How to Form a Library, 2nd ed

(American.)—Cyclopædia of American Literature: embracing personal and critical Notices of Authors, and selections from their writings.... By Evert A. Duyckinck and George L. Duyckinck. Edited to date by M. Laird Simons. Philadelphia, 1877. 2 vols. Imp. 8vo.

–– The Poets and Poetry of Europe, with Introductions and Biographical Notices, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. London, 1855. Roy. 8vo.

(Polish.)—Bentkowskiego (F.). Historya Literatury Polskiey. Warszawie, 1814. 2 vols. 8vo.

(Russian.)—Otto (Friedrich). History of Russian Literature, with a Lexicon of Russian Authors. Translated from the German by George Cox. Oxford, 1839. 8vo.

(Spanish.)—Ticknor (George). History of Spanish Literature. New York, 1849. 3 vols. 8vo.

(Classical.)—A History of Latin Literature from Ennius to Boethius. By George Augustus Simcox, M.A. London, 1883. 2 vols. 8vo.

–– A History of Roman Classical Literature. By R.W. Browne, M.A. London, 1884. 8vo.

–– A History of Roman Literature. By W.S. Teuffel, translated by Wilhelm Wagner, Ph.D. London, 1873. 2 vols. 8vo.

–– Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature. Edited after Dr. E. Hübner, with large additions by the Rev. John E.B. Mayor. London, 1875. 12mo.

–– Guide to the Choice of Classical Books. By Joseph B. Mayor. Third edition, with Supplementary List. London, 1885.

Manuscripts.—Guide to the Historian, the Biographer, the Antiquary, the man of literary curiosity, and the collector of autographs, towards the verification of Manuscripts, by reference to engraved facsimiles of handwriting. [By Dawson Turner.] Yarmouth, 1848. Roy. 8vo. A most valuable alphabetical Index of the names of celebrated men, with references to the books where specimens of their writing can be found.

Mathematics.—Dictionnaire des Mathématiques appliqués.... Par H. Sonnet. Paris, 1867. Roy. 8vo.

Mechanics.—Knight's American Mechanical Dictionary.... By Edward H. Knight. London and New York, 1874-77. 3 vols. royal 8vo.

–– Cyclopædia of Useful Arts, Mechanical and Chemical, Manufactures, Mining and Engineering. Edited by Charles Tomlinson. London, 1866. 3 vols. roy. 8vo.

Medical.—The Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology. Edited by Robert B. Todd, M.D., F.R.S. London, 1835-59. 5 vols, in 6, royal 8vo.

–– A Dictionary of Practical Medicine.... By James Copland. London, 1858. 3 vols. 8vo.

–– An Expository Lexicon of the terms, ancient and modern, in Medical and General Science; including a complete Medico-Legal Vocabulary.... By R.G. Mayne, M.D. London, 1860. 8vo.

–– Cooper's Dictionary of Practical Surgery and Encyclopædia of Surgical Science. New edition brought down to the present time by Samuel A. Lane. London, 1872. 2 vols, royal 8vo.

–– Medical Lexicon: a Dictionary of Medical Science … by Robley Dunglison, M.D., LL.D. A new edition enlarged and thoroughly revised by Richard J. Dunglison, M.D. Philadelphia, 1874. Roy. 8vo.

Monograms.—Dictionnaire des Monogrammes, marques figurées, lettres initiales, noms abrégés, etc., avec lesquels les Peintres, Dessinateurs, Graveurs et Sculpteurs ont designé leurs noms. Par François Brulliot. Nouvelle édition. Munich, 1832-34. 3 parts. Imp. 8vo.

Music.—General History of the Science and Practice of Music. By Sir John Hawkins. London, 1776. 5 vols. 4to.

–– History of Music from the earliest ages to the present period. By Charles Burney. London, 1776-89. 4 vols. 4to.

–– Biographie Universelle des Musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique. Par F.J. Fétis. Deuxième édition. Paris, 1860-65. 8 vols. roy. 8vo.

–– Supplément et Complément, publiés sous la direction de M. Arthur Pougin. Paris, 1878-80. 2 vols. roy. 8vo.

–– Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Edited by [Sir] G. Grove. London, 1878. 8vo. In progress.

Mythology.—Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, edited by Dr. W. Smith. 1845-48. 3 vols. 8vo.

Natural History.—Dictionary of Natural History Terms, with their derivations, including the various orders, genera, and species. By David H. McNicoll, M.D. London, 1863. Sm. 8vo.

Natural History.—See Botany, Zoology.

Painters.—A General Dictionary of Painters.... By Matthew Pilkington, A.M. A new edition, corrected and revised by R. A. Davenport. London, 1852. 8vo.

–– A Catalague Raisonné of the Works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters, … to which is added a Brief Notice of the Scholars and Imitators of the Great Masters of the above schools. By John Smith. London, 1829-42. 9 parts. Roy. 8vo.

–– The Picture Collector's Manual, adapted to the Professional Man and the Amateur; being a Dictionary of Painters … together with an alphabetical arrangement of the Scholars, Imitators, and Copyists of the various masters, and a Classification of Subjects. By James R. Hobbes. London, 1849. 2 vols. 8vo.

Peerage.—Courthope's "Historical Peerage," founded on Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas's "Synopsis of the Peerage," is an indispensable work, but it only refers to English Titles. Mr. Solly's "Index of Hereditary Titles of Honour" contains the Peerage and Baronetage of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

–– The Official Baronage of England, 1066 to 1885, by James E. Doyle (vols. 1-3. 4to.), has just appeared.

Peerage.—Of the current peerages, Burke's, Dod's, Debrett's, and Foster's, all have their points of merit.

Periodicals.—Catalogue of Scientific Serials of all countries, including the Transactions of Learned Societies in the Natural, Physical and Mathematical Sciences, 1633-1876. By Samuel H. Scudder. Library of Harvard University, 1879. 8vo.—In this valuable list of periodicals, which is arranged geographically according to countries with an alphabet under each country, transactions and journals are joined together in the same arrangement. At the end there are an Index of Towns, an Index of Titles, and an Index of Minor Subjects.

–– An Index to Periodical Literature. By Wm. Fred. Poole. New York. Roy. 8vo. 1st ed. 1843; 2nd ed. 1848; 3rd ed. 1882.

–– Catalogue of Scientific Papers (1800-1863). Compiled and published by the Royal Society of London. London, 1867-72. 6 vols. 4to. (1864-73.) Vol. 7, 1877; Vol. 8, 1879.—Vol. 1, A-Clu; Vol. 2, Coa-Gra; Vol. 3, Gre-Lez; Vol. 4, Lhe-Poz; Vol. 5, Pra-Tiz; Vol. 6, Tka-Zyl; Vol. 7, A-Hyr; Vol. 8, I-Zwi.

–– The celebrated Dr. Thomas Young published in the second volume of his Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts (1807) a most valuable Catalogue of books and papers relating to the subject of his Lectures, which is classified minutely, and occupies 514 quarto pages in double columns. In Kelland's new edition (1845) the references are abridged and inserted after the several lectures to which they refer.

Philology.—Max Müller's "Lectures on the Science of Language"; Marsh's "Lectures" and "Origin and History of the English Language"; Abp. Trench's "English. Past and Present"; "Select Glossary."

Physics.—Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy. By A. P. Deschanel. 8vo.

–– Elementary Treatise on Physics. By A. Ganot, edited by E. Atkinson. Sm. 8vo.

Plate.—Old English Plate, ecclesiastical, decorative, and domestic, its makers and marks. By Wilfred Joseph Cripps, M.A., F.S.A. Second edition. London, 1881. 8vo.

Plays.—See Drama.

Pottery.—Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain of the Renaissance and Modern periods, with historical notices of each Manufactory.... By William Chaffers. Fourth edition. London, 1874. Roy. 8vo.

Prices.—History of Prices from 1793 to 1856. By Thomas Tooke and William Newmarch. London, 1838-57. 6 vols. 8vo.

