The new EncyclopÆdia Britannica will prove a rich mine for the diligent library assistant seeking information on topics connected with books and libraries. While the index volume suggests some of the topics in question, much of this suggestion is done by means of cross-references and it is worth while to call special attention to and briefly summarize the articles of interest to library workers. One of the first things worthy of notice is the fact that the articles are written by men who are recognized authorities in their various fields; such scholars as Sir E. Maunde Thompson, late chief librarian of the British Museum, Alfred W. Pollard and Cyril Davenport, also of the British Museum, H. R. Tedder, librarian of the AthenÆum Club, and editor of “The Library” and J. Duff Brown, librarian of the Islington Public Libraries and author of the “Guide to librarianship” and other valued treatises on library economy.

Manuscripts.—Beginning with the Manuscript the student can read in Sir E. Maunde Thompson’s article a description of the development of the ancient manuscript, particularly among the Greeks and Romans, leading on to the mediaeval manuscripts of Europe, and bringing their history down to the invention of printing. The writer treats of the materials used, the forms of the manuscript book (the roll, the waxen tablet, the codex, the quires) the mechanical arrangement of writing, punctuation, division of words, abbreviations and contractions, writing implements and inks. Those who wish to pursue the subject further can turn to the same writer’s article on PalÆography, the science which takes cognizance of writings of a literary, economic or legal nature, done generally with a stile, reed or pen, on tablets, rolls or codices. This paper traces the history of Greek and Latin palÆography from the earliest written documents in those languages which have survived, touching especially on Greek papyri and vellum codices, the Roman cursive and literary hands, and the various national hands derived from the Roman hand. It is therefore concerned with the fundamentals of the written records of Western Europe. Manuscripts with illustrations form a class by themselves and are described by this same high authority under Illuminated Mss. Here are outlined the chief features of the Byzantine, Franco-Lombardic, Celtic (with special mention of the Lindisfarne Gospels, of which a full-page colored facsimile is given) Carolingian, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, German, Italian and Spanish. There are separate paragraphs on the characteristics of the illumination of the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.

Paper.—In the first section of the articles on Paper Sir Maunde Thompson discusses various theories as to the origin and early history of this commodity. For an account of the writing material made from Papyrus the author refers us to his treatment of that subject, where he gives an account of the reed, its cultivation and wide-spread use, its manipulation into the article of commerce and the use of the latter by scribes. The second section of the article on Paper treats especially of its manufacture and is written by J. W. Wyatt, with an interesting supplementary note on India Paper by W. E. G. Fisher. The name “India” was “originally given in England, about the middle of the 18th century to a soft absorbent paper of a pale buff shade, imported from China, where it was made by hand, on a paper-making frame somewhat similar to that used in Europe. The name probably originated in the prevailing tendency, down to the end of the 18th century, to describe as ‘Indian’ anything which came from the far East (cf. Indian ink). This so-called India paper was used for printing the earliest and finest impressions of engravings, hence known as ‘India proofs’”.

The Book.—As pointed out by Alfred W. Pollard in his article on the Book, there is but a slight difference in general appearance between a manuscript written in a formal book-hand and an early printed copy of the same work printed in the same district as the manuscript had been written. The type used by the early printers was as a rule based on handwriting considered appropriate for use in a manuscript copy of the same work. The development of the colophon into the title-page (a subject on which Mr. Pollard is an authority) is briefly summarized. Other characteristics of some of the early printed books, such as their size, their paper, their illustrations and their bindings are noted. The main features of the books of each century from the 16th to the 19th are succinctly characterized in separate paragraphs, and the comparative cost of books at various periods is illustrated by citations of prices of well known works.

Incunabula.—Another article by Mr. Pollard treats of Incunabula. After summarizing the researches in this field the author grants that it is literally true that the output of the 15th century presses is better known to students than that of any other period. The subject has been pursued with what some have thought to be excessive and misplaced zeal. American librarians are naturally not so much interested in incunabula as are their European brethren, but our larger libraries and especially our universities are coming to have a fair representation of the work of some of the early printers and one notable collection, that made by Dr. Copinger, has come to this country, having been presented to the Philadelphia Free Library by Mr. P. A. B. Widener.

