AB - Bibliographies and Catalogs

2001

AB -- Bibliographies and Catalogs

Handbuch der Bibliographie [Handbook of Bibliography]. Georg Schneider, Friedrich Nestler. 6th, completely rev. ed. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, 1999. xii, 726 p. 25 cm. ISBN 3-7772-9910-3: DM 154.00 [01-1-003]

It was a surprise to see this venerable annotated bibliography of bibliographies "reborn" in a new edition after seven decades-the last new edition, the fourth, was published in 1930, and the fifth edition was a reprint of the fourth. But will it still seem current in an age when electronic resources are increasingly displacing the traditional printed ones? The work is 100 pages longer than before, but even so, several former sections have been omitted. The total number of chapters has been reduced from 16 down to seven. Each chapter begins with a historical and typological introduction. The bibliography lists are arranged in a logical sequence from the general to the specific. The entries are brief but adequate; unfortunately they lack some important elements: the publisher and the first and latest year of coverage. In the "title index" entries are under authors and editors, and actually under titles only for works without authors. The keyword index contains subject terms and country names, as well as names of persons, corporate bodies, databases, publishers, and cities gleaned from the entries.

Because of the sparse treatment of electronic resources, this volume represents more than anything a snapshot of the traditional print bibliographies at the dawn of an age defined by the search possibilities of the Internet and by the ever more frequent decisions that confront librarians: whether to buy the print or the electronic version. Considering that the era of print bibliographies is certainly not yet a bygone one, the Handbuch der Bibliographie accomplishes its objective well. [sh/hh]

La bibliografia: un'introduzione [Bibliography: An Introduction]. Gianna Del Bono. Roma: Carocci, 2000. 190 p. 24 cm. (Beni culturali, 22). ISBN 88-430-1588-5: Lit. 32,000 [01-1-004]

This introductory work is based on the author's long experience as a librarian at the National Library in Florence. Although no specific audience is mentioned, it clearly is aimed at library school students. The well-annotated list of bibliographic reference works is divided into logical categories, and the author's thoroughness is admirable. Unfortunately, especially for the intended audience, her work stops at the threshold of the digital divide. For readers outside of Italy, the volume is primarily useful for its excellent treatment of Italian bibliographies and catalogs. [sh/erh]

Stammbücher bis 1625 [Autograph Books to 1625]. Ed. Ingeborg Krekler. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1999. xxxiv, 404 p. 30 cm. (Die Handschriften der Württembergischen Landesbibliothek Stuttgart. Sonderreihe, 3). ISBN 3-447-04224-9: DM 176.00 [01-1-005]

Autograph books or "friendship albums" enjoyed considerable popularity from the mid-16th century onward as a vehicle for collecting parting messages from friends. Such messages often took the form of aphorisms, Biblical or literary quotations, or drawings, thus making these albums a rich resource for cultural, biographical, and literary research, especially as many such books belonged to people prominent in the scholarly, political, or economic life of their day. Efforts during the past 20 years to catalog and index these albums are beginning to make them much more accessible than in the past.

Krekler's catalog of Renaissance-era autograph books from the Württemberg State Library is one result of these efforts. Covering 61 complete books and eight fragments with some 9,350 entries, this is the first volume of a set that will eventually encompass a collection of 162 albums through the 20th century. As in other catalogs of this genre, great care has been taken both to provide a detailed account of the widely varied entries in each album and to characterize each album as a whole, highlighting the web of personal and cultural interconnections documented therein. For each book, a detailed bibliographical description is followed by a summary of the contents and descriptions of the individual entries. This catalog section is followed by indexes of persons (including brief biographical data for each), places, artwork (including themes and iconography), and artists. Literary references, unfortunately, do not receive the level of indexing accorded the artwork; even brief generic characterizations of quotations (e.g., "Bible verse," "epigram ") would have been useful. Even so, Krekler's work offers a wealth of information and insight to students of cultural history, as it opens up access to a neglected group of resources. [pfh/gw]

