College and Research Libraries f u l , p a r t i c u l a r l y in G r e a t B r i t a i n . B u t it has m u c h t o o f f e r r e s e a r c h l i b r a r i e s in g e n e r a l , so it is n a t u r a l t o h o p e t h a t the b o o k w i l l be s t r e n g t h e n e d in a s e c o n d e d i t i o n . — A n d r e w D. Osborn, Harvard College Library. Books About Books: The Anglo-American Tradition The Alchemy of Books. By Lawrence Clark P o w e l l . L o s A n g e l e s , T h e W a r d R i t c h i e P r e s s , 1954. 263 p. $ 4 . 5 0 . A History of the Old English Letter Found- ries, with Notes Historical and Biblio- graphical on the Rise and Progress of Eng- lish Typography. B y T a l b o t B a i n e s R e e d . A n e w ed., r e v . and enl. by A . F . J o h n s o n . L o n d o n , F a b e r and F a b e r , 1952. 4 0 0 p. 84s. Cambridge Press Title-Pages, 1640-1665: A Pictorial Representation of the IVork Done in the First Printing Office in British North America. B y Sidney A . K i m b e r . T a k o m a P a r k , M d . ( 7 3 0 2 H i l t o n A v e . ) , T h e A u t h o r , 1954. $ 1 0 . 0 0 . M orris-Drucke und andere Meisterwerke englischer und amerikanischer Privatpres- sen ( M o r r i s I m p r i n t s and o t h e r M a s t e r - pieces o f E n g l i s h and A m e r i c a n P r i v a t e P r e s s e s . E x h i b i t i o n of the G u t e n b e r g M u s e u m , M a r c h 24, I954> o n the 120th B i r t h d a y o f W i l l i a m M o r r i s ) . M a i n z , G u t e n b e r g S o c i e t y , 1954. F r e e to m e m b e r s . PI: A Hodge-Podge of the Letters, Papers and Addresses Written during the Last Sixty Years. B y B r u c e R o g e r s . C l e v e - l a n d , W o r l d P u b l i s h i n g C o . , 1953. 185 p. $6.00. I w o u l d like t o say at the o u t s e t that the t h e m e f o r the p r e s e n t a r t i c l e ( a s w e l l as f o r o n e to be i n c l u d e d in a f u t u r e issue o f C&RL, w h i c h w i l l deal w i t h " T h e P r i n t e d P i c t u r e " ) w a s s e l e c t e d s o l e l y o n the basis of the b o o k s t o be r e v i e w e d . T h e d e c i s i o n w a s m a d e b e - f o r e A n g l o - A m e r i c a n r e l a t i o n s had b e c o m e o n c e again a m a j o r p o i n t in c u r r e n t w o r l d politics. I t w a s also m a d e b e f o r e I k n e w that o n e o f the b o o k s w o u l d t u r n o u t such a p o w e r f u l and d i r e c t p l e a f o r c u l t u r a l c o o p - e r a t i o n of the E n g l i s h s p e a k i n g w o r l d . T h i s is the v o l u m e by L a w r e n c e C . P o w e l l . T h e first o f the t h r e e divisions o f The Alchemy of Books, a charming and inspiring c o l l e c t i o n of essays, is entitled " B o o k m a n in B r i t a i n . " I t is l a r g e l y the f r u i t o f a p r o - l o n g e d stay o f the a u t h o r o n a G u g g e n h e i m F e l l o w s h i p f o r the s t u d y o f the B r i t i s h a n - t i q u a r i a n b o o k t r a d e and its r e l a t i o n w i t h A m e r i c a . F r o m the piece " A S o u t h w e s t e r n e r in S c o t l a n d " I q u o t e the f o l l o w i n g : " I n this l u c k l e s s t i m e w h e n ties b e t w e e n c o u n t r i e s of d i f f e r e n t l a n g u a g e s a r e s t r a i n e d t o the s n a p - ping p o i n t , it is the s t r o n g b o n d b e t w e e n the E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g p e o p l e w h i c h m a y p r o v e the o n e thing that e n s u r e s o u r c o m m o n s u r v i v a l , and that o f lesser n a t i o n s w h o l o o k t o us f o r p r o t e c t i o n . " W i t h P o w e l l , this is n o t , as so o f t e n , a c o n v e n i e n t p h r a s e , b u t the e x p r e s s i o n o f a c o n v i c t i o n b o r n f r o m a l i f e d e v o t e d to the i n d i v i d u a l ' s s