Note 16 — OF DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIONS OF BOOKS.

Those who desire to see examples of several classes of errors to be avoided can refer to the following works. On the new general Biographical dictionary: a specimen of amateur criticism in letters [signed Bolton Corney] to Mr. Sylvanus Urban [motto] London: Shoberl, 1839, 8o. A remarkable piece of criticism indispensable to every biographer or bibliographer.

Arithmetical books … being brief notices of a large number of works drawn up from actual inspection by Augustus de Morgan … London, 1847. See the preface and introduction to this valuable and interesting work. The English catalogue of books, 1864, makes an edition of this work with the date 1853, at 2s 6d. Being desirous of possessing this, I wrote to the learned Professor to know where it was to be obtained, and what difference there was, he replied:—“The difference between the 1st and 2nd edition of my Arithmetical Books, is the difference between something and nothing, which, let Hegel say what he will, is a very great difference. There is not any second edition, nor I think, will be.” Refer also to an article by De Morgan in the Companion to the Almanac for 1853, entitled “On the difficulty of correct description of books,” pp. 5 to 19, full of various and useful matter.

Handbook of Fictitious names of authors of the XIXth Century … by Olphar Hamst …, 1868, p. xi.

Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes par A. A. Barbier, 3e. ed., 1872, see the note by Olivier Barbier on the second page of the advertisement to the first volume.