ENGLISH BOOK COLLECTORS

[Illustration: GEORGE JOHN, SECOND EARL SPENCER. ]

EDITED BY ALFRED POLLARD

ENGLISH BOOK COLLECTORS

BY

WILLIAM YOUNGER FLETCHER F. S. A. 

LONDONKEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNERAND COMPANY, LIMITED1902

The English Bookman's Library

Edinburgh: T. And A. CONSTABLE, (late) Printers to Her Majesty

[Transcriber's note:

Letters that could not be properly displayed in the e-text are representedas follows:

1. A letter with a macron is represented by an =, as in [=a]2. The letter h with a line through the top is represented as [=h]3. A letter with a tilde is represented by an ~, as in [~m]]

PREFACE

My principal object in compiling this work on English Book Collectorshas been to bring together in a compact and convenient form theinformation respecting them which is to be found scattered in the worksof many writers, both old and new. While giving short histories of thelives of the collectors, and some description of their libraries, I havealso endeavoured to show what manner of men the owners of thesecollections were. In doing this I have sought, where practicable, to letthe accounts be told as much as possible in the words of theirbiographers, as their narratives are often not only full of interest, but are also couched in delightfully quaint language. As it would not bepossible in a volume of this size to furnish satisfactory notices of allthe Englishmen who have formed large libraries, I have selected some ofthose who appear to possess special claims to notice, either on theground of their interesting personality, or the exceptional importanceof their collections. I have not given any account of the collectors wholived prior to the reign of Henry VII. , for until that time librariesconsisted almost entirely of manuscripts; and I have also excluded menwho, like Sir Thomas Bodley, collected books for the express purpose offorming, or adding to, public libraries. 

My friend, Mr. Walter Stanley Graves, has in an appendix to this volumecompiled a list of the principal sales of libraries in this country froman early period to the present time, which will be found to supplyuseful information about many of those collectors who are not otherwisementioned in the book. 

Mr. Locker-Lampson in the introduction to the catalogue of his libraryvery pertinently remarks: 'It is a good thing to read books, and it neednot be a bad thing to write them; but it is a pious thing to preservethose that have been some time written. ' To collectors scholars owe adeep debt of gratitude, for innumerable are the precious manuscripts andrare printed books which they have rescued from destruction, and not afew of them have enriched by their gifts and bequests the publiclibraries of their country. Every lover of books must feel how greatlyindebted he is to Archbishops Cranmer and Parker, the Earl of Arundel, Lord Lumley, Sir Robert Cotton, and other early collectors, for savingso many of the priceless manuscripts from the libraries of thesuppressed monasteries and religious houses which, at the Reformation, intolerance, ignorance, and greed consigned to the hands of the tailor, the goldbeater, and the grocer. A large number of the treasures once tobe found in these collections have been irrecoverably lost, but many avolume, now the pride of some great library, bears witness to the piousand successful exertions of these eminent men. 

A love of book-collecting has always prevailed in this country, andsince the end of the seventeenth century it has become very widelydiffused. In the early days of the eighteenth century the Duke ofDevonshire, the Earls of Oxford and Sunderland, and several othercollectors, employed themselves during the winter months in ramblingthrough various quarters of the town in search of additions to theirlibraries, and with some of these collectors the acquisition of booksbecame a positive passion. In 1813 Dr. Dibdin thought that thethermometer of bibliomania had reached its highest point, and it wouldcertainly appear to have been very high indeed, judging from the pricesobtained at the Roxburghe and other sales of the time. For some yearsthere was a period of depression, which perhaps was at the lowestbetween 1830 and 1850, but the desire to acquire rare books appearsnever to have been greater than at the present day, and for the choicestexamples collectors are willing to give sums which dwarf intoinsignificance the prices which excited the astonishment of our fathers. These high prices may possibly be somewhat due to the spirited biddingof the great bookseller we have recently lost, and to the competition ofour American cousins; but they are also distinct evidences that thebeautiful and interesting volumes which issued from the presses of theold printers have not lost their charm for the bibliophiles of our owntime. They have the advantage, too, of causing these treasures to bemore valued, and consequently better treated, for it has been well saidthat nothing tends to the preservation of anything so much as making itbear a high price. 

A chronological arrangement of the collectors has been adopted forseveral reasons as the preferable one, but an alphabetical list of theirnames will be found at the beginning of the volume. It ought also to beobserved that accounts of the different libraries rarely mention thenumber of books contained in them, but when they have been sold byauction I have found by a careful examination of the sale cataloguesthat on an average each lot may be reckoned as consisting of about avolume and a half. 

 'For out of the olde feldes, as men saythe, Cometh al this newe come fro yere to yere, And out of olde bokes, in good faythe, Cometh al this newe science that men lere. '

 CHAUCER. --_Parlement of Foules. _

 W. Y. F. 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF COLLECTORS

 PAGE

 Arundel, Henry Fitzalan, Earl of, 30 Ashburnham, Bertram, Earl of, 382 Askew, Dr. Anthony, 219 Bagford, John, 129 Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart. , 270 Beauclerk, Hon. Topham, 251 Beckford, William, 317 Bernard, Dr. Francis, 111 Bindley, James, 244 Brand, Rev. John, 274 Bridges, John, 156 Buckingham, Richard Grenville, Duke of, 342 Burghley, William Cecil, Lord, 38 Burney, Charles, 306 Burton, Robert, 72 Corser, Rev. Thomas, 372 Cotton, Sir Robert Bruce, Bart. , 61 Cracherode, Rev. C. M. , 221 Cranmer, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, 18 Crawford, Alexander William, Earl of, 399 Daniel, George, 358 Dee, Dr. John, 45 Dent, John, 277 Devonshire, William, Duke of, 364 D'Ewes, Sir Symonds, Bart. , 103 Digby, Sir Kenelm, 105 Douce, Francis, 293 Edwards, James, 297 Fairfax, Brian, 170 Farmer, Rev. Richard, D. D. , 235 Fisher, John, Bishop of Rochester, 14 Folkes, Martin, 195 Gibson-Craig, James Thomson, 395 Gough, Richard, 238 Grenville, Right Hon. Thomas, 281 Guilford, Frederick North, Earl of, 321 Hamilton, Alexander, Duke of, 328 Hargrave, Francis, 267 Hearne, Thomas, 172 Heath, Benjamin, 208 Heath, Rev. Benjamin, D. D. , 253 Heber, Richard, 336 Hibbert, George, 300 Hoare, Sir Richard Colt, Bart. , 313 Huth, Henry, 409 Inglis, John Bellingham, 349 Laing, David, 377 Lansdowne, William Petty Fitzmaurice, Marquis of, 248 Laud, William, Archbishop of Canterbury, 66 Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of, 49 Le Neve, Peter, 147 Locker-Lampson, Frederick, 418 Lumley, John, Lord, 52 Luttrell, Narcissus, 139 Marlborough, George Spencer Churchill, Duke of, 324 Mead, Dr. Richard, 160 Miller, William Henry, 355 Moore, John, Bishop of Ely, 125 Morris, William, 423 Murray, John, 159 Norfolk, Thomas Howard, Earl of, 91 Oldys, William, 197 Orford, Horace Walpole, Earl of, 209 Oxford, Robert and Edward Harley, Earls of, 150 Parker, Matthew, Archbishop of Canterbury, 21 Pearson, Major Thomas, 256 Pembroke, Thomas Herbert, Earl of, 137 Pepys, Samuel, 113 Perkins, Frederick, 347 Perkins, Henry, 346 Phillipps, Sir Thomas, Bart. , 367 Ratcliffe, John, 199 Rawlinson, Dr. Richard, 186 Rawlinson, Thomas, 176 Reed, Isaac, 269 Roxburghe, John Ker, Duke of, 259 Royal Collectors, 1 Selden, John, 85 Sheldon, Ralph, 108 Sloane, Sir Hans, Bart. , 143 Smith, Joseph, 184 Smith, Richard, 93 Smith, Sir Thomas, 34 Spencer, George John, Earl, 308 Steevens, George, 240 Stillingfleet, Edward, Bishop of Worcester, 122 Sunderland, Charles Spencer, Earl of, 165 Sykes, Sir Mark Masterman, Bart. , 331 Thomason, George, 96 Thorold, Sir John, Bart. , 233 Tite, Sir William, C. B. , 392 Totnes, George Carew, Earl of, 59 Towneley, John, 226 Turner, Robert Samuel, 415 Usher, James, Archbishop of Armagh, 76 West, James, 203 Willett, Ralph, 215 Williams, John, Archbishop of York, 81 Wodhull, Michael, 263 Wotton, Thomas, 43

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGE

 Earl Spencer, _Frontispiece_ Henry, Prince of Wales, 6 Archbishop Parker, 21 Device of Earl of Arundel, 30 Book-stamp of Sir Thomas Smith, 35 Book-stamp of Lord Burghley, 42 Arms of Thomas Wotton, 44 Dr. Dee, 46 Book-stamp of Earl of Leicester, 50 Lord Lumley, 53 Book-stamp of Earl of Totnes, 59 Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, Bart. , 62 Archbishop Usher, 76 Archbishop Williams, 81 Arms of Earl of Norfolk, 92 Book-stamp of Sir Symonds D'Ewes, Bart. , 104 Book-stamp of Sir Kenelm Digby, 106 Book-stamp of Ralph Sheldon, 109 Book-plate of Samuel Pepys, 114 Book-stamp of Samuel Pepys, 118 Book-stamp of Samuel Pepys, 120 Book-plate in Bishop Moore's Books, given by George I. To the University of Cambridge, 127 John Bagford, 131 Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. , 143 Book-plate of Robert Harley, 151 Book-stamp of Robert Harley, 152 Dr. Mead, 161 Earl of Sunderland, 165 Thomas Hearne, 172 Book-plate of Joseph Smith, 184 Dr. Richard Rawlinson, 189 Strawberry Hill, 211 Rev. C. M. Cracherode, 221 Book-stamp of Rev. C. M. Cracherode, 225 Book-plate of John Towneley, 228 Book-plate of James Bindley, 245 Rev. Dr. Heath, 254 Duke of Roxburghe, 259 Book-stamp of Michael Wodhull, 264 Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, 283 William Beckford, 318 Duke of Devonshire, 364 Small Book-stamp of the Earl of Balcarres, 400 Large Book-stamp of the Earl of Balcarres, 402 Frederick Locker-Lampson, 418 Book-plate of Frederick Locker-Lampson, 419

ROYAL COLLECTORS

Although various books are incidentally mentioned in the WardrobeAccounts of the first, second, and third Edwards, there is no goodreason to believe that any English king, save perhaps Henry VI. , or anyroyal prince, with the exception of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, andpossibly of John, Duke of Bedford, possessed a collection large enoughto be styled a library until the reign of Edward IV. In the WardrobeAccounts of that Sovereign, preserved among the Harleian MSS. In thelibrary of the British Museum, mention is made of the conveyance, in theyear 1480, of the King's books from London to Eltham Palace. It isstated that some were put into 'the kings carr, ' and others into 'diverscofyns of fyrre, ' Several entries also refer to the 'coverying andgarnysshing of the books of oure saide Souverain Lorde the Kynge' byPiers Bauduyn, stationer. Among the books mentioned are the works ofJosephus, Livy, and Froissart, 'a booke of _the holy Trinite_, ' 'abooke called _le Gouvernement of Kinges and Princes_, ' 'a booke called_la Forteresse de Foy_, ' and 'a booke called the _bible historial_. ' Theprice paid for 'binding, gilding, and dressing' the copy of the _BibleHistoriale_ and the works of Livy was twenty shillings each, and forseveral others sixteen shillings each. Other entries show that thebindings were of 'Cremysy velvet figured, ' with 'Laces and Tassels ofSilk, ' with 'Blue Silk and Gold Botons, ' and with 'Claspes with Rosesand the Kings Armes uppon them. ' 'LXX Bolions coper and gilt, ' and 'CCCnayles gilt' were also used. 

The first English king who formed a library of any size was Henry VII. , and many entries are found in his Privy Purse Expenses relating to thepurchase and binding of his books. The great ornament of his collectionwas the superb series of volumes on vellum bought of Antoine Vérard, theParis publisher, which now forms one of the choicer treasures of theBritish Museum. Henry's principal library was kept in his palace atRichmond, where, with the exception of some volumes which seem to havebeen taken to Beddington by Henry VIII. , it appears to have remained formore than a century after his death, for Justus Zinzerling, a native ofThuringia, and Doctor of Laws at Basle, states in his book of travels, entitled _Itinerarium Galliæ, etc. _, Lyons, 1616, that 'the mostcurious thing to be seen at Richmond Palace is Henry VII. 's library. ' Itwas probably removed to Whitehall, for the only book in the librarymentioned by Zinzerling, a _Genealogia Rerum Angliæ ab Adamo_, appearsin a catalogue of Charles II. 's MSS. At Whitehall, compiled in 1666. 

Henry VIII. Inherited the love of his father for books, and addedconsiderably to his collection. Besides the library at Richmond, Henryhad a fine one at Westminster, a catalogue of which, compiled in 1542 or1543, is still preserved in the Record Office. He had also libraries atGreenwich, Windsor, Newhall in Essex, and Beddington in Surrey. Some ofhis books were also kept at St. James's, for in the inventory of hisfurniture at that palace, entries occur of a _Description of the hollielande_; 'a boke covered with vellat, embroidered with the Kings arms, declaring the same, in a case of black leather, with his graces arms';and other volumes. Of these libraries the largest and most importantappears to have been that at Westminster. It was fairly rich in theGreek and Latin classics, and in the writings of French and Italianauthors. The English historians were well represented, but the principalfeature of the collection was the works of the Fathers, which were verynumerous. The library also contained no less than sixty primers, many ofthem being bound in 'vellat, ' or in 'lether gorgiously gilted. ' In thesucceeding reign this library was purged 'of all massebookes, legendes, and other superstitiouse bookes' by an Order in Council, which alsodirected that 'the garnyture of the bookes being either golde or silver'should be delivered to Sir Anthony Aucher, the Master of the JewelHouse. 

The library at Greenwich contained three hundred and forty-one printedand manuscript volumes, besides a number of manuscripts, kept in variousparts of the palace. An inventory, taken after the King's death, mentions among other books 'a greate booke called an Herballe, ' 'twoogreat Bibles in Latten, ' and 'a booke, wrytten on parchment, of theprocesse betweene King Henry th' eight and the Ladye Katheryne Dowager. 'The Windsor and Newhall libraries were smaller; the first comprising onehundred and nine, and the second sixty volumes. At Beddington were someremarkably choice books, including many beautiful editions printed forAntoine Vérard, probably some of those purchased by Henry VII. Amongthese was 'a greate booke of parchment, written and lymned with gold ofgravers worke, _de confessione Amantis_. '

Edward VI. And Mary during their short reigns added comparatively fewbooks to the royal collection, nor are there many to be now found in itwhich were acquired by Elizabeth. It is difficult to say what became ofthis Queen's books, of which she appears to have possessed aconsiderable number; for Paul Hentzner tells us in his _Itinerary_ thather library at Whitehall, when he visited it in 1598, was well storedwith books in various languages, 'all bound in velvet of differentcolours, although chiefly red, with clasps of gold and silver; somehaving pearls and precious stones set in their bindings. ' Probably therichness of the bindings had much to do with the disappearance of thebooks. 

James I. Is undoubtedly entitled to a place in the list of royalbook-collectors, and the numerous fine volumes, many of them splendidlybound, with which he augmented the royal library, testify to his love ofbooks. When but twelve years of age he possessed a collection ofsomething like six hundred volumes, about four hundred of which arespecified in a manuscript list, principally in the handwriting of PeterYoung, who shared with George Buchanan the charge of James's education. This list is preserved in the British Museum, and was edited in 1893 byMr. G. F. Warner, Assistant-Keeper of Manuscripts, for the ScottishHistory Society. After the death of the learned Isaac Casaubon, theKing, at the instigation of Patrick Young, his librarian, purchased hisentire library of his widow for the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds. 

If James I. Is entitled to be regarded as a collector, his eldest sonHenry has even a better claim to the title. This young prince, whocombined a great fondness for manly sports with a sincere love forliterature, purchased from the executors of his tutor, Lord Lumley, thegreater portion of the large and valuable collection which that noblemanhad partly formed himself, and partly inherited from his father-in-law, Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the possessor of a fine library atNonsuch, comprising a number of manuscripts and many printed volumeswhich had belonged to Archbishop Cranmer. Henry's first care after theacquisition of the books was to have them catalogued, and in his PrivyPurse Expenses for the year 1609 we find the following entry: 'To Mr. Holcock, for writing a Catalogue of the Library which his Highness hadeof my Lord Lumley, £8, 13s. 0d. ' He also unfortunately had the volumesrebound and stamped with his arms and badges, a step which must havedestroyed many interesting bindings. Henry only lived three years toenjoy his purchase, but during that time he made many additions to it. Edward Wright, the mathematician, who died in 1615, was his librarian, and received a salary of thirty pounds a year. As Henry died intestatehis library became the property of his father, and passed into the royalcollection which was given to the British Museum by George II. 

Prince Rupert also appears to have inherited to some extent the loveof books possessed by his grandfather James I. And his uncle PrinceHenry, for he formed a well-selected library of about twelve hundredvolumes, of which a catalogue is preserved among the Sloane manuscriptsin the British Museum. [1]

[Illustration: HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES. ]

King Charles I. , although he bought some books, and had a number ofvaluable volumes given to him by his mother, can hardly be classed withthe royal book-collectors. He had a greater inclination to paintings andmusic than to books, and it is said that he so excelled in the finearts, that he might, if it were necessary, 'have got a livelihood bythem. ' One very precious addition to the royal library was, however, made during his reign: the famous _Codex Alexandrinus_, which CyrilLucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1624 placed in the hands of SirThomas Roe, the English ambassador to the Porte, as a gift to KingJames, but which did not reach England till four years later, when thatsovereign was no longer alive. The royal library, which had narrowlyescaped dispersion in the Civil War, was largely increased during thereign of Charles II. , and at his death the works in it amounted to morethan ten thousand. A love of books can scarcely be attributed toCharles, and although he certainly caused some important additions to bemade to the collection--notably a number of valuable manuscripts whichhad belonged successively to John and Charles Theyer--the greater partof the increase may be ascribed to the operation of the Copyright Act, which was passed in the fourteenth year of this reign, and enabled theroyal library to claim a copy of every work printed in the Englishdominions. From the death of Charles until the library was given to thenation by George II. In 1757 little interest was taken in it by thekings and queens who reigned in the interval. 

Although George III. Was a man of somewhat imperfect education, hekeenly regretted the loss of the royal collection, and no sooner was heseated on the throne than he began to amass the magnificent librarywhich has now joined its predecessor in the British Museum. In thislabour of love he was assisted by the sympathy and help of his Queen, who, Dr. Croly tells us, was in the habit of paying visits, with alady-in-waiting, to Holywell Street and Ludgate Hill, where second-handbooks were offered for sale. The King commenced the formation of hiscollection in 1762 by buying for about ten thousand pounds the choicelibrary of Mr. Joseph Smith, who for many years was the British consulat Venice, and 'for seven or eight years the shops and warehouses ofEnglish booksellers were also sedulously examined, and large purchaseswere made from them. In this labour Dr. Johnson often assisted, actively as well as by advice. '[2] It is said the King expended duringhis long reign, on an average, about two thousand pounds a year in thepurchase of books. In 1768 he despatched his illegitimate half-brother, Mr. Barnard, afterwards Sir Frederic Augusta Barnard, whom he hadappointed his librarian, on a bibliographical tour on the Continent, during which so many valuable acquisitions were obtained for thelibrary, that it at once took its place amongst the most importantcollections in the country, and after the death of the King, when thebooks it contained were counted by order of a select committee of theHouse of Commons, they were found to number 'about 65, 250 exclusive of avery numerous assortment of pamphlets, principally contained in 868cases, and requiring about 140 more cases to contain the whole. ' Thesetracts, which number about nineteen thousand, have since been separatelybound. The manuscripts belonging to the library amount to about fourhundred and forty volumes, and there is also a magnificent collection ofmaps and topographical prints and drawings. The library is very rich inbibliographical rarities as well as in general literature. The GutenbergBible, the Bamberg Bible, the first and second Mentz Psalters (thefirst, a superb volume, is kept at Windsor Castle), and no less thanthirty-nine Caxtons are among the most conspicuous of the manytreasures of this splendid collection. The Caxtons were principallypurchased at the sales of the libraries of James West in 1773, JohnRatcliffe, the Bermondsey ship-chandler, who had acquired the remarkablenumber of forty-eight, in 1776, and of Richard Farmer in 1798. Edwards, in his _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_, informs us that'Ratcliffe's forty-eight Caxtons produced at his sale two hundred andthirty-six pounds, and that the king bought twenty of them at anaggregate cost of about eighty-five pounds. Amongst them were _Boethiusde Consolatione Philosophiæ_, the first editions of _Reynard the Foxe_and the _Golden Legende_, the _Curial_, and the _Speculum Vitæ Christi_. The _Boethius_ is a fine copy, and was obtained for four pounds sixshillings. '

George III. 's library was first kept in the old Palace of Kew, which waspulled down in 1802, and afterwards in a handsome and extensive suite ofrooms at Buckingham House; the site which at one time had been proposedfor the British Museum. Scholars and students were at all timesliberally permitted by the King to consult the books, and he also showedhis kindly consideration for them by instructing his librarian 'not tobid either against a literary man who wants books for study, or againsta known collector of small means. ' A handsome catalogue of the librarywas compiled by Sir F. A. Barnard, who had charge of the collection fromits commencement to the time when it was acquired by the nation. He diedon the 27th of January 1830, aged eighty-seven. 

The library in which George III. Took so keen an interest was regardedby his successor as a costly burden, and there is little doubt heintended to dispose of it to the Emperor of Russia, who was very anxiousto obtain it. The design of the King having become known to LordFarnborough and Richard Heber, the collector, they communicatedintelligence of it to Lord Liverpool and Lord Sidmouth, who werefortunately able to prevent the proposed sale of the books by offeringthe King an equivalent for them, the amount of which has not transpired, out of a fund known as the Droits of the Admiralty. On the completion ofthe bargain, George IV. Addressed to Lord Liverpool a letter, datedJanuary 15th, 1823, in which occur the following words: 'The King, mylate revered and excellent father, having formed during a long series ofyears a most valuable and extensive library, consisting of about 120, 000volumes, I have resolved to present this collection to the BritishNation. ' This letter, printed in letters of gold, is preserved in theBritish Museum. In addition to the first edition of the Mentz Psalter;the Aldine Virgil of 1505, the Second Shakespeare folio which oncebelonged to Charles I. , four Caxtons forming part of the collection, viz. , _The Doctrinal of Sapience_, on parchment, _The Fables of Æsop_, _The Fayts of Arms_, and the _Recueil des Histoires de Troye_, with afew other volumes, were retained at Windsor. 

Of the sons of George III. , the Duke of Sussex alone appears to haveinherited his father's love of collecting books, and he formed amagnificent library in his apartments at Kensington Palace. Thecollection consisted of more than fifty thousand volumes, twelvethousand of which were theological. It included a very considerablenumber of early Hebrew and other rare manuscripts, and about onethousand editions of the Bible. An elaborate catalogue of a portion ofit, entitled _Bibliotheca Sussexiana_, was compiled by Dr. T. J. Pettigrew, the Duke's librarian, in two volumes, the first of which wasprinted in 1827, and the second in 1839. 

After the Duke's death his books were sold by auction by Evans of PallMall. They were disposed of in six sales, the first of which took placein July 1844, and the last in August 1845; and they occupied altogethersixty-one days. The number of lots was fourteen thousand one hundred andseven, and the total amount realised nineteen thousand one hundred andforty-eight pounds. 

The Duke of York possessed a good library, which was sold by Sotheby inMay 1827, but it consisted almost entirely of modern books, and the Dukecould hardly be considered a collector. 

On his succession to the throne William IV. , as he remarked, foundhimself the only sovereign in Europe not possessed of a library, andspeedily took steps to acquire one. He did more than this, for in July1833 he caused a special codicil to his will to be drawn up which setsforth that 'Whereas His Majesty hath made considerable additions to theRoyal Libraries in His Majesty's several Palaces, and may hereafter makefurther additions thereto, Now His Majesty doth give and bequeath allsuch additions, whether the same have been or may be made by and at thecost of His Majesty's Privy Purse or otherwise unto and for the benefitof His Majesty's successors, in order that the said Royal Libraries maybe transmitted entire. '

When on November 30th, 1834, the King signed this document, he made ityet more emphatic by the autograph note: 'Approved and confirmed by methe King, and I further declare that all the books, drawings, and planscollected in all the palaces shall for ever continue Heirlooms to theCrown and on no pretence whatever be alienated from the Crown. '

Thus explicitly protected from the fate which befell its twopredecessors, this third Royal Library throve and prospered under QueenVictoria till it fills a handsome room at Windsor Castle. The few booksreserved by George IV. Give it importance as an antiquarian collection;but its development has been rather on historical and topographical thanon antiquarian lines, though it possesses sufficient fine bindings tohave supplied materials for a handsome volume of facsimiles by Mr. Griggs, edited with introduction and descriptions by Mr. R. R. Holmes, M. V. O. , the King's Librarian at Windsor. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Sloane MSS. 555. ]

[Footnote 2: Edwards, _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_, p. 469. ]

JOHN FISHER, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER, 1459?-1535

John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, was born at Beverley in Yorkshire, andwas the eldest son of Robert Fisher, a mercer of that town. The date ofhis birth is uncertain, some of his biographers placing it as early as1459, and others as late as 1469. He was educated in the school attachedto the collegiate church of his native place, and afterwards at MichaelHouse, Cambridge (now incorporated into Trinity College), of which hebecame a Fellow in 1491, and Master in 1497. In 1501 he was electedVice-Chancellor, and in 1504 Chancellor of the University. The respectin which Margaret, Countess of Richmond, the mother of Henry VII. , heldhim, induced her to appoint him her chaplain and confessor, and it wasprincipally through his exertions that the Countess's designs forfounding St. John's College, Cambridge, were carried out, Fisher himselfsubsequently founding several fellowships, scholarships, andlectureships in connection with the college. He was appointed the first'Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity' in the University of Cambridgein 1503, and in 1504 was consecrated Bishop of Rochester. The firmnesswith which he opposed the royal supremacy, and the divorce of HenryVIII. , brought on him the displeasure of the King, and in 1534, havinggiven too ready a credence to the 'revelations' of Elizabeth Barton, 'the nun of Kent, ' he was attainted of misprision of treason, and soonafterwards, on his refusal to acknowledge the King's supremacy and thevalidity of his marriage with Anne Boleyn, was committed with Sir ThomasMore to the Tower. During his imprisonment Pope Paul III. Created him acardinal, an act which greatly increased the irritation of the Kingagainst him, and on the 22nd of June 1535 Fisher was beheaded on TowerHill. 

Bishop Fisher, who was the author of a considerable number ofcontroversial tracts, was a man of great learning, and is said to havepossessed the finest library in the country. In an account of his lifeand death first published in 1665, which was professedly written byThomas Baily, a royalist divine, but is said to have been really thework of Dr. Richard Hall of Christ's College, Cambridge, who died in1604, a relation is given of the seizure of his goods and books afterhis attainder. 'In the meantime lest any conveyance might be made of hisgoods remaining at Rochester, or elsewhere in Kent, the King sent oneSir Richard Moryson, of his Privy Chamber, and one Gostwick, togetherwith divers other Commissioners, down into that Countrey, to makeseisure of all his moveable goods that they could finde there, who beingcome unto Rochester, according to their Commission, entred his house;and the first thing they did was, they turned out all his Servants; thenthey fell to rifling his goods, whereof the chief part of them weretaken for the Kings use, the rest they took for themselves; then theycame into his Library, which they found so replenished, and with suchkind of Books, as it was thought the like was not to be found againe inthe possession of any one private man in Christendom; with which theytrussed up and filled 32 great vats, or pipes, besides those that wereimbezel'd away, spoyl'd and scatter'd; and whereas many yeares before hehad made a deed of gift of all these books, and other his householdstuffe to the Colledge of St John in Cambridge, . . . Two frauds werecommitted in this trespasse; the Colledge were bereaved of their gift, and the Bishop of his purpose. ' An account of his library and itsconfiscation is also to be found in a manuscript treatise concerning hislife and death, preserved among the Harleian MSS. In the British Museum. 'He had ye notablest Library of Books in all England, two longgalleries full, the Books were sorted in stalls & a Register of yenames of every Book at ye end of every stall. All these his Books, &all his Hangings, plate, & vessels for Hawl, Chamber, Buttry, & Kitchin, he gave long before his death to St Joh: College, by a Deed of gift, &put them in possession thereof; & then by indenture did borrow all yesd: books & stuff, to have ye use of ym during his life, but at hisapprehension, the Lord Crumwell caused all to be confiscated, which hegave to Moryson, Plankney of Chester, and other that were about him, &so ye College was defrauded of all this gift. '

Erasmus represents Fisher as a man of the greatest integrity, of deeplearning, incredible sweetness of temper, and grandeur of soul; and SirThomas More declared that there was 'in this realm no one man, inwisdom, learning, and long approved vertue together, mete to be matchedand compared with him. '

An excellent portrait of Fisher is preserved among the Holbein drawingsat Windsor Castle, and others are to be found in several of the Collegesof the University of Cambridge. 

THOMAS CRANMER, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 1489-1556

[Illustration]

Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, the events of whose life areso well known that it is not necessary to give an account of them here, possessed a very fine library, both of manuscripts and printed books. Many of the volumes it contained are still in existence, and fortunatelythey can be identified without difficulty, as almost all of them bearthe Archbishop's name written, it is believed, by one of hissecretaries. As might be expected, the books are principally of atheological nature, although copies of the Greek and Latin Classics, andof works treating of historical, scientific, legal, medical, andmiscellaneous subjects are fairly numerous. Strype tells us 'that thelibrary was the storehouse of ecclesiastical writers of all ages: andwhich was open for the use of learned men. Here old Latimer spent manyan hour; and found some books so remarkable, that once he thought fit tomention one in a sermon before the King. ' Strype adds that Cranmer bothannotated the books in his library, and also made extracts from them, and the notes which are found in many of those which have beenpreserved to our time confirm his statement. 

The fate of the library after the fall of its owner can only beconjectured. 

Soon after the accession of Mary to the throne Cranmer was put on histrial for high treason, and sentence of death was passed upon him; andalthough at that time his life was spared, he was included in the Act ofAttainder passed in Parliament against the Earl of Northumberland, deprived of his archbishopric, and committed to the Tower. He had toproduce an inventory of his goods; and a list of all the property foundin the Archbishop's palaces is still preserved in the Record Office, but, with the exception that it is stated that a 'bible with otherbookes of service' were 'conveyed and stolen awaie' from the chapel, nomention is made of the books. They probably shared the fate of the goodsof Robert Holgate, Archbishop of York, who was deprived of his see in1554, and imprisoned in the Tower, and while confined there had hishouses at Battersea and Cawood rifled of all their valuables. 

It is evident that many of Cranmer's books were acquired by Lord Lumley, then a young nobleman in high favour at Court; and others by LordLumley's father-in-law, Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the LordSteward, who at that time was forming a library at Nonsuch, which he hadrecently purchased of the Queen; as a number of the volumes which werein their libraries have the Archbishop's name inscribed in them. 

By far the larger portion of Cranmer's books which have survived to thepresent time are preserved in the British Museum, whither they came in1757 as part of the old Royal Library, Henry Prince of Wales havingpurchased the Lumley and Arundel collections in 1609. But some are alsopossessed by the Cambridge University Library, the Bodleian Library, andthe Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, while others are to be found onthe shelves of various cathedral and collegiate libraries, and a few arein private hands. Those belonging to the two University Libraries wereprobably gifts of Lord Lumley, who presented eighty-four volumes to theCambridge University Library in 1598, and forty to the Bodleian in thefollowing year. 

Cranmer was the author of several theological books, and he also wrotethe prologue to the second edition of the 'Great Bible, ' printed in1540. His works were collected and arranged by H. Jenkyns, and publishedin four volumes at Oxford in 1833. There is a portrait of theArchbishop, at the age of fifty-seven, by G. Fliccius in the NationalPortrait Gallery, and others are at Cambridge and Lambeth. Cranmer wasborn at Aslacton Manor, in Nottinghamshire, on the 21st of July 1489, and burned at the stake at Oxford on the 21st of March 1556. 

[Illustration: ARCHBISHOP PARKER. ]

MATTHEW PARKER, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 1504-1575

Matthew Parker, the second Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, was bornat Norwich on the 6th of August 1504. He was the son of William Parker, a calenderer of stuffs, who, Strype says, 'lived in very good reputationand plenty, and was a gentleman, bearing for his coat of arms on a fieldgules, three keys erected. To which shield, in honour of the Archbishop, a chevron was added afterwards, charged with three resplendentestoilles. ' Parker was first privately educated, and afterwardsproceeded to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, of which college he waselected a Fellow in 1527. In the same year he took holy orders, and in1535 was appointed Chaplain to Queen Anne Boleyn, who shortly afterwardsconferred on him the Deanery of the College of St. John the Baptist atStoke, near Clare in Suffolk. In 1538 he was created a Doctor ofDivinity, and made one of the King's chaplains; and in 1544 he waselected Master of Corpus Christi College. He was chosen to the office ofVice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge in 1545, and again in1549. In 1552 he was appointed to the Deanery of Lincoln, of which hewas deprived in 1554. During the reign of Mary, Parker lived quietlypursuing his studies, as he himself tells us, 'Postea privatus vixi, itacoram Deo lætus in conscientiâ meâ; adeoque nee pudefactus, necdejectus, ut dulcissimum otium literarium, ad quod Dei bona providentiame revocavit, multo majores et solidiores voluptates mihi pepererit, quàm negotiosum illud et periculosum vivendi genus unquam placuit. ' Onthe accession of Elizabeth he was summoned from his retirement and madeArchbishop of Canterbury. His consecration took place on the 17th ofDecember 1559. He died on the 17th of May 1575, and was buried in hisprivate chapel at Lambeth, in a tomb which he had himself prepared. Hisremains, however, were disinterred in 1648 by Colonel Scot, theregicide, and buried under a dunghill, but after the Restoration theywere replaced in the chapel. 

Parker married in 1547 Margaret, daughter of Robert Harlestone ofMatsal, in the county of Norfolk, by whom he had four sons, of whom twodied in infancy, and a daughter. John, the eldest son, was knighted in1603, and died in 1618. 

Archbishop Parker was not only a great churchman, a distinguishedscholar, and a warm promoter of learning, but he was also an ardentcollector of books, and formed a very fine and valuable library, composed to a great extent of rare and choice manuscripts which hadonce belonged to the suppressed monasteries and religious houses. Healso appears to have purchased Bale's fine collection of manuscripts. 

Some of his books he presented to the Cambridge University Libraryduring his lifetime, and in his will he made bequests of other volumesfrom his collection to that library. He also gave books to the librariesof the colleges of Caius and Trinity Hall, but the great bulk of hismanuscripts and printed books he left to his own college of CorpusChristi. [3] An original list of these volumes is preserved in thecollege, with a note by John Parker, the Archbishop's son, stating thatthe missing volumes 'weare not found by me in my father's Librarie, buteither lent or embezeled, whereby I could not deliver them to thecollege. ' Some singular conditions were attached to this bequest by theArchbishop. 'Every year on the 6th of August, the collection is to bevisited by the masters or _locum tenentes_ of Trinity Hall and Caius, with two scholars on Archbishop Parker's foundation, and if, onexamination of the library, twenty-five books are missing, or cannot befound within six months, the whole collection devolves to Caius. In thatcase the masters or _locum tenentes_ of Trinity Hall and Benet, with twoscholars on the same foundation, are the visitors: and if Caius Collegebe guilty of the like neglect, the books to be delivered up to TrinityHall: then the masters or _locum tenentes_ of Caius and Benet, with twosuch scholars, become the inspectors; and in case of default on part ofTrinity Hall, the whole collection reverts back to its former order. Onthe examination day, the visitors dine in the College Hall, and receivethree shillings and four pence, and the scholars one shilling each. '[4]It is also probable that he was a benefactor to the library at Lambeth, for some of the manuscripts preserved there contain notes in hishandwriting. The books which he did not specially bequeath he left tohis son John, afterwards Sir John Parker. 

In addition to the books which Parker gave to Corpus Christi College hefounded several scholarships in connection with it, and bestowed upon itlarge sums of money and presents of plate. He also gave various piecesof plate to Gonville and Caius College and Trinity Hall. 

Parker's love for books, and the pains he took to rescue the preciousvolumes which, after the dissolution of the abbeys and religious houses, were being destroyed or sold for common purposes, is so well told byStrype that his account is worth giving at length: 'His learning, thoughit were universal, yet it ran chiefly upon antiquity. Insomuch that hewas one of the greatest antiquarians of the age. And the world is forever beholden to him for two things; viz. , for retrieving many ancientauthors, Saxon and British, as well as Norman, and for restoring andenlightening a great deal of the ancient history of this noble island. He lived in, or soon after, those times, wherein opportunities weregiven for searches after these antiquities. For when the abbeys andreligious houses were dissolved, and the books that were contained inthe libraries thereunto belonging underwent the same fate, beingmiserably embezzled, and sold away to tradesmen for little or nothing, for their ordinary shop uses; then did our Parker, and some few morelovers of ancient learning, procure, both by their money and theirfriends, what books soever they could: and having got them into theirpossession, esteemed many of them as their greatest treasures, whichother ignorant spoilers esteemed but as trash, and to be burnt, or soldat easy rates, or converted to any ordinary uses. 

'He was therefore a mighty collector of books, to preserve, as much ascould be, the ancient monuments of the learned men of our nation fromperishing. And for that purpose he did employ divers men proper for suchan end, to search all England over, and Wales, (and perhaps Scotland andIreland too), for books of all sorts, some modern as well as ancient;and to buy them up for his use; giving them commission and authorityunder his own hand for doing the same. One of these, named Batman, [5] inthe space of no more than four years, procured for our Archbishop to thenumber of 6700 books. It seems to be almost incredible, then, whatinfinite volumes all the rest of his agents in many more years must haveretrieved for him. 

'It was in those times that many of our choicest MSS. Were conveyed outof the land beyond sea. Of this our Archbishop complained often; takingit heavily, as he wrote in one of his letters to Secretary Cecyl, "thatthe nation was deprived of such choice monuments, so much as he saw theywere in those days, partly by being spent in shops, and used as wastepaper, or conveyed over beyond sea, by some who considered more theirown private gain than the honour of their country. " This was the reasonhe took so much pleasure in the said Secretary's library; "that suchMSS. Might be preserved within the realm, and not sent over by covetousstationers, or spoiled in the apothecaries' shops. " . . . For theretrieving of these ancient treatises and MSS. As much as might be, theArchbishop had such abroad, as he appointed to lay out for themwheresoever they were to be met with, as was shewn before. 

'But he procured not a few himself from such in his own time as werestudious in antiquity: as, namely, several Saxon books from RobertTalbot, [6] a great collector of such ancient writings in King Henry theEighth's time, and an acquaintance of Leland, Bale, etc. Some of whichwritings the said Talbot had from Dr. Owen, [7] the said King Henry'sphysician; and some our archbishop likewise had from him; as appears inone of the Cotton volumes:[8] which is made up of a collection ofvarious charters, etc. , written out by Joh. Joscelyn. [9] Where at someof these MSS. Collected, the said Joscelyn adds these notes, _The copyof this Dr. Talbot had of Dr. Owen. The Archbishop of Canterbury hadthis charter from Dr. Owen, etc_. There be other collections of thisnature now remaining in Benet College, sometime belonging to thisTalbot, which we may presume the Archbishop, partly by his own interest, and partly by the interest of Bale, Caius, and others, obtained;particularly his annotations upon that part of Antoninus's _Itinerarium_which belongs to Britain. And another _De Chartis quibusdam regumBritannorum_. These are mentioned by Anthony à Wood. 

'And he kept such in his family as could imitate any of the oldcharacters admirably well. One of these was Lyly, an excellent writer, and that could counterfeit any antique writing. Him the Archbishopcustomarily used to make old books complete, that wanted some pages;that the character might seem to be the same throughout. So that heacquired at length an admirable collection of ancient MSS. And very manytoo: as we may conjecture from his diligence for so many years as helived, in buying and procuring such monuments. The remainders of hishighly valuable collections are now preserved in several libraries ofthe Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but chiefly in that of BenetCollege, Cambridge. '

Archbishop Parker was one of the founders of the Society of Antiquariesin 1572. He took a special interest in the early English Chronicles, andendeavoured to revive the study of the Saxon language. Among other workshe caused to be printed _Flores Historiarum_, attributed to Matthew ofWestminster, Matthew Paris's _Historia Major_, and the Latin text ofAsser's _Alfredi Regis Res Gestæ_ in Saxon characters, cut by John Day, the printer. He also, says Strype, 'laboured to forward the composingand publishing of a Saxon Dictionary. ' His great work, _De AntiquitateBritannicæ Ecclesiæ et Privilegiis Ecclesiæ Cantuariensis, cumArchiepiscopis eiusdem 70_, which, if not written by him, was producedunder his immediate supervision, was printed by John Day in LambethPalace in 1572. A very limited number of copies of this work, the firstbook privately printed in England, were struck off; not more thantwenty-five are known to exist, and no two are found quite alike. Thepreparation of the Bishops' Bible, which was completed in 1568, wasperformed under his auspices. A presentation copy to Queen Elizabethfrom the Archbishop of the _Flores Historiarum_, very handsomely bound, with the royal arms on the covers; and a copy of the work _DeAntiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ, etc. _, in a fine embroidered binding, which is also believed to have been presented to the Queen by theArchbishop, are preserved in the British Museum. These books wereprobably bound in Lambeth Palace, for in a letter to Lord Burghley, dated the 9th of May 1573, the Archbishop writes, with reference to thelast-named work, 'I have within my house on wagis, drawers and cutters, paynters, lymners, wryters, and boke-bynders'; and he adds that he hassent Lord Burghley a copy of it 'bound by my man. '

A list of Parker's writings, and his editions of authors will be foundin Coopers' _Athenæ Cantabrigienses_. There are portraits of him inLambeth Palace, the Guildhall at Norwich, Corpus Christi College, and inthe Master's Lodge, Trinity College, Cambridge. There is also a rareportrait of him, engraved in 1573, by Remigius Hogenberg, who appears tohave been in the service of the Archbishop. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 3: An interesting account of the sources of the manuscripts, by Montague Rhodes James, Litt. D. , Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, was published in 1899 by the Cambridge Antiquarian Society. ]

[Footnote 4: Hartshorne, _Book Rarities in the University of Cambridge_, p. 9. ]

[Footnote 5: Dr. Stephen Batman, one of the Archbishop's domesticchaplains, editor of _De Proprietatibus Rerum_, by BartholomeusAnglicanus. ]

[Footnote 6: Robert Talbot, Rector of Haversham, Berkshire, andTreasurer of Norwich Cathedral, was the son of John Talbot of ThorpeMalsover, Northamptonshire. He was born about 1505, and was educated atWinchester and New College, Oxford. Camden calls him 'a learnedantiquary, ' and Lambarde describes him as 'a diligent trauayler in theEnglishe hystorye. ' He died in 1558, and was buried in NorwichCathedral. His choicest manuscripts were left by him to New College. ]

[Footnote 7: Dr. Owen, physician to King Henry VIII. , King Edward VI. , and Queen Mary. He died in 1558, and was buried in St. Stephen's, Walbrook. ]

[Footnote 8: Vitellius D. 7. ]

[Footnote 9: An antiquary who resided in the Archbishop's house, and whowrote the lives in _De Antiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ_. ]

HENRY FITZALAN, EARL OF ARUNDEL, 1513?-1580

Henry Fitzalan, twelfth Earl of Arundel, was born about the year 1513. He was the only son of William Fitzalan, eleventh Earl of Arundel, K. G. , by his second wife, Anne, daughter of Henry Percy, fourth Earl ofNorthumberland. 

[Illustration: THE EARL OF ARUNDEL'S DEVICE. ]

When fourteen years of age his father was anxious to place him in thehousehold of Cardinal Wolsey, but he preferred to offer his service tohis godfather, King Henry VIII. , 'who did noblely receave him, and wellesteemed of him for the same. '[10] In 1534 he was summoned toParliament in his father's barony as Lord Maltravers, [11] and in 1536, although only twenty-three years of age, he was appointed Governor ofCalais, a post he held until the death of his father in January 1544. Onthe 24th of April in the same year he was made a K. G. , and in thefollowing July he received the appointment of 'Marshal of the Field' inthe army which invaded France. He greatly distinguished himself at thesiege of Boulogne, and on his return home he was made Lord Chamberlain, which office he held until the fourth year of King Edward VI. 's reign, when, on a false and ridiculous charge of abusing the privileges of hispost to enrich himself and his friends, he was deprived of it, and finedtwelve thousand pounds, eight thousand pounds of which was afterwardsremitted. [12]

On the death of Edward, Arundel took a prominent part in the proceedingswhich placed Mary on the throne, and as a reward for his exertions hewas made Lord Steward of the Household, and was also given a seat on theCouncil Board. Queen Elizabeth, on her accession to the crown, continuedhim in all the appointments which he had held in the preceding reign, and on several occasions visited him at Nonsuch, his residence at Cheamin Surrey. These marks of kindness led him, it is said, to aspire to aunion with his royal mistress; but being disappointed in gaining herhand, and 'being miscontented with sundry things, ' in 1564 he resignedhis post of Lord Steward 'with sundry Speeches of Offence, '[13] which sodispleased Elizabeth that she ordered him to confine himself to hishouse. He afterwards partially regained the favour of the Queen, buthaving endeavoured to promote the marriage of his widowed son-in-law, the Duke of Norfolk, with Mary Queen of Scots, he was once more placedunder arrest, and although after a time he obtained his release, it wasfollowed by further imprisonment, and he did not finally regain hisliberty until some months after the execution of Norfolk on the 2nd ofJune 1572. 

