VOL. XV

No. 6

Notes and Announcements

Lovers of Charles Lamb and readers of
E. V. Lucas will delight in the happy
phrase coined by an American friend of
Mr. H. C. Shelley's who told him that her
dearest wish while on a visit to England
was to "go Lambing through London with
Mr. Lucas."

Henry Holt & Company are to publish
early in the year a book by Stanley Wash-
burn entitled "Nogi: a Man against the
Background of the War." Mr. Washburn
is author of "The Cable Game," a narra-
tive of a reporter's part in the Russo-Japan-
ese war, and it is said that during the war
he was one of the few men who came into
intimate touch with General Nogi.

The Cleveland Public Library is sending
out a little book of "Appreciations of Hor-
ace Howard Furness." A frontispiece por-
trait of Dr. Furness and two essays, "Our
Great Shakespeare Critic," by Talcott Wil-
liams, reprinted from the Century, and "Hor-
ace Howard Furness," by Agnes Repplier,
reprinted from the Atlantic, make up the
booklet.

The Penn Publishing Company announc-
es to the trade that beginning with Janu-
ary 1st the prices of all their juvenile
books were made net on the following
basis: all books formerly published at
$1.25, regular, will be $1.00 net; all books
formerly published at $1.00, regular, will

be 80 cents net; all books formerly pub-
lished at 60 cents, regular, will be 50 cents
net; all books formerly published at $1.20
net, will be $1.25 net; there will be a
new series for children to be published at
25 cents net.

The award of the Nobel prize in litera-
ture to Gerhart Hauptmann adds the thir-
teenth name to the notable list of men and
women who have been so honored. The
first award in 1901 went to Sully Prud-
homme. Those following him are: Theo-
dor Mommsen, Björnstjerne Björnson,
Frédéric Mistral and José Echegaray (who
shared the honor in 1904), Henryk Sien-
kiewicz; Giosuè Carducci, Rudyard Kipling,
Rudolf Eucken, Selma Lagerlöf, Paul
Heyse, Maurice Maeterlinck.

The translation into English within the
past year of the plays of August Strindberg
has awakened-or at least broadened—our
interest in Swedish literature. A work by
a Swedish novelist, Gustaf Jansen, intro-
duced as the "Kipling of Sweden," has been
published by Little, Brown & Company.
This novel "Pride of War," is a story of
the Turko-Italian war and is said to have
gained the commendation of European so-
cieties for the promotion of international
peace.

An advance list of some of the good
novels that will be issued during 1913 may
be obtained by noting the serial stories
which began their careers in the leading
magazines, either with this month's issues
or with the late issues of 1912. All of
these stories will be given book publication
later in the year, and the reader who
wishes to be abreast of the times, or even
ahead of it, may begin now the reading of
several excellent stories that will undoubt-
edly be the books most talked about some
months away. There is, it is true, a preju-
dice against the serial in many minds.
Readers prefer the story "all at once."
But to the reader with the "serial habit"
there is a particular pleasure to be gained
from the leisurely reading of a novel month
by month, with time to think it over in
between. A story worth reading at all
ought to be worth thinking about between
chapters. The offerings of the magazines
this year are unusually inviting. The At-
lantic is publishing "Van Cleve and His
Friends," by Mary S. Watts, an author

whose "Nathan Burke," and "The Legacy," won her a name as a writer of distinction. Edith Wharton's "The Custom of the Country" began in the January number of Scribner's and a story of John Galsworthy is promised later in the year by the same magazine. Following “The Judgment House," by Gilbert Parker, in Harper's will come a novel by Arnold Bennett, and in the Century a new novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, "T. Tembarom," has already begun its serial career.

Bibliography

"A Check List of American 18th Century Newspapers in the Library of Congress,' compiled by John Van Ness Ingram of the periodical division has been issued by the Library of Congress.

"A Select List of References on the Valuation of Public Service Corporations," compiled by Mary M. Rosemond of the Legislative Reference Department of the Iowa State Library has been issued by the National Association of Railway Commissioners.

"An Annotated, Graded, Classified and Priced List of Books Suitable for Elementary School Libraries" is issued as Bulletin no. 515 by the Department of Education of the State of New York.

The Chicago Public Library publishes a "Finding List" of the books for young people in the library. "Here are books for young people of all ages, from the little ones who can use only picture books, to the boys and girls who are attending high school. For those who have left school there are volumes on many subjects which will lead to self-improvement or selfeducation."

"School Libraries in Minnesota," a list of books for elementary and rural schools, compiled by Martha Wilson, has been published by the Department of Public Instruction, St. Paul, Minn. A statement of the school library law of the state, recommended lists for first purchase, suggestions for librarians and teachers and directions for ordering books precede the classified and annotated book list.

