College and Research Libraries B y L A W R E N C E S. T H O M P S O N Recent Foreign Books on the Graphic Arts, Bibliography, and Library Science J O U R N A L O F B I B L I O G R A P H Y Archiv filr Geschichte des Buchwesens. H e r a u s g e g e b e n v o n der H i s t o r i s c h e n K o m m i s i o n des B o r s e n v e r e i n s des D e u t s c h e n B u c h h a n d e l s . R e d a k t i o n : B e r t o l d H a c k u n d B e r n a r d W e n d t . F r a n k f u r t / M a i n , B u c h h a n d l e r - V e r e - i n i g u n g . V . I , 1 9 5 6 - ( I r r e g u l a r ; v . l ap- p e a r e d 1956-58; v . I I , fasc.1-5, in 1958- 59; to a p p e a r in fascicles a c c o r d i n g t o a v a i l a b i l i t y o f m a t e r i a l , b u t w i t h some 300-400 pages to a p p e a r e a c h year). If an American group were to undertake a publication such as this archive for the history of the book and the book trade on a comparable scale, it would probably insist on a $50,000 grant from a foundation and free- dom of a couple of expensive professors from all academic duties. T h e Germans are far too aggressive commercially and work much too hard to be held back by a mere matter of time and money. T h e imagination of the directors of the Buchhandler-Vereinigung and, most important of all, the competence of two strong editors, have made a go of the Archiv. It should be stated in this text and not in a footnote that both editors also must attend to other duties for the serious business of making a living and that they seem to have had no great subsidy for hav- ing handled labor of scholarly devotion. T o do justice to all parts of the Archiv that have appeared thus far would require far more space than can be devoted to any single title here. Actually, several of the titles in the first two volumes might well have been published as separate monographic works. In the latest issue v.II, Lfg.3-5, 1939, Rudolf Blum's "Vor- und Friihges- \ Dr. Thompson is Director of Libraries, University of Kentucky. chichte der nationalen Allgemeinbiblio- graphien" is a study which librarians may fail to read at their own peril. In sixty-six closely printed double-columned pages Blum analyzes the genesis of European national bibliography in a compact essay that might have been expanded four times. In the same issue E. H. G. Kloss has an essay on the printing firm of Weigand Han and his heirs in sixteenth-century Frankfurt/Main that runs to almost the same length. From Han's firm came works of Jost Amman, Fr. Dede- kind, Wendel Gut, Jorg Wickram, and many other much sought-after authors. Reimar Fuchs' "Die Mainzer Friihdrucke mit Buchholzschnitten 1480-1500" (v.II Lfg.- 1-2, 1958) belongs to that fraction of one per cent of doctoral dissertations that are actually worth a letter press edition. Fully documented and based on meticulous ex- amination of original documents, Fuchs's work is a major contribution both to the history of printing and the history of art. Libraries which are fortunate enough to own Schranm's Bilderschniuck der Friihdrucke would be well advised to slip the exchange copy of this Mainz dissertation into the set as an addendum. In the first volume (now available as a bound work) the collector and the librarian alike will growl at Margarete Zuber's "Die deutschen Musenalmanache und schongeisti- gen Taschenbiicher des Biedermeier 1815- 1848" (p. 398-489, in double columns). W e have been picking up these things for less than a dollar a piece; but now that their true value as documents of cultural history has been revealed, prices are running into the wild blue yonder. But this complaint is a compliment rather than a reflection on Miss Zuber's detailed and painfully accurate work. This genre as it appeared in Scandanavia, the Low Countries, France, Italy, and Danubia deserves treatment of similar calibre. It would be pleasant to ramble indefinitely ,412 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES on the various contributions to the Archiv, both shorter and longer. T h e final judg- ment on this important journal of bibliology can be expressed by the opinion that Ger- man is a "must" among the various languages that doctoral candidates for library science degrees are compelled to master. B A S E S O F T Y P O G R A P H Y J u l i u s R o d e n b e r g . Grosse und Grenzen der Typographic. Betrachtungen iiber typographische Griindfragen, wie sie sich in der Buchkunst der letzten sie- benzig Jahre widerspiegeln. S t u t t g a r t , C. E. Poeschel V e r l a g , 1959. 2 0 4 p . Julius Rodenberg's lifelong devotion to typographical studies, both historical and theoretical, has found a mature and provoc- ative summation in this handsome volume. He operates on the premise that "typograph- ical design of a book not only presupposes fundamental mastery of the laws of typo- graphy and their logical application by the printer, but also makes significant demands on his judgment, his intellectual percep- tion, his taste, and his education" (preface) . T h e first section of the book develops this notion with definitions and a brief history of typography since William Morris' day. T h e middle (and main) section deals with char- acteristics and application of printing types, always with a view to the end product, the book as it appears in the reader's hands. T h e last portion deals with special problems, the illustrated book, drama and poetry, the scholarly book, textbooks, juveniles, and the Bible and religious books. T h e r e is a full index. Rodenberg's mastery of his tkeme is clearly evident throughout the volume. He speaks of the modern and older masters of typo- graphical design in convincing terms of in- timacy, and his knowledge of types and their utility in various types of books and parts of a text is encyclopedic. Here is what may well be considered the most important gen- eral work on typography of the mid-twenti- eth century. There is no other work on the subject in print that can compare with Ro- denberg's work in scope, scholarship, clarity, and general readability. Its very modest price (DM 19.50) makes it a highly eligible piece for any typographical collection. D I C T I O N A R Y O F B O O K A R T S W a l t e r M a r t i n . Kleines Fremdworter- buch des Buch- und Schriftzvesens. Leipzig, Harrassowitz, 1959. 