The Philobiblion

In 1865, the London journal Notes and Queries published this notice, “We are desirous of calling the attention of our readers to The Philobiblion, a Monthly Bibliographical Journal, containing critical notices of, and extracts from, rare, curious, and valuable books. It is published by [George] Philes & Co. of New York, and in this country by Trübner; and in the two volumes already issued will be found a vast amount of matter to interest all lovers of old books.


The New York bookseller and publisher George Philip Philes (1828-1913) also contributed to literary journals under the pen-name of “Paulus Silentiarius.” When he died at the age of eighty five, the only comment made in his obituary was that he was the editor of The Philobiblion. In fact, he wrote and/or edited over forty volumes including How to Read a Book in the Best Way (1873) and Bibliotheca Curiosa: Catalogue of the Library of Andrew J. Odell (1878-1879).

The bookseller, for ready cash will sel
For as much profit as other traders will;
But then you must take special care and look,
You no new title have to an old booke,

For they new title-pages often paste
Unto a book, which purposely is place,
Setting it forth to be th’ Second Edition,
Or Third, or Fourth, with ‘mendments and addition.