Arundel passed the remainder of his life in retirement, affectionatelytended until her death in 1577 by 'his nursse and deare beloved childe'Lady Lumley. He died on the 24th of February 1580 at Arundel House inthe Strand, and was buried in the Collegiate Chapel at Arundel, where amonument, with an inscription by his son-in-law, Lord Lumley, waserected to his memory. 

Arundel was twice married. By his first wife, Katherine, second daughterof Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, he had one son, Henry, LordMaltravers, who died in 1556, and two daughters: Jane, who married LordLumley, and Mary, who became the wife of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, beheaded in 1572. His second wife, Mary, who died in 1557, was adaughter of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne, Cornwall, and widow of RobertRatcliffe, first Earl of Sussex. By her he had no issue. 

With the assistance of Humphrey Llwyd, the physician and antiquary, whomarried Barbara, sister of Lord Lumley, Lord Arundel formed at hisresidence of Nonsuch a fine collection of books, many of which had oncebeen the property of Archbishop Cranmer. An account of this mansion isgiven in the manuscript Life of Lord Arundel, to which we have alreadyalluded, and it also contains a reference to his library. 'This Earlemoreover continewed allwayes of a greate and noble mynde. Amonge thenumber of whose doings, that past in his tyme, this one is not theleast, to showe his magnificence, that perceivinge a sumptuous housecalled Nonsuche to have bene begon, but not finished, by his firstmaister Kinge Henry the eighte, and thearfore in Quene Maryes tyme, thoughte mete rather to have bene pulled downe and solde by peacemealethen to be perfited at her charges, he, for the love and honour he bareto his olde maister, desired to buye the same house, by greace, of theQuene, for wch he gave faire lands unto her Highnes; and having thesame, did not leave till he had fullye finished it in buildings, reparations, paviments and gardens, in as ample and perfit sorte as bythe first intente and meaninge of the saide Kinge his old maister, thesame should have bene performed, and so it is nowe evident to bebeholden of all strangers, and others, for the honour of this Realme asa pearle thereof. The same he haith lefte to his posterity, garnishedand replenished with riche furnitures; amonge the wch his Lybrarye isrighte worthye of remembrance. '

Lord Arundel left Nonsuch, with its library and furniture, together withthe greater part of his estates, to his son-in-law, Lord Lumley. 

There are portraits of the Earl of Arundel by Holbein and Sir AnthonyMore. That by Holbein, which is in the collection of the Marquis ofBath, is engraved in Lodge's _Portraits of Illustrious Personages_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 10: MS. Life of the Earl of Arundel, evidently written by oneof his most intimate servants, probably a chaplain. --_Royal MSS. _, 17 Aix. , British Museum. ]

[Footnote 11: _Complete Peerage of England, etc. _ Edited by G. E. C. ]

[Footnote 12: 'Th' erle of Arrundel committed to his house for certainecrimes of suspicion against him, as pluking downe of boltes and lokkesat Westminster, giving of my stuff away, etc. , and put to a fine of12, 000 pound to be paide a 1000 pound yerely, of which he was afterreleased. '--_Journal of King Edward VI. _, Cotton MSS. , C. X. , BritishMuseum. ]

[Footnote 13: Strype, _Annals_ (London, 1709), i. 413. ]

SIR THOMAS SMITH, 1513-1577

[Illustration: SIR THOMAS SMITH'S BOOK-STAMP. ]

Sir Thomas Smith, who was Secretary of State to King Edward VI. , andafterwards to Queen Elizabeth, was born at Saffron Walden, Essex, on the23rd of December 1513. He was the son of John Smith of Saffron Waldenand Agnes Charnock, a member of an old Lancashire family. When elevenyears old he was sent to Queens' College, Cambridge, as he himselfinforms us in his _Autobiographical Notes_, now preserved in the BritishMuseum, [14] which he wrote for the purpose of having his nativity cast:'1525. Sub fine II [=a]ni circa fest[=u] Mic[=h]is Cantabrigiam s[=u]missus ad bonas I[=r]as. ' Here he so greatly distinguished himself thatKing Henry VIII. Chose him and John Cheke, afterwards tutor to PrinceEdward, to be his scholars, and allotted them salaries for theencouragement of their studies. Cheke makes mention of this honour in anepistle to the King prefixed to his edition of Two Homilies of St. JohnChrysostom, published at London in 1543: 'Cooptasti me et Thomam Smithumsocium atque æqualem meum, in scholasticos tuos. ' Smith speciallyapplied himself to the study of the Greek classics, and also to thereformation of the faulty pronunciation of the Greek language which thenprevailed; and in a short time, so Strype, in his _Life of Sir T. Smith_, tells us, his more correct way 'prevailed all the Universityover. ' He also endeavoured to introduce a new English alphabet oftwenty-nine letters, and to amend the spelling of the time, 'some of thesyllables, ' he considered, 'being stuffed with needless letters. ' Asearly as 1531 he had become a Fellow of his college, and in 1534 he waschosen University Orator. In 1540 Smith paid a visit to the Continent, and proceeded to Padua, where he took the degree of D. C. L. On his returnto England in 1542 he was made LL. D. At Cambridge, and at the beginningof 1544 was appointed Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University. In the succeeding year he served as Vice-Chancellor, and also becameChancellor to Goodrich, Bishop of Ely, by whom in 1546 he was collatedto the rectory of Leverington, Cambridgeshire, and also ordained priest, a fact unknown to Strype. About the same time he received a prebend fromthe Dean of Lincoln, and soon after he became Provost of Eton and Deanof Carlisle. Towards the end of February 1547, Smith was summoned tocourt, and 'mutata clericali veste, modoque, ac vivendi forma, '[15] hewas made Clerk of the Privy Council, and Master of the Court of Requestsof the Duke of Somerset, then Lord Protector. On the 14th of April 1548he was sworn one of the King's Secretaries, and knighted in thebeginning of the following year. Shortly after his appointment Smith wassent as ambassador to the Emperor Charles V. , and in 1551 he took partin the embassy to France to arrange a match for the King with the Frenchsovereign's eldest daughter. On the accession of Mary he lost all hisoffices and preferments, but he managed to pass through this dangerousreign in safety; and Strype says of him, 'that when many were mostcruelly burnt for the profession of the religion which he held, heescaped, and was saved even in the midst of the fire, which he probablymight have an eye to in changing the crest of his coat-of-arms, whichnow was a salamander living in the midst of a flame; whereas before itwas an eagle holding a writing-pen flaming in his dexter claw. ' WhenElizabeth came to the throne, Smith returned to court, and was engagedin several embassies to France. In 1572 the Queen conferred on him theChancellorship of the Order of the Garter; and shortly afterwards, onLord Burghley's preferment to the office of Lord Treasurer, vacant bythe death of the Marquis of Winchester, made him Secretary of State, apost which, four-and-twenty years before, he held under Edward VI. Smithdied at his residence called Mounthaut, or Hill-hall, in Essex on the12th of August 1577, and was buried in the parish church of TheydonMount, where a monument was erected to his memory. He was twicemarried, but had no children by either of his wives. 

Sir Thomas Smith possessed a fine library of about a thousand volumes. He bequeathed all his Latin and Greek books, as well as his great globe, of his own making, to Queens' College, Cambridge, or, if that collegedid not care to have them, to Peterhouse. Some of his Italian and Frenchbooks he gave to the Queen's Library, and many volumes were also left tofriends. Strype gives a list of the contents of the library at Hill-hallin 1566. 

Smith was the author of several works, the principal one being _DeRepublica Anglorum; the Maner of Gouvernement or Policie of the Realm ofEngland_, London, 1583, 4to. Between 1583 and 1640 this work passedthrough ten editions, and several Latin and other translations of ithave been published. 

A portrait of him by Holbein is at Theydon Mount, and another ispreserved at Queens' College, Cambridge. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 14: Sloane MSS. 325, f. 2. ]

[Footnote 15: _Autobiographical Notes_ by Sir T. Smith. ]

WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY, 1520-1598

William Cecil, Lord Burghley, a relation of whose life would be thehistory of England during the reign of Elizabeth, was born in 1520 anddied in 1598. This great statesman, who at the age of sixteen delivereda lecture on the logic of the Schools, and at nineteen one on the Greeklanguage, found time amid the cares and anxieties attendant on his highposition to form a library, which Strype tells us was a very choice one. The same authority also mentions that he gave many books to theUniversity of Cambridge, 'both Latin and Greek, concerning the canon andcivil law and physic. ' In 1687 a considerable portion of his printedbooks and manuscripts was sold by auction. The title-page of the salecatalogue reads 'Bibliotheca Illustriss: sive Catalogus VariorumLibrorum in quâvis Linguâ et Facultate Insignium ornatissimæ BibliothecæViri Cujusdam Prænobilis ac Honoratissimi olim defuncti, Librisrarissimis tam Typis excusis quàm Manuscriptis refertissimæ: QuorumAuctio habebitur Londini, ad Insigne Ursi in Vico dicto Ave-Mary-Laneprope Templum D. Pauli, Novemb. 21, 1687. Per T. Bentley and B. Walford, Bibliopolas. Lond. '; and in the Preface we read:--'If the catalogue, here presented, were only of Common Books, and such as were easie to behad, it would not have been very necessary to have Prefac'd any thing tothe Reader: But since it appears in the World with two Circumstances, which no Auction in England (perhaps) ever had before; nor is itprobable that the like should frequently happen again, it would seem anOversight, if we should neglect to advertise the Reader of them. Thefirst is, That it comprises the main part of the Library of that FamousSecretary William Cecil, Lord Burleigh: which consider'd, must put itout of doubt, that these Books are excellent in their several kinds andwell-chosen. The second is, That it contains a greater number of RareManuscripts than ever yet were offer'd together in this way, many ofwhich are rendred the more valuable by being remark'd upon by the handof the said great Man. This Auction will begin on Monday the 21st day ofNovember next 1687, at the sign of the Bear in Ave-Mary-Lane, near theWest-end of St. Paul's Church, continuing day by day the first five daysof every Week, till all the Books are sold, from the Hours of Nine inthe Morning till Twelve, and from Two till Six in the Evening. ' Therewere three thousand eight hundred and forty-four lots of printed books, and four hundred and thirteen manuscripts in two hundred and forty-threelots in the sale. A copy of the catalogue, marked with the prices, ispreserved in the British Museum. The printed books in the sale do notappear to have been exceptionally choice or rare, but there were somevaluable manuscripts. A few of the most notable, together with theprices they fetched, are given in the following list:--

_Biblia Sacra Antiquissima_, folio magno, vellum--six pounds, twelveshillings; _Polychronicon vetus MS. Per Radulphum Hygden, nunquam Latineimpressum_, vellum--eleven pounds; _Wicklif's Book of Postils or Sermonsin Old English_--seven pounds, two shillings and six pence; _OtherDiscourses by him_--ten pounds, two shillings and six pence; _WilhelmusMalmesburiensis de gestis Regum Angliæ_, vellum--seven pounds, threeshillings; _L'Histoire du Roy Arthur, avec des Figures d'orées_, foliogrand on vellum--three pounds, two shillings; _Le Chronique de JeanFroissart des guerres de France et D'Angleterre_, folio grand, _avec desbelles Figures_, vellum--three pounds, nine shillings; _Norden ·Speculum Britanniæ_--four pounds, seven shillings. It is not known towhom these books belonged at the period of the sale, but it appearsprobable they were the property of James Cecil, fourth Earl of Salisbury(a descendant of Lord Burghley's younger son), who succeeded to thetitle in 1683, and died in 1694. He was mixed up in the troubles of thetime, and was, says Macaulay, 'foolish to a proverb, ' and the 'prey ofgamesters. ' John Cecil, Earl of Exeter, from 1678 to 1700, who wasdescended from Lord Burghley's elder son, was himself a book collector, and therefore not likely to part with the library of his illustriousancestor. 

The bindings of Lord Burghley's books are generally stamped with hisarms, which are sometimes encircled by the order of the Garter, but alittle volume preserved in the library of the British Museum simplybears his name and that of his second wife, his affectionate companionfor forty-three years. Lord Burghley left an immense mass of papers, which are now preserved at Hatfield House, the Record Office, theBritish Museum, etc. Those in the British Museum, which consist of onehundred and twenty-one folio volumes of state papers and themiscellaneous correspondence of Lord Burghley, together with his privatenote-book and journals, passed from Sir Michael Hickes, one of thestatesman's secretaries, to a descendant, Sir William Hickes, by whomthey were sold to Chiswell, the bookseller, and by him to Strype, thehistorian. On Strype's death they came into the hands of James West, andfrom his executors they were acquired by William Petty, first Marquis ofLansdowne, whose manuscripts were purchased by the Trustees of theBritish Museum in 1807. [16]

[Illustration: LORD BURGHLEY'S BOOK-STAMP. ]

THOMAS WOTTON, 1521-1587

Thomas Wotton was born in 1521 at Bocton or Boughton Place, in theparish of Boughton Malherbe, in the county of Kent, and succeeded hisfather, Sir Edward Wotton, in that estate in 1550. He was appointedsheriff of the county of Kent in the last year of Queen Mary, and inJuly 1573 he entertained Elizabeth and her court at his residence, Bocton Place, when she offered him knighthood, which he declined. Wottonwas twice married. By his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir JohnRudstone, he had three sons: Edward, knighted by Elizabeth, andafterwards raised to the peerage as Baron Wotton by James I. ; and Jamesand John, who were also made knights by Elizabeth. His second wife wasEleanora, daughter of Sir William Finch of Eastwell in Kent, and widowof Robert Morton, Esq. , of the same county, by whom he had a son, Henry, the poet and statesman, who was knighted by James I. He died in Londonon the 11th of January 1587, and was buried in the parish church ofBoughton Malherbe, where a monument was erected to his memory. 

[Illustration: ARMS OF THOMAS WOTTON. ]

Wotton was celebrated for his hospitality, and was much beloved andrespected by all who knew him. He was also a patron of learning, andpossessed a fine and extensive collection of books, remarkable for theirhandsome bindings. They are generally ornamented in a style similar tothat used on the volumes bound for Grolier, whose motto he adopted. Although the majority of the bindings executed for him bear the legendTHOMAE WOTTONI ET AMICORVM as the only mark of their ownership, they aresometimes impressed with his arms. 

Izaak Walton, in his _Life of Sir Henry Wotton_, states that ThomasWotton 'was a gentleman excellently educated, and studious in all theliberal arts, in the knowledge whereof he attained unto greatperfection; who though he had--besides those abilities, a very noble andplentiful estate, and the ancient interest of his predecessors--manyinvitations from Queen Elizabeth to change his country recreations andretirement for a court life:--offering him a knighthood, and that to bebut as an earnest of some more honourable and more profitable employmentunder her; yet he humbly refused both, being a man of great modesty, ofa most plain and single heart, of an ancient freedom, and integrity ofmind. '

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 16: Edwards, _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_(London, 1870), p. 426. ]

DR. DEE, 1527-1608

Dr. John Dee, 'that perfect astronomer, curious astrologer and seriousgeometrician, ' as he is styled by Lilly, was born in London on the 13thof July 1527. He was the son of Rowland Dee, who, according to Wood, wasa wealthy vintner, but who is described by Strype as Gentleman Sewer toHenry VIII. In his _Compendious Rehearsal_ Dee informs us that hepossessed a very fine collection of books, 'printed and ancientlywritten, bound and unbound, in all near 4000, the fourth part of whichwere written books. The value of all which books, by the estimation ofmen skilful in the arts, whereof the books did and do intreat, and thatin divers languages, was well worth 2000 lib. '; and he adds that he'spent 40 years in divers places beyond the seas, and in England ingetting these books together. ' He specially mentions 'that four writtenbooks, one in Greek, two in French, and one in High Dutch cost 533 lib. 'His library also contained a 'great case or frame of boxes, wherein somehundreds of very rare evidences of divers Irelandish territories, provinces and lands were laid up; and divers evidences ancient of someWelsh princes and noblemen, their great gifts of lands to thefoundations or enrichings of Sundry Houses of Religious men. Some alsowere there the like of the Normans donations and gifts about and someyears after the Conquest. ' Dee, in a letter from Antwerp to Sir WilliamCecil, afterwards Lord Burghley, dated February 16, 1563, also statesthat he had purchased a curious book (probably a manuscript), _Steganographia_, by Joannes Trithemius, which was so rare that '1000crowns had been offered in vain' for a copy. Dee placed his library inhis house at Mortlake, Surrey, and so great was its repute, that on the10th of March 1575, Queen Elizabeth, attended by many of her courtiers, paid him a visit for the purpose of examining it; but learning that hiswife had been buried that day, she would not enter the house, butrequested him to show her his famous magic glass, and describe itsproperties, which he accordingly did 'to her Majesty's great contentmentand delight. ' In 1583, during his absence on the Continent, thepopulace, who execrated him as 'a caller of divels, ' broke into hishouse and destroyed a great part of his furniture, collections, andlibrary. On his return to his home in 1589, he succeeded in regainingabout three-fourths of his books; but these were gradually dispersed inconsequence of the pecuniary difficulties he was in during the latteryears of his life. Lilly states that 'he died very poor, enforced manytimes to sell some book or other to buy his dinner with. ' An autographcatalogue of both his printed and manuscript books, dated September 6, 1583, is preserved among the Harleian manuscripts in the BritishMuseum. [17] His private diary, and a catalogue of his manuscripts, wereedited in 1842 for the Camden Society by Mr. J. O. Halliwell, F. R. S. , from the original manuscripts in the Ashmolean Museum and TrinityCollege, Cambridge. Another portion of his diary, preserved in theBodleian Library, was edited by Mr. J. E. Baily, F. S. A. , and printed(twenty copies only) at London in 1880. In 1556 Dee presented to QueenMary 'A Supplication for the recovery and preservation of ancientWriters and Monuments. ' In this interesting document he laments thespoil and destruction of so many and so notable libraries through thesubverting of religious houses, and suggests that a commission should beappointed with power to demand that all possessors of manuscriptsthroughout the realm should send their books to be copied for theQueen's library, so that it might 'in a very few years most plentifullybe furnished, and that without one penny charge to the Queen, or doinginjury to any creature. ' He himself undertook to procure copies of thefamous manuscripts at the Vatican, St. Mark's, Venice, Bologna, Florence, Vienna, etc. 

[Illustration: DR. DEE. From the Ashmolean portrait as engraved bySchencker. ]

Dee wrote a large number of works, but comparatively few of them havebeen printed. No fewer than seventy-nine are enumerated in Coopers'_Athenæ Cantabrigienses_. A catalogue of his writings, printed andunprinted, is given in his _Compendious Rehearsal_. Many of hismanuscripts came into the possession of Elias Ashmole, the eminentantiquary. 

Aubrey says of Dee that 'he was a great peace-maker; if any of theneighbours fell out, he would never let them alone till he had made themfriends. He was tall and slender. He wore a gown like an artist's gown, with hanging sleeves, and a slit. He had a very fair, clear, sanguinecomplexion, a long beard as white as milk. A very handsome man. '

He died in December 1608, and was buried in the chancel of MortlakeChurch. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 17: _Harl. MSS. _ 1879. ]

ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER, 1532?-1588

Robert Dudley, Baron Denbigh, and Earl of Leicester, the favourite ofElizabeth, was born on the 24th of June in 1532 or 1533. He was thefifth son of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who was executed inAugust 1553 for maintaining the claims of Lady Jane Grey, hisdaughter-in-law, to the crown. He was himself condemned to death for thepart he took in the attempt of his father to place Lady Jane upon thethrone; but on the intercession of the Lords of the Council was pardonedby Queen Mary, who received him into favour, and appointed him master ofthe English ordnance at the siege of St. Quentin, where his brotherHenry was killed. On the accession of Elizabeth, Dudley soon became agreat favourite of the Queen, who advanced him to the highest honours, and, there is little doubt, at one time contemplated a marriage withhim. Leicester was a generous supporter of learning, and his lettersshow that he was himself possessed of considerable literary ability. Geoffrey Whitney, in his dedication of his _Choice of Emblems_ to theEarl, mentions 'his zeale and honourable care of those that love goodletters, ' and states that 'divers, who are nowe famous men, had binthrough povertie longe since discouraged from their studies if they hadnot founde your honour so prone to bee their patron. ' Little is knownrespecting Leicester's library, which must have been a large and fineone, for many handsomely bound volumes which once belonged to it arefound both in public and private collections. This dispersion of hisbooks may probably be accounted for by the sale of his goods after hisdeath, as mentioned by Camden in his _Annals of the Reign of Elizabeth_:'But whereas he was in the Queen's debt, his goods were sold at a publicOutcry: for the Queen, though in other things she were favourableenough, yet seldom or never did she remit the debts owing to herTreasury. ' In the _Notices of London Libraries_, by John Bagford andWilliam Oldys, it is stated: 'At Lambeth Palace over the Cloyster is awell-furnished library. The oldest of the books were Dudley's, Earl ofLeicester. ' Not more, however, than nine or ten which belonged to theEarl are to be found there now. Almost all his books have his well-knowncrest, the bear and ragged staff, stamped upon the covers, but a few ofthem bear his arms instead. 

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF LORD LEICESTER. ]

Leicester was suddenly seized with illness on his way to Kenilworth, anddied at his house at Cornbury, in Oxfordshire, on the 4th of September1588. The suddenness of his death gave rise to a suspicion that it wascaused by poison; and Ben Jonson tells a story that he had given hiswife 'a bottle of liquor which he willed her to use in any faintness, which she, not knowing it was poison, gave him, and so he died. ' He wasburied at Warwick. 

JOHN, LORD LUMLEY, 1534?-1609. 

John, Lord Lumley, was born in or about the year 1534. He was the onlyson of George Lumley of Twing, in the county of Yorkshire, who wasexecuted in 1537 at Tyburn, for high treason. On the death of hisgrandfather, Lord Lumley, in 1544, John succeeded to the family estates, and in 1547 he was permitted to take the title of Baron Lumley. Hematriculated in May 1549, as a fellow-commoner of Queens' College, Cambridge, and was also educated in the court of King Edward VI. , whosefuneral he attended. On the 29th of September 1553 he was created aKnight of the Bath, and, two days later, was present, together with hiswife, at the coronation of Queen Mary;[18] Lady Lumley riding in thethird chariot with five other baronesses. 

[Illustration: LORD LUMLEY. From the Cheam portrait as engraved forSandford. ]

On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, he, with other lords, was appointedto attend her Majesty on her journey from Hatfield to London. In 1559his father-in-law, the Earl of Arundel, at that time Chancellor of theUniversity of Cambridge, nominated him High Steward of the University. Lord Lumley was sent to the Tower in 1569 on suspicion of beingimplicated in intrigues to bring about the marriage of hisbrother-in-law the Duke of Norfolk with Mary, Queen of Scots, and tore-establish the Roman Catholic religion. In the next year he wasreleased, but in October 1571 he was again imprisoned, and he did notobtain his liberty until April 1573, ten months after the execution ofthe Duke of Norfolk. At a later period he appears to have quite regainedthe favour of the Queen, for we read that she accepted as a New Year'sgift from him in 1584 'a cup of cristall graven and garnished withgolde, ' and that at the New Year 1587 he presented to her 'a booke, wherein are divers Psalmes in Lattin written, the boards greate, inclosed all over on the outeside with golde enamuld cut-worke, withdivers colours and one litle claspe. '[19] In 1580 Lord Lumley lost hisfather-in-law, who by a deed, dated March 14th, 1566, had conveyed agreat part of his estates to Lord Lumley and Jane his eldest daughter, Lord Lumley's wife; and after her decease, Lord Arundel confirmed thesame to Lord Lumley by his will, which he made a few months before hisdeath. Among the estates bequeathed were the palace and park of Nonsuch, which in 1590 Lord Lumley conveyed to the Queen in exchange for lands ofthe yearly value of five hundred and thirty-four pounds. Lord Lumleydied on the 11th of April 1609 at his residence on Tower Hill, in theparish of St. Olave, Hart Street, and was buried in Cheam church, in thecounty of Surrey, where a monument was erected to his memory in theLumley aisle, which he had built. By his first wife, Jane, who died in1577, Lord Lumley had three children, who all died in infancy. He hadno issue by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John, Lord Darcy ofChiche, who survived him nine years. 

Lord Lumley, Bishop Hacket says, 'did pursue Recondite Learning as muchas any of his Honourable Rank in those Times, and was the owner of amost precious Library, the search and collection of Mr. HumfryLlyd. '[20] This fine library, which to a great extent was formed by thebooks bequeathed to him by his father-in-law in 1580, contained manyvolumes which had evidently been once the property of ArchbishopCranmer, as they bear his name, which is sometimes accompanied by thesignature of Lumley, and in other instances by the signatures of bothArundel and Lumley. Lord Lumley also collected a number of portraits. 

Lord Lumley made liberal donations of books to the University Library ofCambridge and the Bodleian Library during his lifetime, and also'bestowed many excellent Pieces printed and manuscript upon Mr. Williams[21] for alliance sake. ' After his death in 1609 the remainderof his library, 'which was probably more valuable than any othercollection then existing in England, with the exception of that of SirRobert Cotton, '[22] was purchased by Henry, Prince of Wales. At thePrince's decease in 1612 the books went to augment the old royal libraryof England, which was given to the nation in 1757 by King George II. Acurious and interesting inventory of the 'moveables' found at LumleyCastle after the death of its owner is given in Surtees's _History ofDurham_, vol. Ii. Pp. 158-163. The goods comprised pictures, sculptures, 'peeces of hangines of arras with golde of the Storie of Troye, QueneHester, Cipio and Haniball, ' etc. , hangings of 'gilte leather, ' 'Beddes'of gold, silver, and silk, splendid chairs, and velvet and Turkeycarpets, and were valued at fourteen hundred and four pounds, seventeenshillings and eightpence, but no mention is made of any books. Most ofthese treasures were sold by auction at the beginning of the nineteenthcentury. Among the Royal MSS. Preserved in the British Museum is atranslation of Erasmus's _Institutio Principis Christiani_, signed 'Yourlordshippes obedient sone, J. Lumley, 1550. ' As Lord Lumley's own fatherwas put to death in 1537, this was evidently addressed to hisfather-in-law, who has written his name Arundel on the first page. LordLumley was a member of the old Society of Antiquaries, and inconjunction with Dr. Caldwell[23] he founded a surgery lecture in theRoyal College of Physicians, endowing it with forty pounds per annum. 

The Lumley family was one of considerable importance and antiquity, andan amusing account is given by Pennant[24] and Hutchinson[25] of a visitpaid by King James I. To Lumley Castle on the 13th of April 1603. In theabsence of Lord Lumley the King was received by Dr. James, Dean ofDurham, 'who expatiated on the pedigree of their noble host, withoutmissing a single ancestor, direct or collateral, from Liulph to LordLumley, till the King, wearied with the eternal blazon, interrupted him, "Oh mon, gang na further; let me digest the knowledge I ha gained, foron my saul I did na ken Adam's name was Lumley. "'

Lord Lumley's first wife was a very learned lady, and several volumescontaining the exercises both of herself and her sister, the Duchess ofNorfolk, are preserved among the Royal MSS. In the British Museum, having been handed down with the Lumley books. A quarto volume, [26] uponthe first leaf of which is written 'The doinge of my Lady Lumley, dowghter to my L. Therle of Arundell, ' contains Latin translations ofseveral of the Orations of Isocrates, and 'The Tragedie of Euripidescalled Iphigeneia, translated out of Greake into Englisshe. ' Among theroyal manuscripts is also to be found a beautiful little volume offourteen vellum leaves, [27] containing copies of moral apophthegms, inLatin, which Sir Nicholas Bacon had inscribed on the walls of his houseat Gorhambury. On the first page, above the arms of Lady Lumley, whichare splendidly emblazoned, is written in gold capitals, 'Syr · Nicholas· Bacon · Knyghte · to · his · very · good · ladye · the · ladye ·Lumley · sendeth · this, ' and on the second page this title, 'Sentencesprinted in the Lorde Kepar's Gallery at Gorhambury: selected by him outof divers authors, and sent to the good ladye Lumley at her desire. ' Thesentences, which are thirty-seven in number, are inscribed in goldcapital letters upon grounds of various colours. 

There are three portraits of Lord Lumley at Lumley Castle, and one atArundel Castle. A fine engraving of another portrait, which was formerlyin the Lumley aisle at Cheam, is in Stebbing's edition of Sandford's_Genealogical History_. There are also engravings of Lord Lumley byFittler and Thane. Lumley Castle also contains a portrait of LadyLumley, inscribed 'Jane Fitzalan, daughter to Henry Earle of Arundele, first wife to John Lord Lumley. '[28]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 18: Cooper, _Athenæ Cantabrigienses_, vol. Ii. P. 517. ]

[Footnote 19: Cooper. ]

[Footnote 20: Humphrey Llwyd, physician and antiquary, Lord Lumley'sbrother-in-law. ]

[Footnote 21: Afterwards Archbishop of York, a relative of Lord Lumley. ]

[Footnote 22: Edwards, _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_, p. 162. ]

[Footnote 23: Richard Caldwell, M. D. , elected President of the RoyalCollege of Physicians in 1570. ]

[Footnote 24: Pennant, _Tour in Scotland, etc_. ]

[Footnote 25: Hutchinson, _History of County of Durham_. ]

[Footnote 26: _Royal MSS. _, 15 A ix. ]

[Footnote 27: _Royal MSS. _, 17 A xxiii. ]

[Footnote 28: Cooper. ]

GEORGE CAREW, EARL OF TOTNES, 1555-1629

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF EARL OF TOTNES. ]

George Carew, Baron Carew of Clopton and Earl of Totnes, was born in1555. He was the son of George Carew, Dean of Windsor, by his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Nicholas Harvey. In 1564 he was sent to the Universityof Oxford, which he left in 1573, and in the following year went toIreland and entered the service of his cousin Sir Peter Carew, who wasthen engaged in prosecuting his claims to his Irish property. Carew heldvarious posts in that country, and remained there, save for visits toEngland and the Low Countries, until 1592, when he entered upon hisduties as Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, to which office he hadbeen appointed in 1591. He took part in the expeditions of Essex toCadiz in 1596, and to the Azores in 1597, and in 1599 returned toIreland as Lord President of Munster, a post he held until 1603. In 1605he was made Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Anne, and in the same year wascreated Baron Carew. Three years later he was made Master of theOrdnance, and in 1611 he again went to Ireland as 'Sole Commissioner forthe reformation of the army and improvement of his majesties revenew. 'On the 5th of February 1626, Carew, who had been knighted in 1585, wascreated Earl of Totnes, and later in the year received the appointmentof 'Treasurer and receaver-general to queene Henriette Marie. '

He died at London on the 27th of March 1629, and was buried in theChurch of Stratford-on-Avon, where a monument was erected to his memoryby his widow, a daughter of William Clopton, of Clopton House, nearStratford-on-Avon. He left no children by her. 

Carew, who was much attached to antiquarian pursuits, maintained a largecorrespondence with Camden, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Robert Cotton, andSir Thomas Bodley, and many of his letters have been printed by theCamden Society. He bequeathed his books and manuscripts, of which he hadacquired a considerable number, to Sir Thomas Stafford, who was said tobe his illegitimate son. They afterwards became the property ofArchbishop Laud, who placed forty-two of the volumes of manuscripts, which principally relate to Irish history in the time of QueenElizabeth, in the Archiepiscopal Library at Lambeth, and four in theBodleian Library. Others are preserved in the Department of M. , BritishMuseum, the State Paper Office, and at Hatfield. 

SIR ROBERT BRUCE COTTON, BART. , 1571-1631

Sir Robert Bruce Cotton, who is styled by Sir Symonds D'Ewes 'England'sPrime Antiquary, ' was born in 1571. He was the eldest son of ThomasCotton, of Connington, Huntingdonshire, by his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Shirley of Staunton-Harold, Leicestershire. Hereceived his early education at Westminster School, and in 1581matriculated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where four years later hetook the degree of B. A. At a very early age he became a member of theElizabethan Society of Antiquaries, which met for many years at hisresidence in Westminster, near Palace Yard. It was in this house that heformed that magnificent collection of manuscripts and other antiquitieswhich now ranks as one of the principal treasures of the British Museum. The dissolution of the monasteries in the reigns of Henry VIII. AndEdward VI. Afforded special facilities to Cotton in forming thecollection which comprises such valuable manuscripts as the famous_Durham Book_ (a copy of the Gospels in Latin, written and illuminatedin honour of St. Cuthbert by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne, betweenthe years 698 and 720, with an interlinear translation in NorthumbrianSaxon), and the copy of the Gospels said to have been used to administerthe oath at the coronation of King Athelstan. Other treasures are theoriginal Bull of Pope Leo X. Conferring on King Henry VIII. The title ofDefender of the Faith; and a contemporary and official copy of MagnaCharta, granted by King John, and dated at Runnymede, 15th June, in theseventeenth year of his reign, which was given to Cotton by Sir EdwardDering. Both these precious documents were unfortunately damaged by thefire at Ashburnham House, but have since been very skilfully repaired. More than two hundred volumes of the library consisted of letters ofsovereigns and statesmen; but Cotton did not acquire these valuabledocuments without creating a strong feeling that such a large andimportant collection of official papers should rather be preserved inthe Record Office than left in the possession of a private individual, and his library was twice sequestrated by the Government. On the firstoccasion his books were given back to him; but on the second, althoughhe repeatedly petitioned the King for their restoration, he died beforehis applications were answered. His death took place at his house inWestminster on the 6th of May 1631, and he was buried in ConningtonChurch, where a monument was erected to his memory. Cotton was knightedon the accession of James I. , and was also one of the baronets createdby that sovereign in 1611. Sir Robert Cotton gave directions in his willthat his library should not be sold, and bequeathed it to his son, SirThomas Cotton, who on the decease of his father made great efforts toobtain its restoration, which were ultimately successful. He died in1662, leaving the collection to his son, Sir John Cotton, who, havingdeclined an offer for it of sixty thousand pounds from Louis XIV. In1700, expressed his intention of practically giving it to the nation;and in the same year an Act was passed, enacting that on the death ofSir John (he died in 1702), Cotton House, together with the collection, should be vested in trustees, but at the same time continue in hisfamily and name, and not be sold or otherwise disposed of. It wasfurther ordered that the library should be kept and preserved for publicuse and advantage, and that a room should be provided for it, with 'aconvenient way, passage, and resort to the same, at the will anddiscretion of the heirs of the family. ' Obstacles, however, occurred incarrying out these directions, principally on account of the difficultyof access to the library, and the unsuitableness of the room in which itwas deposited, it being described as 'a narrow little room, damp, andimproper for preserving the books and papers. ' An agreement wastherefore made, by virtue of an Act of Parliament (5 Anne, cap. 30), with Sir John Cotton, grandson of the Sir John Cotton who died in 1702, for the purchase of the inheritance of the house where the library wasdeposited for the sum of four thousand five hundred pounds; and it wasfurther provided that the library should continue to be settled intrustees, and a convenient room built in part of the grounds for itsaccommodation. This, however, was not done, and the dilapidatedcondition of Cotton House soon necessitated the removal of thecollection, which was taken to Essex House, Essex Street, Strand, whereit remained until 1730, when it was conveyed to Ashburnham House inLittle Dean's Yard, Westminster, which was purchased by the Crown toreceive it, together with the royal MSS. Here, on the 23rd of October1731, the disastrous fire broke out in which one hundred and fourteenmanuscripts were burnt, lost, or entirely spoiled, and ninety-eightdamaged, but many of these have been cleverly restored. Those which weresaved were placed in a new building designed for the dormitory ofWestminster School, where they remained until they were transferred tothe British Museum in 1757, having been included in the Act under whichthe Museum was founded in 1753. 

[Illustration: SIR ROBERT COTTON. From an engraving by R. White. ]

The Cottonian Collection originally consisted of 958 volumes. Acatalogue of it was compiled by Dr. Thomas Smith in 1696, and a moreample one by Mr. Joseph Planta, Principal Librarian of the BritishMuseum, in 1802. 

 'Omnis ab illo Et Camdene tua, et Seldeni gloria crevit. '[29]

WILLIAM LAUD, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, 1573-1645

William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose eventful history is wellknown, was born at Reading on the 7th of October 1573. He was the son ofa clothier of that town, and was first educated in the free grammarschool of his native place, and afterwards proceeded to St. John'sCollege, Oxford, where he successively obtained a scholarship and afellowship, and in 1611 became President of the College. In 1616 JamesI. Conferred on him the Deanery of Gloucester, on the 22nd of January1621 he was installed as a prebendary of Westminster, and on the 29th ofJune in the same year he obtained the See of St. David's. On theaccession of Charles I. To the throne Laud's influence became verygreat, and in 1626 he was made Bishop of Bath and Wells, and two yearslater Bishop of London. In 1630 he was elected Chancellor of theUniversity of Oxford, and in 1633 he was appointed Archbishop ofCanterbury. Shortly after the meeting of the Long Parliament in 1640Laud was impeached of treason by the House of Commons, and committed tothe Tower. After an imprisonment of three years he was brought to trialbefore the Lords, but as they showed an inclination to acquit him, theCommons passed an ordinance of attainder, declaring him guilty oftreason, to which they compelled the Peers to assent, and on the 10th ofJanuary 1645 he was brought to the scaffold on Tower Hill. His body wasinterred in the chancel of All Hallows, Barking, where it remained until1663, when it was removed to the Chapel of St. John's College, Oxford. 

Archbishop Laud was an ardent collector of books, especially ofmanuscripts, but Wood in his _Athenæ Oxonienses_ says he was 'such aliberal benefactor towards the advancement of learning that he lefthimself little or nothing for his own use. ' The Bodleian Library isindebted to him for a large portion of its choicest treasures, especially of Oriental literature. Between the years 1635 and 1640 heenriched the Library with repeated gifts of valuable manuscripts. In1635 he presented four hundred and sixty-two volumes and five rolls. Among these were forty-six Latin manuscripts, 'e Collegio Herbipolensi[Würzburg] in Germania sumpti, A. D. 1631, cum Suecorum Regis exercitusper universam fere Germaniam grassarentur. ' This gift was followed, in1636, by another of one hundred and eighty-one manuscripts. In the nextyear five hundred and fifty-five additional manuscripts were given byhim to the Library, and in 1640 eighty-one more. This splendid donationof nearly thirteen hundred manuscripts comprised works in Oriental andmany other languages; a large number of them being of exceptional valueand interest. Among them was a manuscript of the Acts of the Apostles inGreek and Latin, of the end of the seventh century, which is believed tohave been once in the possession of the Venerable Bede. Other notablemanuscripts were an Irish vellum manuscript containing the Psalter ofCashel, Cormac's Glossary, Poems attributed to St. Columb-Kill and St. Patrick, etc. , and a copy of the _Anglo-Saxon Chronicle_, which ends atthe year 1154, and appears to have been written in, and to haveformerly been the property of, the Abbey of Peterborough. In addition tothe manuscripts, the Archbishop presented the Library with a collectionof coins, and other antiquities and curiosities. [30] Archbishop Laud wasalso a great benefactor to his own college, St. John's. Sir Kenelm Digbyin a letter to Dr. Gerard Langbaine, dated Gothurst, November 7th, 1654, writes: 'As I was one day waiting on the late King, my master, I toldhim of a collection of choice Arabic Manuscripts I was sending after myLatin ones to the University. My Lord of Canterbury [Laud] that waspresent, wished that they might go along with a parcel that he wassending to St. John's College: whereupon I sent them to his Grace, asChancellor of the University, beseeching him to present them in my nameto the same place where he sent his. They were in two trunks (madeexactly fit for them) that had the first letters of my christian andsirname decyphered upon them with nails; and on the first page of everybook was my ordinary motto and name written at length in my own hand. The troubles of the times soon followed my sending these trunks of booksto Lambeth-house, and I was banished out of the land, and returned notuntil my lord was dead; so that I never more heard of them. '[31]

Some curious entries in the Journals of the House of Commons show thatthe books which the Archbishop retained for his own use fell into thehands of Hugh Peters, the regicide. 

'Ao. 1643-4, March 8. Ordered, That a Study of books to the value ofone hundred pounds out of such books as are sequestered, be forthwithbestowed upon Mr. Peters. '

'Ao. 1644, 25 April. Whereas this House was formerly pleased to bestowupon Mr. Peters, Books to the Value of an Hundred Pounds, it is this dayordered, that Mr. Recorder, Mr. Whitlock and Mr. Hill, or any Two ofthem, do cause to be delivered unto Mr. Peters Books of the Value of anHundred Pounds, out of the particular and private study of theArchbishop of Canterbury, and out of the Books belonging to the saidArchbishop, in his own particular. '

'Ao. 1644, 27 Junij. Whereas formerly Books to the Value of an HundredPounds were bestowed upon Mr. Peters, out of the Archbishop ofCanterbury's particular private Study: And whereas the said Study isappraised at a matter of Forty Pounds more than the said Hundred Pounds;It is this day ordered, That Mr. Peters shall have the whole Study ofBooks freely bestowed upon him. '

These books, however, appear to have been recovered after theRestoration, for we find an entry in the Journals of the date of May 16, 1660, ordering 'That it be referred to the Committee to whom theBusiness of Secretary Thurloe is referred, to take Order, that all theBooks and Papers, heretofore belonging to the Library of the lateArchbishop of Canterbury, and now, or lately, in the Hands of Mr. HughPeters, be forthwith secured. '

In addition to his other benefactions to the University of Oxford, Archbishop Laud founded in that university a Professorship of Arabic, and endowed it with lands in the parish of Bray, in the county of Berks. 

The works written by Laud are but few in number. They are _OfficiumQuotidianum, or a Manual of Private Devotions_; _A Summary ofDevotions_; his _Diary_; and _A History of his Troubles and Tryal_;together with some smaller pieces, sermons, and speeches. _A Relation ofthe Conference between him and Fisher the Jesuit_, by Laud's chaplainJohn Baily, was printed in 1624. A collected edition of his works, edited by Henry Wharton, was printed in 1695-1700, and a second one inthe Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology, in six volumes in 1847-49. 

Portraits of him are to be found in St. John's College, Oxford, and atLambeth Palace. A copy of the last portrait, by Henry Stone, is in theNational Portrait Gallery. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 29: Preface to Weaver's _Funeral Monuments_. ]

[Footnote 30: Macray, _Annals of the Bodleian Library_, pp. 61-65. ]

[Footnote 31: Walker, _Letters by Eminent Persons_. London, 1813. ]

ROBERT BURTON, 1576-1640

Robert Burton, the author of _The Anatomy of Melancholy_, who isnumbered by Dibdin 'among the most marked bibliomaniacs of the age, ' wasthe second son of Ralph Burton of Lindley in the county of Leicester, and was born on the 8th of February 1576. He received the early part ofhis education at the grammar schools of Nuneaton and Sutton Coldfield. In 1593 he was admitted a commoner at Brasenose College, Oxford, and in1599 was elected a student of Christ Church. He took the degree of B. D. In 1614. The last-named college presented him with the vicarage of St. Thomas, in the west suburb of Oxford, in 1616, and some years laterGeorge, Lord Berkeley, gave him the rectory of Segrave inLeicestershire. The first edition of his famous work, _The Anatomy ofMelancholy_, appeared in 1621. Burton, about whose life little is known, died in his chamber at Christ's Church on the 25th of January 1639-40, 'at, or very near that time, ' Anthony à Wood writes, 'which he had someyears before foretold from the calculation of his own nativity. Whichbeing exact, several of the students did not forbear to whisper amongthemselves, that rather than there should be a mistake in thecalculation, he sent up his soul to heaven thro' a slip about his neck. 'Wood adds that he was buried in the north aisle of Christ ChurchCathedral, and over his grave 'was erected a comely monument on theupper pillar of the said isle with his bust painted to the life: on theright hand of which, is the calculation of his nativity, and under thebust this inscription made by himself; all put up by the care of WilliamBurton, his brother. 

'Paucis notus, paucioribus ignotus, hic jacet Democritus junior, cuivitam dedit & mortem Melancholia. Obiit viii. Id. Jan. A. C. MDCXXXIX. '

Burton's monument and bust have been engraved for Nichols's _History andAntiquities of Leicestershire_, and his portrait hangs in the hall ofBrasenose College. 

Wood gives the following character of Burton:--'He was an exactmathematician, a curious calculator of nativities, a general-readscholar, a thorough-paced philologist, and one that understood thesurveying of lands well. As he was by many accounted a severe student, adevourer of authors, a melancholy and humourous person, so by others whoknew him well, a person of great honesty, plain dealing and charity. Ihave heard some of the ancients of Christchurch often say that hiscompany was very merry, facete and juvenile; and no man in his time didsurpass him for his ready and dexterous interlarding his commondiscourses among them with verses from the poets, or sentences fromclassical authors; which, being then all the fashion in the university, made his company more acceptable. '

Burton left behind him a large and curious collection of books, thenature of which he well describes in his Address to the Reader of his_Anatomy of Melancholy_: 'I hear new news every day, and those ordinaryrumours of war, plagues, fires, inundations, thefts, murders, massacres, meteors, comets, spectrums, prodigies, apparitions, of towns taken, cities besieged in France, Germany, Turkey, Persia, Poland, etc. , dailymusters and preparations, and such like, which these tempestuous timesafford, battles fought, so many men slain, monomachies, shipwrecks, piracies, and sea-fights; peace, leagues, stratagems, and freshalarms. . . . New books every day, pamphlets, currantoes, stories, wholecatalogues of volumes of all sorts. . . . Now come tidings of weddings, maskings, mummeries, entertainments, jubilies, embassies, tilts andtournaments, trophies, triumphs, revels, sports, plays: then again, asin a new shifted scene, treasons, cheating tricks, robberies, enormousvillanies in all kinds, funerals, burials, deaths of princes, newdiscoveries, expeditions, now comical, then tragical matters. ' Heappears to have purchased indiscriminately almost everything that waspublished. 

