sources of information, and rejecting all except one, namely Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual, to a search in a single catalogue for your title. This simplifies matters greatly, and saves all the time which might otherwise have been lost in hunting fruitlessly through several works of reference. Lowndes' invaluable Manual was published in 1834, and though a second edition, edited by Bohn, appeared thirty years later, it does not contain books pubished after that date, unless they are later editions of works issued earlier. You find in it your Scott's Napoleon, date 1827, with its published price, £4. 14. 6, and an account of other later editions of the book. Of course you will observe that it is necessary to know what period of years is covered by the various bibliographies, and to carry those dates perpetually in your memory, in order thus to simplify searches, and save time. Once learned, you will have the comfort of knowing where to turn for light upon any book, and the faculty of accurate memory will reward the pains taken to acquire it.

I must not omit to include, in noting the more useful and important English bibliographies, the very copious list of works appended to each biography of British writers, in the new "Dictionary of National Biography," Lond., 1885-1900. This extensive work is nearly finished in about 65 volumes, and constitutes a rich thesaurus of information about all British authors, except living

ones.

Living characters, considered notable, and brief note of their books, are recorded in "Men and Women of the Time," 15th ed. London, 1899-but this book, although highly useful, is far from being a bibliography.

I should not omit to mention among useful librarians' aids, the "Book Prices Current; record of prices at which books have been sold at auction." This London publica

tion began with the year 1887. No sales are reported of books bringing less than one pound sterling. The book-sales of 1898 were reported in 1899 of this issue, and the book is published in each case the next year. The similar catalogue entitled "American Book Prices Current" was begun with 1895, being compiled from the sale catalogues of American auctioneers, for that year, and the prices brought at auction in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago, are recorded for all notable books, but limited to works bringing as much as $3 or upward. Five years' reports, in as many volumes, have now been issued, and the publication is to be continued. Its utility of course consists in informing librarians or collectors of the most recent auction values of books. At the same time, a word of caution is required, since it is not safe to judge of average commercial values, from any isolated bid at an auction sale.

A very useful classed catalogue, published by the British Museum library, and edited by G. K. Fortescue, an assistant librarian, is the so-called "Subject-index to modern works," of which three volumes have appeared, beginning with the accessions of 1880-85, each covering five years additions of new works, in all European languages, to that library. The third volume embraces the years 1890 to 1895, and appeared in 1896. As this is not confined to works in English, it should be classed with universal bibliography. As containing most of the latest books of any note, all three volumes are important aids to research. They are printed in large type, in which it is a refreshment to the eye to read titles, after the small and obscure print of Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica, and the but little better type of Lowndes' Manual, and of the English Catalogue. A collation of pages is also added in most cases, and the importance of this can hardly be overrated. These cata

logues of the British Museum Library abound in pamphlets, English, French, German, Italian, etc., evincing how large a share of attention is given to the minor literature coming from the press in the more recent years.

W. H. D. Adams's "Dictionary of English Literature," London, 1880, and later, in a compact volume, gives authors and titles of the more important English and American books. Also, in the same alphabet, an index to the titles, as well as authors, by the first word, and to many sayings or quotations, with their original sources. It is a highly useful book, although its small bulk leaves it far from being a comprehensive one.

Chambers' Cyclopaedia of English Literature, in 2 vols., London, 1876, has an account of the most notable British writers, with specimens of their works, and forms what may be termed an essential part of the equipment of every public library.

The Library Association of the United Kingdom, since 1888, the date of its organization, has published Transactions and Proceedings; also, since 1889, "The Library," a periodical with bibliographical information.

It may be noted, without undue expression of pride, that America first set the example of an organized national association of Librarians (founded in 1876) followed the same year by a journal devoted to Library interests. That extremely useful periodical, the Library Journal, is now in its twenty-fourth volume. Its successive issues have contained lists of nearly all new bibliographical works and catalogues published, in whatever language.

The London Publisher's Circular, first established in 1838, is a weekly organ of the book-publishing trade, aiming to record the titles of all British publications as they appear from the press. It gives, in an alphabet by authors' names, the titles in much abbreviated form, with

publisher, size in inches, collation, price, and date, with a fairly good index of titles or subjects, in the same alphabet. Covering much the same ground, as a publishers' periodical, is “The Bookseller,” issued monthly since 1858, with lists of the new issues of the British press, and critical notices. In addition to the English catalogue, there is the extensive Whitaker's "Reference catalogue of current literature," published every year, which now makes two large volumes, and embraces the trade catalogues of English publishers, bound up in alphabetical order, with a copious index, by authors and titles, in one alphabet, prefixed.

While on English bibliographies, I must note the important work on local history, by J. P. Anderson, "Book of British Topography," London, 1881. This gives, in an alphabet of counties, titles of all county histories or descriptive works of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, followed in each county by a list of town histories or topographical works. The arrangement under each town is chronological. Its only want is a collation of the books. British genealogy, or the history of families, is treated bibliographically in G. W. Marshall's "The Genealogist's Guide," London, 1893, which gives an alphabet of family names, with references in great detail to county and town histories, pedigrees, heralds' visitations, genealogies, etc., all over Great Britain, in which any family is treated.

The wide field of foreign bibliography, by countries, cannot here be entered upon, nor can I now treat of the still more extensive range of works devoted to the bibliography of various subjects.

INDEX.