College and Research Libraries The library profession owes Mr. Sheehy and his colleagues and predecessors at the Columbia University Library its enduring gratitude for the various editions of the Guide. The latest is not an exception to the high quality of the earlier ones, and no li- brary or information center should be with- out it-Christine R. Longstreet, Head Ref- erence Librarian, University of Chicago. Ray, Gordon N. The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914. New York: Pierpont Morgan Library and Oxford Univ. Pr., 1976. xxxiii, 336p. $55.00. LC 76-10042. ISBN 0-19- 519883-2. William Morris and the Art of the Book. With Essays on William Morris as Book Collector by Paul Needham, as Callig- rapher by Joseph Dunlap, and as Typog- rapher by John Dreyfus. New York: Pierpoint Morgan Library and Oxford Univ. Pr., 1976. 140p., CXIV plates. $55.00. LC 76-29207. ISBN 0-19- 519910-3. The Pierpont Morgan Library in New York is justly renowned for the excellent exhibitions it regularly mounts. Since the Morgan's treasures and those of its friends range from the earliest illuminated medie- val manuscripts to fine printed books of all eras, literary and musical manuscripts, and virtuoso drawings, there is always some- thing on display of great aesthetic appeal and intellectual interest. In recent years the fine catalogs published to accompany tem- porary exhibitions have grown increasingly important in their own right: many are the standard monograph in a given field, and all must be consulted by anyone with a serious interest in the subjects they cover. For many years these catalogs have been handsomely printed by the Stinehour Press (typesetting) and the Meriden Gravure Company (illustrations and printing) un- der a variety of publishing arrangements between the library and commercial dis- tributors. The two books reviewed here rep- resent the first in a new arrangement with the Oxford University Press, which will dis- tribute all hardcover copies of the exhibi- tion catalogs. This is an arrangement to be applauded, despite the steep prices, for these catalogs deserve a wider audience than can be reached from within the library Recent Publications I 265 itself or by a specialist "fine book" pub- lisher. Gordon Ray's private collection of Eng- lish illustrated books was the source of the greatest share of the items exhibited last spring as The Illustrator and the Book in England from 1790 to 1914, and it is also Mr. Ray (president of the Guggenheim Foundation) who has written the catalog of the exhibition. Despite the wealth of source material available for this period, there is no comprehensive study of English illustration of the time, arguably the great- est period of fine book production in Eng- land. Specialist studies on some individual illustrators, specific techniques of illustra- tion, and a few schools of illustration have appeared, but hitherto there has been no adequate survey of the field. This catalog admirably fills the gap. The heart of the book is the description of the 333 numbered entries and a number of collateral items (mostly manuscript ma- terial). Formal bibliographic description has been most ably supplied by Thomas Lange, assistant curator of printed books at the Morgan Library, and for that alone the book would be an invaluable tool for li- braries (although fuller descriptions of many of the books are to be found in R. V. Tooley's English Books with Coloured Plates and the catalogs of the color-plate book collection of J. R. Abbey, to which reference is made). In addition, however, Mr. Ray has sup- plied, for each book, descriptive text which places it in a historical and artistic context. The entries are arranged in sections dealing with particular artists (e.g., Blake or Ros- setti) or illustrative techniques (e.g., aquatint or wood engraving), each of which is prefaced with a useful summary of the place of that artist or technique in the history of English illustration. All told, then, the text provides a good overview of the subject. This is not to imply that cover- age is by any means complete: the books exhibited at the Morgan Library represent only a small fraction of the output of Eng- lish illustrated books of these eras, one man's personal choice of the best of that output. The selection shows a bias for nar- ative image, overlooking advances in pure- ly decorative illustration and in design, but the outlines drawn are accurate. 266 I College & Research Libraries • May 1977 One minor criticism relates to the print- ing of the illustrations. For some reason, a decision was made to print in two colors, black and gray, with the result that what should b~ white background has come out gray, obliterating many of the finer graphic distinctions visible in the originals. In addi- tion to the one hundred plates at the 'back of the book and additional illustrations in- terspersed with the text, there are a com- prehensive bibliography and indexes of artists, authors, and titles. John Crawford is another long-time friend of the Morgan Library who exhibited his private collection there. In his case, the exhibition also marked the gift of his Wil- liam Morris materials to the library, already a major repository of books owned and printed by Morris. William Morris and the Art of the Book explores three different activities the ver- satile Morris pursued with distinction: book collecting, calligraphy, and printing and book design. The materials cataloged offer a fascinating view of these activities. In- cluded are documentation in the form of letters and other manuscripts by Morris and his associates, discussing his many projects, as well as the fruits of his work-sumptu- ous medieval manuscripts and illustrated incunabula, Morris's own illuminations of his writings and those of earlier (mostly medieval) poets, and the exquisite produc- tions of the Kelmscott Press. Of special in- terest are pencil drawings by Edward Burne-Janes for the illustrations to the Kelmscott Chaucer. Catalog entries for the 101 exhibited items have been written by Paul Needham, curator of books and bindings at the Mor- gan Library, who has woven them into a coherent narrative of Morris's book-arts ac- tivities. Needham has also written the first of three essays which preface the volume, a history of Morris as book collector. It is a fascinating, original study of a hitherto unexamined aspect of Morris's life. Also of great interest are Joseph Dunlap's contribu- tion on Morris's calligraphy and John Drey- fus's essay on Morris's progress in typog- raphy. All three essays present much original material, hence it is a pity that they are not well-documented. In many cases the in- formation they offer derives from the cata- loged items, but nowhere are references to catalog entries provided; nor is any of the abundant literature on Morris cited, though the authors surely had recourse to much of it. This failure seriously impairs the useful- ness of the volume as a research tool. This is exacerbated by the absence of a bibliog- raphy or index. The physical production of William Morris and the Art of the Book would not have been a disappointment to the pro- prietor of the Kelmscott Press. The text has been printed letterpress, with ornaments and section headings in color; the 114 plates suffer from none of the graying found in Ray's volume. Both these volumes contain much infor- mation unavailable elsewhere, presented here in an interesting, beautiful, and, for the most part, useful format. Both are in- dispensable for any collection interested in the history of English art or letters in the nineteenth century. The exacting printing requirements for reproducing fine illustra- tions result in what may seem high prices, but these books are value for money. Indi- viduals, however, may opt for the less ex- pensive softcover versions available only from the library.-]oan M. Friedman, Curator of Rare Books, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut. Anders, Mary Edna. Libraries and Library Services in the Southeast. A Report of the Southeastern States Cooperative Sur- vey, 1972-1974. Prepared for the South- eastern Library Association. University, Ala.: Univ. of Alabama Pr., 1976. 263p. $10.00. LC 75-44140. ISBN 0-8173- 9705-1. "As the 1970s began, an optimist viewing the Southeast with the rosiest of glasses would have had to admit to the relative nature of its progress and to the continued existence of serious problems in the region. At the same time, the gloomiest pessimist would have had to agree that abundant signs of change and progress can be identi- fied in the Southeast" (p.8). This book, it- self one of the promising signs, should provide an admirable basis for further prog- ress. Commissioned by the Southeastern Li- brary Association (SELA), the survey re- ported by Dr. Anders was cosponsored by