an -uncompensated loss as regards the Museum. This misfortune has hitherto -been avoided—partly by an energy and diligence on the part of the -gentlemen employed, of which it is impossible to speak too warmly or too -gratefully—partly by a resolute determination not to aim at an ideal -perfection, which, under the circumstances, would be absolutely -mischievous.</p> - -<p>Ordinary visitors to the library may from one point of view be divided -into two classes, those who are astonished that it has not got every -book in the world, and those who marvel that it possesses so many books -as it does. Nothing is commoner than the remark, "I suppose you have -everything that ever was printed," unless it is the exclamation, "You -surely do not keep all the rubbish!" These two sets of ideas may be -taken to represent the two tendencies which affect every public library; -and by consequence every complete catalogue of its contents, that of -mechanical accretion, and that of intelligent selection. The operation -of the Copyright Act is, of course, responsible for most of the <!-- Page 101 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>element -of "rubbish" in the catalogue; while a moment's thought will show the -impossibility of making the librarian a censor, and allowing him to -exclude whatever might not square with his prejudices or fancies. A -considerable part of the catalogue, therefore, must be devoted to -recording publications of little intrinsic value, but even here there is -an important reservation to be made. Time, which in so many instances -abates the value of what is really precious, makes in a fashion amends -by bestowing worth on what was once of little account. What would we not -give for a <cite>Court Gazette</cite> of the days of Augustus, or a list of odds at -the Olympic games? There is absolutely no telling what value the most -insignificant details of the nineteenth century may possess for the -nineteenth millennium: even now men of letters might find the same -intellectual stimulus in many a trivial page of the Museum Catalogue, as -a distinguished living orator is said to find in Johnson's Dictionary. -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 books, now at one time, now at another, as apparent -chance, but actual law has prescribed. If we can imagine the various -constituents of the Museum Library piled upon one another in -chronological sequence, and a shaft driven down from the top, we may -conceive ourselves coming upon a succession of strata, as the geologist -finds when he bores for coal, or the archæologist when he explores the -site of a city <!-- Page 102 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>where men have dwelt from the age of Hercules to the age -of Heraclius. The Museum was founded by a great physician; the library, -therefore, rests upon a sound substratum of old medical books. The King -was the next important benefactor; next above early medicine and natural -history, accordingly, comes a stratum of royal libraries from the first -Tudor to the last Stuart, each a miniature representative of the best -literature of its time. The Hanoverian sovereigns, though no great -patrons of letters, were diligent collectors of pamphlets: hence the -priceless collection of Civil War and other important tracts which -immediately succeeded the donations already mentioned. As the growth of -the Museum attracted further liberality ("To him that hath shall be -given"), the collection naturally took an impress from the tastes of the -private collectors by whom it was enriched. Hence abundant wealth in -classics and the early literature of the Latin family of languages, -accompanied by poverty in languages which the collectors did not -understand, and subjects for which they did not care. When, thanks to -Panizzi, the library at last obtained an adequate grant for purchases, -the librarian's own intelligence became a much more important factor -than formerly. To continue our metaphor, the contents of the recent -strata would be found far more composite than of old, and more puzzling -to the intellectual geologist. He would come upon various fragmentary -formations, as it were, in which, trifling and remote effects of -prodigious causes, he would discern vestiges of the <!-- Page 103 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>great events of the -time. Thus the growth of Greater Britain is legible in piles of colonial -newspapers, and the Paris Commune is represented by a mass of -caricatures and the scorched books of an Imperial Prince, literally -saved out of the fire. It is the librarian's business at once to profit -by this tendency to the accumulation of specialities, and to counteract -it: to take advantage of every opportunity that may arise of enriching -the library in definite directions, and at the same time of providing -for the steady influx of miscellaneous literature, alike of the past and -of the present as regards foreign nations: of English contemporary -literature the Copyright Act, as above explained, takes sufficient care. -It seems paradoxical, but it is true, that the Museum should be the home -both of the books which every one expects to find in it, and of those -which no one expects to find—of the literary freight which can ride the -ocean, and of that which would perish without the haven of a public -library. The catalogue must be the mirror of the library, 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 Museum. In -this connection mention may be made of a minor feature of the -publication of the catalogue of considerable importance: the issue of -extra copies of special articles as excerpts, sold separately at the -lowest possible price. In this manner bibliographies, complete as far as -the Museum collections are concerned, of Aristotle, <!-- Page 104 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>Bacon, Bunyan, -Byron, Dante, Goethe, and other writers of special importance have been -issued. These should be of great value to students, and would probably -have a large sale if their existence were more generally known. At -present, like other Museum publications, they suffer from imperfect -publicity. Another very valuable appendix to the catalogue of printed -books is the catalogue of maps and plans, reduced, under Professor -Douglas's direction, from upwards of three hundred of MS. to two volumes -of print as issued to the public, or fourteen as laid down for use in -the Reading Room. The four hundred and fifty MS. volumes of the -catalogue of music, it is hoped, are on the eve of undergoing similar -treatment.</p> - -<p>Apart from the errors which must inevitably creep into so vast a work, -dealing with such a variety of languages and literatures, and now in -progress for more than fifty years, a considerable amount of -imperfection is evidently inseparable from the very nature of the -undertaking. It does not and cannot represent the condition of the -library at any given moment. The volumes containing A, for example, will -comprise the books under that letter possessed by the Museum in 1882 or -1883; but T, which for reasons which we have no space to explain, will -probably be the last letter to be printed, will represent the condition -of the library, as regards that letter, about the year 1900. During the -whole progress of the catalogue an incessant shower of new titles -representing the new books continually being <!-- Page 105 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>acquired, will have been -descending at the rate of some 40,000 a year. Those belonging to letters -not yet at press will have been taken up and absorbed by the catalogue -in its progress; those belonging to the letters already in type must -fall into a supplement. The article Thackeray, therefore, will be more -complete than Dickens, and Thucydides than Herodotus. As concerns the -student at the Museum, this is of no importance; the additions being -regularly incorporated in the Reading Room catalogue in the manner above -described. The catalogue as issued to subscribers, however, is -necessarily imperfect and irregular. Supposing, for example, that Lord -Tennyson and Mr. Browning were to simultaneously publish translations of -Homer when the printing of the catalogue had reached the article Jones, -Lord Tennyson's version would appear under Tennyson, but not under -Homer, and Mr. Browning's version would not appear at all. There is but -one way of obtaining a perfect index to the condition of the national -library at a given time: 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 -finance. Should, however, the completion of the catalogue nearly -coincide with the commencement of the twentieth century, it may be hoped -that this will be one of the many ways in which, if the new century does -not, like its predecessors, find the <!-- Page 106 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>nation traversing a crisis, the -epoch will assuredly be commemorated. It would remain to provide for the -regular reprinting of the catalogue with its accessions at intervals, -say of a quarter of a century. England would then possess a complete -index to the growth of the national library, and the world would have -the nearest approach to a register of all literature that, in the -absence of any feasible scheme for a universal catalogue by co-operation -among public libraries, it seems likely to obtain. Even this more -ambitious project might be promoted if public libraries would consent to -take the Museum Catalogue as a basis, and publish lists of such of their -own books as are not to be found in it. By this means the expense and -labour of cataloguing would be very greatly reduced, and the combination -of these lists with the Museum Catalogue, when this came to be printed -for the third time, say about 1925, would at last provide the -desideratum of a universal register of literature.</p> - -<p>Ambitious undertakings like these, however, depend upon the co-operation -of many governments and many institutions. 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 -contents. With this object in view several copies of the catalogue are -printed on one side only, that when completed they may be cut up, and -the titles sorted according to subject, and re-arranged in classified -lists. Thus by simply putting together all titles bearing the <!-- Page 107 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>press -mark E, we shall obtain a separate catalogue of the Civil War Tracts; -and a similar proceeding as respects the titles marked F, will afford a -similar catalogue of the Croker collection of pamphlets on the French -Revolution. Classed indexes to the literature of any subject can be made -with equal facility, and as several copies of the catalogue will be -available for treatment in the manner suggested, they may be varied for -different objects, or to suit different systems of classification. For -all strictly Museum purposes it would suffice to paste the titles -excerpted on sheets of paper, but any of the indexes thus prepared might -be printed and published. The only difficulty or delay would arise from -the incorporation of the supplementary titles, which, as already -explained, will have been continually added during the printing of the -catalogue, and even this could be obviated by reprinting the entire -catalogue as suggested above.</p> - -<p>These hints, imperfect as they are, should convince the reader that the -future of the Museum Catalogue, supposing the institution to be -maintained in its present condition of efficiency, will not be less -remarkable than its past. It will continue to make demands on the -liberality of successive generations, which will be the more readily met -the more the voluminous development of literature enforces the -conviction that, next to positive addition to the world's stock of -information, the most important service to culture is the preserving, -arranging, and rendering accessible the stores which <!-- Page 108 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>the world already -possesses. The recovery of the catalogue of the Alexandrian Library, if -a less delightful, would probably be a more substantial gain to -knowledge than the recovery of any individual author. But what the -literature of the world is to the literature of ancient Greece, the -Catalogue of the British Museum is to that of the Alexandrian Library.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_87:1_10" id="Footnote_87:1_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87:1_10"><span class="label">[87:1]</span></a> <cite>Universal Review</cite>, October 1888.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_96:1_11" id="Footnote_96:1_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96:1_11"><span class="label">[96:1]</span></a> Soon after this was printed, three columns instead of -one were left blank, as the writer had recommended from the first.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 109 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSAL CATALOGUE"><a name="THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE" id="THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM_CATALOGUE"></a>THE BRITISH MUSEUM CATALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF A UNIVERSAL -CATALOGUE<a name="FNanchor_109:1_12" id="FNanchor_109:1_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_109:1_12" class="headerfn">[109:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>But little has of late been heard of the proposed Universal Catalogue of -Literature, which was a favourite subject of discussion some years ago. -The cause may partly be the loss of some like Sir Henry Cole and the -late lamented Mr. Ernest Thomas, who were especially interested in the -project; but must be mainly, I should think, the growing perception of -the difficulty of the undertaking. It could no doubt be performed by a -sufficiently numerous body of competent persons, working under efficient -control, guided by fixed rules, and influenced by such consideration in -the shape of salary and pension as to induce them to devote their lives -to it. There is not, however, the least probability of the endowment of -such a college of cataloguers. If the Universal Catalogue is ever to be -attained, we must submit to proceed by gradual approaches, and to be -content with something very far short of perfection in the execution of -the work. We must take the printed <!-- Page 110 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>catalogue of that library which most -nearly approaches universality as a basis, and we must appeal to the -administrators of other libraries to supplement its deficiencies; -without insisting upon too rigid a uniformity of method, which could not -be enforced.</p> - -<p>While the project for a Universal Catalogue has remained in suspense, -another catalogue has been silently growing up in print, far enough -indeed from universality, but approaching it more closely than any other -work of the kind. Commenced in 1881, and likely, if the Treasury grant -is continued, to be completed at or a little before the close of the -century, the printed Museum Catalogue will be the register of about a -million distinct publications. If its contents do not comprise a -majority of the books existing in the world, they undoubtedly comprise a -very great majority of the books which it is really important to -catalogue. 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 substitute, and labour to perfect it by the -co-operation of the principal libraries throughout the world, not by -reconstruction, which would introduce confusion and delay the -undertaking indefinitely, but by the simple addition of such books in -their possession as the Museum Catalogue does not embrace. This would -further involve the establishment of some central authority to edit -these accessions, either incorporated with the Museum <!-- Page 111 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>Catalogue or -separately, as circumstances might prescribe.</p> - -<p>Even the Museum Catalogue, however, is at present inadequate to provide -a basis for a Universal Catalogue, for the reason that it is in -comparatively few hands. If general co-operation towards perfecting it -is to be invited, it must be widely disseminated. It must be reprinted, -and distributed gratuitously to all important libraries. It is, -moreover, defective in its published form (not in the copy used in the -Reading Room), even as regards the contents of the Museum itself, 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 press. A large portion of these have been absorbed during -the printing; an equal number, perhaps, are excluded by the publication -of the volume of catalogue before the appearance of the book. Letter B, -therefore, is more complete than A, C than B, and so on. From the point -of view of the Universal Catalogue, reprinting is thus an absolute -necessity. It should take place at the earliest practicable date after -the completion of the catalogue. The Government cannot be reasonably -expected to provide the funds without strong pressure from public -opinion, and it is partly in the hope of stimulating this opinion that I -have ventured these observations. But if the Universal Catalogue is to -be anything more than a fair vision, we must do more than stimulate -others, we must organise ourselves. We must know what libraries -<!-- Page 112 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>throughout the civilised world would be ready, upon receiving a copy of -the republished Museum Catalogue, to supplement its deficiencies by -furnishing the titles of such of their own books as are not to be found -there. We must establish a central committee or committees to take -charge of such titles, to cancel the innumerable duplicates, to reduce -the others to approximate conformity with the rules on which the basis -catalogue has been executed. We must have learned to what extent -pecuniary assistance to small or over-worked libraries may be necessary, -and have considered how to provide it. We must have determined whether -the General Catalogue is to embrace that of the Museum or to be merely -supplementary, and in either case have framed some estimate of the -probable expense, and of the means of meeting it. We must have decided -some important questions, as, for instance, whether pamphlets, -newspapers, public documents, should be included, whether oriental -books, to what extent cross-references should be allowed, if admitted at -all. These points and many others cannot be settled without active -intercommunication among librarians, 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 print.</p> - -<p>When, however, the difficulties of organisation have been at length -overcome, when the Museum Catalogue is actually in the hands of the -directors of all important libraries, and the task of supplying <!-- Page 113 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>its -deficiencies is being steadily prosecuted in a hundred different places; -when the editorial committee is fairly engaged upon its task of revision -and incorporation, and public sympathy has been fully enlisted, as would -ere long assuredly be the case, the record of the world's literature -which now may seem to many an utopian project, will have been brought -within reach. In thus carrying it out we should have effected an object -of still greater importance—the establishment of an universal literary -registry, whose developments and ramifications it is impossible to -predict. Such an institution is hardly likely to come into being without -the tangible inducement of an Universal Catalogue; and it is on this -account, quite as much as its own, that an Universal Catalogue is -desirable. The organisation created to effect it would not be allowed to -perish, but would be maintained for objects more important still. All -these possibilities, however, will remain but visions unless they are -based upon the firm ground of some actually existing catalogue, which -may serve as a stepping-stone to the ideal catalogue of the future.</p> - -<p><i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Cæteris paribus</i>, there can be no doubt that the biggest catalogue must -be the best, and it is on this ground, and not from any claim of -superiority of execution, that I venture to recommend the Museum -Catalogue as this necessary basis and stepping-stone, 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 <!-- Page 114 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>partial catalogue we possess at present. The subject -is one eminently suitable for consideration at this conference, which, -as the first ever held upon the Continent, possesses stronger claims to -an international character than any of its predecessors.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_109:1_12" id="Footnote_109:1_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109:1_12"><span class="label">[109:1]</span></a> Communicated to the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the -Library Association, Paris, September 1892.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 115 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN PRINTING INTO THE EAST"><a name="INTRODUCTION_OF_EUROPEAN_PRINTING_INTO_THE_EAST" id="INTRODUCTION_OF_EUROPEAN_PRINTING_INTO_THE_EAST"></a>INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN PRINTING INTO THE EAST<a name="FNanchor_115:1_13" id="FNanchor_115:1_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_115:1_13" class="headerfn">[115:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Speaking to-night as President of the Bibliographical Society, I have -found it necessary to select some point of bibliography as the subject -of my discourse. The subjects which profitably occupy the ordinary -meetings of the Society would not be appropriate to a numerous and -various assemblage like the present. Now that Internationalism and -Imperialism are in the air, and that the thoughts of the Queen's -home-bred subjects have perforce been carried far beyond the precincts -of their native isles, 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 World. American typography I leave to our visitors, -better qualified to treat it. I prefer no claim to originality, 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 -books, and by consequence but partially known.</p> - -<p>I have often thought that our reunion with <!-- Page 116 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>our Aryan brethren of -Hindostan, when, after millenniums of separation, we Europeans returned -to them in the characters of travellers, merchants, and missionaries, -may be compared to the meeting of Jacob and Esau. As of old, the younger -brother had been the more prosperous. We brought them more precious -gifts than any we could receive from them, and among these was the art -of printing. But it was out of our power to bestow such a boon upon the -more numerous yellow race, for it already possessed it. China and Korea -too had been acquainted with printing for centuries, and not merely with -block printing, but with movable types. These, however, were rarely -employed, in consequence, I imagine, of the great extent and complexity -of the Chinese alphabet, or rather syllabarium; 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 book. Amazing -consequences would have followed if China would but have reformed her -alphabet and communicated her art to her neighbours. Had it but found -its way to Constantinople by the tenth century, we should have preserved -most of that lost classical literature for which, with much to encourage -and much to dispirit, we are now sifting the dust of Egyptian catacombs. -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 century, probably from intercourse with -China. But this does but increase the wonder <!-- Page 117 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>that they should have -merely struck off a few insignificant documents and carried the idea no -further.</p> - -<p>Even when at length the art of printing became known in Europe, its -progress was for some time marvellously slow. For several years its -practice was confined to a single city, and this would probably have -continued still longer but for civil dissensions, which drove the -printers abroad. We need not be surprised, then, that it should have -been a hundred and six years after Gutenberg before any book proceeded -from a European press upon the continent of Asia; or, if we date from -the voyage of Vasco da Gama, now exactly four hundred years ago, we -shall see that sixty-four years, or two generations, elapsed before the -Portuguese conquerors gave a printing-press to India. There was probably -but little need for typography, either in the military or the civil -service; but in process of time another interest asserted itself—the -missionary. We shall find that the larger number of Spanish and -Portuguese books printed abroad, whether in America or in the East, were -designed for the conversion and instruction of the natives.</p> - -<p>This was not, however, precisely the case with the first book printed in -India, or printed by Europeans in any part of the Old World outside of -Europe, although it was a religious book, "The Spiritual Compendium of -the Christian Life," by Gaspar de Leão, first Archbishop of Goa (Goa, -1561). The author had come out as Archbishop in 1560, <!-- Page 118 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>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 year. It is -much to be hoped that a book so memorable for the circumstances of its -publication may be still extant; but Silva, in his Portuguese -bibliographical dictionary, does not, as he usually does when he can, -intimate the existence of a copy in the National Library of Lisbon or -elsewhere; nor does Martin Antonio Fernandes allude to the existence of -it, or any other of Archbishop Leão's writings at Goa, in the sermon -which he preached on the occasion of the translation of his remains in -1864. Archbishop Leão printed two other books at Goa—a tract against -the Jews, and another against the Mahometans; but these were posterior -to the second Goa book, a copy of which is in the British Museum—the -"Dialogues on Indian Simples and Drugs," by Garcia da Horta, printed at -Goa in 1563. This is a work of great merit, said to contain the first -account of Asiatic cholera. It is also remarkable as the first book in -which any production of Camoens was given to the world; for, although -the Lusian bard had written much, he had published nothing previous to -the appearance of a complimentary copy of verses to da Horta, prefixed -to this book. The Museum is, no doubt, indebted for its copy of this -very rare work to its founder, Sir Hans Sloane, for whom it would have -much interest. A Latin translation went through many editions, and the -original was reprinted in 1872.</p> - -<p>Thirteen books are enumerated by Ribeiro dos <!-- Page 119 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>Sanctos as having been -published at Goa up to 1655, and there were probably others of a merely -ephemeral character. The most interesting are a "Life of St. Peter in -Marathi," by Estevão da Cruz, 1634—if not a translation, perhaps the -first book, other than a catechism, written by a European in an Indian -vernacular; and the record of the proclamation of John IV. in 1641, when -Portugal recovered her independence. This book, which is in the British -Museum, indicates the lowest stage of typographical debasement, but is -interesting from its patriotic feeling.</p> - -<p>Two Tamil books are said to have been printed by the Jesuits in 1577 and -1598 respectively, at Ambalakata, a place on the Malabar coast, probably -now ruined or known by some other name.</p> - -<p>Before leaving India, I may mention a remarkable circumstance, not, so -far as I know, hitherto recorded in typographical history. It appears -from that marvellously interesting book, too soon interrupted, Mr. -Sainsbury's "Calendar of the Papers of the East India Company," that in -1624 the Shah of Persia, "having an earnest desire to bring into his -country the art of printing," was "very importunate" with the agents of -the Company at Ispahan, "to write for men skilful in the science, whom -he promises to maintain at his own charge." It does not appear that the -Company, who were then meditating the relinquishment of their Persian -branch as unprofitable, took any steps to fulfil the Shah's wishes, and -of course the casting of Oriental types in Persia, or their transport -thither, would have been very <!-- Page 120 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>difficult undertakings. But the desire to -endow Persia with a printing-press nevertheless reflects the highest -honour upon the Shah, who was no less famous a person than Abbas the -Great.</p> - -<p>From India we pass to China, and here an important discovery has been -made of late years. It has until very lately been universally believed -that the first book printed by Europeans in China was Eduardus de Sande, -"<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">De Missione legatorum Japanensium ad Romanam Curiam</cite>" (Macao, 1590). My -friend, Señor José T. Medina, the Hercules and Lynceus of South American -bibliographers, has, however, found from the book itself that this -cannot be the case, for the writer of the preliminary address, Alexander -Valignanus, states that he has himself previously published at the same -place a book by Joannes Bonifacius, "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">De honesta puerorum institutione</cite>." -This must have appeared in 1589, if not sooner, and is undoubtedly the -first book printed by Europeans in China. Unfortunately it cannot be -produced, for it is not to be found. A copy may still be lurking in some -ancient library, and great will be his merit who brings it to light. It -may be mentioned that although the book "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">De Missione</cite>" principally -relates to Europe, and was compiled under the fiction of imaginary -conversations with the Japanese ambassadors (who really had visited -Europe and returned) for the information of the Japanese pupils of the -Jesuits, one chapter is an account of China for the benefit of European -readers. It is full of interest; and although its particulars have long -<!-- Page 121 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>become common property, it would be well worth translating as a -contemporary account. Sande's book, it is needless to state, is of -exceeding rarity. It may be seen in a show-case in the King's library at -the British Museum, side by side with the very oldest South American -books.</p> - -<p>European publications in China since 1590 are numerous, and have been -enumerated by that distinguished Sinologue, M. Henri Cordier, in his -epoch-making bibliography. Time, however, compels me to pass to Japan, -where the subject has received most important illustration from the -labours of the present English minister to that country, Sir Ernest -Mason Satow. Sir Ernest found examples of the use of movable types in -Japan about 1598, and endeavoured to ascertain whether the art had been -imported from Korea, where, as I have already stated, it existed at a -much earlier period, or whether it was taught to the Japanese by the -Jesuit missionaries. The point remains undecided; but Sir Ernest's -researches have acquainted him with fourteen books printed by the -missionaries between 1591 and 1605—some in Latin, some in Japanese, -some in both languages. Some are religious in character, others -philological. One, exceptionally, is a translation into Japanese of -"Æsop's Fables," thus curiously restored to the East whence they -originally came. Sir Ernest, himself a Japanese scholar, has given a -minute account of all, with the aid of numerous facsimiles. All, of -course, are of the greatest rarity, and chiefly to be found in the -public libraries of London, <!-- Page 122 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>Paris, Lisbon, Oxford, Leyden, and Rome, or -in the collection of the Earl of Crawford. Sir Ernest Satow mentions, in -an appendix, others which have been stated to exist, but have not been -recovered. Some of these, it is probable, were merely manuscripts. It -may be added that the frontispieces of these books, engraved by natives -under European direction, evince much talent, and that the same is the -case with similar work subsequently executed in South America and the -Philippines.</p> - -<p>The extirpation of Christianity in Japan destroyed European printing in -that country; but books relating to Japan, chiefly acts of Japanese -martyrs, continued for some time to be produced at Manila, the capital -of the Philippines. The history of Manila printing is thoroughly -investigated in the classical work of Señor Medina, whom I have already -named as the discoverer of the real beginning of printing at Macao. It -seems probable that the art was directly imported into Manila from the -latter city. Two books—one in Spanish and Tagala, the other in -Chinese—appear as printed in 1593, then follows a gap of nine years, -after which publications begin to be tolerably frequent, and altogether -a hundred and twelve are enumerated up to the end of the seventeenth -century. A large proportion are in the vernacular languages. It is -remarkable that the Caxton of the Philippines was a Chinese convert, -whose celestial origin is disguised under the name of Juan de Vera. This -fact is only known by the testimony of a Dominican, <!-- Page 123 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>since it is another -remarkable circumstance and peculiar to the Philippines, that for a very -long time the name of no private individual appears as that of a -printer, the imprint being always that of some religious or educational -institution.</p> - -<p>One other important city in the Eastern Archipelago possessed printing -at an early date. This was Batavia. The Museum possesses treaties with -native princes printed there in 1668, and these were probably not the -first. A printed book also is referred to the same year.</p> - -<p>Now, like Scipio, we must carry the war into Africa. As might be -expected in the Dark Continent, the appearance of the first African -printed book is a matter of some obscurity; not that the statements -respecting time and place and authorship are not precise, but because it -has hitherto been impossible to verify them. Nicolas Antonio, in his -"<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Bibliotheca Hispanica</cite>," distinctly mentions "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Theses rhetoricæ, varia -eruditione refertæ</cite>," by Antonio Macedo, a celebrated Portuguese Jesuit -who is said to have had a hand in the conversion of Queen Christina of -Sweden, as printed at Funchal in Madeira in 1637. I cannot find that -this book has ever come to light, or that any other early production of -the Funchal press has been recorded, though one would think that such -must have existed. I need not say that the first African book would be a -treasure almost rivalling the volume with which Mexico initiated -American typography in 1539, or the Goa and Macao books whose probable -disappearance we have been lamenting. <!-- Page 124 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>There is room for error; Antonio -hardly appears to have himself seen the book. But, on the other hand, -there may well be copies in the possession of persons to whom the -imprint Funchal suggests nothing. A Macao or Manila book at once -announces itself as something extraordinary by the peculiarity of its -paper, but a book printed in Madeira would probably be indistinguishable -in general appearance from contemporary productions on the Portuguese -mainland, whose appearance at the period was fully in keeping with the -then fallen fortunes of the nation. If, therefore, the book ever -existed, I shall not despair of its being found, most probably at -Lisbon, Funchal, or Rome. If its existence is mythical, the first -African printed book would probably be the catechism on baptism in the -Angola language by Francisco Pacconio, executed at Loanda, the capital -of the Portuguese settlements on the west coast, said at least to have -been printed there in 1641, but perhaps only sent out from Lisbon. If -actually printed at Loanda, it would be the first book printed on the -African mainland, and hence of the highest bibliographical interest. But -it may have been confounded with a similar catechism by the same author, -published at Lisbon in 1642. Books were printed at Santa Cruz de -Tenerife at least as early as 1754. Port Louis, the capital of -Mauritius, followed soon afterwards. Apart from official documents, the -first book printed in South Africa is G. F. Grand's "Memoirs of a -Gentleman" (Cape Town, 1814), exhibited at the <!-- Page 125 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>British Museum. To -prevent misunderstanding, 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 1583, but it is -clear that the date Angra, the capital of the island, is not an imprint, -but refers merely to the place where the despatch was written, and that -it was printed in Spain.</p> - -<p>I am not quite sure whether Australia properly belongs to my subject, -but two circumstances of especial interest induce me to include it. One -is that the first Australian publication, the official <cite>Sydney Gazette</cite> -of 1803, is, I understand, at present a visitor to England in the -custody of Mr. Anderson, librarian of the public library at Sydney, who -contemplates reproducing it. The other is that what is believed to be -the first Australian book, as distinguished from a newspaper or official -notification, has been very recently acquired by the British Museum. It -is a narrative of the crimes and death of William Howe, the last and -worst of the bushrangers of Tasmania, and was printed at Hobart Town in -1817. It was noticed by the <cite>Quarterly Review</cite> so long ago as 1819, when -it was prophesied that Australian bibliographers would one day fight for -it as fiercely as English collectors contend for Caxton's "Reynard the -Fox." If they do, they must fight with the Sydney Public Library, which, -I am informed, has three copies. There is also a copy in the Bodleian.</p> - -<p>The subject of the beginning of printing by Europeans in Asia and Africa -is one which must <!-- Page 126 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>gain in interest as printing itself extends. -Typography in these countries is as yet but in its infancy, for it has -not laid hold of the mass of the people. It seems evident that the -cumbrous Oriental alphabets must eventually give way to the simplicity -of Roman type, and then one great bar to the intercommunication of ideas -among Oriental nations will have ceased to exist. It may be that they -will go a step further, and employ a single language for the purposes of -general intercourse. So far as we can see at present, this language can -hardly be any other than English. Should this come to pass, Lord -Beaconsfield's celebrated saying, "England is a great Asiatic power," -will prove true in a deeper and wider sense than he intended, 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 East.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_115:1_13" id="Footnote_115:1_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115:1_13"><span class="label">[115:1]</span></a> Read before the London Meeting of the Library -Association, 1896.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 127 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="PARAGUAYAN AND ARGENTINE BIBLIOGRAPHY"><a name="PARAGUAYAN_AND_ARGENTINE_BIBLIOGRAPHY" id="PARAGUAYAN_AND_ARGENTINE_BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>PARAGUAYAN AND ARGENTINE BIBLIOGRAPHY<a name="FNanchor_127:1_14" id="FNanchor_127:1_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_127:1_14" class="headerfn">[127:1]</a></h2> - -<p class="center">[<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Bibliographica</cite>, vol. i., pt. 3, published by Messrs. Kegan Paul & -Co.]</p> -</div> - - -<p>The great merit of the Spanish and Portuguese bibliographers has in some -degree missed recognition from the exceptional character of their -themes. They have done little for general bibliography or the literary -history of other nations, but, observant of the German precept, have -"swept before their own doors" in the most thorough manner. Nicolas -Antonio and Barbosa Machado have given magnificent examples of what may -be termed bio-bibliography, where not only the literary productiveness, -but the life of the author is the subject of investigation. 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 required. The dimensions -of modern literature forbid the hope of such works being ever seen -again. Bibliography and biography must henceforth walk apart, or at -most, as in our own Dictionary of National Biography, one must sink into -a mere appendage to the other. Works like Antonio's or Machado's belong -to the <!-- Page 128 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>extinct mammoths of the past: yet more modern Spanish and -Portuguese bibliographers have displayed equal diligence in more -restricted fields. It would be difficult to praise too highly the -research of a Mendez, a Salva, or an Icazbalceta, who, like their -predecessors, manage to convey the impression of having exhausted their -subjects. To these is now to be added Señor Jose Toribio Medina, a -Chilian gentleman who has taken an entire continent for his province. In -1891 he produced his bibliography of Chilian literature to 1810, the era -of South American independence. In 1892 the assistance of the Museo de -la Plata, stimulated by the approaching congress at Huelva in -commemoration of the discovery of America, enabled him to publish his -bibliography of the Argentine Republic, including Paraguay and Uruguay, -on a scale, and with a wealth of illustration, to ensure the book, if -not the author, a foremost place amongst bibliographical mammoths, and -to suggest that it might be used as collateral security for a new -Argentine loan, could such things be. Compared with the tiny but -serviceable lists of early South American books which Señor Medina has -so frequently published in limited editions, his present volume is as -the Genie outside the vase to the Genie within, and it must be the -earnest hope of all interested in bibliographical research, and -especially of all those who from personal acquaintance have learned to -appreciate his indefatigable patriotism and single-minded earnestness, -that the step now taken in advance may not be retraced, but that he may -find encouragement to <!-- Page 129 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>produce the still more important bibliography of -Peru, now nearly ready for the press, with equal completeness, if not on -a scale equally magnificent. When this has been effected, Señor Medina -will be at no loss for more worlds to conquer. "We shall follow up the -subject," he says, "with the history of printing in the -Captain-Generalship of Quito, in Bogota, Havana, Guatemala, and, please -Heaven, in the Viceroyalty of Mexico, the cradle of the typographic art -in America. Finally, we shall publish the general history of printing in -the old Spanish colonies, for which we shall be able to employ a great -number of documents hitherto entirely unknown."</p> - -<p>The history of South American typography is as interesting in a -bibliographical, as it is barren in a literary point of view. The -hand-list of the productions of the Lima Press in colonial days, already -published by Señor Medina, would alone be a sufficient indictment of -Spanish rule, and a sufficient apology for the mistakes of the -emancipated colonists. Apart from religious books published in the -native languages, and the grammars and dictionaries associated with -them, scarcely anything can be found indicative of intellectual life, or -imparting anything that the citizen needs to know. Public ceremonies, -bull-fights, legends of saints, theses in scholastic philosophy, make up -the dreary catalogue, and show how a lively and gifted people were -systematically condemned, in so far as their rulers' power extended, to -frivolity, superstition and ignorance. But if South America was for -<!-- Page 130 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>nearly three centuries a desert for literature, it was and is a happy -hunting-ground for bibliography. The limited interest and limited -circulation of such books as were produced conspired to make them rare; -the best religious and philological works in Indian languages were -commonly worn out or mutilated by constant use; local difficulties -occasioned the production of others under peculiar and even romantic -circumstances; such as the half-dozen perhaps printed, certainly -published at Juli, twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea; or -those rude but deeply interesting Paraguayan books which form the -subject of Señor Medina's first chapter.<a name="FNanchor_130:1_15" id="FNanchor_130:1_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_130:1_15" class="fnanchor">[130:1]</a></p> - -<p>The extreme difficulty of introducing any kind of literature into South -America under the Spanish régime, cannot be better illustrated than by -the history of the first Paraguayan book, now extant in a single copy in -the library of Señor Trelles, a citizen of the Argentine Republic. First -of all, about 1693, Father Jose Serrano translates Father Nieremberg's -<!-- Page 131 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>treatise "on the difference between things temporal and things -eternal," into Guarani, the vernacular of the Paraguay Indians. Father -Tirso Gonzalez, the head of the mission, thinks it well that this -translation and another of Ribadeneira's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Flos Sanctorum</cite>," also made by -Father Serrano, should be printed nearer home than at Lima, the only -city in the vast South American continent then in possession of a -printing-press. Though they are religious works of the most edifying -character, it is necessary to memorialise the Council of the Indies. -Father Gonzalez does not make up his mind to this step until December -1699. At length, however, he writes to Spain, obtains permission, and, -by the beginning of 1703, types have been cast and the numerous -engravings in the Antwerp edition of Nieremberg's treatise copied by the -native Indians, whose extraordinary imitative talent is celebrated by -Father Labbe, who visited La Plata about this time. "I have seen," he -says, "beautiful pictures executed by them, books very correctly printed -by them, organs and all kinds of musical instruments. They make pocket -timepieces, draw plans, engrave maps, &c."<a name="FNanchor_131:1_16" id="FNanchor_131:1_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_131:1_16" class="fnanchor">[131:1]</a> One thing, however, -they could not do, found types of proper hardness, inasmuch as the -requisite metal for alloy did not exist. The consequent blurred -appearance of the <!-- Page 132 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>impression has led high authorities to assert that -the types were made of hard wood, which would not <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">a priori</i> have -appeared improbable. The late lamented Mr. Talbot Reed, however, assured -the present writer that this could not have been the case; and Señor -Medina proves by an official letter, written in 1784, more than twenty -years after the ruin of the missions, that the material was tin. The -types which existed at that period have disappeared, the remains of the -printing-press are still extant in the La Plata Museum. Señor Medina -thinks that they ought to be restored: and so do we, provided only that -enough remains to distinguish restoration from re-creation.</p> - -<p>The book, announced as about to be printed in January 1703, eventually -made its appearance in 1705; with the licenses of the Viceroy of Peru, -the Dean of Asuncion, and the acting provincial of the Jesuits, two -recommendations by divines, and two dedications by Father Serrano -himself, the first to the Holy Spirit, who is addressed as "Your -Majesty"; the second to Father Gonzalez. The place of imprint is given -as "<span lang="es" xml:lang="es">en las Doctrinas</span>," probably the mission station of Santa Maria la -Mayor. We must refer our readers to Señor Medina's volume for the -interesting and minute bibliographical particulars it affords, as well -as for the facsimiles of the original engravings, a remarkable episode -in the history of the art, and only made accessible through Señor -Medina's instrumentality, since the original exists in but a single -copy.