Prints.—An Introduction to the Study and Collection of Ancient Prints. By William Hughes Willshire, M.D. Edin. Second edition, revised and enlarged. London, 1877. 2 vols. 8vo.

–– The Print Collector, an Introduction to the Knowledge necessary for forming a Collection of Ancient Prints. By J. Maberly, … Edited with Notes, an Account of Contemporary Etching and Etchers, and a Bibliography of Engraving. By Robert Hoe, jun. New York, 1880. Sq. 8vo.

–– Etching and Etchers. By P.G. Hamerton. New edition. London, 1876. 8vo.

Printing.—Typographia or the Printers' Instructor: including an Account of the Origin of Printing.... By J. Johnson, Printer. London, 1824. 2 vols. 8vo.

–– A Dictionary of the Art of Printing. By William Savage. London, 1841. 8vo.

Proverbs.—A Hand-Book of Proverbs, comprising an entire republication of Ray's Collection of English Proverbs … and a complete alphabetical Index … in which are introduced large additions collected by Henry G. Bohn, 1857. London, 1872.

–– A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs, comprising French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and Danish, with English translations and a general Index. By Henry G. Bohn. London, 1867.

–– English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases collected from the most authentic sources, alphabetically arranged and annotated. By W. Carew Hazlitt. London, 1869. 8vo. Second edition. London, 1882. Sm. 8vo.

Quotations.—Many Thoughts of Many Minds: being a Treasury of References, consisting of Selections from the Writings of the most celebrated Authors. Compiled and analytically arranged by Henry Southgate. Third edition. London, 1862. 8vo. Second Series. London, 1871. 8vo.

Quotations.—Noble Thoughts in Noble Language: a Collection of Wise and Virtuous Utterances in Prose and Verse, from the writings of the known good and the great unknown. Edited by Henry Southgate. London. 8vo.

–– Prose Quotations from Socrates to Macaulay, with Indexes. By S. Austin Allibone. Philadelphia, 1876. Roy. 8vo.

–– Poetical Quotations from Chaucer to Tennyson, with copious Indexes. By S. Austin Allibone. Philadelphia, 1875. Roy. 8vo.

–– A Dictionary of Quotations from the English Poets. By Henry G. Bohn. London, 1867. Sq. 8vo. Second edition. London. Sm. 8vo.

–– An Index to Familiar Quotations, selected principally from British Authors, with parallel passages from various writers, ancient and modern. By J.C. Grocott. Liverpool, 1863. Sm. 8vo.

–– Familiar Quotations: being an attempt to trace to their source passages and phrases in common use. By John Bartlett. Author's edition. London, Sm. 8vo.

–– Words, Facts and Phrases, a Dictionary of Curious, Quaint, and Out-of-the-Way Matters. By Eliezer Edwards. London, 1882. Sm. 8vo.

Quotations.—The Reader's Handbook of Allusions, References, Plots and Stories, with their appendices. By the Rev. E. Brewer, LL.D.... Third edition. London, 1882. Sm. 8vo.

–– Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.... By the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. Twelfth edition. London, no date.

–– A Dictionary of Latin and Greek Quotations, Proverbs, Maxims and Mottos, Classical and Mediæval, including Law Terms and Phrases. Edited by H.T. Riley, B.A. London, 1880. Sm. 8vo.

Receipts.—Cooley's Cyclopædia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions and Trades … designed as a comprehensive Supplement to the Pharmacopœia.... Sixth edition, revised and greatly enlarged by Richard V. Tuson. London, 1880. 2 vols. 8vo.

Records.—Handbook of the Public Record Office. By F.S. Thomas, Secretary of the Public Record Office. London, 1853. Roy. 8vo.

–– Index to the Printed Reports of Sir Francis Palgrave, K.H., the Deputy-Keeper of the Public Records, 1840-1861. London, 1865. By John Edwards and Edward James Tabrum. In one alphabet.

Ritual.—Hierurgia; or, Transubstantiation, Invocation of Saints, Relics and Purgatory, besides those other articles of Doctrine set forth in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass expounded; and the use of Holy Water, Incense, and Images [etc.] Illustrated. By D. Rock, D.D. Second edition. London, 1851. 8vo.

