Catalogue of the Alexandria Library Company, 1856

File — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MS002-09-105

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

As noted in its introduction, the 300 copies of the 1856 catalog were created not as “a model catalog but such a one as would be practically useful to the readers of the library.” It serves as a guide to the collection as contemporary subscribers would have known it, covering the first 4,473 volume numbers for this period. For looking up numbers from the circulation records, it is easier to use the searchable catalog of surviving books or the online version. For later acquisitions, one may use the manuscript catalog that was in use internally from 1858-1860 which is arranged by number.

In addition to the aforementioned note on the catalog’s creation, the catalog also includes a historical note on the early history of the library and a copy of the 1799 act of incorporation.

Dates

1856

Extent

From the Collection: 8.10 Cubic Feet (13 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 record carton)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The catalog is arranged alphabetically, usually by author, but otherwise by title. Different volumes bear different numbers. A certain amount of cross-listing is also evident, most obviously through the appendix of Tours, Voyages, and Travels, containing works listed by country that also appear in the main catalog by author. Multi-volume works have the number of volumes indicated following their titles, their numbers end with hyphens to indicate an ascending number for each successive volume.

There are some variations in how titles are counted. The “Edinburg Encyclopedia” for example is listed as #1- with 21 volumes but under “Encyclopedia, Domestic” it is listed as “Edinburg” with 18 volumes and a separate 3 volume supplement at #19-.