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Partly because of the limited time allotted, my presentation today will begin with a very brief sketch of the history of books and other forms of writing in Japan from 611 to 1868, and end with some comments on the current situation in the field of rare books.
Strictly speaking, to understand the history of writing in Japan, one must have a knowledge of that in China, with its distinguished history of some 5,000 years. This, however, I shall leave to the Chinese representative.
As you may already know, virtually all elements of Japanese culture entered Japan from China, whether directly or via the Korean peninsula, and then evolved in a distinctly Japanese fashion. In Japanese eyes, China is therefore a parent or grandparent.
Chronicles say that it was in 105AD that paper was invented in China by Cai Lun. In the fourth century, writings in bound and rolled form as well as freshly manufactured paper began to filter into the Korean peninsula. Wun Jing (or Tan Zhen in Chinese), a Korean monk, brought some to Japan in 610.
There are much older extant transcriptions that were made in China and later brought to Japan. Examples are a copy of what is called in Japanese the "Shobutsu Yoshu Kyo" dated March 18, 296, and one of the Lotus Sutra ("Myohorengekyo") dated July 21, 420.
With the start of the Heian period, woodblock printing was introduced into Japan, and some types of writings began to be printed. However, copies of Buddhist sutras, for example, continued to be made by hand. Sutras were generally copied by writing with brush and India ink on white paper. As esteem for the sutras grew, however, the copies began to incorporate pictures and elaborate ornamentati on. The culmination of this trend was the "soshokukyo," or "decorative sutras". Some outstanding surviving specimens are the Chusonji and Kunoji sutras, named after the temples preserving them, and a 33-volume set of bound copies of sutras made by 32 members of the Taira clan headed by the extravagant Kiyomori.
There had been a division of opinion from the Edo period as to whether this printing was done with a wood or copper plate. A scientific study performed in 1966 clearly supported the woodblock camp.
The oldest surviving specimen of printing containing a publication date is a copy of what is transcribed in Japanese as "Busseltsu Kokkuji Jinshu Ogyo". This is the property of Ishiyamadera Temple, and has a notation of the year 1052 in red ink. Then there is the copy of the treatise Vijnapti Mantrata Siddhi ("Joyuishikiron") or Completion of Mere Ideation, stored in the Shosoin archives at Nar a. At the back of the tenth volume of this work is a mention that it was published by the monk Kanzo at Nara’s Kofukoji Temple on March 26, 1088. And there are others. The second volume of a copy of the Lotus Sutra ("Myohorengekyo") in Yasuda Library notes the time of printing as June 1080. The last volume of the Mahamayuri Vidyaraja Sutra ("Dai-Kujaku Myookyo") in the Dai Tokyu Memorial Libr ary has notations of the years 1091 and 1122. And Volume 10 of the copy of the "Joyuishikiron jukki", a Chinese explication of the Completion of Mere Ideation, in the possession of Mr Kozo Moriya notes that it was printed by the monk Enkan in 1119. All of these are Heian period publications of Buddhist literature.
The printing of sutras in honour of the dead in the Heian period was preceded by printed pictures of Buddhist images called "inbutsu" in the Nara period and "suributsu" in the Heian period. Such printing was quite prevalent. Small images were engraved on wood or clay for transfer to fabric or paper by inking and stamping. The practice had its origins in India, and spread to Japan through China and Korea. Like the printed sutras, these printed pictures were made as parts of services for the repose of the souls of the dead. As Buddhism prospered, they spread from Nara and Kyoto to all other parts of the country. I might add that the oldest surviving "inbutsu" are 1,000 images of Amitabha Tathagata, the Buddha of the West, made in 1108 and found in Nara’s Joruriji Temple.
The oldest works written by Japanese authors are the three-volume "Kojiki", or Record of Ancient Matters, dating from 712; the topographical survey "Fudoki" dating from 713; the 30 volumes of the "Nihonshiki", or Chronicles of Japan, dating from 720, and the 20-volume "Man’yoshu" anthology of poetry dating from the latter half of the eighth century.
