BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



527 



mes the first systematic and satisfactory treatise on 

 this subject ; Renouard's Catalogue d 1 un Amateur, 

 the first, and, for a long time, the best guide of the 

 French collectors ; the Bibliographic de la France, 

 the first work which showed how the yearly accumu- 

 lation of literary works can be recorded in the most 

 authentic manner. No less valuable are the works 

 of Peignot, Petit Radel, Renouard on the Aldines 

 (see Aldine Editions), and many others. 



In England, bibliography has not been so success- 

 fully cultivated as in France, although it contains 

 many rich public and private collections. The most 

 extensive catalogues of books which it can boast of 

 are those of the Bodleian Library, the British 

 Museum, the Advocate's Library, Edinburgh, (com- 

 piled partly by Ruddiman), the Harleian Library, 

 (compiled partly by Dr Johnson), and Sir Joseph 

 Banks's Library (compiled by Dr Dryander). None 

 of these catalogues pretend to much more than a bare 

 list of the titles of books, alphabetically arranged 

 under the authors' names. Catalogues compiled on 

 a scientific system, by which the reader is assisted in 

 his researches after books on a particular subject, 

 are not uncommon on the continent; but the only 

 extensive one of the kind in this country, to which 

 \ve can refer, is that of the Writers to the Signet's 

 Library, Edinburgh. The most splendid catalogue 

 perhaps ever published, is that of the Earl of 

 Spencer's Library, compiled by Dibdin, in four large 

 volumes, with numerous engravings. Of English 

 bibliographical works we may mention the Typogra- 

 phical Antiquities of Ames, Herbert, and Dibdin ; 

 Dr Adam Clarke's Bibliographical Dictionary and 

 Miscellany, 1803-6, 8 vols., an undigested and in- 

 correct work ; Dr Harwood's View of the various 

 editions of the Greek and Roman Classics ; Dibdin's 

 Introduction to the knowledge of rare and valuable 

 Editions of the Classics (latest edition 1827, 2 vols.) ; 

 Brydges 7 Censura Literaria (1805) and British Biblio- 

 grapher (1818); Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature 

 (1807), a silly compilation ; Savage's Librarian (1808); 

 Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron (1817) and 

 Tour in France and Germany (1821) ; Home's In- 

 troduction to the Study of Bibliography (1814); Dr 

 Robert Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica (1819, 4 vols. 

 4to), a work of stupendous labour and great utility ; 

 Moss's Manual of Classical Bibliography (1825), &c. 

 We may also refer to Ottley's Inquiry into the Origin 

 iind Early History of Engraving (1816), and Singer's 

 Researches into the History of Playing Cards (1816), 

 as being works which belong to important points of 

 bibliography. 



The learned Germans, little assisted by public, 

 or most entirely destitute of private collections, con- 

 sulting only the real wants of the science, have 

 actively endeavoured to promote it. Ersch is the 

 founder of German bibliography. He gave it a 

 truly scientific character by his extensive work, 

 Allgenieinfs Repertorium der Literatur (Universal 

 Repertory of Literature, 1793 1807), and by his 

 Handbuch der Deutschen Literatur (Manual of Ger- 

 man Literature). German bibliography is particu- 

 larly rich in the literature of separate sciences; and 

 the bibliography of the Greek and Latin literature, 

 as well as the branch which treats of ancient edi- 

 tions, was founded by the Germans. The first 

 attempt, in Germany, to prepare a universal biblio- 

 graphical work, was made by Ebert (q. v.), who 

 wrote, also, in the 10th number of Hermes, a review 

 of the whole modern German bibliography. The 

 !><K)ksellers' dictionary is a very valuable German 

 bibliographical work. A supplement is published 

 annually. The following are valuable German 

 bibliographical works in particular departments of 



zur Kenntniss der Bcsten Allgemeinen Ducher in tier 

 Theologie, 4th ed., Leipsic, 1800, and the continua- 

 tion of it by Simon, Leipsic, 1813; C. F. Burdach's 

 Literatur der Heilwissenschaft, Gotha, 1810, 2 vols. ; 

 W. Gf. Ploucquet's Literatura Medica, Tubingen, 

 1808, 4 vols. 4to ; T. G. Meusel's Bibliotheca His- 

 torica, Leipsic, 1782-1802, 11 vols. in 22 volumes, 

 not finished ; his Literatur der Statistik, Leipsic 

 1816, 2 vols. ; G. R. Bohmer's Bibliotheca Scriptorum 

 Histories Natiiralis, Leipsic, 1785-99, 7 vols. ; Alb. 

