This is a sufficient entry, as any person wanting the book could not fail to remember that it related to Lord Curzon unless he thought of Indian administration, which would be the subject-entry for it. Another method, much the same in principle, is to enter under the first substantive in the title.
If the name of the author is ascertained later and with certainty, as this was, the entry must be altered accordingly
O'Donnell, C. J. The failure of Lord Curzon:
a study in "imperialism," by "Twenty-eight
years in India." 1903 354.54
When literal exactness is the custom of the library the author's name as above would be enclosed in brackets to show that it is an addition made by the cataloguer under the rule previously alluded to. If that is the method decided upon for entering anonymous books, the first-word entry is still retained, with the author's name added.
Failure, The, of Lord Curzon: a study in
"imperialism," by "Twenty-eight years in
India" [C. J. O'Donnell.] 1903 354.54
With the author's name revealed the entry under Lord Curzon becomes a subject-entry
| Curzon of Kedleston, Lord: | |
| O'Donnell, C. J. The failure of Lord Curzon. | |
| 1903 | 354.54 |
The author's name was obtained from a newspaper paragraph some months after the publication of the book, and verified before use. If the paragraph had been of the speculative nature of the following, it would have been wiser to ignore it, and wait for something more definite
"The mention of Mr. Jack London suggests an interesting question of authorship. There has been some discussion about the anonymous author of the lately published 'Kempton Wace Letters.' Now, in that book we find the superscription, 'The Ridge, Berkeley, California'; and we can think of only three writers who talk about California—'Gertrude Atherton,' Miss Beatrice Harraden, and Mr. Jack London. The style of the 'Kempton Wace Letters' is so remote from that of the two first-named, and on the other hand is so much like that of the young Californian, that we venture to suggest Mr. London as the author."
Paragraphs of this kind always appeal to the careful cataloguer, and keep his mind on the alert until the point is settled one way or other. One so obviously inspired as the following is authoritative enough for use