WILLIAM W. APPLETON. JOHN L. CADWALADER. H. VAN RENSSELAER KENNEDY. JOHN S. KENNEDY. EDWARD KING. LEWIS CASS LEDYARD. J. PIERPONT Morgan. HENRY C. POTTER. GEORGE L. RIVES. CHARLES HOWLAND RUSSELL. EDWARD W. SHELDON. GEORGE W. SMITH. FREDERICK Sturges. HENRY W. TAFT. GEORGE BRINTON MCCLELLAN, Mayor of the City of New York, ex officio. OFFICERS President, Hon. JOHN BIGELOW, LL.D. First Vice-President, Rt. Rev. HENRY C. POTTER, D.D., LL.D. Second Vice-President, JOHN S. KENNEDY, Esq. Secretary, CHARLES HOWLAND RUSSELL, Esq., 425 Lafayette Street. BRANCHES-REFERENCE Lafayette Street, 425. (ASTOR.) CIRCULATION MANHATTAN. East Broadway, 33. (CHATHAM SQUARE.) EAST BROADWAY, 197. (Educational Alliance Building.) Le Roy Street, 66. (HUDSON PARK.) 8th Street. 135 Second Avenue. (ÓTTENDORFER.) 10th Street, 331 East. 13th Street, 251 West. 23d Street, 228 East. 23d Street, 209 West. 36th STREET, 303 East. 40th Street, 501 West. 42d Street, 226 West. 50th Street, 123 East. 51st Street, 463 West. 58th STREET, 121 East. 67th STREET, 328 East. 69th Street. (TOMPKINS SQUARE.) Fifth Avenue, 890. (LENOX.) Near 8th Avenue. (JACKSON Square.) Near 7th Avenue. (MUHLENBERG. Department Headquarters.) Between 10th and 11th Avenues. (ST. RAPHAEL'S.) Near 7th Avenue. (GEORGE BRUCE.) Near Lexington Avenue. (CATHEDRAL.) Near 1st Avenue. 190 Amsterdam Avenue. (RIVERSIDE. TRAvelling Libraries.) 77th Street. 1465 Avenue A. (WEBSTER.) 79th Street, 222 East. Near 3d Avenue. (YORkville.) 81st Street. 444 Amsterdam Avenue. (ST. AGNES. BLIND LIBRARY.) Near Broadway. (BLOOMINGDALE.) 100th Street, 206 West. 110th Street, 174 East. 123d Street, 32 West. 125th STREET, 224 East. 135th STREET, 103 West. 145th Street, 503 West. 156th Street. Near Lenox Avenue. (HAMILTON GRANGE.) 922 St. Nicholas Avenue. (WASHIngton Heights.) BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS Published monthly by The New York Public Library at 425 Lafayette Street, New York City. President, John Bigelow, 425 Lafayette Street; Secretary, Charles Howland Russell, 425 Lafayette Street; Treasurer, Edward King, 80 Broadway; Director, John S. Billings, 425 Lafayette Street. Subscription One Dollar a year, current single numbers Ten Cents. Entered at the Post Office at New York, N. Y., as second-class matter, January 30, 1897, under Act of July 16, 1894. VOL. XII. JUNE, 1908. No. 6. REPORT FOR MAY. REFERENCE DEPARTMENT. During the month of May there were received at the Library, by purchase, 2,188 volumes and 588 pamphlets; by gift, 1,341 volumes and 2,004 pamphlets; and by exchange, 95 volumes and 2,503 pamphlets, making a total of 3,624 volumes and 5,095 pamphlets. There were catalogued 8,629 volumes and 5,881 pamphlets; the number of cards written was 6,417, and of slips for the copying machine 3,348; from the latter were received 15,377 cards. The following table shows the number of readers, and the number of volumes consulted, in the Astor and Lenox Branches during the month: The two most important gifts of the month have come from Mr. John Bigelow and from Mr. Cadwalader. Mr. Bigelow gave his pastel portrait of Franklin, done by Duplessis; his letter presenting it is printed on pages 343-5 below. Mr. Cadwalader gave a collection of photographs and signatures of the twenty-one members of the first Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library, with the Director, the whole mounted and framed. Other gifts worthy of mention came from William K. Bixby, a facsimile copy of Eugene Field's autograph book of verse, entitled "My book'-To William C. Buskett with the affectionate regards of his friend Eugene Field," with vignettes by C. M. Seijppel; printed in limited edition from the original manuscript in possession of Mr. Bixby; from Mrs. Henry Draper, 28 volumes and 12 pamphlets, including a set of proof impressions of the "Special collection of reproductions of Jean Léon Gérôme's famous paintings," text and plates, 15 works on pottery, 3 on lace, and Dayot's edition of Chardin and Fragonard's works, H. V. Hilprecht's "The so-called Peters-Hilprecht controversy," and the privately printed Memorial of the late Edwin Davis French by Ira H. Brainerd; from Hugo Kronecker, 2 volumes and 8 pamphlets by himself, relating to physiology; from Victor J. Koshkin, 12 volumes and 27 pamphlets, in Russian, German and French, relating to aerial navigation, and