1 7 l p . This little glossary is a collection of some 2,100 words from all fields of librarianship, the book trade, and the graphic arts. For each word, there is a German phonetic pro- nunciation, etymology, and definition. Since the great bulk of these words are interna- tional in usage, Martin's little glossary will be useful far beyond the limits of East Ger- many. His selection of entries has been quite broad and few terms of importance in any language (other than German) have been omitted. T h e r e is a bibliography of other glossaries in the same field. S A X O N A R C H I V E S Ubersicht iiber die Bestande des Sachsis- chen Landeshauptarchivs und seiner Landesarchive. Leipzig, K o e h l e r u n d A m e l a n g , 1955. 2 9 4 p . ( S c h r i f t e n r e i h e des Sachsischen L a n d e s h a u p t a r c h i v s Dresden, I ) . This collection of essays by Saxon archi- vists is important not only as a guide to the Saxon Provincial Archives but also as a con- tribution to the theory of archival admin- istration. T h e introductory essay by Hellmut Kretzschmar traces the history of the Saxon Provincial Archives; and, like all soundly conceived histories of archives and libraries, it is replete with the wisdom of an experi- enced and competent archivist. As a whole the work is a model presentation of the holdings of a central archival depository and its affiliates. Illustrations and an extensive bibliography add much to its usefulness. If comparable works were available on archives elsewhere in the world, the work of the local historian would be much easier. T H E L A U B A C H L I B R A R Y E r n s t o t t o G r a f zu Solms. Die Laubacher Bibliothek. L a u b a c h (Oberhessen), S o l m s - L a u b a c h ' s c h e B i i c h e r s t u b e , 1957. 3 2 p . Richly illustrated, this little pamphlet de- scribes one of the famous old baronial librar- SEPTEMBER 1959 413 ies of Germany. Intact and with a history of over four centuries behind it, the Laubach Library contains representative German books published during its existence, and its holdings are distinguished both for content and for format. Some of the turbulent periods of German history, for example, Reformation and the dissolution of the mon- asteries, yielded rich collections to Laubach. At the same time a long line of book-loving Counts Laubach consistently added to the holdings in nearly every generation. T h e small but choice group of fifteenth-century books, the fine collection of early illustrated books, and various other landmark pieces of scholarship and typography make the Lau- bach Library one of the finest family collec- tions that has survived through the centuries. P O L I S H L I B R A R Y J O U R N A L Roczniki biblioteczne; organ naukowy bibliotek szkol wyzszych. W r o c l a w , Panstwowe wydawnictwo naukowe, v.l, 1957- . T h e first two volumes of the "library an- nals," organ of the Polish research libraries, contains articles of major significance for all branches of librarianship and bibliography. T h e r e are numerous illustrations and there are resumes, in both German and French. It is not possible to do full justice to all the articles in the first two volumes in this short note, but a few samples will be some indica- tion of the importance of their serial for research collections in the broad field of bibliographical studies. Particularly significant among the contri- butions to the first volume are Marta Bur- bianka's pioneer study of the bindings in the Breslau Archives from the sixteenth- century and Irena Voise-Mackiewicz's re- search in the baroque illustrations of Thorn imprints in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Both are extensively illustrated. Other articles deal with classifica- tion of maps, the origins of Polish journal- ism, and the first Polish manual of library science. In volume I I there are reminiscences of the noted Polish printer J a n Kuglin, the eighteenth-century printing house of Lorenz Mitzler in Warsaw, bibliographical notes on the religious poetry of Elzbieta Druzbacka, the sale of Hugo Kollataj's manuscripts, Po- lonica in the Breslau University Library not recorded by Estreicher, Silesian religious song books, statistics of publication of books and journals, the library of the Court of Appeals of Warsaw (now in the University Library in Warsaw), and studies of Polish paper manufacturing in the nineteenth century. T h e r e are detailed critical reviews, news notes, and obituaries in both volumes. B O O K C O L L E C T I N G IN S W E D E N J . V i k t o r J o h a n s s o n . Forsvar for boksam- laren. Stockholm, Wahlstrom och Wid- strand, 1958. Ny, omarbetad och utvi- dgad upplaga. 