In his will, dated August 15th, 1639, he gives directions for thedisposal of his books:--

'Now for my goods I thus dispose them. First I give an Cth pounds toChrist Church in Oxford where I have so long lived to buy five poundsLands per Ann. To be Yearly bestowed on Books for the Library. Item Igive an hundreth pound to the University Library of Oxford to bebestowed to purchase five pound Land per Ann. To be paid out Yearly onBooks. . . . If I have any Books the University Library hath not, let themtake them. If I have any Books our own Library hath not, let them takethem. ' After bequeathing books to various friends, he directs, 'If anybooks be left let my Executors dispose of them with all such books asare written with my own hands and half my Melancholy Copy for Crips haththe other half. To Mr. Jones Chaplin and Chanter my Surveying Books andInstruments. '

In addition to _The Anatomy of Melancholy_, Burton wrote a Latin comedy, entitled _Philosophaster_, which was acted at Christ Church on ShroveMonday, February the 16th, 1618, and which was first printed in 1862 forthe Roxburghe Club at the expense of the late Rev. W. E. Buckley, ofMiddleton Chaney, the possessor of one of two manuscripts of it whichhave been preserved. 

JAMES USHER, ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, 1581-1656

[Illustration: ARCHBISHOP USHER. ]

James Usher or Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, was born in Dublin on the4th of January 1581. He was the second, but elder surviving son ofArland Usher, one of the six clerks of the Irish Court of Chancery. Hismother was a daughter of James Stanyhurst, Recorder of the City ofDublin, who was thrice elected Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. Usher is said to have been taught to read by two aunts who had beenblind from their infancy. At the age of eight he was sent to a school inDublin conducted by Mr. James Fullerton and Mr. James Hamilton, twosecret political agents of King James of Scotland, who were afterwardsmade Sir James Fullerton and Viscount Clandeboye. In 1594 he proceededto Trinity College, Dublin, being the second scholar admitted in thenewly opened University, of which he was made a Fellow in 1599. On the20th of December 1601 he was ordained by his uncle, the Archbishop ofArmagh, having first made over his paternal inheritance to his youngerbrother and his sisters, reserving only a small portion for his supportduring his studies. On the 24th of the same month the Spaniards weredefeated at the battle of Kinsale by the English and Irish, and theofficers of the English army determined to commemorate their success byfounding a library in the College at Dublin. They collected amongthemselves about eighteen hundred pounds for this purpose, [32] andUsher, in conjunction with Dr. Luke Challoner, was requested to selectthe books. For this object, in 1602, he paid a visit to England, wherehe made the acquaintance of Sir Thomas Bodley, Sir Robert Cotton, Camden, and other distinguished persons. In 1606 he again made a journeyto England, this time to buy books for his own library, as well as forthat of his college, [33] and for some time he repeated his visits everythree or four years. In 1607 he was made Professor of Divinity inTrinity College, which office he held for thirteen years. He wasconsecrated Bishop of Meath and Clonmacnoise in 1621, and four yearslater he was raised to the Archbishopric of Armagh and the Primacy ofthe Irish Church. Usher came to England on a visit in 1640, but he neverreturned to his native country, for in the next year his residence atArmagh was attacked and plundered by the rebels, and he lost everythinghe possessed except his library, and some furniture in his house atDrogheda. In consequence of the unsettled state of the country it wasthought useless for him to return to his see, and the king thereforebestowed on him the bishopric of Carlisle, to be held _in commendam_. For some time he resided in Oxford, but that city being threatened witha siege by the Parliamentary forces, in 1645 he proceeded to Cardiff, ofwhich town Sir Timothy Tyrrell, who had married his only child, wasgovernor. Some months later, when Tyrrell was obliged to give up hiscommand, Usher accepted an invitation from Mary, widow of Sir EdwardStradling, to take up his abode at her residence, St. Donat's Castle, Glamorganshire. On his way thither, in company with his daughter, heunluckily fell into the hands of a party of Welsh insurgents, whoplundered him of all his books and papers, but these were afterwards toa great extent recovered by the exertions of the clergy and gentry ofthe country. In 1646 Usher came to London, and found a home in the houseof his friend the Dowager Countess of Peterborough, which was situatedin St. Martin's Lane, 'just over against Charing Cross. ' From the roofof the building he witnessed the preliminaries of the execution ofCharles I. , but he nearly fainted when 'the villains in vizards began toput up the king's hair, ' and had to be removed. Usher was appointedPreacher to the Society of Lincoln's Inn in 1647, and for nearly eightyears preached regularly during term-time in the chapel. He had a suiteof furnished apartments provided for him in the Inn, 'with divers roomsfor his library. ' He retired in 1656 to Lady Peterborough's house atReigate in Surrey, and died there on the 21st of March in that year. Onthe 21st of the following month he was buried in Westminster Abbey; apublic funeral being given him by order of Cromwell, who is said, however, to have left the relations of the deceased prelate to pay thegreater part of the expense. Usher formed a large and valuable libraryof nearly ten thousand volumes, which cost him many thousand pounds. Dr. Richard Parr, his biographer, states that 'after he became archbishop helaid out a great deal of money in books, laying aside every year aconsiderable sum for that end, and especially for the procuring ofmanuscripts, as well as from foreign parts, as near at hand. ' Hislibrary contained a number of rare Oriental manuscripts, which heobtained through the instrumentality of Mr. Thomas Davis, a merchant atAleppo. Among them were a copy of the Samaritan Pentateuch, a SyrianPentateuch, and a Commentary on a great part of the Old and NewTestaments. From the Samaritan Pentateuch Usher furnished some extractsfor his friend Selden's _Marmora Arundeliana_, and he deposited themanuscript itself in the Cottonian Library. Dr. Walton also foundUsher's collection of much use in preparing his Polyglot Bible. Severalof the manuscripts which had belonged to Usher were given to theBodleian Library by James Tyrrell, the historian, who was theArchbishop's grandson. It was Usher's intention to have left his libraryto Trinity College, but having lost all his other property he thought itright to bequeath it to his daughter, Lady Tyrrell, who had a largefamily. After his death it was offered for sale, and the King of Denmarkand Cardinal Mazarin were both anxious to acquire it; but Cromwell, considering it disgraceful to his administration to allow such asplendid collection of books to be sent out of the kingdom, prohibitedthe disposal of it without his consent, and it was purchased for the sumof two thousand two hundred pounds, the money being principallycontributed by the officers and soldiers of the army in Ireland. It issaid that the amount paid for it was much less than what had beenpreviously offered. The books were sent to Dublin and placed in theCastle, with a view that they should form the library of a new Collegeor Hall then projected. They remained in the Castle until theRestoration, when Charles II. , in accordance with Usher's firstintention, gave them to Trinity College, where they are still preserved. Usher, who is said by Selden to have been 'ad miraculum doctus, ' was theauthor of many works, some of the more important being _Immanuel, orthe Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God_ (Dublin, 1638), 4to;_Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates et Primordia_ (Dublin, 1639), 4to; _Annales Veteris et Novi Testamenti_ (London, 1650-54), folio[34];_De Græca Septuaginta Interpretum Versione Syntagma_ (London, 1654), 4to; and _Chronologia Sacra_ (London, 1660), 4to. A complete edition ofthe Archbishop's works, in seventeen octavo volumes, partly edited byDr. C. R. Elrington, and partly by Dr. J. H. Todd, with an index volume byDr. W. Reeves, was published in Dublin in 1847-64. 

[Illustration: ARCHBISHOP WILLIAMS. ]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 32: Life of Usher, by Dr. C. R. Elrington, prefixed to Usher'sworks, vol. I. P. 23. Dublin, 1847. ]

[Footnote 33: A list of these books, with the prices annexed to several, is still extant in Usher's handwriting, and preserved among the MSS. OfTrinity College, Dublin. _Ibid. _, p. 25. ]

JOHN WILLIAMS, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, 1582-1650

John Williams, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal and Archbishop of York, wasthe son of Edmund Williams of Aber-Conway, Caernarvonshire, at whichplace he was born on the 25th of March 1582. He was first educated atthe public school at Ruthin, and later at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was sent when sixteen years of age. While at the university heappears to have indulged in a somewhat reckless expenditure, and BishopHacket, who wrote his biography, informs us that 'from a youth and soupward he had not a fist to hold money, for he did not lay out, butscatter, spending all that he had, and somewhat for which he could betrusted. ' He was, however, by no means neglectful of his studies, for weare told by Lloyd in his _State Worthies_, 'that unwearied was hisindustry, unexpressible his capacity: He never saw the book of worth heread not; he never forgot what he read; he never lost the use of what heremembered: Everything he heard or saw was his own; and what was his ownhe knew how to use to the utmost. ' From the time of Williams'sordination in 1609, his career until the accession of Charles I. Was aremarkably rapid and successful one. After holding one or two livings, he was appointed Chaplain to the King and Sub-Dean of Salisbury, and in1620 Dean of Westminster. On the fall of Bacon, in July 1621, in whoseruin he had taken a large share, he was sworn in as Lord Keeper. Lloydobserves with reference to the manner in which he fulfilled the dutiesof this post, that 'the lawyers despised him at first, but the judgesadmired him at last. ' Williams was also made Bishop of Lincoln, andallowed to retain the deanery of Westminster and the rectory ofWalgrave; in fact the number of preferments he held was so large thatDr. Heylyn remarks that 'he was a perfect diocese within himself, asbeing bishop, dean, prebend, residentiary, and parson, all at once. 'Williams held the post of Lord Keeper until 1626, when he was deprivedof his office, and various charges, including one of betraying theKing's secrets, were brought against him by Archbishop Laud, his greatenemy. He was found guilty of subornation of perjury in defendinghimself from these charges, suspended from all his dignities andappointments, condemned to suffer imprisonment during the pleasure ofthe King, and fined ten thousand pounds. Lloyd says 'he suffered forconniving at Puritans, out of hatred to Bishop Laud; and for favouringPapists, out of love to them. ' At the meeting of the Long ParliamentWilliams was released, and having been again received into favour atcourt, he was translated in 1641 to the Archbishopric of York. Duringthe Civil War he retired to his estate at Aber-Conway, and for some timeheld Conway Castle for the King. He died of a quinsy on the 25th ofMarch 1650, and was interred in Llandegay church, where a monument waserected to his memory by his nephew and heir Sir Griffyth Williams. 

Archbishop Williams was a generous patron of learning, and Lloyd statesthat 'his pensions to Scholars were more numerous than all the Bishopsand Noble-mens besides'; and that he imposed 'Rent-charges on all theBenefices in his Gift as Lord Keeper, or Bishop of Lincoln, to maintainhopeful youth. ' He formed a library in his palace at Buckden inHuntingdonshire, which was dispersed or destroyed during hisimprisonment, [35] but upon his release he collected another, which hebequeathed to St. John's College, Cambridge, having previously givenupwards of two thousand pounds to the college for the purpose ofbuilding a new library; and in Bagford and Oldys's _London Libraries_ wefind an account of the books which he gave to the library of WestminsterAbbey. 'In the great cloister of the abbey, ' they write, 'is awell-furnished library, considering the time when it was erected by Dr. Williams, Dean of Westminster and Bishop of Lincoln; who was a greatpromoter of learning. He purchased the books of the heirs of one Bakerof Highgate, and founded it for public use every day in Term, from nineto twelve in the forenoon, and from two till four in the afternoon. TheMSS. Are kept in the inner part, but by an accident many of them wereburnt. ' Mr. James Yeowell, the editor of the work, adds in a note that'Dean Williams converted a waste room, situate in the east side of thecloisters, into a library, which he enriched with the valuable worksfrom the collection of Sir Richard Baker, author of _The Chronicles ofthe Kings of England_, which cost him 500_l. _ A catalogue of thislibrary is in Harl. MS. 694. There is also a MS. Catalogue, compiled in1798 by Dr. Dakin, the precentor, arranged alphabetically. '

A portrait of Archbishop Williams is hung in the library of St. John'sCollege, Cambridge. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 34: The chronology given in this work is still the standardadopted in editions of the English Bible. ]

[Footnote 35: 'After this, hearing his Majesty would not abate anythingof his fine, he desired that it might be taken up by 1000_l. _ yearly ashis estate would bear it, till the whole should be paid. But that wasnot granted: Kilvert [the solicitor for the prosecution] was ordered togo to Bugden and Lincoln, and there to seize upon all he could and bringit into the Exchequer. Kilvert, glad of the office, made sure of allthat could be found, goods of all sorts, plate, books, etc. To the valueof 10, 000_l. _, of which he never gave account but of 800_l. _ The timberhe felled, killed the deer in the park, sold an organ which cost 120_l. _for 10_l. _, pictures which cost 400_l. _ for 4_l. _, made away with whatbooks he pleased, and continued revelling for three summers inBugden-house. For four cellars of wine, cyder, ale, and beer, with wood, hay, corn, and the like, stored up for a year or two, he gives noaccount at all; and thus a large personal estate was squandered away, and not the least part of the King's fine paid all this while, whereasif it had been managed to the best advantage, it would have beensufficient to have discharged the whole. '--_Biographia Britannica_, vol. Vi. P. 4288 (note). ]

JOHN SELDEN, 1584-1654

John Selden, the distinguished legal antiquary, historian, and Orientalscholar, who was styled by his friend Ben Jonson 'a monarch in letters, 'and 'vir omni eruditionis genere instructissimus' by Archbishop Laud, was born on the 16th of December 1584 at Salvington, near Worthing, inSussex. His father was John Selden, a farmer, known as the 'Minstrel' onaccount of his proficiency in music. Aubrey describes him as 'ayeomanly man of about forty pounds a year, who played well on theviolin, in which he took much delight. ' Selden was first educated at thefree grammar school at Chichester, and afterwards proceeded with anexhibition to Hart Hall, since merged in Magdalen Hall, Oxford. Onleaving the university he was admitted a member of Clifford's Inn; butin 1604 removed to the Inner Temple. Wood, in his _Athenæ Oxonienses_, says of him that 'after he had continued there a sedulous student forsome time, he did, by the help of a strong body and a vast memory, notonly run through the whole body of the law, but became a prodigy in mostparts of learning, especially in those which were not common or littlefrequented or regarded by the generality of students of his time. Sothat in a few years his name was wonderfully advanced not only at homebut in foreign countries, and he was usually styled the great dictatorof learning of the English nation. . . . He was a great philologist, antiquary, herald, linguist, statesman, and what not. ' Selden devotedhis time rather to chamber practice and to legal researches and thestudy of history and antiquities than to the more active part of hisprofession. It is said he wrote his first work, _AnalectonAnglo-Britannicon_, as early as 1607, when only twenty-two years of age, but it was not published until eight years later. _The Duello_, _England's Epinomis_, and _Jani Anglorum Facies Altera_ appeared in1610, _Titles of Honour_ in 1614, _De Diis Syris Syntagmata Duo_ in1617, and _The History of Tithes_ in 1618, wherein he allows the legal, but denies the divine, right of the clergy to the receiving of tithes. The more important of his later works are _Marmora Arundeliana_, published in 1628, _De Successionibus_ in 1631, _Mare Clausum_ in 1635, _De Jure Naturali et Gentium juxta Disciplinam Ebræorum Libri VII_. In1640, and _Fleta, seu Commentarius Juris Anglicani_, an ancientmanuscript which he edited and annotated, in 1647. Among his otherliterary labours are the notes appended to Drayton's _Polyolbion_. Avolume of his _Table Talk_ was published after his death in 1689, andhis complete works in 1726, in three volumes folio. In 1621 Selden wascommitted to prison for having advised the House of Commons to assertits right to offer advice to the Crown, but was released after animprisonment of five weeks. He first entered the House of Commons in1623 as Member for Lancaster, and for some years took a very prominentpart in its proceedings. During the later disputes between Charles andthe Parliament he acted with great moderation, and it is said that atone time the King thought of intrusting him with the Great Seal. Seldensubscribed the Covenant in 1643, and was made Keeper of the Rolls andRecords in the Tower. In 1645 he was appointed a Commissioner of theAdmiralty, and in the same year he was elected Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, an office he declined to accept. Parliament voted him fivethousand pounds in 1647 as compensation for his sufferings during themonarchy; but Wood states that 'some there are that say that he refusedand could not out of conscience take it, and add that his mind was asgreat as his learning, full of generosity and harbouring nothing thatseemed base. ' Although he remained in Parliament after the execution ofthe King, he almost entirely withdrew from public affairs, and, it issaid, refused to write a reply to the _Eikon Basilike_ when requested todo so by Cromwell. Selden died on November 30, 1654, at Friary House, Whitefriars, the residence of Elizabeth, Countess Dowager of Kent, towhom it was reputed he had been married. He was interred in the TempleChurch, where a monument was erected to his memory. 

Selden collected a very fine library, 'rich in classics and science, theology and history, law and Hebrew literature, ' of which about eightthousand volumes were eventually added to the Bodleian Library. Seldenhad bequeathed his books to the Bodleian; but it is said he was sooffended with the University for refusing the loan of a manuscriptexcept upon a bond for one thousand pounds, that he revoked thebequest, and left them to the free disposal of his executors. Theyoffered the collection to the Society of the Inner Temple, but as nobuilding was provided for its reception, they carried out the originalintention of Selden, and gave it in 1659 to the Bodleian, stipulating atthe same time that all the books should be chained, and £25, 10s. Wasexpended for that purpose. There is no doubt, however, that aconsiderable number of the manuscripts came into the possession of thatlibrary soon after Selden's death, and the entire affair is involved insome obscurity. The Rev. W. D. Macray, who, in his _Annals of theBodleian Library_, goes very fully into the matter, gives another reasonfor Selden's displeasure. 'In July 1649, ' he writes, 'the new intrudedofficers and fellows of Magdalene College found in the Muniment-room inthe cloister-tower of the College a large sum of money in the oldcoinage called Spur-royals, or Ryals, amounting to £1400, the equivalentof which had been left by the Founder as a reserve-fund for lawexpenses, for re-erecting or repairing buildings destroyed by fire, etc. , or for other extraordinary charges. This gold had been laid up andcounted in Queen Elizabeth's time, and had remained untouched sincethen; consequently, although some of the old members of the College wereaware of its existence, to the new-comers it seemed a welcome andunexpected discovery, especially as the College was at the time heavilyin debt. They immediately proceeded to divide it among all the memberson the foundation proportionately, not excluding the choristers (whowere at that time undergraduates), the Puritan President, Wilkinson, being alone opposed to such an illegal proceeding, and being withdifficulty prevailed upon to accept £100 as his share, which, however, upon his death-bed he charged his executors to repay. The Spur-royalswere exchanged at the rate of 18s. 6d. To 20s. Each, and each fellow hadthirty-three of them. But when the fact of this embezzlement ofcorporate funds became known, the College was called to account byParliament, and, although they attempted to defend themselves, theyindividually deemed it wise to refund the greater, or a considerable, part of what had been abstracted. Fuller, whose _Church History_ waspublished in the year following Selden's death, after telling thisscandalous story, proceeds thus (Book IX. P. 234):--"Sure I am, a greatantiquarie lately deceased (rich as well in his state as learning) atthe hearing thereof quitted all his intention of benefaction to Oxfordor any place else. " . . . And Wood (_Hist. And Antiq. _, by Gutch, ii. 942)says that he had been told that this misappropriation was one reason ofSelden's distaste at Oxford. '

Besides the books sent to the Bodleian Library, those relating to lawwere given to Lincoln's Inn, and some medical works were bequeathed bySelden to the College of Physicians. 'Eight chests full of registers ofabbeys, and other manuscripts relating to the history of England, ' wereunfortunately destroyed in a fire at the Temple; and many volumes alsowere lost during the interval between Selden's death and their arrivalat Oxford. 

THOMAS HOWARD, EARL OF NORFOLK, 1586-1646

One of the most zealous and successful collectors of the early part ofthe seventeenth century was Thomas Howard, only son of Philip, Earl ofArundel, and grandson of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded in1572. He was born on the 7th of July 1586. In 1595 his father died inthe Tower, and by his attainder his son was deprived of his titles andlands. On the accession of James I. The former were restored to him, butthe King retained the property. Lord Arundel was created Earl of Norfolkin 1644, and died at Padua on the 4th of October 1646. 

[Illustration: ARMS OF THOMAS HOWARD, EARL OF NORFOLK. ]

After his death his collections were partially dispersed; and in 1666his printed books were presented, at the instigation of John Evelyn, tothe Royal Society by Henry Howard, afterwards sixth Duke of Norfolk, agrandson of the Earl, while the manuscripts were divided between thatSociety and the College of Arms. In 1831 the principal portion of themanuscripts in possession of the Royal Society were transferred to theBritish Museum, and the remainder, consisting of Oriental manuscripts, in 1835. They were valued at three thousand five hundred and fifty-ninepounds, and were paid for partly in money, and partly with duplicates ofprinted books in the Museum collection. A large portion of the Earl'slibrary consisted of the books of Bilibaldus Pirckheimer of Nuremberg, which he acquired during a diplomatic mission into Germany in 1636. Someof the manuscripts, Oldys states, once formed part of the library ofMatthias Corvinus, King of Hungary. The Earl of Norfolk's collectionsalso comprised a very large number of antique marbles, paintings, vases, and gems. 

RICHARD SMITH, 1590-1675

Richard Smith or Smyth, who was born in 1590 at Lillingston Dayrell, Buckinghamshire, was the son of the Rev. Richard Smith of Abingdon, Berkshire. He was sent to the University of Oxford, but did notmatriculate, and after a short stay there was removed by his parents, and articled to a solicitor of the city of London. In 1644 he becameSecondary of the Poultry Compter, which was worth about seven hundredpounds a year. This office he held until the death of his eldest sonJohn in 1655, when he sold it, and 'betook himself, ' says Anthony àWood, 'wholly to a private life, two-thirds of which he at least spentin his library. ' He died on the 26th of March 1675, and was buried inthe Church of St. Giles, Cripplegate, where a monument was erected tohis memory. 

Smith was an indefatigable collector, and amassed a library of very fineand rare books, many of which had belonged to an earlier collector, Humphrey Dyson. These books came to Smith by marriage. [36] Wood informsus that 'he was constantly known every day to walk his rounds among thebooksellers' shops (especially in Little Britain) in London, and by hisgreat skill and experience he made choice of such books that were notobvious to every man's eye. ' 'He lived in times, ' Wood adds, 'whichministred peculiar opportunities of meeting with books that were notevery day brought into public light: and few eminent libraries werebought where he had not the liberty to pick and choose. . . . He was also agreat collector of MSS. , whether ancient or modern that were not extant, and delighted much to be poring on them. ' Wood also states that afterSmith's death, 'there was a design to buy his choice library for apublic use, by a collection of moneys to be raised among generouspersons, but the work being public, and therefore but little forwarded, it came into the hands of Richard Chiswell, a bookseller living in S. Paul's Ch. -yard, London: who printing a catalogue of, with others addedto, them, which came out after Mr. Smith's death, they were exposed tosale by way of auction, to the great reluctancy of public-spirited men, in May and June 1682. ' The sale, which commenced on the 15th of May, andwas continued day by day the first five days of every week until all thebooks were sold, took place at 'the Auction House known by the name ofthe Swan in Great Bartholomew's Close. ' It realised one thousand fourhundred and fourteen pounds, twelve shillings and eleven pence. [37] Acopy of the catalogue, with the prices in manuscript, is preserved inthe British Museum. The sums obtained for the Caxtons, of which therewere about a dozen, will be interesting to bibliographers. A copy of_Godfrey of Bulloyn_, which it is stated had belonged to King EdwardIV. , fetched the highest price--eighteen shillings; and the _Game of theChesse_, the _History of Jason_, and the _Eneydos of Virgil_ soldrespectively for thirteen shillings, five shillings and a penny, andthree shillings; while no more than two shillings could be got for the_Book of Good Manners_. A fine copy of the Coverdale Bible realised onlytwenty shillings and sixpence, and Captain John Smith's _History ofVirginia_ went for seven shillings and twopence. The manuscripts also, even for those days, sold at exceedingly low prices. 

A very interesting account of the library will be found in an article onEnglish Book-Sales, 1681-86, by Mr. A. W. Pollard, in vol. Ii. Of_Bibliographica_. Mr. Smith wrote some learned works which he left inmanuscript. _A Letter to Dr. Henry Hammond, concerning the Sense of thatArticle in the Creed, He descended into Hell_, written by Smith in 1659, was printed in 1684; and his _Obituary, being a catalogue of all suchpersons as he knew in their life; extending from A. D. 1627 to A. D. 1674_, was edited for the Camden Society by Sir H. Ellis, K. H. , in 1849. 

The manuscript of the _Obituary_, together with the manuscripts of twoor three other works by Smith are preserved among the Sloane Manuscriptsin the British Museum. A portrait of him was engraved by WilliamSherwin. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 36: Hearne in his _Diary_ (Oct. 4, 1714) states: 'That Mr. Rich. Smith's rare and curious collection of books was began first byMr. Humphrey Dyson, a public notary, living in the Poultry. They came toMr. Smith by marriage. This is the same Humphrey Dyson that assistedHowes in his continuation of _Stowe's Survey of London_, ed. Folio;' andin his preface to Peter Langtoft's _Chronicle_ (vol. I. P. Xiii. ) Hearnedescribes Dyson as 'a person of a very strange, prying, and inquisitivegenius in the matter of books, as may appear from many Libraries; therebeing Books (chiefly in old English) almost in every Library, that havebelong'd to him, with his name upon them. ' Some of his books arepreserved in the British Museum. ]

[Footnote 37: In an entry in his _Diary_ (Sep. 4, 1715) Hearnesays:--'Mr. Richard Smith's Catalogue that is printed contains a verynoble and very extraordinary collection of books. It was begun first inthe time of King Hen. VIII. , and comeing to Mr. Smith, he was so verydiligent and exact in continueing and improving, that hardly anythingcurious escaped him. ']

GEORGE THOMASON, _died_ 1666

George Thomason, who formed the wonderful collection of Civil Wartracts, which was given to the British Museum by King George III. , wasborn at the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenthcentury. Nothing appears to be known of his parents. He took up hisfreedom as a member of the Stationers' Company on the 5th of June1626. [38] His first publication was a new edition of Martyn's _Historyof the Kings of England_, which he produced in conjunction with JamesBoler and Robert Young in 1628, and he continued to publish books until1660. He carried on business at the Rose and Crown, St. Paul'sChurchyard, and we learn from the _Obituary_ of Richard Smith that hedied on April 10, 1666, and was 'buried out of Stationers' Hall (a pooreman). ' The Rev. George Thomason, who was Canon of Lincoln from 1683 to1712, is stated to have been his eldest son. 

The number of separate printed tracts in the collection which Thomasonformed with such unwearied perseverance for twenty years is stated in anAccount of it, [39] printed about 1680, to consist of 'near ThirtyThousand several sorts, ' together with 'near one hundred several MS. Pieces that were never printed, all, or most of them on the King'sbehalf, which no man durst then venture to publish without endangeringhis Ruine, ' and it is said that these were contained in 'above TwoThousand bound Volumes. ' Mr. Falconer Madan, however, in his admirablepaper on the Thomason Tracts in _Bibliographica_, [40] informs us thatafter going carefully through the collection, and looking at everytitle-page, he has come to the conclusion that the present number ofseparate pieces is twenty-two thousand seven hundred and sixty-one inprint, and seventy-three in manuscript, comprised in about one thousandnine hundred and eighty-three volumes. 

All the tracts are arranged in chronological order, and from July 1642to the end of the collection Thomason has placed the date of issue onevery piece when it is not printed on it, and has also endeavoured tosupply the place of printing when not given. These notes are sometimessupplemented by others commenting on the opinions of the authors of thetracts. There is a manuscript catalogue in twelve folio volumes, compiled by Marmaduke Foster, and annotated and corrected by Thomasonhimself. 

The collection is not confined to tracts relating to the Civil War andthe Commonwealth; it also contains many works on other subjects. Amongthese is a fine copy of the first edition of Walton's _Compleat Angler_, which at the present time would realise nearly, if not quite, as large asum as the amount (three hundred pounds) given by King George III. Forthe entire series. 

The collection, which was commenced by Thomason in 1640, and continueduntil 1661, was made by him under great difficulties. He was a staunchRoyalist, and the books appear to have been in constant danger offalling into the hands of the Parliamentary army. We read in the Accountto which we have already referred that 'to prevent the Discovery ofthem, when the Army was Northwards, he pack'd them up in severalTrunks, and by one or two in a week sent them to a trusty Friend inSurry, who safely preserv'd them; and when the Army was Westward, andfearing their Return that way, they were sent to London again; but theCollector durst not keep them, but sent them into Essex, and soaccording as they lay near Danger, still, by timely removing them, at agreat charge, secur'd them, but continu'd perfecting the Work. 

'And for a further Security to them, there was a Bargain pretended to bemade with the University of Oxford and a Receipt of a Thousand Poundsgiven and acknowledg'd to be in part for them, that if the Usurper hadfound them out, the University should claim them, who had greater Powerto struggle for them than a private Man. 

'All these Shifts have been made, and Difficulties encounter'd to keepthe Collection from being embezel'd and destroy'd; which with the greatCharges of collecting and binding them, cost the Undertaker so much thathe refused Four Thousand Pounds for them in his Life time, supposingthat Sum not sufficient to reimburse him. '

And in another account, at one time prefixed to the catalogue of thecollection, it is stated that 'not thinking them safe anywhere inEngland, he at last took a resolution to send them into Holland fortheir more safe preservation. But considering with himself what atreasure it was, upon second thoughts, he durst not venture them at sea, but resolved to place them in his warehouses in form of tables roundabout the rooms covered over with canvas, continuing still without anyintermission his going on; nay, even then, when by the Usurper's powerand command he was taken out of his bed, and clapt up close prisoner atWhitehall for seven weeks' space and above, [41] he still hoping andlooking for that day, which, thanks be to God, is now come, and there isput a period to that unparallelled labour, charge and pains he had beenat. 

'Oxford's Library Keeper[42] (that then was) was in hand with them, about them a long time, and did hope the Publick Library might compassthem; but that could not be then effected, it rising to so great a sumas had been expended on them for so long a time together. '

After Thomason's death a trust was appointed under his will to takecharge of the tracts, and one of the trustees, Dr. Thomas Barlow, Bodley's librarian from 1652 to 1660, afterwards Bishop of Lincoln, hadthem for a long time in his custody, as appears from a letter addressedby him to the Rev. George Thomason, the son of the collector, datedOxon, February 6, 1676. He mentions in the letter that he hadendeavoured to secure them for the Bodleian Library, and that althoughhe had hitherto failed, he still did not despair of finding a way to doso. He was not, however, successful in his efforts, and King Charles II. Appears to have directed Samuel Mearn, the royal stationer andbookbinder, to buy them on his account; it is not known for what sum. Itis to be presumed, however, that the King did not find the money forthem, for on May 15, 1684, the Privy Council considered and granted apetition from Anne Mearn, widow of Samuel Mearn, that she might disposeof the tracts by sale. She does not seem to have succeeded in doingthis, and they appear to have been returned to the Thomason family, forin the year 1745 we find them in possession of Mr. Henry Sisson, adruggist in Ludgate Street, London, who, Richard Gough, the antiquary, was informed, was a descendant of the collector. [43] After somenegotiations with the Duke of Chandos for their purchase, they werebrought by Thomas Hollis[44] to the notice of King George III. , who, through the Earl of Bute, bought them of Miss Sisson in 1761 for the sumof three hundred pounds, and in the following year they were presentedby him to the British Museum. 

On one of the volumes of the collection are some mud stains, which havean interesting history. The volume was borrowed from Thomason by KingCharles I. , who was anxious to read one of the tracts in it, and whilejourneying to the Isle of Wight let it fall in the dirt. Thomason made amemorandum of the circumstance on a fly-leaf of the book, adding the'volume hath the marke of honor upon it, which noe other volume in mycollection hath. '

In 1647 Thomason published a trade catalogue in quarto, consisting offifty-eight closely printed pages, entitled _Catalogus Librorum diversisItaliæ locis emptorum Anno Dom. 1647, a Georgio Thomasono BibliopolaLondinensi apud quem in Cæmiterio D. Pauli ad insigne Rosæ Coronatæprostant venales. Londini, Typis Johannis Legatt_, 1647, and in 1648 aselection of works in oriental languages from this catalogue waspurchased by order of the House of Commons, [45] who directed that thesum of five hundred pounds out of the receipts at Goldsmiths' Hallshould be paid for the books, in order that they might be bestowed uponthe Public Library at Cambridge. 

Mr. A. W. Pollard, in a note to Mr. Madan's article in _Bibliographica_, states that Thomason had great difficulty in getting the money forthese books: 'On March 28th, 1648, ' he tells us, 'the five hundredpounds was ordered to be paid from the arrears of the two months'assessments for the Scots army before Newark; on Sep. 25th it wascharged on the composition of Colonel Humphrey Matthews; and on Nov. 16th, Thomason, being still unpaid, was consoled by interest at the rateof eight per cent. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 38: Arber, _Transcript of the Register_, vol. Iii. P. 686. ]

[Footnote 39: Copies are preserved in the British Museum and theBodleian Library, and it is reprinted in Beloe's _Anecdotes_ vol. Ii. P. 248. ]

[Footnote 40: Vol. Iii. P. 304. ]

[Footnote 41: Thomason was implicated in Christopher Love's plot againstthe Commonwealth. There are several entries in the _Calendar of StatePapers_ which refer to his imprisonment. Mr. A. W. Pollard, the editor of_Bibliographica_, has given a list of them in a note (vol. Iii. P. 298)to Mr. Madan's paper on the Thomason Collection in that publication. ]

[Footnote 42: Probably Dr. Thomas Barlow, librarian of the BodleianLibrary. ]

[Footnote 43: Gough, _Anecdotes of British Typography_, second edition, p. 699, note. ]

[Footnote 44: _Memoirs of Hollis_, vol. I. Pp. 121, 192; vol. Ii. P. 717. ]

[Footnote 45: _Journals of the House of Commons_, 24th March 1648. ]

SIR SYMONDS D'EWES, BART. , 1602-1650

Sir Symonds D'Ewes, one of the most eminent of the antiquaries andcollectors of the first half of the seventeenth century, was born in1602. He was the son of Paul D'Ewes of Milden, Suffolk, and Cecilia, daughter and heiress of Richard Simonds of Coxden, Chardstock, Dorsetshire. In 1618 he was sent to St. John's College, Cambridge, butleft in 1620, and entered at the Middle Temple, being called to the Barin 1623. He soon, however, gave up his legal practice, and devotedhimself to the study of history and antiquities. D'Ewes was made aknight in 1626, and created a baronet in 1641. He was twice married, anddied in 1650. The baronetcy became extinct in 1731. 

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF SIR SYMONDS D'EWES, BART. ]

D'Ewes possessed a very fine collection of manuscripts, which were soldby his grandson to Sir Robert Harley, afterwards Earl of Oxford, notwithstanding the injunction of D'Ewes, in his will, that his libraryshould not be sold or dispersed. Oldys states that Harley recommendedQueen Anne to purchase the manuscripts for a public library, as therichest collection in England next to Sir Robert Cotton's, but that theQueen said, 'It was no virtue for her, a woman, to prefer as she didarts to arms; but while the blood and honour of the nation was at stakein her wars, she could not, till she had secured her living subjects anhonourable peace, bestow their money on dead letters. ' 'Whereupon, ' addsOldys, 'the Earl stretched his own purse, and gave six thousand poundsfor the library. ' The manuscripts, together with a list of them, whichis believed to have been made by D'Ewes himself, now form part of theHarleian Collection in the British Museum. The manuscript of anAnglo-Saxon Dictionary, compiled by D'Ewes in conjunction with FrancisJunius, and several of his diaries are also preserved there. His greatwork was the _Journals of all the Parliaments during the reign of QueenElizabeth_, which was not published until 1682. 

SIR KENELM DIGBY, 1603-1665

The celebrated scholar and collector, Sir Kenelm Digby, was born atGayhurst, near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, in 1603. He was the sonof Sir Everard Digby, who was executed in 1606 for the part he took inthe Gunpowder Plot. Sir Kenelm, who was the author of several remarkableworks, is described by Lord Clarendon as a man of 'very extraordinaryperson and presence, with a wonderful graceful behaviour and a flowingcourtesy and civility. ' He was knighted in 1623. Digby possessed a veryfine library, which he formed during his residence in Paris, and he hadmany of the volumes bound there by Le Gascon and other eminent binders. An earlier library which he collected is said to have been burnt by theRoundheads during the Civil War. [46] When he died in 1665, his library, which was still in France, was claimed as the property of the Frenchking, by virtue of the _droit d'aubaine_, and it is said to have beenpurchased for ten thousand crowns by the Earl of Bristol, who died in1676, and whose books, conjointly with those of another collector, weresold in London in April 1680. A priced catalogue of the sale ispreserved in the British Museum; and it is stated in it that the booksprincipally belonged 'to the library of the Right Honourable George, late Earl of Bristol, a great part of which were the Curiositiescollected by the learned Sir Kenelme Digby. ' It is evident, however, that a considerable number of the volumes which belonged to Digbyremained in France, as several are to be found in the BibliothèqueNationale and other libraries. In a communication to the LibraryAssociation of the United Kingdom, M. Léopold Delisle, Director of theBibliothèque Nationale, gives a list of manuscripts and printed books inthat library, which were formerly the property of the collector. Onevolume, with a very beautiful binding by Le Gascon, is preserved in theBibliothèque Mazarine. Sir Kenelm presented to the Bodleian Library avaluable collection of manuscripts and printed books which Thomas Allen, his former tutor, had bequeathed to him in 1630. He also gave aconsiderable number of volumes to the library of Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. , and the following notice of the gift occurs in theworks of Richard Baxter:--

 'I proposed, ' he writes, 'to have given almost all my library to Cambridge in New England; but Mr. Thomas Knowles, who knew their library, told me that Sir Kenelm Digby had already given them the Fathers, Councils and Schoolmen, and that it was Histories and Commentators which they wanted. Whereupon I sent them some of my Commentators and some Histories, among which were Freherus, Renherus, and Pistorius's collections. '

[Illustration: ONE OF SIR KENELM DIGBY'S BOOK-STAMPS. ]

Unfortunately, this first Harvard library was destroyed by fire in 1764. At that time it contained about six thousand volumes. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 46: See Article on English Book-Sales, 1676-1680, by Mr. A. W. Pollard, in _Bibliographica_, vol. I. P. 373. ]

RALPH SHELDON, 1623-1684

Ralph Sheldon, who was born on the 1st of August 1623, at Beoley inWorcestershire, was the eldest son of William Sheldon of Beoley andElizabeth, daughter of William, second Lord Petre. He was privatelyeducated, and at the age of nineteen he paid a visit to France andItaly, and resided at Rome for some time, returning home about 1647, after an absence of four years from his native country. Sheldon appearsto have been greatly respected, and Nash, in his _Collections for theHistory of Worcestershire_, says 'he was a person of such rare worth andexcellent qualities as deserve particular notice. He was a great patronof learning and learned men, and well skilled in the history andantiquities of his country, sparing no money to set up a standinglibrary at Weston. He was a great friend to Anthony Wood, and left him alegacy of £40. He purchased the valuable MSS. Of the ingenious AugustineVincent, Windsor Herald, and Keeper of the records in the Tower, _temp. _Charles I. , which at his death he bequeathed to the Heralds' College, where they are still preserved; and allowed John Vincent his son ayearly pension for many years. He travelled often to Rome, and spentsome time there to furnish himself with choice books, coins and medals. In short, he was of such remarkable integrity, charity and hospitality, as gained him the universal esteem of all the gentlemen of the county;insomuch that he usually went by the name of the Great Sheldon. . . . Andfor the sufferings which himself and father had undergone in the civilwars, he was nominated by Charles II. One of the gentlemen ofWarwickshire, who were to have received the honour of the Order of theRoyal Oak, had it been instituted; his estate being then valued at£2000 per annum, the largest of any in the county, except that of theMiddlemores of Edgbaston, which was estimated of the same annual value. 'The library formed by Sheldon at his manor-house of Weston in the parishof Long Compton, Warwickshire, was a fine one. Among the printed bookswas a very curious and probably unique copy of the first folio ofShakespeare (now the property of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts), where theconcluding passages of _Romeo and Juliet_, and the opening passages of_Troilus and Cressida_, are printed twice over at different parts of thevolume. This irregularity was discovered by Mr. Sidney Lee, who read apaper on the subject before the Bibliographical Society on March 21, 1898. The library at Weston was dispersed in 1781. 

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF RALPH SHELDON. ]

In commemoration of Sheldon's gifts to Heralds' College, Mr. RalphBigland, who was created Blue Mantle in 1757, and died as Garter in1784, caused a handsome canvas to be painted, on which are emblazonedSheldon's arms, impaled with those of his wife, accompanied by thefollowing biographical notice:--'To the Memory of Ralph Sheldon ofBeoley in the County of Worcester, Esquire, a great Benefactor to thisOffice. Who died at his Manor-House of Weston in the Parish ofLong-Compton, in the County of Warwick, on Midsu[~m]er Day, 1684, aged61 years wanting 6 weeks: the Day afterwards his Heart and Bowels wereburied in Long-Compton Chancel, in a Vault by those of his Father, Mother, Grandfather, etc. , and on the 10th of July following, his Bodyin a Vault by his Ancestors under our Lady's Chapel, Joyning on theNorth Side to St. Leonard's Church of Beoley: He marriedHenrietta-Maria, Daughter of Thomas Savage, Viscount Rock-Savage byElizabeth his wife, Daughter of Thomas, Lord Darcy, of Chich in Essex, Viscount Colchester and Earl Rivers, but by her had no issue. '

This canvas is still preserved in Heralds' College. 

Sheldon compiled _A Catalogue of the Nobility of England since theNorman Conquest, according to theire severall Creations by everyparticular King_, with the arms handsomely emblazoned. This manuscriptcame into the possession of Sir Thomas Phillipps, and formed one of thelots at the sale of his collection in June 1893. 

DR. FRANCIS BERNARD, 1627-1698

Dr. Francis Bernard was born in 1627. He was a Fellow of the College ofPhysicians, Assistant-Physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, andPhysician-in-Ordinary to King James II. He died on the 9th of February1698, and was buried in the parish church of St. Botolph, London, wherehis wife erected a monument to his memory. 

Dr. Bernard formed a very extensive library, which consisted, 'moreespecially of that sort of Books which are out of the Common Course, which a Man may make the Business of his Life to collect, and at lastnot be able to accomplish. '[47] It was very rich in works relating tomedicine, and it also contained a considerable number of early Englishbooks, among which were about a dozen Caxtons. The collection was soldby auction shortly after Bernard's death. The title-page of the salecatalogue reads:--'A Catalogue of the Library of the late learned Dr. Francis Bernard, Fellow of the College of Physicians, and Physician toS. Bartholomew's Hospital. Being a large Collection of the bestTheological, Historical, Philological, Medicinal and MathematicalAuthors, in the Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Dutchand English Tongues, in all Volumes, which will be sold by Auction atthe Doctor's late Dwelling House in Little Britain; the Sale to begin onTuesday, Octob. 4, 1698. ' A copy of the catalogue, with the prices inmanuscript, is in the British Museum. The sale consisted of nearlyfifteen thousand lots and thirty-nine bundles of tracts, which realisednineteen hundred and twenty pounds; the expenses of the sale amountingto three hundred and twenty pounds. The Caxtons sold for a little overtwo guineas. _The Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers_ and the _Knightof the Tower_ each fetched five shillings and fourpence, the _History ofJason_ three shillings and sixpence, the _Histories of King Arthur_ twoshillings and tenpence, the _Chastising of God's Children_ one shillingand tenpence, and the second edition of the _Game of the Chesse_ oneshilling and sixpence. 

Dibdin says that Dr. Bernard was 'a stoic in bibliography. Neitherbeautiful binding, nor amplitude of margin, ever delighted his eye orrejoiced his heart: for he was a stiff, hard, and straightforwardreader--and learned, in Literary History, beyond all hiscontemporaries'; and in the preface to the sale catalogue we read thathe was 'a person who collected books for use, and not for ostentation orornament, and he seemed no more solicitous about _their_ dress than _hisown_. ' A memorandum book containing notes of his visits to patients, etc. , is in the Sloane collection of manuscripts in the British Museum. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 47: Address to the reader, prefixed to sale catalogue. ]

SAMUEL PEPYS, 1633-1703

Samuel Pepys, Secretary to the Admiralty in the reigns of King CharlesII. And King James II. , was born either at London or Brampton inHuntingdonshire on the 23rd of February 1633. 

[Illustration: BOOK-PLATE OF SAMUEL PEPYS. ]

His father, John Pepys, was a citizen of London, where he followed thetrade of a tailor, but in 1661 retired to Brampton, at which place hehad inherited a property of eighty pounds a year from his eldest brotherRobert Pepys. He died there in 1680. Samuel Pepys received his earlyeducation at Huntingdon, and afterwards at St. Paul's School, London, where he continued until 1650, in which year he was admitted at TrinityHall, Cambridge. On the 5th of March 1651 he migrated as a sizar toMagdalene College, Cambridge, where he is entered in the books of theCollege as 'Samuel Peapys, ' and where, two years later, he was electedto a scholarship founded by John Smith. He graduated B. A. In 1653 andM. A. In 1660. In 1659 he accompanied his relative, Sir Edward Montagu, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, on his expedition to the Sound, and on hisreturn became a clerk in the office of Sir G. Downing, one of theTellers of the Exchequer. In 1660 he was appointed Clerk of the Acts ofthe Navy, which post he held until 1673, when he was made Secretary forthe Affairs of the Navy, and in 1684 he became Secretary of theAdmiralty, an office he retained until the accession of William andMary, when he lost his public appointments, and retired into privatelife. Pepys was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1665, and in1684 became President. He died at Clapham on the 26th of May 1703, andwas buried in the church of St. Olave, Hart Street, London. 

