The Irish standard., 1909-03-20
PRICELESS BOOKS.
Rare Volumes in Cardinal Gibbons
Fine Library.

4fs35riq FIUe Library
One afflicted with bibliomania would
surely be tempted to pilfer If given
wide range in the arch-diocesan library
of Cardinal Gibbons, says a writer in
the Baltimore Sun.
Il Books are there in abundance-15,-
Z 900 of them, in bindings of the old an"
i the new schools-bindings and paper
which represent the earliest work In
the art and books that are at once the
envy and the admiration of other
though larger libraries.
The works of the library are guard.
ed with the greatest care. The Rev.
Louis O'Donovan, secretary to thu
Cardinal, is the custodian, and every
volume is carefully arranged and &C.
counted for.
The collection represents the work
q OF a century, from the time when A.ch-
bishop Marechal laid the cornerstone
of the grand old cathedral, in 1921,
until the present day. The great part
Of the books are from the famous old
shops of Teubner, in Leipzig; Albrizzi,
in Venice, and Shrey, in Germany. Thu
printing establishment of Agrippa is
also we'll represented.
Should you go to the library you are
at first struck by the simplicity of de-
tail and the economy of space. The
ceiling is frescoed in imitation Of the
sky, there being a representation Of
the sun, the moon, the stars and plan.
cts In golden frieze work.
At intervals in miniature alcoves
stand busts and statuettes Of the for-
rner prelates of the See of Baltimore.
These were Archbishops John Carroll,
Ambrose Marechal, Leonard Nealc,
James Whitfield Samuel Eccleston.
Francis P. Kenrick, Martin L. Spald-
ing and James Roosevelt Bayley, a rel
alive Of President Roosevelt and the
predecessor of Cardinal Gibbons.
On examining some of the old works
enc is struck with the durability CT
the leather and cloth used in the early
cloth used, for most Of the works of
those times were bound in hand carv-
ed, decorated and gilded leather, which
naturally made a volume a costly pos
session. The worth of leather for
bindings is we'll proved by the fact chat
most of the books in the Cardinals
library are in almost perfect condition
There arc many books from the
library Of Charles Carroll Of Carroll
ton, most OF them regarding the doings
of the early American Congress. Eacn
volume has the signature of Charles
Carroll, Of Carrolton, on the title page
in free, bold hand.
One Of the books is entitled "Ex-
s-5tracts from the Notes and Proceedings
of the American Continental Congress.
Printed at Annapolis by Anna Gather
zine Green and Son, 1774." The records
have to do with the work of the con-
vention held at Philadelphia in Sep
TENDER. 1874.
No one could set price on the many
books at the Cardinals library. Most
of them are not only out Of print, but
could not be duplicated to other libra
ries. The clergy at the Cathedral say
that these works are priceless.
There is a dictionary OF Eye Eng.
l.sh Language" modestly tucked away
iii an obscure corner. 1t bears on thu
title page the fact that it was writer,
by Thomas Sheridan, M. A., and was
4 published in Philadelphia in 1889.
bear many of the traits Of the old Eng
lish NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and var
bosity.
There are thousands Of books dating
back almost to the discovery OF print
\ ing. The works Of st. Augustine, en-
bracing his letters and studies, bear
the year 1929 on the first page and
were printed in Venice. Each of the
eight volumes is about foot and 8
half long, a. foot wide and about five
inches thick.
Preceding these works by span o!
] two centuries is the "City of God" by
\ st. Augustine, with learned comrcn-
taries, published in 1922 by Luduvicc
--vfves; Englished by J. H." The works
f8of John Peter Maffeius, of the Society
of Jesus, describe infinitely in seven OF
eight immense volumes some question
of dogma which has been long forgot
ten and settled. The book was pub
hshed in 1889 at Agrippa, with the
permission OF His Majesty Caesar"