A list of "Books for Boys and Girls in the Free Public Library of Newark, N. J." has been issued by that library. It is a revision of the list published in 1906 and, as its introduction says, "is the result of several years' careful consideration of the best reading for children; for recreation; for education in the restricted sense of reading supplementary to school work; and for education in the broad sense of reading for general culture."

A second edition of the "Annotated Catalogue of Newspaper Files in the Library of the University of Wisconsin" has been

issued by the State Historical Library. The first edition, compiled by Emma H. Blair, was issued in 1898, and the present edition, the work of Ada Tyng Griswold, has been made necessary by the additions in the intervening fourteen years to the library's files.

Benziger Brothers have issued a "Catalogue of all Catholic Books in English," containing practically all Catholic books, with the exception of pamphlets, prayer books and school books, published in all the English speaking countries. The catalog contains an author index and a subject index made up of lists on: I. Doctrine, Instruction, etc.; II. Theology, Philosophy, etc.; III. History and Biography; IV. Sermons; V. Novels, Tales, Poetry, Drama; VI. Juveniles.

The American Historical Society has issued the fifth annual number of "Writings on American History," compiled by Grace Gardner Griffin. The present volume is made up of "a bibliography of books and articles on United States and Canadian History published during the year 1910, with some memoranda on other portions of America." A volume on "Writings on American History, 1902," was issued in 1906 by Princeton University. Since then a volume has been prepared annually.

Some Good Books of 1912

The writer confesses to a long standing desire to compile a list of Best Books. Everyone who has ever read one of those Best lists, whether measured by the hundred or by the yard, has had a similar experience. It is only the natural wish to remold it "nearer to the heart's desire." Yet when this list of the books of 1912 was partially completed courage failed. After all, who are we that we presume to set up a standard of what is best? So with a becoming reticence the compiler abandoned the superlative adjective in favor of the more modest title above. And this list is now offered for what it is worth merely as an opinion, very personal, as to the books of the year just past which stand out somewhat from their fellows. A dozen good novels:

Andrews, M. R. S., The Marshal; Austin, M., Woman of Genius; Bullard, A. (Albert Edwards), Man's World; Comstock, S.. The Soddy; Halifax, R., Whistling Woman; Jackson, C. T., Midlanders; Johnston, M., Cease Firing; Lucas, E. V., London Lavender; Ollivant, A., Royal Road; Pocock, R., Man in the Open; Pryce, R., Christopher; Sidgwick, E., Herself; Stephens, J., Mary, Mary.

Short Stories:

Connolly, J., Wide Courses; Mather, F. J., Collectors; Merrick, L., This Stage of

Fools; Van Slyke, L. B., Eve's Other Children.

Good Biographies:

Antin, M., Promised Land; Egan, M., Everybody's St. Francis; Hegermann-Lindencrone, In the Courts of Memory; Meredith, G., Letters; Paine, A. B., Mark Twain; Sinclair, M., Three Brontës. Books of Philosophy and Religion:

New realism; Palmer, G. H., Problem of Freedom; Perry, R. B., Present Philosophical Tendencies; Royce, J., Sources of Religious Insight, and William James and Other Essays.

Essays, and other non-fiction books worth reading:

Burroughs, J., Time and Change; Crothers, S. M., Humanly Speaking; Repplier, A., Americans and Others; Addams, J., New Conscience and an Ancient Evil; Bruére, M. B. and R. W., Increasing Home Efficiency; Coolidge, M. R., Why Women are So; Great Analysis; Bryce, J., South America.

A few good juveniles:

Burton, C. P., Boy Scouts of Bob's Hill; Eaton, W. P., Boy Scouts of the Berkshires; Holland, R. S., Knights of the Golden Spur; Rhead, L., Bold Robin Hood; Wade, M. H., Wonder Workers; Zwilgmeyer, D., Johnny Blossom. And the Very Best book for girls: Brown, Alice, Secret of the Clan.

Necrology

Miss Sophie Miriam Swett, author of many books for children died on Nov. 12, 1912, at Arlington Heights, Mass.

Will Carleton, author of "Farm Ballads," "Farm Festivals," of and other books verse, died in Brooklyn on December 18. He was born in Hudson, Michigan in 1845, and was known thruout the country as a poet and as a lecturer and reader from his own works.

James Otis Kaler died Dec. 11 in Portland, Maine. His journalistic career began when he was seventeen, and he wrote during his life time about 145 books for boys under his pen name, James Otis. His first story, "Toby Tyler," was published by Harper in 1877 and has remained, perhaps, his best known and most popular story.