Pepys collected a very interesting library, which is now preserved in afireproof room in Magdalene College, Cambridge. It consists of aboutthree thousand volumes arranged in eleven mahogany cases in the preciseorder in which Pepys left them. The cases are the identical onesmentioned in his _Diary_, August 24, 1666:--'Up and dispatched severalbusinesses at home in the morning, and then comes Sympson to set up myother new presses for my books, and so he and I fell in to thefurnishing of my new closett, and taking out the things out of my old, and I kept him with me all day, and he dined with me, and so all theafternoon till it was quite dark hanging things, that is my maps andpictures and draughts, and setting up my books, and as much as we coulddo, to my most extraordinary satisfaction; so I think it will be asnoble a closet as any man hath, and light enough--though indeed it wouldbe better to have a little more light. '

This room, Mr. Wheatley tells us in his excellent account of the libraryin vol. I. Of _Bibliographica_, 'was at the Navy Office in CrutchedFriars, and the illustration in the ordinary editions of the _Diary_shows the position of the cases when they were transferred to the housein York Buildings (now Buckingham Street, Strand). ' 'The presses, ' headds, 'are handsomely carved, and have handles fixed at each end; thedoors are formed of little panes of glass, and in the lower divisionsthe glass windows are made to lift up. The books are all arranged indouble rows; but by the ingenious plan of placing small books in frontof large ones, the letterings of all can be seen. Neatness was a maniawith Pepys, and the volumes were evened on all the shelves; in oneinstance some short volumes have been raised to the required height byhelp of wooden stilts, gilt in front. '

The library consists principally of ordinary books, but it alsocomprises some valuable manuscripts, and many volumes from the pressesof the early English printers. It contains as many as nine Caxtons, eight Pynsons, and nineteen Wynkyn de Wordes, several of the last beingunique. The books printed by Caxton are the _Game of the Chesse, Polychronicon, Chronicles of England, Description of Britain, Mirrour ofthe World, Book of the Order of Chivalry_, the first and second editionsof the _Canterbury Tales_, and the _Chastising of God's Children_. Amongthe most interesting collections is one of eighteen hundred ballads infive folio volumes; and another of four duodecimo volumes of garlandsand other popular publications, printed for the most part in blackletter. The volumes are lettered: Vol. 1 _Penny Merriments_, Vol. 2_Penny Witticisms_, Vol. 3 _Penny Compliments_, and Vol. 4 _PennyGodlinesses_. In the first volume of the ballads Pepys has written:--'Mycollection of ballads, begun by Mr. Selden, improv'd by the addition ofmany pieces elder thereto in time; and the whole continued to the year1700. ' The library also possesses collections of old novels, pieces ofwit, chivalry, etc, plays, books on shorthand, tracts on the PopishPlot, liturgical controversies, sea tracts, news-pamphlets, etc. 

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF SAMUEL PEPYS. ]

The most interesting manuscripts are the famous _Diary_ in six volumes, the papers collected by Pepys for his proposed _Navalia_, and acollection of Scottish poetry, formed by Sir Richard Maitland ofLethington, Lord Privy Seal and Judge in the Court of Session, who diedin 1586. The drawings and prints in the library are numerous andvaluable. Among them are portraits of Pepys's friends, and prints anddrawings illustrating the city of London; one of the rarest of these isthe large plan of London attributed to Agas, of which only one othercopy is known. The library also contains some volumes of music with thetitle, _Songs and other Compositions, Light, Grave and Sacred, for asingle voice adjusted to the particular compass of mine; with a thoroughbase on ye ghitarr by Cesare Morelli_. Several songs composed by Pepysare in this collection, one of which, entitled _Beauty Retire_, was agreat success, and the composer was very proud of it. All the books inthe library are in excellent condition, and, with the exception of a fewin morocco or vellum, are bound in calf. Almost all of them bear Pepys'sarms on the lower cover; while on the upper is found a shield with theinscription, SAM. PEPYS CAR. ET IAC. ANGL. REGIB. A SECRETIS ADMIRALIÆ. This shield is surmounted with his helmet and crest, and is surroundedby mantling, in which are introduced two anchors, indicating his office. He also used three bookplates--one with his arms, quartering Talbot ofCottenham; a second with his portrait by Robert White, with his motto, _Mens cujusque is est Quisque_, from the _Somnium Scipionis_ of Cicero;and a third bearing his initials, with two anchors crossed, togetherwith his motto. 

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF SAMUEL PEPYS. ]

Pepys left his library, together with his other property, to his nephew, John Jackson; but in a paper of directions respecting it, preservedamong the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, he expresses adesire that at his nephew's death it should be placed in either Trinityor Magdalene College, Cambridge, preferably 'in the latter, for the sakeof my own and my nephew's education therein. ' In addition to Pepys'collection at Magdalene College, the Bodleian Library contains a seriesof his miscellaneous papers in twenty-five volumes, together withnumerous other volumes which belonged to him, including many curiousdockyard account-books of the times of King Henry VIII. And QueenElizabeth. [48] These were bequeathed to the library by Dr. RichardRawlinson, the nonjuring bishop. Mr. John Eliot Hodgkin, F. S. A. , ofChildwall, Weybridge, Surrey, also possesses some papers which oncebelonged to Pepys. 

Pepys published _Memoirs relating to the State of the Royal Navy ofEngland for ten years determined December 1688_, in 1690; and a workentitled _The Portugal History: or a Relation of the Troubles thathappened in the Court of Portugal in the years 1667 and 1668 . . . ByS. P. , Esq. _, printed at London in 1677, is also attributed to him. Hiswell-known _Diary_, the manuscript of which fills six small volumes ofclosely written shorthand, was first deciphered by the Rev. John Smith, Rector of Baldock, Hertfordshire, and was published, with a selectionfrom his private correspondence, by Lord Braybrooke, in two volumes in1825. It has since been several times reprinted. The last edition, edited by Mr. H. B. Wheatley, F. S. A. , published in eight volumes octavoin 1893-96, contains the whole of the _Diary_, with the exception ofpassages which cannot possibly be printed. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 48: Macray, _Annals of the Bodleian Library_. ]

EDWARD STILLINGFLEET, BISHOP OF WORCESTER, 1635-1699

Edward Stillingfleet, Bishop of Worcester, was the seventh son of SamuelStillingfleet of the family of Stillingfleet of Stillingfleet, Yorkshire. He was born at Cranborne in Dorsetshire on the 17th of April1635, and received his early education in the grammar schools ofCranborne and Ringwood. In his fifteenth year he was admitted into St. John's College, Cambridge, where he obtained a Fellowship in 1653. Forseveral years after leaving college he was engaged as a private tutor, first in the family of Sir Roger Burgoyne of Wroxall in Warwickshire, and afterwards in that of the Hon. Francis Pierrepoint of Nottingham, during which period he was ordained by Ralph Brownrig, the deprivedBishop of Exeter. In 1657 he was presented by Sir R. Burgoyne to therectory of Sutton, Bedfordshire, and in 1665 the Earl of Southamptongave him the rectory of St. Andrew's, Holborn. He was also appointedPreacher at the Rolls Chapel, and shortly afterwards Reader of theTemple, and Chaplain in Ordinary to Charles II. In 1667 he was collatedto a Canonry in St. Paul's, London; in 1669 he became a Canon 'in thetwelfth prebend' in Canterbury Cathedral; in 1677 Archdeacon of London;in 1678 Dean of St. Paul's; and on the 13th of October 1689 he wasconsecrated Bishop of Worcester. He died at his residence in ParkStreet, Westminster, on the 27th of March 1699, and was buried inWorcester Cathedral, where a monument was erected to his memory by hisson, with a Latin epitaph by Richard Bentley, who had been one of hischaplains. 

Bishop Stillingfleet collected 'at a vast expence of time, pains andmoney' a very choice and valuable library, which contained aconsiderable number of manuscripts, and upwards of nine thousand fivehundred printed volumes, besides many pamphlets. It is stated that therewere over two thousand folios in it, and that it cost the Bishop sixthousand pounds. Evelyn in a letter to Pepys, dated August 12th, 1689, writes: 'The Bishop of Ely[49] has a well stor'd library; but the verybest is what Dr. Stillingfleete, Deane of St. Paule's, has at Twicknam, ten miles out of towne. ' After Stillingfleet's death his library wasoffered for sale. Entries in Evelyn's diary[50] show that great effortswere made to persuade William III. To buy it, but they evidently failed, as the historical manuscripts were purchased by Robert Harley(afterwards Earl of Oxford), while the remainder of the collection wasacquired by Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop of Armagh, who bought the booksfor a public library in Dublin which he had founded. He is said to havepaid two thousand five hundred pounds for them. Stillingfleet, who onaccount of his handsome person was nicknamed 'the beauty of holiness, 'was the author of _Origines Britannicæ, or Antiquities of the BritishChurches_, and many controversial works. His collected works wereprinted in 1710 in six volumes folio, and a volume of his miscellaneousworks was published in 1735 by his son, the Rev. James Stillingfleet, Canon of Worcester. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 49: John Moore, Bishop of Ely, whose library was purchased byKing George I. , and presented by him to the University of Cambridge. ]

[Footnote 50: '_April 29, 1699. _--I dined with the Archbishop, but mybusiness was to get him to persuade the King to purchase the late Bishopof Worcester's library, and build a place, for his own library at St. James's, in the Parke, the present one being too small. '

'_May 3, 1699. _--At a meeting of the Royal Society I was nominated to beof the Committee to wait on the Lord Chancellor to move the King topurchase Bp. Of Worcester's library. ']

JOHN MOORE, BISHOP OF ELY, 1646-1714

John Moore, Bishop successively of Norwich and Ely, who was born atSutton-juxta-Broughton, Leicestershire, in 1646, was the eldest son ofThomas Moore, an ironmonger at Market Harborough. He was educated at theFree School, Market Harborough, and at Clare College, Cambridge, wherehe obtained a fellowship in 1667. Having taken holy orders, he wascollated in 1676 to the rectory of Blaby in Leicestershire; and in 1679, through the influence of Heneage Finch, Earl of Nottingham, who, in1670, had appointed him his chaplain, he was installed canon in ElyCathedral. In 1687 he was presented by the dean and chapter of St. Paul's to the rectory of St. Austin, London, and in 1689 he obtained therectory of St. Andrew's, Holborn, which he held with his canonry at Elyuntil 1691, when he was consecrated Bishop of Norwich. He remained inthat see until 1707, in which year he was translated to the morevaluable bishopric of Ely. Moore died on the 31st of July 1714, from theeffects of a cold which he caught while presiding at the trial of Dr. Bentley, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, who was charged withencroaching on the privileges of the fellows of that institution. Hewas buried in Ely Cathedral, where a monument was erected to his memory. 

[Illustration: BOOK-PLATE PLACED IN BOOKS FROM BISHOP MOORE'S LIBRARYGIVEN BY GEORGE I. TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. ]

Bishop Moore, who is called by Dibdin 'the father of black-lettercollectors in this country, ' was a great and generous patron oflearning, and formed a magnificent library, which at the time of hisdeath contained nearly twenty-nine thousand printed books and seventeenhundred and ninety manuscripts. John Bagford was the principal assistantin its collection, and in return for his services the Bishop procuredhim a place in the Charterhouse. The library, which was kept in theepiscopal residence in Ely Place, Holborn, where it occupied 'eightchambers, ' is mentioned in _Notices of London Libraries_, by JohnBagford and William Oldys, where it is stated that 'Dr. John Moore, thelate Bishop of Ely, had also a prodigious collection of books, writtenas well as printed on vellum, some very ancient, others finelyilluminated. He had a _Capgrave's Chronicle_, books of the firstprinting at Mentz, and other places abroad, as also at Oxford, St. Alban's, Westminster, etc. ' John Evelyn, Bishop Burnet, and RalphThoresby also write in terms of high praise of the excellence and greatextent of the collection. Richard Gough, the antiquary, states that 'theBishop formed his library by plundering those of the clergy in hisdiocese. Some he paid with sermons or more modern books; others onlywith quid illiterati cum libris'; but there appears to be little, ifany, truth in this accusation. Moore, who was anxious that his libraryshould not be dispersed after his death, offered it, in 1714, to RobertHarley, Earl of Oxford, for the sum of eight thousand pounds; but thenegotiation failed in consequence, it is said, of the Bishop 'insistingon being paid the money in his lifetime, though Lord Oxford was not tohave the books till the Bishop's death. ' After Moore's decease thecollection was sold for six thousand guineas to George I. , who gave it, on the suggestion of Lord Townsend, to the University of Cambridge. Aspecial book-plate, designed and engraved by John Pine, was placed inthe volumes. At the same time that the king sent these books to theUniversity he despatched a troop of horse to Oxford, which occasionedthe two well-known epigrams attributed to Dr. Tripp and Sir WilliamBrowne--

 'Contrary methods justly George applies To govern his two universities, To Oxford sent a troop of horse;--for why? That learned body wanted Loyalty. To Cambridge he sent books, as well discerning, How much that loyal body wanted learning. '

The reply by Sir W. Browne runs--

 'Contrary methods justly George applies To govern his two universities, And so to Oxford sent a troop of horse, For Tories hold no argument but force; To Cambridge Ely's learned books are sent, For Whigs admit no force but argument. '

This is not the only version of these epigrams, but the Rev. Cecil Moorein his Memoir of the Bishop considers it to be the correct one. 

Moore's diaries, letters, and private accounts are also preserved in theCambridge University Library. A volume containing his printed sermonswas published in 1715, and a second issue in two volumes in 1724. Bothseries were edited by the Rev. Samuel Clarke, D. D. 

JOHN BAGFORD, 1650?-1716

John Bagford was born about 1650. The exact date of his birth isunknown, and he does not appear to have been acquainted with it himself, for a short time before his death he informed Mr. James Sotheby that hewas either sixty-five or sixty-six years of age, he could not tellwhich. According to the belief of Thomas Hearne, the antiquary, he wasborn in Fetter Lane, London, and he was no doubt for some time ashoemaker, for in a very curious and entertaining little treatise on the_Art of Shoemaking and Historical Account of Clouthing of ye foot_, which is believed to have been written by him, and is now preservedamong the Harleian manuscripts in the British Museum, the writer statesthat he was brought up to the 'craft of shoemaking. ' This trade, however, he soon abandoned for a more congenial occupation, and hebecame a collector of books on commission for booksellers and amateurs. In pursuance of this work he made several journeys to the Continent, andacquired a great knowledge of books, prints, and literary curiosities. He was specially employed by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, Sir HansSloane, and John Moore, Bishop of Ely, who appear to have greatlyappreciated his judgment, diligence, and honesty; and the last-namedcollector procured him, as some recompense for his services, admissioninto the Charterhouse. Nothing is known of Bagford's parents, and littleof his domestic life, but he appears to have been married, for on theback of a leaf in one of the volumes of his collections we find thefollowing memorandum in Bagford's writing: 'John, son of John andElizabeth Bagford, was baptized 31st October 1675, in the parish of St. Anne, Blackfriars. ' This son seems to have become a sailor in the RoyalNavy, for in another volume in the same collections there is a power ofattorney, dated April 6, 1713, signed by John Bagford, Junior, empowering his 'honoured father, John Bagford, Senior, of the parish ofSt. Sepulchre, in the county of Middlesex, bookseller, ' to claim andreceive from the Paymaster of Her Majesty's Navy his wages as a seamanin case of his death. Bagford, who took great interest in alldescriptions of antiquities, was one of the little group ofdistinguished men who reconstituted in 1707 the Society of Antiquaries. He died, Dr. Birch informs us, at Islington on the 15th of May 1716, andwas buried in the graveyard belonging to the Charterhouse. 

[Illustration: JOHN BAGFORD. ]

During his researches for his employers Bagford amassed two greatcollections: one consisting of ballads, now known as the 'BagfordBallads'; the other being a vast collection of leaves from manuscripts, title-pages and fragments of books, specimens of paper, book-plates, engravings, bindings, catalogues, advertisements, and variousinteresting and curious pieces. With the aid of these materials Bagfordintended to write a history of printing, and in 1707 he published his_Proposals for an Historical Account of that most universally celebratedas well as useful Art of Typography_. The work, which was also tocontain a history of bookbinding, paper-making, etc. , was, however, never published, and it has been often stated that Bagford was quiteincompetent to carry out such an undertaking. This may possibly havebeen the case, for although he was certainly a man of much ability, andpossessed an extensive knowledge of books, he had received but littleeducation. Several of his contemporaries, however, held a differentopinion, and among them Hearne, who repeatedly expresses in his workshis admiration of both Bagford's genius and his collections. 

The method of compiling a history of printing from a collection oftitle-pages appears to be both a clumsy and a costly one, but it seemsprobable from entries in the diary of Oldys, and from Gough's memoir ofAmes, that that bibliographer wrote his _Typographical Antiquities_ withthe aid of similar materials. 

Bagford has been subjected to very severe censure for mutilating booksfor the purpose of forming his collection of title-pages. Mr. Blades, inhis work _The Enemies of Books_, accuses him of being 'a wicked oldbiblioclast who went about the country, from library to library, tearingaway title-pages from rare books of all sizes'; and Dr. Dibdin in_Bibliomania_ states that he 'was the most hungry and rapacious of allbook and print collectors. ' The testimony of Hearne (who knew Bagfordwell, and who was also amply qualified to judge both of his merits anddemerits), however, is very different. He writes: 'It was very laudablein my Friend, Mr. John Bagford (who I think was born in Fetter Lane, London), to employ so much of his time, as he did, in collecting Remainsof Antiquity. Indeed he was a man of very surprising genius, and had hiseducation (for he was first a shoemaker, and afterwards for some time abookseller) been equal to his natural genius, he would have proved amuch greater man than he was. And yet, without this education, he was, certainly, the greatest man in the world in his way. . . . 'Tis veryremarkable, that, in collecting, his care did not extend itself to Booksand to the fragments of Books, only, but even to the very Covers, and tothe Bosses and Clasps; and all this, that he might, with the greaterease, compile the History of Printing, which he had undertaken, but didnot finish. In this noble Work he intended a Discourse about Binding, . . . And another about the Art of making paper, in both of which hisobservations were very accurate. '

A great number of the title-pages and fragments collected by Bagford areevidently taken from books which could be purchased in his day for a fewshillings, many of them probably for a few pence; while it is possiblethat some may have been salvage from the Great Fire of 1666, when weknow immense quantities of books were burnt or damaged. The collections, it is true, contain fragments of the Gutenberg Bible, various Caxtons, and other rare books, but there is no reason to think that these wereabstracted from complete copies; it is much more likely that they wereodd leaves which Bagford had picked up, while the leather stains on someof the most valuable show that they once formed part of the padding ofold bindings. Many of the books were probably acquired by Bagford whenhe took part in the book-hunting expeditions of the Duke of Devonshire, the Earls of Oxford, Sunderland, and other collectors, who amusedthemselves every Saturday during the winter in rambling through variousquarters of the town in search of additions to their libraries. AfterBagford's death Hearne was very anxious to obtain his collections, as hewished to publish 'a book from them, for the service of the public, andthe honour of Mr. Bagford, ' but much to his chagrin he was forestalledby Wanley, Lord Oxford's librarian, who acquired them for his employer'slibrary, and they formed part of the Harleian Manuscripts, etc. , purchased in 1753 for the British Museum. Wanley, however, does notappear to have secured the whole of Bagford's papers, as the Sloanecollection contains four volumes of manuscripts and printed matterwhich belonged to him, and the Bodleian Library possesses someIndulgences which he acquired and gave to Hearne. 

The Bagford collections in the British Museum consist of one hundred andtwenty-nine[51] volumes, including three of ballads. The manuscriptpieces are contained in thirty-six folios; the printed pieces insixty-three folios, twenty-one quartos, and nine octavos. Among the moreimportant manuscripts are Bagford's Commonplace Book; his Book ofAccounts; his Account of Public and Private Libraries; Collections inreference to Printing; Names of old English Printers, with lists of theworks which passed through their hands; an Account of Paper; Patentsgranted to Printers in England; Observations on the History of Printing;Lives of famous Engravers, etc. The collection also contains a largenumber of fragments of early Bibles, Service Books, Decretals, Lives ofSaints, etc. These are almost entirely of vellum, and some of them areas early as the eighth century. 

Among the printed fragments is a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible, [52]portions of the _Recuyell of the Histories of Troy_, the_Polychronicon_, the _Book of Fame_, and many other books from thepresses of Caxton, Machlinia, Rood and Hunte, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, and other early printers, both English and foreign. 

The maps in the collection are especially important and interesting, including a very rare one sometimes found in Hakluyt's _Navigations andDiscoveries of the English Nation_, printed in the years 1599 and 1600, and worth at least two hundred pounds;[53] and the even more valuablecelestial and terrestrial planispheres by John Blagrave of Reading, which are believed to be unique. There are also some rare documentsrelating to the Post Office; a number of early book-plates; some finespecimens of English, French, and German stamped bindings of thesixteenth century; several volumes of Chinese, marbled, and otherpapers; early almanacks; a quantity of engravings of towns, costumes, trades, furniture, etc. ; curious advertisements of tobacco, tea, quackmedicines, etc. ; specimens of fine writing; and many other miscellaneouspapers of much interest. 

Bagford was the author of a letter on the antiquities of London, prefixed to the first volume of Hearne's edition of Leland's_Collectanea_; and also of an _Account of London Libraries_, firstprinted in 1708 in _The Monthly Miscellany, or Memoirs for theCurious_. This little brochure was continued by Oldys, and the completework published by Mr. James Yeowell in 1862. _The Essay on the Inventionof Printing, by Mr. John Bagford_, in vol. XXV. Of the _PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society_, was, Dibdin says, drawn up byWanley. The collection of ballads has been edited by the Rev. J. W. Ebsworth for the Ballad Society. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 51: It is somewhat doubtful whether a few of these belonged toBagford. ]

[Footnote 52: Probably given to Bagford by Michael Maittaire, thecollector, who possessed a very imperfect copy of the Gutenberg Bible, which sold for fifty shillings at the sale of his library. ]

[Footnote 53: This is believed to be the map alluded to by Shakespearein Act. Iii. Sc. 2 of _Twelfth Night_, where he makes Maria say ofMalvolio: 'He does smile his face into more lines than there are in thenew map, with the augmentation of the Indies. ']

THOMAS HERBERT, EIGHTH EARL OF PEMBROKE, 1656-1733

Thomas Herbert, eighth Earl of Pembroke, who was born in 1656, was thethird son of Philip, the fifth Earl. By the deaths of his elderbrothers, the sixth and seventh Earls, he succeeded to the title in1683, and from that time to his death in 1733 he held many of thehighest appointments in the State. He was one of the representatives ofEngland at the treaty of Ryswick, and he carried the Sword of Justice atthe coronations of William and Mary, Anne, George I. And George II. Hewas also President of the Royal Society in 1689-90. 

Many of the Earls of Pembroke were men of culture and patrons oflearning. In 1629 William, the third Earl, gave to the University ofOxford, of which he was Chancellor, a very valuable series of Greekmanuscripts collected by Giacomo Barocci, a gentleman of Venice; and in1649 his brother Philip, the fourth Earl, gave to the same University, of which he was also Chancellor, a splendidly bound copy of the ParisPolyglot Bible, printed in 1645 in nine volumes. These two brothers are'the incomparable pair of brethren' to whom the first folio ofShakespeare is dedicated. There had been for several generations alibrary at Wilton House, Salisbury, which Dibdin considered to be one ofthe oldest of private collections existing; but Thomas, the eighth Earl, added to it so large a number of rare books that it 'entitled him todispute the palm even with the Lords Sunderland and Oxford. ' Maittaire, in his _Annales Typographici_, calls the library a 'Bibliothecaexquisitissima, ' and styles its owner 'Humanitatis politioris cultor etpatronus. ' Dibdin also states that Lord Pembroke spared no expense forbooks, and that he was 'a collector of everything the most precious andrare in the book-way. ' The library was still further augmented by hissuccessor Henry. 

Dr. Dampier, Bishop of Ely, compiled a list in 1776 of the earlierprinted works in the library, which Dibdin has reproduced in his_Decameron_. The books are one hundred and ninety-nine in number, ofwhich one hundred and eighty-eight are of the fifteenth century. Thelist contains eight Caxtons, eighteen volumes printed by Jenson, andten by the Spiras. Among the most notable of the incunabula are the_Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ of Durandus, on vellum, printed by Fustand Schoeffer at Mentz in 1459; the _Catholicon_ of Balbus, printed atMentz in 1460; _Cicero de Oratore_, printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz atthe Monastery of Subiaco in 1465; Cicero's _Epistolæ ad Familiares_, printed by Joannes de Spira at Venice in 1469; and the _Bokys of Hawkyngand Huntyng_, printed at St. Albans in 1486. The Caxtons are _TheRecuyell of the Histories of Troy_; the first and second editions of_The Game of the Chesse_; the first edition of _The Dictes or Sayings ofthe Philosophers_, _Tully of Old Age_, _Chronicles of England_, the_Polychronicon_, and the _Liber Festivalis_. 

NARCISSUS LUTTRELL, 1657-1732

Narcissus Luttrell, who was born in 1657, was the son of FrancisLuttrell of London, a descendant of the Luttrells of Dunster Castle, inthe county of Somerset. He received his early education under Mr. Aldrich at Sheen in Surrey, and in 1674 was admitted a fellow-commonerof St. John's College, Cambridge. In the succeeding year he was createdM. A. By royal mandate. [54] While at the University he presented asilver tankard to his college, which was lost, together with a quantityof other plate, on the 9th of October 1693, for the recovery of which areward of ten pounds was offered. [55] Luttrell, who, Dibdin says, was'ever ardent in his love of past learning, and not less voracious in hisbibliomaniacal appetites, ' formed an extensive library at ShaftesburyHouse, Little Chelsea, where he resided for many years in seclusion. Hearne speaks of it 'as a very extraordinary collection, ' and adds that'in it are many manuscripts, which, however, he had not the spirit tocommunicate to the world, and 'twas a mortification to him to see theworld gratified without his assistance. ' A special feature of thelibrary was the large and interesting collection of fugitive piecesissued during the reigns of Charles II. , James II. , William III. , andAnne, which Luttrell purchased day by day as they appeared. Sir WalterScott found this collection, which in his time was chiefly in thepossession of the collectors Mr. Heber and Mr. Bindley, very useful whenediting the _Works_ of Dryden, published in eighteen volumes at Londonin 1808. In the preface he remarks that 'the industrious collector seemsto have bought every poetical tract, of whatever merit, which was hawkedthrough the streets in his time, marking carefully the price and dateof purchase. His collection contains the earliest editions of many ofour most excellent poems, bound up, according to the order of time, withthe lowest trash of Grub Street. ' On Luttrell's death, which took placeat his residence in Chelsea on the 27th of June 1732, the collectionbecame the property of Francis Luttrell (presumed to be his son), whodied in 1740. It afterwards passed into the possession of Mr. SerjeantWynne, and from him descended to Edward Wynne, his eldest son, theauthor of _Eunomus, or Dialogues concerning the Law and Constitution ofEngland; and a Miscellany containing several law tracts_, published atLondon in 1765. He died a bachelor in 1784, and the library, which hadbeen considerably enlarged by its later possessors, was inherited by hisbrother, the Rev. Luttrell Wynne, of All Souls' College, Oxford, bywhose direction it was sold by auction by Leigh and Sotheby in 1786. Thesale, which consisted of two thousand seven hundred and fifty-six lots, commenced on March 6th, and lasted twelve days. It is stated in thecatalogue that 'great part of the library was formed by an Eminent andCurious Collector in the last Century, and comprehends a fine Suite ofHistorical, Classical, Mathematical, Natural History, Poetical andMiscellaneous Books, in all Arts and Sciences . . . By the most EminentPrinters, Rob. Steph. , Morell, Aldus, Elzevir, Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, &c. &c. Also a very curious Collection of old English Romances, and oldPoetry; with a great number of scarce Pamphlets during the GreatRebellion and the Protectorate. ' Various portions of the Luttrellcollections were bought by Messrs. Heber and Bindley. The greater partof those purchased by Mr. Bindley were eventually acquired by theBritish Museum at the Duke of Buckingham's sale in 1849, while thosewhich belonged to Mr. Heber are now to be found on the shelves of theBritwell library. Dibdin informs us that 'a great number of poeticaltracts was disposed of, previous to the sale, to Dr. Farmer, who gavenot more than forty guineas for them. ' Two Caxtons in the sale--the_Mirrour of the World_ and _Caton_--fetched respectively five guineasand four guineas, and a collection of plays, in twenty-one volumes, byGascoigne, Dekker, etc. , sold for thirty-eight pounds, seventeenshillings. 

[Illustration: SIR HANS SLOANE, BART. ]

Luttrell compiled a chronicle of contemporary events, which wasfrequently quoted by Lord Macaulay in his _History of England_. Thisremained in manuscript for many years in the library of All Souls'College, Oxford, but in 1857 it was printed in six volumes by theDelegates of the University Press under the title of _A Brief HistoricalRelation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714_. He alsoleft a personal diary in English, but whimsically written in Greekcharacters, consisting principally of entries recording the hours of hisrising and going to bed, the manner in which he spent his time, whatfriends called to see him, the sermons he heard, where and how he dined, and the occasions, which were not infrequent, when he took too muchwine. This manuscript is preserved in the British Museum (Add. MS. 10447). 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 54: _Notes and Queries. _ Second Series. Vol. Xii. , page 78. ]

[Footnote 55: See _London Gazette_, October 16-19, 1693. ]

SIR HANS SLOANE, BART. , 1660-1753

Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. , was born on the 16th of April 1660 atKillileagh, County Down, Ireland. His father, Alexander Sloane, was aScotchman, who had settled in Ireland on his appointment to the post ofreceiver-general of the estates of Lord Claneboy, afterwards Earl ofClanricarde. [56] Hans Sloane gave early indications of unusual ability, and as soon as his health, which was delicate, would permit, he came toLondon, and devoted himself to the study of medicine, and the kindredsciences of chemistry and botany. In 1683 he went to Paris, which atthat time possessed greater facilities for medical education than couldbe found in London. Having taken the degree of Doctor of Medicine in theUniversity of Orange in July 1683, he made a tour in France, andtowards the close of the year 1684 he returned to England and settled inLondon. In 1685 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in1687 he was admitted a Fellow of the College of Physicians. His love forscientific research led him to accept the offer of the post of physicianto the Duke of Albemarle, who had been recently appointedGovernor-General of the West India Colonies. He was also appointedphysician to the West Indian fleet. He set sail for Jamaica on the 12thof September 1687, and reached Port Royal on the 19th of December; butin consequence of the death of the Duke, which took place towards theend of the following year, Sloane returned to England in May 1689, bringing with him large collections in all branches of natural history, which he had obtained in Madeira, as well as in Jamaica and other WestIndian islands. In 1693 Sloane was appointed to the Secretaryship of theRoyal Society, and in 1727 he had the honour of succeeding Sir IsaacNewton as President. His professional career was a very successful one. In 1712 he was made Physician-Extraordinary to Queen Anne, whom heattended during her last illness; and in 1716 he was created a baronetby King George I. , who also bestowed on him the post ofPhysician-General to the Forces. On the accession of King George II. In1727 he was appointed First Physician to the King. He was electedPresident of the College of Physicians in 1719, and held the office till1735. In 1741 he removed his museum and library from his residence inGreat Russell Street, Bloomsbury, to the fine old manor-house ofChelsea, which he had purchased from the family of Cheyne. Here he spenthis time in the society of his friends, and in enriching and arrangingthe treasures he had collected. He died after a short illness on the11th of January 1753, in the ninety-third year of his age, and wasburied in Chelsea church, where a monument was erected to his memory byhis daughters. Sir Hans Sloane married Elizabeth, daughter and heiressof Alderman Langley, and widow of Fulk Rose of Jamaica, by whom he hadfour children, two of whom died young. Sarah, the elder of the twodaughters who survived their father, married George Stanley of Poultons, Hampshire; the younger, Elizabeth, married Colonel Charles Cadogan, afterwards second Baron Cadogan. 

A table drawn up by Sloane's trustees immediately after his death showsthat, in addition to his splendid natural history museum, hiscollections comprised between forty and fifty thousand printed books, three thousand five hundred and sixteen manuscripts, [57] and sixhundred and fifty-seven pictures and drawings. The coins and medalsamounted to thirty-two thousand, and other antiquities to two thousandsix hundred and thirty-five. Sir Hans Sloane expressed a desire in hiswill that his collection in all its branches might be kept and preservedtogether after his decease, and that an application should be made byhis trustees to Parliament for its purchase for twenty thousand pounds, a sum which did not represent more than a fourth of its real value. Thisapplication was favourably received, and in June 1753 an Act was passed, 'For the purchase of the Museum, or Collection of Sir Hans Sloane, andof the Harleian Collection of Manuscripts; and for providing one generalrepository for the better reception and more convenient use of the saidCollections; and of the Cottonian Library, and of the additionsthereto. ' The Act further enacted that a board, consisting of forty-twotrustees, be appointed for putting the same into execution; and at ageneral meeting of this body, held at the Cockpit, at Whitehall, on the3rd of April 1754, it was resolved to accept of a proposal which hadbeen made to them, of the 'Capital Mansion House, called Montague House, and the freehold ground thereto belonging, for the general repository ofthe British Museum, on the terms of ten thousand pounds. '[58] Althoughthe Act had been passed, considerable difficulty was experienced infinding the purchase-money. When the matter was brought before GeorgeII. He dismissed it with the remark, 'I don't think there are twentythousand pounds in the Treasury'; and eventually it was proposed thatthe needful sum should be raised by a public lottery, which shouldconsist of 'a hundred thousand shares, at three pounds a share; that twohundred thousand pounds should be allotted as prizes, and that theremaining hundred thousand--less the expenses of the lotteryitself--should be applied to the threefold purposes of the Act, namely, the purchase of the Sloane and Harleian Collections; the providing of aRepository; and the creation of an annual income for futuremaintenance. '[59] Sir Hans Sloane's principal work was the _NaturalHistory of Jamaica_, 2 vols. , London, 1707-25, which occupied him for noless than thirty-eight years. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 56: Edwards, _Lives of Founders of the British Museum_, p. 274. ]

[Footnote 57: There are 4100 volumes of Sloane MSS. In the BritishMuseum. A catalogue of them, compiled by the Rev. S. Ayscough, wasprinted in 1782. ]

[Footnote 58: Sims, _Handbook to the Library of the British Museum_, p. 2. ]

PETER LE NEVE, 1661-1729

Peter Le Neve was the son of Francis Neve (the _Le_ had been dropped forseveral generations, when Peter resumed the ancient form of his name), acitizen and draper of London. He was born in London in 1661, and waseducated at Merchant Taylors' School. From an early age he displayed agreat love of antiquarian pursuits, and in 1707, when the Society ofAntiquaries was reconstituted, he was chosen the first President, whichoffice he held until 1724. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society. Onthe 17th of January 1690, Le Neve was appointed Rouge-Croix Pursuivant;on April the 5th 1704, Richmond Herald; and on the 25th of thesucceeding month Norroy King-at-Arms. He died on the 24th of September1729, and was buried in the chancel of Great Witchingham Church, Norfolk. Oldys states that Le Neve had 'a vast treasure of HistoricalAntiquities, consisting of about 2000 printed books and above 1200 MSS. , interspersed with many notes of his own. ' Oldys also mentions that 'itis said that he had some pique with the Heralds' Office a little beforehis death, so cut them off with a single book, otherwise he had leftthem the whole of his library. '[60]

'Honest Tom Martin of Palgrave, ' the antiquary, who was Le Neve'sexecutor, and who married his widow, appears to have succeeded to thebulk of Le Neve's collections. They were sold by auction in 1731. Thetitle-page of the sale catalogue reads:--'A Catalogue of the valuablelibrary collected by that truly Laborious Antiquary, Peter Le Neve, Esq. ; Norroy King of Arms (lately deceas'd), containing most of theBooks relating to the History and Antiquities of Great Britain andIreland, and many other nations. With more than a thousand Manuscriptsof Abstracts of Records, etc. , Heraldry, and other Sciences, several ofwhich are very antient, and written on Vellum. Also, a great number ofPedigrees of Noble Families, etc. With many other Curiosities. Whichwill be Sold by Auction the 22nd Day of February 1730-1 at the BedfordCoffee-house, in the Great Piazza, Covent Garden. Beginning everyEvening at Five a-Clock. By John Wilcox, Bookseller in Little Britain. '

The sale appears to have lasted about a fortnight, and was followed by asmall supplementary one on March the 19th, of 'Some Curiosities andManuscripts omitted in the previous Catalogue. ' A copy of the salecatalogue, with the prices and the names of some of the purchasers inmanuscript, is to be found in the British Museum. 

Although Le Neve was an ardent collector and compiled a considerablenumber of works on heraldry and topography, many of which are preservedin the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Heralds' College, and theRecord Office, he does not appear to have printed anything. His list of_Pedigrees of Knights made by King Charles II. , King James II. , KingWilliam III. And Queen Mary, King William alone, and Queen Anne_, wasedited by Dr. G. W. Marshall for the Harleian Society in 1873. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 59: Edwards, _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_, p. 308. ]

[Footnote 60: _Memoir of Oldys_, etc. London, 1862, p. 76. ]

ROBERT HARLEY, FIRST EARL OF OXFORD, 1661-1724

AND

EDWARD HARLEY, SECOND EARL OF OXFORD, 1689-1741

Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, who was born in Bow Street, CoventGarden, on the 5th of December 1661, was the eldest son of Sir EdwardHarley, K. B. , who was Governor of Dunkirk after the Restoration. Entering Parliament in 1689, in 1701 he was elected Speaker of the Houseof Commons; in 1710 he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, and in1711 he was created Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, and made Lord HighTreasurer, from which post he was dismissed in 1714. In 1713 he receivedthe Order of the Garter. He was impeached by the House of Commons in1715; acquitted without being brought to a trial in 1717, and died athis house in Albemarle Street, London, on the 21st of May 1724. 

[Illustration: ONE OF THE BOOK-PLATES OF ROBERT HARLEY AS A COMMONER. ]

Harley was the greatest collector of his time, and formed a splendidlibrary, which, at the time of his death, besides the printed books, contained more than six thousand volumes of manuscripts, and an immensenumber of charters, rolls, and deeds. This noble collection wasinherited by Lord Oxford's son Edward, second Earl, by whom it was veryconsiderably augmented in every department; and when he died in June1741, the volumes of manuscripts amounted to seven thousand six hundredand thirty-nine volumes, exclusive of fourteen thousand two hundred andthirty-six original rolls, deeds, charters, and other legal documents. The printed books were estimated at about fifty thousand volumes, thepamphlets at about three hundred and fifty thousand, and the prints atforty-one thousand. In the _Account of London Libraries_, by Bagford andOldys, it is stated:--

[Illustration: ROBERT HARLEY'S BOOK-STAMP. ]

'For libraries in more expressly particular hands, the first and mostuniversal in England, must be reckoned the Harleian, or Earl of Oxford'slibrary, begun by his father and continued by himself. He has the rarestbooks of all countries, languages, and sciences, and the greatest numberof any collector we ever had, in manuscript as well as in print, thousands of fragments, some a thousand years old; vellum books, somewritten over; all things especially respecting English History, personalas well as local, particular as well as general. He has a greatcollection of Bibles, etc. , in all versions, and editions of all thefirst printed books, classics, and others of our own country, ecclesiastical as well as civil, by Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Berthelet, Rastall, Grafton, and the greatest number of pamphlets andprints of English heads of any other person. Abundance of ledgers, chartularies, old deeds, charters, patents, grants, covenants, pedigrees, inscriptions, etc. , and original letters of eminent persons, as many as would fill two hundred volumes; all the collections of hislibrarian Humphrey Wanley, of Stow, Sir Symonds D'Ewes, Prynne, BishopStillingfleet, John Bagford, Le Neve, and the flower of a hundred otherlibraries. '

The library was remarkably rich in early editions of the Greek and Latinclassics (there were as many as one hundred and fifteen volumes ofvarious works by Cicero printed in the fifteenth century), English earlypoetry and romances, and books of prints, sculpture and drawings. Thecollection of Caxtons was both large and fine, and it comprised the onlyperfect copy known of the _Book of the Noble Histories of King Arthur_, which, nearly a century and a half after the dispersion of the Harleianlibrary, was purchased for nineteen hundred and fifty pounds, at thesale of the Earl of Jersey's books in 1885, by Mr. Quaritch for a NewYork collector. 

The volumes in the library were all handsomely bound; mostly in redmorocco, and tooled with a distinctive kind of ornamentation, which hassince been known as the Harleian Style. This commonly consisted of acentrepiece, generally of a lozenge form, surrounded by a broad andelegant border. Eliot and Chapman were the binders of the greaterportion of the books, at a cost, it is said, of upwards of eighteenthousand pounds. 

Humphrey Wanley was for several years librarian to both the first andthe second Earls, and he commenced the compilation of the catalogue ofthe manuscripts, which was finally completed by the Rev. Thomas HartwellHorne in 1812. Among the Lansdowne manuscripts in the British Museum isa diary, [61] kept by Wanley, which contains much interesting informationrespecting the library. Some time after Wanley's decease, William Oldyswas appointed librarian at a salary of two hundred pounds per annum. 

The second Earl of Oxford had a passion for building and landscapegardening, as well as for collecting books, paintings and curiosities, and some years before his death these expensive tastes involved him inpecuniary difficulties. George Vertue, the eminent engraver, in one ofhis commonplace-books, now preserved in the British Museum, [62] thusfeelingly refers to the embarrassed circumstances of the Earl:--'My goodLord, lately growing heavy and pensive in his affairs, which for somelate years have mortify'd his mind. . . . This lately manifestly appearedin his change of complexion; his face fallen less; his colour and eyesturned yellow to a great degree; his stomach wasted and gone; and a deadweight presses continually, without sign of relief, on his mind. '

A fortnight after this was written Vertue had to lament his loss. 

Lord Oxford died in Dover Street, London, on the 16th of June 1741, andon his decease the library became the property of Margaret, Duchess ofPortland, the only daughter and heiress of the Earl, who sold theprinted books to Mr. Thomas Osborne, the bookseller of Gray's Inn, forabout thirteen thousand pounds. The manuscripts were purchased byParliament in 1753 for the sum of ten thousand pounds, and were placedin the library of the British Museum four years later. The portraits, coins, and miscellaneous curiosities were sold by auction in March 1742. 

Osborne bought Lord Oxford's books with a view of disposing of them bysale, and engaged Dr. Johnson and Oldys to compile a catalogue of them, which was printed in four volumes octavo in the years 1743-44. A fifthvolume was issued in 1745, but this is nothing more than an enumerationof Osborne's unsold stock. Osborne also published in eight volumesquarto, '_The Harleian Miscellany: or, a Collection of Scarce, Curious, and Entertaining Pamphlets and Tracts_, as well as in Manuscript as inPrint, found in the late Earl of Oxford's library, interspersed withHistorical, Political and Critical notes. London 1744-46. ' This work, which was edited by Oldys, was republished by Thomas Park in 1808-12, with two supplemental volumes. A catalogue of the pamphlets contained inthe _Harleian Miscellany_ was also prepared by Oldys, and printed in aquarto volume, which appeared in 1746; and a _Collection of Voyages andTravels_, compiled from the _Miscellany_, was published in two volumesfolio in 1745. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 61: Lansdowne MSS. 771, 772. ]

[Footnote 62: Add. MS. 23, 093. ]

JOHN BRIDGES, 1666-1724

John Bridges, the author of _The History and Antiquities ofNorthamptonshire_, was born in 1666 at Barton Seagrave, Northamptonshire. He was appointed Solicitor of the Customs in 1695, aCommissioner of the Customs in 1711, and in 1715 a Cashier of theExcise. He was a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn, and a Fellow of the Societyof Antiquaries. He died on the 16th of March 1724. 

Bridges, who is mentioned with great respect by Hearne and otherantiquaries, was, says Dibdin, 'a gentleman, a scholar, and a notoriousbook-collector. ' His library, which consisted of 'above 4000 Books andManuscripts in all languages and faculties, particularly in Classics andHistory, and especially the History and Antiquities of Great Britain andIreland, '[63] was sold at his chambers, No. 6 Lincoln's Inn, by Mr. Cock, on the 7th of February 1726, and twenty-six following days. Thenumber of lots was four thousand three hundred and thirteen, and thetotal proceeds of the sale were four thousand one hundred and sixtypounds, twelve shillings. The books sold well, and Hearne, in his_Diary_, under February 15th, 1726, writes: 'My late friend John Bridgesesqr. 's books being now selling by auction in London (they began to besold on Monday the 7th inst. ). I hear they go very high, being fairbooks, in good condition, and most of them finely bound. This afternoonI was told of a gentleman of All Souls' College, I suppose Dr. Clarke, that gave a commission of 8s. For an Homer in 2 vols. , a small 8° if not12°. But it went for six guineas. People are in love with good bindingmore than good reading. ' Humphrey Wanley, who was a buyer at the salefor Lord Oxford's library, was much dissatisfied with the large sumswhich the books fetched, and suspected there was a conspiracy to run upthe prices. He writes in his _Diary_ (February 9, 1725-26): 'Went to Mr. Bridges's chambers, but could not see the three fine MSS. Again, theDoctor his brother having locked them up. He openly bid for his ownbooks, merely to enhance their price, and the auction proves to be, whatI thought it would become, very knavish'; and on the 11th of February headds: 'Yesterday at five I met Mr. Noel and tarried long with him; wesettled then the whole affair touching his bidding for my Lord [Oxford]at the roguish auction of Mr. Bridges's books. The Reverend Doctor oneof the brothers hath already displayed himself so remarkably as to beboth hated and despised, and a combination among the booksellers willsoon be against him and his brother-in-law, a lawyer. These are men ofthe keenest avarice, and their very looks (according to what I am told)dart out harping-irons. I have ordered Mr. Noel to drop every article inmy Lord's commissions when they shall be hoisted up to too high a price. Yet I desired that my Lord may have the Russian Bible, which I know fullwell to be a very rare and a very good book. '

A copy of the sale catalogue, with the prices in manuscript, ispreserved in the library of the British Museum. 