Ritual.—Hierurgia Anglicana; or, Documents and Extracts illustrative of the Ritual of the Church in England after the Reformation. Edited by Members of the Ecclesiological, late Cambridge Camden Society. London, 1848. 8vo.

Sports.—An Encyclopædia of Rural Sports, or complete account (historical, practical, and descriptive) of Hunting, Shooting, Fishing, Racing, etc., etc. By Delabere P. Blaine. A new edition. London, 1840. 8vo.

Taxes.—A Sketch of the History of Taxes in England from the earliest times to the present day. By Stephen Dowell. London, 1876. 8vo. Vol. 1 to the Civil War 1642.

Theology.—See Ecclesiology.

Topography.—A Topographical Dictionary of England.... By Samuel Lewis. Seventh edition. London, 1849.

–– A Topographical Dictionary of Wales.... By Samuel Lewis. Fourth edition. London, 1849. 2 vols. 4to.

–– A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland.... By Samuel Lewis. Second edition. London, 1842. 2 vols. 4to.

–– See Geography.

Wills.—An Index to Wills proved in the Court of the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and to such of the records and other instruments and papers of that Court as relate to matters or causes testamentary. By the Rev. John Griffiths, M.A., Keeper of the Archives. Oxford, 1862. Roy. 8vo. In one alphabet, with a chronological list appended.

Zoology.—Nomenclator Zoologicus, continens Nomina Systematica Generum Animalium tam viventium quam fossilium, secundum ordinem alphabeticum disposita, adjectis auctoribus, libris in quibus reperiuntur, anno editionis, etymologia et familiis, ad quas pertinent, in singulis classibus. Auctore L. Agassiz.... Soliduri, 1842-46. 4to.

–– Nomenclator Zoologicus, continens Nomina Systematica generum animalium tam viventium quam fossilium, secundum ordinem alphabeticum disposita sub auspicis et sumptibus C.R. Societatis Zoologico-Botanicæ conscriptus a Comite Augusto de Marschall [1846-1868]. Vindobonæ, 1873. 8vo.

2. Country.

A library in a large country house should contain a representative collection of English literature, and also a selection of books of reference from the previous list. Standard Authors, in their best editions, County Histories, Books of Travel, Books on Art, and a representative collection of good novels, will of course find a place upon the shelves. A book such as Stevens's My English Library will be a good guide to the foundation of the library, but each collector will have his special tastes, and he will need guidance from the more particular bibliographies which are ready to his hand, and a note of which will be found in Chapter V. Room will also be found for sets of Magazines, such as the Gentleman's, the Edinburgh, and the Quarterly, and for the Transactions of such Societies as the owner may be member of. The issues of Publishing Societies form quite a library of themselves, and an account of these will be found in Chapter VII.

We have seen on a previous page how Napoleon wished to form a convenient travelling library, in which everything necessary could be presented in a comparatively small number of handy volumes. Few men are like Napoleon in the wish to carry such a library about with them; but where space is scarce there are many who find it necessary to exercise a wise spirit of selection. This, however, each man must do for himself, as tastes differ so widely.

Auguste Comte succeeded in selecting a library in which all that it is necessary for a Positivist to know is included in 150 volumes, but this result is obtained by putting two or more books together to form one volume.

Positivist Library for the 19th Century

150 Volumes.

I. Poetry. (Thirty Volumes.)

The Iliad and the Odyssey, in 1 vol. without notes.

Æschylus, the King Œdipus of Sophocles, and Aristophanes, in 1 vol. without notes.

Pindar and Theocritus, with Daphnis and Chloe, in 1 vol. without notes.

Plautus and Terence, in 1 vol. without notes.

Virgil complete, Selections from Horace, and Lucan, in 1 vol. without notes.

Ovid, Tibullus, Juvenal, in 1 vol. without notes.

Fabliaux du Moyen Age, recueillies par Legrand D'Aussy.

Dante, Ariosto, Tasso, and Petrarch, in 1 vol. in Italian.

Select Plays of Metastasio and Alfieri, also in Italian.

