appear to be strictly defined, collective editions of these annual catalogues, arranged in one alphabet, are published, as well as of the indexes of the titles which are appended to each annual issue.[2]

It is obvious that a work of this kind must be of the greatest utility, and as the English Catalogue is merely a continuation of the London Catalogue and the British Catalogue, the former of which commenced so far back as the year 1811, it will be seen that a comprehensive view can be taken of the whole range of English literature from that date to the present. The Catalogue has not, however, always been so carefully prepared as it is now, and consequently in the earlier days many publications were omitted. When this is the case Lowndes and Watt will be found of material assistance, the latter especially. A complete set of these catalogues, unfortunately, is very difficult to obtain, and as the earlier ones are not indispensable, it may be perhaps advisable to forego them and to commence in 1814. The volumes to be acquired therefore would be London Catalogue, 1816-51; English Catalogue, 1835-63, 1863-71, 1872-80, 1881-89; with the accompanying subject indexes to the London Catalogue, 1814-46; and to the English Catalogue, 1835-55, 1856-75, 1874 (sic)-80. It will be noticed that the dates sometimes overlap each over, but this is an advantage rather than a drawback. Among the other books frequently consulted by both dealers and amateurs are Mr. Swan Sonnenschein's The Best Books; the Reference Catalogue of Current Literature, and Halkett & Laing's Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature of Great Britain, in 4 vols. These are mentioned together because they are essentially subject indexes and the best of their kind.

Sonnenschein's The Best Books, already in a second and vastly improved edition, is a comparatively recent publication, in which, under subjects arranged systematically, are placed the best current books, whether ancient or modern, on each subject, with the prices, sizes, publisher's name and dates of the first and last editions of each. There are about 50,000 works included, and they together give a very good idea of all the material in the various departments of research which the specialist is likely to have occasion to read or refer to. Old books are included where they are of actual present-day value to the student. The selection is not, of course, entirely made by the author, as it is impossible for him to have read a hundredth part of the books recommended; most probably the list has been compiled from the works of specialists, the various encyclopædias, and so forth; but however this may be, it is a very useful one in the hands of a person capable of discrimination (towards which the numerous critical and bibliographical notes and the system of asterisks are a great help), especially if he live near one or other of the large libraries now springing up in different parts of the country.

The Reference Catalogue of Current Literature, a cumbrous and unwieldy tome, the last issue of which was out of print within a couple of months of its publication, consists of a large number of publishers' catalogues arranged in alphabetical order. Each work mentioned is indexed, and this has been accomplished so fully and accurately that almost any book to be bought new in the market makes its appearance here.

Halkett & Laing's Dictionary is, as the title implies, a record of the anonymous and pseudonymous literature of Great Britain. If an author wrote under an assumed name or anonymously, his real name will be found here, together with a short account of his publications. This work can hardly be said to be indispensable, but it is, notwithstanding, exceedingly useful, and well worth the three and a half guineas which will have to be expended upon it.

Among other works which at one time were thought more of than they are now is Quaritch's Catalogue of Books, in one thick volume, 1880, and a supplement which is back-dated 1875-7. The chief value of this lay not only in the prices, which were, as in every other bookseller's catalogue, appended to the items, but in the extraordinary number of the entries, which cover the whole range of British and foreign literature. Even now the work is useful, but there is no doubt that it is gradually decreasing in importance, owing to the high-class works of reference which have lately made their appearance. As to values, Book Prices Current gives them much more satisfactorily than any bookseller can pretend or afford to do, while most of the bibliographical notes and references are to be found in one or other of the works I have mentioned.

The collector who, as yet, is not sufficiently advanced to fully realise the difficulties he will have to surmount before he can bring together a judicious assortment of books, will at any rate begin to see that the knowledge requisite to enable him to do so is of no mean order. The preliminaries will take him a long time to master, and he will find that the expense is a factor by no means to be despised. Even the books mentioned are not all that he may have to procure, for if, after consideration, he should decide to devote his attention exclusively to one branch of Bibliography, there are other books of reference to be purchased, and a special course of study must be entered upon and carefully followed, if he would hope to be successful. Thus, should he decide to make Dickens or Thackeray his one author, as so many people are doing now, he will need a guide to direct his course. Memory is so treacherous that he can take nothing on trust, and time so short that he cannot afford to journey two sides of the triangle when he might have taken the third. These special works for special departments are set out and enlarged upon in the following chapter, but before referring to them it may not be superfluous to remind the reader that a book of reference only possesses a relative value. It is quite possible to have a whole library within reach and yet to be ignorant of the proper method of using it. Some of our best writers had no library worthy the name, but the few books they had they knew—knew, that is to say, how to extract the information they required, which book to consult, how it was arranged, and what might be expected of it. Though a book collector is not necessarily a book reader, he will have to be absolute master of his works of reference, or he will find every volume on his shelf a useless incumbrance. Where to possess all the absolute facts is of importance, the newest works are, generally speaking, most likely to be the best; but this is very far from being applicable to a library in all its departments. Yet even in the case of works of a general nature a careful and economic selection may be made, so as to cover, in a small compass, much valuable ground.