College and Research Libraries


items follows. M a n y of the latter seem more 
pertinent to the subject matter of the book, 
and more necessary to qualify and summarize 
because they are less familiar to the average 
librarian. 

A s a brief, introductory volume to certain 
of the problems encountered in the education 
of librarians, this text w i l l no doubt serve a 
useful role. O n e might quarrel with the title, 
since there are other m a j o r problems which 
have not been included. F o r instance, are 
there no difficulties in the training of r e f e r -
ence librarians, catalogers and administrators? 
In a second edition the present title might be 
amended so as to suggest more clearly the 
trend of the contents.—Harriet D. Mac-
Pherson, Drexel Institute of Technology. 

R a r e Bibles 
Rare Bibles; an Introduction for Collectors 

and a Descriptive Checklist. By E d w i n 
A . R. R u m b a l l - P e t r e . N e w Y o r k , Philip 
C . Duschnes, 1954. 53 p. $6.00. 
T h i s is a revised edition of the w o r k of the 

same title issued in 1938. Its compiler, the 
late Rev. R u m b a l l - P e t r e , w h o died in July, 
1954, is said to have been the only bookman 
who dealt exclusively with rare editions of the 
Bible. 

In scope and arrangement the two editions 
are similar, beginning with " I n c u n a b u l a , " 
continuing w i t h " P o l y g l o t s , " "English Bibles," 
"Bibles Printed in A m e r i c a , " " H e b r e w , G r e e k 
and L a t i n Bibles," and "Bibles in M o d e r n 
L a n g u a g e s other than English." T h e sections 
f o r " M i s c e l l a n e o u s Bible Portions" and " C u r i -
ous Editions of the Bible" cut across the 
other categories both in time and language. 

T h e r e are 378 items listed as against 345 
in the first edition, the incunabula section, 
increased from twenty to forty items, being 
responsible f o r the greatest number of addi-
tions. Aside f r o m this, the main difference 
between the t w o editions is in the character 
of the notes. In the first edition there w e r e 
occasional references to prices but these have 
been omitted in the revision and the descrip-
tions are limited to bibliographical and his-
torical data. 

Revision barely touched the bibliography. 
O n l y a half-dozen additions appear and one 
of these w a s published in 1838. I t seems 
strange that it w a s added while such a w o r t h -

APRIL, 1955 

while aid to the modern collector as the Pier-
pont M o r g a n L i b r a r y ' s catalog of their 
exhibition of Bibles in 1947 w a s not included. 
T h e number of volumes of the Gesamtkatalog 
has not been brought up to date nor w e r e 
later editions of w o r k s mentioned that have 
been brought out in new editions since 1938. 

T h e compiler made it clear that the basis 
f o r his selection w a s rarity coupled with some 
historic or distinctive feature. But for some 
unexplained reason he did not include a single 
one of the Bibles famous because of their il-
lustrations, for example, the Cologne Bible, 
the Lubeck Bible or the M a l e r m i Bible. 
A m o n g famous modern editions Bruce Roger's 
Lectern Bible is listed but not his W o r l d 
Bible. H o w e v e r it is individual taste that 
makes collectorship interesting and this is a 
useful handbook f o r a collector or historian 
of printing. 

T h e t w o editions are witnesses of the 
change in book production during these last 
t w o decades. T h e 1938 publication of 500 
copies reflects the fine printing of the day in 
the quality of the paper, the generous margins, 
and the eight illustrations which enliven the 
text. T h e 1954 edition of 600 copies has a 
slightly longer text compressed into ten less 
pages by crowding more w o r d s on a page of 
less attractive paper; there are no illustrations 
and the price is exactly double that of the 
1938 edition.—Bertha M. Frick, School of 
Library Service, Columbia University. 

Book Collectors 
Private Book Collectors in the United States 

and Canada. 10th rev. ed. N e w Y o r k , 
R. R. B o w k e r , 1953. 417 p. $20.00. 

T h e importance of the private book collector 
to librarians and to the f u t u r e of the libraries 
under their care is something too clearly evi-
dent and, indeed, too widely recognized to 
require either persuasive argument or elab-
orate demonstration. 

O n e has but to reflect upon some of the 
names which adorn the fagades and which are 
found engraved upon the bookplates of li-
braries large and small all across the land 
to realize that the private collector has in the 
past played, and in an increasingly prominent 
manner continues to play, a vital role in the 
development and enrichment of American 
libraries. 

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