The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 459
672 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
All readers of the guide, but especially those who tend to
take for granted the various aids produced to facilitate their
use of manuscript repositories, would do well to pay particular
attention to Hammond's foreword and Morgan's introduction.
Herein, in brief compass, the editors outline the growth of the
guide project, the history and nature of the materials included
in the. Bancroft holdings, and the peculiar problems and solu-
tions .thereto encountered in the production of the guide. Fine
historical manuscript collections do not just happen, and cer-
tainly guides to historical manuscript collections do not just
happen - as the saga of this publication demonstrates.
Notwithstanding the singularly unique difficulties that face
all repositories, the staff of the Bancroft Library has successfully
standardized forms of descriptive entries encompassing a wide
divergence of types of materials and presented the information
in a systematic and readily understandable manner. Of necessity
the entries are quite abbreviated, but adequate data are included
to serve professional research needs. Anticipating a probable
criticism in the realm of relative proportions, Morgan explains
quite well that the element of imbalance is more apparent than
real in those instances in which as much if not more space is
devoted to single items as to .some total collections. The
practice can be justified because additional, more detailed pub-
lished descriptions of collections are anticipated in the future,
whereas the single items or small groups of items will not re-
ceive this attention. In this connection, the grouping of the
several "dictations," as in the Texas section between pp. 292-299,
is quite functional and highly commendable. Also subject to
commendation is the excellent index to the total holdings that
has been provided.
Scholars and researchers in Texas history will, of course, be
primarily interested in the references to their special field of
inquiry. The fourteenth division of the guide (pp. 267-302) is
devoted entirely to this category of material arranged in alpha-
betical order of entry. Of particular importance are the manu-
script items collected by Alphonse Louis Pinart. Included are
such pieces as William B. Travis' letter to Henry Smith, dated
February 14, 1836, describing conditions in the Alamo; several459
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964, periodical, 1964; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101197/m1/521/?rotate=270: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.