number of works previously
undescribed. The well-known library of Americana amassed by Dr. White
Kennet, bishop of Peterborough during the latter part of the seventeenth
century, and entrusted by him in 1712 to the keeping of the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel 'for their perpetual use,' was sold by
order of that Society at Sotheby's in August 1917 and realised very high
prices, though most of the items were in poor condition. The gem of the
collection, 'New England Canaan,' 1632, and most of the other important
volumes (seventy-nine in all) had been presented previously by the
Society to the British Museum. The highest price realised was L650, which
was paid for 'A True Relation of the late Battell fought in New England
between the English and the Salvages,' 1637, a small quarto of sixteen
leaves, said to be by the Rev. Philip Vincent.[77]

There are two valuable bibliographies upon this subject, both necessarily
large and important works. They are Sabin's 'Dictionary of Books relating
to America,' in nineteen octavo volumes published at New York from 1868
to 1891, which, however, comprises only the headings from A to Simms: and
Evans' 'American Bibliography,' privately printed in eight quarto volumes
at Chicago, 1903 to 1914. Harrisse's 'Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima'
(New York, 1866) with its supplement (Paris, 1872) is a bibliography of
the rarest books concerning America that appeared between 1492 and 1551.
Mr. W. H. Miner's 'The American Indians, North of Mexico,' published by
the Cambridge University Press in 1917, contains a bibliography of works
on the aboriginals.

[Sidenote: Architecture.]

4. Works upon Architecture are, _de natura_, for the greater part 'art
books,' and comprise not only such large works as Furttenbach's massive
tomes and the works of Britton and Billing, but the many beautifully
illustrated books published by Ackermann at the beginning of last
century. Most of them, English and foreign, are books of considerable
value, for the plates were often produced by the great masters of
engraving, and they readily command high prices whenever they appear in
the market. But there is a large and increasing number of smaller works
which deal with buildings and designs, as well as those books concerning
buildings of an historical interest. There does not seem to be any
monumental bibliography of architectural books, but you will find useful
lists in Mr. W. P. Courtney's volumes.

The