Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts, Maps, and Drawings in the British Museum (Natural History)

Abstract

THE long interval which has elapsed since the pub lication of the second volume of this catalogue (see NATURE, August 25, 1904)—which followed the first (ibid., October 22, 1903) in reasonable time—is ex plained in the preface as due to other librarv work. Apparently the earlier sheets of this volume were completed and printed off before 1907, as we find no title associated with the name of Sir E. Ray Lankester, while the latest of his works referred to bears the date of 1906. In this con nection it may be noted that in some cases the full Christian names of authors, as in the case of Sir E. R. Lankester and Sir R. Owen, are repeated in. each entry, whereas in other instances, as in the case of Sir Charles Lyell, these are reduced to the initials after the first entrv. Apparently the compiler was compelled to follow the order adopted in the library catalogue at Bloomsbury, which will probably account for the sundering of such names as Loenn- bohm (p. 1163) and Lonnberg (p. 1175). Like its predecessors, this volume contains valuable biblio graphical information, and it is to be hoped that we shall have the pleasure of welcoming the fourth volume at an early date.