States, through Mr. Luigi Carnovale, Chicago, Ill., in commemoration of the six hundredth anniversary of the death of Dante, one of 70 heliochromatic reproductions of the Codice Trivulziano of the Divina Commedia, published by Ulrico Hoepli in Milan, and one of the 200 copies of "Le opere di Dante," Firenzi, R. Bemporad & Figlio, 1921; from Maj. Gen. William H. Carter, Washington, D. C., a pamphlet collection of General Carter's miscellaneous writings; from the Central Bureau of the Central Verein, St. Louis, Mo., a collection of books and pamphlets dealing with German Catholics in America; from the Caxton Club, Chicago, Ill., a copy of its publication, "The poems of Richard Lovelace"; from Mr. Charles W. Clark, San Mateo, Calif., volumes 6 and 7 of the catalogue of the library of Mr. Clark; from the Czechoslovakia Press Bureau, Washington, D. C., a collection of books and pamphlets dealing with the history, politics, and art of Czechoslovakia; from the Simon Hewavitarne bequest, through Dr. C. A. Hewavitarne, Colombo, Ceylon, three additional volumes in the series of "Atthakatha" or Pali commentaries, in Sinhalese characters, upon the Tripitaka; from Mr. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Washington, D. C., in addition to gifts noted elsewhere in this report, a collection of almanacs and directories, some of them containing notes by his father, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes; from the John Rylands Library, Manchester, England, a copy of the catalogue of the Latin manuscripts in the John Rylands Library; from Mr. David G. Joyce, Chicago, Ill., a copy of "Diogenes at the Saville Club," a hitherto unpublished fragment by Robert Louis Stevenson, privately printed by Mr. Joyce; from the Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias of the State of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., a set of its official records in printed form; from the Hon. Medill McCormick, United States Senate, a collection of propagandist pamphlets received by him in Europe in the winter of 1920-21; from Mr. William Gwinn Mather, Bratenahl, Ohio, one of the 95 copies of a reprint of Increase Mather's "Several reasons proving that inoculating or transplanting the smallpox is a lawful practice and that it has been blessed by God for the saving of many a life," originally published in Boston in 1721; from the Peabody Institute of the city of Baltimore, a set of the catalogue of the library of the institute to replace the set in the Library of Congress, worn out through many years of use; from Mr. Arthur E. Pearson, West Newton, Mass., a bound copy of the Diamond Jubilee number of the Boston Sunday Herald, specially treated to insure preservation. Gifts from publishers, which were supplied in order that catalogue cards might be printed, included various imported and noncopyrighted books, as well as certain copyrighted books of which additional copies were desired. Certain other gifts, falling in special classes, are noted below in the reports of the divisions charged with the care of those classes. Most of the Library's buying is of agents and dealers, PURCHASES: but it is to book auctions that we must constantly look for some of our most desirable accessions, though always in competition with other institutions, with dealers, and with private collectors. During the fiscal year 1921-22 the Library bid on 1,334 items offered at auction, and obtained 1,105 of them, or nearly 83 per cent of the number. During the fiscal year 1919-20 the Library similarly bid on 1,688 items, and obtained 1,093 of them, or nearly 65 per cent of the total; during the fiscal year 1920–21 it bid on 1,539 items and obtained 1,046 of them, or a little less than 68 per cent of the total. Accordingly, in the last fiscal year we placed less bids at book auctions, realized on our bids a larger percentage of purchases, and made a larger number of actual purchases than in either of the two fiscal years preceding. It should be remembered, PURCHASES: however, that the number of exceptional items on which we bid was not so great in 1921-22 as in 1919-20 and 1920-21. Through a purchase made in Switzerland, we were able to obtain a copy of "Paesi nouamenti retrouati," Vicentia, Henrico Vicentino & Zamaria suo fiol, 1507, attributed to Francanzano da Montalboddo. If the edition of Marco Polo's voyages printed at Gouda in 1483 or 1484, along with the travels of Mandeville and Suchen is excepted, this is the first printed collection of voyages and travels. "Its great value to us," says the note in Sabin, "consists in its containing the voyages of Columbus and Vesputius. It has been frequently reprinted and translated, and serves to this day, in the Latin repertory of Huttich, as a trustworthy and interesting source of information. This first edition is particularly valuable, from the changes which were made in