252p. T h e first edition of this book, which ap- peared in 1943, has long since been out of print, and the new edition is especially wel- come in view of the substantial extension of the fourth and concluding essay, "A Librar- ian Among His Own Books." This essay is based on Johansson's rich experience as an impecunious private collector whose perse- verance and learning nevertheless resulted in the accumulation of a choice private li- brary. T h e collection is largely composed of Swedish literature, but Johansson's account of his attitudes and methods is a fine state- ment of the common denominator that binds collectors together over the whole world. T h e three other essays are an apologia for the collector (the title essay), a study of original editions in wrappers (richly illus- trated) , and notes on five centuries of Swed- ish literature viewed through the medium of an auction catalog. Johansson is a persuasive, learned, and gently enthusiastic bibliomaniac who is certain to make converts to the book collecting game through his essays. D A N I S H P U B L I S H I N G H I S T O R Y H . P. R o h d e . Ernst Bojesen, Storforlaeg- ger i Humr, Kunst og Oplysning. Co- penhagen, Gyldendal, 1958. 247p. Few more colorful personalities than Ernst Bojesen have ever appeared on the Scandi- navian publishing scene. When Bojesen or- ganized Det nordiske Forlag in 1895, he offered a serious threat to Gyldendal, and the competition was ended only in 1903 when the two firms were combined as the ,414 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Gyldendalske Boghandel Nordisk Forlag. H. P. Rohde's lively and richly illustrated biography of Bojesen is a significant con- tribution to the history of European publish- ing and of Danish cultural life in all its aspects on either side of the turn of the century. Bojesen's early years receive an especially sympathetic treatment, for Rohde has always been able to enliven his studies on the history of the book with a sensitive insight into those human elements which make book history the most important ele- ment in general cultural history. T H E D A N I S H R O Y A L L I B R A R Y Fund og Forskning i det Kongelige Bibli- oteks Samlinger. V o l . V - V I , 1958-59. C o p e n h a g e n , D e t K o n g e l i g e B i b l i o t e k , 1959. 2 3 9 p . T h e rich collections of the Danish Royal Library have provided material for four earlier volumes of Fund og Forskning, and the possibilities for future volumes are well nigh inexhaustible. Of the sixteen pieces in the current double volume, the most inter- esting for us is P. M. Mitchell's " T h e Eng- lish Imprints of Denmark," a study of the use of English in books printed in Denmark from the eighteenth century to the present. Another foreign contributor is Ilse Schunke, the noted student of Renaissance binding. Her essay deals with the sixteenth-century Flemish binder, Anton Ludwig. Subject mat- ter of other contributions ranges from Mon- golian xylographic books to the library of Willibald Pirckheimer. At the end of the volume there is a section of resumes, mostly in English. There are numerous illustrations, including two double-page illustrations in full color of the Manutian editio princeps of Aristotle of 1497 with miniatures, pos- sibly by Diirer or executed in Durer's shop. Ib Magnussen and V. Thorlacius-Ussing study the role of Diirer and his employees in producing the miniatures for this Aris- totle. G A R D B E R G H O M A G E V O L U M E Bocker och manniskor. Hyllningsskrift till Carl-Rudolf Gardberg 9 September 1958. A b o , 1958. 2 3 1 p . ( S k r i f t e r u t g i v n a av H i s t o r i s k a S a m f u n d e t i A b o , V I ) . Of many highly competent Finnish librar- ians who forged a vital and effective library tradition in their native land, none has done more than Carl-Rudolf Gardberg to provide effective library service and to contribute significant original studies on the history of printing in Finland. His monumental study of Boktrycket i Finland (2v., 1948-57) is ex- celled in quality and scope by no other history of printing in any country of the world. T h e homage volume dedicated to Dr. Gardberg is signed by an impressive list of librarians, and the nineteen essays in the book are as important as the honoree's own work. T h e concluding article is a bibliog- raphy of Gardberg's own writings, some 300 pieces in all. It would be difficult to do full justice to the various essays. Krister Gierow's notes on the origins of the University of Lund Li- brary, Tonnes Kleberg's essay on an early eighteenth-century teacher of modern lan- guages in Uppsala and Abo, and Jorma Val- linkoski's study of the fate of the carelessly lent Abo manuscript are the solid mahogany of bibliographical scholarship. Henrik Gron- roos' investigations of eighteenth-century book auctions in Abo and Bengt Bengtsson's notes on early eighteenth-century printing techniques will be footnoted carefully in all scholarly investigations of these fields. T h e Gardberg homage volume will be a familiar reference in the notes of future bibliograph- ical scholarship. G E R M A N C A T A L O G I N G R U L E S Der alphabetische Katalog in allgemein- bildenden Bibliotheken. Anweisungen. T e i l I : R e g e l n . T e i l I I : B e i s p i e l s a m m - lung. 3, v e r a n d e r t e Auflage. Leipzig, V E B V e r l a g f u r B u c h - u n d B i b l i o - thekswesen. 1958. 2v. Simple, logical, and well organized, these highly abbreviated cataloging rules for East German public libraries also have lessons for research libraries in other parts of the world. T h e first volume deals with rules, and the second is devoted solely to examples. T h e rules are direct and unequivocal (but, as always, still differing from our use of cor- porate entry) and, in general, the language and intent are not subject to misinterpreta- tion. SEPTEMBER 1959 415