Bibliographical encyclopedias, or universal reference-works of book information, should, if the promise of the title were fulfilled, con tain standard descriptions of all books of liter ary, historical or typographical interest, not only as they first issued from the press but also as they subsequently appeared in all the variant editions; but in very few instances has any approach been made to the realization of that ideal in the past, and at the present time the number of such standard works is very small, owing partly to the greater and more accurate detail now demanded, and partly to the absence of any sufficiently extensive or quite adequate system of co-operation among libraries. The nearest approach to such a work is the 'Catalogue of Printed Books in the British Museum,' which was begun in 1881, and, al though completed as far as the original alpha bet is concerned, receives additions continuously. In general character and plan somewhat closely resembling the British Museum catalogue, that of the Nationale' of Paris is still in course of preparation. Georgi's (Allge meines Europaisches Bticher-Lexicon,) in 11 volumes, was published at Leipzig in 1742-58. Especially noteworthy as a bibliography of the best and rarest editions of books is ). C. Brunet's du Libraire,' the original edition, of which was published in 1810. Its 5th edition (Paris 1860-65) was issued in six volumes, and two supplementary volumes ap peared in 1878-80. We mention also the (Tresor de Livres Races' by J. G. T. Graesse (7 vols., Dresden 1859-69) and Santander's 'Dictionnaire Bibliographique' (Brussels 1805-07).
The dictionaries of anonymous and pseu donymous works, the lists of prohibited works, etc., following °the many unexplored or partly . explored by-paths of literature," form a not unimportant branch of bibliography, and are usually classified as handbooks of literary curiosities.
In 'Bibliographies of Bibliographies,' by A. G. S. Josephson (2d ed., originally published in the Bulletin and concluded in the (Papers' of the Biographical Society of America), may be found a list of works devoted to the catalogu ing of bibliographies on all kinds of subjects. Among these are Peignot's (Repertoire de bibliographies speciales, curieuses et instruc tives' (Paris 1810) ; Petzholdt's Bibliographica' (Leipzig 1866) ; Stein's ( Man uel de bibliographie generale) (Paris 1898), and Vallee's (Bibliographie des Bibliographies' (Paris 1883-87).
The Chief Bibliographer of the Library of Congress, Mr. H. H. B. Meyer, calls special attention to the value of such publications as (The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature' and its supplement, to (The Cumulative Book Index,' (The Index of Legal Periodicals,' the Index' and the (Engineering Every student of bibliography is glad to acknowledge his obligations also to the bibli ographical periodicals, °bibliographical litera ture in magazine form, constituting a great storehouse of book• to the notices and.criticisms of new books in the publications of a general and popular character; and to those 'inventories of particular collections of books,' the printed catalogues of libraries large and small, public and private.
In regard to the compilation of bibliogra phies, Mr. Feipel writes that the various biblio graphic details fall into the tnore or kss well defined groups or categories: authorship, title, subject, literary form, place and date of publi cation, size, binding, price, typography, number of copies printed, edition, etc.; and upon the
scope and aim of the particular piece of bibli ographic work depends the decision to omit or to include any of these details. Naturally the perfection of the work when completed will be found to depend in great measure upon the good judgment manifested in such careful se lection of the items. Moreover, good judgtnent must be shown in deciding whether to cast the bibliography in the narrative form or the cata logue form, the choice depending—in this mat ter also—upon the object to be attained and the scope of the work. The narrative form is 'particularly adapted to treatises intended to be read as a whole, while the catalogue fornf is better suited for occasional or particular ref erence. In either case, a logical arrangement of the subject-matter is essential for proper presentation and consultation. In short, the ideal of bibliographical exposition is that which supplies the greatest number of wants with the least expense of time and effort on the part of the user. . . . Scholarly bibliography- usually involves a great deal of research on the part of the compiler; and a thorough knowledge of bibliographical sources afid authorities, as well as of general reference books, is of prime im portance.° In conclusion we refer once more to the all important consideration of the utility of this art; and shall treat briefly of the requirements of librarians, of private book collectors and of students— the three chief groups of persons who profit by bibliography most directly.
The librarian considers both the contents and the externals of the books he collects, for his aim is naturally to supply the wants of all comers. Theoretically, it- is his privilege to strive to have his library contain books on all topics and representative works— or even all the'work— of all good writers; nut since this is an unattainable end as well as an ideal of questionable worth, he works up to it as rea sonably as he sees fit and as nearly as his re sources allow. And for his work of buying, making sure that the books arc complete and of the best editions, cataloguing them, and filling up gaps in the collection, bibliography is without doubt his most essential tool.° Now, the pri vate book collector, not being obliged to take account of the tastes and requirements of other people, but on the contrary devoting his leisure to the quest of such books as he himself cares for, very often appraises his acquisitions "not according to their use as reading-matter, but according to their origin, their history and their scarcity. They are prized not so much for what they contain as for what they are, namely, specitnens of an art that can never be replaced.° For hitn, then, bibliography's utility is measured by the correctness of its replies to these or Annilar questions: What books exist? What conititutes a complete copy of each? Which are rare and which abundant? But the studenes wants are unquestionably those that have re ceived most solicitous attention; and the fact has been clearly receIgnized that bibliography Serves him far less as a technical description of books, far more as a guide to literature: 'It is a guide to the contents of books, rather than to their external peculiarities, that he re quires.° See BIRLIONIANIA.