I Promessi Sposi, by Manzoni, in 1 vol. in Italian.

Don Quixote, and the Exemplary Novels of Cervantes, in Spanish, in 1 vol.

Select Spanish Dramas, a collection edited by Don José Segundo Florez, in 1 vol. in Spanish.

The Romancero Espagnol, a selection, with the poem of the Cid, 1 vol. in Spanish.

Select Plays of P. Corneille.

Molière, complete.

Select Plays of Racine and Voltaire, in 1 vol.

La Fontaine's Fables, with some from Lamotte and Florian.

Gil Blas, by Lesage.

The Princess of Cleves, Paul and Virginia, and the Last of the Abencerrages, to be collected in 1 vol.

Les Martyres, par Chateaubriand.

Select Plays of Shakespeare.

Paradise Lost and Lyrical Poems of Milton.

Robinson Crusoe and the Vicar of Wakefield, in 1 vol.

Tom Jones, by Fielding, in English, or translated by Chéron.

The seven masterpieces of Walter Scott—Ivanhoe, Waverley, the Fair Maid of Perth, Quentin Durward, Woodstock (Les Puritains), the Heart of Midlothian, the Antiquary.

Select Works of Byron, Don Juan in particular to be suppressed.

Select Works of Goethe.

The Arabian Nights.

II. Science. (Thirty Volumes.)

Arithmetic of Condorcet, Algebra, and Geometry of Clairaut, the Trigonometry of Lacroix or Legendre, to form 1 vol.

Analytical Geometry of Auguste Comte, preceded by the Geometry of Descartes.

Statics, by Poinsot, with all his Memoirs on Mechanics.

Course of Analysis given by Navier at the Ecole Polytechnique, preceded by the Reflections on the Infinitesimal Calculus by Carnot.

Course of Mechanics given by Navier at the Ecole Polytechnique, followed by the Essay of Carnot on Equilibrum and Motion.

Theory of Functions, by Lagrange.

Popular Astronomy of Auguste Comte, followed by the Plurality of Worlds of Fontenelle.

Mechanical Physics of Fischer, translated and annotated by Biot.

Alphabetical Manual of Practical Philosophy, by John Carr.

The Chemistry of Lavoisier.

Chemical Statics, by Berthollet.

Elements of Chemistry, by James Graham.

Manual of Anatomy, by Meckel.

General Anatomy of Bichat, preceded by his Treatise on Life and Death.

The first volume of Blainville on the Organization of Animals.

Physiology of Richerand, with notes by Bérard.

Systematic Essay on Biology, by Segond, and his Treatise on General Anatomy.

Nouveaux Eléments de la Science de l'Homme, par Barthez (2nd édition, 1806).

La Philosophie Zoologique, par Lamarck.

Duméril's Natural History.

The Treatise of Guglielmini on the Nature of Rivers (in Italian).

Discourses on the Nature of Animals, by Buffon.

The Art of Prolonging Human Life, by Hufeland, preceded by Hippocrates on Air, Water, and Situation, and followed by Cornaro's book on a Sober and Temperate Life, to form 1 vol.

L'Histoire des Phlegmasies Chroniques, par Broussais, preceded by his Propositions de Médecine, and the Aphorisms of Hippocrates (in Latin), without commentary.

Les Eloges des Savans, par Fontenelle et Condorcet.

III. History. (Sixty Volumes.)

L'Abrégé de Géographie Universelle, par Malte Brun.

Geographical Dictionary of Rienzi.

Cook's Voyages, and those of Chardin.

History of the French Revolution, by Mignet.

Manual of Modern History, by Heeren.

Le Siècle de Louis XIV., par Voltaire.

Memoirs of Madame de Motteville.

The Political Testament of Richelieu, and the Life of Cromwell, to form 1 vol.

History of the Civil Wars of France, by Davila (in Italian).

Memoirs of Benvenuto Cellini (in Italian).

Memoirs of Commines.

L'Abrégé de l'Histoire de France, par Bossuet.

The Revolutions of Italy, by Denina.

The History of Spain, by Ascargorta.

History of Charles V., by Robertson.

