Catalogue of the Books, Manuscripts and Engravings Belonging to William Menzies of New York [MENZIES, William]; Joseph SABIN (1821-1881, compiler)

(9 3/4 x 6 3/4 inches). xviii, [2], 471, [3] p. Modern red cloth, spine lettered gilt. Original publisher's printed grey wrappers bound in The catalogue of one of the most important early American private libraries, compiled by Joseph Sabin. A significant artefact in the history of American book collecting and bibliography. William Menzies was a pioneering New York collector whose refined taste and bibliographical discernment shaped nineteenth-century American book collecting. His library-strong in Americana, voyages, early English literature, and illustrated books-was among the most comprehensive in private hands before the rise of major institutional collections. When his library was sold by George A. Leavitt & Co. in 1876, the auction set a new standard for American sales and helped to shape the holdings of leading private collectors and institutions. The catalogue was compiled by the eminent bibliographer Joseph Sabin, whose Dictionary of Books Relating to America remains an indispensable reference.The Menzies Catalogue serves both as a record of one of the finest private libraries assembled in nineteenth-century America and as a carefully described bibliography reflecting Sabin's characteristic precision and scholarship.