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 133 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span></p><p>The reader will have observed Father Labbe's statement that he has seen -<em>books</em> printed by the Indians. At least one other book, therefore, -should have been executed by them between 1705 and 1710, and Father -Serrano undoubtedly intended to publish his Guarani version of -Ribadeneira's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Flos Sanctorum</cite>." If he did, no trace of the publication -exists at present, nor is any further record of typography in Paraguay -found until 1721, when a little liturgical manual for the use of -missionaries, entirely in Guarani, with the exception of the first -fifteen leaves, was printed at the mission station of Loreto. In 1722 -and 1724 the "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Vocabulario de la Lengua Guarani</cite>" and the "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Arte de la -Lengua Guarani</cite>," both by Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, a Peruvian missionary -of the seventeenth century, were reprinted from the original Spanish -editions, with copious additions, those to the latter work certainly, -those to the former probably, by Paulo Restivo. Both these books were -printed at Santa Maria la Mayor, as also was the catechism of Nicolas -Yapuguai, a native Paraguayan, in 1724. His "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Sermones y Exemplos</cite>" -appeared at San Francisco Xavier in 1727, and in the same year and at -the same place was printed the letter of the unfortunate ex-governor -Joseph Antequera y Castro, indited in his prison at Lima, to his -adversary the Bishop of Paraguay, who apparently only allowed it to be -printed that he might add a more prolix reply. From this time until -after the overthrow of Spanish authority, all trace of a press in -Paraguay disappears. It should be added that the seven books <!-- Page 134 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>recorded -are undoubtedly productions of one and the same press, although the -place of imprint is frequently varied. One curiosity remains to be -mentioned, a fragment of a Guarani catechism and syllabary, consisting -of two wooden leaves paginated 4 and 13, on which characters are cut in -relief precisely as in Chinese stereotypic printing. It is to be -supposed that they are older than the books printed with movable types. -They are in the library of Señor Lamas, to whom they were presented by -an English traveller.</p> - -<p>Four out of these seven books are in the British Museum—the <cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">Vocabulario -and Arte</cite> of Ruiz de Montoya, Yapuguai's <cite class="noitalic">Catechism</cite>, and the letter of -Antequera y Castro. The first two were presented in 1818 by Mr. George -Bellas Greenough, the founder of the Geological Society. The Catechism -was purchased in 1889, and the letter in 1893. The latter is the only -copy hitherto known, and is the only one of the seven books of which -some portion is not facsimiled by Señor Medina.</p> - -<p>Printing had died out in Paraguay before its introduction into any other -portion of the great La Plata region. It revived under Jesuit auspices -at Cordova, where towards the end of the seventeenth century a college -had been founded by Duarte y Quiros, which had become the chief -educational institution of the country. By 1765 it had attained -sufficient consequence to become sensible of the inconvenience of being -unable to print its theses and other academical documents, which, so -wretched was the provision then made for the intellectual <!-- Page 135 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>needs of the -Spanish colonies, could only be done at Lima, more than a thousand miles -off on the other side of the Andes. The Viceroy of Peru was accordingly -appealed to, and permission obtained, fenced with all imaginable -precautions and restrictions. No time was lost in printing five -panegyrical orations upon the pious founder Duarte y Quiros, probably by -Father Peramas, which appeared in 1766. Two, or possibly three, minor -publications, now entirely lost, had followed, when the existence of the -press was abruptly terminated by the suppression of the Jesuits, and -Cordova never saw another until after the independence. The types, -however, not tin like the Paraguayan, but imported from Spain and cast -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">secundum artem</i>, were preserved in the college, and in 1780 were -transferred to Buenos Ayres, where it had been resolved to introduce -typography; not for its own sake, but as a means of raising money -towards the support of a foundling hospital, endowed with the proceeds -of the printing-press. Official and ecclesiastical patronage were not -wanting; by the end of 1781 twenty-seven publications of various -descriptions, mostly of course on a very small scale, had issued from -the Buenos Ayres press. The first of any kind was a proclamation -relating to the militia, facsimiled by Señor Medina; the first deserving -the character of a book was, as in British North America, an almanac. -The most interesting from their subject were pastoral letters by two -bishops on the overthrow of the rebel cacique Tupac Amaru in Peru. The -press continued to thrive, and in <!-- Page 136 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>1789 it was necessary to procure a -new fount of type from Spain. The total number of publications known to -the end of 1810 is 851—a very large proportion of which, however, are -merely fly-sheets. Some, nevertheless, are of exceptional interest, such -as the translation of Dodsley's "Economy of Human Life," perhaps the -first translation of an English book ever published in Spanish America, -and the numerous broadsides attesting the impression at first produced -in the colonies by Napoleon's invasion of the mother country. Eight -proclamations by General Beresford during the brief occupation of the -city by the British forces in 1806 are of especial interest to -Englishmen. In one Beresford endeavours to conciliate the good-will of -the inhabitants by promising deliverance from the financial oppression -of the Spanish colonial system. They soon afterwards took the matter -into their own hands: the publications for the last months over which -Señor Medina's labours extend are chiefly proclamations by the Junta and -similar revolutionary documents. Among them, duly facsimiled by Señor -Medina, is the proclamation of the Junta, with the date of May 23, 1810, -announcing the virtual deposition of the Viceroy, the first document of -Buenos Ayrean independence, although the authority of Ferdinand the -Seventh is still acknowledged in name, and the autonomy of the country -was not proclaimed until 1816. Another curiosity, also facsimiled, is a -proclamation in Spanish and Quichua, "from the most persecuted -American," Iturri Patiño, to the inhabitants of Cochabamba in <!-- Page 137 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>Upper -Peru, more than a thousand miles from Buenos Ayres, exhorting them to -welcome their deliverers. The interest is greatly enhanced by Señor -Medina's industry in tracing out other works of the writers, published -in other parts of South America.</p> - -<p>The story of the introduction, expulsion, and revival of printing in -Monte Video is one of the most curious—we might almost say -dramatic—episodes in the history of the art. The city, which had -existed nearly two hundred years without any more typographical -implement than a stamping machine, was taken by an English expedition in -February 1807. With the invaders came an enterprising Briton whose name -is unfortunately not recorded, but who, before leaving England, had -invested in a printing-press and types, and brought them with him with -the view of earning an honest penny by dissipating South American -darkness. He received every encouragement from the English military and -naval authorities, but most probably had to train native compositors, -who could not be extemporised in a city destitute of a printing-press. -At all events he did not get to work till May, when the first production -of his press was a proclamation, from which it appears that General -Whitelock, whose expedition was to end so disastrously, at the time -considered himself entitled to exercise authority over the whole of -South America. And whereas it has been asserted that wherever an -Englishman goes the first institution he creates is a public-house, be -it noted that the next official announcement <!-- Page 138 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>imposes a swinging tax -upon the public-houses already existing, without any loophole for local -option. On May 23, an eventful date in Argentine history, appeared the -first numbers of <cite>The Southern Star, <span lang="es" xml:lang="es">La Estrella de Sur</span></cite>, a journal in -English and Spanish, conducted by Adjutant-General Bradford, proudly -displaying the lion and the unicorn, and addressing the native -population as "fellow-subjects," a description softened in the Spanish -version into <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">amigos</i>. The consternation produced by this portent at -Buenos Ayres was excessive. "The enemies of our holy religion, of our -king, and of the weal of mankind," declared the Audiencia, "have chosen -the printing-press as their most effectual weapon. They are diffusing -papers full of the most detestable ideas, even to the pitch of asserting -that their infamous and abominable religion differs very little from -ours." The misfortunes of the British arms, however, extinguished <cite>The -Southern Star</cite> after the third number, and the publisher, whose property -in his press and types was guaranteed by the capitulation, was glad to -sell them to the Buenos Ayres Foundling Hospital for five thousand -pesos, which, whether in the spirit of speculation or by reason of the -deficiency of the circulating medium so unhappily chronic in those -regions, he received in cascarilla at the rate of twelve reals a pound. -The object of the authorities was no doubt to get the press and its -appurtenances away from Monte Video. Within three short years Buenos -Ayres became the focus of revolution, while Monte Video was still -<!-- Page 139 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>precariously loyal. The Princess Regent and her advisers, then -established at Rio de Janeiro, finding that the revolutionists were -flooding the country with their pamphlets, invoked the power they had -striven to suppress, and deeming to cast out Satan by Beelzebub, shipped -a quantity of Brazilian type, very bad, to judge by Señor Medina's -facsimile, to Monte Video, where, for the short remaining period -comprehended in Señor Medina's work, it was employed in producing -Government manifestos and an official journal; edited for a time by -Father Cirilo de Alameda, of whom it is recorded that he never wrote -anything tolerable except a defence of the Spanish constitution, and -that this was adapted from a panegyric on the Virgin.</p> - -<p>This slight notice can give but a very imperfect idea of the varied -interest and splendid execution of Señor Medina's volume, a work as -creditable to the country which has produced it for the excellence of -the typography and the beauty of the numerous facsimiles, as to the -author for the extent and accuracy of his research, and the curious and -interesting particulars, biographical as well as bibliographical, which -he brings to light on every page. Could the remainder of Spanish America -be treated in a similar style, that much-neglected part of the world -would rival, if not surpass, any European country in the external -dignity of its bibliographical record. This may be too much to expect, -but it is greatly to be hoped that Señor Medina will find means for -giving to the world what is actually indispensable to the completion of -<!-- Page 140 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>his important task. He is a citizen of the most prosperous, -progressive, and orderly state in South America. It would be to the -honour of the rulers of Chili if, overlooking all political differences, -they gave their distinguished fellow-citizen the means of associating -the name of his country, as well as his own, with as meritorious an -undertaking as ever appealed to the sympathy of an enlightened State.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_127:1_14" id="Footnote_127:1_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127:1_14"><span class="label">[127:1]</span></a> <cite lang="es" xml:lang="es">Historia y Bibliografia de la Imprenta en la America -Española.</cite> <span lang="es" xml:lang="es">(Parte Segunda, Paraguay y el Vireinato del Rio de la Plata.) -Por Jose Toribio Medina (La Plata, 1892).</span></p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_130:1_15" id="Footnote_130:1_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130:1_15"><span class="label">[130:1]</span></a> It has always been supposed that Paraguay was the first -country of South America to possess a printing-press after Peru, but -this honour may possibly be due to Brazil. In the memorial of the -inhabitants of the province of Pernambuco to John IV., King of Portugal, -beseeching his assistance in the expulsion of the Dutch invaders (1645), -printed in "<cite class="noitalic" lang="es" xml:lang="es">O Valoroso Lucideno</cite>" by <span lang="es" xml:lang="es">Manoel Calado</span>, Lisbon, 1648, the -Dutch are accused of having propagated heresy by means of tracts, "which -have been found in the hands of many persons of tender age." These -<i lang="es" xml:lang="es">cartilhas</i> must evidently have been in Portuguese, they are more likely -to have been printed than in MS., and it is perhaps more probable that -they were printed on the spot than exported from Holland. If this is the -case, Pernambuco is entitled to the honour of being the first city in -South America in which printing was exercised after Lima.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_131:1_16" id="Footnote_131:1_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131:1_16"><span class="label">[131:1]</span></a> Several Spanish books printed at Manila in the -eighteenth century have frontispieces admirably engraved by native -artists. We have seen an English pamphlet printed in the Orange Free -State, prefaced by an apology for mistakes of the press on the ground -that the compositors were Hottentots.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 141 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="THE_EARLY_ITALIAN_BOOK_TRADE" id="THE_EARLY_ITALIAN_BOOK_TRADE"></a>THE EARLY ITALIAN BOOK TRADE</h2> - -<p class="center">[<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Bibliographica</cite>, vol. i. pt. 3, published by Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co.]</p> -</div> - - -<p>There are few inquiries more interesting than one into the character and -tendencies of an epoch, as ascertained by their reflection in its -literature. Such an investigation, if referring to modern times and -extended beyond a single country, must generally be incomplete on -account of the great mass of the materials, which defies any exhibition -of the literary tendencies prevailing at any given period over the whole -of Europe. In the first age of printing alone the number of books is not -absolutely unmanageable, and their bibliographical interest has ensured -their accurate description in catalogues. It would not be beyond the -power of industry to make a digest of the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">incunabula</i> of the fifteenth -century, so far as to show the number of books printed in each country, -their respective subjects, the frequency of reprints, the ratio of the -various classes to each other, the proportion of Latin to vernacular -books, and other particulars of this nature by which the intellectual -currents of the age might be mapped out.</p> - -<p>The present essay is to be regarded as no more than a very imperfect -indication of the feasibility of such an undertaking. Observations, -sufficiently <!-- Page 142 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>desultory, on the general character of the literature -published in Italy, from the introduction of printing into the country -to the end of the century, have suggested some remarks on the kind of -books which the early Italian printers found it profitable to produce, -and some inferences respecting the taste of the day, and the classes -which would be reached by the printing-press. To afford a really -satisfactory ground-work for such an inquiry, all known publications -should be enumerated (although the briefest titles would serve), and -tabulated according to their subjects. Deductions regarding the -intellectual aspects of the time might then be made with some -confidence, and the apparently dry and unpromising ground-work would -admit of rich illustration from the stores of contemporary literary -history. Any such fulness of treatment is, of course, as incompatible -with the space available in <cite>Bibliographica</cite> as with the time at the -disposal of the writer. Enough, it is hoped, will have been done to show -how interesting a detailed analysis of the subject might be made. The -Roman and Venetian presses have been chiefly dwelt upon, inasmuch as -these two cities, the first in Italy to possess printing-presses, also -served to test the opposite systems of reliance upon patronage in high -quarters, or upon the free life of a busy and prosperous community. The -result is instructive, and has been confirmed by every similar -experiment in later times.</p> - -<p>In examining the literature of the age, as represented by the -contemporary productions of the <!-- Page 143 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>press, we are particularly impressed by -its utilitarian, and, as a corollary, its essentially popular character. -We do not employ this latter term as indicative of a relation between -the printers and the mass of the people, who at that period were -generally unable to read, but between the printers and their limited -public. 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 public. The author knows that he will not be read, but it -nevertheless suits him to put his opinions, his experiences, or his -skill in composition upon record; for the gratification of his -self-esteem, it may be, or the expression of his emotions, or as a -document for future reference, or as an act of duty, or for the pleasure -of friends, or for any one or more of these and many other conceivable -reasons. Were it not for the safety-valve afforded by the periodical -press, the number of books thus existing for the author's individual -sake would be very much more considerable. Hardly anything of this is to -be observed in the early ages of publishing. Scarcely a book is to be -found for which a public might not be reasonably expected, and which, -therefore, would not be produced without the expectation of profit. We -know that this expectation was not always realised from Sweynheym and -Pannartz's petition to Pope Sixtus IV., that he would indemnify them by -some public appointment for the loss of capital sunk in their unsold -publications, but the books were such as promised to command a sale, and -the reason of <!-- Page 144 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>their failure was probably the competition of other -Italian presses. They were principally classical authors or Fathers of -the Church, 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 grounds. If so, the case was quite -exceptional, and does not invalidate the general proposition that the -Italian printers of the Renaissance looked entirely, and in the main -intelligently, to the needs of their public. It is thus easy to discover -the character of this constituency, and to estimate its requirements.</p> - -<p>For long after the invention of printing the books produced consist -mainly of four classes:—(1) Classical, (2) Grammatical, (3) -Theological, (4) Legal. The immense proportion of these in comparison -with other subjects demonstrates that the great majority of readers -belonged to the professional classes—teachers, or at least students at -the universities, divines, and practitioners of civil or canon law. Had -a leisured and cultured class existed, as in our times, we should have -seen more modern history and biography, more essays and facetiæ, more -vernacular poetry and fiction—all departments very slenderly -represented in the fifteenth century. Men evidently read for practical -ends, and invested their money in the expectation of a substantial -rather than an intellectual return. The class that now reads principally -for amusement, did not in that age read at all; but if it had, books -could not then be produced at the cheap rate <!-- Page 145 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>required to ensure an -extensive circulation. If such books are costly, they must at all events -be solid, to give the purchaser an apparent return for his money; or the -expense must be distributed over a wide area by the agency of -circulating libraries, an institution which implies a numerous reading -public. Hence, a fact honourable to Renaissance literature, it includes -hardly anything that can be called trash. Copious in the number of its -publications, it is disappointingly meagre in their themes; many -branches of human activity hardly exist for it, but, at all events, -almost every one of its publications was produced in response to a real -need. Most of them have inevitably become obsolete, few have ever been, -or will be, utterly valueless.</p> - -<p>The drawback to the generally sterling character of the early -Renaissance printing was want of enterprise on the part of the printers, -who were also the publishers. At the present day culture is greatly -promoted by the ambitious and competitive spirit of publishers, who look -far and wide for subjects likely to touch sympathetic chords in the -breast of the public, are always ready to listen to new ideas, to which -they frequently accord generous encouragement, compete among themselves -for promising writers, and are continually devising new schemes to -attract patronage by elegance, cheapness, artistic decoration, or the -supply of some want which the public has not yet found out for itself. -Very little of this is to be discovered in the fifteenth century. -Publishers <!-- Page 146 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>seldom cared to transgress the safe ordinary round of -classics, divinity, and law. Occasionally there are symptoms of -alertness to the events of the day: thus, as soon as Cardinal Rovere -becomes Pope, his treatises on the Redemption and the perpetual -virginity of Mary are printed at Rome; and when the Jews are accused of -murdering a Christian boy, circumstantial accounts of the tragedy appear -in different parts of Europe. But, notwithstanding the intellectual -curiosity of the age, it would seem to have been a very unpromising one -for the literary manifestation of original genius of any kind. Works of -contemporary authors, other than of a purely utilitarian character, are -very rare. One of the most remarkable exceptions is the publication at -Naples in 1476 of the "Novellini" of Masuccio, a book whose scandalous -character would be sure to obtain it readers. Towards the end of the -century, works by living authors of eminence became more frequent, but -even then they are most commonly those of men like Sanazzaro, -influential in courts, and enjoying literary distinction long before -they went to press. One of the press's most important functions, the -encouragement of unknown ability, was hardly performed at all in that -age, and the principal reason was that the printers, though sometimes of -classical acquirements, were either too exclusively commercial in their -views or too limited in their resources to promote literary activity -outside of the beaten track. Our own Caxton appears a model of -intelligent adaptation to the tastes of his public, <!-- Page 147 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>but he never finds -an author or exerts himself to give superior finish or elegance to a -book. It cannot but be thought that if Italy had in the fifteenth -century possessed a publisher of enterprising spirit and ample means, a -powerful impulse might have been imparted to Italian vernacular -literature. Such a person, indeed, would have perceived that the public -for such a literature, apart from its few classical examples, did not -then exist, but he would have deemed that the multitude of intelligent -men who could not read Latin would read Italian, if Italian were put -before them. Instead of hiring editors he would have hired authors, and -his enterprise might have been attended by momentous consequences.</p> - -<p>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 book. The interest in Greek literature -must have been very general, but instructors were probably scarce, and -few Italians had taken the trouble to learn it. The educational value of -the language, apart from the contents of the books composed in it, was -utterly unsurmised, and the reader was fully satisfied if he could -obtain a faithful Latin translation, which in the majority of cases was -not yet to be had. Had printed Greek texts been placed in the way of -readers, a vast impulse would have been given to the study of the -language, and a publisher of genius, labouring to create the taste he -did not find, might have greatly accelerated the course of European -<!-- Page 148 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>culture. Greek grammar, even, awaited the typographer until 1476, and -Greek literature for some years longer. No originality was infused into -the business of publishing until the advent of Aldus, almost as much the -father of modern bookselling as Gutenberg is the father of printing.</p> - -<p>Leaving the question of what the Renaissance printers and publishers of -Italy might have done, we proceed to illustrate what they did by a brief -analysis of the character of their productions during the first few -years of their activity, especially in Rome and Venice. The survey is -necessarily very imperfect, for a large proportion of their productions -are not dated, and the exact year is usually a matter of conjecture. We -must confine ourselves to the list of dated books given by Panzer, which -might admit of considerable extension. It is not likely, however, that -this would materially affect the mutual proportion of the various -classes of literature, the point with which we are principally -concerned.</p> - -<p>Printing was established at Rome in 1467 by the removal of Sweynheym and -Pannartz from Subiaco. Five books are recorded to have been printed -there in that year; two classics (Cicero's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">De Oratore</cite>" and "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Epistolæ ad -Familiares</cite>"), two editions of the fathers, and one grammatical work. In -1468 six more make their appearance, one classical, three patristic, one -theological, and one medical. In 1469 commences the great run upon -classical writers, which continued for some years. Of the twelve books -enumerated by Panzer as produced <!-- Page 149 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>in this year, all but one are -classics, and the apparent exception is a defence of Plato by Cardinal -Bessarion. All but one are printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz, with -prefaces by the Bishop of Aleria as editor-general. This striking -development of activity indicates the first organised attempt to -monopolise a special department of the book-trade, which might possibly -have succeeded if Rome had then, as now, been the capital of an united -Italy. The other Italian cities, however, had no intention of being -excluded from the practice of the new art, and the same year witnessed -the introduction of typography into its true Italian metropolis, Venice, -combined, however, with an audacious attempt to obtain a monopoly. -Joannes de Spira, the first printer in Venice, not content with -obtaining protection for his publications, claimed and obtained the sole -right of printing books in the city for five years. Men had evidently as -yet but little conception of the importance of the new art; but the -death of the printer within the year released the Venetian State from -the obligation it had so inconsiderately undertaken, and it was by this -time sufficiently enlightened not to renew it in favour of his brother -Vindelinus, who, however, remained for some time among the most -distinguished of Venetian printers.<a name="FNanchor_149:1_17" id="FNanchor_149:1_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_149:1_17" class="fnanchor">[149:1]</a></p> - -<p><!-- Page 150 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p><p>Before leaving the year 1469, we should mention the first Italian -instance of a printed translation of a Greek classic, the Italian -Strabo, published by Sweynheym and Pannartz without date, but which is -known to have belonged to this year. In 1470 the run on classics -continues, the same number as in the previous year being printed, mostly -by Sweynheym and Pannartz, but a revival is apparent in other branches -of literature, the number of books in theology being nearly equal to -that of the classics. Another translation from the Greek appears, that -of Plutarch's Lives, rendered by various hands, with the preface of J. -A. Campanus. The most remarkable production of the Roman press for this -year, however, is a small tract, which affords the first example of -recourse to printing by a Pope for an official purpose. It is the brief -of Pope Paul II., enacting that the Jubilee shall henceforth be -celebrated every twenty-fifth year, and consequently in 1475, which he -did not live to see. This interesting document has been recently -acquired by the British Museum. In 1471, as is most probable, another -Government publication appeared, "The Civic Statutes of Rome," as -revised by Paul II.; and the election of his successor Sixtus, in the -same year, produced the first two examples of official publications, -afterwards very frequent, the congratulatory harangues <!-- Page 151 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>pronounced by -ambassadors upon occasion of their tendering homage to the Pope.</p> - -<p>Twelve classical publications grace the year, mostly from the press of -Sweynheym and Pannartz, as well as the first volume of their great -edition of the "Biblical Commentary" of Nicolaus de Lyra. The remaining -four volumes appeared in the year following, and the last was freighted -with the memorable appeal to Pope Sixtus IV., composed by the Bishop of -Aleria in the name of the printers, which throws so vivid a light on the -vicissitudes of the book-trade in Rome. They have printed 12,475 sheets, -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">acervum ingentem</i>, for which it is marvellous that paper or types -should have been found. Their spacious premises are choked with unbound -sheets in quinions (<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">quinterniones</i>), but void of victual and drink. -Will the Pope give them some little office, by aid of which they may be -able to provide for themselves and their families? Rome was manifestly -no place for classical publishers, even under a Pope who did so much for -the encouragement of learning as Sixtus. The forlorn estate of Sweynheym -and Pannartz, contrasted, as we shall see, with the flourishing -condition of the Venetian book-trade at the time, shows that even at a -period when reading, to say nothing of the scholarship required to -master the literature of the day, was not a general accomplishment, the -bookseller's best patron was the public. Probably, however, the -hardships of the firm may have been somewhat exaggerated by the eloquent -pen of the Bishop <!-- Page 152 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>of Aleria; for in this very year they appear as -printing ten books, and in the following year seven. Two of these are -new editions of works previously issued by them, showing not only that -the original impression was sold out, but that it was thought profitable -to undertake another.</p> - -<p>In 1474 the names of the printers entirely disappear as partners. -Sweynheym is known to have died before 1478 (when the Ptolemy, which he -had begun to prepare for the press, was published by Arnold Buckingk), -but at what particular time is uncertain. Pannartz comes forward by -himself in December 1474, and in the following year he occurs as the -printer of eight books, chiefly classical. In 1476 he prints three, but -his activity abruptly terminates in March, a period coinciding with a -collapse in Roman publishing, best illustrated by a comparative table:—</p> - -<table summary="decline in number of books published in Rome" border="0"> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1475</td> - <td class="tdright">53</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1476</td> - <td class="tdright">24</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1477</td> - <td class="tdright">14</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1478</td> - <td class="tdright">15</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1479</td> - <td class="tdright">11</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1480</td> - <td class="tdright">9</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="noindent">No doubt many undated books were published in these years, and after -1480 some revival is apparent, but the quality of the publication is -greatly lowered. Classics continued to be printed, but they retire into -the background before canon and civil law, and the apparent number is -greatly helped out by ephemeral pamphlets, such as papal briefs and -addresses on public occasions. The endeavour to render Rome an -intellectual centre had manifestly failed, nor has she deserved this -character <!-- Page 153 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>at any subsequent period, except for the few years during -which wits and scholars gathered around Leo X. Before leaving the -subject, nevertheless, a tribute should be paid to the merits of Joannes -Philippus de Lignamine, a native of Messina, apparently a man of good -family, and not improbably the first native Italian to exercise the -typographic art, in whose productions may be traced rudimentary ideas of -a higher order than were vouchsafed to his mercantile contemporaries. It -can hardly be by accident that the same man who in 1472 prints the first -vernacular book that had appeared in Rome, should in the same year -publish, although in Latin, the first biography of an Italian -contemporary, his own memoir of his own sovereign, Ferdinand of Naples; -should in 1473 issue the vernacular poetry of Petrarch; and in 1474 a -book of such national interest as the "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Italia Illustrata</cite>" of Flavio -Biondo. His publications are always of high quality, and it would be -interesting to learn more respecting him. He is described as a member of -the Pope's household, and was certainly something more than a -professional printer.</p> - -<p>The establishment of printing at Rome had naturally ensued upon the -migration of the printers from the small adjoining town of Subiaco, 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 monastery. The introduction of printing -into Venice, two years <!-- Page 154 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>after Rome, was probably less the effect of -accident. Joannes de Spira, who, as we have seen, so promptly secured a -monopoly of so much value as the exclusive exercise of printing for five -years, must have been an enterprising and far-seeing man, to whom the -opulence and comparative freedom of Venice would offer greater -attractions than the doubtful patronage of an Italian despot. This view -of his character is confirmed by the boldness of his first undertakings. -Before obtaining any privilege he had produced two of the most -voluminous works of antiquity then accessible—Pliny's <cite class="noitalic">Natural History</cite> -and Cicero's <cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Epistolæ ad Familiares</cite>. The soundness of his judgment was -evinced by the demand for a second edition of his Cicero within four -months, an unusual occurrence in the history of early printing. Tacitus -followed, and the German printer's patriotism is indicated by his -description of the Germania as "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">libellus aureus</span>." His brother and -successor, Vindelinus, displays even greater energy, producing fifteen -books within the year 1470, among them so important a work as Livy's -History, and gaining especial honour as the first printer of Petrarch. -The rest are almost entirely classical, and so are the few books printed -in this year by his rival, Nicolas Jenson, the most elegant of all the -Italian printers. In 1471 Venetian printing takes a wider range; law -books increase; Jensen produces books of morals and of religious -edification in the vernacular; Christopher Valdarfer publishes the -Decameron of Boccaccio. More important still is the appearance of two -<!-- Page 155 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>independent Italian translations of the Bible, one from the press of -Vindelinus, one without name of printer. As no other Italian city -emulated the example of Venice, an example frequently repeated by her -before the close of the century, we are justified in assuming that in no -other Italian city could such a thing be done. Interesting too is a -vernacular translation of Cardinal Bessarion's exhortation to the -Italian princes to take arms against the Turk, showing a public for -productions of contemporary interest, outside the ranks of those who -could read Latin. In the following year, 1472, printed editions of no -fewer than six classical authors make their appearance at Venice, -Cicero's <cite class="noitalic">Tusculan Questions</cite>; Catullus, with Tibullus and Propertius, and -the <cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Silvæ</cite> of Statius; Ausonius, with a considerable appendix of minor -poets; Macrobius's commentary on the "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Somnium Scipionis</cite>," and the -authors of "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">De Re Rustica</cite>." Although some of the cities dependent upon -Venice—Padua, Treviso, Verona—were beginning to have printing-presses, -their typographers were not equal to such undertakings, and Venice must -have been the headquarters of production and distribution for her -extensive and opulent territory, and probably for many of the -neighbouring states. Her abundant capital and industry, liberal -administration in non-political matters, and the confluence of strangers -must be reckoned among the principal causes of this activity, to which -Mr. Horatio Brown adds another, the abundance and excellence of paper, -which the Venetian senate <!-- Page 156 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>had protected a century before by prohibiting -the export of rags from their dominions.</p> - -<p>The extent and growth of the Venetian book-trade will appear by the -following notice of the number of works printed from 1469 to 1486, which -would be considerably augmented if dates could be safely assigned to -undated books:—</p> - -<table summary="increase in number of books published in Venice" border="0"> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1469</td> - <td class="tdright">4</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1470</td> - <td class="tdright">22</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1471</td> - <td class="tdright">48</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1472</td> - <td class="tdright">36</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1473</td> - <td class="tdright">28</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1474</td> - <td class="tdright">40</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1475</td> - <td class="tdright">37</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1476</td> - <td class="tdright">52</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1477</td> - <td class="tdright">55</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1478</td> - <td class="tdright">64</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1479</td> - <td class="tdright">16</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1480</td> - <td class="tdright">71</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1481</td> - <td class="tdright">79</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1482</td> - <td class="tdright">74</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1483</td> - <td class="tdright">104</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1484</td> - <td class="tdright">66</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1485</td> - <td class="tdright">84</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdleft">1486</td> - <td class="tdright">71</td> - <td class="tdleft">books.</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>By 1495 the number of publications has risen to 119, the general -character of the books remaining much as before. The productions of the -Venetian press from 1469 to 1500 occupy more space in Panzer's catalogue -than those of Rome, Florence, Naples, Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Ferrara, -Padua, Parma, and Treviso put together.</p> - -<p>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 1471—Bologna, Ferrara, Florence, Milan and Naples. -Bologna, as might be expected in a university city, especially produces -erudite books, particularly in philosophy, mathematics, and medicine. -Petrarch and Boccaccio, however, relieve the general aridity, and there -is a fair <!-- Page 157 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>sprinkling of classics. Ferrara's taste lies much in the same -direction, but it is remarkable for a school of Hebrew printing, and -does itself honour by the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">editio princeps</i> of Seneca's tragedies, and -even more so by that of Boccaccio's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="it" xml:lang="it">Teseide</cite>," the first publication of -an Italian epic poem other than the "<cite class="noitalic" lang="it" xml:lang="it">Divina Commedia</cite>." Florence appears -more tardy in developing the new art than might have been expected under -Medicean rule; and her early productions would seem comparatively -unimportant but for Bettini's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="it" xml:lang="it">Monte Sancto di Dio</cite>" (1477), the first -example of a printed book containing copperplate engraving, and the -famous Dante of 1481, partly illustrated in the same manner. The -artistic eminence of Florence renders the production of this work within -her precincts especially significant; and in 1490 a school of -wood-engraving arises which surpasses the Venetian, and often confers -great artistic value upon typographical productions otherwise of little -account. Another interesting feature of Florentine typography, from -about 1480 until the end of the century, is the number of original -publications by native men of letters, such as Politian, the Pulcis, -and, in quite a different manner, Savonarola. Florence understood the -duty of encouraging contemporary talent better than any other Italian -city; yet, although she was the Athens of Italy, and possessed its -Pericles, the comparison between the extent of her typographical -production and that of Venice shows that the public is the better -patron. When, at a much later period, wealth and <!-- Page 158 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>public spirit departed -from Venice to an extent which they never did from Florence, the lead -passed to the latter city.</p> - -<p>Milan is, for the first few years, principally devoted to the classics, -upon which law and theology gradually gain ground. Its great glory is -the first book printed in Greek—Lascaris's Grammar, 1476. Simoneta's -"History of Francesco Sforza," put forth by the authority of Lodovico -Sforza about 1479, is also a memorable book. Naples, where printing was -never very active, does little for classical literature, but produce -numerous works by local writers of distinction, from Archbishop -Caraccioli to the licentious Masuccio. The number of Hebrew books is a -remarkable feature.</p> - -<p>This slight degustation—analysis it cannot be called—of the fruits of -Italian Renaissance literature confirms the proposition with which we -began, that it was far more utilitarian than that of ages often -stigmatised as matter-of-fact and prosaic. The reproductions of -classical authors were not in general stimulated by enthusiasm for their -beauties, but by their utility, either for the information they -contained, or as books for school or college. Outside their circle very -little of a fanciful or imaginative character appeared, and this chiefly -in the shape of impressions of vernacular authors, such as Dante, -Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Original genius was at almost as low an ebb as -it has ever been, although a band of most gracefully accomplished men of -letters surrounded Lorenzo de' Medici, and Ariosto and Machiavelli were -growing up. In partial <!-- Page 159 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>explanation of this circumstance, it may be -remarked that the fifteenth century, brilliant in its inventions and -discoveries, was, in a literary point of view, one of the most -unproductive periods in European history. Petrarch and Boccaccio in -Italy, Chaucer in England, left no successors; with the exception of -Æneas Sylvius, it would be difficult to point to any writer of the first -half of the century eminent by his achievements in elegant literature. -Had printing been invented in the thirteenth century, or in the age of -Elizabeth, we might have had a different story to record; but it must -now be said that for a long time it did little for the encouragement of -genius, hardly even of high talent. Yet the age as a whole was by no -means flat or prosaic, only its imagination was more powerfully -attracted to art than to letters, and a spiritual charm is chiefly -recognisable among its books in proportion as art has influenced them, -whether in the design of exquisite type or of beautiful illustration. -This utilitarian character of literature, as we have remarked, tended to -discourage readers for amusement or for the love of letters; and this in -turn discouraged printers and publishers from any serious effort to -provide vernacular reading. Literature accordingly remained for a long -time the property of the humanists, which is as much as to say that it -was imitative and not creative. The merits and defects of this excellent -class of men cannot be better exhibited than by their attitude towards -Greek. It was not one of indifference, they translated Greek authors -into Latin with exemplary pains; but they thought <!-- Page 160 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>this quite -sufficient, and made no effort to render the originals accessible. They -valued Greek authors for their information, not for their style, and had -no idea of the value of the language as an instrument of education. A -creative epoch was required for this, such as speedily came with the -overthrow of the old order of Italy, with the discovery of America, -above all, with the Reformation. No age can bestow so great a boon upon -literature as the fifteenth century did by the invention of printing; -but it was not an age in which the hero flourished conspicuously as man -of letters.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_149:1_17" id="Footnote_149:1_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149:1_17"><span class="label">[149:1]</span></a> 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 him, but the language of the original document is -clear. It may be remarked that, did not other arguments abundantly -suffice, this transaction would prove the date 1461, in Nicolas Jenson's -<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Decor Puellarum</cite>, to be a misprint, as if he had printed before 1469 he -would have acquired a <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">locus standi</i> which could not have been ignored -in Spira's favour.