The Bibliographer's Manual of English Literature: Containing an Account of Rare, Curious and Useful Books, Published in Or Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, from the Invention of Printing; with Bibliographical and Critical Notices, Collations of the Rarer Articles, and the Prices at which They Have Been Sold in the Present Century

First published in serial form between 1834 and 1834 by William Thomas Lowndes, this monumental work was born from the author's extensive experience as a bookseller in London. Lowndes aimed to create a comprehensive, systematic catalog of English literature that would assist collectors and scholars in identifying rare and useful editions, filling a significant void in bibliographical reference material available to the public at the time.

The design of the manual reflects a rigorous, encyclopedic approach to cataloging, providing not only titles and publication details but also collations and historical sales data. While the original effort proved so exhaustive that it contributed to the author's financial and physical decline, it became a standard reference tool for the nineteenth-century book trade. It was later expanded and revised by Henry George Bohn in the 1850s, cementing its reputation as an essential resource for bibliographers and institutional libraries for generations.