"Ins Stammbuch geschrieben..." : studentische Stammbücher des 18. und 19. Jh. aus der Sammlung des Stadtarchivs Göttingen: mit Abbildungen der Stammbuchkupfer ["Written in the Autograph Book... :" Student Autograph Books from the 18th and 19th Centuries in the Collection of the Göttingen Municipal Archives: With Reproductions of the Books' Copperplate Prints]. Ed. Maria Hauff, Hans-Joachim Heerde, and Ulrich Rasche. Göttingen: Duehrkohp & Radicke, 2000. 1 CD-ROM. (Veröffentlichungen des Stadtarchivs Göttingen, 7). ISBN 3-89744-134-9: DM 30.00 [01-1-006]

Any cataloging project has to grapple with the question of how much detail to provide, balancing concerns not only of cost versus use, but also how best to show relationships among objects. With the advent of digitization and electronic indexing, it is tempting to assume that these concerns (and the limitations they assume) have been swept away. This CD-ROM, an interesting combination of catalog and image album, contains 17,665 data items and some 800 reproductions and covers a collection of 316 autograph books. Ten indexes (persons, country of origin, place of entry, date of entry, language, quotations, illustration number, keyword, signature, and miscellaneous) can be searched up to three at a time, providing answers to a wide variety of specific queries in seconds. Even so, while quick access to certain combinations of facts and reproductions of actual pages represent a real advance in researching rare materials, the database is less suited to comprehensive analysis and the ability to see the big picture, so that print catalogs remain a necessity. [pfh/gw]

Die Stammbücher der Königlichen Bibliothek Stockholm: Handschriftenkatalog [Autograph Books in the Royal Library of Stockholm: Manuscripts Catalog]. Lotte Kurras and Eva Dillmann. Stockholm: Kungl. Biblioteket, 1998. xxvii, 227 p. ill. 30 cm. (Acta Bibliothecae Regiae Stockholmiensis, 60). ISBN 91-7000-177-4 (cloth): SKr. 500.00; ISBN 91-7000-177-4 (pbk.): SKr. 400.00 (Kungliga Biblioteket, Humlegården, POB 5039, S-102 41 Stockholm) [01-1-007]

This catalog presents descriptions of 80 autograph books dating from between 1580 and 1828. About half of these books belonged to Swedes, most of the rest to Germans, but the books' entries were made in many places throughout Europe. Included are books belonging to the statesman Axel Oxenstierna and the general Gustav Horn, and entries from Queen Christina and King Charles XI of Sweden, James VI of Scotland, and Christian IV of Denmark. The authors most quoted are Seneca, Horace, Cicero, Augustine, and Ovid.

For each book, entries are presented in chronological order. Descriptions are extensive and standardized after the practice of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum [German National Museum]. Additional features include a historical introduction, a bibliography, a register of signatures, five indexes, and 24 reproductions of art from the autograph books. In many ways it is a model catalog of this genre, although university enrollment registers that were used to help determine first names for some reason are not cited, and one would have liked to see references to biographical works alongside the relevant entries, instead of in the index of entry authors. [bs/gw]

Handschriftencensus der kleineren Sammlungen in den östlichen Bundesländern Deutschlands: Bestandsaufnahme der ehemaligen Arbeitsstelle "Zentralinventar Mittelalterlicher Handschriften bis 1500 in den Sammlungen der DDR" (ZIH) [Manuscript Inventory of the Smaller Collections in the Eastern Federal States of Germany: Inventory of the Former Project "Central Inventory of Medieval Manuscripts To 1500 in the Collections of the GDR"]. Comp. Renate Schipke and Kurt Heydeck. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2000. 323 p. 25 cm. (Kataloge der Handschriftenabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Sonderband). ISBN 3-447-04365-2: DM 198.00 [01-2-211]

The cataloging of medieval manuscripts is very labor-intensive and expensive. Thus in the absence of comprehensive catalogs, any inventory is a welcome step toward the eventual goal of complete coverage for Germany. Though the model for the physical format of this volume was the 1993 Handschriftencensus Rheinland (see RREA 1:18 ), the data collection has been ongoing since 1972 at the Zentralinventar Mittelalterlicher Handschriften (ZIH), headquartered at the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Several smaller projects for the manuscripts of this region also exist for Wittenberg, Dresden, Dessau, Zwickau, and Bosau.

