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THE PRIVATE LIBRARY

THE

PRIVATE

LIBRARY

WHAT WE DO KNOW

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

WHAT WE OUGHT TO KNOW
ABOUT OUR BOOKS

BY

ARTHUR L. HUMPHREYS

NEW YORK :

J. W. BOUTON, 10 WEST 28TH STREET.

MDCCCXCVII

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PREFACE

ITH all the literature published on behalf

WITH

of Free Libraries-institutions which, after all, are of doubtful good-no one so far has written a book to assist in making THE Private Library combine practical useful qualities with decorative effect.

For many years I have had opportunities of inspecting and reporting upon Collections of Books in numerous Country Houses, and I must say that the condition of books in the greater number of them is chaotic. A man will talk about all his possessions -his pictures, his objets d'art, his horses, his garden, and his bicycle, but rarely will he talk about his books; and if he does so, all his geese are swans, or just as often, all his swans are geese. There are servants in every house qualified to do everything except handle a book. There is no reason why the Library should not be just as much a place

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