In 1868, Joseph Sabin produced a prospectus for his famous bibliography of monograph works about the "Americas" that he and his successor authors struggled to produce. This was no small undertaking. Sabin himself wrote "Had the magnitude and extreme difficulty of the undertaking been presented to my mind in full proportion at the outset, I should never have attempted it; and, indeed, I may remark, that I have more than once almost determined upon its abandonment; but a deep sense of its importance, however, imperfectly it may be executed, and a strong partiality for bibliographical pursuits, have stimulated me to continue..."
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