n i n 



B i c 



pied wita tneo.o^y, the second with jurisprudence and the 

 sciences and arts', the third and fourth with the belles 

 lettres, the fifth and sixth \viih history, and the last with a 

 general index to the whole, in which the book* are classed 

 according to the names of the author*. Probably no publi- 

 cation has contributed so much to make the study of bib- 

 liography popular as this elegant and judicious perform- 

 ance. Even at the present day it may be recommended as 

 the most attractive manual of bibliographical knowledge 

 that has yet been produced. Notwithstanding considerable 

 deficiencies, and also some inaccuracies, the student will 

 collect from it, more readily than from any other source, a 

 knowledge of the titles and best editions of most, not only 

 of the rarest but also of the most important works that had 

 issued from the press up to the time of its appearance. It is 

 astonishing what an extent of ground the author contriu s to 

 go over in his limited space. The articles which he describes 

 amount to above 6000 in number; and, in regard to many 

 of them, very ample details are given. The account of the 

 famous American collections of De Bry, for instance, extends 

 to 120 pages. Osmont's Dictionnaire Typographique, His- 

 torique, et Critique, des Livres rares, estimes, et recherclu'-s 

 rii tous genres,' 2 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1768; J. J. Bawer's 

 ' Bibliotheca Librorura Rariorum Universalis,' 7 vols. 8vo., 

 1 770-91 ; F. X. Laire's ' Index Librorum ab Inventa Typo- 

 graphia ad annum 1500, cum notis,' 2 vols. 8vo. 1791 ; Dr. 

 Adam Clarke's ' Bibliographical' Dictionary of the most 

 curious and useful books, in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, 

 and other Eastern languages,' 6 vols. 12mo. 1803, with a 

 Supplement, containing an account of English translations 

 of the classics and theological writers, published under the 

 title of the 'Bibliographical Miscellany,' in vols. 12mo., in 

 180C ; S. Santander's ' Dictionnaire Bibliographique choisi 

 du Quinzicme Sidele,' 3 vols. 8vo. 1805 ; Brunei's ' Manuel 

 du Libraire, et do 1' Amateur des Livres,' 2nd edit. 4 vols. 

 8vo. 1814, a very useful work; Dibdin's ' Library Compa- 

 nion,' 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1824; Goodhugh's 'English 

 Gentleman's Library Manual,' 8vo. 1827; Lowndes's 'Bi- 

 bliographer's Manual of English Literature,' 4 vols. 8vo. 

 London, 1 834 ; Ventouillac's ' French Librarian,' 8vo. 1829 ; 

 the ' Bibliotheca Historica Selecta' of B. B. G. Struvius, 8vo. 

 1 705, and greatly augmented by C. G. Buder, 2 vols. 8vo. 

 1 740 ; the catalogue of the principal historical writers ap- 

 pended to the Abbe! Lenglet du Fresnoy's ' Mfthode pour 

 Itudier 1'Histoire,' 6 vols. 4to. Paris, 1723-40, or that form 

 ing the second volume of the English translation of part of 

 the same work, by Dr. Richard Rawlinson, 2 vols. 8vo. Lon- 

 don, 1 730 ; Archbishop Nicolson's ' Historical Libraries of 

 England, Scotland, and Ireland,' 4to. 1776; the 'Lett res 

 Mir la Profession d'Avocat, et Bibliothc'que choisi des Livres 

 de Droit,' of M. Camus ; the catalogue of works relating to 

 natural philosophy and tho mechanical arts, annexed to the 

 late Dr. Young's ' Lectures on Natural Philosophy ;' the late 

 Dr. Mason Good's ' Study of Medicine,' 5 vols. 8vo. ) 829 ; 

 A. Baillet's ' Jugemens des Savans sur les Principaux Ou- 

 vragcs des Autcurs,' augmented par M. de la Monnoye, 

 8 vols. 4to. Amsterdam, 1724; Sir Thomas Pope Blount's 

 4 Censura Cclebriorum Auctorum,' fol. London, 1690; the 

 'Censura Litcraria,' of Sir Egerton Brydges, 10 vols. 8vo. 

 1805-09 ; Hartshornc's 'Book Rarities in tho University of 

 Bridge, 1 8vo. London, 1829. Under tins head also may 

 be noticed the learned and admirable work of D. G. Mnrlioi', 

 entitled ' Polyhistor Literarius, Philosophicus, et Prac-tirns,' 

 first published in 1688, but the best edition of which is that 

 of J. A. Fabricius, in 2 vols. 4to. 1 747 ; and the very erudite 

 and elaborate ' Onomast icon Literarium ' of C. G. Sax, or 

 Saxius, published at Utrecht, in 7 vols. 8vo. from 1759 to 

 1 790, with a supplementary volume which appeared in 1 803. 

