4. America - Maps - Bibl. 5, Catalogning Libraries Public - Gt. B. - 16089 - Agenden ASTOR LIBRARY MAY NEW YORK To THE SEVEN ITALIANS WHO BY THEIR INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES OF AMERICA THIS VOLUME IS EARNESTLY AND REVERENTLY INSCRIBED. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS of Genoa who gave a New World to Castile and Leon; To JOHN CABOT the Venetian who planted the Flags of St Mark and St George side by side on the New Continent; To AMERIGO VESPUCCI whose name given to the New Hemisphere is a perpetual memorial of that enterprising Florentine; To PETER MARTYR of Anghiera whose Letters and Decades comprise the first History of America; Το JEAN VERRAZZANO of Florence who in the service of France checkmated Spain in her grasping policy West of the Line of Demarcation; To JEROME BENZONI of Milan who published the first Book of Travels in America after a residence there of fourteen years; And но And, last not least, to ANTONIO PANIZZI of Brescello, of the University of Parma, and of the British Museum, who, while Keeper of the Department of Printed Books, fully alive to the importance of the subject, and the necessity of collecting the literature of new countries while there was a reasonable probability of securing it with tolerable completeness, and, lest the literary acquisitions in all foreign languages might together dwarf those in the English, initiated the unrivalled collection of American Books described in this Catalogue. It was possible then with pains and economy to form the nucleus of such a department for the National Library of England, an opportunity now passed. To these ITALIANS therefore is due The Sevenfold Homage of Americans, and especially from one who has made American History and American Literature his life-long study. HENRY STEVENS of Vermont. London, the fourth of July, 1865. AVING for some years quietly indulged in an ill-defined notion that I might some day endeavour to achieve A HISTORY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE, including books relating to America, together with an account of Ameri can books above and below these levels; and well knowing the paucity of materials existing in the chief repositories, public and private, on both sides of the Atlantic; and feeling, at the same time, the inadequacy of existing catalogues, I consulted in the autumn of 1855 Mr Panizzi, the Keeper of the Printed Books in the British Museum, and after much discussion submitted to him in writing, at his request, on the 25th of January, 1856, a preliminary proposition for editing and printing a complete catalogue of the American books in the Library of the British Museum up to Christmas of that year, with the double purpose of letting the world know how rich, and the authorities how poor, was the National Library of England in this foreign department of literature in the English language. In this memorandum Mr Panizzi was reminded that in the autumn of 1845, shortly after I had drifted into the Museum from Vermont, with letters of introduction from my good friend Mr Jared Sparks, the historian, an amateur report upon American books not then in the Museum, was drawn up by me for him, at his particular request, the result of which was the accession to the library, through me, in that and the following year, of some ten thousand volumes. It was subsequently ascertained that in 1840 the Museum contained only about one thousand volumes of American books. Soon after Mr Panizzi's famous report of 1843, considerable orders were sent to Philadelphia through Mr Pickering, and some few American books were acquired in 1844 and 1845 through Messrs Wiley and Putnam. But down to the time of my report it is certain that the Library did not contain four thousand volumes of American books all told. From 1847 to 1855 the Museum acquired through me about six thousand volumes more, and some few volumes drifted in by presents. So that, at the time of my proposition to print, the Library of the British Museum contained about twenty thousand volumes of books printed in America, not including reprints of American books or books in various languages relating to America. In April, 1856, Mr Panizzi left the Department of Printed Books and became the Principal Librarian and Secretary, Mr J. Winter Jones taking his place as Keeper of the Printed Books. These changes, however, did not affect my proposition, as appears by the following letter, given in full, which explains itself: J. WINTER JONES, Esquire, VERMONT HOUSE, CAMDEN SQUARE, British Museum. MY DEAR SIR, LONDON, April 24, 1856. At your desire I embody in letter form the result of our several conversations respecting the American books in the library of the British Museum, and submit herewith my proposals for printing a catalogue of them. I estimate that at present there are about 20,000 volumes of American books in the Museum, about four-fifths of which have been supplied by me since the year 1845. In three years I am confident 20,000 volumes more may be procured, including the publications of the Southern and Western States, California, Canada, and Mexico. Considering these estimates I am of opinion that the printing of a catalogue of all the American books in the library, to be completed within the present year, will yield so many advantages that I am willing to undertake and execute it at my own expense and responsibility. I propose to do the editing, proof reading, etc. in the Museum, and all that I ask is a free and proper use of the Museum titles, of course under all necessary restrictions. Mr Whittingham (of the Chiswick Press), a gentleman well known to Mr Panizzi and yourself, would do the printing, and probably would never require more than three or four hundred titles in hand at one time. I will not now venture to enumerate the advantages of such a catalogue both to the Museum and to other libraries, and will only add, that if such a work is |