Printing.—The article on Printing by C. T. Jacobi, the author of a practical treatise on the subject which has gone through four editions, is confined to the work of the printing press and is divided into two parts: (1) history of the printing press and (2) modern presses. Those who do not have a mechanical bent will probably not get much out of these sections, but towards the end of the article is some general information on printing which ought to prove of interest to every library assistant.

The history of printing is treated at great length under the caption of Typography by J. H. Hessels, author of “Gutenberg; an historical investigation.” This article discusses in turn the manuscript period, the earliest attempts at printing, block-printing, early wood-engravings, block books, early printing with movable type, the controversy concerning the invention (this with great fulness), of early types and their fabrication, and ends with a sketch of some printers who flourished after 1500. A second section, entitled Modern Practical Typography, in part by John Southward, author of a “Dictionary of typography,” deals with the material characteristics of type, the sizes, and varieties of face, the manufacture of type, composition and imposition, signatures and forms, typesetting machines, electrotyping and stereotyping.

Proof Reading, by John H. Black, who was press reader on the new volumes of the 10th edition of the Britannica, and John Randall, is of concern to all of us who have to do with “the art preservative of all the arts.” Proof reading seems to be practiced less and less in these days of type-setting machines, but being informed on the subject will help us in insisting on good work along this line.

Illustrations.—That the information concerning zinc cuts, half-tones, three color processes, monotypes, electrotypes, photolithotypes, and all other photo-mechanical methods of reproduction should be included in an article under Process will probably strike American readers as a Briticism,—but the facts are up to date and reliable. The writer, Mr. Edwin Bale, art director for Cassell and Co., grants that the term “process” is a somewhat unfortunate, one inasmuch as it is descriptive of nothing in particular. The article discusses in turn the various classes under the three generic heads: (1) relief, such as zinc etching, half-tones, including those in color; (2) intaglio, such as photogravures and monotypes, where, as in the old copper plates, the printing surface is sunk below the surrounding portions of the plate; (3) planographic, like lithographs, collotypes, phototypes and heliotypes, which are all printed from flat surfaces. The distinction between these various kinds of illustrations is not easily grasped by the beginner, but no one whose constant business is with books ought to be ignorant of the difference between a woodcut and a half-tone, a mezzotint and a chrome-lithograph, a copper plate and a cleverly devised imitation made from a zinc block, and yet I have seen a good many library school graduates to whom the whole matter was so much Greek. How can you buy illustrated books intelligently if you don’t know whether the illustrations are what they pretend to be? Better read up further in Mr. Frank Weitenkampf’s “How to appreciate prints” and study carefully the Newark exhibit, “The features of the printed book,” the first opportunity you get. Meanwhile, make yourself familiar with the general information given by Laurence Housman in his article on Illustration. Leaving aside the illumination of manuscripts, the art of illustration in its modern sense goes back to the invention of printing. Many incunabula were enriched with drawings by artists of the French, German, Spanish and Italian schools. Many engravings on both wood and copper by such men as DÜrer and Holbein were made to adorn the printed page. The art of illustration has always been influenced by the prevailing pictorial art. French engraving was influenced by the painting of Watteau. English illustrations of different periods show the large following which such men as Reynolds and Hogarth were accorded. Bewick laid the foundations for a school of English wood engraving which persisted until the invention of mechanical methods of reproduction came into vogue. The cheap magazines created a great demand for illustrations that could be inexpensively produced, and the files of illustrated periodicals thereby became one of the best places in which to study the work of wood engravers and illustrators whose work lent itself to reproduction in cheap form. To those who know how to use them aright this gives a new interest to some of the Poole sets which have of late years been retired to out of the way places, such as Once a week, Good words, London Society, Sunday at home, for in the pages of these journals are found illustrations by some of the best men of the school known as “of the ’sixties.”

The technical developments of the art of illustration form the subject of a brief supplementary article by E. F. Strange of the South Kensington Museum. This is concerned with the history of experiments leading to the development of the present day half-tone block and color printing.

