II.—AMERICA
BIBLIOGRAPHY of the Various Editions of WORDSWORTH’S POETICAL WORKS, which have been printed and published in the United States of America, from 1801 to 1895, arranged in Chronological Order: also a Bibliography of Critical Essays, and Biographical Sketches, of Wordsworth’s Life and Works in Books, Reviews, and Periodicals; with Notes, by Mrs. Henry A. St. John, Ithaca, New York.
PREFATORY NOTE
My ideal in attempting to prepare a Bibliography of Wordsworth in America was high. I hoped to see each edition, or at least to identify the editions hinted at in the various catalogues. I determined to read every article, in criticism, or review; and to know if the many references, given by Poole and other authorities, were correct. As is usually the case, the reality has fallen far short of the ideal. But, while the results are not what were desired, there have been many fortunate discoveries.
Two things were learned to begin with. First, that astonishingly little care had been taken to preserve the history of the early American Editions, or to preserve, even, the earlier American Periodicals. Most of our larger libraries are amazingly deficient in these works. Second, it was found that existing Catalogues or Lists are not only far from complete, but full of gross blunders. Roorbach (the Addenda, Supplements, etc.) was found to be a mere rehash of the old trade sales Catalogues, swarming with blunders. In the matter of dates, imprints, the particular editions, the size of books, Roorbach is utterly untrustworthy. Allibone (so far as Wordsworth is concerned) is also confusing and incomplete. I did not find much in the various Public or College Library Catalogues.
I wrote to the librarians of some of the older libraries, after I had made out a preliminary list, to ascertain if they could add thereto any editions, from their cards or manuscript catalogues. From these sources I was enabled several times to solve seemingly insolvable problems.
I had assistance from, and in some instances visited, the following libraries: Cornell University, Boston Public Library, Boston Athenæum, Harvard College, Philadelphia Public Library, the Library College of Philadelphia, Mercantile Library College, Philadelphia; the Public Library, St. Louis; that of Lennox and Astor, the University of Virginia, the State Library, Richmond, Va., and one or two other Southern libraries. I have written more than one hundred letters to publishers, editors, authors, the descendants of early American Wordsworthians, Professors of Literature, and professed Wordsworthians in Seminaries and Colleges. I have examined, or employed others to examine, the following works for editions of Wordsworth: the New York Literary World, Norton’s Literary Gazette, American Publishers’ Circular, Publishers’ Weekly, Catalogues of Congress Library, The Port Folio, American Quarterly Review, Knickerbocker Magazine, New York Quarterly Review, American Review, North American Review. And this is but half of my story.
Poole’s “Index,” of course, was a great assistance. But I did not rely altogether on him, after I had discovered several mistakes in titles and numbering—mistakes which were confusing in the extreme. I have consulted all other Indexes and Reference Lists that I could procure, and have carefully examined the periodicals in which it was possible that such articles could be found.
My greatest light, however, came from responses to personal appeals, to those in the North, South, East, and West of the Country, who enlightened me in particular directions. I needed assistance, not only to discover the articles, but more particularly to secure the articles to read, or to procure proper persons to read the few articles that I could not obtain. When valuable books were sent me, by express, from distant College Libraries, that I might read for myself, I realised the bond there is between Wordsworthians.
I cannot begin to speak of the delight that I have had in this work, delight because of the response I have met with, and in opening up unknown and rich veins of criticism. I have learned too, that Wordsworth has many enthusiastic followers in America.