Every library that is fairly old or fairly large contains a certain number of bound-withs (a.k.a. sammelbands). Bound-withs are a compilation of books that were originally created separately, but then bound together between a single set of covers. This was usually performed on behalf of the original owner of the separate works, for various reasons. Perhaps the works had something in common, or didn’t have durable covers of their own, or were presumed to be more attractive if they were bound in a similar manner to the other volumes already sitting on that owner’s shelf, etc.
LIBRARIES AND BOUND-WITHS
Bound-withs present unique challenges for libraries, and especially for the catalogers that attempt to describe them. Should the work be described on a single bibliographic record, or separate records for each of the constituent pieces? How do we communicate information about the other pieces in the bound-with, and their (potential) relationships to each other? How confident can we be about the provenance of the volume (that is, its original purchaser, subsequent owner(s), eventual donor, etc.?).
EXAMPLE OF A BOUND-WITH
Bound-withs should be especially interesting to researchers, of course. Consider the example of Beiträge zur Pathologie u. praktischen Medicin (link). Dr. Howard Atwood Kelly – one of the “Big Four” founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital – created a bound-with out of 22 different monographs, originally published between 1843 and 1871. It was gifted to the Welch Medical Library, on an indeterminate date, and was added to the circulating collection. But only the first title in the volume was fully described – Missbildungen. Erste Sammlung (link), a book about congenital abnormalities. The other 21 items were always there, but no one knew to look for them, as the catalog record made no mention of the additional content.
SIGNIFICANCE OF BOUND-WITHS
Beiträge zur Pathologie u. praktischen Medicin was “rediscovered” by Michael Seminara and Zee Hinz in early 2026, then fully cataloged in April 2026. The Institute of the History of Medicine was delighted to discovery that most of the pieces comprising the bound-with were fairly rare : most items had 5 or less holdings in the entire world (19 of the 22 titles), and 6 titles were only available in this single copy (in their original print form, at least). Furthermore, researchers now had an unexpected window into one of the seminal figures in the history of their institution. What did Dr. Kelly purchase, read, collect, preserve, and consider important enough to hand down to future generations?
CONCLUSION
One of the dreams that every library shares is that its resources will be fully described, by well-qualified experts, so that each book – especially the rare and/or expensive ones – may find the largest possible audience. Bound-withs are among the most challenging resources to fully describe, especially considering that they often contain obscure materials, in multiple languages, that may not possess any (readily apparent) shared traits. But if one conceptualizes them as unique materials, possessing additional historical significance just waiting to be teased out, then it makes sense to move them closer to the front of our cataloging queue.