Bridges expended several thousand pounds in making collections for his_History of Northamptonshire_, which, after many delays, was publishedunder the editorship of the Rev. Peter Whalley in 1791. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 63: Description of library in sale catalogue. ]

JOHN MURRAY, 1670-1748

John Murray of Sacombe in Hertfordshire, who was born on the 24th ofJanuary 1670, and died on September 13, 1748, was an indefatigablecollector of books. In the _Account of London Libraries_, by Bagford andOldys, we read that he 'made scarce publications of English authors hisinquiry all his life, ' and that he had been 'a collector above fortyyears at all sales, auctions, shops, and stalls, partly for his owncuriosity, and partly to oblige such authors and gentry as havecommissioned him. ' He was a friend of Hearne, who frequently mentionshim in his works and _Diary_. Hearne states that Murray told him hebegan to collect books at thirteen years of age. Dr. Rawlinson possesseda painting of him, which was engraved by Vertue. He is leaning on threebooks, inscribed 'T. Hearne, V. III. , Sessions Papers, and Tryals ofWitches, ' and holding a fourth under his coat. Underneath are thefollowing lines, signed G. N. :--

 'Hoh Maister John Murray of Sacomb! The Works of old Time to collect was his pride, Till Oblivion dreaded his Care: Regardless of Friends, intestate he dy'd, So the Rooks and the Crows were his Heir. '

DR. MEAD, 1673-1754

Dr. Richard Mead, the eminent physician and collector, was born atStepney, Middlesex, on the 11th of August 1673. His father, MatthewMead, was a divine of some eminence among the dissenters, and during theCommonwealth was minister of Stepney, but was ejected for nonconformityin 1662. Richard Mead was first educated at home, and at a privateschool kept by Mr. Thomas Singleton, who was at one time second masterat Eton. At the age of sixteen he entered the University of Utrecht, where he remained three years, and then proceeded to the University ofLeyden for the purpose of qualifying himself for the medical profession. In 1695 he made a tour in Italy, and after taking the degree of doctorof philosophy and physic at Padua, he visited Naples and Rome. In 1696he returned to England, and began to practise at Stepney, in the housein which he was born. In 1703 he was elected a Fellow of the RoyalSociety, and in the same year he was chosen Physician to St. Thomas'sHospital, and took a house in Crutched Friars, in the City of London, where he resided until 1711, when he removed to one in Austin Friars, which had formerly been inhabited by Dr. Howe. In 1707 the University ofOxford conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in thefollowing year he was admitted a member of the College of Physicians, ofwhich institution he was elected a Fellow in 1716. On the death of Dr. Radcliffe in 1714, Mead removed to the residence which had been occupiedby that distinguished physician in Bloomsbury Square, and in 1720 hetook a house in Great Ormond Street, which he filled with books, pictures and antiquities, and where he lived until his death on the 16thof January 1754. In 1727 he was appointed Physician-in-Ordinary to KingGeorge II. , and in 1734 he was offered the post of President of theCollege of Physicians, but this he declined, being desirous ofretirement. He was twice married. Dr. Mead was the foremost medical manof his time, and his professional income was a very large one. Thegreater part of his wealth he devoted to the patronage of science andliterature, and to the acquisition of his valuable collections, whichwere always open to students who wished to consult them. He had a verylarge circle of attached friends, amongst whom were Newton, Halley, Pope, Bentley, and Freind; and Dr. Johnson said of him that he 'livedmore in the broad sunshine of life than almost any other man. ' Poperefers to his love of books in his epistle to Richard Boyle, Earl ofBurlington, _Of the Use of Riches_:--

 'Rare monkish manuscripts for Hearne alone, And books for Mead and butterflies for Sloane. '

[Illustration: DR. MEAD. ]

Dr. Mead's library consisted of upwards of ten thousand printed volumes, and many rare and valuable manuscripts. The collection was especiallyrich in medical works, and in early editions of the classics. Among thelatter were to be found the Spira Virgil of 1470 on vellum, and the 1469and 1472 editions of the _Historia Naturalis_ of Pliny; the former ofwhich was bought at the sale of his books by the King of France foreleven guineas, and the latter by a bookseller named Willock foreighteen guineas. One of the choicest manuscripts was a missal said tohave been illuminated by Raphael and his pupils for Claude, wife ofFrancis I. , King of France. This was acquired by Horace Walpole forforty-eight pounds, six shillings. It was bought at the Strawberry Hillsale in 1842 by Earl Waldegrave for one hundred and fifteen pounds, tenshillings. The books were generally very fine copies and handsomelybound. After Mead's death they were sold by auction by Samuel Baker ofCovent Garden, in two parts, and realised five thousand five hundred andeighteen pounds, ten shillings and elevenpence, including nineteenpounds, six shillings and sixpence for fifteen bookcases. The sale ofthe first part commenced on the 18th November 1754, and lastedtwenty-eight days; that of the second part began on the 7th of April1755, and lasted twenty-nine days. The pictures, prints and drawings, antiquities and coins and medals, were sold in the early part of 1755for ten thousand five hundred and fifty pounds, eighteen shillings; thepictures fetching three thousand four hundred and seventeen pounds, eleven shillings--about six or seven hundred pounds more than Mead gavefor them. Some portions of his collections were sold during hislifetime. 

Dr. Mead was the author of several medical works, of which his_Discourse on the Plague_, published in 1720, was the best. Themagnificent edition of De Thou's _Historia Sui Temporis_, in seven foliovolumes, London, 1733, edited by Samuel Buckley; and the _Opus Majus_ ofRoger Bacon, London, 1733, edited by Dr. Samuel Jebb, were producedpartly at his expense. Collected editions of his medical works werepublished in London in 1762, and in Edinburgh in 1765. His life has beenwritten by Dr. Maty, the second Principal Librarian of the BritishMuseum; and a very interesting account of his library, by Mr. AustinDobson, will be found in the first volume of _Bibliographica_. Aportrait of him by Allan Ramsay, painted in 1740, is in the NationalPortrait Gallery, and a bust of him by Roubillac is preserved in theCollege of Physicians. His gold-headed cane, given him by Dr. Radcliffe, is also kept in that institution. 

[Illustration: EARL OF SUNDERLAND. ]

CHARLES SPENCER, THIRD EARL OF SUNDERLAND, 1674-1722

Charles Spencer, third Earl of Sunderland, who was born in 1674, was thesecond son of Robert, second Earl, by Anne, daughter of George Digby, second Earl of Bristol. He appears, even when a boy, to have displayedmuch ability, for as early as 1688, Evelyn, who was on very intimateterms with the Spencer family, mentions him as 'a youth of extraordinaryhopes, very learned for his age, and ingenious, and under a governor ofgreat merit. ' This governor appears to have been Dr. Trimnell, afterwards Bishop of Winchester. When quite young, Lord Spencermanifested a great love for books, and already possessed a considerablecollection of them, for he was but twenty years of age when Evelyn wroteto him: 'I was with great appetite coming to take a repast in the noblelibrary which I hear you have lately purchased. ' Evelyn's Diary alsocontains several notices of the collection, and particularly mentionsthe purchase of the books of Sir Charles Scarborough, an eminentphysician, which were at one time destined for the Royal Library. 

At the general election in 1695 Lord Spencer was returned both forTiverton in Devonshire, and for Heydon in Yorkshire. He elected to sitfor Tiverton, which he represented in Parliament until the death of hisfather in 1702, when he succeeded to the title, his elder brother havingdied in 1688. While a member of the House of Commons he appears to haveheld opinions of a somewhat republican nature; and Swift tells us, 'hewould often, among his familiar friends, refuse the title of Lord (as hehad done to myself), swear he would never be called otherwise thanCharles Spencer, and hoped to see the day when there should not be apeer in England. ' These views, however, were very considerably modifiedon his succession to the title. In 1705 he was appointed envoyextraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Court of Vienna, tocongratulate the Emperor Joseph on his accession to the crown. Shortlyafter his return to England, Sunderland, notwithstanding the oppositionof Queen Anne, who always entertained a great antipathy for him, wasmade one of the Secretaries of State, an office which he held until June1710, when he was dismissed by the Queen, who wished, however, to bestowon him a pension of three thousand pounds a year. This he refused, withthe remark, 'I am glad your Majesty is satisfied I have done my duty. But if I cannot have the honour to serve my country, I will not plunderit. ' He remained out of office during the remainder of Anne's reign, but on the accession of George I. To the throne he was madeLord-Lieutenant of Ireland. This post, however, was by no meansagreeable to him, for he regarded it as a kind of banishment, and duringthe short time he held it he never crossed the Channel. In 1715 he wasappointed Lord Privy Seal, Vice-Treasurer of Ireland in 1716, and inApril 1717 he was a second time made a Secretary of State, his friendAddison receiving a like appointment. On the 16th of March 1718 hebecame Lord-President of the Council, and on the 21st of the same monthFirst Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, which office he resigned on the3rd of April 1721. He died, after a short illness, on the 19th of April1722. 

Lord Sunderland was thrice married, and had children by all his wives. By his second wife, Anne, daughter of the great Duke of Marlborough, hehad four sons and a daughter. The eldest son died in infancy; Robert, the second, succeeded to the earldom, and died unmarried on the 15th ofSeptember 1729; Charles, the third, became Earl of Sunderland on thedeath of his elder brother, and in 1733 second Duke of Marlborough, buthe did not obtain the Marlborough estates until the demise of theDowager Duchess in 1744; John, the youngest son, who, by a familyarrangement, then succeeded to the Spencer estates, was the father ofthe first Earl Spencer. 

Lord Sunderland was a most liberal patron of literature, and thesplendid library which he commenced in his early youth, and sedulouslyaugmented till the time of his death, bore witness for severalgenerations to his love of books. This noble collection was kept in histown house, which stood between Sackville Street and Burlington House, where it occupied five large rooms, and at the time of the Earl's deathin 1722 consisted of about twenty thousand printed volumes, togetherwith some choice manuscripts, and was valued at upwards of thirtythousand pounds; the King of Denmark being anxious to purchase it of hisheirs for that sum. Charles, the fifth Earl, also took great interest inthe library, and added a considerable number of books to it, among whichwas a copy on vellum of the Livy of 1470, printed at Venice by Vendelinde Spira. Only one other perfect copy on vellum of this edition is knownto exist. In 1749 the library was removed to Blenheim, where it remaineduntil 1881. It was sold by Puttick and Simpson in five portions in 1881, 1882 and 1883, and the entire sale, which consisted of thirteen thousandeight hundred and fifty-eight lots, realised fifty-six thousand fivehundred and eighty-one pounds, six shillings. 

Lord Sunderland was always very liberal in his dealings withbooksellers, and the prices which he gave for his books frequently gaveumbrage to other collectors. Humphrey Wanley, Lord Oxford's librarian, when giving in his Diary an account of a book-sale which took place in1721, mentions that: 'Some books went for unaccountably high prices, which were bought by Mr. Vaillant, the bookseller, who had an unlimitedcommission from the Earl of Sunderland. The booksellers upon this saleintend to raise the prices of philological books of the first editions, and indeed of all old editions, accordingly. Thus Mr. Noel told me thathe has actually agreed to sell the Earl of Sunderland six . . . Printedbooks, now coming up the river, for fifty pounds per book, although myLord gives no such prices. ' And on the demise of the Earl, Wanley wrote:'This day died the Earl of Sunderland, which I the rather note here, because I believe by reason of his decease some benefit may accrue tothis Library, even in case his relatives will part with none of hisbooks. I mean, by his raising the price of books no higher now; so that, in probability, this commodity may fall in the market, and any gentlemanbe permitted to buy an uncommon old book for less than forty or fiftypounds. '

BRIAN FAIRFAX, 1676-1749

Brian Fairfax, who was the eldest son of Brian Fairfax, author of the_Life of the Duke of Buckingham_ and other works, was born on the 11thof April 1676. He received his early education at Westminster School, where he entered as a Queen's Scholar, and from whence he went toTrinity College, Cambridge, taking the degrees of B. A. In 1697 and M. A. In 1700. He became a Fellow of his College in 1698. In 1723 he wasappointed a Commissioner of the Customs, a post he held until his deathon the 9th of January 1749. 

Fairfax collected in his house in Panton Square a very valuable library, which, together with a considerable fortune, a gallery of pictures, afine collection of Greek, Roman, and English coins and medals, and othercuriosities, he bequeathed to his relative, the Hon. Robert Fairfax, ofLeeds Castle, Kent, afterwards seventh Lord Fairfax. Robert Fairfaxintended to sell the library by auction on the 26th of April 1756, andthe seventeen following days; but after having advertised it, heprivately disposed of it for two thousand pounds to his kinsman, Mr. Francis Child, [64] of Osterley Park, Isleworth, Middlesex, and theprinted catalogues, with the exception of twenty, were suppressed. [65]The title to the catalogue of the intended sale reads: 'A Catalogue ofthe Entire and Valuable Library of the Honourable Bryan Fairfax, Esq. , one of the Commissioners of His Majesty's Customs, Deceased: which willbe sold by Auction, by Mr. Prestage, at his great room the end of SavileRow, next Conduit Street, Hanover Square. To begin selling on Monday, April 26, 1756, and to continue for seventeen days successively. Catalogues to be had at the Place of Sale, and at Mr. Barthoe's, Bookseller in Exeter Exchange in the Strand. Price Six-pence, pp. 68. 8°. ' In a copy of the catalogue mentioned by Dibdin in his_Bibliographical Decameron_, the price at which each article was valuedis given for the express purpose of the purchase of the whole by Mr. Child. Among the prices thus noted are those of the nine Caxtons whichthe library contained, which altogether amounted to thirty-three pounds, four shillings. _The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye_ was valued ateight guineas, the _Confessio Amantis_ at three pounds, and the_Histories of King Arthur_ at two pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. The prices obtained for these books at the sale of the Osterley libraryin 1885 were eighteen hundred and twenty pounds, eight hundred and tenpounds, and nineteen hundred and fifty pounds, respectively. Thecollection became part of the Osterley library, of which a catalogue wasmade in 1771 by Dr. Thomas Morell, assisted by the preceding labours ofthe Rev. Dr. Winchester. Only twenty-five copies of this catalogue wereprinted. 

Brian Fairfax's pictures, statues, urns, and other antiquities were soldby auction on April the 6th and 7th, and the prints and drawings on Maythe 4th and 5th, 1756. 

In 1819 the library passed by marriage into the family of the Earls ofJersey, and on the 6th of May 1885 and seven following days it was soldby Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. The sale consisted of one thousand ninehundred and thirty-seven lots, which realised the large sum of thirteenthousand and seven pounds, nine shillings. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 64: The first wife of the Hon. Robert Fairfax was MarthaCollins, niece to Sir Francis Child, Bart. ]

[Footnote 65: Nichols, _Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century_, vol. V. P. 326. ]

THOMAS HEARNE, 1678-1735

Thomas Hearne, the eminent antiquary, was born in July 1678 atLittlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire, where hisfather, George Hearne, was the parish clerk. At a very early age heshowed such marked ability that Francis Cherry, the nonjuror, whoresided at Shottesbrooke in the same neighbourhood, undertook todefray the cost of his education, and first sent him to the free schoolof Bray, and afterwards, in 1695, to St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. Thiskindness is frequently referred to by Hearne, who speaks of hisbenefactor as 'my best friend and patron. ' He took the degrees of B. A. In 1679, and M. A. Four years later. While an undergraduate, Dr. JohnMill, the Principal of St. Edmund Hall, and Dr. Grabe employed him inthe collation of manuscripts; and Hearne tells us in his _Autobiography_that, after taking his B. A. Degree, 'he constantly went to the BodleianLibrary every day, and studied there as long as the time allowed by theStatutes would admit. ' His industry and learning attracted the notice ofDr. Hudson, who had been recently elected Keeper of the BodleianLibrary, and, in 1701, by his influence Hearne was made Janitor, orAssistant, in the Library, succeeding to the post of Second Librarian in1712. The duties of this appointment he continued to perform until the23rd of January 1716, the last day fixed by the Act for taking the oathsto the Hanoverian dynasty. These oaths as a nonjuror he could notconscientiously take, and he was in consequence deprived of his officeon the ground of 'neglect of duty'; but the Rev. W. D. Macray, in his_Annals of the Bodleian Library_, tells us that 'to the end of his lifehe maintained that he was still, _de jure_, Sub-librarian, and with aquaint pertinacity, regularly at the end of each term and half-year, upto March 30, 1735, continued to set down, in one of the volumes of hisDiary, that no fees had been paid him, and that his half-year's salarywas due. ' Hearne continued a staunch nonjuror to the end of his days, and refused many University appointments, including the Keepership ofthe Bodleian Library, which he might have had, had he been willing totake the oath of allegiance to the government; but he preferred, to usehis own words, 'a good conscience before all manner of preferment andworldly honour. ' The Earl of Oxford offered to make him his librarian onWanley's death, but this post he also declined, and continued to resideto the end of his life at St. Edmund Hall, engaged in preparing andpublishing his various antiquarian and historical works. He died on the10th of June 1735, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's-in-the-East at Oxford. Hearne, who was a man of unweariedindustry, and a most devoted antiquary, is described by Pope in the_Dunciad_, under the title of Wormius--

 'But who is he, in closet close ypent, Of sober face, with learned dust besprent? Right well mine eyes arede the myster wight, On parchment scraps y-fed, and Wormius hight. '

[Illustration: _THOMAS HEARNE M. A. Of Edmund Hall Oxon. _]

Hearne amassed a considerable collection of manuscripts and printedbooks, of which he made a catalogue, with the prices he gave for them. This manuscript came into the possession of Mr. Beriah Botfield, M. P. , of Norton Hall, Northamptonshire, who privately printed some extractsfrom it in 1848. 

Hearne left all his manuscripts and books with manuscript notes to Mr. William Bedford, son of the nonjuring bishop, Hilkiah Bedford, whosewidow sold them to Dr. Richard Rawlinson for one hundred guineas, and byhim they were bequeathed to the Bodleian Library. Hearne's diary andnote-books, in about one hundred and fifty small duodecimo volumes, wereamong them. [66] His printed books were sold by Thomas Osborne on the16th of February 1736, and following days. The title-page of thecatalogue reads: 'A Catalogue of the Valuable Library of that greatAntiquarian Mr. Tho. Hearne of Oxford: and of another Gentleman ofNote. Consisting of a very great Variety of Uncommon Books, and scarceever to be met withal. 

Which will begin to be sold very cheap, the lowest Price mark'd in eachBook, at T. Osborne's Shop in Gray's Inn, on Monday the 16th day ofFebruary 1735-36. '

The title-page has also a small portrait of Hearne, with the followinglines below it:--

 'Pox on't quoth time to Thomas Hearne, Whatever I forget, you learn. '

The catalogue contains six thousand seven hundred and seventy-six lots. 

Hearne's publications, which were almost all printed by subscription atOxford, are very numerous. Among the most valuable are an edition ofLivy in 6 vols. , 1708; the _Life of Alfred the Great_, from Sir JohnSpelman's manuscript in the Bodleian Library, 1710; Leland's_Itinerary_, 9 vols. , 1710; Leland's _Collectanea_, 6 vols. , 1715;Roper's _Life of Sir Thomas More_, 1716; Camden's _Annals_, 3 vols. , 1717; _Curious Discourses by Eminent Antiquaries_, 1720; Robert ofGloucester's _Chronicle_, 2 vols. , 1724; Peter of Langtoft's_Chronicle_, 2 vols. , 1725; _Liber Niger Scaccarii_, 2 vols. , 1728; andWalter of Hemingford's _History_, 2 vols. , 1731. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 66: Extracts from these volumes were published by Dr. Bliss in1857, and again in 1869, under the title of _Reliquiæ Hearnianæ_; andHearne's _Remarks and Collections_ are now being printed by the OxfordHistorical Society. ]

THOMAS RAWLINSON, 1681-1725

Thomas Rawlinson, who, Dibdin says, 'may be called the Leviathan ofbook-collectors during nearly the first thirty years of the eighteenthcentury, ' was born in the Old Bailey on the 25th of March 1681. He wasthe eldest son of Sir Thomas Rawlinson, Lord Mayor of London in 1705-6, by Mary, eldest daughter of Richard Tayler, of Turnham Green, Middlesex, who kept the Devil Tavern near Temple Bar. He was also an elder brotherof Dr. Richard Rawlinson, the nonjuring bishop, who was himself anardent collector. In 1699 he matriculated at the University of Oxfordfrom St. John's College, having been previously educated at Cheam underWilliam Day, and at Eton. He was called to the bar in 1705, and appliedhimself to the study of municipal law; but three years later, on thedeath of his father in 1708, who left him a large estate, he devotedhimself to the collection of books, manuscripts and pictures. His lovefor books appears to have been early fostered by his grandfather, Richard Tayler, who settled upon him, while a schoolboy at Eton, anannuity of fourteen pounds per annum for his life to buy books with;'which, ' Hearne informs us in his Diary, 'he not only fully expended, and nobly answered the end of the donor, but indeed laid out his wholefortune this way, so as to acquire a collection of books, both fornumber and value, hardly to be equalled by any one study in England. 'For some years Rawlinson resided in Gray's Inn, but in 1716, havingfilled his four rooms so completely with books that he was obliged tosleep in the passage, he was compelled to move, and he took lodgings atLondon House, in Aldersgate Street, an ancient palace of the bishops ofLondon, but at that time the residence of Mr. Samuel May, a wealthydruggist. Here he lived, says Oldys, 'in his bundles, piles, andbulwarks of paper, in dust and cobwebs, ' until the 6th of August 1725, when he died, and was buried in St. Botolph's Church, Aldersgate Street. 

Rawlinson was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Society ofAntiquaries. He was also a Governor of Bridewell and BethlehemHospitals. About a year before his decease he married his servant, AmyFrewin, but left no issue. 

Towards the end of his life Rawlinson became involved in pecuniarydifficulties, and he sold a portion of his collection by auction to meethis liabilities. Prior to his death there were five sales, the first ofwhich took place on the 4th of December 1721, which realised twothousand four hundred and nine pounds. But when he died an enormousnumber of books were still left, and it required eleven additionalsales, which extended to March 1734, to dispose of them and themanuscripts, of which there were upwards of a thousand. These saleslasted on an average for more than twenty-one days each, but it shouldbe observed that they took place in the evening, generally commencingat five o'clock. All Rawlinson's books were sold by Thomas Ballard, thebookseller, at the St. Paul's Coffee House, with the exception of thosedisposed of at the seventh and eighth sales, which were sold by CharlesDavis, the bookseller; the former at London House, and the latter at theBedford Coffee House, in the great Piazza, Covent Garden. In addition tothe printed books and manuscripts, Rawlinson's gallery of paintings wassold at the Two Golden Bulls in Hart Street, Covent Garden, on April the4th and 5th 1734, in one hundred and seventeen lots. Among the portraitswas one in crayons of Rawlinson by his brother Richard. 

Copies of the sale catalogues of Thomas Rawlinson's books are very rare, but the Bodleian Library possesses an entire set of them, almost all ofwhich are marked with the prices which the books fetched, while two orthree have also the names of the purchasers. A fairly correct list ofthem is given by Dibdin in his _Bibliomania_, which he made from acomplete collection of them in the Heber library. The catalogue of themanuscripts was compiled by Rawlinson's brother Richard. 

Rawlinson's books appear to have realised but poor prices, for Hearnewrites in his Diary (Nov. 10th, 1734), that 'Dr. Rawlinson by the saleof his brother's books hath not rais'd near the money expected. For, itseems, they have ill answer'd, however good books; the MSS. Worse, andwhat the prints will do is as yet undetermin'd. ' No doubt the low priceswere caused by the immense number of books thrown upon the market byRawlinson's sales; for, as early as April 1723, Hearne tells us in hisDiary that 'the editions of classicks of the first print (commonlycalled _Editiones Principes_), that used to go at prodigious prices, arenow strangely lowered; occasioned, in good measure, by Mr. Tho. Rawlinson, my friend's, being forced to sell many of his books, in whoseauction these books went cheap, tho' English history and antiquitieswent dear: and yet this gentleman was the chief man that raised manycurious and classical books so high, by his generous and couragious wayof bidding. ' It is quite possible too that Rawlinson's books were notalways in the finest condition, and had suffered from the dust andcobwebs of which Oldys speaks. 

The Caxtons, of which there were upwards of five and twenty (perfect andimperfect), realised but very moderate prices. _The Recuyell of theHistories of Troy_ sold for two pounds, seven shillings; Gower's_Confessio Amantis_ for two pounds, fourteen shillings and sixpence;_The Golden Legend_ for three pounds, twelve shillings; and Lydgate's_Life of Our Lady_ for two pounds, thirteen shillings. _The Histories ofKing Arthur and his Knights_, for which Mr. Quaritch, at the Earl ofJersey's sale in 1885, gave as much as nineteen hundred and fiftypounds, fetched no more than two pounds, four shillings and sixpence. These were the highest prices obtained. Many of the volumes went for afew shillings--the first edition of _The Dictes or Sayings_ for fifteenshillings, Chaucer's _Book of Fame_ for nine shillings and twopence, and_The Moral Proverbs of Christine de Pisan_ for four shillings andtenpence. Mr. Blades does not make any mention of Thomas Rawlinson'sCaxtons in his life of the printer. 

Rawlinson appears to have greatly increased the number of separate worksin his library by breaking up the volumes of tracts; for Oldyscomplains, 'that out of one volume he made many, and all the tracts orpamphlets that came to his hands in volumes and bound together, heseparated to sell them singly, so that what some curious men had beenpairing and sorting half their lives to have a topic or argumentcomplete, he by this means confused and dispersed again. '

Dr. Richard Rawlinson said of his brother that he collected in almostall faculties, but more particularly old and beautiful editions of theclassical authors, and whatever directly or indirectly related toEnglish history. As early as 1712 Rawlinson told Hearne that his libraryhad cost him two thousand pounds, and that it was worth five thousand. Among many other choice and rare books in the collection were threecopies of Archbishop Parker's _De Antiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ_. Twoof them are now in the Bodleian Library, and the Rev. W. D. Macray, inhis _Annals of the Bodleian Library_, states that 'one of these is theidentical copy described by Strype in his Life of Parker, and which wasthen in possession of Bp. Fleetwood of Ely. '

Rawlinson's passion for collecting books was evidently well known to hiscontemporaries, for Addison, who disliked and despised bibliomaniacs, gives a satirical account of him, under the name of 'Tom Folio, ' in No. 158 of _The Tatler_. Hearne, who was greatly indebted to Rawlinson forassistance in his antiquarian labours, warmly defends his friend:--'Somegave out, ' he writes, 'and published it too in printed papers, that Mr. Rawlinson understood the editions and title-pages of books only, withoutany other skill in them, and thereupon they styled him TOM FOLIO. Butthese were only buffoons, and persons of very shallow learning. 'Tiscertain that Mr. Rawlinson understood the titles and editions of booksbetter than any man I ever knew (for he had a very great memory), butbesides this, he was a great reader, and had read abundantly of the bestwriters, ancient and modern, throughout, and was entirely master of thelearning contained in them. He had digested the classicks so well as tobe able readily and upon all occasions (what I have very often admired)to make use of passages from them very pertinently, what I never knew inso great perfection in any other person whatsoever. '[67]

A poem of twenty-six lines by Rawlinson on the death of the Duke ofGloucester in 1700 was printed in a collection of verses written bymembers of the University of Oxford on that event. This appears to behis only publication with his name attached. The pretty edition of the_Satires of Juvenal and Persius_, published at London in 1716, andedited by Michael Maittaire, was dedicated by him to Rawlinson. 

It is stated in Nichols's _Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century_(vol. V. P. 704) that the following inscription was found among thepapers of Rawlinson, written with his own hand, and in all probabilitydesigned by him for part of an epitaph on himself:--

 'Hic jacet----Vir liberrimi Spiritûs qui omnes Mortales pari ratione habuit; tacuisse de Criminibus non auro vendidit. Qui, Rege dempto, neminem agnovit superiorem; illum vero, O infortunium! nunquam potuit inspicere. '

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 67: _Diary_, Sept. 4, 1725. ]

JOSEPH SMITH, 1682-1770

[Illustration: BOOK-PLATE OF JOSEPH SMITH. ]

Joseph Smith, a portion of whose collection formed the foundation ofKing George III. 's library, now in the British Museum, was born in 1682. Nothing appears to be known about his parents and his early years, butat the age of nineteen he took up his residence at Venice, where hespent his life, apparently engaged in commerce. [68] In 1740 he wasappointed British Consul in that city, and he died there on the 6th ofNovember 1770, aged eighty-eight. 

Smith was well known as a collector of books, manuscripts, and works ofart. In 1762 George III. Purchased all the books Smith had amassed up tothat time for about ten thousand pounds, and at a later period the kingalso bought his pictures, coins, and gems for the sum of twenty thousandpounds. After the sale of his library Smith still continued to collect, and the books which he subsequently acquired were sold after his death, partly by auction by Baker and Leigh at their house in York Street, Covent Garden, on Monday, January 25th, 1773, and the thirteen followingdays, and partly in the shop of James Robson, bookseller, in New BondStreet. Those sold by Baker and Leigh realised two thousand two hundredand forty-five pounds. A portion of his manuscripts was purchased by theEarl of Sunderland for one thousand five hundred pounds. Smith's librarywas rich in the best and scarcest editions of Latin, Italian and Frenchauthors. It also contained a considerable number of fine manuscripts, some of them beautifully illuminated, and many valuable books of printsand antiquities. 

About 1727 Smith compiled a catalogue, which was limited to twenty-fivecopies, of some of the rarest books in his collection, of which a secondedition with additions was published in 1737. A catalogue of his entirelibrary was printed at Venice in 1755, and in 1767 an account of hisantique gems in two volumes folio, written by Antonio Francesco Gori, was published in the same city under the title of _DactyliothecaSmithiana_. An edition of Boccaccio's _Decamerone_ was brought out bySmith in 1729. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 68: _Dictionary of National Biography. _]

DR. RICHARD RAWLINSON, 1690-1755

Richard Rawlinson was the fourth son of Sir Thomas Rawlinson, Lord Mayorof London in 1705-6, and younger brother of Thomas Rawlinson thecollector. He was born in the Old Bailey on the 3rd of January 1690, and, after having received his early education at St. Paul's School andEton, matriculated as a commoner of St. John's College, Oxford, in 1708;but, in consequence of the death of his father, he became agentleman-commoner in the following year. He took the degrees of B. A. In1711, M. A. In 1713, and in 1719 he was created D. C. L. On the 21st ofSeptember 1716 he was ordained deacon, and two days later, priest amongthe nonjurors by Bishop Jeremy Collier, in Mr. Laurence's chapel onCollege Hill, London. [69] After his ordination he travelled through agreat part of England, and in 1719 paid a visit to France, andafterwards to the Low Countries, where he was admitted into theUniversities of Utrecht and Leyden. Towards the end of the year hereturned home, but in 1720 he again left England, and spent severalyears in France, Germany, Italy, and other parts of the Continent. InApril 1726 he again came home, in consequence of the death of hisbrother, which took place in the preceding year. During his travels hekept a series of note-books, some of which are preserved among hismiscellaneous manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. In 1728 he wasconsecrated bishop by the nonjuring bishops Gandy, Doughty andBlackbourne in Gandy's chapel, but he appears to have been alwaysdesirous of concealing both his clerical and episcopal character, for ina letter written in 1736 to Mr. T. Rawlins of Pophills, Warwickshire, herequests him not to address him as 'Rev. '[70] Dr. Rawlinson was electeda Fellow of the Royal Society in 1714, and a Fellow of the Society ofAntiquaries in 1727, but later he quarrelled with both these Societies, and stipulated in his will that the recipients of his bequests shouldnot be Fellows. He was also a Governor of Bridewell, Bethlehem, and St. Bartholomew's Hospitals. 

Dr. Rawlinson lived for some time in Gray's Inn, but shortly after thedeath of his brother Thomas he took up his abode in the rooms which hadbeen occupied by him in London House in Aldersgate Street. He died atIslington on the 6th of April 1755, and was buried, in accordance with adirection in a codicil to his will, in St. Giles's Church, Oxford. Hisheart, which he bequeathed as a token of affection to St. John'sCollege, Oxford, is preserved in a marble urn in the chapel of thatCollege, inscribed with the text 'Ubi thesaurus, ibi cor, ' and with hisname and the date of his death. It is said that Rawlinson also leftinstructions that a head, which he believed to be that of CounsellorChristopher Layer, the Jacobite conspirator, who was executed in 1723, should be buried with him, placed in his right hand; but thisinjunction, if really made, does not appear to have been compliedwith. [71]

[Illustration: DR. RICHARD RAWLINSON. ]

Rawlinson devoted himself to antiquarian pursuits, and, like his brotherThomas, was an enthusiastic collector of manuscripts and books. TheRev. W. D. Macray, in his _Annals of the Bodleian Library_, says that hiscollections were 'formed abroad and at home, the choice ofbook-auctions, the pickings of chandlers' and grocers' waste-paper, everything, especially, in the shape of a MS. , from early copies ofClassics and Fathers to the well-nigh most recent log-books of sailors'voyages. Not a sale of MSS. Occurred, apparently, in London, during histime, at which he was not an omnigenous purchaser; so that students ofevery subject now bury themselves in his stores with great content andprofit. But history in all its branches, heraldry and genealogy, biography and topography, are his especially strong points. '

Rawlinson bequeathed all his manuscripts, with the exception of privatepapers and letters, 'to the chancellor, masters and scholars of theUniversity of Oxford, to be placed in the Bodleian Library, or in suchother place as they should deem proper'; and he further directed thatthey should be 'kept separate and apart from any other collection. ' Allhis deeds and charters, his books printed on vellum or silk, and thosecontaining MS. Notes, together with some antiquities and curiosities, were also left by him to the University. His manuscript and printedmusic he bequeathed to the Music School. The number of manuscripts leftby him exceeded four thousand eight hundred in number, together with alarge collection of charters and deeds. A catalogue of them has beenmade by the Rev. W. D. Macray, the author of the _Annals of the BodleianLibrary_. The printed books which he selected from his library for theUniversity amounted to between eighteen and nineteen hundred. [72] Otherbooks and manuscripts, together with some valuable pictures and coins, were given by him to the Bodleian Library during his lifetime. Theremainder of his printed books, with the exception of a few which hebequeathed to St. John's College, were sold by auction by Samuel Baker, of York Street, Covent Garden, at two sales. The first commenced on the29th of March 1756, and lasted fifty days. It consisted of nine thousandfour hundred and five lots, which fetched one thousand one hundred andsixty-one pounds, eighteen shillings and sixpence. The second sale, which, as the preface to the catalogue informs us, consisted of 'upwardsof Twenty Thousand Pamphlets . . . And his most Uncommon, Rare and OldBooks, ' began on Thursday, March 3rd, 1757, and was continued on thenine following evenings. It realised but two hundred and three pounds, thirteen shillings and sixpence. These were followed by a sale ofprints, books of prints and drawings, upwards of ten thousand in number. One hundred and sixty-three pounds, ten shillings and threepence, however, was all that could be obtained for them. Marked catalogues ofthe three sales are preserved in the Library of King George III. In theBritish Museum. The prices at all the sales were very low. There werethree Caxtons in the first sale--_Tully of Old Age_, _Curia Sapientiæ_, and the _Order of Chivalry_, which fetched respectively one pound fiveshillings, six shillings, and eleven shillings. The prints and drawingsfared even worse than the printed books. One hundred and three prints byAlbert Dürer, in two lots, sold for one pound, ten shillings andsixpence, and a large collection of woodcuts by the same artist for halfa crown. Twenty-four etchings by Rembrandt, in four lots, realised butthree pounds, five shillings; while eleven shillings and sixpence wasall that could be got for thirty-four heads and thirty-five views byHollar. 

The collection of manuscripts which Dr. Rawlinson bequeathed to theUniversity of Oxford is a magnificent one, and Mr. Macray gives a longand very interesting account of it in his _Annals of the BodleianLibrary_. It contains some fine Biblical manuscripts, and about onehundred and thirty Missals, Horæ, and other Service-books, many of themfrom the library of the celebrated collector Nicolas Joseph Foucault. Itis rich in early copies of the classics, and there are upwards of twohundred volumes of poetry, including the works of Chaucer, Hoccleve, Lydgate, etc. English history is remarkably well represented. Among themanuscripts of this division of the collection are the _Thurloe StatePapers_ in sixty-seven volumes, which were published by Dr. Birch in1742, and the _Miscellaneous Papers_ of Samuel Pepys in twenty-fivevolumes. The Pepys papers, among other very interesting matter, comprise many curious dockyard account-books of the reigns of King HenryVIII. And Queen Elizabeth. This division also contains some importantletters of King Charles II. , King James II. , and the Duke of Monmouth, together with an acknowledgment by Monmouth that Charles II. Haddeclared that he was never married to Lucy Walters, the Duke's mother. This was written and signed by him on the day of his execution, andwitnessed by Bishops Turner and Ken, and also by Tenison and Hooper. Asmight be expected, the number of works relating to topography, heraldryand genealogy is very large. The collection also comprises many Irishmanuscripts, a considerable number of Italian papers bearing on Englishhistory, and the valuable collections made by Rawlinson for acontinuation of Wood's _Athenæ Oxonienses_, and for a History of EtonCollege. There are one hundred volumes of letters, two hundred volumesof sermons, and the immense quantity of ancient charters and deedsalready mentioned. 

Rawlinson also bequeathed to the University Hearne's daily diary andnote-books in about one hundred and fifty small duodecimo volumes, whichhe had bought of the widow of Mr. William Bedford. 

Among the printed books is a magnificent collection of the originalbroadside proclamations issued during the reign of Elizabeth, and a setof almanacs extending from 1607 to 1747, bound in one hundred andseventy-five volumes. [73]

To St. John's College, Rawlinson bequeathed a large portion of hisestate, amounting to about seven hundred pounds a year, a few of hisprinted books, a collection of coins, etc. ; and to the College ofSurgeons he gave some anatomical specimens. He also left property toendow a professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, and to provide a salaryfor the Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. But all his endowments wereaccompanied by eccentric restrictions, which remained in force until afew years ago, when they were annulled by statute. He directed 'that nonative of Scotland or Ireland, or of any of the plantations abroad, orany of their sons, or any present or future member of the Royal orAntiquary societies, ' should hold these endowments; and in the case ofthe Ashmolean Museum, he further enjoined that the Keeper 'is not to bea doctor in divinity or in holy orders . . . Neither born nor educated inScotland, neither a married man nor a widower, but one who hathregularly proceeded in Oxford to the degrees of master of arts orbachelor of law. '

Rawlinson wrote a considerable number of works, chiefly of anantiquarian or topographical nature. Among the more important are _TheEnglish Topographer_, _The History and Antiquities of the City andCathedral Church of Hereford_, _The History and Antiquities of theCathedral Church of Rochester_, _The History and Antiquities ofGlastonbury_; and a _Life of Anthony à Wood_. He also edited Aubrey's_Natural History and Antiquities of Surrey_, and other books. 

Although Dr. Rawlinson, like his father and his brother, was a warmJacobite, he does not appear to have taken part in any of the movementsfor the restoration of the Stuart family to the throne. He entirelyoccupied himself with antiquarian and literary pursuits, and theformation of his noble collections. In order that he might devote asmuch as possible of his income to the purchase of books and antiquities, he denied himself the luxuries, and even the comforts of life; and hewent about so meanly clad, that the coachman of his late fatherhappening to meet him one day, and judging from his appearance that hewas in a destitute condition, begged his acceptance of half a crown torelieve his distress. The story is told by Dr. Rawlinson himself. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 69: Rev. W. D. Macray, _Annals of the Bodleian Library_. London, etc. , 1868, p. 168. ]

[Footnote 70: _Ibid. _ p. 168. ]

[Footnote 71: When the head of Layer was blown off from Temple Bar(where it had been placed after his execution), it was picked up by agentleman in that neighbourhood, who showed it to some friends at apublic-house; under the floor of which house, I have been assured, itwas buried. Dr. Rawlinson, mean-time, having made enquiry after thehead, with a wish to purchase it, was imposed on with another instead ofLayer's, which he preserved as a valuable relique, and directed it to beburied in his hand. --Nichols, _Literary Anecdotes of the EighteenthCentury_, vol. V. P. 497. ]

[Footnote 72: Macray, _Annals of the Bodleian Library_, p. 170. ]

[Footnote 73: Rawlinson also left to the University some autographwritings of King James I. The existence of these had been forgotten, andhas only been recently discovered. ]

MARTIN FOLKES, 1690-1754

Martin Folkes, the eminent antiquary and scientist, was the eldest sonof Martin Folkes, a Bencher of Gray's Inn. He was born in Lincoln's InnFields, London, on the 29th of October 1690, and after receiving hisearly education at the University of Saumur, was sent, in 1707, to ClareHall, Cambridge, where he so greatly distinguished himself in allbranches of learning, and more particularly in mathematics andphilosophy, that in 1714, when only twenty-three years of age, he waselected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and two years later was chosenone of its Council. In 1723 he was appointed a Vice-President of theSociety, and on the retirement of Sir Hans Sloane in 1741 he becamePresident, a post he held until 1753, when he resigned it on account ofhis health. Folkes was also elected a Fellow of the Society ofAntiquaries in 1720, and in 1750 he succeeded the Duke of Somerset asPresident, an office he filled during the remainder of his life. Hisattainments were also recognised by the French Academy, which electedhim in 1742 one of its members. He was a D. C. L. Of the University ofOxford, and LL. D. Of the University of Cambridge. He died on the 28th ofJune 1754, and was buried in the chancel of Hillington Church, Norfolk. In 1792 a monument was erected to his memory in Westminster Abbey. 

Folkes, who was the author of two works on English coins, and severalpapers in the _Philosophical Transactions_ of the Royal Society and the_Archæologia_ of the Society of Antiquaries, formed a fine collection ofbooks, prints, drawings, pictures, gems, coins, etc. , a considerableportion of which he acquired during his travels in Italy and Germany. His library, which was very rich in works on natural history, coins, medals, inscriptions, and the fine arts, was sold by Samuel Baker, YorkStreet, Covent Garden, on Monday, February the 2nd 1756, and fortyfollowing days. The sale consisted of five thousand one hundred andtwenty-six lots, which produced three thousand and ninety-one pounds, six shillings. A catalogue, marked with the prices, is preserved in theLibrary of King George III. In the British Museum. A copy of the firstShakespeare folio fetched but three guineas. The sale of Folkes's printsand drawings occupied eight days, and that of his pictures, gems, coins, and mathematical instruments five days. Dibdin says that 'the MSS. Ofhis own composition, not being quite perfect, were, to the great loss ofthe learned world, ordered by him to be destroyed. '

WILLIAM OLDYS, 1696-1761

William Oldys, Norroy King-at-Arms, was born on the 14th of July 1696. There is some obscurity respecting his parentage, but there is littledoubt he was the natural son of Dr. William Oldys, Chancellor ofLincoln, and Advocate of the Admiralty Court. His father left him someproperty, which he appears to have lost in the South Sea Bubble. Fromthe year 1724 to 1730 Oldys resided in Yorkshire, but in the latter yearhe returned to London, and became acquainted with Edward Harley, thesecond Earl of Oxford, to whom he sold his collection of manuscripts forforty pounds. In 1738 the Earl appointed him his literary secretary andlibrarian, first at a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds, andafterwards of two hundred pounds, a year. Unfortunately the Earl died in1741, and Oldys was obliged to earn a precarious livelihood by workingfor booksellers, and was soon involved in pecuniary difficulties. He wasconfined in the Fleet prison from 1751 to 1753, when he was released bythe kindness of the Duke of Norfolk, who not only paid his debts, but in1755 procured for him the office of Norroy King-at-Arms, which congenialpost he held for six years. He died at his rooms in Heralds' College onthe 15th of April 1761, and was buried in the church of St. Benet, Paul's Wharf. A portrait of him will be found in the _European Magazine_for November 1796. The principal works by Oldys are a _Life of SirWalter Raleigh_, prefixed to an edition of his _History of the World_, printed in 1736; _The British Librarian_, published anonymously in1738; and _The Harleian Miscellany_, published in 1744-46. He alsoannotated _England's Parnassus_, and two copies of Langbaine's _Accountof the early Dramatick Poets_. One of these copies was purchased by Dr. Birch at the sale of Oldys's books for one guinea, and was bequeathed byhim to the British Museum. Twenty-two of the lives in _BiographiaBritannica_ were from his pen, and in addition to the works alreadymentioned he wrote a few minor ones on bibliographical and medicalsubjects. Oldys's library was not a large one, but it contained somevery interesting and scarce books. After his death it was purchased byThomas Davies, the bookseller, author of _Memoirs of the Life ofGarrick_, and was sold by him in 1762. The title of the sale cataloguereads: 'A Catalogue of the Libraries of the late William Oldys, Esq. , Norroy King-at-Arms (author of _The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh_); theRev. Mr. Emms of Yarmouth, and Mr. Wm. Rush, which will begin to be soldon Monday, April 12 [1762] by Thomas Davies. ' The books were disposed offor extremely low prices. 

