New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-10
aMrRrcAy LITERATURE NEUROPE.



ned to claim more general interest," ''' H. "
sable, a connected wtA the so"u iopu'''''" "
,be y:f.d States abroad. IL ]" hAe~i'' oo"
..,.lu,, he een, raj topic OF my two former
-. th.,. .ooseD Of the friends and The an-
80. -, the United States among European
.,,d among the different classes OF European
-, have stated that the antagonists are
.A;.o, 70 be found among the aritocracy, rot only
- t;rtb. but "f mind '--as 1t has been cal led
aewise. not only smcng the privileged classes aud
Naose connected with the Government interests
Nut among those who live IN the sphere ot htcrd-
1nre and art and look down with contempt upon a
,ociey in which utilitarlan motiVes are believed 70
he paramount. And have asserted that, these
differences in the opinions of certain classes left
.sdc the Germans as q whole, take more lively
and deeper interest in American affairs than any
ether nation. Sow am going to speak of book
inst ready 10 leave the press OF London publisher
xhich. while il il remarkable instance OF the
truth Of my assertion in reference to the Germans,
uust be considered az serving the interests OF the
United States by promoting the good reputation OF
American life in an uncommon degree.
The London book. trade has a firm Trtbner "
al
,r4tpre as well literature on America form prIn-
sjpal branch. 1t is the firm who have lately pub
I,Led the photography of American languages.
Mr.. Nicolas Triibner is German who has never
inhabited the United States, aud yet he risks his
time. labor and money in literary publications. Tor
which even vain endeayors would nave Deeb hiade
70 find IN American publisher.
The new publication of Mr.. Trubner, to which
have referred is a large octave volume OF 800
papes, under the title OF " photographed Guide
Ito American Literature. classed list OF books
"published in the United States Of America, from
"IsI7 to 1867. With photographed introduction,
"uotes and alphabetical index. Compiled and
"edited by Nicolas Tribner.'
This work. the editor and publisher justly be-
keyes s the first attempt TO marshal the literature
Of the United States of America during the last
Forty years, according to the generally adopted
bibiioorsphicsl rules. The librarian will welcome
il, no doubt as q companion volume to the great
and celebrated works Of Brunei, L0wndes and
Ebert while to the bookseller il is faithful guide
to the American branch of English literaturc-a
branch which, on account OF Its rapid increase and
rsing importance, begins to force itself daily more
and more upon his attention Nor Will the work
be of less interest to the man of letters, nasmuch
a it comprises complete tables of contents of all
the more prominent collections OF the Americans
" the Journals memOirs, proceedings and transac-
tons of their learned sOcietes-and thus furnishes
IN ineligible hey to a department OF American
scientific activity hitherto but imperfectly known
and understood i'll Europe.
This last remark has but too much truth in it.
The nited States, iD the opinion of the great mass
Of even The well-educated people of Europe, is
country inhabited by DatIOn lost In the pursuit OF
material interests, u country IN which the tech
nicaly applicable branches of some sciences may
be cultivated to certain degree, but
country esseIt italy without literature and
a..
much the worse for it-but almost without
books. Now, here Mr.. Triibner, a German,
comes out with list Of American books, filling
thick volume, though containing American publi-
cations only upward from the year lelI, from
which time he dates the period OF more decided
literary independence Of the United States.
Since no native-bOp, and even no adopted
American took the trouble of compiling arranging,
diCesting editing and publishing such work, who
ese but a German could take it ! Who else among
the European nations would have thought Amerl-
can literature worth the labor, the time, and the
money And let me add, that smaller work
Of u similar character, " The Literature oil
American Local History, by the late Dr. hermann
Iudewip WAS the work of a German likewise.
Nav be that the majority OF the American pubnc
will ascrbe but an inferior degree oi interest 10
works of this kind. The majority OF the pubic
Of other nations will do the same as II cannot b.
everybody business to understand the usefulness
of photography or of books containing nothing put
the enumeration and description oil books. One
thing, however, must be apparent: the deep inter-
est taken by some foreigners IN some OF the more
h}enl spheres of American life; and II 1t ls true
that the clear historical insight into its own devel-
ppment ideal as well as material, is one Oi the
most valuable acquisitions of nation, future
American generations will acknowledge the good
services of those foreigners, who by then hfIaf!
application contributed 10 avert the national caiani
nv of the origin Of the literary independence oi
America becoming yeiled in daI kness.
AS to 1rdbners work in particular 1t contains
nm introduction of interest to the general reader
Thus. under the head of contributions toward
"history of American literature he speaks of the
frst ana the second colonial, and of the hrst ana
second American period and OF forelgn writers ia
America lie then treats of education IN the Uni
ted States Of the introduction and the progress OIL
printing of the remuneration OF American authors,
Of the book-trade and its extent III the tnited
States Of newspapers and periodicals, OF American
printing presses, American Typography, type ioun-
dries paper binding, etc, Of the different classes
of public libraries in the Uuited States, etc.
Ii is strange that Mexico, III her own way, had
nm extensive work on Mexican writers and Mexican
Lte,s,uie, Is early as 1916 To 1921. In the former
wear the first in the latter the third and last
volume OF the great "BItioihooa HiSPdno Amri-
cana StphnirioRdi" Of Dr. jose WGrian0 Bsri-
stan de Sou.a appeared printed IN the city OF Mex
leo. This important work on all that appertains TO
the progress of literature and science IN Mexico
and the adjacent countries subject at the date OF
IT'S compilation to the crown OF Spsln-a work al
most unknown in Europe, and in general SO
Xsre that only few copies are known to exist
contains 3,6o7 literary notices. both biographical
end photographed or, in other words, ii speaks of
2.6s7 Mexican authors and their works Mr..
sJ'rt;bncr has made a collaton from one of the few