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 161 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="SOME BOOK-HUNTERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY"><a name="SOME_BOOK-HUNTERS_OF_THE_SEVENTEENTH_CENTURY" id="SOME_BOOK-HUNTERS_OF_THE_SEVENTEENTH_CENTURY"></a>SOME BOOK-HUNTERS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY<a name="FNanchor_161:1_18" id="FNanchor_161:1_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_161:1_18" class="headerfn">[161:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>I feel that I owe an apology for presenting you with anything so scrappy -and disconnected as the paper you are to hear to-night. Being -unexpectedly called upon to fill a gap at a time when pressure of -occupation prevented my writing anything requiring care or study, I -bethought me of the story of the minister who, when about to officiate -as a substitute for another, received at the same time a hint that the -congregation were particular about quantity no less than quality, and -that they would expect the length of his public exercises to attain the -average of the regular incumbent. The absent gentleman was remarkable -for fluency, the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">locum tenens</i> was a man of few words. He did his best, -but by-and-by found himself with a vacant quarter of an hour and a -vacant head; when suddenly a happy thought flashed into the void, and he -exclaimed, "And now, O Lord, I will relate an anecdote." I too in my -emergency have taken refuge in anecdotage, and, in default of anything -of my <!-- Page 162 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>own, I am about to bore or entertain you with some anecdotes of -book-collectors of the seventeenth century, borrowed from that -illustrious gossip and anecdote monger, Nicius Erythræus, with a brief -account of whom I will preface my paper.</p> - -<p>I scarcely think that I shall underrate the amount of information -respecting Nicius Erythræus current at this time in this country by -remarking that the name is probably best known as a pseudonym of -Coleridge, under which his poem of "Lewti," a Circassian love-chant, was -first given to the world, and most readers will have deemed his adoption -of it a mere freak. I confess that I am myself unable to discover what -Nicius Erythræus has to do with the Circassians, but it is not an -imaginary name, being the Latinisation of that of Vittorio dé Rossi, an -Italian Jesuit, who flourished during the last quarter of the sixteenth, -and the first half of the seventeenth century, and, always writing in -Latin, translated his vernacular appellation into that language. The -circumstance of his having written in Latin is no doubt one principal -reason why he is now so little remembered. He was one of the pioneers of -a reviving form of literature, the anecdotic. Poggio Bracciolini had -written a very popular book of anecdotes in the fifteenth century, but -his tales are often mere Joe Millers, and not always authentic. Nicius's -stories are <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">bona-fide</i> anecdotes or reminiscences of actual personages, -with most of whom he had conversed. All roads, it is said, lead to Rome, -and his position as an ecclesiastic about the Papal court, albeit a -<!-- Page 163 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>hungry and discontented one (he had sorely prejudiced himself by a -romance, the "Eudemia," in which he had made too free with the -characters of influential people), brought him into contact with every -man of mark who resorted to it, whether a denizen of Rome or a foreign -visitor. His gallery of portraits includes two persons of much interest -to Britain, John Barclay, Scot by descent if French by birth, author of -the "Argenis"; and Teresa, the fair Armenian, who wedded our countryman -Sir Robert Sherley, in his adventurous Persian travels. In my opinion he -is a most entertaining writer, lively and animated, with a bright -descriptive touch; an elegant Latinist, and though much given to -relating stories which the subjects of them would have wished to consign -to oblivion, he is at bottom very good-natured. His principal work is -his "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Pinacotheca</cite>," or Portrait Gallery, in three parts, each containing -a hundred sketches of contemporaries, all people of some note, if only -for their eccentricities, and many of whom, but for him, would now be -utterly unknown. He doubtless retails much gossip at second-hand, but I -do not think that he has invented anything, and I believe that we see -his contemporaries in his pages much as they really were. For proofs, -authorities, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pièces justificatives</i>, you must look elsewhere, and -Nicius shuns a date as if it were the number of the beast.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most interesting of the particulars relating to library -matters imparted by my author are those respecting a man second only to -Grolier <!-- Page 164 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>as a patron of fine binding, but of whose personal character -and habits, were it not for Nicius, we should know nothing. Every one -interested in the bibliopegic art is more or less acquainted with the -beautiful bindings executed for Demetrius Canevarius, physician to Urban -VII., elected Pope in 1590, but whom all his leech's skill could not -keep alive upon the Papal throne for more than twelve days. This -certainly does not seem to have been the fault of the physician, who -was, Nicius tells us, a Genoese of noble family, who condescended to the -medical profession in the hope of becoming rich. In this there is -nothing to criticise; but unfortunately, avarice seems to have been his -master passion, indeed his only passion, except the love of books, which -has given him an honourable place in literary history. Having removed -from Genoa to Rome, he soon obtained the confidence of many of the -Cardinals, and became the most celebrated and opulent physician of his -day. But his habits were most parsimonious; he never, in his own house, -says Nicius, tasted fowl or fish, or anything that any sumptuary law -could have forbidden in any age. He lived by himself; his meals, -consisting of bread, soup, and a scrap of meat, were brought him by an -old woman who never entered the house, and drawn up to the first floor -in a basket. He bought his new clothes ready made, and his second-hand -clothes from the Jews. As soon as he got any money, he put it out to -interest, and when he got the interest upon that, he put it out again. -The one exception to <!-- Page 165 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>this parsimony was the expense to which he went in -buying books. Dry as pumice, says Nicius, in every other respect, in -this he was most liberal; if you look, that is, to the total sum he -expended, and not to the prices he gave for individual books. For he -beat the booksellers down unrelentingly, and would carry off their books -at much lower prices than they asked, notwithstanding their lamentations -and complaints that they were going to be ruined. How could he achieve -this? By the magic of ready money; 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 pay. Thus was -Canevarius unknowingly a forerunner of the political economists, and an -initiator of the principle of small profits and quick returns. Of the -bindings which constitute his glory with posterity Nicius says nothing; -but ascribes his prowess as a collector in great measure to a love of -fame. No unworthy motive either, but it is likely that public spirit had -quite as much to do with it; for Canevarius not merely collected the -library which he expected to perpetuate his name with posterity, but -bequeathed it to his native city of Genoa, and left by his will an -annuity of two hundred crowns to a caretaker. It would be interesting to -learn what became of the books and the pension; if the facts are not -already upon record they ought to be investigated. From the preface to a -posthumous work of Canevarius, published by his brother, it would almost -seem that the family had some control over it, and <!-- Page 166 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>if so they may have -dilapidated it. If the library, when transmitted to Genoa, contained all -the elaborate bindings which are now esteemed so precious, it was a -bequest of more value than could have been supposed at the time. Though -stingy and covetous in his life, Canevarius was a benefactor to many at -his death. He left, Nicius says, such a multitude of legacies, and such -a host of minute directions to be observed after his decease, that his -will was as big as a book. The ruling passion of parsimony remained with -him, and he gave a remarkable instance of it in his last illness. -"When," says Nicius, "ten days before his death, an old woman who had -come to nurse him gave him an egg to suck, and then took a new napkin -from a cupboard to wipe his lips; 'What mean you,' cried he, 'by -spoiling a new napkin? was there never a tattered one in the house? -Depart to the infernal regions!'" Yet even here Canevarius emerges -victorious, for the disparaging biographer is constrained to admit that -he <em>had</em> a new napkin.</p> - -<p>The next chapter of bibliographical anecdote which I propose to cite -from Nicius Erythræus is not derived from his Pinacotheca, but from his -Epistles. It relates to persons of more importance than Demetrius -Canevarius, to no less a man, indeed, than Cardinal Mazarin, and to the -eminent French scholar Gabriel Naudé, then (1645) employed as his agent -in collecting the first Mazarin Library, so unhappily destroyed and -dispersed a few years afterwards by the hostile Parliament of Paris. -<!-- Page 167 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span>Naudé has deplored the fate of the collection in a book devoted to it, -and Nicius, his intimate friend and correspondent, powerfully confirms -the loss which letters thus received by his description of Naudé's -exertions as a collector, in a letter he writes to Cardinal Chigi, Papal -nuncio in Germany. After mentioning that Naudé had seventeen years -before obtained great credit by a work "On the Formation of Public -Libraries," and that Mazarin having laid the foundation of his library -by buying that of a Canon of Limoges, consisting of six thousand -volumes, Naudé had doubled this number by purchases within one year; he -adds, "Finding nothing more to buy in Paris he went to Belgium, and -there took the pick of the market; and this year has come to Italy, -where the booksellers' shops seem devastated as by a whirlwind. He buys -up everything, printed or manuscript, in all languages, leaves the -shelves empty behind him, and sometimes comes down upon them with a -rule, and insists upon taking their contents by the yard. Often, seeing -masses of books accumulated together, he asks the price of the entire -lot; it is named; differences ensue; but, by dint of urging, bullying, -storming, our man gets his way, and often acquires excellent books among -the heap, for less than if they had been pears or lemons. When the -vendor comes to think over the matter, he concludes that he has been -bewitched, and complains that he would have fared better with the -butterman, or the grocer. Did you see our Naudé coming out of a -bookseller's shop you <!-- Page 168 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>could never help laughing, so covered from head -to foot is he with cobwebs, and that learned dust which sticks to books, -from which neither thumps nor brushes, it seems, would ever be able to -free him. I have seen multitudes of Hebrew books in his bedroom, so -stained and greasy and stinking, that one's nose seemed damaged -irrecoverably; they must have been disinterred from Jewish kitchens, -smelling as they did of smoke, soup, cheese, pickles, or rather of a -mixture of each and all these aromas. If he gives them a place in his -library, he will undoubtedly bring in the mice; they will flock in from -Paris and the suburbs, hold their feasts, convoke their parliaments, and -deliberate on the ways and means of resisting the cats, their capital -enemies. But, without joking, Naudé means that Paris shall have the -finest public library in Europe."</p> - -<p>I need not dwell further on the sad fate of this magnificent collection, -nor remind you that Mazarin formed a second which, especially for one -book's sake, has endeared him to many who know little of him as a -statesman, and that little not always to his advantage. After hearing of -his munificence and indomitable spirit in the collection of books, we -may feel more reconciled to the first book ever printed in Europe being -popularly associated with his name, although "Gutenberg Bible" would -still be the more appropriate designation.</p> - -<p>My next anecdote relates to a book-hunter not less enthusiastic and -determined than Mazarin or <!-- Page 169 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span>Naudé, but much less known to fame, unknown, -in fact, were it not for our good Nicius Erythræus. Prosper Podianus, a -Perugian, but living at Rome, cared, says Nicius, from his youth upwards -but to find out who had written a book upon any subject, at what price -it was to be had, and how he was to get it. His life was consequently -spent in frequenting booksellers' shops and stalls, which latter seem to -have become an established institution in Nicius's time, although, as -would appear, the dealers were not always sufficiently civilised to have -actual stalls, but merely strewed the books upon the ground. (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 bookstall.) As Podianus really -was a connoisseur, and knew well what he was about, he frequently picked -up some precious volume for a trifle, and was far from imitating the -conscientiousness of Giovenale Ancina, Bishop of Saluzzo. This excellent -prelate, it is credibly reported, having observed a valuable book amid a -pile heaped upon the ground, as above mentioned, on learning that it was -to be had for a penny, turned short upon the bookseller, rated him -soundly for his ignorance, and gave him a scudo. Different indeed from -the conduct of a lady narrated to me the other day, who, seeing a copy -of the first edition of George Meredith's Poems, commercially worth ten -or twelve guineas, priced at two shillings, and knowing its value <!-- Page 170 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>right -well, marched with it into the shop and beat the bookseller down to -eighteenpence. I know not whether I more admire or execrate that woman.</p> - -<p>Podianus could hardly be expected to emulate the magnanimity of Bishop -Ancina, considering that if he had often had to give scudi for his -books, he would have been reduced to the necessity of stealing them. He -was rich, however, in a thrifty wife, to whom her husband's goings-on -were an enigma and an abomination. Finding that remonstrances availed -nothing, whenever money for housekeeping was absolutely necessary, she -would lay hold of a book, and pledge it with the butcher or baker or -candlestick-maker, when Podianus would be necessitated to redeem it -somehow. He himself rarely dined and did not always sleep at home, being -sure of free quarters from other bibliophiles, who hoped that he would -one day bequeath them his library. At length he was persuaded to make a -donation of it in his lifetime, on condition that the books should -remain in his possession until his death. Either oblivious of this, or -wishing to secure other patrons, he made another prospective donation of -the books to the fathers of a certain monastery, who inscribed the -record of his benefaction upon a marble tablet, to be put up in their -chapel after his death. When this event took place, they swooped down -upon the prize, only to find a still more recent beneficiary in -possession. In their mortification they effaced the laudatory -inscription from the tablet, <!-- Page 171 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>only leaving the initial letters D. O. M., -which were commonly interpreted, <cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Daturis Opes Majores</cite>—to those who -shall leave us a more substantial legacy.</p> - -<p>Nicius mentions one more mighty book-hunter, Cardinal Peranda, of whom, -however, beyond the fact that he was enthusiastic and indefatigable in -the pursuit, we learn nothing bibliographically memorable but his -misadventure with a pet monkey, which, having got hold of the cotton -stopper of the ink-bottle (for so I must render <i>gossypium</i> according to -my present lights) saturated with ink, must needs employ it upon the -most precious book in his whole library. An enemy of books this which -has escaped the attention of Mr. Blades. I will conclude with an -anecdote not strictly bibliographic or bibliopolic, but not unconnected -with the special objects of our Association, inasmuch as it proves the -use in Italy, early in the seventeenth century, of a minor invention -serviceable to bookmen—blotting-paper. It is the story of Muzio Oddi, -mathematician and engineer, who, though debarred from pen and ink, -solaced his imprisonment at Pesaro by the composition of mathematical -treatises, written on sheets of blotting-paper, at first by charcoal cut -to a point, afterwards, having given more stability to his paper by -pressing several sheets together, by a reed-pen dipped in ink made from -charcoal and water, and kept in a walnut shell. Sir Edward Thompson has -shown from an old record that blotting-paper was known <!-- Page 172 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>in England in -the middle of the fifteenth century; yet sand was in more common use to -a comparatively recent date. It is a remarkable circumstance that sand -was used instead of blotting-paper in the Reading Room of the British -Museum as late as 1838, and was then only discontinued on the -representation of Mr. Panizzi that it got into the books. If, however, -Oddi was able to procure so many sheets of it when he could not get -writing-paper, it must have been common in Italy at the period of his -imprisonment, which would probably be about 1620. I must not omit to add -that this ingenious man made the compasses he required out of twigs of -olive wood, that the books he composed under such difficulties were -actually published, and that he was eventually liberated, and died in -wealth and honour.</p> - -<p>These few anecdotes from a restricted field of human activity may afford -some idea of the opulence of Nicius Erythræus in humorous, and at the -same time urbane gossip. He was a quaint, pleasant man, something -between Pepys and Aubrey, not of the highest intellectual powers, but a -fair judge of other men, a good scholar and Latinist, and with quite -sufficient sense to know when a story was worth repeating. He has -preserved much that would have been lost without him, and has made a -sunshine in that very shady place, the Rome of the seventeenth century. -His main defect, ornate prolixity when simple brevity would have been -more appropriate, is the besetting sin of most <!-- Page 173 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>Jesuit prose writers. He -seems just the sort of useful, entertaining, neglected writer, whom the -presses of our Universities might advantageously reproduce, and the -illustration of his text would afford congenial employment to an -accomplished editor.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_161:1_18" id="Footnote_161:1_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161:1_18"><span class="label">[161:1]</span></a> Read before the Monthly Meeting of the Library -Association, London, April 1898.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 174 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY"><a name="LIBRARIANSHIP_IN_THE_SEVENTEENTH_CENTURY" id="LIBRARIANSHIP_IN_THE_SEVENTEENTH_CENTURY"></a>LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY<a name="FNanchor_174:1_19" id="FNanchor_174:1_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_174:1_19" class="headerfn">[174:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The natural reaction against over-statements respecting the darkness of -the dark ages, has led to the counter-statement that they were not dark -at all. We librarians know better. We know that they must have been in -darkness, inasmuch as our body did not exist to enlighten them. There -can have been no librarians where there were no libraries; 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 required. The function of librarian must have -been one of the numerous offices discharged cumulatively by a single -monk, upon whom it may sometimes have been imposed by way of penance. It -was otherwise in classical antiquity. To say nothing of the Alexandrian -Library, and its connection with men as distinguished as Callimachus and -Apollonius, so late as near the close of the third century of our era -the decree of the Emperor Tacitus, that the historical works of his -illustrious namesake should <!-- Page 175 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>be transcribed and placed in the public -libraries throughout the empire, indicates the existence of numerous -institutions of this description, under responsible officers, servants -of the State, or the municipality.</p> - -<p>Almost all personal trace, however, of the famous librarians of -antiquity has disappeared; 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 -excite, could this be recovered. It would be interesting to know when -and where in Renaissance, or post-Renaissance times, the accumulation of -books first became so considerable as to demand the whole time of the -officer entrusted with their custody, and thus to give birth to -librarianship as a distinct profession. Into this inquiry I do not -propose to enter. I wish merely, on the present occasion, to direct your -attention to the evidence borne about the middle of the seventeenth -century to the development at that period attained by librarianship, and -the conception of its duties and possibilities entertained by John Dury, -a man in advance of his times.</p> - -<p>Dury was by birth a Scotchman, and by profession a divine. He had -signalised his appreciation of libraries at an early age by repairing to -Oxford with the object of studying in the Bodleian. He is entitled to -figure on the roll of librarians himself, having been appointed -deputy-keeper of the Royal Library after the execution of Charles I., -which charge may very probably have suggested to him <!-- Page 176 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>those thoughts on -the duties of librarians and the standard of librarianship, of which I -am to give you an account. The main object of his life, however, was the -even more important but certainly less hopeful undertaking of allaying -the acrimony of religious zealots. In pursuance of this mission we find -him almost more abroad than at home; ever labouring to appease the -dissensions of Protestants, now negotiating with Gustavus Adolphus, now -with the Synod of Transylvania; now at Utrecht, now at Brandenburgh, now -at Metz, where he submitted to the loss of his "great, square, white -beard," as a peace offering to the prejudices of French Protestantism. -He eventually, long after the Restoration, died in Hesse, where he was -entertained and protected by the Regent. 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-makers. It may, perhaps, have -been inferred that he was not in all respects the most practical of men, -and this, indeed, appears from his works on education rather than from -his suggestions on libraries. But his utopianism was less owing to -infirmity of judgment than to the habitual elevation of his moral and -intellectual standard. He thought better of his fellow-men than they -deserved, and was himself a man of eminent desert. If his own writings -did not survive to speak for him, it would be sufficient to record that -he was the intimate friend of Samuel Hartlib, the foreign guest to whom -England is so greatly indebted as philanthropist and practical -<!-- Page 177 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span>agriculturist, and to whom several of his own treatises are inscribed.</p> - -<p>The tract in which Dury published his ideas respecting the duties of a -librarian is entitled "The Reformed Library Keeper; with a Supplement to -the Reformed School, as subordinate to Colleges in Universities" -(London, 1650). It appears with a brief preface by Samuel Hartlib, to -whom the "Library Keeper" is addressed in the form of two letters, and -who had already published Dury's "Reformed School," to which another -portion of the tiny pamphlet is a supplement.</p> - -<p>From the general drift of Dury's observations, it would appear that in -his view, which was very probably correct, librarianship had in his day -reached such a degree of development as to have become an independent -profession, but not such a degree as to be a very useful one. It was -necessary to have librarians, but librarians, as such, had not enough to -do to constitute them very important or valuable members of the -community. The remedy for this state of things was destined to come -slowly, partly by increase of books, and even more by an increase of -readers. We know that the profession at present finds ample employment -for well-nigh all the energies of its most active members. This was far -from the case in Dury's day, and being unable so to accelerate the march -of intellect as to find sufficing occupation for the librarian, and at -the same time hating to see a functionary potentially so important -comparatively useless, he not unnaturally sought to provide him <!-- Page 178 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>with -other vocations in which the more technical work of librarianship would -have been merged. In so doing he anticipated the modern idea, especially -rife in America, that the librarian should not only be a custodian and -distributor of books, but a missionary of culture. Hence came the -further idea that more being expected of the librarian more should be -given him, and the office thus made worthy of the acceptance of men of -parts and learning. Thus we find Dury, from a comparative outsider's -point of view, coming to magnify the librarian's office and demand -generous treatment for its incumbent, very much in the tone now held by -the organs and representatives of the profession itself. It must be -borne in mind that he speaks not so much in the interest of librarians -as of the public; 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 duties.</p> - -<p>It will now be well to let him speak for himself.</p> - -<p>"The library keeper's place and office in most countries are looked upon -as places of profit and gain."</p> - -<p>Rather a startling statement to us, who have been accustomed to look -upon librarianship as under the special influence of the planet Saturn, -which is said to preside over all occupations in which money is obtained -with very great difficulty. It would seem, however, that mean as the -prizes of librarianship might be, they were yet scrambled for.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 179 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p><p>"And so," he continues, "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 Israel. For the most part men look after the -maintenance and livelihood settled upon their places more than upon the -end and usefulness of their employments. They seek themselves and not -the public therein, and so they subordinate all the advantages of their -places to purchase mainly two things thereby, viz., an easy subsistence -and some credit in comparison of others, nor is the last much regarded -if the first may be had. To speak in particular of library keepers in -most universities that I know, nay, indeed, in all, their places are but -mercenary, and their employment of little or no use further than to look -to the books committed to their custody, that they may not be lost or -embezzled by those that use them, and this is all."</p> - -<p>Dury has, no doubt, here put his finger upon the main cause of the low -condition of the librarianship of his day. The general conception of the -librarian's functions was far too narrow. He was allowed no share in the -government of his own library. He had not necessarily anything to do -with the selection of new books, nor was it expected of him that he -should advise and direct the studies of those resorting to the -collections committed to his care. In fact he was not usually qualified -for such activity, or even for the minor task of making these -collections serviceable by means of catalogues and indexes. The -development <!-- Page 180 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>of literature had advanced so far as to necessitate the -library custodian, but had not yet produced the library -administrator—the Denis and Audiffredi of the succeeding century. Dury -saw this, and also saw that the ideal librarian he had conceived in his -own mind would need better pay that he might do better work. One -exception to his apparently sweeping statements must be noted. Bodley's -librarians in the seventeenth century were undoubtedly men of high -literary distinction. Yet even here the arrangements for the librarian's -remuneration were unsatisfactory, and wrong in principle.</p> - -<p>"I have been informed," says Dury, "that in Oxford the settled -maintenance of the library keeper is not above fifty or sixty pounds per -annum, but that it is accidentally <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">viis et modis</i>, sometimes worth a -hundred pound. What the accidents are, and the ways and means by which -they come, I have not been curious to search after."</p> - -<p>So we are not to know by what shifts Mr. Nicholson's seventeenth-century -predecessor mended his salary. "Hay and oats," says Dean Swift, "in the -hands of a skilful groom will make excellent wine, as well as ale, but -<em>this</em> I only <em>hint</em>."</p> - -<p>Dury now proceeds to develop his ideas in a fine and wise passage:—</p> - -<p>"I have thought that if the proper employments of library keepers were -taken into consideration as they are, or may be made useful to the -advancement of learning; and were ordered and maintained -<!-- Page 181 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span>proportionately to the ends which ought to be intended thereby, they -would be of exceeding great use to all scholars, and have an universal -influence upon all the parts of learning, to produce and propagate the -same into perfection. For if library keepers did understand themselves -in the nature of their work, and would make themselves, as they ought to -be, useful in their places in a public way, they ought to become agents -for the advancement of universal learning; and to this effect I could -wish that their places might not be made, as everywhere they are, -mercenary, but rather honorary; and that with the competent allowance of -two hundred pounds a year [equivalent to about six hundred nowadays], -some employments should be put upon them further than a bare keeping of -the books. It is true that a fair library is not only an adornment and -credit to the place where it is, but an useful commodity by itself to -the public; yet in effect it is no more than a dead body as now it is -constituted, in comparison of what it might be, if it were animated with -a public spirit to keep and use it, and ordered as it might be for -public service. For if such an allowance were settled upon the -employment as might maintain a man of parts and generous thoughts, then -a condition might be annexed to the bestowing of the place; that none -should be called thereunto but such as had approved themselves zealous -and profitable in some public ways of learning to advance the same, or -that should be bound to certain tasks to be prosecuted towards that end, -whereof <!-- Page 182 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>a list might be made, and the way to try their abilities in -prosecuting the same should be described, lest in after times -unprofitable men creep into the place to frustrate the public of the -benefit intended by the donors towards posterity. The proper charge, -then, of the honorary library keeper in a university should be thought -upon, and the end of that employment, in my conception, is to keep the -public stock of learning, which is in books and manuscripts; to increase -it, and to propose it to others in the way which may be most useful unto -all; his work, then, is to be a factor and trader for helps to learning, -and a treasurer to keep them, and a dispenser to apply them to use, or -to see them well used, or at least not abused."</p> - -<p>This established, Dury proceeds to point out how the library should be -made useful. His main idea is that a library should be a kind of -factory, and it is astonishing how often he contrives to introduce the -word "trade" into his proposals. 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 it, it is like a talent buried in a -napkin; that to be really useful it must go to the public, and that the -librarian must place himself in active communication with men of -learning. It was hardly conceived in Dury's day that any but scholars -could have occasion for libraries, but translating his proposals into -the language of our time, it will appear that they contemplate such <!-- Page 183 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>an -ideal of librarianship as is professed in America, and is realised with -no small success in many of our leading free libraries. The first -condition is a good catalogue:—</p> - -<p>"That is," says Dury, "all the books and manuscripts according to the -titles whereunto they belong, are to be ranked in an order most easy and -obvious to be found, which I think is that of sciences and languages, -when first all the books are divided into their <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">subjectam materiam</i> -whereof they treat, and then every kind of matter subdivided into their -several languages."</p> - -<p>Evidently Dury was little troubled with the questions which have so -exercised librarians since his time. "The subject-matter of which a book -treats" is not always easy to ascertain. It might have puzzled Dury -himself to decide whether his own tract should be catalogued along with -books on libraries, or with the "Reformed School" to which it is -professedly an appendix, and to which half its contents have a direct -relation. The suggestion that books should be catalogued by languages -was propounded before the British Museum Commission of 1849, and -promptly dismissed as the fancy of an amateur. It would be curious to -see Pope's Homer in one catalogue, Voss's in another, and the original -in a third.</p> - -<p>Dury next judiciously adds that room must be left in the library for the -increase of books, an indispensable condition not always easy of -fulfilment; and that "in the printed catalogue a reference is to be made -to the place where the books <!-- Page 184 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>are to be found in their shelves or -repositories." That is, the catalogue must have press-marks; in which -suggestion Dury was two centuries ahead of many of the most important -foreign libraries. It will be observed that he takes it for granted that -the catalogue shall be printed, and in this he was ahead of almost all -the libraries of his time, and until lately of the British Museum. In -fact he could not be otherwise, 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 profit. Hence he -prescribes "a catalogue of additionals, which every year within the -universities is to be published in writing within the library itself, -and every three years to be put in print and made common to those that -are abroad."</p> - -<p>The full plan of communication is unfolded in the following passage:—</p> - -<p>"When the stock is thus known and fitted to be exposed to the view of -the learned world, then the way of trading with it, both at home and -abroad, is to be laid to heart both for the increase of the stock and -for the improvement of its use. For the increase of the stock both at -home and abroad, correspondence should be held with those that are -eminent in every science to trade with them for their profit, that what -they want and we have, they may receive upon condition; that what they -have and we want, they should impart in that faculty wherein their -eminence doth lie. As for such as are at home eminent in any kind, -because they <!-- Page 185 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>may come by native right to have use of the library -treasure, they are to be traded with all in another way, viz., that the -things which are gained from abroad, which as yet are not made common -and put to public use, should be promised and imparted to them for the -increase of their private stock of knowledge, to the end that what they -have peculiar, may also be given in for a requital, so that the -particularities of gifts at home and abroad are to meet as in a centre -in the hand of the Library Keeper, and he is to trade with the one by -the other, to cause them to multiply the public stock, whereof he is a -treasurer and factor.</p> - -<p>"Thus he should trade with those that are at home and abroad out of the -university, and with those that are within the university, he should -have acquaintance to know all that are of any parts, and how their view -of learning doth lie, to supply helps unto them in their faculties from -without and from within the nation, to put them upon the keeping of -correspondence with men of their own strain, for the beating out of -matters not yet elaborated in sciences; so that they may be as his -assistants and subordinate factors in his trade and in their own for -gaining of knowledge."</p> - -<p>Further instructions follow respecting the control to be exercised over -the librarian, who is to give an account of his stewardship once a year -to the doctors of the university, who are themselves, each in his own -faculty, to suggest additional books proper to be added to the library. -Dury seems to have no doubt that funds will always be forthcoming, <!-- Page 186 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>as -well as for the librarian's "extraordinary expenses in correspondencies -and transcriptions for the public good." It seems to be expected that he -will frequently make advances out of his own pocket. Dury glides lightly -over these ticklish financial details, which, however, remind him of the -existence of a law of copyright, and the probable accumulation of -accessions undesirable from the point of view of mere scholarship. His -observations on this point are full of liberality and good sense:—</p> - -<p>"I understand that all the book-printers or stationers of the -Commonwealth are bound of every book that is printed, to send a copy -into the University Library; and it is impossible for one man to read -all the books in all faculties, to judge of them what worth there is in -them; nor hath every one ability to judge of all kind of sciences what -every author doth handle, and how sufficiently; therefore I would have -at this time of giving accounts, the library keeper also bound to -produce the catalogue of all the books sent unto the University's -library by the stationers that printed them; to the end that every one -of the doctors in their own faculties should declare whether or no they -should be added, and where they should be placed in the catalogue of -additionals. For I do not think that all books and treatises, which in -this age are printed in all kinds, should be inserted into the -catalogue, and added to the stock of the library; discretion must be -used and confusion avoided, and a course taken <!-- Page 187 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>to distinguish that -which is profitable from that which is useless; and according to the -verdict of that society, the usefulness of books for the public is to be -determined. Yet because there is seldom any books wherein there is not -something useful, and books freely given are not to be cast away, but -may be kept, therefore I would have a peculiar place appointed for such -books as shall be laid aside to keep them in, 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 referred." It -seems then, that if Dury could have advised Bodley, and Bodley had -listened to him, the Bodleian would have been rich in early -Shakespeares, and might have preserved many publications now entirely -lost.</p> - -<p>Dury's second letter on the subject merely repeats the ideas of the -first with less practical suggestion and in a more declamatory style. It -contains a striking passage on the ruin of the library of Heidelberg, a -terrible warning to librarians. It had books, it had manuscripts, but it -had no catalogue, and its candlestick was taken away.</p> - -<p>"What a great stir hath been heretofore, about the eminency of the -library of Heidelberg, but what use was made of it? It was engrossed -into the hands of a few, till it became a prey unto the enemies of the -truth. If the library keeper had been a man that would have traded with -it for the increase of true learning, it might have been preserved unto -this day in all the rareties thereof, not so much by the shuttings up of -the multitude of <!-- Page 188 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>books, and the rareness thereof for antiquity, 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 -parts, and so the library rareties would not only have been preserved in -the spirits of men, but have fructified abundantly therein unto this -day, whereas they are now lost, because they were but a talent digged in -the ground."</p> - -<p>Well said! and it may be added that one good reason for printing the -catalogue of a great library is that, in the event of its destruction, -it may at least be known what it contained. The greatest library in the -world was within an ace of destruction under the Paris Commune: had it -perished, the very memory of a large part of its contents would have -been lost. Respecting Heidelberg, it should be remarked that the -destruction was not quite so irreparable as would appear from Dury's -passionate outburst. The books and manuscripts to a considerable extent -went not to the Devil but to the Pope, though Dury probably could see -little difference. But even the Pope did not ultimately retain them. No -fewer than eight hundred and ninety MSS. were subsequently carried off -by Napoleon, and being thus at Paris at the entry of the allies, were -reclaimed by the Bavarian Government, and restored to the University of -Heidelberg, with the sanction of the Pope, at the special instance of -the King of Prussia.<a name="FNanchor_188:1_20" id="FNanchor_188:1_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_188:1_20" class="fnanchor">[188:1]</a></p> - -<p><!-- Page 189 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span></p><p>Appended to the tract is a short Latin account, also by Dury, of the -Duke of Brunswick's library at Wolfenbuttel, famous on many grounds, and -especially for having had Lessing as its librarian. It appears that on -May 21, 1649, it was estimated to contain 60,000 treatises by 37,000 -authors, bound in 20,000 volumes, all collected since 1604. It must -therefore have been administered with an energy corresponding to the -demands of Dury, who concludes his enthusiastic account with an -aspiration which every librarian will echo on behalf of the institution -with which he is himself connected:—</p> - -<p lang="la" xml:lang="la">"Faxit Deus, ut Thesaurus hic rerum divinarum æternarum sit et ipse -æternus, neque prius quam mundi machina laboret aut intercidat."</p> - -<p>It will have been observed that Dury's suggestions have reference solely -to university libraries. The conception of a really popular library did -not then exist, 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 literature, embodying every -variety of opinion, should be indiscriminately accessible to every -condition of men. But this very limitation of his views should render -his admonition, and his lofty standard of the librarian's duty, more -interesting and significant to the librarians of the nineteenth century. -For if the advising function was rightly deemed so important in him who -had to consult with university professors, men probably of more learning -<!-- Page 190 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>than himself, much more is its judicious exercise required in him who -has to aid the researches and direct the studies of the comparatively -ignorant. "The Reformed Library Keeper," therefore, has a message for -our age as well as its own; and we need not regret the half-hour we have -spent with good old John Dury, the first who discovered that a librarian -had a soul to be saved.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_174:1_19" id="Footnote_174:1_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174:1_19"><span class="label">[174:1]</span></a> Read at the Monthly Meeting of the Library Association, -March 1884.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_188:1_20" id="Footnote_188:1_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188:1_20"><span class="label">[188:1]</span></a> See Wilken, "<cite class="noitalic" lang="de" xml:lang="de">Geschichte der Bildung, Beraubung, und -Vernichtung der alten Heidelbergischen Büchersammlungen</cite>" (Heidelberg, -1817).</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 191 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="THE_MANUFACTURE_OF_FINE_PAPER_IN_ENGLAND" id="THE_MANUFACTURE_OF_FINE_PAPER_IN_ENGLAND"></a>THE MANUFACTURE OF FINE PAPER IN ENGLAND IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY</h2> -</div> - - -<p>The MS. correspondence of Conyers Middleton with Lord Hervey, acquired -by the British Museum in 1885, contains, incidentally, evidence -respecting the source from which fine paper, suitable for printing -handsome books, was derived by English publishers until nearly the -middle of the eighteenth century. Much of this correspondence relates to -the progress of Middleton's "Life of Cicero," Lord Hervey, to whom the -book was dedicated, and who had been zealous in procuring subscribers, -frequently urging more expedition, and Middleton assigning various -causes for delay. At last, under date of April 6, 1740, Middleton -mentions one which he regards as for the time insuperable. War against -Spain, it should be noticed, had been declared in November 1739, and -Spain had at the time troops in Italy, and considerable naval strength -in the Mediterranean.</p> - -<p>"As to Tully," says Middleton, "I am ashamed almost to mention it, on -account of a total cessation of the press from want of paper, occasioned -by the uncertain return of ships from Genoa since the <!-- Page 192 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>commencement of -the war, during which our large paper is exhausted, and not a sheet of -it to be had in London till a fresh cargo arrives, which is expected, -however, every day. The booksellers did not give me the least hint of -this till it was too late to be remedied, knowing that it would vex me, -as it really has done, yet there is no help but patience. But we may -possibly retrieve this loss of time by employing several presses at once -as soon as we get paper, since I have now finished all my part, and -assure your lordship that there is not a subscriber so desirous to read -as I am to get it out of my hands."</p> - -<p>On April 27, Middleton repeats his assurance that "no one is half so -impatient to read as I am to publish." This does not satisfy Lord -Hervey, who writes on May 27: "I cannot, 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 work. I tell -the story of the disappointment you met with in the paper, but am -answered by almost everybody that this need not and should not hinder -your publishing at least the first volume. I could wish that some way -could be contrived, without you or your bookseller running any risk, to -let the first part come out immediately. Could you not do it by a -previous advertisement relating the misfortune of the paper, and saying -whoever was willing to pay the second payment should have the first part -delivered to them?"</p> - -<p>Middleton replies on June 3: "As to the <!-- Page 193 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>publication, all I can say is -that as soon as paper arrives, your lordship shall be master both of the -time and the manner, so far as is in my power; but until we get a -recruit of paper, which has long been wholly exhausted, it is not -possible to publish the first volume, since there are two sections of it -still unprinted."</p> - -<p>On June 17, however, he reports a change for the better: "Our paper -arrived in the Downs last week, and is in port probably by this time, so -that we shall now carry on our work with all possible vigour; and if we -cannot publish both the volumes in Michaelmas term, which my managers, -however, promise me to do, I will undertake at least at all adventures -for the publication of the first."</p> - -<p>The work still did not progress. Middleton writes on August 24: "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 press, but I have the mortification still to -acquaint your lordship that we have not printed a sheet since I saw your -lordship, and though I wrote to my bookseller above three weeks ago to -know what end we are to expect to this unaccountable interruption, yet I -have not heard a word from him."