JOHN RATCLIFFE, -1776

Nothing appears to be known of the parentage and birth of JohnRatcliffe, the collector, who for some years kept a chandler's shop inSouthwark, where he seems to have amassed a sufficient competency toenable him to retire from business and devote the remainder of his lifeto the acquisition of old books. It is said that his passion forcollecting them arose from the perusal of some of the volumes which werepurchased by him for the purpose of wrapping his wares in. Ratcliffekept his library at his house in East Lane, Bermondsey, where, Nicholsinforms us in his _Literary Anecdotes_, 'he used to give Coffee andChocolate every Thursday morning to Book and Print Collectors; Dr. Askew, Messrs. Beauclerk, Bull, Croft, Samuel Gillam, West, etc. , usedto attend, when he would produce some of his fine purchases. ' Nicholsadds, 'he generally used to spend whole days in the Booksellers'warehouses; and, that he might not lose time, would get them to procurehim a chop or a steak. ' An amusing letter respecting him appeared in the_Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1812. The writer states that 'Mr. JohnRadcliffe was neither a man of science or learning. He lived in EastLane, Bermondsey; was a very corpulent man, and his legs were remarkablythick, probably from an anasarcous complaint. The writer of thisremembers him perfectly well; he was a very stately man, and, when hewalked, literally went at a snail's pace. He was a Dissenter, and everySunday attended the meeting of Dr. Flaxman in the lower road toDeptford. He generally wore a fine coat, either red or brown, with goldlace buttons, and a fine silk embroidered waistcoat, of scarlet withgold lace, and a large and well-powdered wig. With his hat in one hand, and a gold-headed cane in the other, he marched royally along, and notunfrequently followed by a parcel of children, wondering who the statelyman could be. A few years before his death, a fire happened in theneighbourhood where he lived; and it became necessary to remove part ofhis household furniture and books. He was incapable of assistinghimself; but he stood in the street lamenting and deploring the loss ofhis Caxtons, when a sailor, who lived within a few doors of himattempted to console him: "Bless you, Sir, I have got them perfectlysafe!" While Ratcliffe was expressing his thanks, the sailor producedtwo of his fine curled periwigs, which he had saved from the devouringelement; and who had no idea that Ratcliffe could make such a fuss for afew books. ' He died in 1776. 

Ratcliffe's collection, though not large, was marvellously rich in theproductions of the early English printers; and the volumes weregenerally in fine condition, and handsomely bound, though not always ingood taste. It contained no less than forty-eight Caxtons, among whichwere the _Game of the Chesse_, the _Dictes or Sayings of thePhilosophers_, the _History of Jason_, and Chaucer's _CanterburyTales_. It comprised also numerous books from the presses of theSchoolmaster of St. Albans, Lettou, Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, etc. , and a few manuscripts. Dibdin in his _Bibliomania_ remarks: 'Ifever there was a unique collection, this was one--the very essence ofOld Divinity, Poetry, Romances and Chronicles. ' Ratcliffe compiled amanuscript catalogue of his library in four volumes, which was disposedof at the sale of his collection for seven pounds, fifteen shillings. Itis said that he always wrote on the first fly-leaf of his books'Perfect'--or otherwise, as the case might be. 

After his death his library was sold by auction by Mr. Christie of PallMall. The sale, which commenced on the 27th of March 1776 and lastedtill April 6th, consisted of one thousand six hundred and seventy-fivelots. It does not appear to have been well managed, for Nichols says, 'there were many hundred most rare Black-letter books and Tracts, unbound, with curious cuts. They were sold I remember in large bundles, and were piled under the tables in the Auction Room, on which the otherbooks were exposed to view, and were not seen by the Booksellers whowere the purchasers. ' A priced copy of the catalogue is preserved in theBritish Museum, which shows that the Caxtons fetched but two hundred andthirty-six pounds, five shillings and sixpence; the highest pricesobtained being sixteen pounds for the _Game of the Chesse_, fifteenguineas for the _Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers_, and ninepounds, fifteen shillings for the _Golden Legende_. King George III. Bought twenty of the Caxtons at an aggregate cost of about eighty-fivepounds. Among them were the _De Consolatione Philosophiæ_ of Boethius, _Reynard the Foxe_, the _Golden Legende_, the _Curial_, and the_Speculum Vitæ Christi_. The Boethius, which was a fine copy, wasacquired for four pounds, six shillings. A copy of the _Bokys of Hawkyngand Huntyng, etc. _, ascribed to Dame Juliana Bernes, printed at St. Albans in 1486, sold for nine pounds, twelve shillings, and a manuscriptBible on vellum, finely illuminated, for two pounds, ten shillings. 

JAMES WEST, 1704?-1772

James West, who is described by Dibdin as 'a Non-Pareil Collector: thefirst who, after the days of Richard Smith, succeeded in reviving thelove of black-letter lore and of Caxtonian typography, ' was born about1704. He was the son of Richard West of Priors Marston in Warwickshire, said to be descended from Leonard, a younger son of Thomas West, Lord dela Warr, who died in 1525. James West was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, whence he took the degrees of B. A. In 1723 and M. A. In 1726. In1721 he was admitted as a student at the Inner Temple, and was called tothe Bar in 1728. On the 4th of January 1737, while residing in theTemple, he lost a large portion of his collections, valued at nearlythree thousand pounds, through a fire in his chambers. [74] In 1741 hewas elected one of the representatives in Parliament for St. Albans, andwas appointed one of the Joint Secretaries of the Treasury, which posthe held until 1762. Three or four years later his patron the Duke ofNewcastle obtained for him a pension of two thousand a year. He sat forSt. Albans until 1768, and afterwards represented the constituency ofBoroughbridge in Yorkshire until his death on July the 2nd, 1772. He wasRecorder of Poole for many years, and also High Steward of St. Albans. He married the daughter of Sir Thomas Stephens, timber merchant inSouthwark, with whom he had a large fortune in houses in Rotherhithe. 

West had a great love for scientific and antiquarian pursuits, and asearly as 1726 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in thefollowing year a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, of which hebecame a Vice-President. Of the first-named Society he was chosenTreasurer in 1736 and President in 1768, which office he held during theremainder of his life. In addition to his extensive and valuablelibrary of manuscripts and printed books, West collected paintings, prints, and drawings, coins and medals, plate, and miscellaneouscuriosities. His collection of printed books was exceedingly rich inearly English ones. It contained no fewer than thirty-four Caxtons, anda large number of works from the presses of Lettou, Machlinia, theanonymous 'Scole mayster' of St. Albans, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, andthe rest of the old English typographers, many of which were uniquecopies. His manuscripts were exceptionally interesting and valuable. These, with some exceptions, were bought by William, Earl of Shelburne, afterwards Marquis of Lansdowne, and were subsequently purchased byParliament, together with the other manuscripts of the Marquis, for theBritish Museum. Many of the manuscripts had previously belonged toBishop Kennet. 

West's coins, pictures, prints, drawings, and museum of curiosities weredisposed of at various sales in the early part of 1773, [75] and on the29th of March and twenty-three following days in the same year hislibrary was sold by Messrs. Langford[76] at his late dwelling-house inKing Street, Covent Garden. [77] There were four thousand six hundred andfifty-three lots, which realised two thousand nine hundred andtwenty-seven pounds, one shilling. A copy of the catalogue with theprices and the names of the purchasers is preserved in the Library ofKing George III. In the British Museum. Many of the more valuable bookswere purchased by Gough, the antiquary, the greater part of which werebequeathed by him to the Bodleian Library. Although Horace Walpole, in aletter to the Rev. W. Cole, dated April 7th, 1773, writes that heconsidered 'the books were selling outrageously, ' the prices were onlyfairly good for the time, and not high. The thirty-four Caxtons realisedno more than three hundred and sixty-one pounds, four shillings andsixpence. The highest prices obtained were forty-seven pounds, fifteenshillings and sixpence for the first edition of Chaucer's _CanterburyTales_, thirty-two pounds, eleven shillings for the _Recuyell of theHistories of Troy_, thirty-two pounds and sixpence for the first editionof the _Game of the Chesse_, and twenty-one pounds for the secondedition of the _Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers_. These four workswere purchased for King George III. , who bought largely at the sale. Among many other rare English books a fine example of the _Bokys ofHawkyng and Huntyng_, printed at St. Albans in 1486, fetched thirteenpounds, and unique copies of two works from the press of Wynkyn deWorde--_The Passe Tyme of Pleasure_, 1517, and the _Historye of Olyverof Castille_, 1518--three guineas, and one pound, twelve shillingsrespectively. The latter book was reprinted in 1898 by Mr. Christie-Miller for the Roxburghe Club. It was edited by Mr. R. E. Graves, late Assistant-Keeper, Department of Printed Books, BritishMuseum. West's famous collection of ballads, which was begun by RobertHarley, Earl of Oxford, was bought for twenty pounds by Major Pearson, who made many additions to it. It afterwards came into the possession ofthe Duke of Roxburghe, by whom it was also greatly enlarged. Afterpassing through the library of Mr. Bright, it was finally acquired in1845 by the trustees of the British Museum. 

Among the manuscripts a beautifully illuminated Missal, made by order ofKing Henry VII. For his daughter Margaret, afterwards Queen Consort ofJames IV. , King of Scotland, was bought by the Duke of Northumberlandfor thirty-two pounds, eleven shillings; a Book of Hours sold forforty-three pounds, one shilling; and a manuscript of Boccaccio fortwenty-five pounds, four shillings. Both of these manuscripts hadexceedingly fine illuminations. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 74: Oldys, _Diary_, London, 1862, p. 3. ]

[Footnote 75: Horace Walpole says that the prints sold for the 'franticsum of £1495, 10s. '--_Letters_, London, 1857-59, vol. V. P. 439. ]

[Footnote 76: Nichols states that the books were sold by auction underthe name of Messrs. Langford, but actually by Mr. Samuel Paterson, whocompiled the catalogue. --_Anecdotes of literature_, vol. Vi. P. 345. ]

[Footnote 77: West's country residence was Alscot Park, Preston-on-Stour, Gloucestershire. ]

BENJAMIN HEATH, 1704-1766

Benjamin Heath, who was born at Exeter on the 20th of April 1704, wasthe eldest son of Benjamin Heath, a fuller and merchant of thatcity. [78] He was educated at the Exeter Grammar School, and afterwardsstudied law, with a view of being called to the Bar; but havinginherited a handsome fortune on the death of his father, he abandonedhis intention, and devoted himself to literature, and also to theformation of a library, which he had commenced at a very early age. In1752 Heath was elected town-clerk of Exeter, an appointment he helduntil his death on the 13th of September 1766. In 1762 the University ofOxford conferred on him the degree of D. C. L. He was the author ofseveral works, principally on the Greek and Latin classics and the textof Shakespeare. Heath in his lifetime divided a portion of his finelibrary between two of his sons, but retained a large part of it. Dibdinin _Bibliomania_ prints an interesting letter, dated Exeter, March 21st, 1738, from Heath to Mr. John Mann of the Hand in Hand Fire Office, London, asking him to superintend the purchase of some books at a salewhich was shortly to take place, and appending a list of those hedesired, and the prices he was willing to pay for them. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 78: Drake, _Heathiana_. London, 1882. ]

HORACE WALPOLE, FOURTH EARL OF ORFORD, 1717-1797

Horatio or Horace Walpole, fourth Earl of Orford (he disliked the nameHoratio, and wrote himself Horace), was the fourth and youngest son ofSir Robert Walpole, first Earl of Orford, by his first wife, CatherineShorter, eldest daughter of John Shorter of Bybrook, near Ashford inKent. He was born, as he himself tells us, on the 24th of September 1717O. S. In 1727 he was sent to Eton, where he had for his schoolfellows thefuture poets Thomas Gray and Richard West; and eight years later heproceeded to King's College, Cambridge. Walpole entered the House ofCommons in 1741 as Member for Callington in Cornwall, and afterwards satfor the family boroughs of Castle Rising and King's Lynn, but althoughhe took a considerable interest in politics, public life was notcongenial to his pursuits and tastes, and in 1767 he resigned his seatin Parliament. In his earlier days he was a Whig with a strong leaningto republicanism, but the public events of his later years greatlymodified his views. It has been well said of him that 'he was anaristocrat by instinct and a republican by caprice. ' On the death of hisnephew, George, the third Earl, in 1791, he succeeded to the earldom, but he never took his seat in the House of Lords, and seldom signed hisname as Orford. He died at his house in Berkeley Square on the 2nd ofMarch 1797, and was buried at Houghton, the family seat in Norfolk. 

In 1747 Walpole purchased the remainder of the lease of a small housewhich stood near the Thames 'just out of Twickenham, ' popularly calledChopped-Straw Hall, on account of its having been the residence of aretired coachman of an Earl of Bradford, who was supposed to have madehis money by starving his master's horses. On the 5th of June 1747Walpole writes to Sir Horace Mann, that although 'the house is so smallthat I can send it to you in a letter to look at, the prospect is asdelightful as possible, commanding the river, the town (Twickenham), andRichmond Park, and being situated on a hill descends to the Thamesthrough two or three little meadows, where I have some Turkish sheep andtwo cows, all studied in their colours for becoming the view. ' Thiscottage grew into the Gothic mansion of Strawberry Hill, the erectionand embellishment of which formed for so many years the principaloccupation and amusement of Walpole's life. Here he collected works ofart and curiosities of every kind--pictures, miniatures, prints anddrawings, armour, coins, and china, together with a fine library ofabout fifteen thousand volumes, chiefly of antiquarian and historicalsubjects. These he acquired with the emoluments of three sinecureoffices which his father had obtained for him. 

[Illustration: VIGNETTE OF STRAWBERRY HILL. Used in books printed atWalpole's Press. ]

In 1757 Walpole set up a printing-press in a small cottage adjoining hisresidence, and this continued in use until his death in 1797. Gray's_Odes_, in a handsome quarto, was the first of a large number of worksand fugitive pieces, many from his own pen, which issued from it. Anexcellent account of the press, by Mr. H. B. Wheatley, F. S. A. , will befound in _Bibliographica_, vol. Iii. , pp. 83-98. Walpole was the authorof many works, but his literary reputation now rests mainly on hisletters. Mr. Austin Dobson, in his delightful Memoir of Walpole, says ofthem that 'for diversity of interest and perpetual entertainment, forthe constant surprises of an unique species of wit, for happy andunexpected turns of phrase, for graphic characterisation and cleveranecdote, for playfulness, pungency, irony, persiflage, there is nothinglike his letters in English. ' A collected edition of his works, editedby Mary Berry, under the name of her father, Robert Berry, was publishedin 1798 in five volumes. 

Although the library formed by Walpole at Strawberry Hill consistedprincipally of works 'which no gentleman's library should be without, 'it also contained some beautiful manuscripts, a goodly number of rarebooks of the Elizabethan and Jacobean times, and an immense collectionof interesting papers and letters, prints and portraits. Many of theprints were by the great engravers of the fifteenth, sixteenth, andseventeenth centuries. The most notable of the manuscripts were a copyof the Psalms of David on vellum, with twenty-one illuminationsattributed to Giulio Clovio; a magnificent 'Missal, ' executed forClaude, Queen Consort of Francis I. , King of France; and a folio volumeof old English poetry, written on vellum, from the library of RalphThoresby, the antiquary. Among the more important of the collections ofpapers and letters were those of Sir Julius Cæsar, which containedletters of James I. , Henry, Prince of Wales, the King and Queen ofBohemia, and most of the leading nobility and gentry of the time ofElizabeth and James I. ; Sir Sackville Crowe's Book of Accounts of thePrivy Purse of the Duke of Buckingham in his different journeys intoFrance, Spain, and the Low Countries with Prince Charles; themanuscripts bequeathed to Walpole by Madame du Deffand, together withupwards of eight hundred letters addressed by her to him; and Vertue'smanuscripts in twenty-eight volumes. Sir Julius Cæsar's travellinglibrary, consisting of forty-four duodecimo volumes, bound in whitevellum, and enclosed in an oak case covered with light olive morocco, elegantly tooled, and made to resemble a folio volume (now in theBritish Museum); and the identical copy of Homer used by Pope for histranslation, with the inscription, 'Finished ye translation in Feb. 1719-20--A. Pope, ' and containing a pencil sketch of Twickenham Churchby the poet, were among the most interesting printed books in thelibrary. A remarkable and beautiful collection of about forty originaldrawings, being portraits of Francis the First and Second of France, andthe members of their Courts, taken from life in pencil, tinted with redchalk, by Janet; Callot's Pocket Book, with drawings by this master; andfine collections of the works of Vertue and Hogarth also deserve to bementioned. 

After Walpole's death Strawberry Hill and its contents passed to theHon. Mrs. Damer, the sculptress, daughter of his cousin, Field-MarshalConway, together with two thousand a year for its maintenance. Afterresiding in it for some time Mrs. Damer found the situation lonely, andgave up the house and property to the Countess Dowager Waldegrave, inwhom the fee was vested under Walpole's will. In 1842, George, seventhEarl Waldegrave, to whom Strawberry Hill had descended, ordered thecontents to be sold by George Robins, the well-known auctioneer. Thesale was advertised to occupy twenty-four days, from April 25th to May21st. The catalogue was badly compiled, and so much dissatisfaction wasexpressed at the intention of selling some of the collections _enmasse_, that the contents of the seventh and eighth days' sale, whichconsisted of prints, drawings, and illustrated books, were withdrawn, re-catalogued, and disposed of at a sale at Robins's rooms at CoventGarden, which lasted from the 13th to the 23rd of June. The amountrealised at the sale at Strawberry Hill was twenty-nine thousand sixhundred and twelve pounds, sixteen shillings and threepence; and at thatin London, three thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven pounds, fifteenshillings and sixpence. The library, consisting of books, manuscripts, prints, etc. , sold for about seven thousand seven hundred and fortypounds. The copy of the Psalms, with illuminations ascribed to GiulioClovio, fetched four hundred and forty-one pounds; the volume of Englishpoetry, two hundred and twenty pounds, ten shillings; the 'Missal'executed for Queen Claude, one hundred and fifteen pounds, tenshillings; and the manuscripts and letters of Madame du Deffand, onehundred and fifty-seven pounds, ten shillings. 

RALPH WILLETT, 1719-1795

Ralph Willett, the collector of the famous Merly Library, was born in1719. He was the elder son of Henry Willett, of the island of St. Christopher in the West Indies. In 1736 he matriculated at theUniversity of Oxford from Oriel College, but did not take a degree; andin 1739 he was admitted a student at Lincoln's Inn. Willett earlydeveloped a taste for books and pictures, and his inheritance of thefamily estates in the West Indies, on the death of his father in 1740, enabled him to form splendid collections of them. In 1751 he purchased aproperty at Merly, near Wimborne, Dorsetshire, where in 1752 he built anoble mansion, which later he enlarged by adding two wings, in one ofwhich he constructed a handsome room for a library, which he ornamentedwith frescoes and arabesque designs. A description of this library, written by Willett in English and French, was printed in 1776 in octavo, and reprinted in 1785 by John Nichols in a large folio volume, withtwenty-five illustrations of the designs. His London house was in DeanStreet, Soho. Willett was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquariesin 1763, and contributed two papers on _The Origin of Printing_ to the_Archæologia_, which were reprinted at Newcastle in 1818-20; and a thirdon _British Naval Architecture_. In 1764 he was also elected a Fellow ofthe Royal Society. He died on the 13th of January 1795. Willett, who wastwice married, but left no issue, bequeathed his property to his cousinJohn Willett Adye, who took the name of Willett, and was M. P. For NewRomney from 1796 to 1806. This gentleman, shortly before his death, which occurred on 26th of September 1815, parted with the collectionswhich had been left to him. The pictures were sold by Peter Coxe and Co. On May 31st, 1813, and two following days, and the books by Leigh andSotheby on December 6th, and sixteen following days. The sameauctioneers also sold the botanical drawings, of which there was a largenumber, on the 20th and 21st of December; and the books of prints on the20th of February in the succeeding year. The books were disposed of intwo thousand seven hundred and twenty lots, and realised thirteenthousand five hundred and eight pounds, four shillings. The salecatalogue states that the library consisted of 'a most rare assemblageof the early printers, fine specimens of block-printing, old Englishchronicles, etc. , in the finest preservation, likewise an extensive andmagnificent collection of books in every department of literature, fromthe earliest period to the present time. All the books are in the finestcondition, many printed on vellum and on large paper, and bound inmorocco and russia leathers. Likewise a most splendid missal; and a verychoice selection of botanical drawings, by Van Huysum, Taylor, Brown, Lee, etc. '

The block-books in the collection comprised a _Biblia Pauperum_, whichrealised two hundred and fifty-seven pounds, five shillings; the firstand another edition of the _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, which sold forthree hundred and fifteen pounds and two hundred and fifty-two pounds;and the _Apocalypse of St. John_, which fetched forty-two pounds. Therewere seven Caxtons--the first edition of the _Dictes or Sayings of thePhilosophers_, _Tully of Old Age_, the _Polychronicon_, the secondedition of the _Game of the Chesse_, the _Confessio Amantis_, the secondedition of the _Mirrour of the World_, and _Diverse Ghostly Matters_. These realised altogether one thousand three hundred and eighteenpounds, sixteen shillings; the _Dictes_ and the _Confessio Amantis_fetching the highest prices--three hundred and fifteen pounds, and twohundred and sixty-two pounds, ten shillings. 

Some of the many other notable books in the library, and the pricesobtained for them, were a copy of the Mentz Psalter of 1459 on vellum, sixty-three pounds; _Rationale Divinorum Officiorum_ of Durandus (Mentz, 1459), one hundred and five pounds; the _Catholicon_ of Joannes Balbus(Mentz, 1460), sixty pounds, eighteen shillings; the _Constitutiones_ ofPope Clement V. (Mentz, 1460), sixty-six pounds, three shillings; LatinBible (Mentz, 1462), one hundred and five pounds; the _Officia_ ofCicero (Mentz, 1465), seventy-three pounds, ten shillings; Latin Bibleon vellum (Venice, 1476), one hundred and sixty-eight pounds; _RhetoricaNova_, by Laurentius de Saona (St. Albans, 1480), seventy-nine pounds, sixteen shillings; a vellum copy of the first edition of Homer(Florence, 1488), eighty-eight pounds, four shillings; a nearly completeset of De Bry's collections in seven volumes, one hundred and twenty-sixpounds; and a large paper copy of Prynne's _Records_ in three volumes, London, 1665-70, one hundred and fifty-two pounds, five shillings. The'splendid' manuscript missal, specially mentioned in the sale catalogue, sold for one hundred and five pounds. 

DR. ANTHONY ASKEW, 1722-1774

Dr. Anthony Askew, M. D. , was born at Kendal, Westmoreland, in the year1722. His father was Dr. Adam Askew, an eminent physician ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne. He received his education at Sedbergh School, theGrammar School of Newcastle, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He tookthe degree of M. B. In 1745, and that of M. D. Five years later. Afterleaving the University he went to Leyden, where he remained twelvemonths studying medicine, and then undertook an extensive tour on theContinent, during which he purchased a large number of valuable booksand manuscripts. Dibdin says he was well known as a collector in mostparts of Europe. In 1750, having finished his travels, Askew returned toCambridge, where he practised for some time as a physician. Heafterwards removed to London, where, aided by the patronage and supportof his friend Dr. Mead, he soon acquired a considerable reputation, buthe is better known as a scholar than a physician. Dr. Parr entertained avery high opinion of his attainments in Greek and Roman literature. Askew was a Fellow and Registrar of the College of Physicians, and alsoa Fellow of the Royal Society. He died at Hampstead on the 27th ofFebruary 1774. 

Dr. Askew was an indefatigable collector, and filled his house from theground floor to the attics with rare and handsomely bound books. Thelibrary, which numbered about seven thousand volumes, was extremely richin early editions of the Greek and Latin classics, and its owner wasambitious that it should contain every edition of a Greek author. Itcomprised the first editions of the _De Officiis_ of Cicero, the NaturalHistory of Pliny, Cornelius Nepos, the History of Ammianus Marcellinus, the Fables of Æsop, the Works of Plato, and of many other Greek andLatin writers; the greater number of them being printed on vellum. Avellum copy of the _Rationale_ of Durandus, printed by Fust andSchoeffer at Mentz in 1459; a first edition of the _Teseide_ ofBoccaccio, printed on vellum at Ferrara in 1475; a copy of the _GreekAnthology_, also on vellum, printed at Florence in 1494; _Tully of OldAge_, printed by Caxton, and a fine vellum copy of the _Tewrdannck_, were a few of the other notable books in the collection. 

The printed books in the library were sold by Baker and Leigh at theirauction rooms in York Street, Covent Garden, on the 13th of February1775, and the nineteen following days. The lots were three thousand fivehundred and seventy in number, and realised three thousand nine hundredand ninety-three pounds and sixpence. Among the purchasers at the salewere King George III. , Louis XVI. , King of France, Dr. Hunter and theRev. C. M. Cracherode. The British Museum also acquired a considerablenumber of the books. The manuscripts, and the printed books withmanuscript notes, were sold by Leigh and Sotheby in 1785. The sale tookplace on March the 7th and the eight subsequent days. There were sixhundred and thirty-three lots, which produced eighteen hundred andtwenty-seven pounds. 

[Illustration: REV. C. M. CRACHERODE. ]

Askew was the author of a manuscript volume of Greek and LatinInscriptions, copied by him during his travels in Greece and the Levant. The collection is preserved among the Burney Manuscripts in the BritishMuseum. 

REV. C. M. CRACHERODE, 1730-1799

The Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, to whom the British Museum isindebted for some of its most precious collections, was the son ofColonel Mordaunt Cracherode, who commanded the Marines in Anson's voyageround the world. He was born at Taplow in 1730, and was educated atWestminster and Christ Church, Oxford, taking the degree of B. A. In1750, and that of M. A. In 1753. After leaving the University he tookholy orders, and for some time was curate of Binsey, near Oxford, buthe did not seek any preferment in the Church. On the death of his fatherhe inherited a fortune of about three thousand pounds a year, whichenabled him to acquire a library of not less than four thousand fivehundred volumes, remarkable for their rarity and beauty; sevenportfolios of drawings by the great masters, and a hundred portfolios ofprints, many of which were almost priceless; and in addition to these asplendid collection of coins and gems, and a cabinet of minerals. Mr. Cracherode, who never married, was a shy, retiring man, who livedentirely among his collections, and it is said that he never mounted ahorse, nor travelled a greater distance than from London to Oxford. Onegreat drawback to the happiness of his quiet life was the dread that hemight possibly be called upon to officiate at a coronation as the King'scupbearer, as his manor of Great Wymondley was held from the Crownsubject to the performance of this duty. Dibdin, in his _BibliographicalDecameron_, says of him that he had 'a dash of the primitiveness of theold school about him, and that his manners were easy, polished andengaging. He was a thorough gentleman, and no mean scholar. ' He devotedhis life to his favourite pursuit, the formation of his collections; andEdwards, in his _Lives of the Founders of the British Museum_, tells usthat--'For almost forty years it was his daily practice to walk from hishouse in Queen Square, Westminster, to the shop of Elmsly, a booksellerin the Strand, and thence to the still more noted shop of Tom Payne, bythe "Mews-Gate. " Once a week, he varied the daily walk by calling onMudge, a chronometer-maker, to get his watch regulated. His excursionshad, indeed, one other and not infrequent variety--dictated by the callsof Christian benevolence--but of these he took care to have no notetaken. . . . The ruling passion kept its strength to the last. An agent wasbuying prints, for addition to the store, when the Collector was dying. About four days before his death, Mr. Cracherode mustered strength topay a farewell visit to the old shop at the Mews-Gate. He put a finelyprinted _Terence_ (from the press of Foulis) into one pocket, and alarge paper _Cebes_ into another; and then--with a longing look at acertain choice _Homer_, in the course of which he mentally, and somewhatdoubtingly, balanced its charms with those of its twin brother in QueenSquare--parted finally from the daily haunt of forty peripatetic andstudious years. ' Mr. Cracherode is also mentioned in the _Pursuits ofLiterature_, by T. J. Mathias:--

 'Or must I, as a wit, with learned air, Like Doctor Dibdin, to Tom Payne's repair, Meet Cyril Jackson and mild Cracherode there? "Hold!" cries Tom Payne, "that margin let me measure, And rate the separate value of the treasure. " Eager they gaze. "Well, Sirs, the feat is done. Cracherode's _Poetæ Principes_ have won. "'

Mr. Cracherode, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Societyof Antiquaries, and a Trustee of the British Museum, died at QueenSquare on the 5th of April 1799, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Hebequeathed the whole of his collections to the nation, with theexception of two books. A copy of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible wasgiven to Shute Barrington, Bishop of Durham, and a _princeps_ Homer, once the property of De Thou, to Cyril Jackson, Dean of Christ Church;but these volumes ultimately rejoined their former companions in theBritish Museum. 

The library formed by Mr. Cracherode is marvellously rich in choicecopies of rare and early editions of the classics; a large proportion ofthem being printed on vellum. The volumes are almost always in faultlesscondition, and beautifully bound. Many of them were once to be found insuch renowned collections as those of Grolier, Maioli, Henry II. OfFrance and Diana of Poitiers, Katharine de' Medici, De Thou, Longepierre, Count von Hoym, etc. ; and have bindings by Nicolas andClovis Eve, Le Gascon, Padeloup, Derome, and Roger Payne. Among them aremagnificent copies of the editions of _Pliny_ printed at Venice byJoannes de Spira in 1469, and by Nicolas Jenson in 1476. The latterformerly belonged to Grolier, and the binding bears his well-knownmotto. A copy of the first edition of _Æsop's Fables_, printed at Milanabout 1480, and a very beautiful example of the first edition of the_Greek Anthology_, on vellum, printed in capitals by Laurentius de Alopaat Florence in 1494, in the original binding, are also deserving ofspecial notice. Other remarkable and interesting books are the _GreekGrammar_ of Lascaris, printed at Milan in 1476; the _Liber Psalmorum_, printed at Milan in 1481; Maioli's copy of the _HypnerotomachiaPoliphili_, printed at Venice by Aldus in 1499; and a fine copy ofPetrarch's _Sonetti e Canzoni_, on vellum, printed by Aldus in 1501, which formerly belonged to Isabella d'Este, wife of Gian-FrancescoGonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. This was the first Italian book printed initalic type. 

[Illustration: ARMORIAL BOOK-STAMP OF THE REV. C. M. CRACHERODE. ]

The library contains three Caxtons: _Boethius de ConsolationePhilosophiæ_, the _Mirrour of the World_, and the _Boke of Eneydos_. 

A copy of Tyndale's New Testament on vellum, which once belonged toQueen Anne Boleyn, with her arms emblazoned on the title-page, and thewords 'Anna Regina Angliæ' painted in gold on the edges of the leaves, and a handsome Shakespeare first folio, ought also to be mentioned. 

Mr. Cracherode's classical attainments were by no means inconsiderable, but his only writings were a Latin poem printed in the _CarminaQuadragesimalia_ of 1748, and some Latin verses in the collection of theUniversity of Oxford on the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in1751. 

A portrait of Mr. Cracherode appears in Clarke's _RepertoriumBibliographicum_, and in Dibdin's _Bibliographical Decameron_. This wasengraved, contrary to his express wishes, from a drawing made by Edridgefor Lady Spencer. An explanation is given by Dr. Dibdin of thecircumstances under which the likeness was reproduced. 

JOHN TOWNELEY, 1731-1813

John Towneley, who was born on the 15th of June 1731, and died on the13th of May 1813, was the younger son of Richard Towneley of Towneley, in the county of Lancaster, and Mary, daughter of William, LordWiddrington. He married Barbara, fourth daughter of Edward Dicconson ofWrightington, in the county of Lancaster, by whom he had a daughter, Barbara, who married Sir William Stanley, Bart. , of Hooton, and a son, Peregrine Edward, who succeeded to the estates. Dibdin, in his_Bibliographical Decameron_, informs us that 'Mr. Towneley had one ofthe finest figures, as an elderly gentleman (for he died at 82), thatcould possibly be seen. His stature was tall and frame robust; his gaitwas firm; his countenance was Roman-like; his manners were conciliatory, and his language was unassuming. His habits were simple and perhapssevere. He generally rose at five, and lighted his own library fire--andhis health was manifest in his person and countenance. He was entirelyan unpretending man--and may be said to have collected rather from thepleasure and reputation attached to such pursuits than from a thoroughand keen relish of the kind of taste which it imparts. He had an amplepurse, and it was most liberally unstrung when there was occasion foreffectual aid. This observation may equally apply to matters out of the_bibliomaniacal_ record; but as a book-purchaser he was considered amongthe most heavy-metalled and determined champions in the field. '

[Illustration]

The library formed by Mr. Towneley was a particularly good one, and itwas remarkable for the large number of rare and fine examples itpossessed of books from the presses of Caxton, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, Julian Notary, and other early English printers. No fewer than nineCaxtons were to be found on its shelves, and Pynson and Wynkyn de Wordewere especially well represented. Among the Caxtons were the firstedition of the _Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers_, the _Fayts ofArms_, and _Troilus and Creside_, together with the _Life of St. Katherine_, published by Caxton's executors. Perhaps the most importantof the other early English books were Boccaccio's _Falle of Princis_, translated by Lydgate, and Froissart's _Cronycle_, both printed byPynson; and the _Vitas Patrum_ and the _Kalender of Shepeherdes_ byWynkyn de Worde. The library also contained some exceedingly rare andvaluable manuscripts, of which some of the most notable were a famouscopy of the _Iliad_, a _Pontificale_ of Pope Innocent IV. , and a veryinteresting and curious collection of English Miracle-Plays acted atWakefield in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. [79] Of the copy ofthe _Iliad_, Clarke in his _Repertorium Bibliographicum_ remarks:--'Thisis the identical manuscript which was formerly in the possession ofVictorius and Salviati at Florence, the supposed loss of which had beendeplored for more than two centuries. Critics have unanimously assignedto it a very remote period of antiquity. It is written upon vellum in avery fair and legible hand, and the margins are replete with mostvaluable and important scholia. Heyne has given a facsimile of it in hisHomer. It was purchased by the late Rev. Dr. Burney, whose entirecollection is now deposited in the British Museum. '

Towneley's books were sold after his death, in three portions, by Evansof Pall Mall. The first sale took place on June 8th, 1814, and sixfollowing days. It comprised nine hundred and five lots, which realisedfive thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven pounds, four shillings. Thesecond sale occurred on June 19th, 1815, and nine following days, andthe seventeen hundred and three lots in it fetched two thousand sevenhundred and seven pounds, sixteen shillings. The third sale consistedonly of a few remaining books, which were disposed of in conjunctionwith the library of Mr. Auditor Harley on May 22nd, 1817, and sixfollowing days. Eleven hundred and twenty-seven pounds, two shillingswere obtained for the nine Caxtons; the _Troilus and Creside_, the _Lifeof St. Katherine_, and the _Dictes or Sayings of the Philosophers_fetching the highest prices, viz. Two hundred and fifty-two pounds, twoshillings, two hundred and thirty-one pounds, and one hundred andeighty-nine pounds. Bochas's _Falle of Princis_ and Froissart's_Cronycle_ realised twenty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings and sixpence, and forty-two pounds; and the _Vitas Patrum_ and the _Kalender ofShepeherdes_ fifty-three pounds, eleven shillings and nineteen pounds. Eighty-five pounds were obtained for Henry Boece's _Hystory andCroniklis of Scotland_, translated by Bellenden, and printed by Davidsonat Edinburgh in 1536; thirty-three pounds, sixteen shillings forRicraft's _Survey of England's Champions_, etc. , London, 1647; andforty-eight pounds, six shillings for a Book of Hours printed on vellumby Julian Notary in 1503. Among the manuscripts the _Iliad_ sold for sixhundred and twenty pounds, the Wakefield Miracle-Plays for one hundredand forty-seven pounds, and the _Pontificale Innocentii IV. _ for onehundred and twenty-seven pounds, one shilling. The drawings, prints, etc. , belonging to Towneley were sold by King of 38 King Street, CoventGarden, in May 1816 for fourteen hundred and fourteen pounds, fiveshillings and sixpence; and his magnificent collection of Hollar's workswas disposed of by the same auctioneer for two thousand one hundred andeight pounds, eleven shillings and sixpence in May 1818. John Towneleywas not the only collector of his family. Charles Towneley, his nephew, formed a celebrated collection of marbles, coins, gems, and drawings, now in the British Museum; and Christopher Towneley, who was born in1604 and died in 1674, was the collector of many of the old manuscriptsdisposed of in the second sale of the Towneley library which occurred in1883 after the death of Colonel John Towneley, when in default of a maleheir the estates devolved on his daughters and those of his elderbrother, Colonel Charles Towneley. 

The second sale of the Towneley library took place in June 1883. Theprinted books were sold on the 18th and seven following days, and themanuscripts on the 27th and following day, by Sotheby, Wilkinson andHodge. There were two thousand eight hundred and fifteen lots of printedbooks, which realised four thousand six hundred and sixteen pounds, three shillings; and two hundred and fifty-one lots of manuscripts, forwhich the sum of four thousand and fifty-four pounds, six shillings andsixpence was obtained. Among the printed books the very rare _YorkManual_, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1509; the _Pilgrymage ofPerfection_ of 1531, by the same printer, with the Towneley arms workedin silver on the covers of the binding; and a large paper copy ofNichols's _History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester_, in eightvolumes, were the most deserving of special notice. These soldrespectively for fifty-nine pounds, twenty-seven pounds, ten shillings, and two hundred and thirty-five pounds. The two principal manuscripts inthe sale were a _Vita Christi_, beautifully illuminated by Giulio Cloviofor Alexander, Cardinal Farnese, for which Mr. Quaritch gave twothousand and fifty pounds, and the collection of Wakefield Plays, whichwas also purchased by the same great bookseller for six hundred andtwenty pounds. [80]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 79: These plays were printed for the Surtees Society in 1836, and re-edited by George England, with side-notes and introduction byAlfred W. Pollard, M. A. , in 1897, for the Early English Text Society. ]

[Footnote 80: This collection was re-purchased for the Towneley libraryat the sale of Mr. North's books in May 1819 for ninety-four pounds, tenshillings. ]

SIR JOHN THOROLD, BART. , 1734-1815

Sir John Thorold, Bart. , of Syston Park, Grantham, Lincolnshire, who wasborn in 1734, and succeeded his father, Sir John Thorold, eighthbaronet, in 1775, was one of the most ardent collectors of his time. Themagnificent library which he and his son Sir John Hayford Thorold formedat Syston Park contained some of the rarest incunabula in existence. Among them were copies of the Gutenberg Bible; the Second Mentz Psalteron vellum; the _Catholicon_ of 1460; the Latin Bible of 1462, with thearms and cypher of Prince Eugene on the binding; and the _Mirrour of theWorld_, printed by Caxton in 1481. It also possessed one of the earliestof the block-books, the _Apocalypse_. The library was extremely rich infirst editions of the Greek and Latin classics, some of them on vellum. Other choice and rare books in the collection were a copy of the GreekBible, printed 'in ædibus Aldi' in 1518, described by Dibdin as 'thelargest and finest copy I ever saw'; the Polyglot Bible of CardinalXimenez; the first edition of the _Tewrdannck_; the four Shakespearefolios; _Purchas his Pilgrimmes_; and the _Pastissier François_, printedby L. And D. Elzevier at Amsterdam in 1655. There were also manyeditions of _Horæ_ and _Officia_ of the Virgin Mary, mostly printed onvellum. Several of the Syston Park books once formed part of the famouslibraries of Grolier, Maioli, Diana of Poitiers, Katharine de' Medicis, Count von Hoym, Prince Eugene, and Sir Kenelm Digby. The collection alsopossessed a number of the beautiful little volumes bound by Clovis Eve, which were once thought to have formed part of the library of Margueritede Valois, but are now believed to have belonged to that of MarieMarguerite de Valois de Saint-Remy, daughter of a natural son of HenryIII. , King of France. After the death of Sir John Thorold on the 25th ofFebruary 1815, his son and successor Sir John Hayford Thorold, havingfirst sold the duplicates in the library, made many additions to it. Hedied on the 7th of July 1831, and fifty-three years later a portion ofthe books was sold by auction by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. The sale, which took place on December 12th, 1884, and seven following days, consisted of two thousand one hundred and ten lots, which realised thelarge sum of twenty-eight thousand and one pounds, fifteen shillings andsixpence. For some of the rarest of the books very large prices wereobtained. Mr. Quaritch acquired the Gutenberg Bible for three thousandnine hundred pounds, and the Mentz Psalter for four thousand ninehundred and fifty. _The Catholicon_ sold for four hundred pounds, the1462 Latin Bible for one thousand pounds, _The Mirrour of the World_for three hundred and thirty-five pounds, the Aldine Greek Bible forfifty-one pounds, and the first Shakespeare folio for five hundred andninety pounds. 

REV. RICHARD FARMER, D. D. , 1735-1797

The Rev. Richard Farmer, D. D. , was born at Leicester on the 28th ofAugust 1735. He was the second son of Richard Farmer, a wealthy maltsterof that town. After receiving his early education in the Free GrammarSchool of his native place, he was entered in 1753 as a pensioner ofEmmanuel College, Cambridge, where he graduated B. A. In 1757 and M. A. In1760. In the latter year he was appointed classical tutor of hisCollege; which post he held until his election to the Mastership in1775, when he took the degree of D. D. He served the office ofVice-Chancellor of the University in 1775-76 and again in 1787-88, andon the 27th of June 1778 was chosen the Chief Librarian of theUniversity. In 1780 he was collated to a prebendal stall at Lichfield, and two years later became Prebendary of Canterbury, which he resignedin 1788 on being preferred to a residentiary canonry of St. Paul'sCathedral, London. It is said that he twice refused a bishopric whichwas offered to him rather than forgo the pleasure of witnessing dramaticperformances on the stage. He died on the 8th of September 1797, at theLodge, Emmanuel College, and was buried in the chapel. A monument, withan epitaph by Dr. Parr, was erected to his memory in the cloisters. 

Dr. Farmer, who was an elegant scholar and a zealous antiquary, wassomewhat eccentric both in his appearance and manners. It is said of him'that there were three things he loved above all others, namely, oldport, old clothes, and old books; and three things which nobody couldpersuade him to do, namely, to rise in the morning, to go to bed atnight, and to settle an account. [81] His reluctance to settle hisaccounts, however, was not caused by avarice, but indolence, for hespent a considerable portion of his large income in the relief ofdistress, and in assisting in the publication of literary works; whilehis pupils frequently borrowed of him sums of money, well knowing therewould be but little chance of a demand for repayment. Dr. Parr, who wasone of Farmer's intimate friends, remarked of him 'that his munificencewas without ostentation, his wit without acrimony, and his learningwithout pedantry. ' Farmer was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of theSociety of Antiquaries. His only published work was an _Essay on theLearning of Shakespeare_, which appeared in 1767 and went through foureditions, besides being prefixed to several issues of Shakespeare'splays. 

Dr. Farmer possessed a well-chosen library, which was rich in oldEnglish poetry and plays. He himself said of it 'that not many privatecollections contain a greater number of really curious and scarce books;and perhaps no one is so rich in the ancient philological Englishliterature; but Dibdin tells us that the volumes 'were, in general, insorry condition; the possessor caring little for large margins andsplendid binding. ' The collection was sold by auction by Mr. King, ofKing Street, Covent Garden, on May 7th, 1798, and the thirty-fivefollowing days. The catalogue, of which a priced copy is in the BritishMuseum, contains three hundred and seventy-nine pages, and the lots, including a few pictures, number eight thousand one hundred andfifty-five. The sale realised two thousand two hundred and ten pounds, asum said to be greatly in excess of that which Farmer gave for hisbooks. 

There is a portrait of Dr. Farmer by Romney in Emmanuel College, whichhas been engraved by J. Jones. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 81: _Dictionary of National Biography. _]

RICHARD GOUGH, 1735-1809

Richard Gough, the eminent antiquary, was the only son of Harry Gough, of Perry Hall, Staffordshire. He was born in Winchester Street, London, on the 21st of October 1735, and was privately educated until aboutseventeen years of age, when he was admitted a fellow-commoner of Benet(now Corpus Christi) College, Cambridge. He left the University in 1756without taking a degree, and commenced a series of antiquarianexcursions into various parts of the kingdom for the purpose ofobtaining information for an enlarged edition of Camden's _Britannia_, which he published in London in 1789. In 1767 Gough was elected a Fellowof the Society of Antiquaries, and in 1771, on the death of Dr. GregorySharpe, Master of the Temple, was nominated Director, a post he helduntil 1797, when he left the Society altogether. He was also chosen aFellow of the Royal Society in 1775, but resigned in 1795. He died atEnfield on the 20th of February 1809, and was buried in the churchyardof Wormley, Hertfordshire. 

Gough wrote, and assisted in the production of numerous topographicaland antiquarian works, and contributed many articles to the_Archæologia_ and the _Vetusta Monumenta_ of the Society of Antiquaries. A history of that institution by him is prefixed to the first volume ofthe first-named publication. The _Gentleman's Magazine_ also containsmany papers and reviews from his pen. In addition to his edition ofCamden's _Britannia_, which occupied seven years in translating and inprinting, his more important works are _Anecdotes of BritishTopography_, published at London in 1768, which was afterwards enlargedand reprinted in 1780 under the title of _British Topography: or anhistorical Account of what has been done for illustrating theTopographical Antiquities of Great Britain and Ireland_; and _TheSepulchral Monuments of Great Britain_, London, 1786-99. 

Gough possessed a considerable fortune, which enabled him to form anextensive library, as well as a fine collection of maps, drawings, prints, coins, and other antiquities. He left to the Bodleian Library'all his topographical collections, together with all his books relatingto Saxon and Northern literature, for the use of the Saxon Professor, his maps and engravings, and all the copper-plates used in theillustration of the various works published by himself. [82] Thiscollection, which numbered upwards of three thousand seven hundredvolumes, was placed, in accordance with the wish expressed in his will, in 'The Antiquaries' Closet, ' with the collections of Dodsworth, Tanner, Willis, and other antiquaries. Gough also gave to the library asplendid series of early printed Service-books of the English Church, among which is a beautiful vellum copy of the _Hereford Missal_, printedat Rouen in 1502, and which is believed to be unique. A catalogue of thecollection was published by Dr. Bandinel in 1814. Gough bequeathed toMr. John Nichols his interleaved set of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, andof the _Anecdotes of Mr. Bowyer_. 