This volume lists the holdings of 34 institutions, a total of 430 codices described in 491 entries. Over half are in the possession of the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek at Halle. It would have been helpful to mention the various existing cataloging projects at the larger libraries in this geographic region (e.g., Erfurt, Gotha, Greifswald, Leipzig, Weimar, Berlin), to spare the reader the effort of having to check Paul Kristeller's Latin Manuscript Books Before 1600 (München, 1993.) The entries themselves, listing mostly 15th-century Latin liturgical, theological, and legal manuscripts and fragments, are of necessity very brief. Author/title entries are complemented by several indexes: place of origin, date, scribe, provenance, former shelfmarks, as well as author and title.

Most of the manuscripts inventoried here are being made available for the first time, opening up new channels for research. [ch/hh]

An Index of Images in English Manuscripts: From the Time of Chaucer to Henry VIII, c. 1380-c. 1509. Ed. Kathleen L. Scott. Turnhout: Harvey Miller. 28 cm. (Brepols Publishers, Begijnhof 67, B-2300 Turnhout) [01-2-212]

The Bodleian Library, Oxford:

Fasc. 1. MSS Additional-Digby. Ann Eljenholm Nichols. 2000. 144 p. 8 l. ill. ISBN 1-872501-15-X: EUR 54.00
Fasc. 2. MSS Dodsworth-Marshall. Lynda Dennison. 2001. 192 p. ill. ISBN 1-872501-17-6: EUR 54.00

These two fascicles represent the first results of a very large project. The plan is to list and describe all English manuscript illuminations from the time of Chaucer to that of Henry VIII, arranged by library. The research team began with the holdings of the Bodleian Library, because a catalog of the illuminated manuscripts in that library had already been published previously. The first two fascicles include a Users' Manual that outlines standardized terminology employed in this project. Each volume contains a list of the manuscripts covered, a list of abbreviations, a catalog of the descriptions of the manuscripts, and an iconographical index. The latter, with an accompanying glossary of terms and frequently repeated scenes, is the most important part of each volume. An index of authors and works, and selected illustrations explaining certain concepts, conclude each fascicle. Compared to other catalogs of illuminated manuscripts in France, Germany and Austria, this includes a much more detailed description of the methodology that was utilized, which greatly facilitates use of these volumes. The system adopted for describing the illuminations is also well explained in the Users' Manual. Although the descriptions are very detailed, the value of this project to art historical research will be somewhat limited, because while brief bibliographic data are included, there is no information on the codicology or history of a manuscript, nor is any attempt made to determine its place of origin. The set describes only the illuminations of exclusively English manuscripts from a limited time period. [pb/ba]

Catalogus codicum manu scriptorum Bibliothecae Monacensis [Catalog of Manuscripts in Munich Libraries]. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 25 cm. [01-2-213]

Section 3. Katalog der lateinischen Handschriften der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München: Series nova [Catalog of the Latin Manuscripts in the Bavarian State Library, München: New Series]

Pt. 2. Die Pergamenthandschriften aus dem Domkapitel Freising [The Parchment Manuscripts of the Freising Cathedral Library]

Vol. 1. Clm 6201-6316. Günter Glauche. 2000. xxii, 227 p. ISBN 3-447-04161-7: DM 148.00

Günter Glauche, well known for his previous work on other Munich manuscript catalogs, presents here new descriptions of 225 parchment manuscripts from the library of the Freising cathedral. About half of these manuscripts originated before the 9th century. The concise introduction to this volume explains the history and significance of the collection, which was moved to Munich due to secularization. For the most part these manuscripts were already cataloged in the 19th century, but Glauche's descriptions are much more detailed than those in the 1873 catalog. Glauche adheres to the guidelines of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [German Research Council] in the organization of the catalog and in his descriptions of the manuscripts, which include, for the most part, the incipits and explicits of the texts, and notes on the origin of the manuscripts and their relationship to other manuscripts. The catalog concludes with a number of detailed indexes. It is to be hoped that this excellent work will soon be completed by the publication of the second volume. [ch/ba]

Historische Bestände der Fürstlichen Bibliothek Corvey [Historical Holdings of the Princely Corvey Library]. Ed. University Library of the University of Paderborn. Paderborn: Universitätsbibliothek, 1999- . (Universitätsbibliothek der Universität-GH Paderborn, Postfach 1621, D-33046 Paderborn, fax [49 5251] 603 829, e-mail: bibiothek@ub.uni-paderborn.de ) [01-2-214]

Alphabetischer Katalog [Alphabetical Catalog],Vol. 1 (1999)-7 (1999). xvi, 5,309 p.

