A New Introduction to Bibliography

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Specialized Tome Not for Everyone
Review: Gaskell (as it is known) was the textbook I used at UCLA for an Analytical Bibliography class which was a prerequisite for a class on Handpress Printing. It's not for wimps (UCLA, the Analytical Bib class, OR this work!). Hint: if you don't know what the term "analytical bibliography" means, do not buy this book (exception: if the book is required for your class in Analytical Bibliography!).

Gaskell is an astonishingly thorough one volume overview of almost everything about the transmission of printed text. It consists of only 438 pages, yet manages to cover book production from 1500 to 1950. Included are sections on printing type, composition, paper, imposition, presswork, warehousing, binding, decoration, the American and English book trades, machinery, etc., ad infinitum (it seems). The "Reference Bibliography" following various appendices thoroughly lists the resources to which one would refer for more indepth analysis (e.g., watermark catalogs, surveys of the book industry during historical periods, Stationer's Records ...).

The final section on "Bibliographical Applications" is probably the most complex, and also my favorite part of this work. It gives a fair overview, with examples, of bibliographic description of the kind one would find in an antiquarian bookseller's catalog.

This book is NOT a standalone resource for all aspects of analytical bibliography, though I can't imagine anyone working in this activity starting anywhere OTHER than with Gaskell. The only improvement would be an expansion to a 10 volume encyclopedia on the subject of analytical bibliography.

Rating:
Summary: From English to Publishing
Review: Philip Gaskell's dense book is not everyone's fare. I used this book for the first part of a graduate bibliography course, and I thank my prof for recommending it. Like most students, I picked and chose which portions were needed then for "getting over with" the course.

For the things I do now, I discover I have to go back to this timeless work, especially to discover why things are the way they are. It is highly methodical and detailed, boringly so sometimes.The "Bibliographical Applications" section is mandatory for anyone who must look at manuscripts. I believe every academic press should require that each new employee demonstrate an acquaintance with this section of the book.