A History of Bibliographies of BibliographiesTaylor, Archer
History
A History of Bibliographies of Bibliographies
Taylor, Archer
Bibliography of bibliographies -- History
This section devoted to bibliographies of individual authors
exhibits some faults typical of Petzholdt's plan. A subdivision (pp.
156-166) without any heading begins the section and is terminated by
three asterisks in the middle of the page. Although it is set off
typographically, the lack of a heading makes it difficult to perceive
that we have in it a list of the very important biobibliographical
dictionaries of religious orders and learned academies. There is no
indication of this category in the table of contents and the names
of the religious orders and the academies do not appear in the
index. I do not see how one can readily find a biobibliographical
dictionary of the Dominicans or the Jesuits in this arrangement.
Not all of us can bring to mind immediately the names Quétif and
De Backer that are needed to find the references. In his list of
individual bibliographies Petzholdt goes so far as to include books
(not bibliographies, be it noticed) dealing with such artists as
Jost Ammann, Rembrandt, and Velasquez. He could have found another
place for books about famous publishers named Aldus and should
probably have made a special place for dictionaries of homonyms.[152]
He follows this section of individual bibliographies with a list
of books containing portraits ("Ikonographische Literatur," pp.
273-279). Its pertinence to a bibliography of bibliographies seems
debatable to me.
Petzholdt's execution of his plan leaves something to be desired.
He provides the obviously necessary table of contents, but fails
to include in it many subdivisions that he expresses by means of
headings or typographical devices or only implies by the arrangement
of titles. Experience teaches a reader that Petzholdt begins a
section with general works, often a modern annual bibliography,
proceeds through a chronological list, and concludes with specialized
antiquarian catalogues. This is an altogether logical order.
Subdivisions of a large category follow the general section. After
the general bibliography of medicine, for example, Petzholdt
continues with bibliographies of pathology and therapeutics (pp.
597-600). This arrangement makes necessary a full record of the
subdivisions in an index, but Petzholdt's index is only an author
index. There are occasional failures to include authors' names in the
index. We must judge these flaws kindly, for all men are fallible,
and bibliographers are no exception to the rule.
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