EXPLANATION. THE following communication from the secretary of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York will explain the origin of the present catalogue : "Extract from the inaugural address of President Barratt [January, 1891]”:— 'I have also some suggestions to make in regard to the library. It is: That the books from J. Morgan Slade's library, now in the members' reading room, be transferred to a separate alcove in the library, and that all reference books on architecture now in the library, and any others hereafter obtained, be added to it, and that it be named the J. Morgan Slade Architectural Library, to be used for reference only.' 'Extract from a report of the School Committee, March, 1891 : 'It was unanimously recommended to remove the J. Morgan Slade Architectural Library to the library room, and that all reference books on architecture now in the library, and all others hereafter obtained, be added thereto, and known as the J. Morgan Slade Architectural Reference Library, to be used for reference only, and under such rules and regulations as may be devised and adopted to govern the use of the same by the Library Committee.' "On motion, the recommendation of the [School] Committee was adopted by the Society." In accordance with the wishes of the Society a handsome bookcase has been erected, immediately opposite the entrance to the public reading room, in which is placed the original bequest from Mr. J. Morgan Slade's library, numbering 184 volumes, embracing, with a few exceptions, works on architecture and allied topics. In the present catalogue these books have this mark ‡ prefixed to their titles. The bookcase contains also all the books in the reference department of a strictly architectural character (embracing in the scheme of classification under which the libraries of the Society are arranged, classes G 8 and G 9), which have this mark † prefixed to the.r titles. The catalogue contains, besides the books placed in the J. Morgan Slade Library bookcase, all books both in the Reference as well as in the Circulating department of the Apprentices' Library that have any bearing, however remote, on Architecture or Building; so that the present list may be considered as a complete guide to all the works on, or illustrative of, these subjects contained in the library up to October 15, 1892. The work is divided into two parts: Part I containing an arrangement of the books under forty-two classes, which follow each other in alphabetical order, as may be seen by the synopsis on page 1. An alphabetical list of all the special topics contained in these classes is prefixed to Part 1, which will guide the user to the class or classes where books on any given topic may be found. Part 2 contains the same books arranged alphabetically by authors and titles. In case a given book cannot be found by means of the class under which it has been catalogued, the author's name, or the first word of its title where no author is given, will be easily found in its alphabetical position in this part, and will give all the information required. Both parts of the catalogue contain the authors' surnames, followed by their initials in Part 1, and by their full Christian names (where they could be ascertained) in Part 2, titles such as Sir, Captain, Jr., being printed in italics; so much of the title as was necessary to distinguish the book from every other in the library and to indicate (as far as a title is capable of indicating) the nature of its contents; the edition; the number of volumes in each work; the place and date of publication; the size; and the class number under which it may be found on the shelves. The titles, in so far as they have been copied, are in the exact words of the title-pages. In the few cases where it has been found necessary to add a word or two for the sake of clearness, the word or words so added will be found enclosed in brackets [ ]. Information added by the compiler after the title will be found in italics. This information is generally abbreviated and needs explanation: thus [cop. 1891] and [pref. 1891] mean that the year of publication is not on the title-page, but that the first book was copyrighted in 1891, and the other has its preface dated in the same year. Where there is no title-page the initials n. t. p. = no title-page, or t. p. w. = title-page wanting, are used. v. p. means that various places of publication (more than two) are mentioned, and n. d. means that no date of publication is given. Where there are more than two authors of a work only the first named is taken as a heading, and the others are indicated by the words, "and others," in italics. The size designations, 12°, 8°, 4°, etc., have no reference to the folding of the paper, but are meant to show, in an approximate way, the actual size of the book. Thus all books measuring from seven to eight inches in height are called 12; from eight to ten inches, 8°; from ten to fourteen inches, 4°; and above fourteen inches, Folio. A single dash indicates the absence of a preceding heading, a second dash shows the absence of a subsequent heading. Other abbreviations used besides those explained are: "ed." = edition or edited; "edr."= editor; "'enl." = enlarged; "rev." = revised; "transl." = translated or translator; "vol." = volume; "vols." = volumes. The abbreviations for names of places, such as N. Y. for New York, Lond. for London, etc., are so well known that it is presumed that the reader is familiar enough with them to need no further explanation. All books without a special sign preceding their titles can be taken out of the library for home use by readers having accounts. Books designated thus* can also be taken for home use by readers having a Demilt account in addition to their account in the Apprentices' Library. The by-laws explain the conditions to be observed in opening such an account. Books designated thus f, or thus ‡, are for reference only, and can be consulted only by making application to the custodian of the reading room. LIBRARY COMMITTEE FOR 1892. WARREN A. CONOVER, CHAIRMAN, 324 West 19th Street. GUY CULGIN, 118 East 61st Street, L. HORATIO BIGLOW, 76 East 9th Street, HENRY B. FISCHER, 110 Fifth Avenue, WILLIAM R. WORRALL, 254 West 46th Street, Committee on Purchases for the Committee on Purchases for the Committee on Purchases for the JOSEPH J. LITTLE, PRESIDENT, General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen, ex-officio, |