College and Research Libraries


simply, even bluntly stated, f o r use as a w o r k 
pattern and in a style no l i b r a r i a n - t o - l i b r a r i a n 
exposition w o u l d use. U s u a l l y the statements 
h o w e v e r are the c l e a r e r f o r this type of w o r d -
ing, and make good reading, even when set-
ting the reader to a r g u i n g with the s u r v e y o r s . 

C h a p t e r s V I to X I I cover specific recom-
mendations f o r reader services, technical 
services, finances and building. Y o u r re-
v i e w e r feels that only the l i b r a r y staff and 
university administration at N o t r e D a m e can 
k n o w the ultimate w o r t h of these, but they 
seem generally judicious, except f o r one item. 
T h e book f u n d s w o u l d have to be more gener-
ous than those named, especially in the sci-
ences, to achieve the goals f o r the collections 
which the f a c u l t y described and the s u r v e y o r s 
accepted. 

A l t h o u g h A L A s u r v e y s f o l l o w a necessarily 
set f o r m and the N o t r e D a m e survey is 
properly standard in this respect, it does o f f e r 
an unusual number of obiter dicta of much 
g e n e r a l professional w o r t h to l i b r a r i a n s . In 
some cases, as f o r example on the page about 
C a t h o l i c censorship of books, the survey gives 
an explicit statement on the issue involved 
which your r e v i e w e r believes may be unique 
in general l i b r a r y l i t e r a t u r e . — J o h n H. Mori-
arty, Purdue University Library. 

Problems in Bibliography 
Nineteenth-Century English Books. Some 

Problems in Bibliography. B y G o r d o n N . 
R a y , C a r l J . W e b e r and J o h n C a r t e r . 
U r b a n a , U n i v e r s i t y of Illinois P r e s s , 1 9 5 2 . 
88p. $ 3 . 0 0 . 

T h e s e third annual W i n d s o r L e c t u r e s in 
L i b r a r i a n s h i p exhibit three d i f f e r e n t a n s w e r s 
to the perennial question, Should lectures be 
p r i n t e d ? P r o f e s s o r G o r d o n N . R a y ' s paper 
on " T h e Importance of O r i g i n a l E d i t i o n s " 
w a s surely the most enjoyable to hear. H i s 
knowledge is not limited to T h a c k e r a y , w i t h 
whose name he threatens to become synony-
mous. In a n s w e r to one of this century's 
stupidest d i c t a : " T h o u shalt not covet . . . to 
have the l a r g e s t number of unused books in 
y o u r l i b r a r y , " as reported in Newsweek as 
coming f r o m D r . E r n e s t C . C o l w e l l , P r o f e s -
sor R a y outlines some of the scholarly uses to 
which a collection of original editions of E n g -
lish nineteenth-century books can be put w i t h 
a most interesting example f r o m the English 
translations of Z o l a ; authors' o w n revisions 
are cited f r o m G e o r g e M o o r e ; and a plea is 

made f o r the ephemeral m a t e r i a l occasionally 
surrounding or only quoted by acknowledged 
l i t e r a r y w o r k s of art. A f t e r hinting that uni-
versity libraries should buy w h a t is tempo-
rarily unfashionable and hope f o r the r a r i t i e s 
as g i f t s f r o m collectors, D r . R a y ends with 
one delicious quotation f r o m the never con-
sciously amusing M r . F . R . L e e v i s and another 
f r o m the pen of M r . W i l m a r t h L e w i s , w h o 
never deviates into nonsense. T h e lecture 
must have been most agreeable to hear and is 
all too short to read. 

J o h n C a r t e r ends the group w i t h a series 
of penetrating, though f a i r l y miscellaneous 
suggestions f o r f u r t h e r discussion, called 
" S o m e Bibliographical A g e n d a . " T h e s e topics 
range f r o m innovations in printing technique 
to the need f o r " a modern M c K e r r o w . " On 
the w a y there are glances at binding in cloth, 
definitions of the w o r d edition, the need of 
better author bibliographies, original boards, 
books issued in parts, cancels, binding v a r i a n t s , 
inserted advertisements, and dust-jackets. 
T h e examples are chosen as only M r . C a r t e r 
could choose them, but I feel sure the audience 
l e f t with its collective head swimming. T h e r e 
are not too many dates—but there are surely 
too many questions f o r one lecture. T h e s e are 
questions the a u t h o r — a n d thousands m o r e — 
w a n t answered and w e should all be glad to 
have this list set down in print. L e t us hope 
that in f i f t y y e a r s it w i l l seem incredible how 
little w e know today about book production in 
the last century. 

T h e central essay in the volume and the one 
with most m a t e r i a l to hear and to read is 
P r o f e s s o r C a r l J . W e b e r ' s on " A m e r i c a n 
Editions of English A u t h o r s . " P r o f e s s o r 
W e b e r ' s name has been most f r e q u e n t l y linked 
to that of T h o m a s H a r d y , but here are f a s c i -
nating examples f r o m B r o w n i n g , Dickens, 
Scott, B y r o n , W o r d s w o r t h , T h a c k e r a y , F i t z -
G e r a l d and H o u s m a n as w e l l . T h e h o r r o r s 
of a w o r l d w i t h o u t copyright, flagrant a l t e r a -
tions of the authors' texts, changes of i l l u s t r a -
tors, the beginnings of the cheap paper-
backed novel, altered endings, retitled poems 
and r e w r i t t e n lines all add to the pleasures of 
this essay. T h i s seems f a r better read than 
heard, although the hearing must have be-
guiled the hour. I t seems quite sure that the 
audiences w i l l be among the f i r s t to buy this 
handsome volume. Anyone else interested in 
nineteenth-century English books w i l l do w e l l 
to f o l l o w t h e m . — D o n a l d G. Wing, Yale Uni-
versity Library. 

102 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES