How to Form a Library - Part 18
Library

Part 18

_Drama._--A notice of some books in the English Drama will be found in Chapter IV. The _Bibliotheque Dramatique de Mons. de Soleinne_ (1843-44, 5 vols.), with its continuation to 1861, is a splendid Catalogue, in which the books are fully described, with valuable notes and preface.

_Earthquakes._--Mr. Robert Mallet's Bibliography of Earthquakes will be found in the British a.s.sociation Report for 1858, and Mons. Alexis Perrey's Bibliographie Seismique in the Dijon _Memoires_ for 1855, 1856, and 1861.

_Electricity._--Sir Francis Ronalds' Catalogue of Books and Papers relating to Electricity, Magnetism, and the Electric Telegraph (1880) contains a large number of t.i.tles. O.

Salle's Bibliography of Electricity and Magnetism, 1860 to 1883, was published in 1884.

_Entomology._--Dr. Hagen's Bibliotheca Entomologica (Leipzig, 1862-63) is a carefully compiled and useful book.

_Epigrams._--There is a list of books connected with Epigrammatic Literature appended to _The Epigrammatists_, by the Rev. Philip Dodd. 8vo. London, 1870.

_Fine Art._--The First Proofs of the Universal Catalogue of Books in Art, compiled for the use of the National Art Library and the Schools of Art in the United Kingdom.

London, 1870. 2 vols. Sm. 4to. Supplement. London, 1877.

---- Essai d'une Bibliographie de l'Histoire speciale de la Peinture et de la Gravure en Hollande et en Belgique (1500-1875), par J.F. van Someren, Amsterdam, 1882. 8vo.

_Freemasonry._--GOWANS (W.). Catalogue of Books on Freemasonry and kindred subjects. New York, 1858. 8vo.

---- HEMSWORTH (H.W.). Catalogue of Books in the Library at Freemasons' Hall, London. Privately printed.

There is a list of books on Freemasonry in Petzholdt's Bibliotheca Bibliographica, pp. 468-474. Mr. Folkard printed privately a Catalogue of Works on Freemasonry in the Wigan Free Library in 1882, and in the Annals of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, Vol. IX. Part I. (1883) is a Catalogue of Works on this subject in the Library of the Grand Lodge of Iowa.

_Future Life._--Catalogue of Works relating to the Nature, Origin, and Destiny of the Soul, by Ezra Abbot. Appended to W.R. Alger's Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life. Philadelphia, 1864. 8vo. Reprinted, New York, 1871.

_Geography._--See _Voyages and Travels_.

_Health._--Catalogue of the International Health Exhibition Library. Division I. Health. Division II. Education. London, 1884. 8vo.

_Heraldry._--Thomas Moule's valuable _Bibliotheca Heraldica Magnae Britanniae_ was published in 1822. There is a "List of the princ.i.p.al English and Foreign Text-Books on Heraldry" at the end of _The Handbook of Heraldry_, by J.E. Cussans, London, 1869.

_History_ (_General_).--BRUNET (J.C.). Table Methodique en forme de Catalogue raisonne, Histoire. Paris, 1865. 8vo.

---- OETTINGER (E.M.). Historisches Archiv. Archives historiques, contenant une cla.s.sification de 17,000 ouvrages pour servir a l'etude de l'histoire de tous les siecles et de toutes les nations. Carlsruhe, 1841. 4to.

(_Great Britain and Ireland._)--Bishop Nicholson's English, Scotch, and Irish Historical Libraries, 1776, will still be found useful. Mr. Mullinger's portion of the Introduction to the Study of English History (1881) gives the latest information on the subject. Sir Duffus Hardy's "Descriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland to the end of the reign of Henry VIII."

is an invaluable book, but is unfortunately incomplete.

(_France._)--LELONG (J.). Bibliotheque Historique (1768-78, 5 vols, folio). "Les Sources de l'Histoire de France," by A.

Franklin, was published in 1877.

_History_ (_Germany._)--Bibliographical Essay on the Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum, by A. Asher, was published in 1843.

(_Holland._)--NIJHOFF. Bibliotheca Historico-Neerlandica. La Haye, 1871.

(_Italy._)--LICHTENTHAL (P.). Manuale Bibliografico del Viaggiatore in Italia. Milano, 1844. A Catalogue of Sir Richard Colt h.o.a.re's Collection of Books relating to the History and Topography of Italy was printed in 1812. The Collection was presented to the British Museum by h.o.a.re in 1825.

(_Portugal._)--FIGANIERE. Bibliographia Historica Portugueza. Lisboa, 1850.

(_Spain._)--MUNOZ Y ROMERO. Diccionario bibliografico-historico ... de Espana. Madrid, 1858.

_Language._--See _Dictionaries_, _Philology_.

_Law._--Mr. Stephen R. Griswold contributed an article on Law Libraries to the U.S. Report on Libraries (pp. 161-170).

He writes, "Law books may be cla.s.sified generally as follows: Reports, Treatises, Statute Law. The practice of reporting the decisions of the Judges began in the reign of Edward I., and from that time we have a series of judicial reports of those decisions. In the time of Lord Bacon, these reports extended to fifty or sixty volumes. During the two hundred and fifty years that have pa.s.sed since then, nothing has been done by way of revision or expurgation; but these publications have been constantly increasing, so that at the close of the year 1874 the published volumes of reports were as follows: English, 1350 volumes; Irish, 175 volumes; Scotch, 225 volumes; Canadian, 135 volumes; American, 2400 volumes. With respect to treatises (including law periodicals and digests), and without including more than one edition of the same work, it is safe to say that a fair collection would embrace at least 2000 volumes. The statute law of the United States, if confined to the general or revised statutes and codes, may be brought within 100 volumes. If, however, the sessional acts be included, the collection would amount to over 1500 volumes. It is thus seen that a fairly complete law library would embrace more than 7000 volumes, which could not be placed upon its shelves for less than $50,000."