</p> - -<p>But on September 4 he reports himself at the end of his troubles, so far -as concerns the supply of paper: "I could not omit the first opportunity -of acquainting your lordship that we have received a stock of paper at -last from Genoa, sufficient for finishing the first volume, <em>and have -provided a <!-- Page 194 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>quantity also of our own manufacture, which is the better of -the two</em>, for carrying on the second volume at the same time, which I -have ordered to be committed immediately to the press, and hope that we -may be able still to publish both the volumes before Christmas."</p> - -<p>The book did, in fact, appear about February, 1741. An examination of -the copies in the King's and Cracherode Libraries, British Museum, -confirms the statements in Middleton's letters. The work is printed on -two different qualities and descriptions of paper. By much the larger -part of the first volume, extending in the King's Library copy to p. -472, sig. Ooo, and in the Cracherode copy to p. 464 (misprinted 264), -sig. Nnn, but not including the dedication, preface, or list of -subscribers, is impressed on a very fine thick paper, without name, -date, or device, except two watermarks, frequently interchanged, -resembling respectively an escutcheon and a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fleur-de-lis</i>. The -remainder of the volume, and the whole of vol. 2, are executed upon a -good, but thinner and inferior, paper, with no clue to the date or place -of manufacture. The first leaf for which this new paper is employed is -greatly stained in both copies, apparently from contact with the Italian -paper, as the same is the case with the last leaf of the preliminary -matter. Some other leaves are slightly stained, especially near the end. -The leaves in finest condition are those of the dedication to Lord -Hervey and the preface, which were printed last, and with which especial -care would be taken. The portion of the first volume printed on the -<!-- Page 195 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>English paper is not so considerable as Middleton seems to have at one -time expected, consisting, instead of two sections, of only a portion of -section 6, the last in the volume. It must be supposed that the paper -"in the Downs" proved sufficient to carry the impression on to the point -where the Italian paper fails. The difference between the thickness of -the two papers is such that although vol. 2 has only 36 pages less than -vol. 1, it weighs 11¼ oz. less, or about ⅛.</p> - -<p>It appears unquestionable, then, that about the year 1740 English -publishers depended for the execution of fine books upon paper imported -from Genoa, and that the interruption of the supply from this quarter -occasioned great inconvenience for a time, keeping an important book at -a standstill for several months, but soon called the manufacture of fine -paper into activity, as a branch of English industry. It would be -interesting to know how long before 1740 this trade originated, and how -long after that date it continued. It is scarcely likely that it -flourished during the warlike times of Queen Anne; but it probably -revived during the quarter-century of tranquillity which followed the -Treaty of Utrecht. It is not probable that it long survived the -development of the manufacture of fine paper in England. Though inferior -to the Italian, the English paper was quite good enough to displace this -if it had the advantage of superior cheapness, as it certainly must have -had. Ample materials for deciding these questions probably exist on the -shelves of the King's Library.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 196 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p><p>It should be mentioned that there was an impression of the "Life of -Cicero" on small paper, but the great majority of the splendid list of -subscribers prefixed to the work appear as subscribing for large-paper -copies.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><strong>Note.</strong>—The writer might have remarked that Brian Walton, in -the preface to his superb edition of the Polyglott Bible -(1657) expresses, in a passage afterwards suppressed, his -obligation to the Protector and the Council of State, for -having remitted in his behalf the duty on paper; which is -undoubtedly to be understood of a tax on paper imported from -abroad.</p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 197 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="ON SOME COLOPHONS OF THE EARLY PRINTERS"><a name="ON_SOME_COLOPHONS_OF_THE_EARLY_PRINTERS" id="ON_SOME_COLOPHONS_OF_THE_EARLY_PRINTERS"></a>ON SOME COLOPHONS OF THE EARLY PRINTERS<a name="FNanchor_197:1_21" id="FNanchor_197:1_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_197:1_21" class="headerfn">[197:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The paper to which I am about to invite attention belongs to the class -which Mr. Chancellor Christie has very justly entitled "haphazard -papers," lying outside the proper work of the Library Association, and -contributing little or nothing to promote it. It is written to recommend -a slight literary undertaking which could not possibly find a place in -the programme of our body. It can only plead that a certain variety has -always been thought conducive to the interest of our gatherings; that it -may be well to show that no province of book-lore is altogether too -remote for our attention; and that a prolusion on an out-of-the-way -subject may have, so to speak, a kind of decorative value; as a sprig of -barberries, though nobody wants to eat it, may serve as garnish for a -substantial dish. The little enterprise I have to recommend is the -publishing, in a small volume, of such colophons, or attestations of the -completion of a book by a printer, as belong to the fifteenth century, -and possess <!-- Page 198 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>individual features of interest, not being mere -matter-of-fact announcements or repetitions from former productions of -the same press.</p> - -<p>There are two main sources of interest in the colophon—the biographical -and the personal. Taking the former first, it may be remarked that for a -long time the colophon supplied the place of the title-page. It would be -impossible to give a catalogue of very early title-pages, for very early -books had no title-pages. In his charming and beautifully illustrated -papers on the "History of the Title-Page," recently published in the -<cite>Universal Review</cite>—which I strongly recommend to your perusal—Mr. -Alfred Pollard, of the British Museum, tells us that the first English -title-page is assigned to the year 1491. It had come into use sooner on -the Continent, but the first example, which still requires to be -definitely ascertained, was probably not earlier than 1476, or more than -twenty years subsequent to the invention of printing. It was not until -1490 that title-pages became the rule, or until 1493 that the printer's -or publisher's name began to be given upon the title. Up to this date, -then, even when the book has a title-page, the printer or publisher can -only be ascertained from the colophon, and before 1490 you must -generally go to the colophon even for the description of the book. The -reason is, no doubt, the extent to which the printer was influenced by -the example of his predecessor, the copyist. It was more natural for the -scribe to record the completion of his labours at the end of his -manuscript than <!-- Page 199 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>to announce their commencement on the first leaf. In -expressing his satisfaction and thankfulness on the last page he would -naturally mention the name of the book he had been engaged upon, and -hence his successor, the printer, inherited the habit of giving all -information about a book not stated in a prologue or table of contents, -at the end instead of at the beginning—in a colophon rather than on a -title-page. The same custom had prevailed in classic times. The ancient -title, when inscribed within the covers of the manuscript, was, says -Rich, "written at the end instead of the commencement, at least it is so -placed in all the Herculanean MSS. which have been unrolled." Sometimes, -however, it was written on a separate label affixed to the roll so as to -hang down outside: and on the same principle it may be conjectured that -when manuscripts came to be bound, much of the inconvenience occasioned -by the want of a title was obviated by the title being written on the -binding.</p> - -<p>It must, nevertheless, seem surprising that so simple and useful a -contrivance as a title-page should not have been thought of sooner. In -one respect, however, the employment of the colophon for so long a -period is not to be regretted. If the title-page is more practical, the -colophon is more individual and characteristic. The title-page may tell -us something of the character of the author when it is his own wording, -but as a rule nothing of the printer beyond the bare facts of his -locality and his existence. But into the colophon the early printer <!-- Page 200 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>has -managed to put a great deal of information about himself. He often -becomes, or at least hires, a poet. He boasts, and generally not without -ground, of his industry and accuracy. He usually records the precise day -when his work was completed, and sometimes the exact time spent upon it. -He sometimes, as in an instance quoted by Mr. Pollard, brings in a -bishop to help his book with a recommendation.</p> - -<p>All this is very interesting so far as it helps to make the old printers -real to us. We would fain know more of men to whom we are so greatly -indebted, and who, we are sure, must have been individually interesting. -I will not say that this early age was the heroic age of printing, for -the history of the art is fertile in examples of heroism down to this -day; and perhaps the greatest man who ever exercised it—Benjamin -Franklin—was a modern. But there certainly must have been a romance -about the early days of printing not easily reproduced now. Romantic -circumstances must have attended the flight of the first printers from -the besieged city of Mentz, where the art had been exclusively carried -on for so many years.</p> - -<p>When we see how largely these German emigrants settled in Italy and -France, and had almost a monopoly of Spain, we perceive that they must -have been men of great enterprise. How did they overcome the -difficulties that must have beset them as settlers in foreign countries? -Is it not a fair conjecture that the difficulty of language was partly -overcome by their being men of liberal education, <!-- Page 201 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>and speaking Latin? -Still they would have workmen to direct; did they bring journeymen of -their own country with them, or instruct foreigners? The interest -attaching to this question tempts me to a brief digression into a -subject not properly comprised in my essay; the colophon, so far as I am -aware, throwing no light upon it. It seems probable that foreign -printers were attended in their migrations by bodies of journeymen; for -in the privilege granted by the Venetian Senate in 1469 to Joannes de -Spira, the first Venetian printer, he is said to have come to live in -Venice with his wife, his children, and his entire <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">familia</i>. The -<i lang="es" xml:lang="es">familia</i>, then, is expressly distinguished from his wife and children; -besides which the word never means in the classical writers, nor, so far -as I can discover, in the mediæval either, family in our sense of -kindred, but only in that of household: and as he is not likely to have -brought domestic servants with him, must be understood to denote here -the troop of workmen of whom he was the head; who had evidently also -immigrated with him. We are also told that a priest, Clemente Patavino, -probably the first Italian who ever exercised the art of printing, -taught himself by his own ingenuity, without having ever seen any one at -work. From this we may infer that the presses were jealously guarded, -and that the workmen were not Italians, or Clemente could not have been -the first Italian to learn the craft. His first book was printed in -1471, several years after the introduction of printing into Italy.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 202 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p><p>Other interesting questions respecting the early printers remain which -we should much like to have answered. Did they try to keep their art and -mystery secret? Were they their own type-founders? Were their types cast -near the scene of their labours, or transported from great distances? -How did they set about obtaining the favour of the great men who -patronised them? Was their discovery universally welcomed by the -learned? or did some consider that books were low, and manuscripts alone -worthy the attention of a self-respecting collector? Were they stunned -by the objurgations of angry copyists? or endangered by any supposed -connection with the black art? Were they in general their own editors -and proof-correctors? and what were their relations with the scholars -who aided them with annotations, or wrote dedications for their books? -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 Plantin, at Antwerp. For these early times, except for such -information as may be derived from the accidental discovery of contracts -and similar documents, we must depend upon hints gleaned from the books -themselves, which are usually found in their colophons.</p> - -<p>Neither my time nor yours would admit of my entering into the matter -very deeply at present, but I have selected a few instances, entirely -from books printed at Rome and Venice, which may serve to indicate what -illumination colophons may <!-- Page 203 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>occasionally contribute to the obscurity of -early typography, and sometimes to that of the manners and ideas of the -times. And here I may remark incidentally, that the history of early -printing is highly creditable to the age which fostered the art, and to -those who exercised it, without, one may almost say, producing a single -frivolous book for fifty years. An account of it mainly from the point -of view of its contact with human life—the books which the early -printers thought worth reproducing, the success of these, as attested by -the comparative frequency of their republication, the proportion in -which studies and professions, arts and trades, respectively benefited -by the new discovery, would make a fascinating story in the hands of a -writer of insight and sympathy. We have materials enough; it is now -required to make the dry bones live.</p> - -<p>In a colophon it will naturally be expected that among the sentiments -more frequently finding expression, should be the printer's joy in his -art, and assertion of its claims to admiration. Udalricus Gallus, of -Rome, boasts that he can print more matter in a day than a copyist can -transcribe in a year: "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Imprimit ille die quantum non scribitur anno</span>." -The same printer tells the geese that saved the Capitol that they may -keep their quills for the future, as the cock (<i>Gallus</i>) has cut them -out. Joannes de Spira, the first printer established at Venice, declares -that his first attempt has so far surpassed the work of the scribes that -the reader need set no bounds to his anticipations; just as an <!-- Page 204 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>electric -light company might advertise "Gas entirely superseded." He celebrates -his type as more legible than manuscript:</p> - -<div class="poem" lang="la" xml:lang="la"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Namque vir ingenio mirandus et arte Joannes</div> - <div class="line i1 indentq">Exscribi docuit clarius ære libros."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Now the word <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">docuit</i> (<em>taught</em>) is not really appropriate to one who -merely exercised an art he had learned from others. The question might -be raised whether the reference is not to the inventor of printing, -Joannes Gutenberg, and whether in this book of 1469 we have not the -earliest testimony to his invention of printing. If so, this is indeed a -precious colophon; but I suppose it must be admitted to be more likely -that Spira was thinking of himself, or that his poet was not -over-discriminating in his praise of his employer. The point, however, -is worth considering. Spira's brother, Vindelinus, enunciates the -excellent maxim that the renown of a printer is rather to be estimated -by the beauty than by the number of his productions:</p> - -<div class="poem" lang="la" xml:lang="la"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Nec vero tantum quia multa volumina, quantum</div> - <div class="line i1 indentq">Qui perpulchra simul optimaque exhibeat."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Nothing, indeed, is more characteristic of the early printers than the -stress they laid upon accuracy. From another colophon we learn that an -edition of Sallust at that early period consisted of five hundred -copies. In another the same printer declares that he will deign to sell -nothing that is not perfectly correct. In another <!-- Page 205 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>he talks of having -carefully expurgated his author, as if he had been printing Juvenal or -Martial, but as the author is a divine the remark can only refer to the -correctness of the text. John of Cologne goes further still, and asserts -that his book is absolutely immaculate:</p> - -<div class="poem" lang="la" xml:lang="la"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Emptor, habes careant omni qui crimine libri,</div> - <div class="line indentq">Quos securus emas, procul et quibus exulat error."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>Occasionally the corrector's name is mentioned. A remarkable instance of -this is where Vindelinus de Spira prints an Italian book, the "Divine -Comedy," the language of which he probably would not understand, when -Christoval Berardi, of Pesaro, is especially named as the corrector in -an Italian sonnet probably composed by himself. In an instance of an -arithmetical work the printer, Erhard Ratdolt, distinctly claims the -merit of the correctness of the press as his personal merit, and we -learn from other sources that he was a good mathematician.</p> - -<p>Another class of colophon sets forth the deserts of the author instead -of those of the printer, and it is noteworthy that these, when in verse, -are generally expressed in a more elegant style. It is to be regretted -that the verses written for Sweynheym and Pannartz, the fathers of the -art in Italy, were generally so bad; yet there is something to be -learned from them. We discover that they thought it necessary to -apologise for their uncouth German names (<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Aspera ridebis Teutonica -nomina forsan</i>); and that a Roman patrician named <!-- Page 206 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>Maximus—a man to be -ever honoured for his public spirit—had given them and their press -house-room in his palace. We learn from other colophons that an edition -of Sallust consisting of four hundred copies, and that two editions of -Cicero's Epistles to his friends, were carried through the press in four -months. The comparative cheapness of typography is also a frequent -matter of congratulation. It is said to have brought Virgil within the -reach of all scholars, and to have enabled every man to be his own -lawyer; but the printer seldom tells us what the price of the volume -was. We observe that the trade of the book-producer has not yet become -differentiated into the two great classes of printers and publishers. -While, as before remarked, there is every reason to conclude that the -early printers were persons of liberal education, we do not, so far as I -am aware, find evidence of this mechanical craft being exercised by men -of gentle blood. I have, however, already mentioned the priestly -printer, Clemente Patavino, and a colophon reveals that the printers of -one book were two priests. One rather wonders what became meanwhile of -their religious duties. I suppose that a priest would not in general -have been allowed to follow a secular calling, at least openly, but in -this instance of printing there is no attempt at concealment. A -circumstance honourable in its way to the craft to which we owe our -existence, and suggesting that the ecclesiastical authorities of the -fifteenth century thought of printers as our <!-- Page 207 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>friend Mr. Dewey rightly -tells we ought to think of librarians.</p> - -<p>Enough, perhaps, has been said to warrant the suggestion of a little -book of colophons, bringing together what must now be laboriously hunted -up from Panzer, Hain, and similar authorities. 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 -century; but every colophon should also be given which throws a light on -contemporary history and public feeling on any subject. I should, for -instance, include that in which the peaceful character of Paul II.'s -pontificate is recognised by the epithet "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">placatissimum</span>," and any that -conveyed a compliment to a king, doge, or any leading personage of the -time. Such a little volume, tastefully executed, something after the -pattern of Monsieur Müntz's delightful little book in the Vatican -Library under Platina, would, I believe, be a favourite companion with -many an amateur of ancient typography.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, I may say a few words respecting what we are endeavouring -to do at the British Museum for the illustration of early printing. Of -the little exhibition of title-pages and colophons displayed at the -Association's visit to the Museum yesterday, since you have all seen it, -I need only say that the credit of collecting and arranging it is -entirely due to Mr. Pollard, whose essay on the subject I have already -recommended to your perusal. A more permanent collection is -<!-- Page 208 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span>contemplated, which I believe will be of substantial benefit to the -study of ancient printing. When the requisite funds are procured, as it -is hoped will shortly be the case, it is intended to provide additional -glazed presses in the library, with the view of bringing together -examples of every description of type used by a printer of incunabula, -that is, of books produced during the fifteenth century. Mr. Aldrich, a -gentleman deeply versed in typographic lore, to whom the selection of -these examples will be entrusted, will arrange them as far as possible -in the alphabetical order of the towns where the art of printing was -exercised, keeping the works of each printer together. This collection, -though not shown to the public, will always be accessible to experts. -Its value to them is obvious, and we hope it will also be of material -service in disclosing the numerous deficiencies of the Museum in -representative specimens of early type, and prompting efforts to make -them good. There is no idea of assembling together all the incunabula in -the Museum, which would be impracticable for many reasons, but only -representative examples of the various types. The foundation, however, -of a general catalogue of incunabula has been laid in a manner which I -have previously stated to the American Library Association, namely, by -printing copies of the catalogue on one side only. When the catalogue is -finished we shall, by merely cutting out the entries of any particular -description of books, obtain a classed catalogue of the entire subject, -among others, of our incunabula; this list <!-- Page 209 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span>can be placed in the -reading-room for general reference, and, if sufficient encouragement is -forthcoming, be reprinted and published as a distinct catalogue, revised -with the careful attention to minutiæ which would be out of place in a -general working catalogue like that of the entire library, but which may -well be expected in a speciality. The standard of accuracy has risen, -and bibliographers are dissatisfied with what many deemed excessive -nicety when the Museum rules were framed. It is improbable that I shall -have any concern with this catalogue of the future: if I had, 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 Bradshaw.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_197:1_21" id="Footnote_197:1_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197:1_21"><span class="label">[197:1]</span></a> Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, -London, October 1889.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 210 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES FOLLOWED AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM"><a name="ON_THE_SYSTEM_OF_CLASSIFYING_BOOKS_ON_THE_SHELVES" id="ON_THE_SYSTEM_OF_CLASSIFYING_BOOKS_ON_THE_SHELVES"></a>ON THE SYSTEM OF CLASSIFYING BOOKS ON THE SHELVES FOLLOWED AT THE -BRITISH MUSEUM<a name="FNanchor_210:1_22" id="FNanchor_210:1_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_210:1_22" class="headerfn">[210:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>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 library.</p> - -<p>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 catalogue, but only of such as possess sufficient importance -to occupy at least one book-press in the library.</p> - -<p>Subjects which from a philosophical point of view might properly be -separated, must in actual library arrangements frequently be combined -for want of room.</p> - -<p>It is further to be borne in mind that the classification now to be -described does not in absolute strictness apply to the entire library, -but to the acquisitions—comprising, however, nearly four-fifths of the -whole—made since Sir Anthony Panizzi's accession to office as keeper of -the printed books. The books in Montague House were indeed -<!-- Page 211 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>scientifically arranged on their removal to the new premises, but space -was then wanting to carry out the views entertained by the officer -principally entrusted with their arrangement—the late Mr. Thomas Watts, -a gentleman of prodigious memory and encyclopædic learning. Mr. Watts -subsequently obtained space more in correspondence with the -comprehensiveness of his ideas, and the Museum library will bear the -impress of his mind for all ages. With his name will be associated that -of the late keeper, Mr. Rye, for many years his coadjutor, 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 collections. I trust to be excused this brief -reference to gentlemen prematurely lost to our profession—the former by -death, the latter by indisposition, brought on, it is to be feared, by -over-application to his official duties. 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 -own.</p> - -<p>The classification of a great library is equivalent to a classification -of human knowledge, and may, if men please, become the standard or -symbol of conflicting schools of thought. It might, for example, be -plausibly maintained that knowledge, and therefore the library, should -begin with the definition of man's relation to the unseen powers around -him—that is, with Natural Theology. Or with man himself as the unit of -all things human<!-- Page 212 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>—that is, with Anthropology. Or, on Nature's own -pattern, with the most rudimentary forms of existence. Hence, as we -heard yesterday from the distinguished gentleman who here represents the -fifth part of the world, the reading-room library at Melbourne begins -with works on the subject of Sponges. Fortunately for the neutral -bibliographer, there exists a book which not only holds in civilised -countries a place unique among books, but which has further established -its claim to precedence by the practical test of being the first to get -itself printed. The Museum classification accordingly begins with the -Bible, and I venture to express the opinion that every sound -classification will do the same.</p> - -<p>When the next question emerges, how to arrange the Bible itself, we -alight at once upon a few simple principles, which, with the necessary -modifications, will prove applicable throughout. It is obvious that -entire Bibles should precede parts of Bibles; that originals should -precede translations; the more ancient originals, the more recent; and -Bibles in both the original tongues those in one only. We thus obtain -the following arrangement at starting: Polyglots, Hebrew Bibles, Greek -Bibles. It is equally apparent that Greek cannot be fitly succeeded by -any tongue but Latin; that Latin is most naturally followed by its -modern derivatives; that these draw after them the other European -languages in due order; the Slavonic forming a link with the Oriental, -which in their turn usher in the African, American, and Polynesian.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 213 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span></p><p>Concordances, consisting of the words of the Bible detached from their -context, form a convenient link with Commentaries. The latter fall into -two principal sections, according as they relate to Scripture in its -entirety or to some particular part. In arranging the former, the -erudite labours of scholars are, as far as possible, kept apart from the -popular illustrative literature of modern days. The order of -commentaries on separate books must, of course, correspond with that of -the books themselves in the canon of the Bible.</p> - -<p>Next succeeds the very important class of literature representing the -Bible in contact with society through the medium of the Church. The most -obvious form of this relation is the liturgical. Liturgies accordingly -succeed Scripture in the Museum arrangement, precedence being given to -the various Churches in the order of their antiquity. A minor but very -extensive class of Liturgy, the Psalm and Hymn, naturally follows as an -appendix, preceding Private and Family Devotion, which prefaces works on -liturgical subjects in general. The next great department of this class -of literature ensues in the shape of Creeds and Catechisms. These pass -into formal expositions of dogmatic theology, including theological -libraries; which lead to the collected works of divines, commencing with -the Fathers. The same order is observed here as in the arrangement of -the Bible in its various languages: the Greek Fathers leading to the -Latin, the Latin to the divines of the nations speaking languages -derived from the Latin, and <!-- Page 214 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>these to the Teutonic nations, a division -practically equivalent to one into Catholic and Protestant. The general -theological literature of each nation follows in the same order, -excluding works treating of special theological questions, but including -all the immense mass of printed material relating to the Reformation and -the controversies resulting from it down to the present day. With these -the subject of General Theology may be deemed concluded, and we enter -not only upon a fresh department, but upon a fresh numeration. The -book-presses embracing the subjects hitherto described all bear numbers -commencing with 3000. With the new department 4000 commences, and the -same remark, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">mutatis mutandis</i>, is applicable to every succeeding -principal division. I must pass very lightly over the numerous sections -of this second section. Beginning with the fundamental questions of the -being of a God and the truth of Christianity, it embraces every special -question which has formed the subject of discussion among Christians, in -the order which commended itself as most logical to the original -designer of the arrangement. These controversies conduct to the common -ground of Religious Devotion and Contemplation, including the important -departments of Tracts and Religious Fiction; and these to devotion in -its hortatory form—<i>i.e.</i>, Sermons, classified on the same linguistic -principle as Scripture, and divided into the great sections of collected -discourses and separate sermons. With these the subject of specifically -Christian Theology terminates, and is <!-- Page 215 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span>succeeded by the great and -growing department of Mythology and non-Christian Religion. Judaism -follows, leading by an easy transition to Church History. A few words on -the arrangement of this section will save much repetition, as the -principle here exemplified is never departed from. It demonstrates the -advantage of beginning with a subject like the Bible, respecting the -correct arrangement of which there can be no dispute, and which serves -as a norm for all the rest. As the Bible necessarily commenced with -Polyglots, so Church History begins with General Church History; the -various nations succeed in their linguistic, which is practically also -their geographical order, provision being, of course, made for the -intercalation of sub-sections where necessary, as for instance one on -English Nonconformity. Polynesia, as the last member of this -arrangement, naturally introduces the next subject—Missions—which in -turn brings on Religious Orders, including Freemasonry. Religious -Biography follows, arranged on the same principle as Religious History, -which is always carried out wherever practicable. Finally, the whole -class is concluded by the small but important division of Religious -Bibliography.</p> - -<p>Divine Law is evidently most fitly succeeded by Human Law, or -Jurisprudence. The fulness with which the preceding section has been -treated will enable me to pass very cursorily over this and its -successors. I may be pardoned, however, one remark suggested by the -introduction of a new <!-- Page 216 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>division—that in the classification of a library -it should be considered whether the scope of the collection is special -or general. In arranging a mere collection of Law Books it would be -proper to commence with works treating of the general principles of -Jurisprudence. In arranging a great library, regard must be had to the -harmonious connection of the parts, and accordingly the Museum -arrangement commences with Ecclesiastical Law as the natural sequel of -Theology. Bulls, Councils, Canon-Law and Modern Church-Law introduce the -great section of Roman Law. Oriental Law follows, the Laws of the -Continental Nations succeed in the order previously explained, and thus -room is only found for General Jurisprudence at a comparatively late -period, at the beginning of the numeral series 6000. It brings after it -such minor subjects as Prison-Discipline and Forensic Medicine. The -remaining space of the section is occupied by the Law of the -English-speaking nations, which requires most minute subdivision.</p> - -<p>Next to Divinity and Law, the third rank among the pursuits of the human -mind was anciently assigned to Medicine. We have learned to recognise -that Medicine, however practically important, ranks scientifically only -as a department of Biology. The next section, accordingly, commences -with general Natural History, continuing through the natural kingdoms of -Botany, Geology, and Zoology, including Veterinary Surgery, with their -appropriate subdivisions, and then <!-- Page 217 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>embracing Medicine—first in its -general aspect, as medical principle and practice; then in its great -leading divisions of Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, &c.; again, as -Special Pathology; finally, in such comparative minutiæ as professional -controversies and bills of mortality. The divisions of Art—the next -class—are simple and obvious. They may be enumerated as Archæology, -Costumes, Numismatics, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, first as -treated collectively, and then as treated separately; and, finally, -Music. Fine Art is succeeded by Useful Art, and the interval bridged -over by Field-Sports, Games of Chance, and Games of Skill. No -subdivision of the Useful Arts has been attempted beyond the separation -of Cookery and Domestic Economy from the rest, and the addition of two -special sections, one for the catalogues of industrial exhibitions, the -other for the voluminous and important publications of the South -Kensington Museum.</p> - -<p>The extensive and miscellaneous division which succeeds may, perhaps, -best be defined under the head of Philosophy, alike in its scientific -principles and in its application to human life. Commencing with -Political Philosophy, or the Science of Government, it runs rapidly -through the politics of the various nations, in the geographical order -previously detailed, passes into Political Economy, with the allied -subjects of Finance, Commerce, and Social Science; thence into -Education, and, by the minor morals so intimately allied with the latter -subject, into Ethics, including works on the <!-- Page 218 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>condition of Woman, Peace, -Temperance, and similar topics. Speculative Philosophy succeeds, -introducing Mathematics, on which hangs the great department of Applied -Mathematics, including all physical sciences except the biological. The -various branches are carefully discriminated, and room is found among -them for the so-called Occult Sciences, and for Military and Naval -matters, the series appropriately concluding with Chemistry, or the -science which aims at the resolution of all matter into its original -elements. The remaining sections, though most important and extensive, -are very simple in arrangement, and may be dismissed very briefly. They -are: History; Geography, with Voyages and Topography; Biography; Poetry -and the Drama; Belles Lettres, including Fiction; and Philology. The -arrangement is invariably the same: collected works on each subject -being placed first, and a geographical order being adopted for the rest -when the conditions of the case allow. Genealogy is regarded as an -appendix to History; Letters to Biography; Elocution, with Literary -Criticism and Bibliography, to Poetry and the Dramatic Art. The class of -Belles Lettres is headed by Libraries and Cyclopædias.</p> - -<p>It should be stated that the system here explained refers in the -strictest sense only to works complete in themselves, and not to -Periodicals, Academical Publications, and State Papers, which are placed -separately. Although, however, these constitute distinct series, the -principle of classification is practically identical. The same remarks -apply to <!-- Page 219 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span>the Oriental departments of the collection, the Grenville -library, and the reference-library of the reading-room.</p> - -<p>Such is, in its main features, the system of book-press arrangement -which I have undertaken to describe. I have no fear but that it will be -pronounced in essentials logical and philosophical. It has undoubtedly -proved eminently convenient in practice. That it should be open to -revision on some points is inevitable from the nature of things, and -from two circumstances more especially—its gradual development as -subject after subject was added to the library, and the degree in which -it represents the idiosyncrasy of a single mind. Some minor oversights -must be admitted. Geology, for example, should unquestionably have -preceded Botany. I venture more extensive criticisms with hesitation, -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 Geography; -while it appears to me that the Useful Arts would have formed, through -Domestic Economy, a more natural sequel to Medicine than Fine Art, and -in arranging the latter department I should have assigned the last -instead of the first place to Archæology and its allied subjects. -Forensic Medicine might also have been conveniently placed at the <em>end</em> -of Law, to connect that subject with Natural Science. I should further -feel much inclined to form a class for Encyclopædias immediately after -Philology; both because <!-- Page 220 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>dictionaries of general knowledge seem -legitimate successors to dictionaries of languages, and that the end of -the classification might be answerable in dignity to the beginning. I am -aware how much room for diversity of opinion may exist on these and -similar points. On a more serious defect there can be no difference of -opinion, but it is a defect inherent in all finite things. In an ideal -classification by book-press one separate press, at least, would be -provided for each subject, however minute. But an ideal library would -also have room for each subdivision. We cannot have the ideal -classification without the ideal library, and, although I hazard nothing -in saying that, thanks to the genius of the designer, Sir Anthony -Panizzi, economy of space in the new buildings of the Museum has been -carried to the utmost extent conceivable, space is still insufficient to -provide a distinct niche for every well-marked division of a subject. -Upwards of five hundred such subdivisions are provided for; nevertheless -this large number is not exhaustive. Without such an exhaustive -distribution, the actual classification on the shelves, which is all I -have undertaken to describe here, can never be conterminous with the -ideal classification of the study. If, however, the Museum library has -been unable to achieve an infinity of space, it has secured a -practically indefinite numerical expansiveness by the elastic system -referred to in our President's address, in further illustration of which -I may be allowed a few words. On the removal of the books from <!-- Page 221 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span>Montague -House, about 1838, the cumbrous and antiquated, but I imagine then -nearly universal system of press-notation by Roman letters was exchanged -for one by Arabic numerals.<a name="FNanchor_221:1_23" id="FNanchor_221:1_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_221:1_23" class="fnanchor">[221:1]</a> These numbers were nevertheless -consecutive, and thus no space was left for insertions. Supposing, for -example, that you have three presses standing together, numbered 1, 2, -and 3, and respectively occupied by Botany, Horticulture, and -Agriculture, it is clear that when your press of Botany is full, you -must either duplicate your No. 1, or commence your subject afresh with -No. 4. Mr. Watts, however, set his numbers loose, leaving a set of spare -numbers after each, for future employment, proportioned to the probable -extent of the subject. Thus, in the case supposed, while his Botany -would still have been 1, his Horticulture might have been 10, and his -Agriculture 15. When more room is wanted for Botany, the other two -subjects are moved one press farther on, leaving the press formerly -occupied by Horticulture vacant for the Botanical additions. The -numbering of the presses is altered, but not the numbering of the books, -and the catalogue is not interfered with. The respective subjects thus -never get out of due numerical succession; and when, on the opening of -the new library in 1857, the books thus numbered were brought from their -former confined quarters, and <!-- Page 222 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>spread over a far larger area, the -removal was effected without the alteration of a single press-mark. As -the books in any one press may thus come to occupy another, it is, as -observed by Mr. Winter Jones, essential that all presses should be -exactly of the same dimensions.</p> - -<p>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 it, although I adverted to it in the course of the -discussion yesterday. I allude to the fourth copy of the catalogue. It -is generally known that the titles of books catalogued at the Museum are -transcribed trebly on carbonic tissue-paper by a manifold writer, and -that the catalogue is thus kept up in triplicate. 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 time. These fourth slips are kept in -boxes, and then arranged, <em>not</em> in alphabetical order as in the -catalogue, but according to the position of the books upon the shelves. -Now, as each shelf is restricted to a single subject, it follows that an -arrangement by shelves is tantamount to an arrangement by subjects—that -is, a classed catalogue. A great deal, of course, remains to be done -both in the way of subdivision and of incorporation; it is nevertheless -the fact that—thanks to the foresight of Sir Anthony Panizzi and Mr. -Winter Jones—the foundation of a classed Index to Universal Literature -has been laid by simply putting away titles as fast as transcribed, -without the nation having hitherto incurred any <!-- Page 223 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>cost beyond that of the -pasteboard boxes. The apparently gigantic task being thus far -simplified, I earnestly trust that public aid may be forthcoming for its -completion, ere the accumulation of titles shall have rendered it too -arduous. Fully sympathising with our friend Mr. Axon's wish to see the -Museum Catalogue in print, I am yet averse to attempting to print it -just as it stands: in the first place, because I regard the undertaking -as beyond our strength; and in the second place, because, although such -a catalogue would tell the student at a distance what books by -particular <em>authors</em> were in the library, it would not tell him what -books on particular <em>subjects</em> existed there; the latter, as it appears -to me, being the more urgent necessity of the two. I should therefore be -inclined to recommend the preparation of an abridged classified index, -compiled from the fourth-copy slips I have been describing, and its -publication from time to time in sections severally complete in -themselves, as affording the best means for a gradual solution of the -problem. Most of these sections, I have little doubt, would by their -sale nearly repay the expense of publication, which a complete -alphabetical catalogue of the library certainly would not. These -remarks, it will be perceived, coincide with those made yesterday by Mr. -Vickers, which struck me as eminently sensible and practical.</p> - -<p>I have prepared a list of the subjects comprised in the classification -of the Museum, which I put in for your examination. For a list of the -principal systems proposed for the classification of libraries, <!-- Page 224 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>I may -refer to Petzholdt's "<cite class="noitalic" lang="la" xml:lang="la">Bibliotheca Bibliographica</cite>." It is in so far -deficient that it necessarily contains no reference to the recent -labours of our American friends and colleagues, who, coming to the -subject with unbiased minds and an inventive ingenuity and fertility -equalled by no other nation, have already done so much to advance the -frontiers of the librarian's science.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_210:1_22" id="Footnote_210:1_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210:1_22"><span class="label">[210:1]</span></a> Read before the London Conference of Librarians, -October 1877.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_221:1_23" id="Footnote_221:1_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221:1_23"><span class="label">[221:1]</span></a> It deserves to be recorded that at this period, and for -some time afterwards, books were not labelled externally, but merely -press-marked inside the covers. When labels were introduced, at the -suggestion of Mr. Winter Jones, the printing of the first set cost -£800.