distributive list of scientific bibliographies, so full as to leave little to be desired, except for later issues of the press. One of the curiosities of this work is its catal of all the issues of the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum.", or books forbidden to be read, including 13 separate catalogues, from A. D. 1510 to A. D. 1×62.

The next libliographical work claiming to cover 1° a feld was in the French language, being the Bigrap des bibli graphies of Léon Valice, published in 1××3 at Paris. This book, though beautifully printed, is so.. of errors, and still fuller of omissions, that it is regarded by competent scholars as a failure, though still having its uses to the librarian. It is amazing that any writer should put forth a book seventeen years after the gi and successful work of Petzholdt, purporting to be alogue of bibliographies, and yet fail to record sa multitude of printed contributions to the sciences as Vallee has overlooked.

Some ten years later, or in 1×97, there came from the French press, a far better bibliographical work, cover "g the modern issues of books of bibliography more espera with greater fness and superior plan. T. 18 Manuel de Biographie générale, by Henri Sten. T work contains, in 915 well-printed pages, 1-t a list of l..: universal bibliographies: 2d a catalogue of national graphies, in a'p' a'et cal order of cour triox: 3! class fed b Miographies of subjects, divided into seven teen classes, namely, regions nes, pl set.com, jur. Loal, econor in, Sewa!, ars。 scences, pure and applied scenes, medical sciences, pla logy and belles lettres, geographical and historial serv Betences aux arv to history, an haeology and music, and biography Be« les thèse extreme'v u«!>.' gories of bibliograth cal a de, in whh the freshest p

cations of catalogues and lists of books in each field are set forth, M. Stein gives us a complete geographical bibliography of printing, on a new plan. This he entitles "Géographie labiaraphique," or systematic lists of localities in every part of the world which possessed a printing press prior to the 19th century. It gives, after the modern or current name of each place, the Latin, or ancient name, the country in which located, the year in which the first printed publication appeared in each place, and finally, the authority for the statement. This handy-list of information alone, is worth the cost of the work, since it will save much time of the inquirer, in hunt ng over many volumes of Panzer, Maittaire, Ha.n, Dibd.n, Thomas, or other authors on printing, to find the org n of the art, or early name of the place where it was introduced. The work contains, in addition, a general talle of the periodicals of all countries, (of course not exhaust ve) d.vided into classes, and filling seventy five pages, It closes with a “repertory of the pronemal le rames of the entire world," and with an index to the whole work, in which the early names in Latin, of all pla cre books were printed

books which relate to books, N. Y., 1877. The latter work is an expansion of the first-named.

We come now to the second class of our bibliograph..es, riz: those of various countries. Here the reader must be on his guard not to be misled into too general an interpretation of geographical terms. Thus, he will find mary books and pamphlets ambitiously styled “Catal-que Amers caine", which are so far from being general biblogra phies of books relating to America, that they are mere y lists of a few books for sale by some book-dealer, whi have something American in their subject. To know what catalogues are comprehensive, and what period they cover, as well as the limitations of nearly all of them, is a necessary part of the training of a bibliographer, and essential to the librarian who would economize his time and enlarge his usefulness.

B.t

Let us begin with our own country. Here we are m at the outset by the great paucity of general catal ges of American literature, and the utter impossibility of £niing any really comprehensive lists of the books publlared in the United States, during certain periods. We can get along tolerably well for the publications within the last thirty years, which nearly represent the time since statematic weekly bibliographical journals have been pa ed, containing lists of the current issues of books. for the period just before the Civil War, bak to the year 1775, or for very nearly a century, we are without any systematic bibliography of the product of the Amer: an press. The fragmentary attempts which have been mate toward supplying an account of what books have been published in the United States from the beginning. hereafter be briefly noted. At the outset, you are to ch serve the wide distinction that exists between books treating of America, or any part of it, and books printed in

America. The former may have been printed anywhere, at any time since 1492, and in any language: and to such books, the broad significant term "Americana" may properly be applied, as implying books relating to Ameri(3. But this class of works is wholly different from that of books written or produced by Americans, or printed in Amer ca. It is these latter that we mean when we lament the wart of a comprehensive American catalogue. There have been published in the United States alone (to go no farther into Amer ca a' tatousands of books, who e titles are not four d anywhere, except widely scattered in the catalogues of 1rar es, pe and private, in which they exist Nay, there are multitudes of publications which have been issued in ti, scou try dura g the last two hundred years, whose titles carrot be four da where in prit. ΤΗ per shed utterly, though t

1- not, generally, because the books have

u questionably true of les of books that have appeared, ape the eve of the literary, or ron c'er. It is, bevor d doubt

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plain of the multitudes of books which are no books; and we of to-day may complain, if we choose, of the vast number of publications that are not published.

Take a single example of the failure of even large and imposing volumes to be included in the "American Catalogue," for whose aid, librarians are so immeasurably indebted to the enterprise of its publishers. A single pubhishing house west of New York, printed and circulated in about four years time, no less than thirty-two elaborate and costly histories, of western counties and towns, not one of which was ever recorded by title in our only comprehensive American bibliography. Why was this? Simply because the works referred to were published only as subscription books, circulated by agents, carefully kept out of booksellers' hands, and never sent to the Eastern press for notice or review. When circumstances like these exist as to even very recent American publications (and they are continually happening) is it any wonder that our b.biographies are incomplete?

Perhaps some will suggest that there must be one record of American publications which is complete, namely, the office of Copyright at Washington. It is true that the titles of all copyright publications are required by law to be there registered, and copies deposited as soon as printed It is also true that a weekly catalogue of all books and other copyright publications is printed, and distributed by the Treasury, to all our custom-houses, to intercept p:ratical re-prints which might be imported. But the bas just referred to were not entered for copyright at all, the publishers apparently preferring the risk of any rivals re printing then, rather than to incur the cost of the sma copyright fee, and the deposit of copies. In such cases, there is no law repairing pub shers to furnish copies of their books. The government guarantees no monopoly of