erience of Mr. Charles A. Cutter, the librarian of the Boston
Athenaeum Library, whose catalogue of the books in that institution, in
five goodly volumes, is a monument of bibliographical learning and
industry. Sabin's Dictionary is well printed, in large, clear type, the
titles being frequently annotated, and prices at auction sales of the
rarer and earlier books noted. Every known edition of each work is given,
and the initials of public libraries in the United States, to the number
of thirteen, in which the more important works are found, are appended.
In not a few cases, where no copy was known to the compiler in a public
collection, but was found in a private library, the initials of its owner
were given instead.

This extensive bibliography was published solely by subscription, only
635 copies being printed at $2.50 a part, so that its cost to those
subscribing was about $225 unbound, up to the time of its suspension. The
first part appeared January 1, 1867, although Vol. I. bears date New
York, 1868. It records most important titles in full, with (usually)
marks denoting omissions where such are made. In the case of many rare
books relating to America (and especially those published prior to the
18th century) the collations are printed so as to show what each line of
the original title embraces, _i. e._ with vertical marks or dashes
between the matter of the respective lines. This careful description is
invaluable to the bibliographical student, frequently enabling him to
identify editions, or to solve doubts as to the genuineness of a
book-title in hand. The collation by number of pages is given in all
cases where the book has been seen, or reported fully to the editor. The
order of description as to each title is as follows: (1) Place of
publication (2) publisher (3) year (4) collation and size of book. Notes
in a smaller type frequently convey information of other editions, of
prices in various sales, of minor works by the same writer, etc.

The fullness which has been aimed at in Sabin's American bibliography is
seen in the great number of sermons and other specimens of pamphlet
literature which it chronicles. It gives also the titles of most early
American magazines, reviews, and other periodicals, except newspapers,
which are generally omitted, as are maps also. As an example of the often
minute cataloguing of the work, I may mention that no less than eight
pages are occupied with a list of the various publ