e a r c h f o r b o o k s and the w h o l l y n a t u r a l p r a c t i c e of p e r s o n a l r e a d i n g . H i s r e d i s c o v e r y o f the shrines of 17th c e n t u r y l i t e r a t u r e in the w a r - s c a r r e d B r i t i s h Isles is m a t c h e d by the n e w d i s c o v e r y o f s o m e f r e s h p o e t i c t a l e n t o f t o d a y of w h i c h m a n y o f us h a v e p r o b a b l y n o t h e a r d . I t is g o o d , v e r y g o o d , t h a t a p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n a p p e a r s as a p e r s o n a l g u i d e t o n e w l i t e r a r y v a l u e s . " R e a d i n g and C o l l e c t i n g , " the s e c o n d s e c - tion, begins w i t h a piece c a l l e d " A B o o k m a n ' s C r e d o " , and t h e r e is n o t an a r t i c l e in this section w h i c h d o e s n o t e x p r e s s this c r e d o . I n " L i b r a r i a n s as R e a d e r s o f B o o k s " , f o r in- stance, o n e finds n o t f a r f r o m each o t h e r , the f o l l o w i n g s e n t e n c e s : " T h e aspect of l i b r a r i a n - ship w h i c h interests m e m o s t i s — b o o k s . . . . I u r g e l i b r a r i a n s t o be o n the a l e r t f o r t o d a y ' s u n s t a n d a r d i z e d b o o k s . . . I w a n t t o c o n s i d e r r e a d i n g as a p e r s o n a l t h e r a p y , as a t o n i c . . . " T h e t h i r d s e c t i o n , " P e o p l e , B o o k s , and P l a c e s , " is p e r h a p s m o r e i n t i m a t e and p e r s o n a l even than the e a r l i e r p o r t i o n s , and it c o n t a i n s s o m e v e r y fine p r o s e . T h e n e x t item o n the list, A History of the Old English Letter Foundries, carries us back t o the e a r l y t r a d i t i o n s o f E n g l i s h p r i n t i n g and t y p e f o u n d i n g . O n r e a d i n g this n e w e d i t i o n o f the classic w o r k o n E n g l i s h p r i n t i n g type, p r e v i o u s l y p u b l i s h e d in the o n e e d i t i o n o f 1887, o n e r e a l i z e s t w o t h i n g s : first, h o w m u c h of t o d a y ' s f a m i l i a r and c u r r e n t k n o w l e d g e o f E n g l i s h p r i n t i n g h i s t o r y c o m e s f r o m this o n e s o u r c e , and s e c o n d , w h a t a s p l e n d i d piece o f w o r k A . F . J o h n s o n has d o n e as the e d i t o r o f the n e w e d i t i o n . T h e b o o k w a s o r i g i n a l l y p l a n n e d by R e e d .470 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES u n d e r the i m p a c t of the i n d u s t r i a l r e v o l u t i o n w h e n t h e r e a p p e a r e d in l e t t e r f o u n d i n g " n e w d e p a r t u r e s u n d r e a m e d of by t h o s e h e r o e s o f the p u n c h and m a t r i x and m o u l d w h o m a d e h e r w h a t w e f o u n d h e r . " T h e n e w edition w a s initiated by Stanley M o r i s o n , w h o r e - a l i z e d that the b o o k w a s sufficiently s t r o n g and h e a l t h y t o b e a r reissuing f o r the m i d - t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y r e a d e r and student. A . F . J o h n s o n has d o n e an a d m i r a b l e j o b of p r u n i n g and g r a f t i n g , w h e r e b y he l e f t intact the s o u n d m a t e r i a l of the o l d b o o k ( t h e m a j o r p o r t i o n ) , c h a n g i n g it o n l y w h e r e n e c e s s a r y and, a b o v e all, m a k i n g n u m e r o u s a d d i t i o n s to the t e x t a n d to the m a n y f o o t n o t e s and a d d i n g m a n y n e w n o t e s and r e f e r e n c e s . T h u s the w h o l e of r e l e v a n t t y p o g r a p h i c r e s e a r c h of the last half c e n t u r y has been fitted u n o b t r u s i v e l y into the f a b r i c of the w o r k . T h e o l d classic has been g i v e n a n e w lease o n l i f e w h i c h o u g h t to e x - t e n d its u s e