The wittiest commentary on book-collecting and the care of books ever written, Blades's Enemies of Books enummerates the enemies as: Fire, Water, Gas and Heat, Dust and Neglect, Ignorance and Bigotry, The Bookworm, Other Vermin, Bookbinders, Collectors, Servants and Children. This new and corrected edition adds an article on Librarians as Enemies of Books, an Introduction, a biography of Blades, and many helpful notes.William Blades (1824-1890) was a printer and bibliographer. His Life of Caxton revolutionised our understanding of the first English printer.