other scientific matters; from Mrs. Cyrus J. Lawrence, 621 prints, including 541 lithographs by Daumier, and also 7 volumes illustrated by Daumier; from Prof. L. S. Rowe, 40 volumes, public documents from the Argentine Republic and Buenos Aires; from the Royal University Library in Upsala, 17 volumes and 19 pamphlets of the "Meddelanden från Kungl. Civil Departementet." The staff of the TOMPKINS SQUARE branch has presented a plaster cast of Mercury and a plant-box with relief after Donatello. At the LENOX branch the exhibition of modern Dutch prints was replaced by a selection of plates from the series of one hundred published during 1868-1901 by the Société Française de Gravure. The etchings by Ozias Dodge remained on view, and a new selection of plates from W. Bode's work on the Kann collection was shown. At the ASTOR branch the exhibition of plates from "Ausgeführte Bauornamente von Prager Bildhauern" was continued. In addition, a selection of plates from the "Broderies des paysannes de Smolensk exécutées sous la direction de la princesse Ténichev" was placed on view. On May 25th an exhibition illustrating events in United States history (to the end of the Revolution) was sent to the ST. GABRIEL'S PARK branch. Picture bulletins and temporary collections of books on special shelves at the circulation branches were as follows: CHATHAM SQUARE, Russian literature; BOND STREET, Child life, Flowers, Care of books; Ottendorfer, Spring, The Automobile; TOMPKINS SQUARE, Drama, Hungary, Kossuth's visit to America, May; MUHLENBERG, Gardener's books; 58TH STREET, Augustus Saint Gaudens, William Morris, John Ruskin, May-pole dance, The Social season, May birthdays of famous men, Wild flowers, Arabian nights, Song books; 67TH STREET, Birds, Western life, Outdoor sports; RIVERSIDE, May, Nature, Play hour, Scottish clans; YORKVILLE, Joan of Arc; ST. AGNES, Nature books and nature poems; BLOOMING DALE, Spring poems, Indians; 125TH STREET, Gardening, Golden age, Patriotism; 135TH STREET, Nature study, Nursery rhymes and jingles; MOTT HAVEN, The navy; KINGSBRIDGE, Needlework, Great Southwest, My garden; ST. GEORGE, List of books on navy; PORT RICHMOND, American history, Railroads; TOTTENVILLE, Gardening, Graded lists of books. In addition there were bulletins on Memorial Day at fourteen branches, on May Day at seven branches, on Arbor Day at five branches and on new books at four branches. At the ST. GEORGE branch there were exhibits of recent material relating to summer trips and summer resorts in this country and Canada, and of pictures of famous battle-ships of the United States Navy. At the TOMPKINS SQUARE branch reproductions of pictures in the Louvre, and picture postal cards from Switzerland were put on view. An interesting Hungarian evening was held in the TOMPKINS SQUARE branch on Thursday, May 14. The programme, largely in the Hungarian language, was arranged by the New York Hungarian Literary Association, the chairman of the evening being Mr. William Farkas. The programme included Hungarian music, a sketch of Hungarian literature and history by Dr. Michael Singer, Hungarian recitations, folk songs, and dances. About 350 people were present. It is expected that the result of this meeting will be a considerable stimulation of interest in the Hungarian collection at this branch, which now amounts to nearly one thousand volumes. Mr. Edwin H. Anderson has been elected Assistant Director of the New York Public Library. In the absence of the Director he will perform his duties and will have his powers. For the present Mr. Anderson will have special charge of all matters pertaining to the Circulation Department, and also of those pertaining to the equipment and occupation of the new library building on Forty-second Street and Fifth Avenue. Mr. H. M. Lydenberg is appointed Reference Librarian. For the present he will continue to perform the duties which have been assigned to him in the Astor building. The form of contract and specifications for labor and material for execution of the approaches work exterior to the new central reference building for the New York Public Library, known as contract number 9, was approved at the meeting of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment held June 5, 1908. The contract will soon be advertised and bids be invited in due form by the Park Department. |