Page:The small library. A guide to the collection and care of books (IA smalllibraryguid00browiala).pdf/122

 among booksellers, or by personal inspection of their stocks. It is not wise, as a rule, to buy fiction second-hand, unless sound copies in modern editions can be obtained; but this happens so rarely that no further attention need be bestowed on the question. Science in all its branches is another class which should never be sought in second-hand form, because, as a rule, textbooks and other works of authority are seldom to be picked up secondhand when current, and booksellers usually only report old and in many cases obsolete editions. The classes most likely to be secured advantageously at second-hand are History, Biography, Travel, Theology, Poetry, Philosophy and miscellaneous subjects. Like science, law and social science are constantly changing classes, and it is not often that current editions can be procured at second-hand prices. A list of guides and aids to book-selection is given in the Appendix, so that it is not necessary to do more than refer to them and the following condensed list of authors and titles. From this, any one can compile a brief catalogue of the best books by great authors and on the principal subjects, supplementing it from personal knowledge, and rejecting anything deemed unsuitable. The nucleus of a good small library should be found in this list of suggestions, and although no attempt has been made at completeness in every department, sufficient names have been included to form a good beginning for a representative library in English. As remarked in the Introduction, a title-anthology must from