of dedicating, in October, 1953, the James With the force and conviction which has en- Ford Bell Room of the University of Minne- deared Mr. Pargellis to his colleagues in re- sota Library which houses the great Bell search libraries, he insists upon the scholarly Collection of rare books and maps on discovery value of the genuine article, the rare book and exploration. itself as contrasted with the reprint or fac- The five essays, all brief, contribute facets simile. Colton Storm, in "The Specialized to the general theme of scholarship's debt to Collection" and Louis B. Wright, in "Ameri- discriminating collectors. The first paper can Book Collectors" return, in specific terms, by Theodore Blegen, dean of Minnesota's to the theme of the scholar's debt to the great Graduate School, nicely introduces the theme, American book collectors—those whose collec- puinting out the distinguished American com- tions have been added as integrated special pany of great collectors with whom Mr. Bell's collections to important research libraries, and name is linked: Huntington, Folger, Morgan, those whose collections have been established McCormick, Newberry, Clements, Ayers, as separately housed libraries for the use of Lenox, Chapin, John Carter Brown, Clark, the public. Arents, John G. White, Coe. Mr. Blegen The little volume, Book Collecting and gives us a thumbnail sketch of Mr. Bell, the Scholarship, is much like the one called Rare man, following with some detail on the Books and Research which was published by genesis of the Bell Collection and its final the UCLA Library in 1951, and there have scope. James Ford Bell's own remarks, en- been others recently. The one before us is titled "Bound Fragments of Time," state his not a monograph reporting new discoveries; credo as a collector and reveal the way in it is not a handbook to guide library curators; which his deep interest in trade provided him it really has in it little that is new, except as the key to collecting. This happy choice of a it places a description of the James Ford Bell theme led him to the search for records which Collection into the setting of which is it reveal the evolution of Western institutions worthy. On the other hand, it is always good during their spread and interplay with other to listen to men who know what they are civilizations throughout the world, especially talking about and who talk about important the western hemisphere, as it was discovered matters. Many of us will appreciate the and explored. trouble which the University of Minnesota has In the third essay Stanley Pargellis neatly taken to include us in the audience.—Andrew analyzes the rare book in terms of the essen- H. Horn, University of North Carolina tial factors—importance, demand, scarcity. Library. Recent Foreign Books on the Graphic Arts, Bibliography, and Library Science Joseph Gregor, for many years curator of Romance literatures. In the second volume, the noteworthy theatre collection of the there are resumes of 89 modern German Austrian National Library, is the editor of a plays, of which the great majority were new work that will be unusually useful in all written since World War I; 41 Italian plays reference collections. It is entitled Der Scliau- from the Middle Ages to Pirandello; 60 Span- spielfuhrer, and, like Der Romanfiihrer, is ish, Portuguese and South American plays, being published by the Hiersemann Verlag of ranging from Rojas' La Celestina to the Stuttgart. The first volume (1953; 375 middle of the nineteenth century, with only pages) deals with German drama from the one twentieth-century title; and French drama Middle Ages to about 1930 and contains me- from the Middle Ages to around 1910. The ticulous and thoughtful resumes of 274 plays, third volume, which is scheduled for the ranging from the Tropus von Bamberg (tenth spring of 1955, will include modern French century) and ending with Carl Sternheim's drama, Greek, Roman, Scandinavian and Der Snob (1920). The second volume (1954; Dutch drama, and the older English and 355 pages) covers modern German drama and American drama. The fourth volume will the first part of the section on drama in the cover recent English and American drama. JULY, 1955 315 Slavic and Balkan drama will be represented brarian Johannes Beer of Bochum, pp. 621- by the fifth and last volume. 