Page:Library Administration, 1898.djvu/67

 notice copies of books that his library does not contain, and will, as a rule, have far more catalogues sent him than he has time to read. It may be laid down as an invaluable rule, that a book should never be purchased before it is seen. This will cut short many purchases in the auction-room for librarians who have no leisure for travelling. Books ordered from dealers' stocks should always be taken "on approval," partly because imperfections may exist undetected or wilfully concealed, and because the average dealers' catalogue swarms with misprints, and omits information necessary to distinguish between different editions, especially those of the same date. The first of these defects leads to the purchasing of duplicates, the second spoils opportunities of adding unknown editions to a library. It will be found that dealers are rarely averse to sending selections from their lists "on approval" if carriage be paid on the books returned unpurchased, and will even send parcels unsolicited. The energy of German dealers in this respect is truly remarkable, and is in striking contrast with the French practice. There is always need to guard against the possibility of purchasing stolen property — the thefts of Libri in Paris, and the dis- appearance of precious volumes from the Colombina at Seville, are enough to prove this. In 1874 a very fine MS. of the Decretal of Gratianus was advertised for sale, and recognised by M. Delisle as