f u l n e s s f o r m a n y y e a r s t o c o m e . A w o r d m i g h t be a d d e d a b o u t one aspect of this u s e f u l n e s s . P r o f e s s o r W i l l i a m Sale's Samuel Richardson: Master Printer (Cornell U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , r e v i e w e d in the J u l y , 1953 issue of C&RL) is a g o o d r e c e n t d e m o n s t r a t i o n of the i m p o r t a n c e o f t y p o g r a p h i c r e s e a r c h f o r the b i b l i o g r a p h e r . I t s h o w s h o w little o n e r e a l l y k n o w s a b o u t the e q u i p m e n t of E n g l i s h p r i n t e r s b e t w e e n 1500 and 1800. I t is p r e - cisely in this area that the n e w edition of Reed's Old English Letter Foundries can be- c o m e an i m p o r t a n t s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r f u t u r e r e s e a r c h . H o w m u c h t h e r e is still l e f t t o be f o u n d o u t a b o u t p r i n t i n g h i s t o r y o n b o t h sides of the A t l a n t i c is d e m o n s t r a t e d in K i m b e r ' s Cam- bridge Press Title-Pages, 1640-1665. This w o r k is v a l u a b l e b o t h in w h a t it a c c o m p l i s h e s and in the a u t h o r ' s candid d e m o n s t r a t i o n of the difficulties of s u c h a p r o j e c t . T h e plan s o u n d s s i m p l e e n o u g h : a f a c s i m i l e c o l l e c t i o n o f pages f r o m all the p u b l i c a t i o n s p r o d u c e d d u r i n g the first t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s o f w h a t is n o w the U n i t e d States. I m u s t c o n f e s s that as e d i t o r of successive editions o f The Book in America I h a v e o f t e n d r e a m e d of a p i c t o r i a l atlas t o i l l u s t r a t e the h i s t o r y o f the b o o k in the n e w w o r l d . K i m b e r ' s is the first i m p o r t - ant a t t e m p t in this d i r e c t i o n and as such it fills a c o n s p i c u o u s g a p . T h e w o r k of " j u s t a p r i n t e r " , as he h i m s e l f d e s c r i b e s his q u a l i - fications, the Cambridge Press Title-Pages is a n o t e w o r t h y c o n t r i b u t i o n to the l i t e r a t u r e o f A m e r i c a n p r i n t i n g . T h e r e are s o m e points w h i c h a m o r e e x p e r i e n c e d b i b l i o g r a p h e r m i g h t h a v e h a n d l e d a little d i f f e r e n t l y , n o t a b l y in the selection of m a t e r i a l f o r the c o m m e n t s t o each p l a t e . T h e emphasis h e r e is chiefly o n r a r e t y , p r o v e n a n c e and present l o c a t i o n o f the items, s o m e w h a t at the expense of the t e x t u a l , and a b o v e all, the t y p o g r a p h i c significance of each piece. S o m e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t y p o - g r a p h i c style is o f f e r e d , instead, in an all t o o brief c o l l e c t i o n o f " n o t e s " a b o u t types and o r n a m e n t s at the b a c k of the v o l u m e . A l s o , the c o n t e n t of the c a p t i o n s s h o w s c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a t i o n in w h a t is e m p h a s i z e d each t i m e and the a r r a n g e m e n t of their e l e m e n t s is n o t c o n - sistent. A n o t h e r q u e s t i o n is w h y the title of the b o o k s h o u l d stress " T i t l e - P a g e s " w h e n it r e p r o d u c e s m a n y h a n d b i l l s and b r o a d s i d e s w h i c h n e v e r h a d a title p a g e , and w h e n it includes b o o k s w i t h the title p a g e l a c k i n g and w h e n o f t e n , and v e r y p r o p e r l y , p a g e s f r o m the insides of the b o o k s a r e s h o w n . A l l in all, h o w e v e r , these s h o r t c o m i n g s are n o t s e r i o u s e n o u g h t o i n t e r f e r e w i t h the m a i n p u r p o s e of the b o o k w h i c h is a c c o m p l i s h e