Bookbinding is treated by Cyril Davenport, who sketches the history of his subject from the earliest times when protective covers were used over the smaller Assyrian tablets of about the 8th century B. C., through the days of Latin diptychs (the earliest prototypes of the modern book) to the time of rolls of papyrus, vellum or paper. The device of folding vellum into pages was first used about the 5th century of the Christian era, and the sewing of these signatures by fastening the threads around a strip of leather or vellum at right angles to the line of backs was the next stage in the development of the modern book. Then it was found that the bands needed protection and so strips of leather were fastened down the backs, and in order to prevent the tendency of the vellum leaves to curl, strong wooden boards were put on each side and the leather back was drawn over the boards far enough to make a hinge, thus giving us the half-bound books of the middle ages. The next steps were to cover not only the back but also the sides of the book with leather and then to decorate the leather. The art of gold tooling spread quickly, and heraldic designs were used for ornamentation from the days of Edward VI. The deterioration of the quality of modern book paper and badly prepared leathers have been serious drawbacks to good bookbinding, but there has been a revival of interest in the art for its own sake during recent years. The introduction of stamped cloth binding about 1822 developed into the case binding of today, for which elaborate machinery has been perfected.

Book-plates are thought of by many librarians as being unworthy of their serious attention, but a mere glance at the article by Egerton Castle should convince the uninitiated as to the value of at least a rudimentary knowledge of the subject. Mr. Castle’s study of “English book-plates” appeared twenty years ago, but his interest in ex-libris has apparently not flagged despite the demands of novel writing on his time, which is a tribute to the fascinations of these little marks of ownership. Among the illustrations are reproduced the earliest known movable book-plate, one belonging to the monastery of Buxheim, dating from about 1480, and the oldest English plate, that of Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1574. Good examples are given of armorial plates of various periods, of the Jacobean, the Chippendale or rococo, and the pictorial where, as in the Bewick plate, the motif is a bit of landscape or, as in the plate by E. D. French, a library interior.

Bookselling.—Even those librarians who think that they know something about buying books, can with decided advantage read the article on Bookselling. The modern system goes back almost to the invention of printing. The earliest printers were also editors and booksellers but as they were not able themselves to dispose of the entire output of their presses they had agents at most of the universities. The religious dissensions following the Reformation created a great demand for books and there were troublous times for both printers and booksellers. In the English copyright act of 1709 it is ruled that if any person shall think the published price of a book unreasonably high he may make complaint to the archbishop of Canterbury and to certain other persons named who shall thereupon examine into his complaint and if well founded reduce the price, and any bookseller charging more than the price agreed upon shall be fined for every copy sold. Unfortunately this law was never enforced. Were there such a court of appeal today it would have a full docket! In the paragraph on bookselling in this country it is pointed out that half the names in the “so-called American catalogue of books” printed between 1820 and 1852 are British, the works of Scott, Byron, Moore, Southey and Wordsworth having been printed here without the payment of any royalties. Through the growth of intercourse with England and the appearance on the literary horizon of native writers of ability, a decided change was gradually produced in the American book trade and the conditions here became more like those of Europe.

Publishing.—The subject of bookselling is treated still further in the article on Publishing which is in a way a continuation of it. It gives more historical detail concerning the early stages of this once combined business, with a good deal on that topic of interest to librarians and the book-buying public,—the net price question. The early separation of publishing from bookselling is touched upon, and the emergence of publishers as a separate class is outlined. The transitory phenomenon of the man of letters assisting the publisher in an advisory capacity as to the suitability of manuscripts submitted for publication is an interesting chapter in the expansion of the publishing business. Publishing being today largely a commercial affair, the literary reader has in the main been supplanted by the man of business with an aptitude for estimating how many copies of a given book can be sold. One London publisher has of recent years paid no salary to his reader but has given him a small commission upon every copy that was sold of any book published on his recommendation. What is wanted by the publisher is only too often not literary quality but commercial value.

Bibliography.—The article on this subject by Mr. Pollard, is only concerned with bibliography as the art of examination, collation and description of books,—their enumeration and arrangement in lists for purposes of information, and further, with the literature of this subject, i. e. with the bibliography of bibliography. The examination and collation of books to discover whether they are perfect and in their original condition are especially important in the case of rare books, like incunabula and first editions, piracies and spurious imprints. Photographic forgeries of books can usually be detected by the tendency of all photographic reproduction to thicken letters and exaggerate every kind of defect. Some of these imitations are, however, very cleverly made on paper of the period of the original and so are very hard to distinguish from the latter.

Book Collecting is sympathetically discussed by Mr. Pollard. The statement that the ultimate rarity of books varies in the inverse ratio of the number of copies originally printed, though recognized as a somewhat sweeping generalization, is conceded to be not far from the truth. No one thinks of collecting what is easily procurable at the moment. So long as the anticipation exists that a book will continue to be easily procurable the collecting impulse is restrained. Book collecting as a hobby is analyzed and the history of some notable private collections given. As Thomas Watts once said, the main office of private collections is to feed public institutions.

Libraries.—This brings us to the article on Libraries, written jointly by H. R. Tedder and J. Duff Brown, an article of about 65,000 words and deserving of more than a passing notice. It is the latest conspectus of library history and activity and if printed separately might have made a book of several hundred pages which would have been duly reviewed in all the professional journals. The fact that it is in the Britannica insures it even wider publicity and in view of its excellence we feel that it is worth while calling to the particular attention of librarians.

The general treatment divides the subject into Ancient libraries (3 pages) Mediaeval period (3 pages) and Modern libraries (26 pages). The first section has an archaeological rather than a professional interest, but the mediaeval period is of importance to us because in it is found the real origin of modern library organization. A rule of St. Benedict required the monks to borrow a book apiece and read it straight through. The books in the Benedictine monastery were kept in armaria, or chests; whence the name of the Benedictine librarian, armarius. The Carthusians are supposed to have been the first to lend books for use outside the monastery. The library at Cesena in Northern Italy is still preserved in its original condition. The Laurentian library at Florence was designed after monastic models.

The development of modern libraries is first illustrated by examples from the United Kingdom, by sketching the history of the British Museum, and other English Government libraries, by outlining the growth of the university libraries of Great Britain, incidentally touching on the libraries of learned societies, clubs, municipalities, and winding up with a section on British library administration. All this is admirably done, and deserves careful reading. The authors suggest several reforms and question some practices. For example, they feel that it would be an advantage from an administrative standpoint if the professional certificates of the Library Association were adopted by the Civil Service Commissioners as a compulsory requirement in addition to their own examination. They evidently favor some form of “registration,” the mooted topic before the British Library Association. The official recognition of a grade of properly trained librarians would in the opinion of these writers tend to improve the methods and efficiency of the government libraries, generally conceded to be behind the municipal libraries in organization and administration. It is pointed out that the reading of fiction in British municipal libraries is much less than commonly believed, being only 24 percent, even after due allowance is made for the reading of fiction in current magazines. Attention is called to the gradual disappearance of the unclassified municipal library, although in 1910 there were over 340 not closely classified, but only arranged in broad numerical or alphabetical divisions. The replacement of printed catalogs in book form by card catalogs and other forms, like the sheaf catalog, easily kept up to date, is noted as growing in favor. The great increase in the freedom of access allowed in lending libraries is considered the most striking tendency of recent years.

In the section devoted to the United States, the Library of Congress naturally comes first, and is characterized as “the most active government library in existence.” The rise of the state and university libraries is sketched, and something is said about the proprietary and endowed libraries of the country. That these writers are not of the group who have been saying unkind things about us, witness the following: “In no country has the movement for the development of municipal libraries made such progress as in the United States; these institutions ... are distinguished for their work, enterprise and the liberality with which they are supported.” There is an interesting comparison of the cost of maintenance of English and American libraries. East Orange, N. J. (population 35,000) spends $12,000 on its library system, while Dumfries in Scotland (population 23,000) spends $2,500. The city of Cincinnati, with practically the same population as the borough of Islington, London, spends more than three times as much money on its library system,—$130,000 as contrasted with $41,000. It would be instructive to compare the work done in these particular cities. The general statement is made that the provision of books is more generous in the American libraries than in those of Great Britain, but that more reading is done in the latter. The authors point out that work with the schools and children generally is more cultivated in the libraries of the United States than elsewhere. They are cautious in their statements, but one can read the doubt in their minds as to the wisdom of the “story hour” in the library. “The preponderance of women librarians and their natural sentimental regard for children has tended to make this work loom rather largely in some quarters, but with these exceptions the activity on behalf of children is justified on many grounds. But above all, it is manifest that a rapidly growing nation, finding homes for thousands of foreigners and their children annually, must use every means of rapidly educating their new citizens, and the public library is one of the most efficient and ready ways of accomplishing this great national object.”