The oldest work printed in the Kamakura period was a copy of the "Joyuishikiron Jukki" completed on June 29, 1195. On January 13th, 1200, Minamoto Yoriie, the second shogun of the period, had copies of the five major Mahayana sutras ("Gobu Dai jokyo") printed for the spirit of Yoritomo, his father and the first shogun. Somewhat later, a monk named Yoko at Kofukuji Temple began printing the ten volumes of the Completion of Ideation ("Joyuishikiron") on August 13, 1201, and finished the job on June 20, 1202.
As examples of Kasuga editions, I should first mention the 3,333 copies of the Lotus Sutra ("Hokekyo") engraved by the monk Kankei and printed in 1209. The monk Koshun printed the hundred volumes of Yogacara Bhuwi ("Yugashijiron"), another text of the Ideation school, in 1212; the Hetu Yidya Sawyaksastra ("Inoyoseiriron"), a treatise in one volume, and the Madhyanta Vibhagatika ("Benchuhenron"), a treatise in three volumes, in 1222; and the Mahayana Vyua Swira Sastra ("Daijoshogonkyoron") in 13 volumes in 1228. And the monk Shinshojo printed Kasuga edition of the Lotus Sutra ("Myohorengekyo") in 1274 and 1281.
Beside these Kasuga and Koya editions, there were also important publications that issued from the Tendai temples of Kyoto. The temple of Enryakuji on Mount Hieizan, for instance, published a 60-volume set of three texts setting forth the sect’s thought and a 90-volume commentary on the same over a period of 18 years beginning in 1279. These are called "Eizan editions".
In Kyoto there is a temple now called Sennyuji that traces its founding to Kukai. Its original name was Horinji. In 855, Horinji was repaired by Fujiwara Morotusgu. On this occasion, it was given a new name that is also written Sennyuji in Roman letters, but has different Chinese characters. This former Sennyuji again went to ruin in the transition from the Heian to the Kamakura period. But the temple was saved by Shunjo, who spent 12 years studying in China and brought back to Japan over 2,000 works of Buddhist literature, both scriptures and non-canonical works. Shinjo rebuilt the temple in 1216 and rechristened it with characters that also happen to be spelled "Sennyuji". While making efforts to revive the Risshu, or Vinaya, sect, which emphasised rules of discipline. Shunjo a lso worked to reissue publications from Sung China. The results are called "Sung Editions". One of the earliest illustrated books ever published in Kyoto is an edition of the portrayals of six Buddhist monks ("Busseibiku Rokumotsuzu") published by Sennyuji around this time. The temple is also known for its publication of the Brahmajalasutta Bodhisattva Sutra ("Bommokyo Bosatsukaihonkyo") in 124 8, Kansho’s three books with the Japanese title of "Shakumon Kikyogi" in 1295, and a commentary on the Ullambana Sutra ("Urabongyosho Kawan") in three books over the years 1293-1299.
The "Jinnoshotoki", a six-volume work written by Kitabatake Chikafusa in 1339, is a history that begins with the age of the gods and ends with the Northern and Southern Courts period. In its view, the ill-fated Southern Court was the legitimate one. Other works dating from this period are the "Gikeiki", which is an account of the tragedy of Minamoto Yoshitsune, a brilliant general who was banis hed by Yoritomo, his brother and the first shogun of the Kamakura period, the "Soga Monogatari", which is the story of a famous vendetta involving the Soga brothers; the "fushi kaden" in which Zeami set forth the aesthetic theory behind Noh drama; and "Kyounshu", a collection of poems by Ikkyu Sojun, the abbot of Kyoto’s Daitokuji Temple. There were also publications of books of children’s stori es and fairy tales such as "Sannin Koshi" and "Issum Boshi", the latter being along the lines of Tom Thumb. These were loved by the common people. In addition, the Zen monks of the Gozan temples of Kamakura and Kyoto continued to produce literature in Chinese during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods. This is known as Gozan literature.
One of the hallmarks of Japan’s publishing culture is that it grew up almost exclusively under the wing of Buddhism and was strongly coloured by Buddhism for the roughly 900 years from Nara to the Muromachi periods. It spread along with Buddhism, and most of the cost of publishing was met by contributions from (or to) monks praying for absolution for sins. Given the tenor of the war-torn times, publication during the Northern and Southern Courts period was dominated by widespread printing of votive sutras by warlords hoping to atone for the bloodshed. Cases in point are the publication of the "Shuryogon-gi Shochukyo" by Ko no Moronao in 1338 and a votive sutra said to have been given to Miidera Temple in 1354 by Ashikaga Takauji, the first shogun of the Muromachi period. The "Muchu M ondoshu", a three-volume work recording dialogues between the monk Muso Kokushi, who founded Kyoto’s Tenryuji Temple, and one Maoyoshi of the Ashikaga clan, dates from 1354, it was the first to use the mixture of characters and "kana" for easier reading.