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 225 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="SUBJECT-INDEXES TO TRANSACTIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES"><a name="SUBJECT-INDEXES_TO_TRANSACTIONS_OF_LEARNED_SOCIETIES" id="SUBJECT-INDEXES_TO_TRANSACTIONS_OF_LEARNED_SOCIETIES"></a>SUBJECT-INDEXES TO TRANSACTIONS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES<a name="FNanchor_225:1_24" id="FNanchor_225:1_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_225:1_24" class="headerfn">[225:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>We all remember the excellent paper read at the Oxford Conference by Mr. -J. B. Bailey, sub-librarian at the Radcliffe Library, upon the advantage -of a subject-index to scientific periodicals. Mr. Bailey spoke with just -praise of the splendid alphabetical catalogue issued by the Royal -Society, but observed that from the nature of the case this is "nearly -useless in making a bibliography of any given subject, unless one is -familiar with the names of all the authors who have written thereon." -This is manifestly the case. As an illustration both of the value and -the deficiencies of the Royal Society's index, I may mention that while -on the one hand it has enabled me to discover that my father, chiefly, -celebrated as a philologist, has written a paper on the curious and -perplexing subject of the formation of ice at the bottoms of rivers, the -existence of which was wholly unknown to his family, it does not on the -other hand assist me to ascertain, without a most tedious search, what -<!-- Page 226 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>other writers may have investigated the subject, or, consequently, how -far his observations are in accordance with theirs. Multiply my little -embarrassment by several hundred thousand, and you will have some idea -of the amount of ignorance which the classified index suggested by Mr. -Bailey would enlighten. We may well believe that the only objection he -has heard alleged is the magnitude of the undertaking, and must -sympathise with his conviction that, granting this, it still ought not -to be put aside, merely because it is difficult. I hope to point out, -however, that so far as concerns the scientific papers, to which alone -Mr. Bailey's proposal relates, the difficulty has been over-estimated, -that the literary compilation need encounter no serious obstacle, and -that the foundation might be laid in a short time by a single competent -workman, such as Mr. Bailey himself. Of an index to literary papers I -shall speak subsequently; and, there, I must acknowledge, the -difficulties are much more formidable. But as regards scientific papers, -it appears to me that the only considerable impediment is the financial. -When the others are overcome, then, and not till then, we shall be in a -favourable position for overcoming this also. The reason why the -formation of a classified index to scientific papers is comparatively -easy, is that the groundwork has been already provided by the -alphabetical index of the Royal Society. We have the titles of all -scientific papers from 1800 to 1865 before us, and shall soon have them -to <!-- Page 227 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span>1873. Though it might be interesting, it is not essential to go -further back. We have now to consider how best to distribute this -alphabetical series into a number of subject-indexes. To take the first -step we merely require a little money (the first condition of success in -most undertakings), and some leisure on the part of a gentleman -competent to distinguish the grand primary divisions of scientific -research from each other, and avoid the errors which cataloguers have -been known to commit in classing the star-fish with constellations, and -confusing Plato the philosopher with Plato a volcano in the moon. I need -only say that very many of our body would bring far more than this -necessary minimum of scientific knowledge to the task. I may instance -Mr. Bailey himself. The money would be required to procure two copies of -the alphabetical index (which, however, the Royal Society would very -likely present), and to pay an assistant for cutting these two copies up -into strips, each strip containing a single entry of a scientific paper, -and pasting the same upon cardboard. It would be necessary to have two -copies of the alphabetical catalogue, as this is printed on both sides -of the paper; and as the name of the writer is not repeated at the head -of each of his contributions, and would therefore have to be written on -the card, close supervision would be required, or else a very -intelligent workman. When this was done, the entire catalogue would -exist upon cards, in a movable form instead of an immovable. The work of -the arranger or arrangers would now begin. All <!-- Page 228 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span>that he or they would -have to do would be to write somewhere upon the card, say in the left -hand upper corner, the name of the broad scientific division, such as -astronomy, meteorology, geology, to which the printed title pasted upon -the card appertained, and to put each into a box appropriated to its -special object, preserving the alphabetical order of each division. We -should then have the classed index already in the rough, at a very small -relative expenditure of time, money, and labour. For the purposes of -science, however, a more minute subdivision would be necessary. Here the -functions of our Council would come into play, and it would have a great -opportunity of demonstrating its usefulness as an organising body by -inducing, whether by negotiation with individuals or with scientific -corporations like the Royal Society, competent men of science to -undertake the task of classifying the papers relating to their own -special studies. Men of science, we may be certain, are fully aware of -the importance of the undertaking, which is indeed designed for their -special benefit; and although they are a hard-worked race, I do not -question that a sufficient number of volunteers would be forthcoming. -When one looks, for example, at the immense labour of costly and -unremunerated research undertaken by a man like the late Mr. Carrington, -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 <!-- Page 229 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span>generally available. I am sure, for -instance, that such men as Mr. Knobel and Mr. Carruthers would most -readily undertake the classification of the astronomical and the -botanical departments respectively, provided that their other -engagements allowed; as to which, of course, I cannot affirm anything. -Supposing our scientific editors found, they would proceed exactly in -the same manner as the editor who had already accomplished the -classification in the rough. Each would take the cards belonging to his -own section, 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 referred; thus, opposite Botany—Lichen, -and so on. He would then put the title into the box or drawer belonging -to its sub-section, and when the work was complete, we should have the -whole catalogue in a classified form, digested under a number of -sub-headings. Some preliminary concert among the scientific editors -would, no doubt, be necessary, and a final revision in conformity with -settled rules. It might be questioned, for example, whether a -dissertation on camphor properly belonged to botany, chemistry, or -materia medica; whether the subject of the gymnotus was ichthyological, -anatomical, or electrical; whether in such dubious cases a paper should -be entered more than once. It would save time and trouble if these -points could be determined before the classification in the rough was -commenced; in any case considerable delay from unavoidable causes <!-- Page 230 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span>must -be anticipated. It is to be remembered, on the other hand, that the work -could under no circumstances be completed until the publication of the -Royal Society's alphabetical index of papers from 1865 to 1873 was -finished, which, I suppose, will not be the case for two or three years. -There will, therefore, be sufficient time to meet unforeseen causes of -delay. If the classified index could be ready shortly after the -alphabetical, if we could show the world that the work was not merely -talked about as desirable, but actually done in so far as depended upon -ourselves and the representatives of science; that it already existed in -the shape of a card catalogue, 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 present. I cannot think that so much good -work would be allowed to be lost. The catalogue, not being confined to -papers in the English language, would be equally useful in every country -where science is cultivated, and would find support all over the -civilised world. Either from the Government, or from learned societies, -or the universities, or the enterprise of publishers, or the interest of -individual subscribers, or private munificence, means would, sooner or -later, be forthcoming to bring the work out, and thus erect a most -substantial monument to the utility of our Association. It would -obviously be important to provide that scientific papers should be -indexed not only for the past, but for the future. If, as I trust, the -Royal Society intends <!-- Page 231 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span>to continue the publication of its alphabetical -index from time to time, the compilers of the classified index will -continue to enjoy the same facilities as at present. There must be some -very effectual machinery at the Society for registering new scientific -papers as they are published. What it is we may hope to learn from our -colleague, its eminent librarian, who must be the most competent of all -authorities on the subject. Mr. Bailey draws attention to several -scientific periodicals as useful for bibliographical purposes, and I may -mention one which seems to be very complete.<a name="FNanchor_231:1_25" id="FNanchor_231:1_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_231:1_25" class="fnanchor">[231:1]</a> It is published at -Rome. The number for last December, which I have just seen, is so -complete that, among a very great number of scientific papers from all -quarters, it records those on the telephone and the electric light, in -the "Companion to the British Almanac," which, I think, had then been -only announced here, not published, omitting the other contributions as -non-scientific. It further gives a complete index to the contents of the -<cite lang="es" xml:lang="es">Revista Cientifica</cite>, a Barcelona periodical, which had apparently just -reached the editor, from its commencement in the preceding April. By -this list I learn that the electric pen, the subject of our colleague -Mr. Frost's recent paper, had been the theme of a communication to a -Barcelona society in May last. It certainly seems as if any library that -took this periodical in, and transcribed the entries in its -bibliographical section on cards properly classed, <!-- Page 232 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span>would be able to -keep up a pretty fair subject-index to scientific papers for the future. -I must, in conclusion, say a few words on a subject-index to the -transactions of literary societies. The prospect is here much more -remote, from the want of the almost indispensable groundwork of a -general alphabetical index. We have seen what an infinity of trouble in -collecting, in cataloguing, and in transcribing will be saved by the -Royal Society's list in the case of scientific papers, and are in a -position to appreciate the impediments which must arise from the want of -one in this instance. The work could be done by the British Museum if it -had a proportionate addition to its staff, or by a continuance of the -disinterested efforts which are now devoted to the continuance of Mr. -Poole's index to periodicals. Failing these, the most practical -suggestion appears to me Mr. Bailey's, that the undertaking might be to -a considerable extent promoted by the respective societies themselves. -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 Association, we should accumulate a -mass of material worth working upon, and which could be arranged while -awaiting a favourable opportunity for publication. In some instances -even more might be done. The library of the Royal Asiatic Society, for -example, contains not merely its own transactions, but those of every -important society devoted to Oriental studies, as well as all similar -periodicals. Our friend, Mr. Vaux, could probably, <!-- Page 233 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span>in process of time, -not only procure transcripts of the papers contained in these -collections, but could induce competent Orientalists to prepare a scheme -of classification, and such a classified list, complete in itself and of -no unwieldy magnitude, could be published as a sample and forerunner of -the rest. The initiative in such proposals, as well as those referring -to scientific papers, should be taken by our Association, which can -negotiate with eminent men and learned bodies upon equal terms, and -speak with effect where the voice of an individual would be lost. The -desideratum of a classed index, in a word, affords our Society a great -opportunity of distinguishing itself. It is this aspect of the matter, -no less than the importance of the matter itself, that has encouraged me -to bring it under your notice.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p><strong>Note.</strong>—This paper, the first on the subject, so far as known -to the author, attracted the attention of a gentleman of great -ability, Mr. Collins of Edgbaston, known as the indexer and -tabulator of Mr. Herbert Spencer's writings. He pressed the -necessity of a classed index of scientific papers upon the -attention of the Royal Society, which at one period seemed -about to take the matter up; but the plan, so far as concerned -Mr. Collins, was ultimately laid aside. Ere long, however, it -was revived, and the task of classification is now being -actively carried out, upon what precise system the writer is -not aware, but doubtless upon one which has received mature -consideration.</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_225:1_24" id="Footnote_225:1_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225:1_24"><span class="label">[225:1]</span></a> Read at the March Monthly Meeting of the Library -Association of the United Kingdom, and published in <cite>Nature</cite>, October 9, -1897.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_231:1_25" id="Footnote_231:1_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231:1_25"><span class="label">[231:1]</span></a> <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">Bullettino di bibliografia e di storia delle scienze -matematiche e fisiche.</i> <span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Pubbl. da B. Boncompagni</span> (Rome, 1868), &c.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 234 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="PHOTOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES"><a name="PHOTOGRAPHY_IN_PUBLIC_LIBRARIES" id="PHOTOGRAPHY_IN_PUBLIC_LIBRARIES"></a>PHOTOGRAPHY IN PUBLIC LIBRARIES<a name="FNanchor_234:1_26" id="FNanchor_234:1_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_234:1_26" class="headerfn">[234:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The subject of my paper has been already most advantageously introduced -to you by the precious broadside of William de Machlinia, exhibited -yesterday by Lord Charles Bruce; which, but for photography enlisted in -the cause of scholarship, few of us would ever have beheld. It is -equally commended by the pithy remark which fell from Mr. Bradshaw, "The -best description of a book is the book itself." It is, nevertheless, my -desire to bring under your notice the advantage of annexing a -photographic department to national libraries or other similar -institutions of first-class importance, as an integral portion of the -institution. The significance of the proposal consists in the last -clause. At the present moment any public library can have almost -anything it wishes photographed by paying for it, and so can any private -individual. But private individuals do not fill their houses with -photographic reproductions of nature and art; and in comparison with the -enormous results which might be obtained, public libraries, and, indeed, -public institutions of any kind, have as yet hardly made more use of the -potent agent which <!-- Page 235 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>science has put into their hands than the Coreans, -of whom Mr. Bullen has told us, made of the invention of movable type.</p> - -<p>Sure as I am of an indulgent audience, 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 transfer, by -direction of the Government, of the Irish portion of the Ashburnham MSS. -from the British Museum to the Royal Irish Academy. I am not here to -protest against this decision. I accept it as an accomplished fact: and -may sincerely profess that, so far as the interests of Celtic scholars -in Ireland are promoted, I am glad of it. But on the same principle I -must condole with the Celtic scholars in England, many of them Irishmen, -who must, at least until the distant period when Mr. Gilbert's truly -national undertaking is complete, repair to Dublin to consult what they -might have seen in London. The point to be insisted upon is, that if the -Museum had possessed a photographic department, the question whose -interests were to be sacrificed could not have arisen at all. Though, as -recently pointed out by Dr. Hessels, the photograph may not be -absolutely unerring in the reproduction of minute facsimile, if made -with due care it is practically adequate in the vast majority of -instances. We have just heard the Dean of Armagh's testimony to the -accuracy as well as the beauty of the facsimiles of ancient Irish MSS. -made under the <!-- Page 236 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span>direction of Mr. Gilbert. The photographic reproduction -is sometimes even preferable to the original manuscript, bringing out -and restoring faded letters. Given such a facsimile, and, save as a -matter of sentiment, it would be almost indifferent whether the original -reposed upon the shelves of London or of Dublin. With it, the scholar -need rarely brace himself up for a long and expensive journey to one -city or the other. With it, the national treasure is doubly, trebly, -tenfold, or a hundredfold if you like, protected against theft, injury, -or destruction. With it, Ireland might soon possess, at a nominal cost, -facsimiles of all MSS. illustrating her ancient language or history, and -not merely the Ashburnham. But if these propositions are true of the -British Museum, they are true of every national institution. If they -apply to Celtic scholars, they apply to all scholars. If they apply to -the Ashburnham MSS., they apply to all MSS., including parish registers -and public documents; if to these, then to printed books of rarity and -value; and no less to every picture and statue, engraving and medal. -Think of the boundless field thus opened up for the dissemination of -instruction and enjoyment, for the insurance of irreplaceable wealth, -and great must be the wonder that scarcely a corner of it should -hitherto have been occupied.</p> - -<p>The cause, nevertheless, is very simple. Photographic reproduction has -not as yet been regarded as a duty incumbent upon a public library, and -has not, accordingly, been provided for out of the <!-- Page 237 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span>public funds. The -same principle has not been applied to it which obtains in the case of -binding, lighting, cleaning, attendance, and other things apart from the -buying of books which are recognised as essential to the efficiency of -such an institution. It follows that photography is so dear as to be -rarely resorted to by private individuals; and that its exercise by -public institutions is impeded not only by considerations of expense, -but also by indispensable but vexatious formalities and restrictions. -Photography, while in private hands, must be costly; first and foremost, -because the photographer must live. Again, if he is an artist of the -accuracy of manipulation required for the work of a public library, he -must be enabled and entitled to put a high value on his services. Again, -he has invested capital both in his education and his working apparatus, -on which he must have interest. Once more, he works by the piece, and -piece labour is always the highest paid. Yet once again, his -remuneration comes to him entirely in money, and not in social position -or distinction. Besides, the demand for the description of photographic -reproduction which a public library would require is as yet but limited, -and partly from these very difficulties of supply. In portraiture, for -which everybody is a customer, and to a less degree in landscape and the -reproduction of works of art, we see that competition has brought the -desired article within reach of the masses. But in photographing books -and MSS. the cost is still very disproportionate to the amount of labour -or <!-- Page 238 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span>the value of material. We move in a vicious circle, the difficulty -of supply restricts demand, and the feebleness of demand obstructs -supply. Nor, were the demand more extensive, would the public be -effectually served by national institutions, so long as the system of -private photography and piece-work endured: for the artist must have his -profit, put it how you will: and it is this simple, and in the present -state of things, legitimate condition, which cripples the library and -museum on this side of their activity; and, while enriching the -individual, impoverishes the State in its spiritual aspect, by impeding -the free circulation of intellectual wealth.</p> - -<p>If the cause is as simple as I have stated, the remedy, fortunately, is -no less so. In so far as photography for public objects is concerned, we -must suppress the photographer as a tradesman. The State must enlist -him, pay him a fixed salary, requiring his whole time in return, and -minimise this source of expense by allowing him the rank of a civil -servant, and a status on a par with that of any other head of a -department. It must also provide the assistance which would be -requisite, and the necessary apparatus and chemicals. The photographer's -time being thus paid for, his profit abolished, and the material -provided for him, what source of expense remains? Absolutely none, until -there is a tax upon sunshine.</p> - -<p>It may still be fairly inquired:—</p> - -<p>1. Whether such an undertaking is within the legitimate sphere of -Government?</p> - -<p><!-- Page 239 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span></p><p>2. Whether it is of sufficient public utility to justify Government -action?</p> - -<p>3. How far such action would be remunerative financially?</p> - -<p>On the first point I shall say hardly anything. I can conceive no -greater objection in principle to an official photographer than to an -astronomer-royal, and I do not expect to hear any objections to the -latter functionary in the city of Sir William Rowan Hamilton and Dr. -Ball.</p> - -<p>Nor do I apprehend that many among us will require to be convinced of -the advantage of photography as an auxiliary to library work. It has -already been sufficiently impressed upon us by our friend Mr. Henry -Stevens. We meet here, however, in the hope that our voice on this and -other subjects will penetrate beyond our own circle, and arrest the -attention of many to whom these topics are at present unfamiliar. It is, -further, by proving the utility of photography as an auxiliary to -libraries and museums, and the extent to which these institutions are -trammelled by the present impediments to its exercise, that I shall best -encounter the more difficult question of the financial advantage of the -proposal. For we shall all agree that the more generally useful anything -may be, the more likely it is to be profitable.</p> - -<p>I shall therefore point out very briefly the great benefit which the -British Museum, the institution with which I am best acquainted, might -derive from incorporating photography as an organised part of its -system, instead of taking the <!-- Page 240 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span>photographer up to lay him down again. 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 Museum; sufficient, it seems to me, to justify the -conclusion that a public need exists, to supply which might be -profitable even in a pecuniary sense. Lastly, I shall look beyond the -needs of any individual library, or any particular class of customers, -and endeavour to point out ways in which a national photographic -institution, preferably, I think, placed in connection with the British -Museum, might subserve public objects of paramount importance.</p> - -<p>I have said that, to be adopted to any purpose by a public institution, -photography must become a portion of the organism of the institution -itself. That is, the institution must be the photographer's employer, -not his customer. If otherwise, all sorts of needful but troublesome -official formalities must exist, which combine with the obstacle of -expense to reduce photographic enterprise to a minimum. If a complicated -piece of official machinery has to be set in motion every time a -photograph is wanted, whether by a public department or a private -individual, the want is not likely to be often acknowledged, much less -when a moderate outlay will soon bring both to the end of their tether. -Abolish the relations of tradesman and customer, pay the photographer -once for all by an adequate salary, provide apparatus and chemicals with -sufficient liberality, and you at once cut off whatever has <!-- Page 241 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span>hitherto -hindered and arrested the enlistment of the art in the service of -culture. Instead of an artist working now and then as he may happen to -get an order, which he seldom does except in absolutely urgent cases, -you have one bound to devote the whole of his time to earning a moderate -fixed salary, and, if he is the right sort of man, making it his pride -and pleasure to do so. Instead of an institution doing comparatively -little work, and supported by the reluctant contributions of -comparatively few customers, you have one supported on a large scale at -a cost individually imperceptible. Instead of heads of departments -considering how little they can manage to spend, you will have them -encouraged to tax their new auxiliary's resources to the utmost by the -consideration that, the prime elements of expense being eliminated, it -will, in fact, hardly be possible to spend anything. Here I may be met -by an objection which deserves a reply. "Granting," it may be said, "the -propriety of employing the photographer for strictly national purposes, -why tax the entire community, however lightly, for the benefit of the -small portion of it which may happen to want photographs? Is it right to -take a farthing out of Brown's pocket to save Jones five guineas?" I -scarcely expect that any among us will raise that objection, because, -pursued to its logical consequences, it would abolish every museum and -library supported out of rates or taxes. But, to anticipate it in the -quarters where it may be urged, I shall prove that the benefits of cheap -photography, <!-- Page 242 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span>applied to artistic and literary purposes, extend far -beyond the actual purchasers of photographs, inasmuch as the present -restrictions act injuriously and indeed prohibitively upon undertakings -of admitted general utility, both public and private.</p> - -<p>In illustration of the impediments which the present system opposes to -such undertakings, I may instance the difficulty of meeting the -legitimate demands of provincial museums. Residents in the provinces, -equally with residents in the metropolis, contribute to the support of -institutions like the British Museum, and are entitled to expect that -they should, as far as possible, participate in its advantages. There -are, I believe, 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 collection, or to despatch portion -after portion on an itinerating tour throughout the provinces. I need -not seek to convince you that this specious suggestion is unsound; 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 parts, and that the loss of the metropolis -would by no means be the gain of the provinces. It is nevertheless the -duty of the central institution to compensate the provinces in every -possible way for their inevitable disadvantages, and though photography -will not do everything in this respect, it will do much. In sculpture, -coins, engravings, and drawings in outline or of neutral tint, the -smallest town in the kingdom might <!-- Page 243 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>be almost on a par with the -metropolis for every purpose of instruction or refinement. By enabling -them to be so we should not be creating a luxury, but redressing a -grievance. On this ground alone Government might fairly be asked to move -in the matter. How much, too, might be effected by such artistic and -archæological handbooks, photographically illustrated, as could be -produced for a trifle if the process were no element in the expense! 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 Museum. They prove how easily the entire collection might be -made available for study and inspection all over the kingdom—ay, and in -foreign countries and colonies—and confirm the proposition I have -advanced, that the expenditure of public money in cheapening -photographic reproduction is not merely a boon to the purchaser, but to -the general public.</p> - -<p>The circulation of photographs of works of art, though important to -individual collectors, is rather the affair of public institutions. The -similar circulation of books and MSS., the aspect of the question with -which we as librarians are particularly concerned, is more directly -interesting to private individuals, and on this account has attracted -comparatively little notice. I am not sure, however, that it is not the -more important of the two, nor that it may not, after all, be the branch -most susceptible of profitable development. In the <!-- Page 244 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span>matter of rare -books, demand has now almost killed supply. The wish to possess them is -more general than ever, but the means of gratifying it become from day -to day more restricted by the tendency of such books to drift into -public libraries, or into large private collections where they may be -locked up indefinitely, and especially by the competition of America. At -this juncture, photography, particularly in its form of -photo-zincography, steps in, and offers the means of doing for the -amateur of ancient and curious literature, for maps and MSS., precisely -what the printing-press does for the great body of readers. All we need -is that the obstacles which still render this process expensive, except -when applied to objects in great demand, should be removed, that the -scholar should be enabled to procure a cheap photographic reproduction -as easily as the general reader can obtain a cheap book. Such scholars -are numerous enough, I feel convinced, to defray the cost of material -and of minor assistance, leaving in the worst case nothing for the State -to pay but the insignificant salary of the chief photographic officer. -Now let us take the case of another class of students, who deserve even -more consideration, the collators of MSS. and rare books. Why should the -scholar of the nineteenth century be in no better position than the -scholar of the sixteenth? Why should he continue to be exposed to -hardships which science has met? Think of the waste of human effort, the -fret and friction of human temper entailed by the inability to procure -accurate <!-- Page 245 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span>facsimiles. Why should the scholar of an age of light get no -good from the sun? Think of the long journeys, the long residences, the -interminable correspondences of scholars, the mechanical labour if they -are their own copyists, the expense and probable inaccuracy if they are -not. Do we often see a critical edition of a classic without a lament -that the editor has been unable to inspect some MS. at Madrid or Moscow? -Did not the Biblical world wait thirty years for a facsimile of the -Vatican MS., which a photographer would have produced in a small -fraction of the time? And did it not prove an imperfect facsimile after -all? Did not the learned Meibomius, albeit a ponderous Dutchman, ill -adapted for equitation, ride all the way from Leyden to Bologna, allured -by the unhappily misleading announcement, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Habemus Petronium integrum</i>? -To come nearer to our own times, I may report (since I rather suspect it -has been the germ of the whole subject in my mind) a conversation I have -myself had with the Rev. Dr. Hayman, then editing the Odyssey, and most -anxious to take our Museum MSS. of the poem home to his rectory in the -north of Lancashire. I told him that the idea was contrary to the Museum -statutes, to Act of Parliament, and to the eternal fitness of things. He -said that he would give security to any amount. I said that money would -not compensate the Museum or the world of letters for the loss of an -unique MS., and that it would be shocking to place a scholar, possibly -poor, under obligations which might <!-- Page 246 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span>involve the loss of all he was -worth. "Oh, as to that," he said, "as soon as I got the MS. home I -should insure it for its full value." "Yes," I replied, "and deprive us -of the only security we had for your vigilance." But I think we could -have trusted Dr. Hayman with a photograph, or he could probably have -bought one for the cost of his railway fare to and from London.</p> - -<p>Let me now adduce some minor instances of the inconvenience created, at -the Museum alone, by the absence of photographic facilities. The -Congress of Orientalists has felt the want of Oriental MSS. deposited in -England so keenly as to have unanimously concurred in a perfectly futile -memorial to allow them to be sent to the Continent. The Austrian -Government lately addressed an official request for the loan of an -exceedingly rare book, which, if the Museum had possessed it, they could -not have had, but of which, if an official photographic department had -existed, they might have obtained the facsimile for a trifle. With due -photographic facilities at Basle we might each of us have taken home a -perfect facsimile of the memorable letter of Fichet which Mr. Bullen has -brought to our notice, the accurate typographic reproduction of which -will assuredly tax the resources of the printers of the "Library -Chronicle." 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 -Museum, though the charge was as low as possible. I have seen an -accomplished lady, the wife of a Professor of Fine Art, <!-- Page 247 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span>toiling day -after day for weeks together, laboriously tracing plans of architectural -structures for the illustration of her husband's lectures, which plans, -under the conditions contemplated, she could have carried away in -facsimile for a few shillings. I have known weeks employed and twenty -pounds expended in copying a manuscript grammar of an African language; -and a rare old English book transcribed, every word of it, to obtain a -reprint. I have now a colleague in the Museum coming early and staying -late out of his official time to transcribe an almost illegible Coptic -manuscript, a photograph of which would have answered every purpose. -Another colleague wished to give a facsimile page of a very curious MS. -he had edited for a learned society; but was prevented by the cost; -conversely, the same gentleman, thanks to photography, is at present -deciphering a most obstinate MS. for the Corporation of -Stratford-on-Avon, without having to go there or make himself -responsible for the safe custody of the document. I know that the -charges of the skilful men who restore missing passages of books in -facsimile are, inevitably I suppose, so high that nobody who can help it -will employ them. I have a mutilated book on my table at this moment -which I earnestly wish could be entrusted to one of them, but I fear it -will not do. Now, when we consider that it has been found practicable to -facsimile the rare original edition of "Goody Two Shoes," with numerous -woodcuts, by photo-zincography, and publish it at half-a-crown, it is -clear that there <!-- Page 248 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span>must be something wrong about this exorbitant cost -which so effectually hinders the very work which photography, in our -age, seems so especially called upon to perform, of counteracting the -inevitable tendency of old books to scarcity and consequent dearness. Of -the numerous official services which photography could render in a -library, such as saving time in copying documents, or restoring damaged -leaves of catalogues, I say nothing, for fear of occupying your time -unduly; and of the innumerable uses to which it can be turned by an -ingenious bibliographer I am also silent for the same reason, and -because I regard this branch of the case as the especial property of Mr. -Henry Stevens, who has proved it experimentally, and who has, I hope, -more to tell us respecting it. I will merely remark that under all -disadvantages, the last four volumes of the British Museum Catalogue of -Greek Coins contain 116 autotype plates, with representations of nearly -2000 coins. What might not be done if the Museum were its own -autotypist!</p> - -<p>Instances so numerous, representative without doubt of a very large -number which have not come to my knowledge, encourage the hope that the -establishment of a photographic department at the Museum would be even -financially successful. One very strong fact may be adduced, that -proposals have been actually made to obtain a photographic copy of the -great Chinese Cyclopædia, occupying eighteen hundred volumes. The -proposition, needless if the Museum had possessed a photographic -<!-- Page 249 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span>establishment of its own, was that the parties should take the -Cyclopædia away and photograph it themselves. It could not be granted, -although the sum offered was no less than five hundred pounds, which -would have about paid the proposed photographic officer's salary for a -whole year. The fact is conclusive both of the need of photography as an -auxiliary to library work, and of the encouragement which a well-managed -endeavour would be sure to meet. Like the penny post and the telegraph, -once fairly launched, it would raise the wind for itself. "Work," says -George Eliot, "breeds:" and the great initial difficulty removed, -unsuspected developments and applications are sure to be thought of. -Much prudence and judgment would be requisite in working the scheme. -Competition with professional photographers must be avoided; and the -work of the institution confined to reproducing objects in its own -collections, or those of other public institutions, or such in private -hands as possessed a distinct literary, artistic, or scientific impress -and value. The locality should be the British Museum, because, while we -are able to receive articles from any other place on deposit, we are -disabled from even temporarily parting with our own. If so, the -management must, of course, rest with the Museum authorities, as we -could not allow an <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">imperium in imperio</i>. It will be admitted that under -the present Principal Librarian the Museum has fully earned the -confidence of the public, and that this has been largely gained by the -readiness shown to enlist mechanical processes <!-- Page 250 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span>in aid of library work, -particularly printing and electricity. The introduction of photography -would be but a further development of the same principle; and although -much consideration and discussion will evidently be necessary, I am not -without hope that Mr. Bond, who has brought print into the catalogue and -electricity into the Reading Room, may make the sun-crowned nymph, now -an inmate who charges for her lodging instead of paying for it, a -daughter of the house. Many questions will arise which only experience -can solve. 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 way, and -the adjustment of the scale of charges will require serious -consideration. On the one hand, the very essence of the scheme is to -reduce the cost of photography for literary or educational purposes to a -minimum; and high prices would evidently be extortionate when the main -elements of cost had been suppressed. On the other hand, the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">bona -fides</i> of customers must be guaranteed; and the Treasury will scarcely -help unless the obligation to recoup it as far as possible is -acknowledged and acted upon. The best principle, I apprehend, would be -to proportion charges as nearly as possible to the expenditure of -material—a variable quantity, 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 <!-- Page 251 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span>artistic servants from whom it does not expect -pecuniary returns.</p> - -<p>Ere I quit the subject, suffer me to advert to one aspect of it of -national and even international concern. I allude to the service which -photography can render in the preservation and dissemination of the -national records. The Record Office, in London at least, is no doubt as -nearly fireproof as a building can be made; 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 treasures. But I -know that it has unique documents relating to the most interesting -events in Scotch history, facsimiles of which would be acceptable -throughout Scotland. I imagine that these are but types of a large class -of documents; and I am sure that the sight of papers relating to -memorable transactions, or bearing the signatures of memorable men, -would foster historical study and patriotic feeling throughout the -length and breadth of the land. But there is another class of records, -for whose safety and accessibility measures should undoubtedly be taken. -I refer to the parish registers. This is no new idea; it has been -frequently proposed that such documents should be removed to London and -collected in a great central repository. To this, as regards the -originals, I cannot assent, 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 catastrophe. Photography would -solve the problem. With <!-- Page 252 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span>regard to the international aspect of the -question, it may be fairly expected that if we lead, other nations will -follow, and that we shall have to follow if we let them lead. Suppose -that France and we have taken the step in concert, 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 both. Suppose Italy and Spain to join, and we may have the chief -materials of English history at home, and shall no longer be obliged to -despatch agents to calendar Venetian state papers, or unriddle the -ciphered scrolls of Simancas. The conception is so fruitful, its -application is so manifold and momentous, that I half recoil, like Fear, -afraid of the picture myself have painted. 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 began, that the -photographic reproduction of national property should be the concern of -the nation; and that to a great museum or library photography should be, -not a tool, but a limb.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_234:1_26" id="Footnote_234:1_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234:1_26"><span class="label">[234:1]</span></a> Read before the Library Association, Dublin, September -30, 1884.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 253 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="THE_TELEGRAPH_IN_THE_LIBRARY" id="THE_TELEGRAPH_IN_THE_LIBRARY"></a>THE TELEGRAPH IN THE LIBRARY</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Library administration, like all other departments of human activity in -this age, must experience the results of the unexampled development of -science in its application to the affairs of life. The most immediately -obvious of these are the mechanical: so simple a device as the -sliding-press, as will be shown in its place, has saved the nation -thousands of pounds. The most promising field for such achievements has -hitherto been the United States of America, where the application of -scientific contrivances to ordinary purposes is more general than in -Europe, and where the more important libraries are new structures, where -improvements can form part of the original plan, with no fear of -impediment from arrangements already existing. Next to mechanics, -photography and electricity may be named as the scientific agencies -chiefly adapted for the promotion of library service. Photography has -been sufficiently treated in another essay in this volume. The services -of electricity will be most cordially acknowledged by those who best -remember the paralysis of literary work, alike official and private, -engendered by a fog at the British Museum, and in particular recall the -<!-- Page 254 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span>appearance of the Reading Room, a Byzantine "tower of darkness," with a -lantern dimly burning in the centre, the windows presenting the -appearance of slate, 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 books. All this nuisance has been abolished by the electric -light, which not only renders the Reading Room available for the public -on dark days, but allows the ordinary work of the Museum to be carried -on in all departments; the same may be said of all other libraries. The -beautiful, potent, and above all safe electric ray is an advantage to -all, and in dark days a passage from death unto life for those libraries -where, as in the Museum, gas has been proscribed on account of its -danger and its injurious effects upon books.</p> - -<p>The services of electricity to libraries, however, are by no means -exhausted by the electric light. It is capable of rendering aid even -more important, and the more so in proportion to the extent of the -library. The need for rapid communication throughout large buildings has -been in some measure met by the telephone, whose usefulness is impaired -by its incapacity for transmitting and recording written messages. -Recourse must be had to the telegraph—not, of course, that ordinary -description of the instrument where the record is made in dots and -dashes, intelligibly solely to the expert—but the printing telegraph, -where the <!-- Page 255 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span>message appears in clear type, or a facsimile of the -transmitter's handwriting. The use of such telegraphs for various -purposes, especially those of the Stock Exchange, is now very familiar, -and there is perhaps no place where it could be introduced with more -signal advantage than the Reading Room of the British Museum.</p> - -<p>There is no great reason at present for complaint of delay in bringing -books from the Museum library to the Reading Room; but the system is -not, as so many other points of Museum administration are, one to -challenge the administration and emulation of other libraries. It is -impossible to observe its working without pronouncing it cumbrous and -below the present level of civilised ingenuity. The reader writes his -ticket at the catalogue desk, generally with a pen trying to his temper, -and the captive of his bow and spear. He then walks some distance to -deposit it in a basket on the counter, where it remains until a boy is -at hand to carry it to the corridor outside the Reading Room, where it -is put into a clip and drawn up to the gallery. All these operations are -indispensable so long as recourse is solely had to human muscle, but -they evidently involve great loss of time. The object to be aimed at -should be <em>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 Room</em>; and this seeming impossibility can be achieved by the -employment of a writing telegraph by which, as fast as the message is -written at one end of the wire, it is recorded in <!-- Page 256 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span>facsimile at the -other. The present writer has experimented with the American -Telautograph, and, so far as the experiments went, nothing could be more -satisfactory. No knowledge of telegraphy whatever is required from the -operator: he simply inscribes his message with a style on a piece of -tissue-paper, and it reappears simultaneously at the other end of the -wire. Nothing seems necessary but to furnish the catalogue desks with -electrical transmitters (which occupy no great space) instead of -inkstands, and to provide for the carrying of the wires out of the room. -When the writer endeavoured to introduce electrical communication in -1894, he feared that this requisite would present difficulties, but was -assured by experts that it really offered none. The ticket written by -the reader might be retained by him as a memorandum: if it could be -repeated in <em>duplicate</em> at the other end, one copy might be treated as -now; the other, with any necessary correction, might be pasted at once -into the register, saving all the time now occupied in registration.