Catalogue of the Books and Papers for the most part relating to the University, Town and County of Cambridge bequeathed to the University by John Willis Clark, M.A

Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, first edition, 1912. Cloth, tp edge gilt, 8vo,. xiii, 282 pp. Approximately 10,000 entries. John Willis Clark began collecting literature connected with Cambridge in the 1860s and built up his splendid library both by acquiring other collections en bloc and by determinedly hunting down individual items to fill the gaps in his holdings shown by the earlier catalogues of Smith and Bowes. The result, as reflected in the catalogue, is a collection of great depth. Clark had particular interests in the architecture of the University and in the growth of the collegiate system: accordingly, among the small proportion of non-Cambridge items included in the Catalogue are some interesting items relating to Oxford and Eton. The catalogue is arranged alphabetically by author; entries are not annotated and are usually limited to author, title and year of publication. Humphreys (A Handbook to County Bibliography) discusses the sources of the collection at length and observes: ":Mr. Clark's main idea in forming the collection was to illustrate the history and development of Cambridge.by means of its literature; he collected from an historical and biographical rather than from a bibliographical point of view." Arundell Esdaile observed that the great strength of the catalogue lay in "fugitive nineteenth century pieces". Covers slightly faded around spine, endpapers darkened, otherwise Near Very Good.