The wars of the Onin and Bunmei eras ravaged Kyoto and caused an exodus of nobles and monks to the provinces, and this was linked to the regional diffusion of publishing. Particularly interesting here is the case of Sakai in the province of Izumi, that is, present-day Osaka. Sakai was the territory of the Hosokawa clan, and began to thrive in the middle of the Muromachi period as a hub of trade with the Ming dynasty and the Ryukyu Islands. Sakai was run in an autonomous manner by 36 delegates selected by the people themselves. One of the works that came out of Sakai was "Rongo Shikkai", a commentary on the analects of Confucius, published by Doyukoji, the fourth son of Ashkaga Yoshiuji, in 1364. Because it was issued in the Shohei era, it is called the "Shohei Analects". Sakai publ ishing subsequently went into a dormancy, but regained its vitality beginning in 1501 with editions of "Zochu Token Zekku Santaishiho", a commentary on Tang dynasty Chinese poetry, and "Isho Taizen", a work on medicine. Other notable publications of this time are dictionary-like works termed "Setsuyoshu". These include the "Ekirin" edition published in 1597 and the "Manjuya" edition reportedly published by Mayashi Soji, a vendor of buns with bean filling, in Nara, in the mid Keicho era, around 1600.
The first set of copper type brought over from Korea was presented to Emperor Goyozei by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In 1593, it was used to print the "Kobun Kokyo", a treatise on filial poetry. Four years later, in 1597, a set of wooden type was manufactured and used to print "Kinshudan" and "Kangakubun". This was followed in 1599 by new editions of he first part of the "Nihonshiki", "Kob un Kokyo" and "Shokugensho", a history of court officials. These are collectively known as the "Keicho-era imperial edition". Tokugawa shoguns, borrowed the copper type that had been presented by Hideyoshi to cast a new set, which he then presented. In 1621, this new set was used to print the "Kocho Jirui Hoen", known as the "Genna-era imperial edition". These are Japan’s only imperial editio ns, that is, the Bunroku and Keicho ordered by Emperor Goyozei and the Genna ordered by Emperor Gomizunoo.
Ieyasu’s publishing falls into two phases. The first runs from 1599 to 1608 and consists of the publication of "Koshikego", which is an account of the sayings and doings of Confucius, and nine other Chinese works at Enkoji Temple in Kyoto’s Fushimi district. These are called Fushimi or Enkoji editions. Meanwhile, in 1606, Mideyori, Bideyoshi’s son and a focus of opposition to Ieyasu, printed " Teikan Zusetsu", a profile of the second Tang emperor, with wooden type. This publication was stimulated by Ieyasu’s Fushimi editions, and was a reprint of the original published in Korea. It is famous for its wealth of illustrations. The second phase runs for the ensuing ten years, when Ieyasu published "Daizo Ichiran" and "Gunsho Chiyo", a Chinese tract of political tenets, at Sumpu, where h e spent his later years and which is now the site of Shizuoka city, these are consequently called "Sumpu editions". The type used in the first phase are still at Enkoji Temple. Those used in the second phase are now the property of the Toppan Printing Company. Publications printed with movable type over the 50 years from 1590 to 1640 are called "Ko-katsuji ban" or "old type editions".
After instatement of the ban, the Christian editions were confiscated and destroyed, and very few still exist. In some cases, only the title is known; not 30 works currently known, those still in Japan number seven at the library of Tenri University, three at Toyo Library, two at the library of Sophia University, and one each at the Tokugawa Home in Mito and at the Oura Tenshudo.
Because of the ban, Western-style printing died out in Japan and did not resurface for more than 200 years. Existing copies of early books printed with Western type all date from 1591 to 1610. Almost all such books were burned after the edict. Those which escaped the flames were taken outside the country or hidden from the light of day in go-downs for fear of the consequences of violating the shogun’s ban. At the same time, Korean type came into extensive use for imperial, official and private publications.