those which followed." Four Mather tracts were acquired: "Right thoughts in sad hours," by Cotton Mather, London, printed by James Astwood, 1689; "Johannes in Eremo," by Cotton Mather, Boston, printed for and sold by Michael Perry, at his shop under the west end of the town hall, 1695; "The everlasting gospel," by Cotton Mather, Boston, printed by B. Green and J. Allen, for Nicholas Buttolph, 1700; "The order of the gospel," by Increase Mather, Boston, printed by B. Green and J. Allen for Benjamin Eliot, at his shop under the west end of the town hall, 1700. The first of these tracts, "Right thoughts," by Cotton Mather, is infrequently found; for many years only one copy had been located, and the copy acquired by the Library appears to be the first that has ever appeared in a public sale in either the United States or England. The value of the collection of English colonial treaties with the American Indians, noted in last year's report, was signally enhanced through the purchase of a copy that appeared on the market of "A treaty, held at the town of Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, by the honourable the lieutenant governor of the Province, and the honourable the commissioners for the Provinces of Virginia and Maryland, with the Indians of the Six Nations, in June, 1744." Philadelphia, printed and sold by B. Franklin, 1744. The volume is of twofold interest-the historical and bibliographic, a Franklin imprint. Through purchase, important gains were made in session Session laws. laws: Connecticut, acts and laws, March session, 1775; New London, Timothy Green, 1775. Massachusetts, acts and laws, October session, 1692; Boston, Benjamin Harris, 1692. Massachusetts, act, May session, 1769; Boston, printed by Richard Draper and Green and Russell, 1769. New Jersey, act for completing the quota of troops belonging to the State in the service of the United States, March 11, 1780; Trenton, Isaac Collins, 1780. New Jersey, October session, 1783, acts of the Eighth General Assembly; Trenton, Isaac Collins, 1784. New Jersey, acts of the Thirty-first General Assembly, first sitting; Newark, printed by W. Tuttle & Co., 1806. New York, laws, 1695, the Sixth Assembly, first sessions, October 1-26, 1695; New York, William Bradford, 1695. New York, acts made by the Fifth Assembly, fifth sessions, March 25-April 22, 1697; New York, William Bradford, 1697. New York, laws, December session, 1762; New York, William Weyman, 1762 (apparently only three known copies). New York, laws, December session, 1763; New York, W. Weyman, 1764 (apparently only three known copies). New York, laws, October session, 1764; New York, William Weyman, 1764 (apparently only four known copies). New York, laws, November session, 1765; New York, W. Weyman, 1765 (apparently only three known copies). New York, laws, July session, 1766; New York, W. Weyman, 1766 (apparently only three known copies). New York, laws, December ses American poli tics. sion, 1766; New York, W. Weyman, 1767 (apparently only three known copies). New York, laws, December session, 1767; New York, Hugh Gaine, 1768 (apparently only four known copies). New York, laws, December session, 1768; New York, Hugh Gaine, 1769. New York, laws, January session, 1795; New York, Francis Childs and John Swaine, 1795. South Carolina, acts, ordinances, and resolves passed in March, 1789; Charleston, printed for A. Timothy [1789]. Virginia, by the upper house of assembly, October 28, 1773; Williamsburg, printed by William Rind, 1773 (no other copy appears to have been located). Virginia, board of council, 1786; to prevent impositions, December 1, 1786; Richmond (?), 1786 (no other copy appears to have been located). The purchases brought other material related to the foregoing: An act of Parliament for ascertaining the rates of foreign coyns in Her Majesties plantations in America, New York, re-printed by William Bradford, 1709. (A message to the Governor) from the Assembly (in answer to the Governor's message of the 18th instant), 27th of the 3d mo., 1742; Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin, 1742. Extracts from the votes and proceedings of the American Continental Congress, held at Philadelphia on the 5th of September, 1774; Philadelphia, printed, Boston, re-printed, and sold by John Boyle in Marlborough-Street, Mills and Hicks in School-Street, and Cox and Berry in King-Street, 1774. New York, journal of the votes of the General Assembly, October 20, 1702-November 27, 1708; New York, William Bradford, 1708, with which is bound the journal and votes, May 19-November 12, 1709; New York, William Bradford, 1709. New York, Senate Journal, September 9 1777-March 17, 1779; Kingston, printed by John Holt, 1777-1779 (apparently only three copies known). Massachusetts, House resolve, 1783, in relation to the return of bounties; Boston, Adams and Nourse, 1788 (no other |