While the remainder of the article, devoted to libraries in non-English speaking countries, is of less immediate interest to the average library assistant, it should be read with care for the perspective it will help to give. We should know more of our historical background and here is an excellent place to get a bird’s eye view of the whole library movement. The account of the BibliothÈque Nationale and other libraries of Paris, is very complete and contains references and statistics not generally available. The description of the Berlin libraries is less full, but satisfactory. The Italian libraries come in for their share of attention, and the article ends with accounts of the library movement and the noteworthy libraries in Latin America, Spain and Portugal, the Netherlands, Russia, China and Japan. The article as a whole will bear reading several times and can be consulted constantly with full-reliance upon its detailed information.

In addition to the above there are articles which have a special interest for different classes of library workers. The cataloger will want to read what is said on the Index, where a high compliment is paid “American enterprise” for the modern device of the card catalog cabinet, and the Library of Congress for its printed card work. The assistant in the periodical room ought to read the article on Periodicals by Mr. Tedder, which deals chiefly with publications devoted to general literature, literary and critical reviews, and magazines for the supply of miscellaneous reading. It takes up in historical sequence the British quarterlies, monthlies, weeklies, modern magazines and cheap publications; then those of the United States, Canada and other British possessions, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Greece, Russia and other countries. Under the caption of Caricature Mr. M. H. Spielman writes entertainingly concerning the popular illustrated periodicals of Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States. In the latter section he sketches the rise of Thomas Nast, discusses the influence of Life, and the work of C. D. Gibson and A. B. Frost. In his paragraph on Cartoon Mr. Spielman says that John Leech’s drawing in No. 105 of Punch was the first caricature to be called a “cartoon.” After a while Punch dropped the latter word but the public took it up. The information concerning Newspapers has been garnered by several hands. Mr. Hugh Chisholm, the editor of the present edition of the Britannica, and for some years connected with the London Times, writes the first installment entitled “General considerations” giving the historical development of the newspaper (particularly the English) from the Oxford Gazette of 1665, through the days of the “leading article” by prominent writers, down to the time of the “news agencies.” The present status of journalism, with its well developed commercial side, is passed in review, and the influence of American journalism is duly set forth. The cheapening of paper, which within one generation dropped from 22 cents to as low as 1-1/2 cents a pound, is shown to have had the obvious tendency of increasing the size of newspapers and reducing the price. The attitude of some English newspaper publishers towards news of the turf is instructive to American librarians who have read of the “blocking out” of sporting tips deemed necessary in some English libraries. The simultaneous growth of the cheap newspaper throughout the civilized world is commented upon by Lord Northcote in two interpolated paragraphs, which are followed by some remarks on Illustrated Papers by Mr. Clement K. Shorter. The remainder of the article by Mr. Chisholm consists of a very full account of British newspapers (in which certain portions of the article by Edward Edwards, of library fame, in the earlier edition of the Britannica, have been incorporated) followed by an historical sketch of those of the United States, of France, Germany and other European countries.

Much of the information presented by Prof. E. G. Ravenstein under the caption Map is of immediate interest to all of us. It treats in turn of the classification and scale of maps, delineation of the ground, selection of names and orthography, measurement on maps, relief maps, map printing, history of cartography, and topographical surveys. The reading of what Mr. H. R. Tedder has to say on Pamphlets may make the library assistant who has to handle them more kindly disposed toward this class of publications. There is nothing like knowing the history of a subject to incite interest in it.

The bibliographies appended to each article will enable the inquiring and ambitious assistant to pursue further such phases of the questions involved as may make the stronger appeal; but the source of the greatest satisfaction is that the workers in the smaller libraries, where but little of the literature of librarianship is to be found, can find within the covers of the EncyclopÆdia Britannica a conspectus of authoritative statements on many matters of professional interest.