In 1849, Ieyoshi, the 12th of the Tokugawa shoguns, was presented by the Dutch government with a set of Western type, a press, and other tools and materials needed for printing. Nevertheless, this gift remained in disuse. Genuine resumption of Western-style printing had to await the early Meiji period, when a team led by Motoki Shozo cast Japanese type in lead. It has been only about 100 years since then.
Literature of the Edo period can be divided into two major phases, the former led by the Kyoto-Osaka area, and the latter, by the capital of Edo, Tokyo’s predecessor. "Kana zoshi", storybooks written in "kana", were fixtures of the former phase. They spun tales around history and legend. The term embraces novels, essays, narratives, and other literary forms built around "kana" expression. A m ajor author in this great was Asai Ryoi, whose output includes the "Tokaido Meishoki", which is a guide to noted spots on the Tokaido post road; "Ukiyo Monogatari", or Story of the Floating World; and "Otogi Boko", a fairy tale. Other works from this phase are "Kashoki", humorous stories, by Joraishi; "Minin Bikuni", or The Two Buddhist Nuns, and "Inga Monogatari", The Tale of Cause and Effect, by Suzuki Shosan; and "Taga Mi no Ue" and "Kosakuzuki" by Yamaoka Genrin. The three giants of this phase were the novelist Ihara Saikaku, the poet Matsuo Basho, and the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon.
Basho reformed the Teimon and Danrin schools of "haiku" poetry and perfected an utterly unique form of modern popular story poetry that nevertheless retained a medieval mystery and suggestiveness. His works include "Fuyu no Hi", or Winter’s Day; "Arano", or Wasteland; "Saru Mino", or The Monkey’s Straw Raincoat; "Sumidawara", or The Charcoal Sack; "Nozarashi Kiko", or The Weather-beaten Journal, and, of course, "Oku no Hosomichi", or the Narrow Road to the Deep North.
"Kana zoshi" gradually evolved into "Ukiyo zoshi", which were a literary form of popular entertainment and titillation. Whereas the "kana zoshi" heroes had been nobles, samurai, or monks, the "Ukiyo zoshi" described the daily lives of ordinary townspeople. The most eminent author in this genre was Saikaku. He wrote his first book, "Koshoku Ichidai Otoko", or The Life of an Amorous Man, in 1682 . He followed this with "Koshoku Godai Onna", or Five Women Who Loved Love; "Koshoku Ichidai Onna", or The Woman Who Spent Her Life in Love, and other such erotic works. He also wrote works that sketched the economic side of town life, such as "Yippon Eidaizo", or The Japanese Family Storehouse, and "Seken Munazanyo", or Worldly Calculation.
The foremost author of "joruri" plays, which were performed with "bunraku" puppets, Chikamatsu wrote "Shusse Kejo", a drama about Kiyomori and his first opus, for Takemoto Dayu’s troupe in 1685. Initially, he wrote mainly "kyogen" comedies. But in 1703, he attained great success with "Sonezaki Shinju", or The Love Suicides at Shomezaki, his first "jojuri" drama, and from then on he built himsel f a formidable reputation as a "jojuri" playwright. All together, he wrote over 110 plays. Other major works are "Kanhasshu Tsunaginouma" and the melodrama "Kokuse Yagassen", or The Battles of Coxinga.
As the focus of literary activity shifted from the Osaka-Kyoto area to Edo, the "ukiyo zoshi" that had thrived in the former were gradually replaced by "kibyoshi", which were illustrated storybooks in yellow cover; "yomihon", or readers; "kokkeibon", or books of humorous stories; and "senryu", or books of witty verses. These are the salient genres of Edo literature.