_Law._--There is a useful list of legal bibliographies in the "Hand-list of Bibliographies in the Reading-room of the British Museum" (pp. 40-44). Clarke's _Bibliotheca Legum_, which was compiled by Hartwell Horne (1819), is a valuable work. Marvin's _Legal Bibliography_, which was published at Philadelphia in 1847, contains 800 pages. The Catalogue of the Law Library in the New York State Library (1856), forms a useful guide to the subject, and Herbert G. Sweet's "Complete Catalogue of Modern Law Books" is one of the latest catalogues of authority.

_Mathematics._--A really good bibliography of Mathematics is still wanting. The following books, however, all from Germany, are useful.

_Mathematics._--MURHARD (F.W.A.). Bibliotheca Mathematica.

Lipsiae, 1797-1804. 4 vols.

---- ROGG (J.). Handbuch der Mathematischen Literatur.

Tubingen, 1830.

---- SOHNCKE (L.A.). Bibliotheca Mathematica. 1830-54.

Leipsic, 1854.

---- ERLECKE (A.). Bibliotheca Mathematica. Halle-a.-S., 1873.

---- Professor De Morgan's Arithmetical Books (1847) is a model of what a good bibliography ought to be.

_Medical._--Dr. Billings contributed a chapter on "Medical Libraries in the United States" to the U.S. Report on Public Libraries (pp. 171-182), in which he wrote--"The record of the researches, experiences, and speculations relating to Medical Science during the last four hundred years is contained in between two and three hundred thousand volumes and pamphlets; and while the immense majority of these have little or nothing of what we call 'practical value,' yet there is no one of them which would not be called for by some inquirer if he knew of its existence." The writer added a list of works of reference which should be in every Medical Library.

There have been a specially large number of Medical Bibliographies, from Haller's works downwards. James Atkinson's Medical Bibliography (1834, A and B only), is an amusing book, but of little or no utility. The most useful books are Dr. Billings's Index Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office (Washington, 1880) and the Catalogue of the Library of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society (3 vols. 1879), by B.R. Wheatley.

Neale's Medical Digest (1877) forms a convenient guide to the medical periodicals. The two great French dictionaries--Raige-Delorme and A. Dechambre, Dictionnaire Encyclopedique des Sciences Medicales (4 series, commenced in 1854, and still in progress); Jaccoud, Nouveau Dictionnaire de Medecine et de Chirurgie Pratiques (1864, and still in progress)--contain very valuable references to the literature of the various subjects. Of special subjects may be mentioned H. Haeser's Bibliotheca Epidemiographica (1843), John S. Billings's Bibliography of Cholera in the Report of the Cholera Epidemic of 1873 in the United States (1875, pp. 707-1025), Beer's Bibliotheca Ophthalmica (1799), Dr. E.J. Waring's Bibliotheca Therapeutica (1878-79, 2 vols.

8vo.), and Bibliography of Embryology, in Balfour's Embryology, vol. ii.

_Meteorology._--A full bibliography of books and papers upon Meteorology is being prepared at the United States Signal Office, and it is reported that 48,000 t.i.tles are now in the office. There have been several articles on this subject in _Symons's Meteorological Magazine_, the last being in the number for December, 1885.

_Mineralogy._--DANA (J.D.). Bibliography of Mineralogy.

1881. 8vo.

_Mining._--Wigan Free Public Library Index Catalogue of Books and Papers relating to Mining, Metallurgy, and Manufactures. By Henry Tennyson Folkard, Librarian.

Southport, 1880. Roy. 8vo.

_Motion (Perpetual)._--Perpetuum Mobile; or, search for Self-Motive Power during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ill.u.s.trated from various authentic sources in papers, essays, letters, paragraphs, and numerous Patent Specifications, with an Introductory Essay. By Henry Dircks, C.E. London, 1861. Sm. 8vo. Second Series. London, 1870. Sm.

8vo.

_Music._--ENGEL (C.). The Literature of National Music.

London, 1879. 8vo.

---- Catalogue of the Library of the Sacred Harmonic Society. A new edition [by W.H. Husk]. London, 1872. 8vo.

---- RIMBAULT (F.). Bibliotheca Madrigaliana, a Bibliographical Account of the Musical and Poetical Works published in England during the 16th and 17th centuries, under the t.i.tles of Madrigals, Ballets, Ayres, Canzonets, etc. London, 1847. 8vo.

There are bibliographies of the subject in F.L. Kilter's History of Music, London, 1876, and F. Clement, Histoire generale de la Musique Religieuse. Paris, 1861.

_Natural History._--Dryander's Catalogue of Sir Joseph Banks's Library, now in the British Museum, is the most famous bibliography of this subject, although made so many years ago. It consists of 5 vols. 8vo. (1798-1800). Vol. 1, General Writers; Vol. 2, Zoology; Vol. 3, Botany; Vol. 4, Mineralogy; Vol. 5, Supplement.