The remainder of his books, prints, and drawings, together with hiscoins, medals, and other antiquities, were sold, according to hisdirections, by auction by Leigh and Sotheby in 1810. The books realisedthree thousand five hundred and fifty-two pounds, and the prints, drawings, coins, medals, etc. , five hundred and seventeen pounds more. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 82: Macray, _Annals of the Bodleian Library_. ]

GEORGE STEEVENS, 1736-1800

George Steevens, the Shakesperian commentator, who was born on the 10thof May 1736, was the only son of George Steevens of Stepney, for manyyears an East India captain, and afterwards a Director of the East IndiaCompany. He received his early education at a school atKingston-on-Thames and at Eton. In 1753 he was admitted afellow-commoner of King's College, Cambridge, but left the Universitywithout taking a degree. In 1766 he published a reprint in four octavovolumes of _Twenty of the Plays of Shakespeare, being the whole numberprinted in quarto during his Lifetime, etc. _; and in 1773 he broughtout, in association with Dr. Johnson, an edition of the whole ofShakespeare's dramatic works. Steevens, who was a Fellow of the RoyalSociety, and of the Society of Antiquaries, died unmarried at Hampsteadon the 22nd of January 1800, and was buried in the chapel at Poplar, where a monument by Flaxman was erected to his memory. 

Steevens collected a fine library, which was very rich in early Englishpoetry and in the plays and poems of Shakespeare. It contained the firstand second folios of the great dramatist, and upwards of forty copies ofthe separate plays in quarto, many of them being first editions. Thesecond folio formerly belonged to King Charles I. , and was given by himon the night before his execution to Sir Thomas Herbert, his Groom ofthe Bedchamber. This very interesting volume, in which the King haswritten 'Dum spiro spero C. R. , ' was bought at the sale of Steevens'sbooks for King George III. For eighteen guineas, and is now preserved inthe Royal Library at Windsor. The collection also comprised some rareplays of Peele, Marlowe, and Nash; Barnabe Googe's _Eglogs, Epytaphesand Sonnettes_; Puttenham's _Arte of English Poesie_, London, 1589;Skelton's _Lyttle Workes and Merie Tales_; Watson's _Passionate Centurieof Love_; _England's Helicon_, collected by John Bodenham, London, 1600;Breton's _Workes of a young Wyt_; _The Paradice of Dainty Devises_, London, 1595; _XII Mery fests of the Wyddow Edyth_, London, 1573; andmany other scarce and choice books. 

Steevens's library was sold by auction by Mr. King at his great room, King Street, Covent Garden, on May 13th, 1800, and ten following days. The catalogue contained nineteen hundred and forty-three lots, whichrealised two thousand seven hundred and forty pounds, fifteen shillings. A copy of the catalogue marked with the prices of the books and thenames of the purchasers is preserved in the British Museum. 

Although Dibdin considered that 'enormous sums were given for somevolumes that cost Steevens not a twentieth part of their produce, ' theprices were very small compared with those which could be obtained forthe same books at the present time. The first folio of Shakespeare'sworks fetched only twenty-two pounds, and Charles I. 's copy of thesecond folio, as already mentioned, but eighteen guineas. Of the firsteditions of the separate quarto plays, _Othello_ sold for twenty-ninepounds, eight shillings; _King Lear_ and the _Merry Wives of Windsor_for twenty-eight pounds each; _Henry the Fifth_ for twenty-seven pounds, six shillings; _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ for twenty-five pounds, tenshillings; and _Much Ado about Nothing_ for the same sum. The firstedition of Shakespeare's _Sonnets_ went for three pounds, nineteenshillings. Steevens's copies of the _Merry Wives of Windsor_ and the_Sonnets_ fetched respectively three hundred and thirty guineas and twohundred and fifteen guineas at the sale of the library of George Danielin 1864. Other prices obtained for some of the rare books were elevenpounds, fifteen shillings for _England's Helicon_; ten pounds, fifteenshillings for Barnabe Googe's _Eglogs, Epytaphes and Sonnettes_; andseven pounds, ten shillings for Puttenham's _Arte of English Poesie_. 

Steevens, who led a very retired life in his house at Hampstead Heath, was the reverse of an amiable man; and while he was very polite andcourteous to his literary friends in private, he made bitter attacksupon them in print. Dibdin says of him that 'his habits were indeedpeculiar: not much to be envied or imitated; as they sometimes betrayedthe flights of a madman, and sometimes the asperities of a cynic. Hisattachments were warm, but fickle both in choice and duration. He wouldfrequently part from one, with whom he had lived on terms of closeintimacy, without any assignable cause; and his enmities, once fixed, were immovable. ' Dr. Parr said of him that 'he was one of the wisest, most learned, but most spiteful of men. ' Dr. Johnson, however, thought'he was mischievous, but not malignant. '

JAMES BINDLEY, 1737-1818

Mr. James Bindley was the second son of Mr. John Bindley, distiller, ofSt. John's Street, Smithfield. He was born in London on the 16th ofJanuary 1737, and was educated at the Charterhouse, from whence heproceeded to Peterhouse, Cambridge, taking the degree of B. A. In 1759, and that of M. A. In 1762. Later he became a Fellow of his College. In1765, through the interest of his elder brother John, he was appointedone of the Commissioners of the Stamp Duties, and in 1781 rose to be theSenior Commissioner, a post he held until his death, which occurred athis apartments in Somerset House on the 11th of September 1818. He was aFellow of the Society of Antiquaries for upwards of fifty-three years. Ahandsome monument to his memory was erected in the church of St. Mary-le-Strand. Bindley formed a very large and valuable collection ofrare books, engravings, and medals, which he commenced at a very earlyage, and to which he devoted all his spare time and money. When onlyfifteen years of age he constantly frequented the book-shops, where hebought everything which he considered rare or curious. He was a man ofvery regular and retired habits, and it is said of him, that during thelong period he held the appointment of Commissioner of the Stamp Duties, 'he never once failed in his daily attendance at the Board, or onceslept out of his own apartments since he left his house at Finchley toreside in Somerset House. '[83] Bindley published in 1775 _A Collectionof the Statutes now in force relating to the Stamp Duties_; and he readall the proof-sheets of Nichols's _Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century_, which are dedicated to him, and also of the early volumes of _TheIllustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century_, by thesame author. He performed the same work for the _Memoirs of JohnEvelyn_, edited by William Bray in 1818. 

[Illustration]

Bindley's library was a remarkably fine one, and few collections havecontained a larger number of works of early English literature, especially of those of the time of Elizabeth and James I. Many of thesebooks were excessively rare, and some of them unique. Among them werethe _Venus and Adonis_ of Shakespeare, printed in 1602; his _Poems_printed in 1640, and several of the first editions of his separate playsin quarto. The library also comprised a large portion of theextraordinary collection of poetical sheets, consisting of ballads, satires, elegies, etc. , formed by Narcissus Luttrell, who, Sir WalterScott says, 'seems to have bought every poetical tract, of whatevermerit, which was hawked about the streets in his time, marking carefullythe price and date of the purchase. '

After Bindley's death his books were sent to Evans of Pall Mall forsale. They were disposed of in five portions. The first sale took placein December 1818, and the fifth, which consisted of omissions, inJanuary 1821. There were nine thousand three hundred and eighty-threelots in the five sales, which occupied forty-six days, and realisedupwards of seventeen thousand five hundred pounds. The following are afew of the more notable books, and the prices they fetched in thesales:--_The Temple of Glasse_, printed by Berthelet, forty-six pounds, four shillings; Chute's _Beawtie Dishonoured_ (London, 1529)--Steevens'scopy, thirty-four pounds; Lewicke's _Titus and Gisippus_ (London, 1562), twenty-four pounds, thirteen shillings and sixpence; Parker, _DeAntiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ_ (London, 1572), forty-five pounds, three shillings; Nicolas Breton's _Floorish upon Fancie_ (London, 1577), forty-two pounds; Hunnis's _Hyve full of Hunnye_ (London, 1578), eighteen guineas; _The Forrest of Fancy_ (London, 1579), thirty-eightpounds, six shillings and sixpence; Markham's _Tragedie of Sir RichardGrinvile_ (London, 1595), forty pounds, nineteen shillings; RobertFletcher's _Nine English Worthies_ (London, 1606), thirty-seven pounds, sixteen shillings; Dolarny's _Primerose_ (London, 1606), twenty-sixpounds, ten shillings; and Purchas's _Pilgrimes_, five volumes (London, 1625), thirty-four pounds, thirteen shillings. The first edition of_Othello_ sold for fifty-six pounds, fourteen shillings; of _Love'sLabour Lost_ for forty pounds, ten shillings; and the _Venus and Adonis_of 1602 for forty-two pounds. Seven hundred and eighty-one pounds, oneshilling were obtained for the Luttrell collection of poetical sheets;and fifty-two pounds, ten shillings for a little _Manual of Devotions_, one inch and seven-eighths long, and one inch and three-eighths broad, written on vellum, and bound in gold, said to have been given by AnneBoleyn on the scaffold to her Maid of Honour, Mistress Wyatt. 

Bindley's portraits, prints, drawings, and medals were sold by Leigh andSotheby in 1819, and realised seven thousand six hundred and ninety-twopounds. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 83: _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. Lxxviii. Part ii. P. 631. ]

WILLIAM PETTY FITZMAURICE, FIRST MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, 1737-1805

William Petty Fitzmaurice, third Earl of Shelburne and first Marquis ofLansdowne, was born in Dublin on the 2nd of May 1737. He was firstprivately educated, and afterwards at Christ Church, Oxford, which heleft early to take a commission in the Guards. He served with theBritish troops under Prince Ferdinand in Germany, and was present at thebattles of Kampen and Minden, where he distinguished himself by hispersonal valour. He became a Major-General in 1765. In May 1760, andagain in April 1761, he was elected member for Wycombe, but he sat for ashort time only in the House of Commons, as the death of his father onthe 10th of May 1761 called him to the House of Lords. In April 1763 hewas placed at the head of the Board of Trade and Plantations, a postwhich he held only till September in the same year; but in 1766, whenPitt, Earl of Chatham, formed his second administration, he includedLord Shelburne in it as Secretary of State for the Southern Department, to which, at that time, the Colonial business was attached. From thispost, however, he was dismissed in October 1768 by the Duke of Grafton, whose influence in the Cabinet became paramount when the Earl ofChatham's illness prevented him taking an active share in thegovernment. Lord Shelburne remained out of office until March 1782, whenon the formation of the Rockingham administration he became Secretary ofState for Foreign Affairs. This ministry was dissolved on the death ofLord Rockingham on the 1st of July in the same year, and the Kingentrusted Lord Shelburne with the construction of a new one, whichlasted but little over seven months, as it was defeated in February 1783by the vote of the Fox and North coalition. Shortly after hisretirement he was created Earl Wycombe and Marquis of Lansdowne. LordLansdowne did not again accept office, but devoted himself to theaugmentation of his fine library, the formation of which had occupiedhis attention for many years. It was especially rich in historical andpolitical manuscripts, and comprised, among other collections, onehundred and twenty-one volumes of the papers and miscellaneouscorrespondence of Lord Burghley, including his private note-book andjournal, which had formerly been in the hands of Strype the historian. The library also contained a considerable portion of the importantcollection of State papers amassed by Sir Julius Cæsar, Master of theRolls in the reign of James I. ; the historical collections of WhiteKennet, Bishop of Peterborough, which amounted to a hundred and sevenvolumes, many of them being in the bishop's handwriting; the heraldicand genealogical collections of Segar, St. George, Dugdale, Le Neve, andother heralds; and some valuable legal, topographical, musical, biblicaland classical manuscripts. The collection of manuscripts, which amountedto one thousand two hundred and forty-five volumes, was acquired in 1807by the Trustees of the British Museum for the sum of four thousand ninehundred and twenty-five pounds. The printed books, among which were manyvaluable topographical works and some rare volumes of Englishliterature, numbered about twenty thousand. They were sold by Leigh andSotheby in 1806, and together with the maps, charts, books of prints, etc. , realised over eight thousand three hundred and fifty pounds. TheMarquis, who collected pictures and sculpture as well as books, died onthe 7th of May 1805, at the age of sixty-eight, and was succeeded by hisson John Henry. 

TOPHAM BEAUCLERK, 1739-1780

The Honourable Topham Beauclerk was the only son of Lord SydneyBeauclerk, and a grandson of the first Duke of St. Albans. He was bornin 1739, and on the death of his father in 1744 succeeded to the estateswhich Lord Sydney had inherited from Mr. Richard Topham, M. P. ForWindsor. In 1757 Beauclerk matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, butseems to have left the University without taking a degree. While he wasat Oxford he made the acquaintance of Dr. Johnson, who appears to havebeen greatly attracted to him on account of his wit and conversation. This intimacy surprised many of Johnson's friends, for althoughBeauclerk valued science and literature, he was also gay and dissipated. 'What a coalition, ' said Garrick, when he heard of it, 'I shall have myold friend to bail out of the Round-house. ' Notwithstanding somewhatfrequent squabbles, the friendship lasted for upwards of twenty years, and on Beauclerk's death Johnson remarked of him--'that Beauclerk'stalents were those which he had felt himself more disposed to envy, thanthose of any whom he had known. '[84] His conversational powers wereevidently of a very high order, for Dr. Barnard, Bishop of Limerick, inhis well-known lines on Dr. Johnson, writes of him:

 'If I have thoughts, and can't express 'em, Gibbon shall teach me how to dress 'em In terms select and terse; Jones teach me modesty and Greek; Smith, how to think; Burke, how to speak; And Beauclerk to converse. '

Beauclerk married on the 12th of March 1768 Lady Diana Spencer, eldestdaughter of the second Duke of Marlborough, two days after her divorcefrom Lord Bolingbroke and St. John. He died at Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, on the 11th of March 1780, leaving one son and twodaughters. 

Beauclerk possessed a fine library of upwards of thirty thousandvolumes, which he kept at his residence at Muswell Hill, near London, stored, as Horace Walpole informs us, 'in a building that reacheshalf-way to Highgate. ' It did not contain many rare books, but it wasrich in works relating to natural history, voyages and travels, andEnglish and French plays; and Dibdin says that it was also valuable tothe general scholar, and to the collector of English antiquities andhistory. It also possessed a few curious and choice manuscripts. Some ofthe books appear to have belonged to Mr. Topham, but most of them werecollected by Beauclerk. After his death they were sold by auction by Mr. Paterson 'at the Great Room, heretofore held by the Society for theEncouragement of Arts and Manufactures, opposite Beaufort Buildings, inthe Strand, London, ' on Monday, April 9th, 1781, and the forty-ninefollowing days. A priced copy of the catalogue is in the British Museum. 

Beauclerk, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society, was a collector ofnatural curiosities, as well as books, and botany was one of hisfavourite studies. He had also an observatory at Muswell Hill. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 84: Boswell, _Life of Johnson_ (London, 1811), vol. Iii. P. 460. ]

REV. BENJAMIN HEATH, D. D. , 1739-1817

[Illustration: REV. BENJAMIN HEATH, D. D. ]

The Rev. Benjamin Heath, D. D. , one of the sons to whom Mr. BenjaminHeath gave a part of his books, was born on the 29th of September 1739. He was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, of whichCollege he became a Fellow. After leaving the University he wasappointed an assistant master at Eton, and in 1771 succeeded Dr. Sumneras headmaster of Harrow, a post he held for fourteen years. [85] He diedon the 31st of May 1817, at the rectory of Walkerne in the county ofHertford, a living given to him by his College, which he held with therectory of Farnham in Buckinghamshire. He was buried at Exeter. Dr. Heath, who was 'a scholar and a bibliomaniac, ' added greatly to thelibrary given to him by his father, for which he built a large room atWalkerne, where, says Dibdin, 'he saw, entertained, and caressed hisfriends, with Alduses in the forenoon, and with a cheerful glass towardsevening, hospitable, temperate, kind-hearted, with a well furnished mindand purse, and with a larder and cellar which might have suppliedmaterials for a new edition of Pynson's _Royal Boke of Cookery andKervinge_, 1500, 4to. '[86] Some years before his death Heath offered hisbooks to King's College, Cambridge, for half the sum they had cost him;but the College authorities declined the purchase, and he then sold theprincipal portion of them to some private individuals, who, Dibdinbelieves, were Messrs. Cuthell and Martin, for three thousand poundsbeneath the sum they ultimately produced, [87] and they instructed Mr. Jeffery of 11 Pall Mall to sell the books by auction. The sale tookplace on Thursday, the 5th of April 1810, and twelve following days andWednesday, May 2nd, and eighteen following days. It consisted of fourthousand seven hundred and eighty-six lots, which realised eightthousand eight hundred and ninety-nine pounds. The sale catalogue statesthat the library consisted of 'rare, useful and valuable publications inevery department of literature, from the first invention of printing tothe present time, all of which are in the most perfect condition. 'Another catalogue, with the prices and purchasers' names, of which it issaid only two hundred and fifty copies were printed, was published laterin the year by Constable of Edinburgh. Both the catalogues are to befound in the Library of King George III. In the British Museum. Dibdin describes this sale in enthusiastic terms in his_Bibliomania_:--'Never, ' he writes, 'did the bibliomaniac's eye alightupon "sweeter copies"--as the phrase is; and never did thebibliomaniacal barometer rise higher than at this sale! The most markedphrensy characterized it. A copy of the Editio Princeps of Homer (by nomeans a first-rate one) brought £92:[88] and all the ALDINE CLASSICSproduced such an electricity of sensation that buyers stuck at nothingto embrace them!'[89]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 85: Dibdin, _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. Iii. P. 368. ]

[Footnote 86: Dibdin, _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. Iii. P. 369. ]

[Footnote 87: _Ibid. _, iii. 370. ]

MAJOR THOMAS PEARSON, 1740?-1781

Major Thomas Pearson was born about the year 1740 at Cote Green, nearBurton-in-Kendal, Westmoreland. He was educated at Burton, and came toLondon about 1756 to fill a post in the Navy Office, which he resignedin 1760. In the course of the following year he left England, havingobtained a cadetship on the Bengal Establishment, in which he rose tothe rank of Major. He distinguished himself on several occasions, andwas particularly noticed by Lord Clive, to whom he adhered during themutiny fomented by Sir Robert Fletcher, at whose trial he held theoffice of Judge Advocate. In 1767 Pearson married a sister of EylesIrwin, the traveller and writer. This lady died in the following year, and an epitaph inscribed to her memory may be found, together with otherpoetical pieces by Pearson, in vol. Iv. Of Pearch's _Collection ofPoems_. Pearson returned to England in August 1770 with GovernorVerelst, under whom he had acted as Military Secretary, and built ahouse for himself at Burton, in which he collected a very extensivelibrary, consisting of works on the history, antiquities, topography, and heraldry of Great Britain and Ireland, foreign history, voyages andtravels, natural history, etc. , but it was principally remarkable forthe large number of books in all branches of old English literature, andit was especially rich in the works of the early poets and dramatists. In 1776 Pearson again went to India, but after a residence there of fiveyears he fell a victim to the effects of the climate, and died atCalcutta on the 5th of August 1781. Some years after his death hislibrary was brought from Westmoreland, and sold on April 14th, 1788, andtwenty-two following days, by T. And J. Egerton at their room inScotland Yard. The prices obtained at the sale, in which there werefive thousand five hundred and twenty-five lots, were verysmall:--Boccaccio's _The Falle of Princis and Princesses and otherNobles_, translated by Lydgate, and printed by Pynson in 1494, fetchedbut one pound, twelve shillings; _The Castell of Laboure_, also printedby Pynson, two guineas; two books printed by Wynkyn de Worde--Hawes's_Example of Virtu_, and _The Lyf of Saynt Ursula_, translated byHatfield--seven pounds, ten shillings and one pound, ten shillings;Skelton's _Ryght Delectable Traytise upon a goodly Garlande, or Chapeletof Laurell_, printed by Richard Faukes in 1523--an excessively rare, ifnot unique book--seven pounds, seventeen shillings and sixpence; Peele's_Polyhymnia_, London, 1590, three guineas; Lyly's _Midas_, London, 1592, seven pounds; and _England's Helicon_, collected by John Bodenham, London, 1600, five pounds, ten shillings. Two volumes of ballads, chiefly collected by the Earl of Oxford, and purchased by Major Pearsonat Mr. West's sale, were bought by the Duke of Roxburghe for thirty-sixpounds, four shillings and sixpence, and are now, with additions by theDuke, preserved in the British Museum. Books bound for Pearson may berecognised by the device of a bird surmounting a vase, stamped on thepanels of the back. 

[Illustration: DUKE OF ROXBURGHE. ]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 88: The marked catalogue says £94, 10s. ]

[Footnote 89: _Bibliomania_, London, 1811, p. 617. ]

JOHN KER, DUKE OF ROXBURGHE, 1740-1804

John Ker, third Duke of Roxburghe, was born on the 23rd of April 1740 inHanover Square, London. He was the elder son of Robert Ker, second Duke, and on the death of his father in 1755 succeeded to the title andestates. While on a tour on the Continent he became greatly attached toChristiana, eldest daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, andthere is little doubt that she would have become his wife had not KingGeorge III. Soon afterwards sought the hand of the Princess's youngersister in marriage, when it was considered necessary to break off thematch, partly for political reasons, and partly because 'it was deemedindecorous that the elder sister should be the subject of the younger. 'This was a great disappointment to both the Duke and the Princess, whoevinced the strength of their affection by remaining single during theirlives. George III. , probably feeling that he had done the Duke aninjury, always manifested a warm friendship for him, and bestowed uponhim various appointments in the royal household. In 1768 he was made aKnight of the Thistle, and in 1801 was invested with the Order of theGarter. He died on the 19th of March 1804. 

The Duke, who was remarkable both for his fine presence and his mentalaccomplishments, collected a magnificent library at his residence in St. James's Square, London. It contained among numerous other treasures thefamous Valdarfer Boccaccio, upwards of a dozen volumes printed byCaxton, and many from the presses of Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, JulianNotary, and other early English printers. The first, second, and thirdShakespeare folios were in the collection, as well as a large number ofearly quarto plays. The library was especially rich in choice editionsof the French romances, and in the works of the English dramatists whoflourished during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Some rare booksprinted in Scotland were also to be found in it. The collection ofbroadside ballads in three thick folio volumes, now in the BritishMuseum, is perhaps the most extensive and interesting ever broughttogether. It was begun by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, from whoselibrary it passed successively to those of Mr. James West and MajorThomas Pearson, and at the sale of the books of the last-named collectorit was purchased for thirty-six pounds, four shillings and sixpence bythe Duke, who made many additions to it while in his possession. Thecollection has been admirably edited by Mr. William Chappell and theRev. J. W. Ebsworth for the Ballad Society. Other books deservingspecial notice were the first edition of Pliny, printed by J. De Spiraat Venice in 1469; Cicero's _Epistolæ ad Atticum_, etc. , printed at Romein 1470; the 1580 edition of the _Paradyse of Daintie Devises_, and thefirst edition of Shakespeare's _Sonnets_. 

Among the manuscripts the most valuable were Chaucer's _CanterburyTales_, bound with Lydgate's _Life of St. Margarete_, on vellum, withilluminations, and the _Mystere de la Vengeance de Nostre Seigneur_, also on vellum. 

The library was sold in 1812 by Mr. Evans of Pall Mall in thedining-room of the Duke's house in St. James's Square, and the totalamount realised was twenty-three thousand three hundred and ninety-sevenpounds, ten shillings and sixpence. The sale, which consisted of ninethousand three hundred and fifty-three lots, lasted forty-two days, commencing on the 18th of May, and ending on the 4th of July. It wasfollowed by a supplementary one of seven hundred and sixty-seven lots, which began on the 13th of July, and lasted till the 16th of the samemonth. The catalogue was compiled by Mr. George Nicol, bookseller to theKing. The sale excited very great interest; and Dibdin, who gives anaccount of it in his _Bibliographical Decameron_, tells us 'the room wasso crowded that nothing but standing upon a contiguous bench saved thewriter of _The Bibliographical Decameron_ from suffocation. ' The pricesobtained for the books were very high. That 'most notorious volume inexistence, ' the Valdarfer Boccaccio, which cost the Duke of Roxburghebut one hundred guineas, was acquired by the Marquis of Blandford, aftera severe struggle with Lord Spencer, for two thousand two hundred andsixty pounds, and Dibdin says that the Marquis declared that it was hisintention to have gone as far as five thousand guineas for it. A copy ofthe _Recuyell of the Histories of Troye_, which once belonged toElizabeth Grey, wife of Edward IV. , was purchased by the Duke ofDevonshire for one thousand and sixty pounds, ten shillings; while threeother books from the press of Caxton, _The Mirrour of the World_, the_Fayts of Arms_, and Gower's _Confessio Amantis_, sold respectively forthree hundred and fifty-one pounds, ten shillings, three hundred andthirty-six pounds, and three hundred and thirty-six pounds. Thecollection of ballads fell to Mr. J. Harding for four hundred andseventy-seven pounds, fifteen shillings. At the sale of Mr. B. H. Bright's books in 1845 it was secured for the British Museum for the sumof five hundred and thirty-five pounds. The first folio of Shakespeare'sPlays fetched one hundred pounds, and his Sonnets twenty-one pounds. Thetwo manuscripts mentioned realised three hundred and fifty-seven poundsand four hundred and ninety-three pounds, ten shillings. 

A dinner was given, at the suggestion of Dr. Dibdin, to commemorate thesale of the Boccaccio; and Earl Spencer, Dr. Dibdin, and otherbibliophiles met on the day of the sale at St. Alban's Tavern, St. Alban's Street--now Waterloo Place--and then and there formed theRoxburghe Club; Earl Spencer being the first President. 

MICHAEL WODHULL, 1740-1816

Michael Wodhull, the translator of the tragedies of Euripides, was bornat Thenford, Northamptonshire, on the 15th of August 1740. His fatherwas John Wodhull, a descendant of Walter Flandrensis, who held theestates of Pateshull and Thenford in the time of William I. He receivedhis early education under the Rev. William Cleaver of Twyford, Bucks. Hewas afterwards sent to Winchester, and at the age of seventeen proceededto the University of Oxford, matriculating from Brazenose College. Whilestill young Wodhull inherited a considerable fortune from his father, and he built a fine mansion on the family estate at Thenford, in whichhe kept his library. He was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1783. Wodhull married a daughter of the Rev. J. Ingram of Wolford, Warwickshire, by whom he had three children, who all predeceased him. He died on the 10th of November 1816. In addition to his translations ofthe tragedies of Euripides, Wodhull was the author of several poems. From 1764 to his death Wodhull was an indefatigable collector of rareand curious books, and Dibdin says of him that 'a better informed ormore finished bibliographer existed not either in France or England. '

[Illustration: BOOK-STAMP OF MICHAEL WODHULL. ]

His splendid library, which was a great consolation and pleasure to himin the solitude of the last years of his life, was particularly rich inearly editions of the Greek and Latin classics, and in works printed inthe fifteenth century. All the books--many of which were bound by RogerPayne--were in fine condition, and some of them had once formed part ofthe libraries of Francis I. , Grolier, Henry II. And Diana of Poitiers, Longepierre, and other famous French collectors, and were bound by suchfine craftsmen as Boyet, Derome, Monnier, etc. The covers of the volumesbound for Wodhull are mostly impressed with a stamp of his arms, impaledwith those of his wife. A portion of Wodhull's books, principallyduplicates, was sold by Leigh, Sotheby and Son, of York Street, CoventGarden, at two sales in 1801 and 1803. The first sale consisted of athousand and fifty-nine lots, which realised three hundred and sixty-onepounds, ten shillings; and the second of one thousand six hundred andthirty-nine lots, for which the sum of eight hundred and fifteen poundswas obtained. The remainder of the library appears to have been kept atThenford until 1886, when Mr. J. E. Severne, M. P. , to whom it haddescended, determined to part with it, and it was sold by Wilkinson, Sotheby and Hodge on January 11th, 1886, and nine following days. Therewere two thousand eight hundred and four lots in the sale, whichproduced the large sum of eleven thousand nine hundred and seventy-twopounds, fourteen shillings and sixpence. 

The following are a few of the rarest and most interesting books in thissplendid collection, with the prices they fetched:--the _Catholicon_ ofJoannes Balbus, printed at Mentz in 1460, three hundred and ten pounds;_Cicero de Officiis_, printed at Mentz in 1466, seventy-one pounds;_Tullius de Senectute et Amicitia_, printed by Caxton in 1481, twohundred and fifty pounds; (a perfect copy of Caxton's _Mirrour of theWorld_ was sold in the 1803 sale for thirty-eight pounds, seventeenshillings); the first edition of Homer, printed at Florence in 1488, two hundred pounds; _Poliphili Hypnerotomachia_, printed by Aldus in1499, fifty-three pounds; the Aldine Virgil of 1501, one hundred andforty-five pounds; _Roman de Guy de Warwick_, Paris, 1525, one hundredand thirty pounds; the _New Actes and Constitucionis of Parliament maidby James V. , Kyng of Scottis_, printed on vellum at Edinburgh in 1541, one hundred and fifty-one pounds; the _Contes_ of La Fontaine, Amsterdam(Paris), 1762, in two small 8vo volumes, bound in red morocco, ninety-three pounds; Molière's Works, with plates by Moreau, sixvolumes, 1773, seventy-seven pounds. 

Among the books with historical or fine bindings were Alcyonius, _Medices Legatus de Exsilio_, in ædib. Aldi, Venetiis, 1522, bound forFrancis I. , with the arms of France, the crowned initial of the king, and the salamander stamped on the covers, fifty-eight pounds; Aristotle, _De Arte Poetica_, Florentiæ, 1548, bound for Henry II. Of France andDiana of Poitiers, with the devices of the king and his mistress on thecovers, two hundred and five pounds; Crinitus, _De Poetis Latinis_, Florentiæ, 1505, bound for Grolier, seventy-four pounds; _IreniciGermania_, Hagenoæ, 1518, also bound for Grolier, sixty-two pounds; andtwo works by Giordano Bruno--_Spaccio de la Bestia Trionfante_, Parigi, 1584, and _La Cena de la Ceneri_, 1584; the former bound in citronmorocco, with a red doublé by Boyet, and the latter in a beautifulmosaic binding by Monnier, realised respectively the large sums of threehundred and sixty pounds and three hundred and sixty-five pounds. 

The principal manuscripts were a copy of Dante, with a commentary byJoannes de Sarravalle, written in the years 1416-17, which sold for onehundred and fifty-one pounds; and a very beautiful Roman Breviary of thebeginning of the sixteenth century, on vellum, illuminated for Françoisde Castelnau, Archbishop of Narbonne, for which five hundred and fifteenpounds was obtained. 

FRANCIS HARGRAVE, 1741?-1821

Francis Hargrave, the eminent law writer, who was born about 1741, wasthe son of Christopher Hargrave of Chancery Lane. He entered as astudent at Lincoln's Inn in 1760, and in 1772 he greatly distinguishedhimself in the Habeas Corpus case of James Sommersett, a negro. Soonafterwards he was appointed one of the king's counsel, and in 1797 hewas made Recorder of Liverpool. He was also for many years Treasurer ofLincoln's Inn. In 1813, in consequence of the impaired state ofHargrave's health, his wife petitioned Parliament to purchase the finelaw library which he had amassed, consisting of a considerable number ofprinted books and about five hundred manuscripts; and on therecommendation of a Committee of the House of Commons the collection wasacquired by the Government for the sum of eight thousand pounds, anddeposited in the British Museum. Edwards, in his _Lives of the Foundersof the British Museum_, says that 'the peculiar importance of theHargrave Collection consisted in its manuscripts and its annotatedprinted books. The former were about five hundred in number, and wereworks of great juridical weight and authority, not merely thecuriosities of black-letter law. Their collector was the most eminentparliamentary lawyer of his day, but his devotion to the science of lawhad, to some degree, impeded his enjoyment of its sweets. During some ofthe best years of his life he had been more intent on increasing hislegal lore than on swelling his legal profits. And thus the samelegislative act which enriched the Museum Library, in both of itsdepartments, helped to smooth the declining years of a man who had wonuncommon distinction in his special pursuit. ' A catalogue of themanuscripts was compiled by Sir Henry Ellis, and published in 1818. Hargrave, among other important legal works, published a new edition of_State Trials from the eleventh year of Richard II. To the sixteenth ofGeorge III. _, in eleven volumes folio, in 1776-81; _Juridical Argumentsand Collections_, in two volumes, in 1797-99; and _JurisconsultExercitations_, in three volumes, in 1811-13. He died on the 16th ofAugust 1821, and was buried in Lincoln's Inn Chapel. Lord Lyndhurst, inspeaking of Hargrave's great legal knowledge, declared that 'no man everlived who was more conversant with the law of his country. '

ISAAC REED, 1742-1807

Isaac Reed, the editor of Shakespeare, was born in London on the 1st ofJanuary 1742. He was a conveyancer, and had chambers, first in Gray'sInn and afterwards in Staple Inn, where he died on the 5th of January1807. He was buried at Amwell in Hertfordshire. Reed, who was a Fellowof the Society of Antiquaries, collected books for upwards of fortyyears, and Dibdin says that 'he would appear to have adopted thecobbler's well-known example of applying one room to almost everydomestic purpose: for Reed made his library his parlour, kitchen, andhall. ' His extensive collection of books, which was rich in worksrelating to the English drama and poetry, was sold by King and Lochée, 38 King Street, Covent Garden, on Monday, November 2nd, 1807, andthirty-eight following days. The sale consisted of eight thousand ninehundred and fifty-seven lots, including prints and a few miscellaneousarticles, and realised four thousand three hundred and eighty-sixpounds, nineteen shillings and sixpence. A copy of the catalogue, withthe prices added in manuscript, is preserved in the Library of KingGeorge III. In the British Museum. 

SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BART. , 1744-1820

The Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. , to whom the British Museum, inaddition to other bequests, is indebted for one of the finest librariesof books on natural history ever collected, was born in Argyle Street, London, on the 13th of February 1744. He was the only son of WilliamBanks, of Revesby Abbey, Lincolnshire, by his wife Sarah, daughter ofWilliam Bate. Banks was first educated at Harrow and Eton, and proceededafterwards to Christ Church, Oxford, which college he entered as agentleman-commoner in 1760. In 1761 his father died, leaving him a largeestate. He left the University in 1763, after having taken an honorarydegree, and in 1766 he set out on a scientific voyage to Newfoundlandwith his friend Lieutenant Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave, and broughtback a large collection of plants and insects. In 1768 he accompaniedCaptain Cook's expedition round the world in _The Endeavour_, a vesselwhich he equipped at his own expense, taking with him his friend andlibrarian Dr. Solander, two draughtsmen, and several servants. Thisvoyage, which was attended by many dangers and privations, occupiednearly three years, and the specimens which the enterprising collectorsbrought home with them excited very great and general interest. Bankswas anxious to join Captain Cook's second expedition, but owing to somedifficulties respecting the fittings of the ship in which he was to havesailed he relinquished his purpose, and in 1772 paid a visit in companywith Dr. Solander to Iceland, where he obtained a large number ofbotanical specimens, and also purchased a collection of Icelandicmanuscripts and printed books, including the library of HalfdanEinarsson, the literary historian of the island, which he gave to theBritish Museum on his return to England. Ten years later he presented asecond collection to that institution. In 1778 Banks succeeded Sir JohnPringle as President of the Royal Society, a post he held for upwards offorty-one years. He had been a Fellow since the year 1766. In 1779 hemarried Dorothea, daughter of William Weston-Hugesson of Provender, inthe parish of Norton, Kent, and in 1781 he was created a baronet. In1795 he received the Order of the Bath, and in 1797 he was sworn of thePrivy Council. The National Institute of France elected him a member in1802. He died at his house at Spring Grove, Isleworth, on the 19th ofJune 1820, leaving a widow but no issue. 

Sir Joseph Banks, even when a schoolboy, took great interest in allbranches of natural history, and during his residence at Oxford heprocured the appointment of a lecturer on natural science in theUniversity. He was always exceedingly generous in his relations with menof science, and the splendid collections in his house in Soho Squarewere always open to them for study and investigation. 

Sir Joseph Banks bequeathed his library, with the exception of somemanuscripts which he left to the Royal Society and the Mint, hisherbarium, drawings, engravings, and other collections to the Trusteesof the British Museum, subject to a life interest and a life use in themby his friend and librarian, Mr. Robert Brown, the eminent botanist. This bequest was accompanied by a proviso that Mr. Brown should be atliberty to transfer the collections to the British Museum during hislifetime, if the Trustees were desirous to receive them, and he werewilling to comply with their wishes. An arrangement to this effect waseventually carried out, and in the year 1827 the transfer was effected;Mr. Brown at the same time receiving the appointment of Keeper of theDepartment of Botany in the Museum, a post he held until his death in1858. 

The number of printed books acquired by the Museum amounted to aboutsixteen thousand, consisting principally of works on natural history andthe journals and transactions of learned societies. The manuscriptsnumbered but forty-nine, but among them were the log-books of _TheEndeavour_, _The Resolution_, and _The Racehorse_, and the journals ofTasman, Carver, Verwey and other navigators. 

A catalogue of the library was compiled by Mr. Jonas Dryander, whosucceeded Dr. Solander as Sir Joseph's librarian, in five volumes, andpublished in London in the years 1798-1800. 

Sir Joseph Banks was the author of two treatises:--one, _On the Cause ofBlight in Corn_, published in 1805; and the other on _Some Circumstancesrelative to Merino Sheep_, published in 1809; together with somearticles contributed to the journals of learned societies. He evidentlyintended at one time to publish a work embodying the results of hisresearches, as the plates were engraved, and the text partly preparedfor press, but the death of his librarian Dr. Solander in 1782 appearsto have caused him to relinquish his purpose. Kaempfer's _IconesPlantarum_ was published by him in 1791, and he also superintended theissue of Roxburgh's _Coromandel Plants_ in 1795-1819. A statue of SirJoseph by Sir Francis Chantrey is placed in the Natural History Museumin South Kensington, and a portrait of him by Sir Thomas Lawrence ishung in the board-room of the British Museum. Another portrait of him byThomas Phillips, R. A. , is in the National Portrait Gallery. 

Sarah Sophia Banks, the only sister of Sir Joseph Banks, possessedsimilar tastes to her brother, and amassed a considerable number ofbooks, coins, objects of natural history, etc. She died at her brother'shouse in Soho Square on the 27th of September 1818; and after her deatha portion of her collections, consisting of sixty-six volumes ofmanuscripts, chiefly relating to heraldic matters, ceremonials, archery, etc. , together with several printed books principally treating ofchivalry, knighthood, etc. , some of them enriched with her MS. Notes, were presented to the library of the British Museum by Lady Banks, thewife of Sir Joseph. Several of the volumes were in very fine bindings. 

REV. JOHN BRAND, 1744-1806

The Rev. John Brand, the author of _Observations on PopularAntiquities_, was born on the 19th of August 1744 at Washington, in thecounty of Durham, where his father Alexander Brand was parish clerk. When fourteen years of age he was apprenticed to his uncle AnthonyWheatley, a shoemaker of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and during his residencein that town he attended the grammar school there. He displayed so muchability and industry that the master of the school, the Rev. HughMoises, with the assistance of some friends, sent him to LincolnCollege, Oxford, where he graduated B. A. In 1775. He had been ordainedsome time previously, and, after filling several curacies, in 1784 hewas presented by the Duke of Northumberland to the rectory of the unitedparishes of St. Mary-at-Hill and St. Mary Hubbard in the city of London. In the same year he was elected resident secretary of the Society ofAntiquaries, an office he held until his death on the 11th of September1806. He was buried in the chancel of his church. Brand had a veryextensive knowledge of antiquities, and he accumulated a large library, which was very rich in old English literature. 

Among the rarer books were the _Knight of the Tower_, printed by Caxtonin 1484; the _Dyalogue of Dives and Pauper_, and Arnold's _Chronicle ofthe Customs of London_, printed by Pynson in 1493 and 1521; _A Plaisterfor a Galled Horse_, London, 1548; John Byshop's _Beautiful Blossomes_, London, 1577; Thomas Bentley's _Monument of Matrones_, London, 1582; _ABooke of Fishing with hooke and line_, London, 1600; Mrs. Fage's_Poems_, London, 1637; and _A Juniper Lecture_, London, 1639. Thecollection also contained some curious works on witches. 

After Brand's death, the library was sold in two parts by Stewart of 194Piccadilly. The first sale took place on May 6th, 1807, and thirty-sixfollowing days, 'Sundays, the King's Birthday, and May 21-26 excepted. 'It consisted of eight thousand six hundred and eleven lots of printedbooks, and two hundred and forty-three of manuscripts, which realisedfour thousand three hundred pounds. The second part, containingduplicates and pamphlets, was sold on February the 8th, 1808, andfourteen following days, 'Sundays and the Fastday excepted. ' There werefour thousand and sixty-four lots in this portion, and the sum obtainedfor them was eighteen hundred and fifty-one pounds. _The Knight of theTower_ was purchased by Mr. Payne the bookseller for Earl Spencer forone hundred and eleven pounds, six shillings; Arnold's _Chronicle_fetched eighteen guineas; the _Dyalogue of Dives and Pauper_, fourpounds, three shillings; Bentley's _Monument of Matrones_, eight pounds, eighteen shillings and sixpence; and Mrs. Fage's _Poems_, five pounds, fifteen shillings and sixpence. A copy of Brand's own work on _PopularAntiquities_, with additions for a new edition, sold, with thecopyright, for six hundred and thirty pounds. 

In addition to his _Observations on Popular Antiquities_, which appearedin 1777, Brand published a work on the _History and Antiquities of thetown and county of Newcastle-upon-Tyne_ in 1789; and in 1775 a poem _OnIllicit Love, written among the ruins of Godstow Nunnery, nearOxford_--the place where the celebrated Rosamond, the mistress of HenryII. , was buried. He also contributed many papers to the _Archæologia_ ofthe Society of Antiquaries. 

Nichols, in his _Literary Anecdotes_, [90] says of Brand that 'hismanners, somewhat repulsive to a stranger, became easy on closeracquaintance, and he loved to communicate to men of literary andantiquarian taste the result of his researches on any subject in whichthey might require information. '

JOHN DENT, 1750?-1826

Mr. John Dent was born about the middle of the eighteenth century. Hisfather is said to have been the master of a school in a small town inCumberland. At an early age he entered the banking-house of Messrs. Child and Co. Of London as a clerk, and in 1795 rose to be a partner inthe firm. In 1790 he was elected Member of Parliament for the boroughof Leicester, and held the seat during five successive Parliamentsuntil the dissolution in 1812. Six years later he was chosen Member forPoole, which he represented till 1826. He died at his residence inHertford Street, Mayfair, on the 14th of December 1826. 

Mr. Dent, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society ofAntiquaries, accumulated a very fine library, which was very rich in theGreek and Latin Classics and early English literature. It also containedsome very beautiful manuscripts. After his death it was sold in twoparts by Mr. Evans of Pall Mall. The first sale, which took place onMarch the 29th, 1827, and eight following days, consisted of fifteenhundred and two lots, and realised six thousand two hundred andseventy-eight pounds, twelve shillings. The second portion of the bookswas sold on the 25th of the succeeding month and eight following days. There were one thousand four hundred and seventy-four lots in this sale, which brought eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-two pounds, sevenshillings. The following are a few of the many very rare books whichthis noble collection contained, and the prices which were obtained forthem:--

Fust and Schoeffer's Latin Bible of 1462, one hundred and seventy-threepounds, five shillings; a vellum copy of the first edition of Livy, printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz at Rome in 1469, two hundred andsixty-two pounds, ten shillings; the first edition of the _AnthologiaGræca_ on vellum, printed at Florence in 1494, seventy pounds; a perfectcopy of Higden's _Polychronicon_, printed by Caxton in 1482, one hundredand three pounds, nineteen shillings; three other imperfect Caxtons, fifty-eight pounds, seventeen shillings and sixpence; Barclay's _Shyp ofFolys_, printed by Pynson in 1509, thirty pounds, nine shillings;Bradshawe's _Lyfe of Saynt Radegunde_, printed by Pynson, without date, thirty-two pounds; _The Cronycle of Englonde_, printed by Wynkyn deWorde in 1502, thirty-eight pounds, seventeen shillings; a copy onvellum of the _Orcharde of Syon_, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1519, sixty-five pounds, two shillings; _Vitruvius de Architectura_, printedon vellum by P. De Giunta in 1513, one hundred and seven pounds, twoshillings; the Coverdale Bible, 1535, eighty-nine pounds, fiveshillings; and Archbishop Parker's _De Antiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ_, 1573, forty pounds. Mr. Dent possessed the first three Shakespearefolios, and a large number of the separate quarto plays. The foliosrealised respectively one hundred and ten pounds, five shillings, fifteen pounds, and sixty-five pounds, two shillings. The copy of thethird folio had many contemporary manuscript corrections. Of the quartoplays, twenty-six pounds was obtained for the first edition of _Love'sLabors Lost_, twenty-two pounds for the first edition of _Othello_, sixteen pounds for the first edition of _The Merchant of Venice_, andfour pounds, ten shillings for the first edition of _Midsummer Night'sDream_. 