</p> - -<p>It is of course perfectly possible that hitches and breakings down might -at first occur from time to time, from the delicacy of the machine -employed, or from other causes. The machines have not been properly -tested, nor can they be, except by a continuous course of experiment. -But whence this morbid fear of experiment? After Darwin's definition, -the apprehension should surely be on the other side. A single machine, -kept at work for a week, would be sufficient to test the principle. <!-- Page 257 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span>The -first experiments with the electric light at the Museum were anything -but promising, but Sir Edward Bond persevered, and the result is what we -see.</p> - -<p>And how brilliant a result the establishment of telegraphic -communication would be! The saving of time is no doubt the most -practical consideration, but apart from this, how vast the improvement -in the economy of the Reading Room! No more troops of boy attendants, -with the inevitable noise and bustle; nothing but the invisible -messenger speeding on his silent errand, and the quiet delivery of books -at the desks: an unparalleled scene of perfect physical repose in the -midst of intense mental activity. Of course the improvement would not -stop with the Reading Room, and ere long all departments would be -connected by the writing telegraph.</p> - -<p>This paper, of course, is not written with any view of recommending the -Telautograph. Instruments better adapted for the purpose may exist, -although the writer has not met with them. He originally proposed the -employment of a printing telegraph as a means of abridging delays in the -Reading Room as long ago as 1876. The great improvements in -administration introduced at that time, however, rendered the need less -urgent; nor, perhaps, was electrical science itself then sufficiently -developed. Acquaintance with the Telautograph led him to take the -subject up again in 1893 and 1894, and he still hopes to find the -electric force a match for <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">vis inertiæ</i>.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 258 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="ON_THE_PROTECTION_OF_LIBRARIES_FROM_FIRE" id="ON_THE_PROTECTION_OF_LIBRARIES_FROM_FIRE"></a>ON THE PROTECTION OF LIBRARIES FROM FIRE</h2> -</div> - - -<p>Of all the library's enemies, the most terrible is fire. Water is bad -enough; is it not recorded that the 450 copies of the Bible Society's -translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew into Manchu, printed on the -soft silken paper of China, were destroyed by an inundation of the Neva? -But such damage can rarely occur, unless when the element of the Sylph -is invoked to combat the element of the Salamander. The muddy waters of -the Neva, also, were probably more pernicious than the "salt sea -streams" would have been. We ourselves have transcribed manuscripts of -Shelley's which had been for months at the bottom of the Mediterranean, -and which, although protected by package, had evidently been soaked with -salt water. Exposure to fire for a hundred-thousandth part of the period -would not have left a letter legible.</p> - -<p>The librarian's vigilance and resource, accordingly, ought to be -enlisted against fire in an especial manner, and no contrivance should -be overlooked that seems to afford the least prospect of controlling or -mitigating its ravages.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 259 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p><p>On July 17, 1884, experiments were made in the garden of Mr. Bernard -Quaritch, the eminent bookseller, with fire-proof cases devised by Mr. -Zaehnsdorf, equally distinguished as a binder, and were reported in the -<cite>Academy</cite> of July 26. Three books, each enclosed in a separate case, -were put into a fire, and kept there for half-an-hour. On their being -extracted, "one, which had been in a case lined with tin, unpierced with -air-holes, suffered only in its binding, which had been slightly -damaged, not directly by the fire, but only by the heated metal. A -second, of which the case was of the usual kind, but also unpierced with -air-holes, came out intact. The third, in a case resembling that of the -second, but pierced with air-holes of good diameter, suffered most, the -fire, and the water by which the fire was extinguished, having both -found admission through those punctures, the water being the more -deleterious agent of the two. This book was, however, not materially -injured. From this experiment it may be concluded that a good case will -in almost all instances preserve a book from destruction by fire, that a -metal lining to the case is not necessary, and that the air-holes (which -experiments of a different kind have proved to be indispensable) should -be small and numerous, distributed over the top and front edges, and not -only on the top."</p> - -<p>In 1894, the chief part of the library of Lord Carysfort at Elton Hall, -Peterborough, was destroyed by fire, these books only escaping which had -been protected by Mr. Zaehnsdorf's cases. On <!-- Page 260 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span>October 3, 1896, Lord -Carysfort wrote: "A few of my books which were in cases were quite -preserved from serious injury, the cases having been blackened and -destroyed, while the book and its binding were scarcely discoloured. -Since the fire I have had all my valuable books put into cases such as -you make."</p> - -<p>These circumstances having accidentally become known to the writer, he -thought it his duty to test Mr. Zaehnsdorf's cases for himself. Two of -these, filled with printed papers of no value, were placed (April 1897) -on a very hot fire in the writer's own study, in the presence of Mr. -Zaehnsdorf and several officers of the library of the British Museum. -The result was highly satisfactory. Though the cases were greatly -damaged, the papers received very little injury, and this only when they -were in actual contact with the bottom and sides of the cases. Had they -been bound volumes, nothing would have suffered except the edges of the -binding.</p> - -<p>It seems evident that Mr. Zaehnsdorf's invention well deserves the -attention of wealthy collectors of precious books. There is a serious -obstacle to its introduction on an extensive scale into great libraries -from the expense of the cases, which at present average about a pound a -piece. It is probable, however, that cases could be contrived to take -books by the shelf-ful instead of single volumes. In any event, however, -it would be well worth while to employ them for the protection of books -of extreme rarity and inestimable manuscripts, as well as the archives -of great libraries, and artistic <!-- Page 261 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span>and scientific departments in general, -which, when calendared, as they must one day be if they have not been -burned first, will be among the most valuable of materials for the -history of culture.</p> - -<p>It is no doubt true that the best protection against fire is not any -mechanical device, but the contiguity of a good fire brigade. But at -Elton Hall the nearest brigade was many miles off, and, be it as near as -it will, it is also true that such devices are not exposed to the -negligences, misunderstandings, and other infirmities incident to -mortals which may in an evil hour paralyse the operations of human -agents; and that the most efficient brigade will be greatly helped by -anything which, by retarding the progress of a conflagration, holds it -back from gaining the mastery before the opposing forces have been fully -brought into play. This important object might also be promoted by the -employment of wood specially seasoned by a chemical process. Experiments -made on behalf of the British Museum in the spring of 1898 have been -highly satisfactory, evincing that although wood so treated will char, -it will not, properly speaking, burn, and that the use of it for floors -and shelving would materially impede the process of combustion.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 262 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE SLIDING-PRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM"><a name="THE_SLIDING-PRESS_AT_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM" id="THE_SLIDING-PRESS_AT_THE_BRITISH_MUSEUM"></a>THE SLIDING-PRESS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM<a name="FNanchor_262:1_27" id="FNanchor_262:1_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_262:1_27" class="headerfn">[262:1]</a></h2> -</div> - -<p>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 Museum, and to suggest -the importance of its introduction elsewhere where possible, and of -regard being had to it in forming the plans of libraries hereafter to be -built. Every successful library is destined to be confronted sooner or -later with the problem how to enlarge its insufficient space. Without -considerable financial resources such enlargement has hitherto been -absolutely impracticable, and even where practicable has rarely been -carried into effect without a long period of makeshift, discomfort, and -disorganisation, for which the enlargement itself affords only a -temporary remedy. The great advantages of the sliding-press in this -point of view are two: it allows expansion within the edifice itself, -without the necessity of additional building, 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 -<!-- Page 263 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span>required by extensive structural additions to the existing edifice.</p> - -<p>I may assume that all present have seen, or will see, the photographs of -the Museum sliding-press exhibited to the Conference, with the -accompanying description. I may therefore be very brief in my account of -it here, 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 enlarge, provided with handles for moving it backwards and -forwards, working by rollers running on metal ribs projecting laterally -from the above-mentioned beams or rods, and so suspended from these ribs -as absolutely not to touch the ground anywhere. These are its essential -characteristics, without which it would be indeed an additional -book-press, but not a hanging-press or sliding-press. In recommending -this system of additional accommodation, I by no means wish to insist -upon this special form as the only one adapted for the necessities of a -library. I have no doubt that in very many libraries the arrangement of -the projecting beams or rods would be inapplicable, and that it would be -better to resort to the original form of the idea, from which the Museum -derived its own application of it—the idea, namely, of a skeleton door -made in shelves, hinged upon the press requiring expansion, running on a -wheel resting upon a metal quadrant let into the floor, and opening and -shutting like any ordinary door. I have merely to affirm that for the -Museum the adaptation we <!-- Page 264 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span>have made is a very great improvement; but -this is due to the peculiar construction of the rooms to which the new -press has hitherto been chiefly confined. Rooms of this pattern do not -generally exist in public libraries, and where they are not found I am -inclined to think that the plan which I have just described, the -prototype of the Museum sliding-press, may be found the more -advantageous. I also think, however, that for reasons quite unconnected -with the sliding-press, this pattern of room ought to be imitated in -libraries hereafter to be built, and when this is the case, it must -inevitably bring the Museum press after it. It will therefore be worth -while to describe this style of building, in order that the mutual -adaptation of it and of the sliding-press may be clear. It consists of -three storeys lighted entirely from the top. It is therefore necessary -for the transmission of light from top to bottom that the floors of the -two upper storeys should be open; and they are in fact iron gratings. It -follows that the floor of the highest storey must form the ceiling of -the second, and the floor of the second the ceiling of the third. Here -is the key to the sliding-press system. 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 grating, and did not require to -be introduced. Nothing was needful but to provide them with flanking -ribs projecting at right angles, from which, as you see in the -photographs, the additional press could be suspended by rollers, -admitting of easy working backwards and forwards, and then the -<!-- Page 265 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span>sliding-press was fully developed out of the skeleton door. No thought -of it had ever crossed the minds of the original designers of the -building; yet they could have made no better arrangement had this been -planned with an especial view to its introduction. They had even made -the storeys of exactly the right height, eight feet. I have not hitherto -mentioned that the press takes books both before and behind, because -this feature is not essential, and must indeed be departed from when the -press is applied to the accommodation of newspapers and such like large -folios. For ordinary books it is manifestly a great advantage, but -carries with it the obligation that the presses shall not be higher than -eight feet, or, when full on both sides, they will be too heavy to work -with comfort, unless, which I do not think impracticable, machinery for -the purpose should be introduced.</p> - -<p>The principle of a sliding or hanging-press is, so far as I know, -entirely peculiar to the British Museum, and hardly could have -originated elsewhere than in a building possessing, like the Museum, -floors and ceilings entirely grated. The main point, however, the -provision of supplementary presses to increase the capacity of the -library without requiring additional space, had previously been worked -out in at least two libraries. The earliest example, apart from casual -and accidental applications at Trinity College, Dublin, and, as I have -been told, the Bodleian, was, I believe, at Bradford Free Library, and -the gentleman entitled to the credit of its introduction there was <!-- Page 266 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span>Mr. -Virgo, the librarian. Mr. Virgo's contrivance was, I understand, a -double door, not hinged on to the original press in one piece, as in the -pattern I have just described, but opening in two divisions to right and -left, as frequently the case in cupboards. I speak, however, with some -uncertainty, for when, writing on the subject in Mr. Dewey's <cite>Library -Notes</cite>, and most anxious to give Mr. Virgo all due credit, I applied to -him for particulars of his invention, modesty, as I must suppose, -rendered him silent, or at best but insufficiently articulate. I hope he -may be present to-day, and that the Conference may hear the particulars -from himself. It is due, however, to the Bethnal Green Library, the -other institution to which I have referred as having given effect to the -principle of press expansion <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in situ</i>, to state most explicitly that -the idea of its application at the Museum was derived wholly and solely -from Bethnal Green; that the Bradford example, though it had been set -for some years previously, was never heard of at the Museum until the -model had been constructed and the first presses ordered; and that I am -satisfied that Bethnal Green knew as little of Bradford as the Museum -did. The Bethnal Green inventor was, I am informed, the late Dr. Tyler, -the founder and principal benefactor of the institution, and, as -elsewhere, 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 Office. The introduction of the -principle at the Museum <!-- Page 267 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span>dates from a November evening of 1886, when, -going down to attend a little festivity on occasion of the reopening of -the Bethnal Green Library after renovation, I was shown the -supplementary presses by the librarian, Mr. Hilcken. I immediately saw -the value of the idea, and next morning sent for Mr. Jenner, assistant -in the Printed Book Department, in whose special fitness I felt great -confidence, from his admirable performance of the duty of placing the -books daily added to the Museum, which frequently requires much -ingenuity and contrivance. I told Mr. Jenner what I had seen, and -desired him to consider whether he could devise a method of adapting the -Bethnal Green system to the exigencies of the British Museum. He did -consider: he went down to Bethnal Green and saw the presses employed -there, and, to his infinite credit, hit upon the plan of suspending the -presses from the grated floors of the upper storey in the manner shown -by the photograph, which, as I have already pointed out, is entirely -original. A model was constructed by the aid of Mr. Sparrow, the -ingenious locksmith of the Museum. Mr. Bond, then principal librarian, -took the matter up warmly, the first batch of presses was ordered early -in 1887, and from that time forward we have had no difficulty at the -Museum in providing space for ordinary books, although some structural -alterations will be requisite before the sliding-press can be applied to -the whole of the New Library, and it must be modified if it is to be -made serviceable for newspapers. A new <!-- Page 268 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span>room in the White Wing, not -admitting of a grated ceiling, has been specially adapted with a view to -the introduction of the press, and may be usefully studied by librarians -about to build, although I think that some modifications will be found -expedient. I have pleasure in adding that on my report of June 1, 1888, -in which I went into the whole matter very fully, the trustees obtained -from the Treasury a gratuity of £100 for Mr. Jenner and of £20 for Mr. -Sparrow, in recognition of their services.</p> - -<p>I have designedly said recognition, not recompense, for no grant likely -to be awarded by the Treasury would bear any proportion to the saving -effected on behalf of the nation. To make this clear I will adduce some -particulars stated in my report to the trustees. Eight hundred -sliding-presses can be added to the New Library at the Museum without -any modification of the building as it stands, and 300 more by certain -structural alterations. The cost of a press being about £13, this gives -£14,300 for the 1100 presses, or, with a liberal allowance for the cost -of the alterations, say £15,000 altogether. Each press will contain on -the average about 400 volumes, showing a total of 440,000 volumes, or -about seven times the number of books in the great King's Library added -to the capacity of the New Library, without taking in another square -inch of ground. Excluding newspapers, periodicals, Oriental -books—otherwise provided for—and tracts bound in bundles, and assuming -an annual addition of 20,000 volumes of other descriptions, this -provides for twenty-two <!-- Page 269 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span>years. But much more may be said, for, whether -in the form of swinging door or sliding-press, the principle of -expansion <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">in situ</i> can undoubtedly be carried out through the greater -part of the Old Library, as well as in the basement of the New.<a name="FNanchor_269:1_28" id="FNanchor_269:1_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_269:1_28" class="fnanchor">[269:1]</a> -What additional space this would afford, I have not endeavoured to -estimate. Another immense advantage connected with the system is the -facility it offers of gradual expansion. Any other enlargement requires -new building; new building requires a large sum to be raised by a great -effort of rating, borrowing, or subscribing; and too frequently the -adjoining ground is preoccupied, and must be acquired at a great -additional expense. Fifty thousand pounds would, I believe, be a very -moderate estimate for such accommodation, if obtained by building, as -the Museum gets from the sliding-press for £15,000, supposing even that -the ground were free to build upon. In our case, however, this ground -must have been purchased. We may well imagine the Trojan siege we should -have had to lay to the Treasury, to obtain the money; the delays of -building when this was eventually forthcoming; and the fearful -inconvenience which would have existed meanwhile. 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 year, introduce them -wherever they seem to be necessary, and hope to <!-- Page 270 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span>go on thus for an -indefinite number of years. Any new apartment, complete in itself, must -involve waste, for some parts of it must necessarily fill up faster than -others; but in the sliding-press is a beautiful elasticity; it can be -introduced wherever it is seen to be wanted, and nowhere else. Finally, -and for the Museum this is most important, the additional space gained -is in the close vicinity of the Reading Room. A new building must have -been at a distance, involving either great inconvenience in the supply -of books to readers, or an additional Reading Room, catalogue, reference -library, and staff.</p> - -<p>I think enough has been said to convince librarians of the expediency of -taking the sliding-press, or some analogous contrivance, into account, -in plans for the enlargement of old libraries, or the construction of -new ones. Some libraries will not require it, either because they are on -too small a scale; or because, like branch libraries in great towns, -they admit of being kept within limits; or because, like Archbishop -Marsh's Library at Dublin, they are restricted to special collections. -But all experience shows that it is impossible to provide for the wants -of a great and growing library on too generous a scale, or to exhibit -too much forethought in preparing for distant, it may be, but ultimately -inevitable contingencies. York Cathedral Library might have seemed safe, -but see the burden which Mr. Hailstone's recent benefaction has laid -upon it. To the librarian it may be said of Space what the poet said of -Love:—</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Whoe'er thou art, thy master see,</div> - <div class="line indentq">He was, or is, or is to be."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p><!-- Page 271 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span></p><p>I should add that the cost of a sliding-press, or of a door-press, -might probably be much less to a provincial library than to the Museum, -where the shelves are constructed in the most elaborate manner for -special security against fire.</p> - -<p>In fact, I believe that the sliding-press is only one corner of a great -question, and that in planning large libraries it will be necessary to -take mechanical contrivances into account to a much greater extent than -hitherto. I am especially led to this conclusion by some particulars -which have reached me respecting the new Congressional Library at -Washington. I am unable to state these with the requisite accuracy, but -I hope that some American friend may be present who can supply the -deficiency.</p> - -<p>I have to add that the photographs of the sliding-press here exhibited -by me were taken by Mr. Charles Praetorius, and that copies can be -obtained from him. He may be addressed at the Museum. I hope that they -fulfil their purpose; they cannot, however, of course, represent the -press so well as the model of it constructed by Mr. Sparrow for the -exhibition of library appliances at Antwerp, where it was shown last -year. This is now exhibited to the public in the King's Library, and Mr. -Sparrow could probably produce copies of it if desired. An account of -the press was contributed by Mr. Jenner to the <cite>Library Chronicle</cite>, and -by me to Mr. Melville Dewey's <cite>Library Notes</cite>, both in 1887.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_262:1_27" id="Footnote_262:1_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_262:1_27"><span class="label">[262:1]</span></a> Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, -held at Nottingham, September 1891.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_269:1_28" id="Footnote_269:1_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_269:1_28"><span class="label">[269:1]</span></a> Since this was written, the engineers of the Board of -Works have reported that the sliding-press system can be safely extended -to the galleries, which more than doubles the estimate of increased -space given on the preceding page.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 272 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="ON THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SPACE IN LIBRARIES"><a name="ON_THE_PROVISION_OF_ADDITIONAL_SPACE_IN_LIBRARIES" id="ON_THE_PROVISION_OF_ADDITIONAL_SPACE_IN_LIBRARIES"></a>ON THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SPACE IN LIBRARIES<a name="FNanchor_272:1_29" id="FNanchor_272:1_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_272:1_29" class="headerfn">[272:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The interesting paper<a name="FNanchor_272:2_30" id="FNanchor_272:2_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_272:2_30" class="fnanchor">[272:2]</a> 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 books, so -immensely important for all libraries, but especially so for public -libraries, and for these in the ratio of their probable extent and -consequent usefulness. When I had an opportunity of describing the -British Museum sliding-press to the Nottingham conference, I dwelt upon -the utility of the invention in this point of view as much as upon the -mechanism of the press itself; and as the point is one which cannot be -too much insisted upon, I shall take this opportunity of returning to -it. Before doing so, however, or mentioning any further contrivances for -economising space that may have suggested themselves, I may be allowed -to tender my personal acknowledgments to Mr. Mayhew for the ingenuity -which he has evinced, and to say that I am very desirous that his -invention <!-- Page 273 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span>should be brought into practical operation at the Museum as -soon as possible. We ought, I think, to exemplify every useful device -both in press construction and other departments of library work that we -may have the good fortune to introduce, both for our own credit and for -the advantage of other libraries which may be disposed to inquire into -our methods. I hardly expect that the pivot-press will replace the -sliding-press to any great extent at the Museum, because, as I have -previously stated, although the designers of the larger portion of our -library had not the most remote conception of the sliding-press, they -could not have provided for it more effectively if they had foreseen and -contemplated its introduction. But, when the need for procuring -additional space by mechanical contrivance makes itself felt, as must -inevitably be the case one day in all really important libraries, -difficulties will be found in the introduction of the sliding-press -which will not exist in the case of the pivot-press. Unless expressly so -designed, libraries will seldom be provided, as the Museum was, with a -grated ceiling from which the sliding-press can be suspended without -more ado, and the construction of such a ceiling is a formidable and -expensive piece of work. This difficulty may indeed be overcome by -making the sliding-press run upon the ground, as at Bethnal Green and -the basement of the Museum, but this throws the entire weight upon the -floor, which, though unobjectionable on a basement, may be dangerous in -upper storeys. I am inclined to believe, therefore, that the pivot-press -<!-- Page 274 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span>may be used with excellent effect in many instances, especially from -its simplicity and ease of construction, when a sudden need arises for -the accommodation of a new accession of books. I may further draw -attention to a special merit—its singular lightness even when full of -volumes. A child can work it with ease, unlike the sliding-press, which, -when quite full, may tax the strength of a powerful man.</p> - -<p>Respecting the history of this press I have only to say that, so far as -I am aware, it originated with Mr. Mayhew at the British Museum; I -should, nevertheless, be in no way surprised to learn that it, or -something resembling it, had already been in use in other libraries. If -so, this is not known at the Museum. It did not, like the sliding-press, -come to us as an importation to be developed, but originated, so far as -I know, entirely with Mr. Mayhew. If he took a hint from any quarter, it -may have been from those revolving book-stands which some of us, no -doubt, use in our own studies, so admirable for their compactness and -the readiness with which the desired book is brought to hand, but -unfortunately so dear. I do not know why they should always be -constructed in wood, and have often thought that if Birmingham -manufacturers would turn them out on a large scale in metal, they would -meet with a remunerative demand.</p> - -<p>I now come to the general question of providing space in libraries for -indefinite future accessions. This does not seem to me to have as yet -received attention in any degree proportionate to its <!-- Page 275 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span>importance. -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 Museum. The want of space for particular descriptions of -books was thus daily forced upon my attention, as well as the alarming -prospect of a total failure of space at no very distant day, unless this -could be averted by some mechanical contrivance, the possibility of -which dawned upon nobody until that accidental visit of mine to the -Bethnal Green Library, which I have related to you upon a former -occasion. The problem, you must remember, was not merely to find space -for books, but to find it near the Reading Room. The Trustees might -conceivably have acquired then, as they have most happily acquired last -summer, extensive space for building in the neighbourhood, and this -might be invaluable for the deposit of particular classes of literature, -such as newspapers and official publications. But this would not have -helped us with the mass of literature continually required for the -Reading Room, for it is absolutely necessary that this should be close -at hand. Supposing that room could have been provided in a new building -for the classes of publications I have mentioned, the difficulty would -have recurred as soon as the space thus gained had been filled up; and -ultimately we should have had to choose between allowing the library to -fall into a condition of chaos, and removing the Antiquities Department -elsewhere, thus devoting noble rooms to purposes for which they were not -constructed, <!-- Page 276 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span>and for which they are in no respect adapted. Things were, -indeed, fast approaching this point when the introduction of the -sliding-press, like a breeze springing up for the rescue of a drifting -vessel, carried us safely past the rock upon which we seemed destined to -strike.</p> - -<p>The answer to the question whether libraries in general will not, -without special precautions, find themselves in the position which the -British Museum has so fortunately escaped, depends upon the reply to -another question, which we must all answer in the affirmative, or we -should not be here: "Is the system of free public libraries going to be -a success?" If so, it is evident that the present development of free -libraries very imperfectly represents that which they are destined to -attain within a century. They cannot be kept at the level of public -requirements without being continually supplied with the best and newest -literature. 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 accurate, or histories not brought down to date, or fiction -reflecting the taste of the last generation. Periodicals and newspapers -will have continued to prolong themselves automatically; municipal and -other local records will have multiplied; and, if the library has really -done its work, and compelled recognition as an essential constituent of -civilisation, the funds provided for its augmentation will no longer be -upon their present restricted footing, and it will have been largely -enriched by donations. <!-- Page 277 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span>Evidently, therefore, the question of space will -have become very pressing, 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 them. One rough-and-ready method -of providing space might indeed be suggested—to sell the old books, and -buy new ones with the proceeds; but to say nothing of the invariably -unsuccessful financial results of such operations, and the -discouragement to students and to donors, I need not point out that a -library administered on such principles would be no better than a book -club. I am not aware how far any of our free libraries may already be -suffering embarrassment in the matter of space, but I can mention a -circumstance which may appear significant. We used to hear a great deal -about the stores of duplicate books accumulated at the British Museum, -and the advantage which would ensue from their distribution among -provincial libraries. Well, a few years ago we acted upon the -suggestion, and did distribute all that could be spared. When only a few -volumes could be given all went smoothly; but when long sets, especially -of parliamentary papers, were offered, with a promise of their being -kept up, if possible, we met with an unexpected coyness; some libraries -declined, others made difficulties; and one, which is entitled to -receive continuations regularly, has now postponed taking its due for -more than a year. I know not how to account for this, except on the -hypothesis of deficient space.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 278 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p><p>The question whether I am right in laying so much stress on the timely -provision of space in libraries depends, as I have intimated, upon the -more serious question, whether the library movement is to prove a -success. If it is not, we need not trouble ourselves. 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 present; if they are not to become the -pride of their respective districts, and to be supported by them upon a -much more liberal scale than is now the case; if they are not to expect -liberal accessions from the generosity of private donors; if they are -not to be affiliated with whatever agencies exist around them for the -promotion of culture; if, shedding from time to time what they may deem -their obsolete books, they are to renounce all claim to an historical -character, and only provide for those needs for which the circulating -library exists already; then, indeed, the question of space need not -concern us. But if the reverse of all this is to be the case; if they -are to become noble libraries, store-houses of local and municipal as -well as merely utilitarian literature; if all descriptions of English -literature are to be at least fairly represented; if private collectors -are to be made to see that the local library would afford a worthy -repository for their books; then the question of space cannot be too -attentively considered, or, in the height of success, the library may -break down. You know the value of land in large towns, and <!-- Page 279 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span>the -costliness of extending any premises that may be situated in a good -quarter, and surrounded by shops, or warehouses, or public buildings. -The possibilities of future extension should never be lost sight of when -a site for a library is selected. But, as the most desirable site cannot -always be had, it is still more important so to plan the library from -the first that it may be susceptible of inner development, without -trenching upon the adjoining land; and where, in the case of existing -libraries, this precaution has been neglected, to lose no time in -adapting the library for interior extension, if possible. At the Museum -we have at present two methods—the sliding-press, whether suspended or -resting on the ground, and the pivot-press. Both these have been -described to you. But they by no means exhaust the possibilities of -economising space, and I wish to draw your attention to other ingenious -methods, which, however, I am not about to describe, for I take this to -be the proper business of the inventor. That they must be worth -attention you will all agree, when I tell you they are devised by Mr. -Virgo. Mr. Virgo, as his name seems to imply, is a gentleman of singular -modesty. I do not think that, but for me, he would ever have received -the credit due to him for his share in the invention of the -sliding-press; nor do I think that he has done nearly enough to bring -his ingenious ideas forward for the general good. I hope he will do so, -either at this meeting, or ere long in the pages of <cite class="sc">The Library</cite>, or some -other suitable medium. I shall not attempt to trespass upon his <!-- Page 280 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span>ground, -but will very briefly make a suggestion for book accommodation in a -restricted space, which his ingenious contrivances may have prompted, -although to find its exact prototype we must go back to the earliest -libraries that have ever existed.</p> - -<p>These, as we all know, were the libraries of the kings of Babylon and -Assyria. Paper and parchment not having been then invented, literature -could only be inscribed on some hard substance. Wood or metal might have -been used, but the substances employed by the Assyrians seem to have -been almost exclusively stone, clay, or terra cotta. An incised stone -slab may be an excellent vehicle for a brief record intended to remain -fixed in the same place, but for a chronicle or a liturgy, or a set of -astronomical observations, or any other of the staple productions of -Babylonian or Assyrian literature it is objectionable in two -respects—it is profuse of space, and it is not easily portable. The -King of Assyria, like the King of Persia of a later date, had doubtless -frequent occasion to send for the chronicles of his kingdom to refresh -his memory respecting the treason of some Bigthan or Teresh, or the -services of some Mordecai. The Assyrian historians or librarians, -therefore, devised the inscription of their literature upon cylinders, -usually hexagonal prisms, giving six faces instead of one, and -possessing the double advantage of easy portability, and of bringing the -largest amount of writing possible into the smallest possible space. The -question of portability does not concern us <!-- Page 281 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span>now (though I may remark -incidentally that in very extensive libraries it offers a decisive -argument against the card catalogue), but it does appear to me worthy of -consideration whether, in endeavouring to make room for our books, we -might not occasionally employ the hexagonal form of press, fixed or -revolving, and thus revert with advantage to the method which our most -primitive predecessors adopted to make room for their writings. The -hexagonal prism has the advantage of affording more space practically -available within less area than any other geometrical figure. It seems -well adapted for use in the central area of large rooms as a supplement -to the wall space; for the extension of wall space when presses are run -out from the sides towards the centre of the room; and for the storage -of valuable books or other objects which it is desirable to keep apart. -A case of this description could be partially glazed to allow of the -exhibition of a portion of the contents level with the eye; and many -other applications might probably be found for the hexagonal book-press -or cabinet in libraries constructed with an especial view to its -introduction. It may be that such presses or cabinets, admitting as they -would of being made of any degree of strength, or of being lined or -protected in any manner, and of being wholly or partially glazed or -unglazed as desired, would be best of all adapted for the custody of -objects of art or archæology—"infinite riches in a little room." Yet, -even if so, libraries and museums are so frequently under the same -<!-- Page 282 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span>management that the subject cannot be deemed inappropriate for a -congress of librarians.</p> - -<p>I will finally mention another method of obtaining increased space for -the display of books, MSS., and other exhibited objects. The lower part -of ordinary bookcases can be converted into show-cases by placing -against them, attached or unattached, light tables with glazed tops, -resting on wheels to allow of easy withdrawal when access to the case is -required. This would greatly increase the exhibition space in libraries -and museums, and might sometimes allow the centre of a fine room to be -free from obstruction, and available for lectures and meetings. Applied -to ordinary wall cases, it might admit of the display of many objects -supposed to be exhibited, but which in reality are not so, being placed -too high or too low to be seen.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_272:1_29" id="Footnote_272:1_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272:1_29"><span class="label">[272:1]</span></a> Read at the Annual Meeting of the Library Association, -Belfast, September 1894.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_272:2_30" id="Footnote_272:2_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272:2_30"><span class="label">[272:2]</span></a> A paper by Mr. H. M. Mayhew, of the British Museum, on -"A Revolving Extension Press."</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 283 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="PREFACE TO BLADES' "ENEMIES OF BOOKS""><a name="PREFACE_TO_BLADES_ENEMIES_OF_BOOKS" id="PREFACE_TO_BLADES_ENEMIES_OF_BOOKS"></a>PREFACE TO BLADES' "ENEMIES OF BOOKS"<a name="FNanchor_283:1_31" id="FNanchor_283:1_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_283:1_31" class="headerfn">[283:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The precept "Love your Enemies" was never intended for the enemies of -books, because the enemy of books is not an individual foe, but <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">hostis -humani generis</i>. The value of books, as of other things, may be -superstitiously overrated. We are accustomed to speak of them as if they -were in themselves the wisdom, or the knowledge, or the genius, of which -they are, in fact, only the receptacles. They are not the honey of the -human hive, but only the treasure-cells in which it is stored, and the -analogue of the bee is the author. But even in this restricted point of -view, their function is so important that to destroy them is a crime of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">lèse-humanité</i>; and it is not known that any one ever enunciated their -destruction as a sound principle, unless it were the Caliph Omar. Even -he, if the famous <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bon-mot</i> attributed to him is genuine, was willing to -spare one book; and could his life have been prolonged for a century or -two, he would have discovered that in reprieving the Koran he had -authorised the creation of a very considerable literature. The number of -<!-- Page 284 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span>commentaries upon the Koran actually existing is not small; what would -it have been had it been necessary to prove that all history, and -geography, and astronomy, and everything else that man needed to know, -was implicitly taught therein?</p> - -<p>No such gigantic figure as the destroyer of the Alexandrian Library, -brandishing, like the spectre of Fawdon, a blazing rafter, whose light -streams down the centuries, occupies a post of honour in Mr. Blades' -volume. In comparison, he may almost be likened to that poet who -adjured, "Now, Muse, let's sing of rats," having previously struck out -mice as below the dignity of the subject. The foes he enumerates are -Fire, Water, Gas and Heat, Dust and Neglect, Ignorance, Book-worms, -Other Vermin, Bookbinders, and Collectors. To these another might be -added—Sinister Interests, which cannot be classified under the head of -Ignorance, for they know well that the existence of books is -incompatible with their own. It would be a curious subject of inquiry -whether these interests, whose potency in mutilating valuable books and -hindering their dissemination, sometimes until it has become too late -for the world to profit by them, is unfortunately quite unquestionable, -have ever succeeded in actually destroying any work of real importance -to mankind. The number that have on this account never been written at -all is no doubt enormous, but from the nature of the case cannot be -ascertained, and the loss from this cause must be in every sense of the -word inestimable. It would, however, probably be found that the book -which <!-- Page 285 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span>once got written also managed to get printed, though sometimes -with such secrecy that it might almost as well have remained in -manuscript. Far more mischievous was the effect of pressure upon the -books which did appear under the authority of a licenser, either -emasculated by him or by the author. Whether the censors ever succeeded -in suppressing a worthy book or not, it is pretty certain that they -never succeeded in suppressing a pernicious one.</p> - -<p>Such speculations would have been alien to the pacific and debonair -spirit of Mr. Blades—a man devoid of gall, and ill-equipped for -thornier paths of controversy than the definition of a folio or the date -of a Caxton. In these he was formidable, not merely from his natural -ability, but from his practical acquaintance with the mysteries of -printing, an accomplishment rarely possessed by bibliographers. He was -able to deal, and willing to receive, hard blows; but his gentle spirit -doubtless rejoiced to find in the "Enemies of Books," as he conceived -and treated the theme, a subject on which all the world thought as he -did. No one, even in this age of rehabilitations, is likely to -constitute himself the apologist of mice and book-worms. If a criticism -were ventured on Mr. Blades' method, it might be whether, with the -exception of these zoological enmities, the various forms of hostility -of which he treats should not be grouped under a single head—that of -Ignorance. Ignorance misleads the peccant bookbinder, so sternly rebuked -by Mr. Blades; ignorance (when <!-- Page 286 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span>it is not hard necessity) exposes books -to the decomposing effects of gas; ignorance overlooks the need for -ventilation; ignorance appraises a book by its exterior, and sacrifices, -it may be the "o'er-dusted gold" of a Caxton, or it may be a work of -true genius in a cheap and ordinary edition. Mr. Blades, on the one -hand, has rescued Pynsons on their way to the butter-shop; and we, on -our part, have redeemed Emily Brontë's last verses—almost the noblest -poem ever written by a woman in the English language—from a volume half -torn up, because, forsooth, it had little to boast in the way of -external appearance. There is another kind of ignorance, 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 heard, or vast antiquity to one no older than his -grandfather. Numbers of books, especially in the United States, have -owed their preservation to such amiable delusions; but unfortunately -their preservation is in most cases a very small benefit.</p> - -<p>Whether or no Mr. Blades' treatise might have been more comprehensive -and philosophical, it is undoubtedly very practical, and all its -precepts deserve respectful attention, especially those which have any -reference to heat or ventilation. Book-worms in this favoured country -are now nearly as extinct as wolves (we have seen some imported from -Candia); and against book thieves there is no remedy but lock and key. -The spiritual enemies of literature in this age accomplish their -<!