Robert Collyer, an American clergyman with a somewhat picturesque life story died in New York on November 30, 1912.

After he came to America in 1850 at the age of 27 he followed for a time his trade of blacksmithing. As an itinerant Methodist missionary and later as a Unitarian missionary he began his career in the ministry. In 1860 he founded Unity Church, Chicago, and in 1879 was called to the Church of the Messiah in New York City, where he remained up to the time of his death. "Nature and Life," "The Life that now is," "Talks to Young Men," are some of his published works.

Homer Lea, whose book "The Day of the Saxon" was published but recently, died November, 1912, at his home in Los Angeles. Altho but 36 years of age at his death he had already won to a distinctive position in a movement just now of world importance. Since 1901 he had been associated with the new movement in China; he held a lieutenant-generalship in the reform army and acted as adviser to the leaders of the rebellion. "The Valor Of Ignorance," a military work considering the Chinese situation, was published in 1909, and he was at work on a history of the political development of China at the time of his death.

The Year's Best Sellers

The place of honor in the list of best sellers for 1912 goes to "The Harvester" by Gene Stratton-Porter. In the monthly summaries of most popular books it was mentioned eleven times.

Books mentioned five times:

Worth; A

The Winning of Barbara Hoosier Chronicle; Street Called Straight; The Melting of Molly.

Books mentioned four times:

The Iron Woman; Queed. Books mentioned three times:

The Following of the Star; The Money Moon; The Just and the Unjust. Books mentioned twice:

He Comes up Smiling; Tante; Fran; The Man in Lonely Land; To M. L. G.; Their Yesterdays; The Arm-Chair at the Inn. Books mentioned once:

Peter Ruff and the Double Four; John Rawn; Through the Postern Gate; The Lighted Way; The Red Lane; Where There's a Will; The Hollow of her Hand; The Net; A Romance of Billy-Goat Hill; Between Two Thieves.

-From the Bookman, Jan. 1913.

coll.

hist. history, -ical.

il. illustrated, -ion, -or,

S.

imp. imported.

incl. including.

introd. introduction,

ory.

Ja. January.

lang. language.

lib. library.

lit.

ture.

literary,-litera

mor. morocco.

Mr. March.

My. May.

no. number.

O. Octavo. (20-25cm. high.)

(O.) October.

obl. oblong.

p. pages.

pa. paper.

pam. pamphlet.

phot. photographs,

vures.

pl. plates.

pop. ed. popular edition.

por. portrait,-s. pref. preface.

pseud. pseudonym. pt. part.

pts. parts.

(10-12%

Names Used as Headings.

Entries are made preferably under the author's real name, but under the last initial or pseudonym, when the real name is not known or rarely used; under names of editors of compilations; under names of countries, states or their cities which are treated as authors of publications and of law reports; under names of societies or conventions, as authors of their transactions, journals, reports, and collections; under names of churches as authors of liturgies. catechisms, (local etc. churches, under name of place); under Bible when the book is a text or a paraphrase of any part of the Bible; under the first word, not an article, of anonymous works. Translations, abridgments, and indexes, are put under the original work.

hymn-books,

Parts of Names Used as Headings.

English compound names are put under the second part; foreign compound names under the first part. English surnames beginning with French a prefix are put under the prefix; in names, under the prefix excepting the preposition de and d'; in all other languages and in French names beginning with de or d', under the name following the prefix. British noblemen are put under their titles; bishops under their family names; members of royal families. canonized persons, and members of religious orders under their first name.

Prices.

a

Educational and technical books, sold at limited discount and commonly known as net books have an asterisk (*) before the price. the American Books subject to the rules of Publishers' Association are marked by a double asterisk (**) when the bookseller is required to maintain the list price; by a dagger (†), fixed at 20 when the maximum discount is and 10 per cent, as is allowable in the case of fiction.

When a price is changed, the book is recatalogued in the current number of the Index whatever may be the date of its publication.

Library of Congress Cards.

Numbers to be used in ordering the printed catalog cards of the Library of Congress are given at the end of the main (author) entry of each book. In many government publications, however, for which only subject entries are given, these numbers are attached to the subject entries.

When a book is entered before the Library of Congress card number can be procured, it is reentered in a succeeding issue of the Index with the order number attached. It will be necessary, for example, to look in the 1907 issues of the Index for the numbers of some books that were published in 1906 and catalogued in the 1906 Index.

In ordering cards by these numbers, the numbers should be arranged in columns in increasing order of the numbers. The number of copies wanted should be indicated after the card numbers with a slanting line between, e. g., 5-2850/4. The price of cards ordered by number is 2c. for the first copy and c. for each additional to For further information apply the copy. Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.