 There is one class of books, which, from a peculiarity by 

 which they are distinguished, has frequently been treated by 

 in bibliographical works ; we mean the class of books 

 which have not the names of their authors on the title- 

 page. In 1690, Adrien Baillet published, not a very pro- 

 found, but still a curious treatise upon books of this descrip- 

 tion, under the title of ' Auteurs Dttguisls sous des noins 

 I'trungers, cmpruntcs, supposes, feints a plaisir, abrlgts, 

 chiffr^s, ren versus, retournd ou changes d'une langago 

 en unc autre ;' which was afterwards incorporated in the 

 fifth volume of La Monnoye' s edition of the ' Jugemens des 

 Savans,' along with many annotations and corrections. At 

 the end uf this dissertation, which is divided into four parts, 

 is given a list of false names assumed by authors, nh their 

 interpretation, u far as known, which extends to between 



sixty and seventy columns. A few years before the publi- 

 cation of Baillet's work, namely, in 1674, Vincent Plaeeius 

 had printed a small tract in 4 to. at Hamburg, entitled ' De 

 Script!* ct Scriptoribus Anonymis atquc P>eudomni> Syn- 

 tagma.' In 1708 this work re-appeared i.nder the superin- 

 tendence of the indefatigable Jo. Alb. Fabricius, and of 

 Mat. l>re\cr, a lawyer of Hamburg, enlarged to 2 vols. ful. 

 by the insertion of much new matter, and also by the addi- 

 tion of the following tracts upon the same subject, which 

 had been previously printed : ' De Noininum M 

 by F. Geisler, 1609, and again in 1071; 'Con'' 

 Scriptis Adespotis, Pscudi'pi^raphis, et S 

 John Decker, 1678 and 168C ; and ' !' 

 ad Placcium, qua Anonymorum et Pscudonymonirn 

 rago exhibitur,' by Jo. Mayer, 1689. To the whole was 

 now given the title of Vineentii Placcii Theatrum Ai 

 inorum et Pscudonytnorum.' To this should be addc 

 Supplement published in 1 vol. folio, and also in . 

 ;it ll:unburg, in 1740, by Jo. Ch. Mylius, in which is com- 



Srised a reprint of the preceding Supplement, published at 

 cna in 17 11, by Ch. Aug. Neuman, under the title of ' De 

 Libris Anonymis et Pseudonymis Schediasma. emu pi 

 observationes generates, ct Spicilegium ad Plarrii Thetx- 

 trum.' The original work, and the supplement of Mjlius, 

 together comprehend between nine and ten thousand a: 



But of all the works in this department of bibliography, 

 by far the most perfect and valuable is tho ' Dictionnaire 

 des Anonymcs et Pseudonymes" of the late M. Barbicr, ad- 

 ministrator of the private libraries, first of the Emp'-mr 

 Napoleon, and afterwards of Charles X. of France. The 

 first two volumes of the first edition of this admirable work 

 appeared in 1806, and were followed by two more in 180'J. 

 The publication of a second and greatly improved and en- 

 larged edition was commenced by the author in 1822, and 

 completed by him in 3 vols. in 1824,- about a year before his 

 death. A supplementary volume, which he left ready for 

 the press, has since been published by his son. The Dic- 

 tionary of Barbier is confined to works in the French and 

 Latin languages, but of these it notices between twenty- 

 three and twenty-four thousand. 



For further information upon the different branches of 

 bibliography the reader may refer to the Rev. T. H. Home's 

 ' Introduction to the Study of Bibliography,' 2 vols. 8vo. 

 Lon. 1814 ; C. F. Achard's ' Cours de Bibliographic,' 3 vols. 

 8vo. Marseilles, 1807; and the various publications of M. 

 G. Peignot: 'Manuel Bihliographiqne,' 1800; *Di< 

 naire de Bibliologie,' 2 vols. 1802; ' Repertoire Bibli 

 phique Universe!,' 1812; 'Dictionnaire Critique ct liib- 

 liographique des principaux Livres condamiifs au feu,' 

 2 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1806; 'Repertoire des Bibliographies 

 Speciales, Curieuses, ct Instructives,' 8vo. Paris, 181' 

 M. Peignot's scholarship, however, is not equal to his real 

 and industry. [See the articles LIBRARY and PRINTIM; ] 

 BICESTER, BISETTER, BIRCESTER, or BUR- 

 CHESTER, a neat market-town of Oxfordshire, 54 miles 

 N.W. by W. from London, and 13 miles N.E. by N. 

 Oxford, on the road from Oxford to Buckingham, up n 

 a small rivulet that enters the Charwell at Islip. S 

 think the name of this town is derived from the Bura, winch 



ID the neighbourhood; but others suppose, with 

 that it conies from Bernwood Forest, upon the rn. 

 which it was antiently seated. Bishop Kennet says that it 

 was originally a walled town, though no traces of the wall 

 now exist, and that it was built somewhere about A.D. C40 

 by Birinus, bishop of Caer Dor, or Dorchester, in Oxford- 

 shire. The place was called Caer Birin from its founder, 

 'and this one thing is worth the observing,' remarks Ken- 

 net, 'that \\liere>oever the Britains built a walled town, 

 they gave it the name, first or last, of the word caer, 

 which is derived of the Hebrew kir, and signified], in the 

 one and the other language, a wall ; ami when -vexer the 

 English coming in found the word caer in the name of any 

 town, they translated it by the word Chester, or center, whii-h 

 was the same to them as caer to the old Britains.' By 

 such a process, according to Kennet, the name Caer Birin 

 became Hirincestre, and then by contraction Bircester, and 

 ultimately Hiccster, as at present. These, however, are not 

 the unly Vnri'i-. which havu been given to tho name ; and a 

 confirmation of its connexion with Birinus is derived fiom 

 the f.n-t that his name has undergone changes analogous to 

 u the initial syllables of the town'sname. There cer- 

 tainly seems to have lieen here in the time of Birinus a 

 frontier garrison of tho West Saxons against the Mercians, 



