SAVAGE
PREFACE
WITH the arrangement and equipment of
libraries this essay has little to do: the
ground being already covered adequately
by Dr. Clark in his admirable monograph on The
Care of Books. Herein is described the making,
use, and circulation of books considered as a means
of literary culture. It seemed possible to throw a
useful sidelight on literary history, and to introduce
some human interest into the study of bibliography,
if the place held by books in the life of the Middle
Ages could be indicated. Such, at all events, was
my aim, but I am far from sure of my success in
carrying it out; and I offer this book merely as
a discursive and popular treatment of a subject
which seems to me of great interest.
The book has suffered from one unhappy circumstance.
It was planned in collaboration with my
friend Mr. James Hutt, M.A., but unfortunately,
owing to a breakdown of health, Mr. Hutt was only
able to help me in the composition of the chapter
on the Libraries of Oxford, which is chiefly his work.
Had it been possible for Mr. Hutt to share all the
labour with me, this book would have been put
before the public with more confidence.
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