d s k i l l f u l l y and c o n v i n c i n g l y . T h e plan is simple e n o u g h . B u t in its e x e c u t i o n the a u t h o r m e t i n n u m e r a b l e significant difficulties. T h e l o c a t i o n o f c o p i e s o f the earliest C a m b r i d g e i m p r i n t s and the s e c u r i n g o f r e p r o d u c e a b l e c o p y w e r e m a j o r u n d e r t a k i n g s , and f o r their s u c c e s s f u l c o m p l e t i o n o n e m u s t be g r a t e f u l t o the a u t h o r . B u t even m o r e difficult w a s the u n c e r t a i n t y w h i c h still s u r r o u n d s a n u m b e r of these imprints. I n s o m e cases it is still by n o m e a n s d e c i d e d w h e t h e r they w e r e p r i n t e d in E n g l a n d o r in M a s s a c h u s e t t s . O n e g r e a t merit of the Cambridge Press Title-Pages is the c l e a r d e m o n s t r a t i o n of these u n c e r t a i n t i e s and the a u t h o r ' s u n a s s u m i n g a t t i t u d e a b o u t his o w n c o n t r i b u t i o n . H e has s h o w n the need f o r m o r e t h o r o u g h studies of the m e c h a n i c s o f c u l t u r a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n at a vital p o i n t in the j o i n t h i s t o r y o f O l d E n g l a n d and the N e w C o l o n i e s in N o r t h A m e r i c a . T o speak of m o r e r e c e n t aspects of these r e l a t i o n s , a little p u b l i c a t i o n o f the G u t e n b e r g S o c i e t y i n M a i n z s h o u l d be briefly n o t e d . Morris-Drucke is the h a n d s o m e l y p r i n t e d c a t a l o g of an e x h i b i t i o n built chiefly a r o u n d t w o d o n a t i o n s to the M a i n z m u s e u m , first an i m p o r t a n t c o l l e c t i o n o f W i l l i a m M o r r i s i m - prints f r o m a p r i v a t e d o n o r and, s e c o n d , a set o f the " F i f t y B o o k s o f the Y e a r " 1950, g i v e n OCTOBER, 1954 471. by the A m e r i c a n Institute of G r a p h i c A r t s . T o the A m e r i c a n o b s e r v e r the p a r t i c u l a r inter- est of the publication lies in the m a n n e r in w h i c h a continental m u s e u m has visualized and presented the interrelationship of the p r i - vate press m o v e m e n t in E n g l a n d and A m e r i c a , and w h i c h presses and personalities have been selected as p a r t i c u l a r l y significant. A n excellent v i e w of the f u r t h e r d e v e l o p - m e n t of these c o n n e c t i o n s , and a first rate biographical d o c u m e n t a b o u t the dean of A m e r i c a n b o o k designers is B r u c e R o g e r s ' PI. M u c h of the personal history of R o g e r s , w h o is n o w in his eighties, is a living d e m o n s t r a - tion of A n g l o - A m e r i c a n relations. H i s w o r k f o r the university presses of O x f o r d and C a m b r i d g e , his close c o n t a c t w i t h the English M o n o t y p e C o r p o r a t i o n and his l o n g friendship w i t h leading British b o o k m e n ( a m o n g them S h a w and L a w r e n c e of A r a b i a ) find c o l o r f u l reflection in the pages of PI. T h e m e n he speaks o f , incidentally, are of a d i f f e r e n t g r o u p and another g e n e r a t i o n f r o m those m e n t i o n e d by P o w e l l in his Alchemy, w h i c h only g o e s to p r o v e that these c o n n e c t i o n s transcend the p e r s o n a l and the accidental. B u t w e read also much about s o m e of the g r e a t figures in the w o r l d of b o o k s and printing on this side of the A t l a n t i c . H e n r y W a t s o n K e n t , F r e d G o u d y , W i l l i a m E d w i n R u d g e , F r e d e r i c W a r d e — h e r e are some of the names of men no l o n g e r with us w h o c o m e to l i f e here. A g o o d many of the pieces included in this " H o d g e - P o d g e " have been