1019; DM 26) concludes the series on mod- In both volumes published thus far each ern German fiction, with entries from Franz resume is signed by initials which are identi- Nabl's Der Odhof to Stefan Zweig's Schach- fied at the beginning. The sub-sections within novelle. each volume are introduced by brief, pertinent The five volumes of the work that have comments placing the dramatic literature of appeared thus far, two on German fiction the age in the proper perspective from the from the baroque to naturalism and three on standpoint of general cultural history. Each modern German fiction, are an invaluable entry includes full title, dates of first per- companion to all studies in German litera- formance and first printing (if in print, for ture. The meticulously detailed and accurate Gregor wisely includes a few significant pieces signed resumes are by teachers, scholars, li- available only in manuscript), the number of brarians, and book dealers who stand high roles (male and female), the setting, and fre- in their respective professions. quently a note on the idea of the play. The In addition to basic bibliographical infor- resumes follow the structure of the plays in mation, each entry contains notes on subse- detail. Each complete entry averages about quent editions, setting, period (in the case one page. There are indexes of authors, titles, of historical fiction), and type of fiction (i.e., subjects (i.e., dramatic forms), first printed historical, psychological, biographical, etc.). editions, and one- and two-act plays. At the end of each summary or group of In the first volume, Gregor reveals a broad summaries is a list of the more important understanding of the various periods of Ger- publications of the author. man literature in his selections as well as in A useful feature of this last volume on the treatment of individual titles. There are German fiction is an author index to all of thirteen sections corresponding to the im- the first five volumes and a title index to the portant periods of German dramatic history. last three volumes. A title index to the first German drama is given more space than that two volumes appears at the end of the second of any other language, but this is a natural volume. and understandable lack of proportion in a It might be well for librarians to note work edited by an Austrian and published in that each volume in Der Romanfiikrer as West Germany. well as in Der Schauspielfiihrer may be In the second volume, the problems of selec- purchased separately. tion were even more difficult, and there could Universitas Litter arum (Berlin, Walter de be differences of opinion with regard to plays Gruyter, 1953-) is a conspectus of all the which have been excluded. For example, stu- sciences by authorities in the various fields dents of the modern Spanish stage may well represented. Edited by Werner Schuder, a be annoyed to find nothing since Breton de los Berlin librarian, there will be twenty-seven Herreros and Hartzenbusch. On the other major articles on as many broad fields of hand, it must be recognized that the European learning and seven articles on the organiza- drama is such an enormous field that the spa- tion of knowledge, edited by Robert Teichl of tial limitations of five volumes of the size of Vienna. Six fascicles have appeared thus the first two make it possible to include only far, covering all of the physical and biological bonafide classics. The judgment of such an sciences, sociology, public relations, technology, authority as Joseph Gregor is as valid as that agriculture, history, and political science. of any dramatic critic or historian alive The work will be complete in eight fascicles, today. probably early in 1955. Each fascicle sells Like Der Romanfiikrer, Der Schauspiel- for DM6.50. filhrer will be an indispensable title in the Each article is divided into three major reference collection of any college or univer- sections, viz., definitions and position of the sity library and of most larger public li- subject under discussion among the other braries as well. It is the most comprehensive sciences, methods, objectives, and present state guide to dramatic literature of its type and of research in the subject, and the history of quality that is available today. the subject. At the end of each section is a The fifth volume of Der Romanfiikrer highly selective bibliography in all languages. (Stuttgart, Hiersemann, 1954; edited by li- The work, when complete, will be a useful 316 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES reference for scholars, librarians, students, the basic syntax will have little trouble in booksellers, and others in learned and bookish using this text. In addition, there is a full occupations. The various articles offer quick glossary which gives the special meaning of orientations into major fields of learning, a many words not in the dictionary of classical need frequently felt by those of us who must Latin. deal with many different subjects. The last From the same publisher comes another use- seven essays may well prove to be the most ful little reference work for librarians, Otti interesting of all to librarians, since they will Gross' Library Terms, Fachausdriicke des cover the following subjects: academies of Bibliothekswesens und seiner Nachbargebiete, sciences, by Wilfried Oberhummer; scientific English-Deutsch und Deutsch-English (Ham- research institutes, by Rudolf Geissler; li- burg, Eberhard Stichnote, 1952; 163 pages, braries, by Robert Teichl, museums, by DM7.20).