-- Page 287 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span>purpose less by the destruction of good books than by the -multiplication of bad ones, and the present is hardly a suitable -occasion to deal with them. To part, as Mr. Blades would have desired, -so far as may be in charity with all men, 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 -bibliophilists, whether bookhunters or booksellers. If books had always -received the care and attention which they ought to receive, the -occupation of this interesting class would be as gone as Othello's. The -Gutenberg Bible would exist in two hundred and fifty copies, more or -less. The Caxtons would be numerous, perfect, and in excellent -condition. To find a unique, one would have to resort to such -curiosities as a single impression on vellum, or a special copy prepared -for presentation upon some extraordinary occasion.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_283:1_31" id="Footnote_283:1_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_283:1_31"><span class="label">[283:1]</span></a> Edition of 1896.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 288 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="SIR ANTHONY PANIZZI, K.C.B."><a name="SIR_ANTHONY_PANIZZI_KCB" id="SIR_ANTHONY_PANIZZI_KCB"></a>SIR ANTHONY PANIZZI, K.C.B.<a name="FNanchor_288:1_32" id="FNanchor_288:1_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_288:1_32" class="headerfn">[288:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>Italy has been fertile in eminent librarians. Magliabecchi was probably -the most learned librarian that ever lived; Audiffredi was the creator -of scientific cataloguing; to Battezzati the practical librarians of the -United States confess themselves indebted for some of their apparently -most original ideas. 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 men. He governed his library as his friend -Cavour governed his country, and in a spirit and with objects nearly -similar, perfecting its internal organisation with one hand, while he -extended its frontiers with the other.</p> - -<p>Born on September 16, 1797, at Brescello, in the province of Reggio, in -the duchy of Modena, at that time a part of the Cisalpine Republic, -Antonio Panizzi came into the world as the citizen of at least a -nominally free state, but grew up the subject, first of a foreign -intruder, and afterwards of the worst of the petty despots of Italy. -These circumstances indirectly determined his future <!-- Page 289 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span>career. As a man -of thought and feeling he could but be a patriot; as a man of action he -could but be a conspirator. After receiving his education at the Lyceum -of Reggio and the University of Parma, which he quitted with honourable -attestations of his proficiency, he prepared to practise as an advocate, -but speedily became implicated in the political commotions of the time. -It was the day of the Holy Alliance, when the Spanish Revolution had -called the Italian into life:—</p> - -<div class="poem"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Spain calls her now, as with its thrilling thunder</div> - <div class="line indentq">Vesuvius wakens Ætna, and the cold</div> - <div class="line indentq">Snow-crags by its reply are cloven in sunder."</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p>While Shelley was writing, Panizzi was acting. In 1821 he was denounced -to the Modenese Government, saved himself by flight, narrowly escaped -arrest by the Austrians at Cremona, and, after a short residence in -Switzerland, whence he was expelled at the instance of Austria and -Sardinia, arrived in England in the May of 1823. The Modenese -authorities proceeded to try him in his absence, and having duly -sentenced him to be executed in effigy (October 1823), sent him a bill -for the legal expenses thus incurred. Panizzi, with equal humour, -replied negatively in a letter subscribed "<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">L'anima di Panizzi</span>," and -dated "<span lang="it" xml:lang="it">Campi Elisei, regno diabolico</span>," rather a shock to received ideas -of geography.</p> - -<p>The Elysian Fields were apparently at that time situated in Liverpool, -whither Panizzi had repaired, provided with introductions from Ugo -Foscolo to <!-- Page 290 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span>Dr. Shepherd and to William Roscoe, the men who, with James -Martineau, have given Liverpool a place in the history of letters. -Liberality of opinion united him to both these eminent persons, and his -Italian origin and Italian enthusiasm necessarily proved the most potent -recommendations to the historian of Lorenzo de' Medici and Leo X. From -Roscoe, indeed, he received all the affection of a parent, but these -were the days of the Liverpool scholar's adversity. Panizzi, -nevertheless, probably owed to him the introduction to Lord Brougham -which proved the turning-point in his career. He is said to have been of -great assistance to Brougham in the Wakefield trial. In 1828, furnished -with further introductions from Roscoe to Samuel Rogers and Sir Henry -Ellis, he quitted Liverpool to assume, at Brougham's invitation, the -post of Professor of Italian in University College, London. He had -supported himself while in Liverpool as a teacher of Italian; little -record remains of the struggle, but it must have been severe. The -present writer has heard him say, while lamenting the miserable salaries -paid to supernumerary assistants in the Museum thirty years ago, that he -had notwithstanding maintained himself upon much less. One indispensable -acquisition he made at Liverpool, a ready command of our language, -entirely unacquainted with it as he was upon his arrival in this -country. Neither his accent nor his idiom was ever free from traces of -his foreign extraction, but when he wrote the latter circumstance was -rather favourable to him. <!-- Page 291 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span>The peculiarity of manner contributed to the -general impression of originality, and the massiveness of his thoughts -was agreeably relieved by the raciness of his style.</p> - -<p>The study of Italian, an indispensable branch of polite accomplishment -in Elizabeth's time, was becoming a speciality or a tradition in George -IV.'s. The professorship existed rather for the College's sake than the -students'. Panizzi produced an Italian Grammar and Reading Book, and -gave oral instruction to the few who required it. His attention, -however, was mainly engrossed by a much more important undertaking, -which would have given him reputation, had he achieved nothing else. -Nearly three centuries had elapsed without an edition of Boiardo's -"Orlando Innamorato," of which the "Orlando Furioso" is but a -continuation, and without which the latter poem is not fully -intelligible. Some occasional rusticity of diction, so pedantic is -Italian purism, had sufficed to obscure the merits of a poem which -Signor Villari, writing in an age more familiar with generous ideas, -celebrates for "its moral seriousness, its singular elevation, its world -full of variety, of imagination, of affection,"—qualities, indeed, -which had militated against it in the day of Italy's degeneracy, and had -caused preference to be universally accorded to the brilliant but -half-jocular <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">rifacimento</i> by Berni. Sir Anthony Panizzi was the man to -be attracted by such qualities; he must, moreover, have felt an especial -interest in Boiardo as a native of the <!-- Page 292 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span>same district of Reggio from -which he himself sprang. He determined to rescue him from oblivion, and -effectually accomplished his purpose by editing him along with Ariosto -(1830-1834). The first volume of this fine edition, dedicated to his -benefactor Roscoe, is occupied by his celebrated dissertation on Italian -romantic poetry, especially remarkable for the reference of mediæval -romances to Celtic sources, and containing analyses of the "Teseide," -the "Morgante," the "Amadigi," and others of the less read Italian -romantic epics. It is further graced by translations contributed by Lady -Dacre, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Sotheby. The second volume is prefaced by a -memoir of Boiardo, with an essay making him full amends for the long -usurpation of his fame by his adapter Berni. The corrupt text of the -"Orlando Innamorato" is restored with great acumen from a collation of -rare editions principally contributed by the Right Hon. Thomas -Grenville, and, as well as that of the "Furioso," is accompanied by -valuable notes. At a later period Sir Anthony edited Boiardo's minor -poems.</p> - -<p>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 society. His urbanity and charm of manner, no less than his -accomplishments, made him irresistible. He was intimate at Holland -House, and on terms of personal friendship with most of the Liberal -statesmen who mainly directed English policy for the next thirty years. -His friends <!-- Page 293 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span>now came into power, and Lord Brougham used his influence -as an <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ex officio</i> Trustee of the British Museum to secure his -appointment as an extra assistant librarian of the Printed Book -Department (April 27, 1831). When one considers what Panizzi found the -Museum and what he left it, one is in danger of being betrayed into -injustice to the institution and its administrators at that period. -Miserably inadequate as it must appear if tried by our present standard, -there was no conscious deficiency on the part of its official -representatives, and it fully corresponded to the ideal of the public. -The nation, in fact, had scarcely the remotest idea of the organisation -of literary and artistic collections as a branch of the public service. -The records were in a shameful state of dilapidation; the Museum itself -existed only by accident; the National Gallery did not as yet exist at -all. Men like Hallam could honestly confess their perfect content with -the Museum as it was, and, unquestionably, it numbered among its -officers persons of the highest eminence. To mention only Sir Anthony's -immediate official superiors, the Keeper of the Printed Books was a most -accomplished scholar, the Assistant-Keeper had made the standard -translation of Dante. If there was an uneasy spot anywhere it was the -catalogue. The old printed catalogue had become inadequate. Mr. Hartwell -Horne had for some time been engaged on the compilation of a classed -catalogue, which did not seem to promise good results. Mr. Baber, the -Keeper, saw that a good alphabetical catalogue <!-- Page 294 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span>was the indispensable -condition of a classed catalogue, and Panizzi loyally supported him. The -Trustees appeared to be irresolute. While this question was in agitation -the grievances of an assistant, very properly dismissed from the MS. -Department, brought about a Parliamentary inquiry into the general -management of the Museum. In July 1836, Panizzi appeared before the -Committee, and courageously, yet with perfect good taste and official -decorum, laid bare the enormous deficiencies of the national library. A -still more valuable contribution was the mass of evidence supplied by -him with reference to the condition and administration of foreign -libraries, the result of journeys to the Continent undertaken with the -express object of collecting it, and occupying many hundred folio pages -in the Appendix to the Committee's Report. Most valuable of all, -perhaps, was his clear enunciation of the principle that the Museum -ought not to be a mere show-place, as the Government and the country -then practically concurred in regarding it, but a great educational -agency. This principle, emphatically expressed by him before the -Committee, gives the keynote of all his administrative action.</p> - -<p>Merits like these could not go unrecompensed, even though they might -have rather alienated than conciliated some of those whose duty it was -to reward them. In July 1835, a proposal to raise Panizzi's salary had -been shelved in a manner which so excited Mr. Grenville's indignation -that he never attended another meeting of the Trustees. <!-- Page 295 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span>In 1837 Mr. -Baber's resignation of the Keepership of the Printed Books placed -Panizzi in a delicate position. Mr. Cary, the translator of Dante, his -immediate superior in office, had every claim to promotion on the -grounds of seniority and literary distinction, but Mr. Cary had recently -recovered from an attack of insanity. In reply to incessant -insinuations, Mr. Panizzi's high-minded conduct in the matter was -reluctantly stated by himself before the Royal Commission of 1849, and -the account is fully confirmed by a narrator who had himself had sharp -conflicts with him, Mr. Edwards, in his "Founders of the British -Museum." Mr. Cary, it ultimately appeared, thought that his past -services entitled him to "that alleviation of labour which is gained by -promotion to a superior place"(!). It must be remembered that there were -no superannuation allowances in those days.</p> - -<p>Panizzi did not expect or intend his labours to be alleviated by -promotion. He took office at a most critical time, when the books were -being transferred from Montague House to their new quarters, when the -question of the catalogue was ripe for decision, and when the public -were beginning to suspect the deficiencies of the library. The removal -was promptly effected, and some of the assistants temporarily engaged to -aid in it remained, and proved most valuable officers of the Museum. The -undertaking of the catalogue led to much tedious discussion, but in -December 1838, Panizzi declared his readiness to accept this formidable -addition to his ordinary duties, and <!-- Page 296 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span>early in 1839 the cataloguing -rules, which have ever since been regarded as models, were framed by him -with the assistance of Messrs. Winter Jones, Watts, Parry, and Edwards. -Mr. Jones assumed the general direction of the catalogue; Mr. Watts -undertook the arrangement of the new acquisitions on the shelves; the -cataloguing of these was chiefly intrusted to the Rev. Richard Garnett, -Mr. Cary's successor as Assistant-Keeper. A misunderstanding, for which -Panizzi was in no respect responsible, interfered with the progress of -the general catalogue. It was announced that it must be proceeded with -in alphabetical order, and much time was lost before Panizzi was -permitted to resort to the more expeditious plan of cataloguing the -books shelf by shelf. The Trustees were further represented as demanding -that it should all be in type by a fixed date, and much time and labour -were accordingly wasted in printing the first volume, containing letter -A, which, as books requiring to be entered under headings commencing -with this initial constantly occurred during the subsequent progress of -the catalogue, inevitably proved exceedingly defective. The catalogue -has nevertheless been now for a long time substantially completed in -MS., and for the most part incorporated with the much more extensive -supplementary catalogue of books acquired during its progress; the -question whether and how it should be printed is too extensive to be -entered upon here. Even more of Panizzi's attention was claimed by his -third task, the ascertainment of the <!-- Page 297 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span>deficiencies of the library. Rich -in classics, in the bibliographic treasures collected by such amateurs -as Mr. Cracherode, in history and some other subjects to which especial -attention had been paid by the King's Librarian, in its unique -collections of English and French revolutionary tracts, in the -departments of natural science represented by the Banksian Library, the -Museum was still deplorably poor in most branches of general literature, -in German almost ludicrously so. Aided by Mr. Jones and Mr. Watts, -Panizzi commenced an active investigation into the condition of the -library in this respect. The results were embodied in his celebrated -report of 1845, subsequently published as a Parliamentary paper, which, -backed by his political and social influence, caused an increase to -£10,000 of the annual grant for the purchase of books. Another important -step in the same direction was the enforcement of the Copyright Act, -hitherto but negligently attended to by the Secretary to the Museum. -Upon this duty being intrusted to Panizzi, he discharged it with a -vigour that soon brought reluctant publishers to their senses, and he -even personally undertook an expedition through Scotland, Wales, and -Ireland, for the sake of enforcing the observance of the Act. Yet -another accession due to him was the matchless Grenville Library, -perhaps the finest collection of books ever formed by a private -individual. Mr. Grenville himself declared that the nation was solely -indebted to Mr. Panizzi's influence with him for this magnificent gift; -and <!-- Page 298 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span>Panizzi's minute instructions for its removal, addressed to Mr. -Rye, afterwards Keeper of the Printed Books, are still extant to evince -his anxious care for the collection, his perfect knowledge of it, and -his grasp of every administrative detail, from the greatest to the -smallest. With such accessions from so many sources, it is hardly -surprising that the volumes originally under Mr. Panizzi's charge should -have multiplied fivefold by the time he quitted the Museum. It would be -endless to describe his numerous improvements in such matters of library -detail as stamping, binding, and supplying the Reading Room. The most -important of any was the introduction of movable and multifold slips -into the catalogue, largely due to a suggestion from Mr. Wilson Croker.</p> - -<p>The Royal Commission of 1847-49 deserves to be considered the -turning-point of Sir A. Panizzi's administration. Up to this time, -however caressed in highly cultivated circles, he had been unpopular -with the public, who could not be expected to know how his plans were -cramped and thwarted, and were in many instances illiberally prejudiced -against him as a foreigner. The Commission gave him a welcome -opportunity of at once challenging inquiry into complaints, and of -making known the signal improvements already effected by him. His -invitation to complainants to come forward—widely circulated through -the notice taken of it by this journal—elicited a number of attacks, -which, with the replies, may be found in the Parliamentary Blue Book, -and form as instructive and amusing a <!-- Page 299 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span>body of reading as ever Blue Book -contained. The Commissioners, who included men of letters like Lord -Ellesmere, and men of business like Lord Canning and the present Duke of -Somerset, could but report that not one charge had been established in -any single particular. It is abundantly clear that very few of the -complainants had any definite notion of what they wanted, and the -frivolousness of their imputations, even had they been well founded, -arouses something like indignation when contrasted with the immense -services which Panizzi was at the time rendering without receiving any -credit at all. This triumphant vindication of his management, however, -made him omnipotent with the Trustees and the Government, and paved the -way for the greatest undertaking of his life. It is needless to describe -a structure so familiar to all English men of letters as the new Reading -Room. The original design, sketched by Mr. Panizzi on April 18, 1852, -was submitted to the Trustees on May 5 following. By May 1854, its -originator's indomitable perseverance and extensive influence had -prevailed to obtain the large grant necessary for the commencement of -the work, which was completed and opened to the public in May 1857. The -part generally visible—Mr. Smirke's contribution to the plan—though -architecturally the most imposing, is hardly the most remarkable portion -of a structure providing space for three hundred readers and a million -volumes on ground previously wasted and useless. Every detail was either -devised or superintended by Sir <!-- Page 300 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span>A. Panizzi, 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 things. One thing alone is wanting, that the reference -library should be as far above competition as the Reading Room, and -this, too, will be accomplished when the exigencies of space allow the -present Principal Librarian's plans to be carried out. The attempts that -have been made to deprive Sir A. Panizzi of the credit of the conception -are futile. Any one could see that the space in the quadrangle was -wasted. The present writer himself made the remark to an officer of the -Museum at the age of fourteen. But it was one thing to discern the evil -and another to provide the remedy.</p> - -<p>In 1856 Sir A. Panizzi succeeded Sir Henry Ellis as Principal Librarian, -being himself succeeded as Keeper of the Printed Books by Mr. Winter -Jones. His administration of the Museum as a whole was carried on in the -same spirit as his administration of the library, but, except for the -great impetus given to purchases generally, was not distinguished by -equally striking incidents. His work for the library had been mostly -performed, and the affairs of the other departments afforded less scope -for the display of his peculiar qualities. Two or three slight -administrative mistakes may be admitted without derogation to his fame, -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 subordinates. This was ever <!-- Page 301 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span>a passion with him, and every -improvement in the position of the officials of the Museum effected -during his connection with the establishment may be traced to his -influence. Exhausted at length with work, he retired on his full salary -in July 1866. He took up his residence in Bloomsbury Square, almost -within call of the Museum, and ceased not to the last to exhibit the -warmest interest in the institution. In 1869 he accepted the honour of -knighthood, which he had frequently declined. His death on April 8 has -already been recorded in our pages.</p> - -<p>Little can be said here of Sir A. Panizzi's activity as a politician and -patriot. It was probably little less important or beneficial than his -activity as a librarian, and possibly occupied hardly less of his time -and thoughts. It was, however, wholly below the surface, and the -materials for defining and appreciating it are at present wanting. There -can be no question that he served the cause of Italy most effectually by -his intimacy with the leading English statesmen, who admired and -confided in him. Thoroughly Anglicised, he knew how to appreciate the -currents of English sentiment, and predicted to Lord Palmerston that the -Conspiracy Bill would occasion the downfall of his government. With this -statesman, as well as Lord Russell, he was most intimate; and he -received touching proofs in his last illness of the regard of Mr. -Gladstone, whose famous pamphlet on the Neapolitan prisons sounded a -note originally struck by Panizzi. Sir James Hudson, the English Envoy -<!-- Page 302 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span>at Turin, was one of his most trusted friends, and their mutual -understanding was of great service to the Italian cause. Cavour -thoroughly confided in him, and vainly tempted him to a political career -in Italy by the offer of a senatorship. Though devoted to the house of -Savoy, he cordially sympathised with Garibaldi, in whose English -reception he had a great share, and whom he accompanied on that occasion -to the tomb of Ugo Foscolo. He reckoned the Orleans princes among his -friends, and a community of literary tastes especially linked him to the -Duke d'Aumale. While his sympathies and connections were thus Liberal, -his relations with statesmen on the other side were always most -amicable. We believe that the flattering resolutions of the Trustees -passed on occasion of his resignation were moved by Mr. Walpole and -seconded by Lord Beaconsfield.</p> - -<p>Besides the works we have mentioned, Sir Anthony Panizzi was the author -of an essay in Italian entitled "<cite class="noitalic" lang="it" xml:lang="it">Chi era Francesco da Bologna?</cite>" in which -that artist, the inventor of italic type, is identified with the great -painter Francesco Francia; and the editor of Lord Vernon's sumptuous -verbatim reprint of the first four editions of the Divine Comedy, -respectively printed at Foligno, Jesi, Mantua, and Naples. He further -wrote some pamphlets on questions connected with the British Museum and -the Catalogue of the Royal Society's Library, and contributed several -articles on political and literary subjects to the <cite>Edinburgh</cite>, -<cite>Quarterly</cite>, and <cite>North British Reviews</cite>.</p> - -<p><!-- Page 303 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p><p>Sir Anthony Panizzi's was a rich and complex nature, and his character -cannot be sketched in a phrase; else we might feel tempted to sum it up -in two characteristics, magnanimity and warmth of heart. Other traits, -however, must be added to complete the portrait—prodigious power of -will, indomitable perseverance, hatred of inefficiency and pretence, -active and disinterested kindness, impetuosity held in check by -circumspect sagacity. He might be said to combine the characteristics of -the land of his birth and the land of his adoption: his moral nature -seemed English, his intellect Italian. Warmth of feeling gave after all -the keynote to his existence. He was, indeed, jealous of his well-won -fame, but fame was not his main object. If he greatly helped his Museum, -his country, his colleagues, it was because he began by greatly caring -for them. In labouring for the public he erected an imperishable -monument for himself:—</p> - -<div class="poem" lang="la" xml:lang="la"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="line">"Ipsa quidem virtus sibimet pulcherrima merces;</div> - <div class="line indentq">Dulce tamen venit ad manes, cum gloria vitæ</div> - <div class="line indentq">Durat apud superos nec edunt oblivia laudem."</div> - </div> -</div> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_288:1_32" id="Footnote_288:1_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_288:1_32"><span class="label">[288:1]</span></a> <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Athenæum</cite>, April 19, 1879.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 304 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" title="THE LATE JOHN WINTER JONES, V.P.S.A.">THE LATE JOHN WINTER JONES, V.P.S.A.,<br /> -<small><span class="smcap">Principal Librarian of the British Museum, and</span></small><br /> -<small><span class="smcap">first President of the Library Association</span></small><br /> -<small><span class="smcap">of the United Kingdom.</span></small><a name="FNanchor_304:1_33" id="FNanchor_304:1_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_304:1_33" class="headerfn">[304:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The conference of the Library Association at London, in 1881, was -painfully signalised by the funeral in the same city of its first -President, who had presided over its inauguration at the preliminary -London conference four years previously, and to whose countenance it had -been indebted for much of the success which attended its establishment. -A short notice of Mr. 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 President, no less than by the position -which, in his capacity of Principal Librarian of the British Museum, he -so long occupied at the head of the profession of librarianship in this -country.</p> - -<p>John Winter Jones was born at Lambeth, June 16, 1805, and belonged to a -family long established in Carmarthenshire, and already honourably -connected with literature. His father, John Jones, Esq., <!-- Page 305 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span>author of -"Hawthorn Cottage" and other tales, for many years edited the <cite>Naval -Chronicle</cite> and <cite>European Magazine</cite>. His grandfather, Mr. Giles Jones, -had been secretary to the York Buildings Water-Works, 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 & Co., including the renowned "Goody Two Shoes." No -more conclusive proof of the merit of "Goody Two Shoes" could be given -than the able argument by which Mr. Charles Welsh has recently sought to -attribute the authorship to Goldsmith. While agreeing with Mr. Welsh -that the book is not unworthy of Goldsmith in humour, philanthropy, and -simple truth to nature, we are unable to discover any such similarity of -style as to warrant its being ascribed to him. On the other hand, the -peculiar vein of dry humour characteristic of "Goody Two Shoes" -reappeared in Mr. Winter Jones's conversation in so remarkable a degree -as to justify the impression that he had preserved a family trait. -Assuredly, had he ever essayed his powers in the field of imaginative -literature, "Goody Two Shoes" is the kind of work which one would have -expected him to have produced. A great-uncle, Mr. Griffith Jones, had -been the friend of Johnson and Goldsmith; an uncle, Mr. Stephen Jones, -was also known in literature, especially as the author of "Masonic -Miscellanies," and editor and continuer of Baker's "Biographia -Dramatica." Mr. Winter Jones's <!-- Page 306 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span>mother, Mary Walker, was cousin to the -academician Smirke; nor, in the list of remarkable persons connected -with him, should his nurse be forgotten, Anne Parker, widow of the -unfortunate Parker who was executed as ringleader of the mutiny at the -Nore.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jones received his education at St. Paul's School. He does not -appear to have been eminent as a classical scholar, but some youthful -letters show how early he had acquired the power of writing excellent -English. He was, moreover, unusually precocious as an author, although -his first attempt was by no means ambitious. In 1822 appeared an -anonymous little book, now exceedingly rare, "Riddles, Charades, and -Conundrums: with a Preface on the Antiquity of Riddles," containing a -considerable number of original enigmas—a truly quaint and exceptional -performance for a youth of seventeen. Mr. Jones's juvenile ambition, -however, was stimulated to this undertaking by an accomplished lady, -Mrs. Davies, mother of Sir Lancelot Shadwell, who thought highly of his -talents, and had a considerable share in it.</p> - -<p>The profession designed for Mr. Jones was that of a Chancery barrister. -After leaving school he became the pupil of Mr. Bythewood, of Lincoln's -Inn, the most eminent conveyancer of his day, who had a very high -opinion of him.<a name="FNanchor_306:1_34" id="FNanchor_306:1_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_306:1_34" class="fnanchor">[306:1]</a> He must, however, have devoted much of his time -to studies not <!-- Page 307 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span>of a legal nature, for about this time he became an -excellent scholar in the modern languages, not taught, or taught -imperfectly, in St. Paul's School. His proficiency is proved by a little -volume undertaken for his own amusement, but published at the suggestion -of his sister: "A Translation of all the Greek, Latin, Italian, and -French Quotations in Blackstone's Commentaries, and in the notes of the -editions by Christian, Archbold, and Williams. By J. Winter Jones, -1823." He also made the index to the new edition of Wynne's "Eunomus, or -Dialogues concerning the Law and Constitution of England."</p> - -<p>Just as Mr. Jones was looking forward to being called to the Chancery -Bar his prospects were clouded, and his course in life altogether -changed, by a most serious illness, greatly aggravated by the improper -treatment of a physician who entirely mistook the nature of the -complaint. The result was a temporary loss of voice, accompanied by a -weakness of the chest which for several years rendered any speaking in -public impossible. Between ill-health and the want of introductions and -connections in any but the legal profession, Mr. Jones seems to have -been unable for some years to follow any definite calling. He pursued -his studies as far as possible, learned Spanish from the refugees who at -that time abounded in Islington and Somers Town, and even acquired some -knowledge of Russian, destined to be very useful in future years. To -this time also belonged his acquaintance with Jerdan and Godwin. He knew -<!-- Page 308 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span>the latter intimately, and was impressed by his intellectual eminence, -but used to describe him as a man selfish in minor things, who must, -like Harold Skimpole, always have his plate of fruit, no matter the -price or the season. Of the second Mrs. Godwin he had a higher opinion -than seems to have been usually entertained by her acquaintance. A -narrow escape of his life which he had at this time may be best narrated -in his own words, so characteristic of the man's coolness and aversion -to fuss or display, even when the occasion might seem to excuse them:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="dateline">"<span class="smcap">Southampton</span>, <i>September 9, 1833</i>.</p> - -<p>"<span class="smcap">My dear Father</span>,—I am extremely sorry that I cannot profit by -your directions for swimming. On Friday week I went to bathe -at the new baths, being my second attempt in cold water. No -one was in the bath at the time, nor was there any rope, but -as I thought the place was perfectly safe, I plunged in -backwards according to the directions I had received. I sank, -of course, and throwing up my chest rose immediately, but when -in the water I lay on my back motionless from cramp in my -stomach. By no effort that I could make could I force down my -feet or turn, and my struggles caused my head to dip so -frequently that had assistance been delayed a minute longer I -must have been suffocated. I fortunately recollected having -read that persons are sure to float if they throw back the -head as far as possible, thereby elevating the chest, and -remain quite quiet. This <!-- Page 309 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span>saved me. I mentioned the -circumstance to Dr. Shadwell, and he strongly recommended me -to abstain from the water at present, as it evidently did not -agree with me."</p> -</div> - -<p>About two years from the date of this letter, Mr. Jones obtained his -first important public employment as a secretary to that then itinerant -body, the Charity Commissioners. The charitable institutions of England, -long corrupted and misused, were receiving a much-needed overhauling, -one of the indirect fruits of the Reform agitation. Perambulating bodies -of commissioners were traversing the length and breadth of the land, -"wanting to know, you know," and eliciting an amount of information -which could not have been obtained without the direct personal pressure -of inquisitors upon the spot. Their labours produced much excellent -fruit, and restored a vast amount of charitable endowment to its -legitimate uses. The records survive in ponderous Blue-Books; and the -student of general literature may derive an idea of the nature of their -investigations, which it is to be hoped he will not take too literally, -from the lively ridicule of "Crotchet Castle." When the satirist -declared that the labours of the Commissioners did no good to any living -soul, he certainly ought to have excepted Mr. Winter Jones, 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 air. This object he fully attained. The few letters he wrote to -his <!-- Page 310 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>family on his tour that have been preserved are full of racy -humour, and suggest what a page of English life might have been -presented by a record of the more private experiences of the Commission, -too familiar to be registered in Blue-Books. As nothing of the sort -exists, it may not be improper to preserve two specimens here, -notwithstanding their want of connection with bibliography:—</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="dateline">"<span class="smcap">Market Harborough</span>, <i>Nov. 20, 1836</i>.</p> - -<p>"Harborough is a monstrously stupid place, possessing no -interest that I have yet discovered either in the form of -situation or antiquities. The inhabitants of the county are -principally graziers and fox-hunters, men of substance, coarse -in their manners, and tolerably hospitable. Of the few -clergymen I have yet seen, little can be said in praise. One -has been suspended for his profligate habits; another drinks -so hard that he is incapable of performing the duties of his -church, being frequently insane; and a third attended -yesterday at our board with his church-warden, both of whom -were so fuddled that they could with difficulty make -themselves understood. . . . We have a vast deal of business to -transact, and every prospect of our work increasing. The -labour is not so much occasioned by the extent or intricacy of -the charities, as by the provoking stolidity of those who -ought to be fully informed upon the subject. There exists in -this part of the county a very extraordinary charity founded -by a clergyman named Hanbury, who prepared seventeen deeds for -the foundation of various branches <!-- Page 311 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>of one grand charity. The -property settled is directed to accumulate until the proceeds -amount to £10,000 per annum (they are at present about £500), -when a cathedral is to be erected at a cost of £150,000, and -professorships of music, poetry, philosophy, botany, &c. &c., -established. One of his deeds he heads, 'Beef for ever,' -another, 'Organs for ever,' a third, 'Schools for ever,' with -much of the same oddity. He has published a thick octavo -volume with an account of his charity and a copy of his -foundation deeds. The latter occupy 248 pages of the work, so -if I have to abstract the whole of them it is impossible to -say when my labours will end."</p> -</div> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="dateline">"<span class="smcap">Leicester</span>, <i>Feb. 5, 1837</i>.</p> - -<p>"Our third and last visit was to a Mr. Hildebrand, a -clergyman, and head-master of the Kibworth free grammar -school. This poor fellow has just had his wife, mother-in-law, -eight children, and two servants confined to their beds with -influenza, and I never beheld an assemblage of more ghastly -objects than we formed at the dinner-table. With the exception -of one, we had all pale cheeks, red eyes, and every other sort -of <em>phizzical</em> ugliness, the excepted one had a blue -complexion approaching to black. Mr. Hildebrand, however, -assured me the next morning at breakfast that the hearty -dinner he had made, and drinking as much wine as pleased him -(he was, by-the-bye, a long time in being pleased) had -completely removed his disorder. I may make the same remark -respecting myself. The necessity I <!-- Page 312 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>have been under of -drinking wine every day has almost totally removed my -complaint. I have nothing now to complain of but a -considerable degree of nervous debility, which I hope will -depart in a few days."</p> -</div> - -<p>The conclusion of the rural peregrinations of the Commission at the -beginning of 1837 threatened Mr. Jones with loss of employment, although -he was still engaged in town in reducing its voluminous proceedings to -print, and the extant correspondence shows that his work was very -important. He says in a letter of this period:—</p> - -<p>"I am ready to be knocked down to the highest bidder in any honourable -service, and have no objection to write speeches and pamphlets and frame -bills for laws and schemes for mines provided I am properly remunerated, -but there's the rub." The real occupation of his life, however, was -unexpectedly at hand. Within two months after writing as above he was -appointed (April 1837) to the situation of permanent assistant in the -Printed Book Department of the British Museum. The suggestion that he -should apply for this post seems to have come from his friend Mr. -Nicholas Carlisle, an assistant-officer who had come to the Museum from -Windsor, along with the King's Library, and who is perhaps best -remembered by a work on the endowed grammar schools of England, valuable -in its time. The application was, moreover, strongly supported by Mr. -Johnstone, a member of the Charity Commission, <!-- Page 313 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span>who had been greatly -impressed by Mr. Jones's efficiency in his secretaryship, and who -enlisted his father, Sir Alexander Johnstone's, influence with the -Archbishop of Canterbury, in whose hands all appointments to the Museum -then practically rested. At the end of 1837, upon the resignation of the -Assistant-Keeper, Mr. Cary, Mr. Jones became a candidate for the office. -Short as his connection with the Museum had then been, he still had the -claim of seniority. But he had gained the esteem and confidence of Mr. -Panizzi, the Keeper, and Mr. Panizzi was obnoxious to persons -influential with the Archbishop, who accordingly replied that "his -connection with the establishment is of recent date," and apprehended -"that due consideration for the claims of others will put it out of my -power to serve him upon the present occasion." Who these others were did -not appear, and it seemed still more difficult to identify them when, -after some delay, the appointment was conferred upon a gentleman, -undoubtedly possessed of the highest talents and the greatest -attainments, but who could have no claim upon the Museum, as he had no -connection with it. It is to Mr. Jones's honour that he manifested no -resentment, and always maintained the most friendly relations with his -successful competitor, whose son now records the fact. "But," he said to -the writer many years afterwards, "from that hour I determined that I -would be Principal Librarian."</p> - -<p>From this time forward Mr. Jones's history is almost entirely identified -with that of the library of <!-- Page 314 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>the British Museum. He was entering upon -his duties at the period of the most important changes that have ever -taken place in that institution. The Parliamentary Committees of 1835-36 -had proved the necessity for extensive reforms in every department of -the Museum. The Trustees had already been for some years occupied with -plans for a new catalogue of printed books. The removal of the library -from its old quarters in Montague House to the new buildings was about -to take place. It was fortunate, indeed, that just at this juncture the -library should have acquired so eminent an administrator as Sir Anthony -Panizzi, and in Mr. Jones an assistant who, though not especially gifted -with the power of initiative, was in diligence, fidelity, accuracy, -intelligence, and calm good sense as efficient a lieutenant as an able -administrator could desire.</p> - -<p>After the removal of the library had been completed, with the assistance -of Messrs. Watts and Bullen, the next important task was the preparation -of the rules for the new catalogue, in which it is probable that Mr. -Jones took the largest share. They were prepared under Mr. Panizzi's -chief direction, with the co-operation of Messrs. Jones, Watts, Parry, -and Edwards. The extent of time devoted to them, and the extreme -thoroughness of the discussion, appears from Mr. Parry's evidence before -the Royal Commission of 1849, and Mr. Edwards's history of the British -Museum. They were finally accepted by the Trustees and officially -promulgated in July 1839. In one important <!-- Page 315 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>respect, the rule to be -adopted for cataloguing anonymous books, the judgment of the compilers -was overruled by the Trustees, and this is the source of many of the -criticisms to which the rules themselves have been subjected. As a -whole, they have received almost universal approbation; 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 -nature. Very much of the discrepancy of opinion as regards cataloguing -results from the failure to distinguish between the requisites of large -and small libraries. 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 think, its indirect -effect in providing, in the case of anonymous books, some kind of a -substitute for what was then, and is still, the great deficiency of the -British Museum library, an index of subjects. The same remark applies to -the adoption of the headings "Academies," "Ephemerides," and "Periodical -Publications," the introduction of biographical cross-references, and -other features of the catalogue, perhaps exceptionable in theory, but -assuredly very convenient in practice.</p> - -<p>The catalogue was now (August 1839) fairly commenced under the immediate -personal direction and responsibility of Mr. Panizzi. Mr. Jones, -however, held from the first a primacy among the assistants actually -engaged in its compilation, which became enhanced as the difficulties of -the task <!-- Page 316 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span>became more apparent from day to day. It had been supposed -that the old titles might pass with slight examination: they proved to -require the most careful revision; and the work of the revisers needed -to be in its turn revised. Subject to a reference to Mr. Panizzi in -extreme cases, Mr. Jones was the ultimate authority. His clear head, -legal habit of mind, and attention to minute bibliographical accuracy, -rendered him invaluable in this capacity, and his decisions constitute -the basis and most essential part of the body of unprinted law which -unforeseen exigencies gradually superinduced upon the original rules. He -also took a leading part in the revision of the proofs. 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 -Association, that it is needless to enter upon them here. It made no -difference to the amount of Mr. Jones's labours, except as regarded the -correction of the press. He continued to work upon the catalogue and -also upon the supplementary catalogue of books added to the library, -both as reviser and as general supervisor, until he became Keeper of -Printed Books in 1856. His other duties were numerous and important: he -exercised, in particular, the immediate control of the attendants, a -responsibility the more onerous in proportion to the continual increase -of the establishment. In 1843 he was engaged along with Mr. Watts in -collecting the materials on which Mr. Panizzi based his famous report on -the deficiencies of the library, which ultimately occasioned <!-- Page 317 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>so large -an increase in the annual grant. In 1849 he prepared for the Royal -Commission that crushing exposure of Mr. J. P. Collier's notions of -short and easy methods of cataloguing which should be especially valued -by librarians, as it is perhaps the best practical illustration to be -found anywhere of the difficulties attaching to the correct -bibliographical description of a book. He was also enabled to devote -some attention to literature. About 1842 he wrote a large number of -articles for the Dictionary of Universal Biography, edited by Mr. George -Long for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, a great and -meritorious undertaking, unfortunately not carried beyond letter A, -although the continuation as far as <strong>Be</strong> was actually in type. Mr. Jones's -articles chiefly treated of obscure or forgotten writers, and required -much research. He also contributed to the <cite>Quarterly</cite> and <cite>North -British</cite> Reviews; his article in the latter on the British Museum -Library (1851) is the best account of its administration to be found -anywhere. He carried on an extensive correspondence with Mr. Wilson -Croker, who continually had recourse to him for information on literary -subjects. In 1847 he contributed to the <cite>Archæologia</cite> "Observations on -the Division of Man's Life into Stages," with especial reference to -Shakespeare's descriptions of the seven ages of man, and about this time -wrote several other papers. In 1850 he edited for the Hakluyt Society -"Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America"; and in 1856, "The -Travels of Nicolò Conti in the East," translated from the <!