published p r e v i - ously and s o m e of them w i l l be f a m i l i a r to some, and o t h e r s to others. B u t their c o l - lected presentation in c h r o n o l o g i c a l o r d e r gives this PI the quality of an i m p o r t a n t b i o g r a p h i - cal c o n t r i b u t i o n a b o u t one of the g r e a t A m e r i c a n s of the twentieth century. H i s c o m m e n t a r y on his o w n w o r k is a l w a y s w o r t h reading and one only regrets that c i r c u m - stances have m a d e B R m u c h m o r e articulate about the p r o d u c t s of his middle and later years ( t h e H o m e r , the Shakespeare, the t w o B i b l e s ) than a b o u t m u c h of his equally sig- nificant earlier w o r k in b o o k design. T h e p r o s e of B r u c e R o g e r s is s o m e t h i n g special and rare in its s e l f - s a t i r i c a l h u m o r , its o c c a s i o n a l deliberate archaisms, in its use of the gentle p u n — b u t a b o v e all in the c a r e f u l choice of w o r d s and the sensitive and d i g n i - fied phrasing. B u t w h a t else c o u l d one expect f r o m the man w h o o n c e w r o t e the f o l l o w i n g (to the editor of the Saturday Review, Oc- t o b e r 29, 1 9 2 7 ) : T h e press holds up a mirror to the author in which he may see himself clearly. If the paper, type, and composition are carefully chosen and harmonious, the author sees his work in a new guise. He may feel keen pride or shame. He hears a firmer, more detached voice than his o w n — a n implacably just voice—articulating his words. E v e r y - thing weak, trivial, arbitrary, or in bad taste that he has written is pointed up and comes out in clear relief. It is at once a lesson and a splendid thing to be beautifully printed.— Ilellmut Lehmann-Haupt, Neiv York. Recent Foreign Books on the Graphic Arts, Bibliography, and Library Science T h e v e r y nature of r e f e r e n c e w o r k d e m a n d s that a special c o m p i l a t i o n of r e f e r e n c e b o o k s be available f o r each c o u n t r y . O n the o t h e r hand, such w o r k s as W i n c h e l l and M a l c l e s are w e l c o m e as additional t o o l s f o r the r e f e r - ence librarian in c o u n t r i e s w h e r e l a n g u a g e s o t h e r than English and F r e n c h are spoken. The Handbuch der bibliographischen Nach- schlagewerki ( F r a n k f u r t on the M a i n , V i t - t o r i o K l o s t e r m a n n , 1 9 5 4 ; 258 p . ; D M 2 1 . 5 0 ) by W i l h e l m T o t o k and R o l f W e i t z e l is not as extensive as W i n c h e l l and M a l c l e s ; but it contains a t h o u g h t f u l selection of titles and both serves the purposes of the G e r m a n l i - b r a r i a n and amplifies W i n c h e l l f o r the English-speaking librarian. T i t l e s are a r r a n g e d in classified o r d e r w i t h brief i n t r o d u c t o r y essays p r e c e d i n g each m a j o r section. E n t r i e s f o l l o w the Prussian In- struktion, and f u l l y adequate b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n is p r o v i d e d . W h e n e v e r necessary there is a brief annotation, but all such an- notations are confined t o essential i n f o r m a t i o n . C r i t i c a l c o m m e n t is c a r e f u l l y a v o i d e d , and the user must turn t o o t h e r sources f o r evaluation of the v a r i o u s w o r k included. T h e r e is an a u t h o r , title, and s u b j e c t index, the latter confined to an index of the classification and c o u n t r i e s ( w i t h pertinent subjects listed u n d e r each c o u n t r y ) . T h e r e is a high d e g r e e of a c c u r a c y in the r e c o r d i n g of f o r e i g n titles, an i m p o r t a n t e l e - m e n t in any checklist of r e f e r e n c e b o o k s . A .472 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES