Beautifully designed and executed, this work by the Library of Congress examines several histories: the library; the science of cataloging; and the cards themselves as aesthetic objects. Interspersed throughout are images to delight book lovers
covers and title pages of classics from Shakespeare's First Folio to The Joy of Cooking, with their accompanying cards. These are wonderful eye candy but also, on close reading, fascinating records of the cataloging process, complete with revisions, corrections, marginalia, and name changes.
Library Journal Starred Review This book about card catalogs, written and published in cooperation with the Library of Congress, is beautifully produced, intelligently written, and lavishly illustrated.... The Card Catalog is many things: a lucid overview of the history of bibliographic practices, a paean to the Library of Congress, a memento of the cherished card catalogs of yore, and an illustrated collection of bookish trivia.... The illustrations are amazing: luscious reproductions of dozens of cards, lists, covers, title pages, and other images guaranteed to bring a wistful gleam to the book nerd's eye.
The Washington Post A lively, superbly well-curated, and handsomely illustrated celebratory volume.... An irresistible treasury for book and library lovers.
Booklist Starred Review