A bibliography of English military books up to 1642 and of ...

;
own work, adding countless others thereto. In a word, he is not
to be relied upon.
General Mariano Ayala used Guarnieri's work as the basis of
his "Bibliografia Militare Italiana " (Turin, 1854, 8"). Of this
work, as of Almirante's, one can scarcely speak too highly.
Whereever
I have had an opportunity of checking descriptions with the
books themselves, I have found them almost invariably accurate
and if here and there some evident discrepancy makes it as well to
verify a date, it is probably the printer who is in fault. This
bibliography, which includes MSS., is
divided into seven parts according
to subje6t ; the number of each might with advantage
have appeared in the margins to facilitate reference.
The " Bibliografia Militar de Espana" (Madrid, 1876, S'') of
Almirante is founded on the general Spanish bibliography of
Antonio Nicolas (Rome, circa 1670), and on Huerta's catalogue.
Almirante is accurate, and invariably gives his authorities for a
book not seen by himself. The titles, with occasional notes, occupy
more than nine hundred pages, and it would, perhaps, have been
better had he separated the historical works, which take up the
greater part of the book, from the technical.
He admits, besides,
many works that are not Spanish and many that have but a remote
connexion with the subject, and this, combined with the system of
indexing, causes much unnecessary trouble.
I know of no French military bibliography. Brunet has an
incomplete list, and Bardin's "Diftionnaire de I'armee" (Paris, 1841,
8**), under the heads, " Auteurs militaires " and " Noms propres,"
includes writers of all nations.
None of these
bibliographers make much account of English
works ; Stiirm has two upon his list, which Loen, coming after
him, has taken. Walther catalogues about fifty ,^ and these Hoyer
and Rumpf borrow, generally without correftions, adding a few
more of their own finding ; and as no Englishman has attempted
to index them as a whole, the bulk of them remains, except in
library catalogues and catalogues of recent books, quite unchronicled.
^
This number does not include histories, etc.
xii