-- Page 318 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>Italian of -Poggio Bracciolini. In 1858 he translated for the same Society the -Oriental travels of Lodovico di Varthema, edited, with a preface, by his -friend Dr. G. P. Badger.</p> - -<p>Upon the death of the Rev. Richard Garnett in 1850, Mr. Jones became -Assistant-Keeper of Printed Books, and succeeded Mr. Panizzi as Keeper -upon the latter's promotion to the Principal Librarianship in March -1856. His period of office as Assistant-Keeper was chiefly distinguished -by the erection of the new Reading Room, and the libraries in connection -with it. The design of this grand and commodious structure belongs -entirely to Sir A. Panizzi; but Mr. Jones saw the original sketch -(engraved in the catalogue of the Reading Room reference library) as -soon as it was made, and was consulted upon every detail during the -progress of the work. One of his first duties as Keeper was to edit, -with a valuable preface, the above-mentioned catalogue, which had been -entirely prepared by Mr. W. B. Rye, late Keeper of the Printed Books. As -Keeper Mr. Jones paid the greatest attention to the organisation of his -department, which he maintained in the highest condition of efficiency. -The number of titles written annually for the catalogue was unequalled -before or since, and the department never had so many assistants of -literary distinction. He followed in his predecessor's steps in using -every possible endeavour to increase the library, both numerically and -by the acquisition of special bibliographical treasures. The annual -grant, long diminished from want of room to store <!-- Page 319 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span>accessions, was -raised to £10,000 in 1857, and Mr. Jones proceeded to expend it with the -assistance of the vast literary knowledge of his colleague Mr. Watts, -and valuable aid in the acquisition of German and other old foreign -books from Mr. Albert Cohn, of Berlin; in American literature from the -enterprising and indefatigable Mr. Henry Stevens; and in ancient -service-books from Mr. William Maskell. Among the many important -official documents prepared by him may be mentioned a memorandum of -objections to the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners; and -reports on additions to the staff, on the superannuation of assistants, -on Civil Service examinations, and on vellum books.</p> - -<p>In July 1866, Mr. Winter Jones, having previously acted as Deputy -Principal Librarian from December 1862 to May 1863, became Principal -Librarian on the retirement of Sir A. Panizzi. 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 alterations, and such was precisely the part -marked out for him by the character of the times. The institution, -thoroughly reorganised during the last thirty years, required rest, and -no impulse was felt towards the reforms and developments which have -proved practicable and salutary under his successor. The great question -of the removal of the Natural History collections to South Kensington -had been determined for good or ill before he took office, and <!-- Page 320 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span>no -question of corresponding public interest arose under his -administration. He presided, however, over a committee formed to -consider the proposed transfer of the South Kensington Museum to the -Trustees of the British Museum, but its deliberations led to no result. -He was especially careful in ascertaining the qualifications of persons -recommended for appointments in the Museum. His method, -clear-headedness, and general capacity for business rendered him highly -acceptable to the Trustees, especially those who, like the Duke of -Somerset, Mr. Walpole, and Mr. Grote, took a peculiarly active share in -the affairs of the institution. With Mr. Grote he was particularly -intimate, and frequently visited him, and subsequently his widow, at -their charming residence near Shere.</p> - -<p>In 1877 his health, which for the last forty years had been good, began -so far to fail as to render a winter residence in London exceedingly -difficult to him. He obtained a four months' leave of absence, in the -hope of an amelioration which did not take place. That his mental, and -to a considerable degree his physical vigour were unimpaired, he had -just proved by the transaction which entitles him to a record in the -<cite>Transactions of the Library Association</cite>. It will be remembered how -upon the foundation of the Association, a proposition, well calculated -to enlist support, was made, that its presidency should be conferred -upon a gentleman whose writings have laid the profession under deep -obligations.<a name="FNanchor_320:1_35" id="FNanchor_320:1_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_320:1_35" class="fnanchor">[320:1]</a> It is not the least of <!-- Page 321 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span>Mr. E. B. Nicholson's many -services to the Association which he called into being, to have -discerned that it could not in its infant stage prosper without official -patronage, and that, without prejudice to individual claims, its fitting -head at that period would be the chief librarian of the chief library, -the Principal Librarian of the British Museum. He accordingly invited -Mr. Jones to accept the office of President, and to invest the young -society with the sanction of official prestige, by consenting to open -its first Congress, and deliver an inaugural address. Mr. Jones, however -favourably disposed to Mr. Nicholson's project, might well have declined -on the ground of engrossing public duties and delicate health, but he -did not. The members of the Association will long recollect his -appearance in the chair at the preliminary London meeting of 1877; the -staunch persistence with which, though evidently suffering from -indisposition, he delivered his carefully prepared inaugural discourse; -and the firmness and dignity with which he conducted the proceedings -until the close of the morning's meeting. It was his last act of -importance as a librarian. His temporary retirement during the ensuing -winter having failed to recruit his health, he resigned in August 1878, -receiving a farewell address from his colleagues, and the individual -tributes of several of the leading Trustees. He withdrew to Henley, -where he had erected a residence at a considerable elevation, commanding -a charming view; his winters were spent at Penzance, where, not long -before his death, he <!-- Page 322 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span>showed his undiminished interest in research by -delivering a lecture upon the Assyrian discoveries. The present writer -visited him at Henley in June 1881, and found him, although suffering -somewhat from asthma, in tolerable health and excellent spirits, -interested in the affairs of the world, and happy in the affection of -his family. On the morning of September 7, after having entertained a -party of young people to a late hour with great good humour, he was -found dead in his bed. He had died of disease of the heart. He was -interred at Kensal Green, his funeral being attended by most of his -Museum colleagues then in town. He had married in 1837 the daughter of -William Hewson, Esq., of Lisson Hall, Cumberland, a very amiable lady, -who predeceased him by a few years, and whose protracted indisposition -in the latter years of her life occasioned him much sorrow. He left one -married and one unmarried daughter.</p> - -<hr class="thoughtbreak" /> - -<p>It may surprise those slightly or only officially acquainted with Mr. -Jones to be informed that one of his principal characteristics was -extreme kindness of heart, but such would be the opinion of all who knew -him intimately. He was not emotional, but his affections were warm and -deep: he was not impressionable, but kindness was with him an innate -principle. If he ever seemed to act with harshness, it was from a -constraining sense of official duty, and it might easily be seen that -the necessity was very disagreeable to him. <!-- Page 323 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span>It was exceedingly -difficult, for instance, to get him to take steps for the removal of -attendants whose incapacity from ill health had long been notorious: and -he may be censured for having sometimes closed his eyes to circumstances -of which he should have taken notice. 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 genial. His was -indeed by no means an expansive nature, but it was a very genuine one; -he was deeply beloved in his family; his friendships were solid and -lasting; and he exhibited that general criterion of a good heart, -kindness to children and animals. He says in an early letter: "On Friday -last I went out fishing. The weather was very fine for sailing, but not -at all adapted for the sport we had in view: which was a great source of -satisfaction to me, for spitting the poor worms for bait was a dreadful -task to my unpractised nerves; and tearing the hook out of the throat of -the animal when caught was, if possible, still worse." He despised -claptrap popularity, and was perhaps even unduly indifferent to the -shows and surfaces of things. This concern for reality, however, -combined with his legal education, made him a lover of justice; and he -thus earned the respect and confidence of his subordinates, who knew -that they might fully rely upon his equitable consideration, and his -support in trials and difficulties. His judgment of men was in general -<!-- Page 324 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span>very correct, though he was capable of being swayed by long intimacy or -personal liking. He was on various occasions subjected to considerable -obloquy, but as this always arose from his opposition to the interested -views of individuals, it only redounded to his credit with those -acquainted with the circumstances. His literary tastes were such as -befitted the bibliographer, but he admired many poets and novelists, -especially Shakespeare, Goethe, Ariosto, and Wieland. He possessed a -peculiar vein of dry humour, which he occasionally manifested with great -effect. Intellectually, 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 utilitarian.</p> - -<p>He was not the man to innovate or originate, but was admirably qualified -for the work which actually fell to his lot—first to be the right hand -of a great architect, then to consolidate the structure he had helped to -erect, and prepare it for still vaster extension and more commanding -proportions in the times to come.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_304:1_33" id="Footnote_304:1_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_304:1_33"><span class="label">[304:1]</span></a> Contributed to the <cite>Transactions of the Library -Association</cite>, 1882.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_306:1_34" id="Footnote_306:1_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_306:1_34"><span class="label">[306:1]</span></a> Mr. Bythewood bequeathed to Mr. Jones his gold repeater -watch, valued at one hundred guineas; and Mr. Jones received in after -years a precisely similar legacy from Sir Anthony Panizzi.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_320:1_35" id="Footnote_320:1_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_320:1_35"><span class="label">[320:1]</span></a> Mr. Edward Edwards.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 325 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE LATE HENRY STEVENS, F.S.A."><a name="THE_LATE_HENRY_STEVENS_FSA" id="THE_LATE_HENRY_STEVENS_FSA"></a>THE LATE HENRY STEVENS, F.S.A.<a name="FNanchor_325:1_36" id="FNanchor_325:1_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_325:1_36" class="headerfn">[325:1]</a></h2> -</div> - -<p>With the exception of the death of the late Henry Bradshaw, taken away -so nearly at the same time, 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 Stevens, on February 28. Mr. Stevens's interest in the Association -has been so warm, his counsel so valuable, his genial presence and witty -discourse such recognised features of attraction at its gatherings, that -his loss must be felt as one almost impossible to supply. It must be -long indeed before any one can fill Mr. Stevens's place as a link -between the librarians of Europe and America, 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 individual.</p> - -<p>Henry Stevens was born August 24, 1819, at Barnet, Vermont, U.S., hence -the initials, G.M.B. (Green Mountain Boy), prized by him, there is -reason to surmise, above his academical and antiquarian distinctions. He -was sixth in descent from Cyprian Stevens, who had emigrated in the days -of <!-- Page 326 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>Charles I. The family came originally from Devonshire. It had had -its share of colonial celebrity and adventure; one ancestor had -successfully defended a fort against the French; another had been stolen -by the Indians, and ransomed for a pony. After receiving a fair ordinary -education at the school of his native village, and two local seminaries, -Mr. Stevens, at the age of seventeen, began to teach with a view of -obtaining means to take him to college. He received from twelve to -sixteen dollars a month, boarding with his pupils' families, "three days -to a scholar, except when the girls were pretty, and in that case four." -In October 1838 he proceeded to Middlebury College, defraying his -travelling expenses by peddling cheeses contributed for that purpose by -his excellent mother. His father, a man of literary tastes and culture, -founder and President of the Vermont Historical and Antiquarian Society, -seems to have been always behindhand with the world, and to have been -unable to aid his son to any material extent. It was customary for -students thus destitute of support from home to defray their college -expenses by teaching in the winter months. Stevens obtained leave to try -his fortune at Washington, relying on the patronage of Governor Henry -Hubbard, then Senator for New Hampshire. He called upon him accordingly, -and though he was a Whig and the Senator a Democrat, he found himself, -as if by magic, clerk in the Treasury Department "in charge of the -records and correspondence of the Revenue Cutter Service," with a salary -of a thousand dollars a year. <!-- Page 327 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>He was soon afterwards transferred to a -clerkship in the Senate, 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 Messrs. Clark & Force under a contract for -publishing the American Archives, which it was desired to terminate. -Much time and labour had been expended upon the volumes already printed, -but it was generally surmised that the contract would be broken, -because, as a Democrat remarked, "it would cost more than the building -of the Capitol, and, what was worse, both the editor and the printer -were Whigs." The Committee, who seem to have had no taste for literary -drudgery, turned the task of digesting the papers entirely over to Mr. -Stevens, who on his part, finding the documents intrusted to him -insufficient, scraped acquaintance with Colonel Peter Force himself, and -extracted abundant information from him without divulging his official -position. At length the digest was ready, and the Committee, convoked -for the purpose, heard their officer read the whole, up to the entirely -unexpected and unwelcome conclusion, "Resolved, that this contract -cannot be broken." Stevens was severely taken to task for his -presumption, when Daniel Webster, a member of the Committee, interfered -on his behalf, and advocated his view with such effect that "the -Committee was discharged from further consideration of the subject." The -contract was shortly afterwards rescinded. The service Stevens had -nevertheless rendered to Force had an important influence on <!-- Page 328 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span>his -subsequent career. Quitting Washington, as he had always intended to do, -and repairing to complete his education at Yale College, he took with -him a commission from the Colonel to collect books, pamphlets, and MSS. -in aid of the American Archives, which not only helped to provide the -expenses of his University course, but endowed him with knowledge, -tastes, and aptitudes qualifying him for future eminence as book-hunter -and bookseller. Another main source of income was his fine penmanship, -both as transcriber and teacher. He took his B.A. degree in 1843, and in -1843-44 studied law at Harvard under Justice Story, continuing to act as -agent for Colonel Force, and forming connections with other collectors. -At length, in 1845, he determined to visit England on literary errands, -not expecting to be absent more than one or two years. Fortified by -introductions from Francis Parkman and Jared Sparks, he took his -departure, and in July 1845 found himself at the North and South -American Coffee-House, the bearer of a huge bag of despatches for the -United States Minister, Mr. Everett, and of a tiny one of forty -sovereigns of his own. Mr. Everett's influence opened the State Paper -Office to him; and ere the sun set on his first day in London he had -visited the four great second-hand dealers of the day, Rodd, Thorpe, -Pickering, and Rich. The last-named had just acquired the valuable -library of M. Ternaux-Compans, and Mr. Stevens immediately purchased -£800 worth on behalf of Mr. John Carter Brown of Providence, Rhode -Island, from whom he <!-- Page 329 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span>had a general commission to forage, and who showed -wisdom as well as spirit in ratifying his agent's decided action. Those -were the golden days of speculation in books relating to America, when -rarities could be obtained for hardly more shillings than they now cost -pounds. Mr. Stevens probably contributed more than any other man to -terminate this happy state of things. While, on the one hand, he -ransacked the chief European capitals as agent for wealthy American -collectors, on the other hand he drained America on behalf of the -British Museum, then for the first time entering into the market to any -considerable extent. Mr. Panizzi had just prepared his celebrated report -on the deficiencies of the Museum Library, in which he had said: "The -expense requisite for accomplishing what is here suggested—that is, for -forming in a few years a public library containing from 600,000 to -700,000 printed volumes, giving the necessary information on all -branches of human learning, from all countries, in all languages, -properly arranged, substantially and well bound, minutely and fully -catalogued, easily accessible and yet safely preserved, capable for some -years to come of keeping pace with the increase of human knowledge—will -no doubt be great; but so is the nation which is to bear it. What might -be extravagant and preposterous to suggest to one country may be looked -upon not only as moderate, but as indispensable in another." With such -views on Panizzi's part, he and Stevens fortunately encountered. Ere -they had been long acquainted, a proposal came from the former, <!-- Page 330 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span>that -Stevens should undertake the agency for the supply of American books. -Stevens at first hesitated; he had not contemplated remaining in Europe. -He soon saw his way to accept it, and, in his words, "an exodus of -American books to the British Museum commenced that has not ceased at -the present time."</p> - -<p>It would be impossible within the limits of this notice to enumerate all -the important transactions in which Mr. Stevens was engaged, or the -numerous instances in which his ready and inventive intellect was -exerted for the furtherance of bibliography. One of his most important -enterprises was the purchase of Humboldt's library, which resulted in -disappointment. The Civil War supervening, his American patrons "shut up -like clam shells," and most of the books were ultimately destroyed by -fire while warehoused in London. A portion, however, had been previously -separated, and the British Museum possesses numerous presentation copies -to Humboldt, with the autographs of the authors. Members of the Library -Association who were present at the Liverpool meeting will long remember -Mr. Stevens's humorous account of his dealings with Mr. Peabody, and of -his dismay when the collection formed by the philanthropist for -presentation to his native town, at an average cost of one shilling a -volume, was described in the local paper as the special selection of -that intelligent bibliographer, Henry Stevens, Esq. Mr. Stevens's -relations with the most important of all his customers, Mr. James -Lennox, have been so recently <!-- Page 331 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span>detailed to the Association that it is -needless to do more than allude to his narrative as one of the most racy -of literary monographs, affording an excellent idea of the writer's -quaint, shrewd, and anecdotical conversation. It has been republished by -his son in an elegant volume. Another remarkable passage in his life was -his active share in originating and organising the Bible department of -the Caxton Exhibition, when he propounded views respecting Miles -Coverdale which involved him in many a polemic, and devised for the two -different recensions of the Bible of 1611 the appellations of "Great He" -and "Great She" Bible, which they seem likely to retain. The most -interesting, perhaps, of all Mr. Stevens's achievements was his -redemption of Franklin's MSS. from oblivion. Bequeathed by Franklin to -his grandson, they had been only partially published, 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 Government. In fact they had been put aside and forgotten after -Temple Franklin's death in Paris, and had eventually come into the -possession of an old friend of his who repeatedly offered them for sale, -but could find no customer, from the universal belief that they had -already been printed and published. Mr. Stevens acquired them in 1851, -and after thirty years' delay, and spending a thousand pounds over and -above the original price in cataloguing, binding and adding to their -number, ultimately disposed of them to the United States Government. -Their <!-- Page 332 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>eventful history, involving a complete vindication of Temple -Franklin and the British Government, is told in a privately printed -volume of his own, accompanied with beautifully engraved portraits and a -valuable bibliography of books by and concerning Franklin. The -collection is also the subject of an article in the <cite>Century</cite> for June -1886.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the engrossing nature of his pursuits, Mr. Stevens was -always striving to aid bibliography by his pen. For this, in addition to -his knowledge and acumen, and a cultivated taste which served him -admirably on questions of typography, he possessed the qualifications of -untiring industry and great facility of composition. He did much, and -would have done more but for the sanguine temper which led him to -undertake more than he could complete, and the fastidiousness which -indisposed him to let work go out of his hands while anything seemed -lacking to perfection. He left several bibliographical or biographical -memoirs wanting hardly anything of completeness but the final -imprimatur. Among them may be mentioned a life of Thomas Heriot, the -mathematician, and a friend of Ralegh; an essay on Columbus's -administration in the West Indies; and an account of the newly -discovered globe by John Schoner. Another work of which he frequently -spoke, a volume of British Museum reminiscences supplementary to Mr. -Fagan's life of Sir Anthony Panizzi, existed, it must be feared, only as -a project. It would have required leisure which he never possessed. The -most purely literary <!-- Page 333 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span>and perhaps the most important of his publications -was his <cite>Historical and Geographical Notes on the earliest discoveries -in America</cite>, a subject on which he was most enthusiastic. His catalogue -of the American literature in the British Museum to the year 1856 is -also a valuable publication, as are likewise his <cite>Bibles in the Caxton -Exhibition</cite>, already mentioned, and his catalogues of the -bibliographical curiosities relating to America in his own possession, -issued under the title of <cite>Historical Nuggets</cite>, in 1862. A second series -was in course of publication at his death. He had devoted great -attention to the reproduction of title-pages and frontispieces by -photography and photo-gravure. His admirable paper on the subject, read -in 1877, will be fresh in the memory of members of the Association, as -also the companion essay entitled "Who spoils our English Books?" read -at the Cambridge meeting, a characteristic example of his humorous -manner, not intended to be taken quite <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">au pied de la lettre</i>. His -letters from Europe to his father are, we trust, destined to see the -light. He was a frequent contributor to the <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Athenæum</cite>, especially on -the history of the English Bible and early discovery in America, and his -communications were always highly valued.</p> - -<p>It is unnecessary to enter at length into Mr. Stevens's personal -character when addressing a public to most of whom he was personally -known. Perhaps his most distinguishing characteristic was his eminent -large-heartedness. He had room in his mind for every individual and -every interest. <!-- Page 334 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span>He was cheerful, genial, expansive, and preserved his -buoyancy of spirit under circumstances the most trying and vexatious. He -possessed great sweetness as well as great liberality of disposition; -his combativeness was devoid of every particle of rancour; shrewd and -crafty, he was yet open and candid. Intent, as he could not help being, -on his own advantage as a trader, the interests of his customer had a -very definite place in his mind. He worked for his patrons even more -than for himself, and prided himself more upon having made another man's -library than he would have done upon having made his own fortune. As a -man of business, his principal defect was an over-sanguine temper; the -spring, nevertheless, of his enterprise, and hence of his success. "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Si -non errasset fecerat ille minus.</span>"</p> - -<p>Mr. Stevens died of a general decay of constitution resulting in dropsy, -against which his vigorous constitution and indomitable cheerfulness -contended with great hope of success to the very last. He had been -married for upwards of thirty years to a highly accomplished lady, whose -daughter by a former marriage is the widow of Mr. Hawker, the celebrated -Vicar of Morwenstow. His son, Mr. H. N. Stevens, succeeds to the -direction of his business, and inherits his literary and bibliographical -tastes.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_325:1_36" id="Footnote_325:1_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_325:1_36"><span class="label">[325:1]</span></a> <cite>Library Chronicle</cite>, vol. iii., 1885.</p> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 335 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span></p> -<h2 title="THE LATE SIR EDWARD A. BOND, K.C.B."><a name="THE_LATE_SIR_EDWARD_A_BOND_KCB" id="THE_LATE_SIR_EDWARD_A_BOND_KCB"></a>THE LATE SIR EDWARD A. BOND, K.C.B.<a name="FNanchor_335:1_37" id="FNanchor_335:1_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_335:1_37" class="headerfn">[335:1]</a></h2> -</div> - - -<p>The record of the life of the late Sir Edward Augustus Bond is one of -steady unbroken success, 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 reformer. Born on December 31, 1815, the son of a -clergyman and schoolmaster at Hanwell, he entered the Record Office at -seventeen, and there, under the tuition of Sir Thomas Hardy and the Rev. -Joseph Hunter, laid the foundation of his extensive palæographical -acquirements. Having obtained a thorough acquaintance with mediæval -hand-writings, so far as this is attainable from English and French -records and charters, he passed in 1837 to the more varied and extensive -field afforded by the British Museum, where continuous experience made -him a master of palæography in every department. The sudden and much -regretted death of Mr. John Holmes in 1854 made Bond Assistant-Keeper of -Manuscripts sooner than could have been anticipated, and in 1867 he -succeeded his chief, Sir Frederic Madden, as head of the department. -During thirty years he had been known <!-- Page 336 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span>as an exemplary and diligent -official, who enjoyed the confidence and esteem both of his immediate -superior and of the head of the Museum, Sir A. Panizzi; yet few were -prepared for the sweeping and vigorous measures by which, within a few -years, he reorganised his department, reformed many defects which had -been allowed to creep in, did away with the extraordinary mass of -arrears which he found existing, and brought the work up to the high -standard of regularity and efficiency which it has maintained ever -since. Concurrently with these reforms, he executed the classified index -of MSS. which has proved of such essential assistance to students, and -performed a service, felt far beyond the precincts of the Museum, by the -foundation of the Palæographical Society, whose selections of authentic -facsimiles from MSS. of varied character in separate libraries may be -said to have made palæography an exact science. Their value was evinced -in the celebrated controversy respecting the date of the Utrecht -Psalter, in which Bond took the leading part. This, however, was about -the only occasion on which he came prominently before the public. His -modesty and reserve kept him almost unknown beyond his own department; -it was a genuine surprise to the world and to himself when, in 1878, he -succeeded Mr. Winter Jones as Principal Librarian. The appointment had -been looked upon as the appanage of Sir Charles Newton, at that time the -most conspicuous officer of the Museum, and he might undoubtedly have -filled it, if a brief experience as Mr. Jones's <!-- Page 337 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span>deputy of its arduous -and engrossing nature had not made him decline it as incompatible with -his cherished archæological pursuits.</p> - -<p>Sir Edward Bond's career as Principal Librarian repeated the history of -his keepership upon a larger scale. As before, he was inflexibly -diligent in his attention to routine duties, and boldly original when an -emergency arose requiring special action. He saw that the time had come -for the introduction of electric lighting into the Museum, and achieved -this invaluable improvement in the face of many discouragements. The -enormous bulk of the catalogue threatened to drive everything else out -of the Reading Room. Sir Edward Bond first curbed the evil by -introducing print for the accession titles, and then induced the -Treasury to consent to the printing of the entire catalogue, a vast -undertaking now on the verge of completion. His openness of mind was -shown in no respect more forcibly than in his prompt appreciation of the -sliding-press, an idea altogether new to him. An ordinary official would -have hesitated, objected, and deferred action until some other -institution had shown the way. Sir Edward Bond no sooner saw the model -than he adopted the invention, and won the honour for the Museum. In his -time the separation of the Natural History departments from the -Bloomsbury Museum was consummated, and the White Wing erected with its -newspaper rooms and admirable accommodation for the departments of MSS. -and prints and drawings. The facilities for public access to the Museum -were greatly extended under <!-- Page 338 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span>him. Of the many important acquisitions -made in his term of office, the Stowe Manuscripts were perhaps the most -remarkable. He retired in 1888, among the most gratifying testimonies of -the respect and affection he had won for himself. His manner had been -thought cold and reserved, and such was indeed the case; but the better -he was known the more apparent it became that this austerity veiled a -most kind heart and a truly elevated mind, far above every petty -consideration, and delighting to dwell in a purely intellectual sphere. -After his resignation he spent upwards of nine years in an honoured and -dignified retirement. He had been made a C.B. while Principal Librarian, -and his last days were solaced by the bestowal of the higher distinction -of K.C.B., which ought indeed to have been conferred much sooner. He -died at his house in Bayswater on January 2, 1898, two days after -completing his eighty-second year.</p> - -<p>As a palæographer, whose life had been spent among MSS., 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 books, but he well understood the duty in this -respect imposed upon him by his office as Principal Librarian, and -evinced this by presiding over the London meeting of 1887. He married a -relative, Miss Caroline Barham, daughter of the famous author of the -"Ingoldsby Legends." Lady Bond survives her husband, and he has left -five daughters, <!-- Page 339 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>all married. He wrote no independent work, but edited -the <cite>Statutes of the University of Oxford</cite>, the <cite>Trial of Warren -Hastings</cite>, and several books for the Hakluyt and other Societies, -besides contributing numerous memoirs to the <cite>Transactions</cite> of his own -special creation, the Palæographical Society.</p> - - -<hr class="footnotes" /> -<p class="sectctrfn">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"> -<p><a name="Footnote_335:1_37" id="Footnote_335:1_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_335:1_37"><span class="label">[335:1]</span></a> Contributed to <cite>The Library</cite>, May 1898.</p> -</div> - -<p><!-- Page 340 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<p><!-- Page 341 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> -</div> - - -<ul class="list"> - <li class="newletter hang">Abbas the Great, Shah of Persia, wishes to introduce printing into Persia, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Africa, question as to first introduction of printing into, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Aldrich, Stephen J., of the British Museum, an authority on incunabula, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Ancina, Bishop, his integrity, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Antequera Castro, Joseph, author of a book printed in Paraguay, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Baber, Rev. H. H., his Museum catalogue, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">his plan for an improved catalogue, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Bailey, J. B., on subject indexes to scientific periodicals, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Beresford, General, prints proclamations in Buenos Ayres, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Bethnal Green Library, its contrivance for the accommodation of books, the prototype of the British Museum sliding-press, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Bible, the foundation of the system of classification adopted at the British Museum, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Blades, William, his "Enemies of Books," <a href="#Page_283">283-287</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Bond, Sir Edward Augustus, K.C.B., Principal Librarian of the British Museum, his services to the British Museum Printed Catalogue, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">his negotiations with the Treasury, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>;</li> - <li class="listsubitem">memoir of, <a href="#Page_335">335-339</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Bonifacius, Joannes, author of the first book printed by Europeans in China, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Bradshaw, Henry, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - - <li class="hang">British Museum Catalogue, how far a model for other catalogues, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Canevarius, Antonius, collector of books and amateur of bindings, <a href="#Page_164">164-166</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Carlisle, Nicholas, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Cary, Rev. Henry, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Classed indexes to Museum Catalogue, how to be made, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Classification of Books on the shelves of the British Museum, Library, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Clemente Patavino, early Italian printer, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Cole, Sir Henry, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Collins, C. H., Esq., of Edgbaston, advocates a classified index of scientific papers, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Colophons of the early printers, <a href="#Page_197">197-209</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Cordier, M. Henri, Chinese bibliographer, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Crestadoro, Mr., advocates dictionary catalogues, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Cutter, C. W., his report on catalogues, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">his cataloguing rules, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Dewey, Melvil, on the decimal system of classification, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Douglas, Professor R. K., Keeper of Oriental Books and MSS., his catalogue of the Museum collection of maps, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">supervises catalogue of accession titles, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Duarte y Quiros, founder of a college at Cordova, La Plata, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Dury, John, <a href="#Page_175">175-190</a>, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passim</i></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Edwards, Edward, <a href="#Page_320">320</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Electric Light in British Museum, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - - <li class="hang"><!-- Page 342 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span>Ellis, Sir Henry, his Museum catalogue, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Ewart, William, M.P., founder of free public libraries in Great Britain and Ireland, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Fire, protection of libraries against, <a href="#Page_258">258-261</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Fortescue, G. W., Keeper of Printed Books, his subject indexes to British Museum catalogue, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Foscolo, Ugo, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Gallus, Udalricus, early Italian printer, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Garcia da Horta, author of the second book printed by Europeans in India, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Grand, G. F., author of the first book printed in South Africa, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Grenville, Right Hon. Thomas, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter">Heidelberg Library, pillaged and partly restored, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Hervey, Lord, and Conyers Middleton, <a href="#Page_191">191-193</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Horne, Rev. T. H., his project for a classed catalogue, <a href="#Page_89">89</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Howe, William, bushranger, book relating to him the first printed in Australasia, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Jenner, Henry, assistant in the Library of the British Museum, his share in the introduction of the sliding-press, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">rewarded by the Treasury, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Johnstone, Mr., procures Mr. Winter Jones an appointment in the British Museum, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Jones, Giles, author of "Goody Two Shoes," <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Jones, John Winter, Principal Librarian of British Museum, memoir of, <a href="#Page_304">304-324</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Labbe, Father, his travels in La Plata, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Leão, Gaspar de, Archbishop of Goa, author of the first book printed by Europeans in India, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Lignamine, Joannes Philippus de, early Italian printer, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Macedo, Antonio, his <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Theses rhetoricæ</cite>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Mayhew, Henry M., assistant in library of the British Museum, his invention of the pivot-press, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Mazarin, Cardinal, formation of his first library, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Medina, Señor Jose T., on first European printing in China, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">on South American bibliography, <a href="#Page_128">128-140</a>, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passim</i></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Middleton, Conyers, delay in publication of his "Life of Cicero," <a href="#Page_190">190-195</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Murray, Dr., his great English Dictionary, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Naudé, Gabriel, collects books for Cardinal Mazarin, <a href="#Page_166">166-168</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Newton, Sir Charles, K.C.B., favours printing Museum catalogue, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Nicholson, E. W. B., Bodley's Librarian, founder of the Library Association of the United Kingdom, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Nicius, Erythræus, <a href="#Page_162">162-173</a>, <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passim</i></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Oddi, Muzio, his ingenuity, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Panizzi, Sir Anthony, K.C.B., Principal Librarian of the British Museum, his services to the British Museum, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">undertakes printing of Museum catalogue, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90-92</a>;</li> - <li class="listsubitem">memoir of <a href="#Page_288">288-303</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Paper, fine, manufacture of, in England, <a href="#Page_191">191-196</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Peranda, Cardinal, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Photography, advantages of its introduction as an official department of the British Museum, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234-252</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Podianus, Prosper, a mighty book-hunter, <a href="#Page_168">168-170</a></li> - - <li class="hang"><!-- Page 343 --><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span>Pollard, Alfred William, on the title-page, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Poole's Index to Periodicals, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Ribeiro dos Sanctos, Portuguese bibliographer, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Roscoe, William, <a href="#Page_290">290</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Ruiz de Montoya, Antonio, author of books printed in Paraguay, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Rye, William Brenchley, Keeper of Printed Books, his services to the classification of the Museum Library, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Rylands, Mrs., her public spirit, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Sande, Eduardus de, author of the second book printed by Europeans in China, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Sainsbury, William Noel, his calendar of the papers of the East India Company, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Satow, Sir Ernest Mason, K.C.B., on printing in Japan, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Scientific Papers, subject indexes to, <a href="#Page_225">225-233</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Serrano, Father Jose, his translation of Father Nieremberg into Guarani, the first book printed in Paraguay, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Sliding-Press, the, at the British Museum, <a href="#Page_262">262-271</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Sparrow, Mr., locksmith at the British Museum, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Spira, the brothers, early printers at Venice, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Stevens, Henry, of Vermont, his paper on Photo-Bibliography, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">memoir of, <a href="#Page_325">325-334</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Sweynheym and Pannartz, early printers at Rome, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Telautographic writing telegraph, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Telegraph, writing, advantage of introduction of, into Reading Room of British Museum, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Thompson, Sir E. M., K.C.B., on use of blotting paper in the Middle Ages, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Universal Catalogue projected by Sir Henry Cole, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109-114</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Venetian book-trade, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Vera, Juan de, first printer in the Philippines, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Virgo, Mr., his ingenuity, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Watts, Thomas, Keeper of Printed Books, British Museum, advocated printing the catalogue in 1855, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>; - <ul class="list"> - <li class="listsubitem">founder of the system of classification followed at the British Museum, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - - <li class="hang">Whitelock, General, prints proclamations in Monte Video, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> - - <li class="hang">Wolfenbuttel Library, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Yapuguai, Nicolas, author of books printed in Paraguay, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - - - <li class="newletter hang">Zaehnsdorf, Mr., bookbinder, his device for the protection of books against fire, <a href="#Page_259">259-261</a></li> -</ul> - -<p class="sectctr">THE END</p> - -<p class="sectctr">Printed by <span class="smcap">Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.</span><br /> -Edinburgh & London</p> - - - -<hr class="newchapter" /> -<div class="notebox"> -<p class="tnhead"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES</p> - -<p>Variations in spelling and hyphenation remain as in the original.</p> - -<p>Ellipses match the original.</p> - -<p>Page 340 is blank in the original.</p> - -<p>The following corrections have been made to the original text:</p> - -<div class="tnblock"> -<p>Page 152: publication is greatly lowered.[original has a -comma]</p> - -<p>Page 172: the Rome of the seventeenth[original has -"seventeeth"] century</p> - -<p>Page 321: the staunch[original has "stanch"] persistence with -which</p> - -<p>Page 341: Bible, the foundation of the system of -classification[original has "classifiation"] adopted</p> - -<p>Page 342: Photography, advantages of its introduction[was -split across a line break without a hyphen] as an official -department of the British Museum, 16, 17,[original has a -semi-colon] 85, 86,[original has a semi-colon] 234-252</p> - -<p>Page 343: Thompson, Sir E. M., K.C.B., on use of blotting paper -in the Middle Ages, 171[original has a period instead of a -comma and page number is missing]</p> -</div> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Essays in Librarianship and -Bibliography, by Richard Garnett - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS IN LIBRARIANSHIP *** - -***** This file should be named 53163-h.htm or 53163-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/1/6/53163/ - -Produced by MWS, Adrian Mastronardi, Lisa Reigel, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The Internet Archive). - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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