Dates of Publication of Scientific Books

Abstract

MAY I through your columns suggest to publishers—especially of scientific and mathematical books—to give in their catalogues the dates of publication of their books? As a book often gets out of date very soon, such an addition would greatly help those who have no access to good libraries in selecting books to be purchased. I may say that this is done almost invariably in the catalogues of French and German publishers. To take an instance, the Clarendon Press still includes Price's “Infinitesimal Calculus” in its catalogue. Now, although to one who wants to study the subject in an exhaustive manner the book is very valuable, still, to one who wishes to know the principles only, the book is, to say the least, not worth the big price asked for; and if the date of publication were mentioned in the catalogue, the purchaser would at any rate know that he was not buying an up to date book.