Register [Index], Vol. 1: Titelregister [Title Index]. 1999. 840 p.

A microfiche edition (consisting in total of 35,201 titles; 73,942 volumes) of the most significant holdings in the extensive library of the castle of Corvey has existed for some time, but the catalog records describing the collection are not yet available in machine-readable form to libraries that own the microfiches. This very useful printed catalog is arranged alphabetically by main entry, but also contains numerous added entries that direct the user to the main entry. Call numbers are included. There is a title index, but no adequate subject index, no index by category of publication (for example, a list of the numerous musica practica), and no index of translators. It is hoped that more detailed indexes will follow. [sh/ldl]

Die Drucke der Offizin Haenlin in Dillingen und Ingolstadt von 1610 bis 1668: eine kommentierte Bibliographie [The Publications of the Haenlin Printing Shop in Dillingen and Ingolstadt from 1610 to 1668: An Annotated Bibliography]. Birgit Boge. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2001. vi, 990 p. 25 cm. (Beiträge zum Buch- und Bibliothekswesen, 40). ISBN 3-447-04346-6: DM 468.00 [01-2-216]

Gregor Haenlin and his son Georg, prominent printers in the cities of Dillingen and Ingolstadt, printed over 700 books during the period under discussion here, mainly dissertations, but also religious plays, sermons, literature for edification, calendars, and music. This book offers a lengthy essay about the two Haenlins, followed by detailed descriptions of each of the works they are known to have published, including title, collation, information about the manner in which an item was printed, about an initial congratulator or presenter, about the person being honored by a publication, and about the book's provenance. There are also selected references to other bibliographies that list these items. The thorough indexes include an excellent personal name index and an index of dissertations. Occasionally the author of this bibliography appears not to have distinguished carefully between doctoral dissertations and other types of dissertations (inaugural dissertations, practice disputations). Overall, this is an extremely useful, but also very expensive publication. [mk/ldl]

Bibliografia nazionale italiana. Tesi di dottorato [Italian National Bibliography. Theses and Dissertations]. Ed. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale. Milano: Editrice Bibliografica. 27 cm. Beginning with Vol. 43 (2000) this series will be issued in a numbered sequence plus the unnumbered annual Catalogo alfabetico annuale. ISSN 0006-1077 [01-2-217]

Vol. 43, No. 1. 2000. 208 p. Lit. 50,000 (2 issues per year), Lit. 70,000 (abroad)

Bibliografia nazionale italiana. Tesi di dottorato. Catalogo alfabetico annuale [Italian National Bibliography. Theses and Dissertations. Annual Alphabetical Catalog]. Ed. Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. Roma: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze. 30 cm. ISSN 1592-7326. (Editrice Bibliografica, Viale Vittorio Veneto 24, I-20124 Milano) [01-2-218]

2000. 2001. 344 p. Lit. 50,000 (1 issue + 1 annual cumulation per year), Lit. 70,000 (abroad)

The first annual cumulation of dissertations published in this special series of the Italian national bibliography (BNI) was issued in 1995 as a single alphabetical list (see RREA 3:21 ). In the following years, both format and indexing have been improved. The titles are now listed in subject categories according to Dewey Decimal Classification and indexed by name/title and subject indexes, using the numbered categories of the Gazzetta ufficiale. A concordance of the Gazzetta's numbers and terms is included. Apparently consistency is not a major concern of the BNI, for the pattern starting with volume 43 is to structure the first issue in this format, while the second issue (Catalogo alfabetico annuale) cumulates the full year's dissertations in alphabetical order. This second issue has the same indexes described above plus one that lists titles alphabetically under the DDC classes. This inconsistency from one half of the year to the next is irritating, and one hopes that the National Library in Florencewill change its practice. A single annual volume with a consistent cataloging and indexing scheme would be preferable. [sh/hh]

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