History of England, by Hume.

Europe in the Middle Ages, by Hallam.

Ecclesiastical History, by Fleury.

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Gibbon.

Manual of Ancient History, by Heeren.

Tacitus (Complete), the Translation of Dureau de la Malle.

Herodotus and Thucydides, in 1 vol.

Plutarch's Lives, translation of Dacier.

Cæsar's Commentaries, and Arrian's Alexander, in 1 vol.

Voyage of Anacharsis, by Barthelemy.

History of Art among the Ancients, by Winckelmann.

Treatise on Painting, by Leonardo da Vinci (in Italian).

Memoirs on Music, by Grétry.

IV. Synthesis. (Thirty Volumes.)

Aristotle's Politics and Ethics, in 1 vol.

The Bible.

The Koran.

The City of God, by St. Augustine.

The Confessions of St. Augustine, followed by St. Bernard on the Love of God.

The Imitation of Jesus Christ, the original, and the translation into verse, by Corneille.

The Catechism of Montpellier, preceded by the Exposition of Catholic Doctrine, by Bossuet, and followed by St. Augustine's Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount.

L'Histoire des Variations Protestantes, par Bossuet.

Discourse on Method, by Descartes, preceded by the Novum Organum of Bacon, and followed by the Interpretation of Nature, by Diderot.

Selected Thoughts of Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Pascal, and Vauvenargues, followed by Conseils d'une Mère, by Madame de Lambert, and Considérations sur les Mœurs, par Duclos.

Discourse on Universal History, by Bossuet, followed by the Esquisse Historique, by Condorcet.

Treatise on the Pope, by De Maistre, preceded by the Politique Sacrée, by Bousset.

Hume's Philosophical Essays, preceded by the two Dissertations on the Deaf, and the Blind, by Diderot, and followed by Adam Smith's Essay on the History of Astronomy.

Theory of the Beautiful, by Barthez, preceded by the Essay on the Beautiful, by Diderot.

Les Rapports du Physique et du Moral de l'Homme, par Cabanis.

Treatise on the Functions of the Brain, by Gall, preceded by Letters on Animals, by Georges Leroy.

Le Traité sur l'Irritation et la Folie, par Broussais (first edition).

The Positive Philosophy of Auguste Comte (condensed by Miss Martineau), his Positive Politics, his Positivist Catechism, and his Subjective Synthesis.

Paris, 3 Dante 66 (Tuesday, 18th July, 1854).

Auguste Comte,(10 rue Monsieur le Prince).

This is an interesting list as having been compiled with special thought by a celebrated man, but in many of its details it is little likely to find acceptance with the general reader. It seems rather odd to an Englishman to find the Princess of Cleves included, while Shakespeare is only to be found in a selection of his plays. It is not Comte's fault that science has not stood still since 1854, and that his selection of books is rather out of date.

A list of a hundred good novels is likely to be useful to many, but few lists would be open to more criticism, for readers differ more as to what constitutes a good novel than upon any other branch of literature. The following list was contributed by Mr. F.B. Perkins to the Library Journal (vol. i. p. 166). The titles are very short, and they are put down in no particular order. Most of us will miss some favourite book, but two people, Mr. Perkins says, have agreed on this list within four or five items. He says he was tempted to add a few alternatives, as Amadis de Gaul, Morte d'Arthur, Paul and Virginia, Frankenstein, Rasselas, etc.

Don Quixote.

Gil Blas.

Pilgrim's Progress.

Tale of a Tub.

Gulliver.

Vicar of Wakefield.

Robinson Crusoe.

Arabian Nights.

Decameron.

Wilhelm Meister.

Vathek.

Corinne.

Minister's Wooing.

Undine.

Sintram.

Thisdolf.

Peter Schlemihl.

Sense and Sensibility.

Pride and Prejudice.

Anastasius.

Amber Witch.

Mary Powell.

Household of Sir T. More.

Cruise of the Midge.

Guy Mannering.

Antiquary.

Bride of Lammermoor.

Legend of Montrose.

Rob Roy.

Woodstock.

Ivanhoe.

Talisman.