"This famous work is designed as a Dictionary of American and English Initials and Pseudonyms employed from the beginning of the 18 century to the present time; to which have been added some of the more recent and important continental ones, and a few false-names, which, by a strict definition of words, would be called soubriquets.

For the convenience of those using the dictionary, it may be well to state that  the first part gives the initials and pseudonym, followed by real names, of the authors, together with some representative literary performance; and the method used in indexing, with some exceptions, is to treat the literary disguises as real names, and arrange them as is customary with the latter, i.e. the last member of the initial or pseudonym is put first, and determines the alphabetical order. The second part contains the real names of authors, followed by the initials and pseudonyms, and short biographical notices.

This reference work has been a standard source of information on literature for a long time and is a must for every library, teacher, or student interested in the subject." (jacket)