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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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James Servies: The Pursuit of Bibliographical Excellence - By Bruce McKinney Jim and Lana Servies at work early in their research for the Bibliography of Florida. By Bruce McKinney Mao Tse Tung said that every journey begins with a single step. For James Servies, who in the midst of his library career took on the construction of two important bibliographies, there have been two long journeys and thousands of entries that ensure that both his bibliographical projects and his name will resonate with scholars, book dealers and collectors long into the future. These projects are the Bibliography of West Florida and the Bibliography of Florida. The first steps on the path to The Bibliography of West Florida, his first major bibliographic undertaking, began in the mid 1960s when Mr. Servies, then the new Director of Libraries at the new University of West Florida, began to research and organize the bibliographical records that would in time be joined under the description, "a bibliography of historic West Florida and the 10 counties of the Florida Panhandle." Beginning as smaller publications, in time this would become a four volume set of material that begins with Oviedo y Valdes' La historia general delas Indias dated 1535, carrying the bibliographical identifier 1535-1, and continuing through to A. J. Wright's article in Old West, the magazine in fall, 1981, identified as 1981-67, as the last. He undertook this project because, as he explained in the preface to the first volume, "Few regions of the United States of America have suffered more from scholarly neglect than that portion of the Gulf Coast between Mississippi and the Apalachicola rivers which we here call West Florida." In creating his bibliography he set out to correct that neglect. Today this bibliography is somewhat dated. Its last amendments were printed in 1982. As is to be expected there are very few copies left. Jim and his wife Lana have four sets of the 4 volumes, each set priced at $250, a required item for any dealer or collector whose field embraces the 1760s British definition of West Florida. For many people one very serious bibliography would be their lasting achievement. For James Servies and his wife, it was the warm-up. Beginning again, in the mid 1980s he started work on his Bibliography of Florida, a bibliographically more complete work that is focused on Florida as the term has been defined through time.
James Servies: The Pursuit of Bibliographical Excellence - By Bruce McKinney The title page of a well worn, much used Vol 1. of the Bibliography of Florida. Here is how he explains the scope of the project in Vol. 1 that was issued in 1993. "Our intention is to record, generally in chronological sequence according to the date of publication, the major separate works - books, pamphlets, periodical articles, broadsides and maps - which have touched upon Florida affairs and which were produced by Florida's printers." With these words he launched upon a quest for bibliographical completeness that has produced four volumes: Volume 1: 1507 - 1845 covering 3,106 items; Volume 2: 1846 - 1880 covering 3,792 items; Volume 3: 1881 - 1899 covering 5,590 items, Volume 4: 1900 - 1915 covering 5,564 items. Bill Reese, of New Haven, and the leading dealer in the American books field, is a genuine enthusiast for this extraordinary undertaking, describing it this way in his catalogued listing, [A] "first-rate bibliography, listing (with the first, second, and third volumes) a total of 18,052 items relating to Florida through 1915, arranged chronologically. Provides collations, notes on content, and bibliographical citations. This is the first decent bibliography of Florida (except the same author's proto- work for this) and a most welcome and invaluable addition." It seems, that for Jim and Lana, his wife-partner and fellow bibliographer, it has been an epic undertaking that brings to mind the lyrics of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Ain't no mountain high enough," precisely the scale of ambition necessary to climb the bibliographical Himalayas twice. Jim is semi-retired in tornado-magnet west Florida while Lana continues as a book dealer as King & Queen Books. Find her online at http://floridabooksellers.com/booksellers/kingandqueen.html or call them at 850 477-2560. King & Queen regularly issue catalogues.

James Servies: The Pursuit of Bibliographical Excellence

- By Bruce McKinney

Jim and Lana Servies at work early in their research for the Bibliography of Florida.

By Bruce McKinney

Mao Tse Tung said that every journey begins with a single step. For James Servies, who in the midst of his library career took on the construction of two important bibliographies, there have been two long journeys and thousands of entries that ensure that both his bibliographical projects and his name will resonate with scholars, book dealers and collectors long into the future. These projects are the Bibliography of West Florida and the Bibliography of Florida.

The first steps on the path to The Bibliography of West Florida, his first major bibliographic undertaking, began in the mid 1960s when Mr. Servies, then the new Director of Libraries at the new University of West Florida, began to research and organize the bibliographical records that would in time be joined under the description, "a bibliography of historic West Florida and the 10 counties of the Florida Panhandle." Beginning as smaller publications, in time this would become a four volume set of material that begins with Oviedo y Valdes' La historia general delas Indias dated 1535, carrying the bibliographical identifier 1535-1, and continuing through to A. J. Wright's article in Old West, the magazine in fall, 1981, identified as 1981-67, as the last. He undertook this project because, as he explained in the preface to the first volume,

"Few regions of the United States of America have suffered more from scholarly neglect than that portion of the Gulf Coast between Mississippi and the Apalachicola rivers which we here call West Florida."

In creating his bibliography he set out to correct that neglect.

Today this bibliography is somewhat dated. Its last amendments were printed in 1982. As is to be expected there are very few copies left. Jim and his wife Lana have four sets of the 4 volumes, each set priced at $250, a required item for any dealer or collector whose field embraces the 1760s British definition of West Florida.

For many people one very serious bibliography would be their lasting achievement. For James Servies and his wife, it was the warm-up. Beginning again, in the mid 1980s he started work on his Bibliography of Florida, a bibliographically more complete work that is focused on Florida as the term has been defined through time.

James Servies: The Pursuit of Bibliographical Excellence

- By Bruce McKinney

The title page of a well worn, much used Vol 1. of the Bibliography of Florida.

Here is how he explains the scope of the project in Vol. 1 that was issued in 1993.

"Our intention is to record, generally in chronological sequence according to the date of publication, the major separate works - books, pamphlets, periodical articles, broadsides and maps - which have touched upon Florida affairs and which were produced by Florida's printers."

With these words he launched upon a quest for bibliographical completeness that has produced four volumes:

Volume 1: 1507 - 1845 covering 3,106 items; Volume 2: 1846 - 1880 covering 3,792 items; Volume 3: 1881 - 1899 covering 5,590 items, Volume 4: 1900 - 1915 covering 5,564 items.

Bill Reese, of New Haven, and the leading dealer in the American books field, is a genuine enthusiast for this extraordinary undertaking, describing it this way in his catalogued listing,

[A] "first-rate bibliography, listing (with the first, second, and third volumes) a total of 18,052 items relating to Florida through 1915, arranged chronologically. Provides collations, notes on content, and bibliographical citations. This is the first decent bibliography of Florida (except the same author's proto- work for this) and a most welcome and invaluable addition."

It seems, that for Jim and Lana, his wife-partner and fellow bibliographer, it has been an epic undertaking that brings to mind the lyrics of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Ain't no mountain high enough," precisely the scale of ambition necessary to climb the bibliographical Himalayas twice.

Jim is semi-retired in tornado-magnet west Florida while Lana continues as a book dealer as King & Queen Books. Find her online at http://floridabooksellers.com/booksellers/kingandqueen.html or call them at 850 477-2560. King & Queen regularly issue catalogues.