Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1851-03-14
opinion entertained of DR., Cogswel's fi,ne

| opinion entertained of DR., Cogswel's f,ne
for his position.
The plans for the edfice submitted by Mr.
Saeltzer having been adopted, the work wal
commenced and has been vigorously prosecu
! ted until the present time, when the front ant
nearly all the exterior are completed. The
| Library is of brown stone, and in the Byzan.
tine style, or rather in that of the palaces oil
Florence, and is one hundred and twenty feet
long, sxty.five feet wide and sixty.seven feet
high. Scarcely particle of wood enters into
its composition. No building in the United
States, of this character, is formed to so large
an extent Of iron. Its uses, too, are aliogerh-
er novel; at least in this country, and ingen-
ious. For instance, the truss beams, support
ing the prime pal weight of the roof, are con-
structed OF cast iron pipes, in parabolic form.
on the same plan as the irrn bridges in France
and other parts of Europe, with view to So
cure lightness and strength. The Library
Hall, which occupies the second floor, is one
hundred feet high, and sixty wide, in the clear.
The ascent from the front is by single line
OF thirly-eight Italian marble steps, decorated
on either side, at the entrance, by stone
sphinx. Upon nearing the summit of these
steps, the visitor finds himself near the centre
OF this immense alcove, surrounded by fourteen
brick piers, plastered and furnished in imitation
of marble, and supporting iron galleries, mid-
way between the floor and the ceiling. The
side walls form one continuous shelving, of
capacity sufficient for 100000 volumes. This
is reached by means of the main gallery, in
connection with which are four iron spiral
stairways and an intervening gallery, of
lighter and smaller description connected by
lis eight staircases with the main gallery. The
,l,, "A
proprateIy ornamentcd, in a style correspond
ing with the general architecture of the build
ing. AT an elevation Of fitty.one feet above the
floor of the main hall, is the principal skvght,
tiIty.four feet long aud fourtccn feet broad,
formed Of thick glass set in iron. Besides this
there are circular side skylighis Of much smaller
dimensions. All ncedul light is furnished, by
these and by the windows in the front and rear
walls. Free ventilation is also secured by iron
fretwork, in suitable portions of the ceiling
In the extreme rear are the two rooms for the
brarian, to which access is had by means of
the main galleries.
The first floor contains lecture and reading.
rooms, with accommodations for five hundred
persons. The latter are on each side of the
building, and separated from the library-hal
stairway AT the Ir1nt entrance by two corridors
leading to the rear veStibulc, and thence to the
lecture-roon, still further in the rear. The
basement contains the Keepers rooms, cellars,
coal-vaults, ar-furuaccs, &c. The floors are
Of richly-wrought mosaic work, on iron beams.
The building viii not be completed, probably,
for nearly year from this time, and the books
about 27 900, are meanwhile acces-
5 be at 81 Bond-streer.
DR.. CoIswel has had printed, in an octave
volume OF .i4G AN alphabe index to the
books now collected, and OF the proposed ac
cessions. This catalogue is not published and
there are but few copies of it. This letaned
librarian, who sailed few days ago on new
mission for the library, to Europe, printed it at
his own cost, convinced that without some
such manual it would be extremely difficult, if
not impossible, in making the necessary pur-
chases, to avold buyirg duplicates and equally
difficult to selec' jndlcIousv so many thousand
volumes AS are required. lie remarks that the
Astor Library is IN his opinion the first of so
considerable an extent that has ever been call
ed at once into existence. "That of GOtngen,
the nearest parallel, was founded more than
century ago, when the whole number of print
ed books we're less than half the present number.
Should the Astor Library ever become a paral-
lei to that in excellence and completeness, it
will be as great an honor to the new world as
that to the old"