Beginning around the Horeki era, or in the 1750s, there appeared in the streets of Edo "sharebon", which were novelettes of the pleasure quarter, and "ninjobon" which were love stories. There were many kinds of works of these types. In content, they tended to be playful and solely for amusement. The main type of novel in this period was the "kusa zoshi", a kind of picture book. "Kusa zoshi" w ere plain illustrated novels for popular consumption. They were also known as "red", "black", or "blue" books, depending on the colour of their covers. Children’s stories were common "kusa zoshi" fare. Some titles are "Momotaro", or the Peach Boy; "Saru Kani Kassen", or The Fight of the Monkey and the Crab; "Nezumi no Yomeiri", or The Mouse’s Bride; "Bunbuku Chagawa", or The Bubbling Tea Kettl e; and "Shitakiri Suzume", or The Tongue-Cut Sparrow. These gradually evolved in the direction of material for adults of a more literary nature. The result was the "kibyoshi". "Kibyoshi" books came to the fore following the publication of "Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume" by Koikawa Harumachi in 1775. Other examples are Hoseido Kisanji’s "Bumbu Yido Bangoku Toshi" "Nagaiki Mitaiki" "Taishin Mayaba nabigusa" and Santo Kyoden’s "Sakusha Tainai Totsuki no Zu". Published in 1806, Shikitei Samba’s "Ikazuchitaro Goaku Monogatari", or Story of the Evil Deeds of the Lightning Boy, presented in two volumes what would have required about ten "kibyoshi" volumes. Stories of vengeance and realistic portrayals of contemporary life came into fashion around this time. Lengthy works of this nature were published and grew into a genre of their own called "gokan".
The origin of "yomihon", or storybook readers, can be traced to "Manabusa Zoshi", which was written by Kinro Gyoja and published in 1749. This was followed by Tatebe no Ayatari’s "Honcho Suikoden", which was an adaptation of the Chinese classic, The Water Margin, in 1773, and by Ueda Akinari’s "Ugeisu Monogatari", or Tales of Tain and Moon, in 1776. The genre was brought to completion with the subsequent publication of the romantic fantasy "Nanso Satomi Hakkenden" by Takizawa Bakin. "Yomihon" tended to have a pronounced streak of idealism. By contrast, "sharebon", "ninjobon", and "kokkeibon" showed the realistic side of life.
The authors of "sharebon" were usually learned men or samurai. Many works were written anonymously and presented accounts of what purported to be the author’s personal experience. The major authors of "sharebon" were Santo Kyoden, Shikitei Samba. Ryutei Tenehiko, and Jippensha Ikku. "Ninjobon" were based on "sharebon". Unlike the "sharebon", which told tales of the pleasure quarter, they dea lt with love in the "shita-machi" downtown district. Representative authors are Tori Sanjin, the first Ikku, Kyokusanjin, and Tamenaga Shunsui. Tori’s "Magakinobana Chigiri no Nasake Kimotsubushi" is regarded as the first "ninjobon". However, he was overshadowed in this genre by Tamenaga, whose "Shunshoku Umegoyoni" "Shunshoku Megumi no Mana" and other works were published beginning in 1832 an d led to his standing as father of the "ninjobon".
"Kokkeibon", or books of humorous stories, can be traced to the "Kashoki", which I mentioned a little earlier and came out in 1642. Eventually, beginning around 1802, these culminated in Jippensha’s "Tokaidochu Hizakurige", a series of laughable stories about two bumbling travellers named Yajirobei and Kitabachi, and Shikitei’s "Odokebanashi Ukiyo Buro" "Ukiyo Buro" and Ukiyo Doko", which were c omedies set in baths and barber shops.
The molten lead type in Japanese manufactured by Motoki Shozo’s crew in the rush of modernization during the early Meiji period made a vital contribution to the advancement of Japanese printing technology. Born in 1824, Motoki was the fourth son of Kitajima Sanyata, and was later adopted by Motoki Shozaemon, who was his uncle and an interpreter of Dutch, he began learning how to interpret at the age of 12, and subsequently became active on that front as well as on those of navigation and iron manufacturing. As an interpreter, he read many books, and gradually acquired an interest in printing. Using Dutch type as a model and a lot of imagination, he succeeded in fashioning Japanese type using molten lead castings. This was in 1851, four years after the introduction of a Western-style printing press, and Motoki was 28 years old. He made matrices by carving letters in relief in water buffalo horn and pouring lead into them. Then he put these on the bottom of the mould and poured in a type metal with a lower melting point that the lead of the matrices, he planed the bottom of the castings for uniform height, but the type were still uneven. Nevertheless, this was the first mov able type of "katakana", the angular Japanese syllabary, to be manufactured in Japan and was a No. 2 size. Motoki used the set to print "Ranwa Tsuben", or Dutch-Japanese interpretation, which contained Japanese translations in "katakana" of Dutch text.