 Haller's Bibliotheca Botanica, Zurich, 1771, 2 vols., 

 4to ; Anatomica, Zurich, 1774, 2 vols., 4to ; Chirur- 

 gica, Bern, 1774, 2 vols., 4to, and Medicinte Practice, 

 Bern, 1776, et seq., 4 vols., 4to, &c. 



Italian bibliography is no longer what it was in 

 the times of Mazzuchelli, Audiffredi, and Tiraboschi. 

 A great indifference is almost universal in regard to 

 the public libraries ; the private collections are be- 

 coming more and more scarce, and the precious ones 

 of count Cassano Serra and Melzi, in Naples and 

 Milan, have been lately sold to England. The 

 bibliographical works of Italy treat principally of the 

 provincial libraries (one of the latest is Moreri's 

 Bibliografia delta Toscana, 1805) : Gamba's Serie de' 

 Testi (1812) is a very valuable work. The Dutch, 

 Spaniards, and Portuguese have, of late years, done 

 little for this science ; but the learned Bentkowsky's 

 Polish Literature (181 4) deserves the highest praise. 

 The count Zechenyi, a Hungarian, published a cata- 

 logue of all Hungarian works, Pest, 1799-1807, 

 9 vols., 8vo, and 1 vol., 4to. Russia has produced, 

 in the department of bibliography, little more than 

 catalogues. In regard to particular sciences, many 

 useful catalogues exist, commonly called Bibliotheca. 

 Well arranged and accurate catalogues of libraries, 

 which are rich in particular departments, may be 

 used with advantage by the bibliographer, as may, 

 also, the annual catalogue of the book-fair at Leipsic. 



Directions for the study of bibliography are con- 

 tained in Achard's Cours de Bibliographic (Marseilles, 

 1807, 3 vols.), Th. Hartwell Home's Introduction to 

 the Study of Bibliography (London, 1814, 2 vols.), 

 and Gabr. Peignot's Dictionnaire raisonne de Biblio- 

 logie (Paris, 1802-4, 3 vols.) 



Material Bibliography, often called, by way of emi- 

 nence, bibliography, considers books in regard to their 

 exterior, their history, &c., and has been principally 

 cultivated in France and England. The different bran- 

 ches of material bibliography (see also Bibliomania) 

 may here be mentioned : the knowledge of the an- 

 cient editions (incunabula, or, if classical authors, 

 editioncs principes), some of the best works on which 

 are, G. Wfg. Panzer's Annales Typograpfiici (Nur- 

 emberg, 1793-1803, 11 vols., 4to), coming down to 

 1536 ; the Annales Typographic^, by Maittaire 

 (Hague, 1719 et seq., 11 vols. 4to), which not only 

 contains the titles, but investigates the subjects of 

 works. More exact descriptions of particular ancien t 

 editions are found in Serna Santander's Dictionn 

 Bibliogr. der 15ie>ne Siecle (Brussels, 1805, 3 vols.) ; 

 Fossius' Catulogus Codicum, sec. 15, Impressor. 

 Bibliotheca: Magliabecchiana (Florence, 1793, 3 vols., 

 fol.), and others. The study of rare books, on ac 

 count of the vague principles on which it rests, is 

 more difficult than is generally believed, and easily 

 degenerates into superficial and capricious trifling. 

 This has been more injured than promoted by 1. 

 Vogt's Catalogus Librorum Rariorum (Frankfort and 

 Leipsic, 1793), and J. Jac. Bauer's Bibliotlmcu 

 Librar. Rarior. Universalis (Nuremberg, 1770-91, 

 12 vols.). We may also mention here the catalogues 

 of the books prohibited by the Roman church (hitli- 

 ces Librorum Prohibitorum ct Ea'purgutorum). For 

 the discovery of the authors of anonymous and pseu- 



sdrnce and literature: T. A. Novell's Autveisung t i olivinoiis works, we may use Barbier's Dtctionnairt 



