to the railings in the upper portion of some of the alcoves has induced the Library Committee to place them in the others at the charge of the Salisbury Building Fund. They do not appear to obstruct the light, have been made. perfectly secure, and are in constant use.

The accessions for six months, to the 15th instant, have been as follows: By gift, nine hundred and fifty-one books, forty-six hundred and nine pamphlets, one hundred and eighteen volumes of newspapers, one hundred and thirteen maps, seven engravings, four photographs and four manuscripts. By exchange, three hundred and thirty-four books and three hundred and five pamphlets. Making a total of twelve hundred and eighty-five books, forty-eight hundred and fourteen pamphlets, one hundred and eighteen volumes of newspapers, one hundred and thirteen maps, seven engravings, four photographs and three charts. To these should be added various articles for the cabinet. The two hundred and twenty-five donors represent fifty-one members, eighty-nine persons not members and eighty-five societies and institutions. The full list of donors and donations will be found appended to this report, but a few special acknowledgments are here given. President Hoar has added to his usual gift of public documents selections of an historical character from his own library, manuscript material relating to the Fitz-John Porter case, and a list of his own publications to November, 1886. Vice-President Salisbury's contribution, which is large, includes a cabinet photograph of himself; and Hon. Edward L. Davis's the framed engraving of Senator Sumner-our Secretary for Foreign Correspondence from the year 1867 until his death in 1874-and his life-long friend the Poet Longfellow. Rev. Dr. William R. Huntington has presented another large instalment of the pamphlet literature of the Episcopal church. Hon. John D. Washburn, Hon. Henry S. Nourse and Mr. Reuben Colton have answered the request for members' photographs. We have received additional gene

alogical material from Dr. George Chandler, whose Fund is, and whose "Chandler Family"— the remainder of the edition of which he presented to the Society-should be a constant source of revenue to us. J. Evarts Greene, Esq. has placed in our cabinet a complete reproduction in miniature of a Japanese General of the old régime, in costume and with his implements of warfare. Mr. Andrew McFarland Davis sends us, with other results of his literary labors, his "Canada and Louisiana," it being the first chapter of the fifth volume of the Narrative and Critical History of America, edited by Mr. Justin Winsor, and to which are appended Mr. Winsor's notes. While our membership contributes much to this great work it may be well to add that the Society's portfolios have furnished for reproduction portraits and plans not elsewhere preserved. Hon. Samuel A. Green contributes of his Groton Historical Series numbers sixteen to twenty inclusive, thus completing the first volume. Our record shows that beginning with an exchange for certain of our founder's almanacs-with Dr. Green of Groton, in 1865, his gifts have been large and continThe witnesses to his efforts toward the preservation of the ephemeral literature of America may be found in the leading historical libraries of the country. General Francis A. Walker's History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac suggests the special gratitude we always feel for an author's copy duly verified. The words of a recent writer in the American Bookseller that "Binding a book without a thorough index is like building a house and leaving the staircase out," also remind us that the General has not only furnished one but three indexesor staircases-to his well-filled store-house. Mr. Francis J. Garrison, while sending other material, has not been unmindful of the small gaps in our file of the Liberator, and the Reverend John Gregson supplies us with a complete set of the Star and Crescent, formerly the official organ of the Alpha Delta Phi Society. Mrs. P. L. Canfield's gifts

uous.

to us are specially noteworthy. At this time she sends not only works in the departments of art and history, but a copy of "Travels Through North America, during the years 1825 and 1826," by his Highness Bernhard Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. In the latter is the following reference to our Society of sixty years ago: "We arrived at Worcester about 7 o'clock, and alighted at an excellent tavern. On the following morning the Governor (Levi Lincoln, Councillor of this Society from 1817 until his death in 1868) conducted us to a recently established museum which is designed chiefly for the collection of American antiquities. It is yet in its infancy and contains but few interesting specimens; the library also is of small extent; notwithstanding we must render full justice to the inhabitants for their laudable zeal in the cause of national science." The accumulated income of the Isaac Davis Book Fund was expended last December, at the sale of part second of the famous collection made by M. Eugéne Boban, which included many of the manuscripts and books formerly owned by M. Brasseur de Bourbourg. Of the forty-seven volumes thus secured many are of great rarity and value.

A brief reference at least should be made to the sale of the Fourth Part of the American Library of the late Mr. George Brinley. It occurred at New York, November 1518, 1886, and was attended by your librarian, who expended of our balance of $1,022.45 the sum of $618.79, leaving to our credit for the final sale $403.66. We received three hundred and fifty-three books and eight hundred and thirtyfour pamphlets which may be classed as follows:

Almanacs, dating from 1706..

.....697 volumes.

Early New England imprints and therefore largely theological.....

....158 volumes.

Early New England school books, many of them printed by our founder...

Mather tracts, containing not only works of seven different members of the family, but some of the rarest..

.123 volumes.

...

45 volumes.

A list of the Mather tracts secured-which were not previously in the library has been prepared and will be added to Mr. Paine's pamphlet list of Mather Publications. A few choice books-including the beautiful reprint of Caxton's "Game of Chesse," first printed in 1475, and Keimer's rare folio edition of 1728 of Sewel's History of the Christian People called Quakers"- were purchased at the Brinley sale for the Haven Alcove.

"

In your Librarian's report of April, 1884, he referred, by way of illustration, to the libraries of specialties which largely make up the great whole in the Cornell University library. He now wishes to place on record to the honor of our associate, Hon. Andrew D. White, a copy of the following associated press despatch: "The Board of Trustees of Cornell University has received a communication from Ex-President White announcing that he will give to the University his fine historical library. The collection includes thirty thousand volumes, ten thousand pamphlets and many manuscripts, and cost over one hundred thousand dollars. The trustees voted to reorganize the department of history and political economy and call it the President White school of history and political science, and make ExPresident White its dean and lecturer with two new professors. They will also put the new law school on an enlarged basis in view of Mr. White's gift." It is said that the college authorities, in view of the precious gift, will erect a large fire-proof building for its accommodation. Its librarian, Mr. George Lincoln Burr, has already begun

an examination of our library in certain lines, and a special sale or exchange of our duplicates is likely to result from it. Our President's gift of manuscript material relating to the War of the Rebellion, leads me at the risk of being charged with duplication, to call attention to a resolution introduced by Rev. Dr. Hill, at the annual meeting of the Society twenty-one years ago, and seconded by Judge Barton. In their day and generation it did not answer its purpose, but it may speak in louder tones to-day. Following is the resolution: "Whereas a large amount of valuable material for history remains in the hands of families and friends of deceased and living soldiers, and is in danger of being irrevocably lost; therefore, Resolved, That the Librarian be directed to solicit the presentation of the originals or copies of such letters, journals and other written documents, from the army engaged in the late Civil War, and from the hospitals, as friends may be willing to furnish; and that application be made for these precious documents as early and as widely as possible." The Society's correspondence during this period, which I have lately examined, contains some interesting war letters, but the number is quite limited.

In accepting an invitation to meet the new Columbia College Library School, it seemed to me best to speak to them of our Society and its work. I have in a previous report called your attention to this novel school as originally proposed. It was opened January 4th, 1887, and has already proved that it has a raison d'étre. The field to which its graduates will be welcomed is a broad and useful one. To them as to those who have been longer in the way, John Bright's words of encouragement, though they may be too highly colored, should act as a stimulant. He says: "Few trades or professions have made greater progress of late years than the librarian's. They only began to be conscious that they were a distinct craft until the other day, and their conference is yet but a few years old. Yet they have done more for the advancement of their art