Besides taking a tragic toll of precious human life, the Second World War also reduced many precious documents to ashes. Materials kept in Kyoto, Nara and a few other cities that were not hit by air raids are currently preserved in facilities such as libraries, museums, archives and temples. It is also a fact that many valuable items were taken out of Japan and to other countries.
In the Kanto region, the list of facilities storing materials includes the National Diet Library, Seikado Library, Edo Tokyo Museum, Minato Archives, Kanazawa Bunko Museum, and the Oriental Library. In the Kansai region, the major ones are Ryumon Library, Yomei Library, Reizeike Shiguretei, and Tenri Library. Materials are also stored in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. While some are on d isplay for the general public, others may be inspected or used only by selected experts.
Nationwide, stores handling rare books number about 6,000. Of this total, about 2,750 are members of the National Federation of Rare Book Stores. There are 831 rare book stores in Tokyo, 326 in Osaka and 111 in Kyoto. Fairs for sales of rare books are held from 80 to 100 times a year in Tokyo and six or seven times a year in Kyoto. At these fairs, books are generally put up for sale with pri ce tags, but bids are the rule in some cases. Only merchants are allowed to participate in bidding. The rare books surfacing at these fairs come mainly from Kyoto and Nara, from private libraries, fairs for merchants only, or fairs for the public. It is thought that rare books traded in regional cities eventually turn up in Tokyo.
You may recall the million small pagodas containing copies of the dharani sutra that were dedicated to temples in the Nara period. In the late Meiji period, some of those preserved at Horyuji Temple were sold for from 15 to 35 yen a piece in order to raise funds needed for the temple’s upkeep. The price varied depending on the condition of the wooden pagoda and sutra inside. Immediately after the war, it was in the area of 35,000 yen. Today, it typically ranges from 4 to 5 million yen, and a pagoda in the best of condition fetches over 10 million yen. Such articles are generally in short circulation, and proper assessments of their value reportedly began to be made around 1960. The prices may loom very high in the eyes of buyers, but for dealers, the rise does not seem so big when compared to that for the price of other goods.
Rare books are traded in all sorts of places. The question arises: which buyers are to be preferred? In my opinion, sales in small quantities to private collectors are better than sales in large quantities to university libraries or archives. Once they acquire properties, libraries and other such institutions are loath to let them go. By contrast, private collectors are more apt to put purcha ses up for resale and so to form a relationship of mutual back-scratching with dealers. Researchers and archivists, on the other hand, may prefer purchase by public institutions in the interest of easier access and en masse preservation. In other words, each type of buyer has its advantages and disadvantages.
Catalogues are issued for the displays and sales I have already mentioned. Besides the title and the name of the author, sales catalogues issued by rare book dealers in the West usually, albeit not always, also contain a detailed description of each work and notation of its whereabouts. However, the items of notation in Japanese catalogues are essentially confined to the author, title, year of publication, and price; they do not offer much in the way of background information. Among sales catalogues released in Japan, I remember seeing extremely detailed descriptions only in those released by Kobunso. Brief descriptions are provided by Gyokmeido Bookstore and just a few other companies. Those of you dealing in rare books in the West undoubtedly have considerable knowledge of and do much research about rare books, I also understand that there are plenty of reference books published there for rare books.
We in Japan also research rare books, of course, but researchers are fewer, and so are reference books. There are also special catalogues of publications including "Kokusho Somokuroku" "Kotenseki Sogomokuroku" "Kokubungaku Fukusei Honkoku Shomoku Soran", a sequel to this work, and "Kaitei Nihon Shosetsu Nempyo", which is a chronology for novels, but almost none have been published in recent year s. Synopses are exemplified by "Zoku Gunsho Ichiran", Zotei Kokusho Kaidai", "Nihon Bukkyo Tenseki", "Shintei Zoho Kohan Chishi Kaidai" and bibliographical works, by "Nihon Shoshi no Kenkyu", a sequel to this work, and "Nihon Shoshigaku Gaisetsu". And for a firm grasp of the situation, these must be supplemented with a careful survey of special vaults in university libraries and archives as wel l as of guides to temple holdings.
By definition, there is an absolute shortage of rare books, and the main issues for the future are how to preserve them and pass them on to researchers of coming generations. Librarians around the world have an obligation to co-operate with each other in working to bequeath the finite store of precious materials to our descendants.