Several of the manuscripts were of exceptional beauty and interest. ARoman Breviary, with illuminations in the finest Flemish style, presented to Queen Isabel of Castile by Francisco de Rojas, sold forthree hundred and seventy-eight pounds; a copy of the Gospels in Greek, said to have been written about the end of the eleventh century, for twohundred and sixty-seven pounds, fifteen shillings; an _Office de laVierge_, written by Nicolas Jarry, the celebrated calligraphist, in 1656for Anne of Austria, and which afterwards passed into the possession ofMadame de Maintenon and the Prince de Conti, for one hundred and tenpounds, five shillings; and a copy of the _Westminster Liber Regalis_, written in the fifteenth century, for fifty-five pounds, thirteenshillings. All these manuscripts were on vellum. The copies of the RomanBreviary and the Greek Gospels are described by Dibdin in his_Bibliographical Decameron_ (vol. I. Pp. Clxiii and xcii). 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 90: Vol. Ix. P. 653. ]

RIGHT HON. THOMAS GRENVILLE, 1755-1846

[Illustration: THOMAS GRENVILLE. After a Portrait by Hoppner. ]

The Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, who was born on the 31st of December1755, was the second son of the Right Hon. George Grenville, thestatesman, who succeeded Lord Bute as Premier in 1763, and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Wyndham. In 1771 he entered Christ Church, Oxford, as a gentleman-commoner, and in 1778 he was appointed ensign inthe Coldstream Guards, which he left the following year to become alieutenant in the 80th foot. In 1780 he was elected Member forBuckinghamshire, and became a follower of Lord Rockingham and Mr. Fox, the latter of whom thought so highly of his talents that he intended, ifhis India Bill had passed, to have made him Governor-General. Towardsthe close of the war with the United States, Mr. Grenville was sent toParis to negotiate terms of peace, but only remained there a short time, being recalled by the death of the Marquis of Rockingham and a change ofministry. On his return to this country he continued for some time tosupport Mr. Fox, but the course pursued by that statesman with regard tothe French Revolution caused him to transfer his allegiance to Mr. Pitt, and in 1794 Mr. Grenville accepted the post of Minister Extraordinaryto the Court of Vienna. In 1798 he became a privy councillor, and in1799 he was sent as Ambassador to Berlin to endeavour to prevent theKing of Prussia deserting the coalition against France; but the firstvessel in which he sailed was stopped by ice, and the second waswrecked, and the delay which ensued rendered the mission an abortiveone. In 1800 he was made Chief Justice in Eyre to the South of theTrent, a sinecure office of two thousand a year, of which he was thelast holder. On the fall of Mr. Pitt's ministry in March 1801, Mr. Grenville ceased to support the Tory party, and renewed his politicalconnection with Mr. Fox, and in 1806, shortly after his brother, LordGrenville, became Prime Minister, he was appointed President of theBoard of Control. On the death of Mr. Fox on the 13th of September 1806, he succeeded Lord Howick as First Lord of the Admiralty, a post he helduntil the formation of the Duke of Portland's administration in April1807, when he finally retired from office, and devoted the remainingforty years of his life to literature, and to the collection of thesplendid library, which is now one of the great glories of the BritishMuseum. From an early age Mr. Grenville was animated by an ardent lovefor books, and took a great interest in the development of the NationalLibrary, of which he was for many years a Trustee. He died at HamiltonPlace, Piccadilly, on the 17th of December 1846, at the age ofninety-one. Mr. Grenville had originally bequeathed his library to hisgreat-nephew the Duke of Buckingham, but the circumstance that it wasprincipally purchased from the profits of the sinecure office which hehad held for so many years, led him to the conclusion that it was 'adebt and a duty' that the collection so acquired should be devoted tothe use of the public. In the autumn of 1845, in the course of aconversation with his friend Mr. Panizzi, afterwards Sir AnthonyPanizzi, then Keeper of Printed Books in the British Museum, he informedhim of his intention; and after his death it was found that he hadrevoked the bequest to the Duke of Buckingham, and left his noblecollection to the nation. A full and interesting description of theprinted books in the library by Sir Anthony Panizzi is to be found inthe Report on the accessions to the Museum for the year 1847, and wecannot do better than give the account of them in the words of thefamous librarian, who had himself much to do with the acquisition ofthis magnificent gift:--

'With exception of the Collection of His Majesty George the Third, theLibrary of the British Museum has never received an accession soimportant in every respect as the Collection of the Right HonourableThomas Grenville. . . . Formed and preserved with the exquisite taste of anaccomplished bibliographer, with the learning of a profound and elegantscholar, and the splendid liberality of a gentleman in affluentcircumstances, who employed in adding to his library whatever hisgenerous heart allowed him to spare from silently relieving those whosewants he alone knew, this addition to the National Library places it insome respects above all libraries known, in others it leaves it inferioronly to the Royal Library at Paris. An idea may be formed of theliterary value of Mr. Grenville's Library by referring to its pecuniaryvalue; it consists of 20, 240 volumes, forming about 16, 000 works, whichcost upwards of £54, 000, and would sell for more now. During hislifetime, Mr. Grenville's library was most liberally rendered accessibleto any person, however humble his condition in life, who could show theleast cause for asking the loan of any of his precious volumes. Bybequeathing the whole to his country, Mr. Grenville has secured toliterary men, even after his death, that assistance, as far as itrelates to the use of his books, which he so generously bestowed on themin every way during his long and dignified career:--the career of a manof high birth, distinguished for uniting to a powerful and cultivatedintellect a warm and benevolent heart. '

Sir Anthony Panizzi, in describing the contents of the collection, adds:'It would naturally be expected that one of the editors of the "AdelphiHomer" would lose no opportunity of collecting the best and raresteditions of the Prince of Poets. Æsop, a favourite author of Mr. Grenville, occurs in his Library in its rarest forms; there is no doubtthat the series of editions of this author in that library isunrivalled. The great admiration which Mr. Grenville felt for CardinalXimenes, even more on account of the splendid edition of the PolyglotBible which that prelate caused to be printed at Alcala, than of hispublic character, made him look upon the acquisition of the Moschus, abook of extreme rarity, as a piece of good fortune. Among the extremelyrare editions of the Latin Classics, in which the Grenville Libraryabounds, the unique complete copy of Azzoguidi's first edition of Ovidis a gem well deserving particular notice, and was considered, on thewhole, by Mr. Grenville himself, the boast of his collection. The AldineVirgil of 1505, the rarest of the Aldine editions of this poet, is themore welcome to the Museum, as it serves to supply a lacuna; the copymentioned in the Catalogue of the Royal Collection not having beentransferred to the National Library. 

'The rarest editions of English Poets claimed and obtained the specialattention of Mr. Grenville. Hence we find him possessing not only thefirst and second edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales by Caxton, butthe only copy known of a hitherto undiscovered edition of the same workprinted in 1498 by Wynkyn de Worde. Of Shakespeare's collected DramaticWorks, the Grenville Library contains a copy of the first edition, which, if not the finest known, is at all events surpassed by none. Hisstrong religious feelings, and his sincere attachment to theEstablished Church, as well as his mastery and knowledge of the EnglishLanguage, concurred in making him eager to possess the earliest, as wellas the rarest, editions of the translations of the Scriptures in thevernacular tongue. He succeeded to a great extent; but what deservesparticular mention is the only known fragment of the New Testament inEnglish, translated by Tyndale and Roy, which was in the press ofQuentell, at Cologne, in 1525, when the printers were obliged tointerrupt the printing, and fly to escape persecution. 

'The History of the British Empire, and whatever could illustrate any ofits different portions, were the subject of Mr. Grenville's unremittingresearch, and he allowed nothing to escape him deserving to bepreserved, however rare and expensive. Hence his collection of works onthe Divorce of Henry VIII. ; that of Voyages and Travels, either byEnglishmen, or to countries at some time more or less connected withEngland, or possessed by her; that of contemporary works on thegathering, advance, and defeat of the "Invincible Armada"; and that ofwritings on Ireland, --are more numerous, more valuable, and moreinteresting than in any other collection ever made by any person on thesame subjects. Among the Voyages and Travels, the collections of De Bryand Hulsius are the finest in the world; no other library can boast offour such fine books as the copies of Hariot's Virginia, in Latin, German, French, and English of the De Bry series. And it was fittingthat in Mr. Grenville's library should be found one of the only twocopies known of the first edition of this work, printed in London in1588, wherein an account is given of a colony which had been founded byhis family namesake, Sir Richard Grenville. 

'Conversant with the language and literature of Spain, as well as withthat of Italy, the works of imagination by writers of those twocountries are better represented in his library than in any other out ofSpain and Italy; in some branches better even than in any single libraryin the countries themselves. No Italian collection can boast of such asplendid series of early editions of Ariosto's Orlando, one of Mr. Grenville's favourite authors, nor, indeed, of such choice RomancePoems. The copy of the first edition of Ariosto is not to be matched forbeauty; of that of Rome, 1533, even the existence was hitherto unknown. A perfect copy of the first complete edition of the _Morgante Maggiore_of 1482, was also not known to exist before Mr. Grenville succeeded inprocuring his. Among the Spanish Romances, the copy of that of "Tirantlo Blanch, " printed at Valencia in 1490, is as fine, as clean, and aswhite as when it first issued from the press; and no second copy ofthis edition of a work professedly translated from English intoPortuguese, and thence into Valencian, is known to exist except in thelibrary of the Sapienza at Rome. 

'But where there is nothing common, it is almost depreciating acollection to enumerate a few articles as rare. It is a marked featureof this library, that Mr. Grenville did not collect mere bibliographicalrarities. He never aimed at having a complete set of the editions fromthe press of Caxton or Aldus; but Chaucer and Gower by Caxton werereadily purchased, as well as other works which were desirable on otheraccounts, besides that of having issued from the press of that printer;and, when possible, select copies were procured. Some of the rarest, andthese the finest, Aldine editions were purchased by him for the samereasons. The Horæ in Greek, printed by Aldus in 16mo in 1497, is avolume which, from its language, size, and rarity, is of the greatestimportance for the literary and religious history of the time when itwas printed. It is, therefore, in Mr. Grenville's library. The Virgil of1501 is not only an elegant book, but it is the first book printed withthat peculiar _Italic_, known as Aldine, and the first volume whichAldus printed, "forma enchiridii, " as he called it, being expresslyadapted to give poor scholars the means of purchasing for a small sumthe works of the classical writers. This also is, therefore, among Mr. Grenville's books; and of one of the two editions of Virgil, both datedthe same year, 1514, he purchased a large paper copy, because it was themore correct of the two. 

'It was the merit of the work, the elegance of the volume, the "genuine"condition of the copy, etc. , which together determined Mr. Grenville topurchase books printed on vellum, of which he collected nearly ahundred. He paid a very large sum for a copy of the Furioso of 1532, notbecause it was "on ugly vellum, " as he very properly designated it, butbecause, knowing the importance of such an edition of such a work, andnever having succeeded in procuring it on paper, he would rather have iton expensive terms and "ugly vellum, " than not at all. 

'By the bequest of Mr. Grenville's library, the collection of booksprinted on vellum now at the Museum, and comprising those formerlypresented by George II. , George III. , and Mr. Cracherode, is believed tosurpass that of any other National Library, except the King's Library atParis, of which Van Praet justly speaks with pride, and all foreigncompetent and intelligent judges with envy and admiration. Injustice tothe Grenville Library, the list of all its vellum books ought here to beinserted. As this cannot be done, some only of the most remarkable shallbe mentioned. These are--the Greek Anthology of 1494; the Book ofHawking, of Juliana Berners, of 1496; the first edition of the Bible, known as the "Mazarine Bible, " printed at Mentz about 1454; the AldineDante of 1502; the first Rationale of Durandus of 1459; the firstedition of Fisher On the Psalms, of 1508; the Aldine Horace, Juvenal, Martial, and Petrarca, of 1501; the Livy of 1469; the Primer ofSalisbury, printed in Paris in 1531; the Psalter of 1457, which suppliesthe place of the one now at Windsor, which belonged to the RoyalCollection before it was transferred to the British Museum; theSforziada, by Simoneta, of 1490, a most splendid volume even in sosplendid a library; the Theuerdank of 1517; the Aulus Gellius and theVitruvius of Giunta, printed in 1513, etc. , etc. Of this identical copyof Vitruvius, formerly Mr. Dent's, the author of the BibliographicalDecameron wrote, "Let the enthusiastic admirers of a genuine vellumJunta--of the amplest size and in spotless condition--resort to thechoice cabinet of Mr. Dent for such a copy of this edition of Vitruviusand Frontinus. " The Aulus Gellius is in its original state, exactly asit was when presented to Lorenzo de' Medici, afterwards Duke of Urbino, to whom the edition was dedicated. '

In addition to the printed books, the Grenville Library containssixty-four manuscripts, many of them being of great interest and value. The finest of them is a volume of exquisite miniature drawings byGiulio Clovio, executed by command of Philip II. Of Spain, andrepresenting the victories of the Emperor Charles V. This volume wasformerly in the Escurial. Other notable manuscripts are the originaldrawings for Hariot's Virginia in the De Bry collection, made by JohnWhite; Norden's Description of Essex; the Third Voyage of Vespucius inLatin; and two very interesting documents relating to the SpanishArmada--one being an original letter from the Lords of the Council tothe Lord High Admiral, regarding the preparation of the fleet, datedJuly 21, 1588; and the other, a Resolution of a Council of War, held bythe admirals and captains of the fleet which dispersed the Armada, datedAugust 1, 1588. The former of these papers is signed by Chr. Hatton(Cancs. ), W. Burghley, F. Knollys, T. Heneage, Poulet, and J. Wolley;the latter by C. Howard, George Cumberland, T. Howarde, EdmondeSheffeylde, Fr. Drake, Edw. Hoby, John Hawkyns, and Thomas Fenner. 

There is a catalogue of Mr. Grenville's library in three parts (London, 1842-72). Parts 1 and 2 were compiled by Messrs. Payne and Foss, thebooksellers of Pall Mall, who bought largely for him; and part 3 by Mr. W. B. Rye, the late Keeper of the Department of Printed Books, BritishMuseum. 

A portrait of Mr. Grenville by Hoppner has been engraved for Fisher's_National Portrait Gallery_. There is also a painting of him by Phillipsat Althorp, and a miniature by C. Manzini in the National PortraitGallery. 

A bust of him, presented by Sir David Dundas, is placed in the room inthe British Museum occupied by his library. 

FRANCIS DOUCE, 1757-1834

Francis Douce, who was born in 1757, was a son of Thomas Douce, one ofthe Six Clerks of the Court of Chancery. He was first sent to a schoolat Richmond, conducted by a Mr. Lawton, author of a work on Egypt, andafterwards to 'a French academy, kept by a pompous and ignorantLife-Guardsman, with a view to his learning merchants' accounts, whichwere his aversion. ' On leaving school he studied for the bar, and forsome time held an appointment, under his father, in the Six Clerks'Office, but the post was not very congenial to him, as from an early agehe devoted himself to books and antiquities, and he also had a greatpassion for music. His father, who died in 1799, bequeathed the greaterpart of his property, which was very considerable, to his elder son, leaving but a comparatively small amount to be divided between Francisand his sisters, but in 1823 Nollekens, the sculptor, left Douce solarge a portion of his fortune that at the decease of the latter hisproperty was valued at nearly eighty thousand pounds. In 1807 hesucceeded the Rev. Robert Nares as Keeper of the Manuscripts in theBritish Museum, but resigned the post in 1812 in consequence of sometrifling disagreement with one of the trustees. While holding thisoffice he took part in the preparation of the catalogues of the Harleianand Lansdowne manuscripts. Douce published in 1807 _Illustrations ofShakspeare and Ancient Manners_, and in 1833 _The Dance of Death_, 'exhibited in elegant Engravings on wood, with a Dissertation on theseveral Representations on that Subject. ' The substance of thisDissertation had appeared about forty years before in illustration ofHollar's etchings, published by Edwards of Pall Mall, London. Inaddition to these works he edited Arnold's _Chronicle_ in 1811, twobooks for the Roxburghe Club in 1822 and 1824, and assisted in theproduction of Scott's _Sir Tristram_, Smith's _Vagabondiniana_, and the1824 edition of Warton's _History of English Poetry_. Many papers alsoby him are to be found in the _Archæologia_, the _Vetusta Monumenta_, and the _Gentleman's Magazine_. Douce was a prominent Fellow of theSociety of Antiquaries, and numbered among his friends Isaac D'Israeli, the Rev. C. M. Cracherode, Sir George Staunton, Mr. John Towneley, andDr. Dibdin, to the last of whom he left five hundred pounds. He isintroduced under the name of _Prospero_ in Dibdin's _Bibliomania_. Doucedied at his residence in Gower Street, London, on the 30th of March1834, and he left in his will two hundred pounds to Sir Anthony Carlisle'requesting him either to sever my head or extract the heart from mybody, so as to prevent the possibility of the return of vitality. ' Hisvaluable collection of printed books, which consisted of sixteenthousand four hundred and eighty volumes, with a quantity of fragmentsof early English works, including two printed by Caxton, which areunique; three hundred and ninety-three manuscripts, many of thembeautifully illuminated; ninety-eight charters; a large number ofvaluable drawings and prints; together with a collection of coins andmedals, were left by him to the Bodleian Library. It is said that thisbequest was the result of the courteous reception he received from Dr. Bandinel, the librarian, when Douce visited Oxford with Isaac D'Israeliin 1830. The carvings in ivory or other materials, and the miscellaneouscuriosities, were bequeathed to Dr. , afterwards Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick, of Goodrich Castle, Wales, who published an account of them, entitled_The Doucean Museum_. To the British Museum Douce left a volume of theworks of Albert Dürer which had formerly belonged to Nollekens, hisimpressions from monumental brasses, and his 'commented copies of theblockhead Whitaker's History of Manchester, and his Cornwall Cathedral. 'His will also directs his executor 'to collect together all my lettersand correspondence, all my private manuscripts, and unfinished or evenfinished essays or intended work or works, memorandum books, especiallysuch as are marked in the inside of their covers with a red cross, withthe exception only of such articles as he may think proper to destroy, as my diaries, or other articles of a merely private nature, and to putthem into a strong box, to be sealed up without lock or key, and with abrass plate inscribed "Mr. Douce's papers, to be opened on the 1st ofJanuary 1900, " and then to deposit this box in the British Museum, or, if the Trustees should decline receiving it, I then wish it to remainwith the other things bequeathed to the Bodleian Library. ' The Trusteesaccepted the charge of the box, and it was opened at the time appointed, but nothing of literary value was found in it. 

A catalogue of the printed books, manuscripts, charters and fragmentspresented by Douce to the Bodleian was published in 1840, and there isalso a manuscript catalogue of the prints and drawings. 

JAMES EDWARDS, 1757-1816

James Edwards, who was so ardent a collector that he directed that hiscoffin should be made out of the shelves of his library, was born in1757. He was the eldest son of William Edwards, an eminent bookseller ofHalifax, Yorkshire, who was noted both for his success in collectingrare books, and his skill and taste in binding them. In 1784 JamesEdwards and, along with him, his younger brother John, were set up bytheir father as booksellers in Pall Mall, London, under the title ofEdwards and Sons. John died soon afterwards, but the business wasconducted with great ability and success by the elder brother, who, Dibdin says, 'travelled diligently and fearlessly abroad; now exploringthe book-gloom of dusty monasteries, and at other times marching in therear or front of Bonaparte's armies in Italy. '

Edwards was a bookbinder as well as a bookseller, and in 1785 he tookout a patent for 'embellishing books bound in vellum by making drawingson the vellum which are not liable to be defaced but by destroying thevellum itself. ' This was accomplished by rendering the vellumtransparent, and then painting or impressing the design on the undersurface. The British Museum possesses a Prayer Book bound by Edwards inthis manner for Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. , which is avery skilful and artistic piece of work. Both he and his father werealso celebrated for the pretty paintings with which they decorated theedges of the leaves of the books they bound. In 1788 Edwards, accompanied by his friend and fellow bookseller James Robson, went toVenice for the purpose of purchasing the Pinelli Library, which theybrought to England, and sold by auction in the following year. Manyother collections of note were sold by him during the twenty years heremained in business. Having amassed a considerable fortune, hedetermined to retire from trade, and in 1805 purchased the fine oldmanor-house at Harrow, which for some time was one of the residences ofthe Archbishops of Canterbury. A part of Dibdin's _BibliographicalDecameron_ was written on the garden terrace of this mansion, Edwardsbeing the 'Rinaldo' of that work. In consequence of ill-health hedetermined in 1815 to part with the remainder of his library (a portionof the books had been disposed of by Christie on his retirement in1804), and it was sold by his successor in the Pall Mall business, Robert Harding Evans, who became so well known as a book auctioneer. Thesale consisted of but eight hundred and thirty lots, but it realised thelarge sum of eight thousand four hundred and twenty-one pounds, seventeen shillings. Edwards died at Harrow on the 2nd of January 1816, and a monument was erected to his memory in the parish church. 

Edwards's collection was not a large one, but it contained someexceedingly rare and choice manuscripts and printed books. Among themost precious of the former was the famous Bedford Book of Hours, whichhe acquired at the Duchess of Portland's sale in 1786 for two hundredand thirteen pounds, and which was purchased at his own sale by theMarquis of Blandford, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, for six hundredand eighty-seven pounds, fifteen shillings. It is now in the BritishMuseum. Other fine manuscripts were a copy of the Gospels in Greek, written in the tenth century; _Opera Horatii_, executed for Ferdinand I. King of Naples, which realised respectively two hundred and ten and onehundred and twenty-five pounds; and _Regole e Precetti della Pittura_, written by Leonardo da Vinci, and illustrated with original drawings byNicholas Poussin, which fetched one hundred and two pounds, eighteenshillings. 

Among the printed books were the Latin Bible, on vellum, printed atMentz, by Fust and Schoeffer, in 1462, which realised one hundred andseventy-five pounds; and the first edition of Livy, also on vellum, printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz at Rome about 1469. This copy, theonly one known on vellum, belonged to Pope Alexander VI. , and was boughtby Sir M. M. Sykes for nine hundred and three pounds. It was afterwardsacquired by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, and bequeathed by him tothe British Museum. Luther's own copy of the first edition of histranslation of the Bible after his final revision, printed at Wittembergin 1541, with MS. Notes by himself, Bugenhagen and Melanchthon, which isalso now in the British Museum, sold for eighty-nine pounds, fiveshillings; and a splendid set of the _Opere di Piranesi_ for threehundred and fifteen pounds. A fine and perfect block-book, the _BibliaPauperum_, was also among the treasures of the library, and waspurchased by the Duke of Devonshire for two hundred and ten pounds. 

GEORGE HIBBERT, 1757-1837

George Hibbert was born at Manchester in the year 1757. His father wasRobert Hibbert, a West India merchant. Destined from his boyhood to acommercial life, he was educated at a private school, and on leavingLancashire he joined a London firm engaged in the West India trade, inwhich, first as a junior partner, and afterwards as the head of thefirm, he remained nearly half a century. In 1798 Mr. Hibbert was electedan alderman, but resigned his gown in 1803, and in 1806 he enteredParliament as one of the members for Seaford, Sussex, and sat for thatborough until 1812. He was also chairman of the West India merchants, and agent for Jamaica. The construction of the West India Docks waslargely owing to his exertions, and as one of the original members ofthe committee of the London Institution, he took a prominent part in itsfoundation and management, and for many years he filled the office ofpresident. Mr. Hibbert was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in1811, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in the following year. He was also a Fellow of the Linnæan Society, and formed at his residenceat Clapham a large collection of exotic plants, many of which were firstintroduced into this country by the agents he employed in almost everypart of the globe. He married Elizabeth Margaret, daughter of Mr. PhilipFonnereau, by whom he had a large family. Mr. Hibbert died on the 8th ofOctober 1837, at Munden House, near Watford, Hertfordshire, and wasburied in the churchyard of Aldenham, in the same county. 

Mr. Hibbert, who was the 'Honorio' of Dibdin's _BibliographicalDecameron_, was a patron of art, and an enthusiastic collector of books, pictures, and prints and drawings. He formed a splendid library at hishouses at Clapham, and in Portland Place, London, which is believed tohave cost him at least thirty-five thousand pounds. It contained alarge number of early printed Bibles, and was particularly rich in rareeditions of the French Romances, and of English and Italian Poetry. Nofewer than eighty of the books were printed on vellum. The collectionalso comprised twenty-five manuscripts. 

When, in 1829, Mr. Hibbert retired to his estate of Munden, which hadbeen bequeathed to him by Mr. Roger Parker, an uncle of his wife, hefound that the size of his new residence rendered it necessary that heshould dispose of the greater part of his collections, and his librarywas sold by auction by Mr. Evans at 93 Pall Mall in three divisions. Thesales occupied altogether forty-two days. The first commenced on the16th of March, and the last on the 25th of May 1829. There were eightthousand seven hundred and ninety-four lots, representing about twentythousand volumes; and the total amount realised was twenty-one thousandseven hundred and fifty-three pounds, nine shillings. The books sold forcomparatively small sums. A copy of the sale catalogue, with the pricesobtained for the books and the names of the purchasers, is preserved inthe library of the British Museum. 

The following are a few of the principal books in this magnificentcollection, together with the prices they fetched at the sale:--

The Gutenberg Bible, two hundred and fifteen pounds. 

The Mentz Psalter of 1459, ninety pounds, six shillings. 

The Latin Bible printed by Fust and Schoeffer at Mentz in 1462, onehundred and twenty-eight pounds, two shillings. 

The Latin Bible, printed at Paris in 1476, thirty-two pounds, elevenshillings. 

The Latin Bible, printed by Jenson at Venice in 1479. A very fine copy, which formerly belonged to Pope Sixtus IV. , ninety-eight pounds, fourteen shillings. 

The Complutensian Polyglot Bible, said to have been Cardinal Ximenes'sown copy, for which Mr. Hibbert gave sixteen thousand one hundred francsat the sale, five hundred and twenty-five pounds. 

Luther's own copy of the first edition of his translation of the Bibleafter his final revision. This volume, which is now in the BritishMuseum, contains his autograph, and also the autographs of Bugenhagen, Melanchthon, and G. Major, two hundred and sixty-seven pounds. 

The first and second editions of Cicero's _Officia_, printed by Fust andSchoeffer at Mentz in 1465 and 1466, eighty-two pounds, ten shillings;and fifty-nine pounds. 

Cicero's _Epistolæ ad Familiares_, printed by Joannes de Spira at Venicein 1469, eighty pounds. 

Petrarch's _Sonetti, Canzoni e Trionfi_, printed by Jenson at Venice in1473; the only copy known on vellum, eighty pounds, seventeen shillings. 

A presentation copy to Cardinal Sforza of the _Sforziada_, printed atMilan in 1490; in the original velvet binding, with silver knops, onehundred and sixty-eight pounds. The last two volumes are now preservedin the Grenville Library in the British Museum. 

_Poliphili Hypnerotomachia_, printed by Aldus at Venice in 1499, eighty-two pounds, nineteen shillings. 

_Missale Vallisumbrose_, printed by Lucantonio di Giunta at Venice in1503, sixty-four pounds, one shilling. 

All the above books are printed on vellum. The library also containedseveral fine block-books: the first edition of the _Speculum HumanæSalvationis_, the _Apocalypsis_, and the first edition of _ArsMemorandi_, which sold respectively for eighty pounds; thirty-onepounds, ten shillings; and twenty-six pounds, ten shillings. The_Catholicon_ of Joannes Balbus de Janua, printed at Mentz in 1460, andfive Caxtons: the first edition of the _Dictes or Sayings of thePhilosophers, Fayts of Arms_, the second edition of the _Mirrour of theWorld_, the _Recuyell of the Histories of Troye_, and the _Royal Book_, were to be found in the collection. Thirty-six pounds, four shillingsand sixpence was obtained for the _Catholicon_, and three hundred andthirty-nine pounds, thirteen shillings and sixpence for the Caxtons. Ofthese the _Recuyell_ fetched the highest price--one hundred andfifty-seven pounds, ten shillings. Some other notable books in thismarvellous library were the Dante, printed at Florence in 1481, whichrealised forty pounds, nineteen shillings; the first edition of the_Teseide_ of Boccaccio, which was disposed of for one hundred and sixtypounds; a very fine copy of Smith's _Historie of Virginia_, which soldfor thirteen guineas; and the first four folio Shakespeares. The pricesobtained for these were eighty-five pounds, one shilling; thirteenpounds; twenty-four pounds; and three pounds, nine shillings. 

The more important manuscripts were _Præparatio ad Missam_, written andilluminated for Pope Leo X. , which fetched ninety-nine pounds, fifteenshillings; _Droits d'Armes et de Noblesse_, ninety-four pounds, tenshillings; _Roman de la Rose_, eighty-four pounds; _Missale Romanum_, sixty-one pounds, nineteen shillings; and _Romant des TroisPelerinages_, thirty-one pounds, ten shillings. These were all writtenon vellum. 

In 1819 Mr. Hibbert printed for the Roxburghe Club, from a manuscriptpreserved in the Pepysian Library at Magdalen College, Cambridge, _SixBookes of Metamorphoseos by Ovyde_, translated from the French byCaxton, together with some prefatory remarks by himself. 

REV. CHARLES BURNEY, D. D. , 1757-1817

Charles Burney, the second son of Charles Burney, the author of _TheHistory of Music_, was born at Lynn, Norfolk, in the early part ofDecember (the exact date is uncertain) 1757. He was educated at theCharterhouse, and Caius College, Cambridge, but left the Universitywithout taking a degree. He afterwards became a student of King'sCollege, Aberdeen, where he graduated M. A. In 1781. After leaving theCollege he devoted himself to educational work, and for a short time wasan assistant master at Highgate School, which he left to join Dr. William Rose, the translator of Sallust, in his school at Chiswick. In1786, having married Rose's second daughter in 1783, he opened a schoolof his own at Hammersmith, which he carried on until 1793, when heremoved to Greenwich, and there established a very flourishing academy, which in 1813 he made over to his son, the Rev. Charles Parr Burney. Late in life (1807) Burney took orders, and was appointed to the Rectoryof St. Paul's, Deptford, Kent, and in a short time after to the Rectoryof Cliffe in the same county. In 1811 he was made Chaplain to the King, and in 1817, a few months before his death, he was collated to aprebendal stall in Lincoln Cathedral. He received the degree of LL. D. From the Universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow in 1792, the degree ofM. A. Was conferred on him by Cambridge University in 1808, and that ofD. D. By the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1812. Burney, who was the friendand companion of Dr. Parr and Professor Porson, wrote several works onthe Greek and Latin Classics, as well as one or two of a theologicalnature. He died of apoplexy at Deptford on the 28th of December 1817, and a monument to his memory was erected in Westminster Abbey by anumber of his old scholars. 

Dr. Burney realised a considerable fortune by his scholastic work, andthe money which he thus acquired enabled him to form a library of nearlythirteen thousand five hundred volumes of printed books, and fivehundred and twenty manuscripts. Among the latter was the Towneley Homer, believed to be of the thirteenth century, and valued at six hundredguineas. The library was particularly rich in the Greek Classics, especially the dramatists; comprising as many as one hundred andsixty-six editions of Euripides, one hundred and two of Sophocles, andforty-seven of Æschylus, the margins of a large proportion of theclassical books being covered with notes in Burney's hand, in additionto those by the Stephens, Bentley, Markland, and others. Another veryinteresting feature of the library was the large number of Englishnewspapers it contained. These papers, which reached from the reign ofJames I. Until nearly the end of that of George III. , were bound inabout seven hundred volumes, and now form the basis of the splendidcollection in the British Museum. Dr. Burney also amassed from three tofour hundred volumes containing materials for a history of the BritishStage, and several thousand portraits of literary and theatricalpersonages. On the death of the Doctor his library was purchased for theBritish Museum for the sum of thirteen thousand five hundred pounds. 

GEORGE JOHN, SECOND EARL SPENCER, 1758-1834

George John, second Earl Spencer, was born on the 1st of September 1758. He was the only son of John Spencer, who was created Viscount Spencer ofAlthorp in 1761, and Earl Spencer in 1765, and grandson of John, theyoungest son of Charles Spencer, third Earl of Sunderland. At sevenyears of age he was placed under the tutorship of William Jones, thefamous Orientalist, who was afterwards knighted, with whom he made twoContinental tours. Jones resigned his charge in 1770, when Lord Althorpwas sent to Harrow, and, on leaving school, to Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1780 he entered Parliament as member for Northampton, andon the formation of the second Rockingham Ministry in March 1782 hebecame a Commissioner of the new Treasury Board. On the death of hisfather in 1783, Lord Althorp (who had married in 1781 Lavinia, eldestdaughter of Charles, first Lord Lucan) succeeded to the title, and in1784 was sent with Mr. Thomas Grenville on a special mission to theCourt of Vienna. During his absence from England, on the 19th of July inthat year, he was made Lord Privy Seal in Mr. Pitt's Ministry, whichoffice he resigned in the following December for that of First Lord ofthe Admiralty, a post which he held with great credit for upwards of sixyears. After his retirement from the Admiralty in February 1801, LordSpencer remained out of office until February 1806, when he accepted theSecretaryship of State for the Home Department in the Grenville-FoxMinistry. On the dissolution of that ministry in March 1807, he finallyretired from office, but continued to take part in the debates in theHouse of Lords. He died on the 10th of November 1834, and was succeededby his eldest son John Charles. 

Lord Spencer was a most energetic and enlightened collector of books, and the magnificent library which, until the year 1892, was one of theglories of Althorp, testifies to the skill and liberality with which hecollected them. A taste for literature and a love of books weredeveloped in Lord Spencer at an early age, and he was but thirty-twowhen he acquired the choice collection of Count Reviczky, a Hungariannobleman, which at once placed his library among the more importantprivate collections of the time. He also bought largely at the Mason, Herbert, Roxburghe, Alchorne, and other sales, and after the dispersionof the famous library at White Knights in 1819 he was able to acquire, at a cost of seven hundred and fifty pounds, the copy of the ValdarferBoccaccio for which he had vainly bid two thousand two hundred and fiftypounds seven years before at the Roxburghe sale. In the years 1819 and1820 he made a bibliographical tour on the Continent, during which, among other purchases, he acquired the library of the Duke ofCassano-Serra, which contained some very rare fifteenth century books. 

Lord Spencer was considerably assisted in the formation of his famouscollection by his librarian, the well-known Dr. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, the author of _Bibliomania, The Bibliographical Decameron_, and otherpleasant and gossiping, but somewhat verbose and not particularlyaccurate, works on books, their printers and owners. Dibdin's serviceswere liberally rewarded; and Edwards, in his work _Libraries andFounders of Libraries_, states that in addition to his stipend aslibrarian, 'Lord Spencer insured his librarian's life for the advantageof his family. Lord Spencer also gave him the vicarage of Exning, inSuffolk, in 1823, and obtained for him, on Episcopal recommendation, therectory of St. Mary, Bryanstone Square, at the end of the same year. 'Dibdin was the first to suggest the establishment of the Roxburghe Club, of which he became vice-president. He died in 1847. 

The collection at Althorp, which Renouard described as 'the mostbeautiful and richest private library in Europe, ' amounted in 1892 toabout forty-one thousand five hundred volumes. Other private librarieshave possessed more books, but none could boast of choicer ones. Itcontained the earliest dated example of wood-engraving--the figure ofSt. Christopher, with the date 1423; and no less than fourteenblock-books, comprising three editions of the _Ars Moriendi_, three ofthe _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, two of the _Apocalypsis S. Johannis_, together with copies of the _Biblia Pauperum_, _Ars Memorandi_, _Historia Virginis ex Cantico Canticorum_, _Wie die fünfzehen zaichenkimen vor dem hingsten tag_, the _Enndchrist_, and _Mirabilia Romæ_. Itwas particularly rich in Bibles, among which were the Gutenberg andBamberg Bibles, the Coverdale Bible of 1535, and a magnificent copy ofthe Antwerp Polyglot, once the property of De Thou. It also containedthe first and second Mentz Psalters. The Classics, too, were splendidlyrepresented. The editions of works by Cicero numbered upwards ofseventy, about fifty of which were printed before 1473; while fifteen ofthose of Virgil were prior to the year 1476. Among these were the secondedition by Sweynheym and Pannartz, most probably printed in 1471, whichis not less rare than the first, and the famous 'Adam' edition, whichissued from the press in that year. These two volumes were obtained fromthe library of the King of Wirtemberg, Dibdin making a special journeyto Stuttgart to purchase them. The library also possessed a large numberof the early editions of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, and other ItalianClassics; and no less than fifty-two Caxtons, three of them unique, wereto be found on its shelves. A splendid descriptive catalogue of thelibrary, entitled 'Bibliotheca Spenceriana, ' was compiled by Dibdin inthe years 1814-23. 

Lord Spencer maintained his interest in his books to the end of hislife, and in the year before that of his death he wrote to Dibdin, 'I amtrying my hand at a Classed Catalogue. '

In August 1892 this noble collection was purchased by Mrs. Rylands, widow of the late Mr. John Rylands, of Longford Hall, near Manchester, for a sum which was said to be little less than a quarter of a millionsterling; and on the 6th of October 1899 she presented it, togetherwith a handsome building for its reception, to the city of Manchester, in memory of her husband. An excellent catalogue, both of the printedbooks and the manuscripts, in three handsome quarto volumes, compiled byMr. Gordon Duff, the librarian, accompanied this munificent gift. 

SIR RICHARD COLT HOARE, BART. , 1758-1838

Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart. , the historian of Wiltshire, was born onthe 9th of December 1758. He was the son of Richard Hoare, Esq. , of BarnElms, Surrey (who was created a baronet in 1786), by Anne, seconddaughter of Henry Hoare, Esq. , of Stourhead, Wiltshire, and of Susanna, daughter and heiress of Stephen Colt, Esq. He was privately educated, and at an early age entered the family bank (Messrs. Hoare's Bank, FleetStreet, London). In his work, _Pedigrees and Memoirs of the Families ofHore_, etc. , he writes:--'Blessed by my parents with the advantages of agood education, I thereby acquired a love of literature and of drawing;of which, in my more advanced years, I feel the inestimable advantage. Destined, as I imagined, for an active and commercial life, I wasunexpectedly and agreeably surprised to hear, shortly after mymarriage, that my generous grandfather had intentions to remove me fromthe banking business, and to settle me on his estate in Wiltshire; whichhe put into execution during his lifetime, by making over to me all hislanded property, with their appendages, at Stourhead and in theadjoining counties. ' In 1783 Hoare married Hester, only daughter of LordWestcote, afterwards created Lord Lyttelton, who died in 1785, leaving ason Henry Richard. In 1787, on the death of his father, he succeeded tothe baronetcy. After the decease of his wife he made an extensive touron the Continent, visiting France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. In 1787he returned home, but in the following year he paid a second visit tothe Continent, and did not return to England until August 1791. Duringthese tours he made a large number of drawings of interesting objects, and 'for the gratification of his family and friends' printed an accountof his travels in four volumes. When he was no longer able to travel onthe Continent in consequence of the French revolutionary war, Sir R. C. Hoare made a tour through Wales, taking Giraldus Cambrensis as a guide, and in 1806 he published a translation of the _Itinerarium Cambriæ_ ofGiraldus in two handsome volumes. He also contributed sixty-threedrawings to Archdeacon Coxe's _Historical Tour in Monmouthshire_, whichappeared in 1801. In 1807 he paid a visit to Ireland, and printed ashort account of his excursion. In 1812 Hoare published in London thefirst part of his great work, the _Ancient History of Wiltshire_, whichhe completed in two volumes in 1821. This was followed by the _ModernHistory of Wiltshire_ in fourteen parts, London, 1822-24, which was leftunfinished at the time of his death. Hoare was the author of many worksin addition to those already mentioned, some of which were intended onlyfor private circulation. A list of them will be found in the Catalogueof the Hoare Library at Stourhead, compiled by John Bowyer Nichols in1840. Hoare, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society ofAntiquaries, died at Stourhead on the 19th of May 1838. His only sonpredeceased him, and the baronetcy and estates devolved on his eldesthalf-brother, Henry Hugh Hoare of Wavendon, Buckinghamshire. 

Sir R. C. Hoare possessed a noble library at Stourhead. The foundation ofit no doubt was laid by his grandfather, Henry Hoare, whose bookplateoccurs on many of the volumes, but it was Sir R. C. Hoare who broughttogether the magnificent collection of books on British topography, which was probably the finest private one ever formed. The water-colourdrawings, the books of prints, and the engravings in the library wereremarkable for their beauty, and had been selected with great judgmentand taste. During his travels on the Continent between the years 1785and 1791 Hoare acquired a large number of books relative to the historyand topography of Italy. Of these he printed in 1812 a separatecatalogue, the impression of which was limited to twelve copies. In 1825he presented this collection to the British Museum, together with a copyof the catalogue, upon the fly-leaf of which he has written:--'Anxiousto follow the liberal example of our gracious monarch George the Fourth, of Sir George Beaumont, Bart. , of Richd. Payne Knight, Esq. (tho' in avery humble degree) I do give unto the British Museum, this myCollection of Topography, made during a residence of five yearsabroad--and hoping that the more modern publications may be added to ithereafter. Rich. Colt Hoare, A. D. 1825. ' The Stourhead library was soldby auction on Monday, the 30th of July 1883 and seven following days, bySotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. The books, engravings and drawings, ofwhich there were one thousand nine hundred and seventy-one lots, realised ten thousand and twenty-eight pounds, six shillings andsixpence. On the 9th of December 1887, and three following days, somemore books belonging to the library were sold for one thousand threehundred and ninety-two pounds, eleven shillings and sixpence. The pricesobtained for many of the books were exceptionally high. 

WILLIAM BECKFORD, 1759-1844

William Beckford, the author of _Vathek_, was born at Fonthill, Wiltshire on the 29th of September 1759. He was the only legitimatechild of Alderman William Beckford, who was twice Lord Mayor of London, and who died in 1770, leaving his son property worth upwards of onehundred thousand pounds a year. Beckford amassed at his residence atFonthill a magnificent collection of books, pictures, furniture andcuriosities of all kinds, but his extravagance and the depreciation ofhis West India property compelled him in 1823 to sell Fonthill and thegreater part of its contents. He, however, retained a portion of hislibrary and the best of his pictures, and removed them to LansdownTower, Bath, which he built on leaving Fonthill, and where he continuedto add to his collections. Beckford married in 1783 Margaret, daughterof Charles, fourth Earl of Aboyne, by whom he had two daughters--Margaretand Susan Euphemia--the elder of whom married Colonel Orde, and theyounger the Marquis of Douglas, who afterwards became Duke of Hamilton. The elder daughter having offended her father by her marriage withColonel Orde, he left all his property to the Duchess of Hamilton. After Beckford's death on May the 2nd, 1844, the Duke of Hamiltonwished to sell the library to Mr. Henry Bohn, who was willing to givethirty thousand pounds for it, but the Duchess objected to part withher father's books, and they were removed to Hamilton Palace, butkept separate from the noble library which already existed there. In the years 1882, 1883 and 1884 both these splendid collectionswere sold. The sale, or rather sales, of the Beckford books, for thecollection was divided into four portions, took place at the auctionrooms of Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, and lasted altogether forty days;the first sale commencing on the 30th of June 1882 and lasting twelvedays, and the last on the 27th of November 1883, and continuing for fourdays. The total number of lots in the four sales was nine thousand eighthundred and thirty-seven, and the amount realised seventy-three thousandfive hundred and fifty-one pounds, eighteen shillings. 

[Illustration: WILLIAM BECKFORD. From a Medallion by Singleton. ]

Beckford's library was rich in fine early printed books, rare voyagesand travels, and choice French, Spanish and Italian works, but it waschiefly remarkable for its superb collection of beautiful and historicalbindings. It contained a large number of volumes from the libraries ofGrolier, Maioli, Lauwrin, Canevari, De Thou, Peiresc, and otherdistinguished collectors, and also examples of bindings bearing the armsand devices of Francis I. Of France, Henry II. And Diana of Poitiers, Charles IX. , Henry III. , Henry IV. , Louis XIII. , Anne of Austria, etc. ;many of the volumes being bound by Nicolas and Clovis Eve, Le Gascon, Padeloup, Derome, Monnier and other famous French binders. Very highprices were obtained for many of these splendid books--_LactantiiOpera_, printed in the Monastery of Subiaco by Sweynheym and Pannartz in1465, sold for two hundred and eighty-five pounds; _Biblia Latina_, printed on vellum by N. Jenson at Venice in 1476, three hundred andthirty pounds; _Livre de Bien Vivre_, on vellum, finely illuminated, Paris, A. Verard, 1492, three hundred and thirty pounds; _PhilostratiVita Apollonii Tyanei_, printed by Aldus at Venice in 1502, Grolier'scopy, bound in red morocco, three hundred pounds; _Lucanus_, printed byAldus in 1515, Grolier's copy, bound in marbled calf, two hundred andninety pounds; _Tirante il Bianco_, Vinegia, 1538, red morocco, from thelibrary of Demetrio Canevari, one hundred and eleven pounds; _Entree deHenry II. En Paris 6 Juing_ 1549, etc. , with the arms and cypher of deThou on the binding, four hundred and seventy pounds; _PsalmorumParaphrasis Poetica_, by G. Buchanan, beautifully bound in olivemorocco, with the arms and cypher of De Thou, three hundred and tenpounds; _Livre de la Conqueste de la Toison d'Or par le Prince Jason_, par J. Gohory, Paris, 1563, in a beautiful binding by Nicolas Eve, withthe arms of the Duke of Guise painted on the covers, four hundred andfive pounds; _Poliphile Hypnerotomachie_, Paris, 1561, bound in bluemorocco by Nicolas Eve for Louise de Lorraine, two hundred and twentypounds; _Portraits des Rois, Hommes et Dames Illustres_, etc. , a seriesof the engraved works of Sir Anthony Vandyck, including his ownetchings, in three large folio volumes, two thousand eight hundred andfifty pounds; _Decor Puellarum_, printed by N. Jenson at Venice in 1471, in a splendid binding by Monnier--blue morocco, with flowers in variousleathers, and with silk linings, five hundred and thirty pounds; and_Longi Pastoralia_, printed on vellum by P. Didot at Paris for Junot, Duke of Abrantes, with drawings by Prud'hon and F. Gérard, nine hundredpounds. 

Beckford wrote other works besides _Vathek_, several of which he left inmanuscript, and a large number of his books contained notes in hishandwriting. 

FREDERICK NORTH, FIFTH EARL OF GUILFORD, 1766-1827

Frederick North, fifth Earl of Guilford, was born on the 7th of February1766. He was the third and youngest son of Frederick, second Earl, PrimeMinister from January 1770 to March 1782. When his health, which wasvery delicate, permitted, he went to Eton, and afterwards became astudent of Christ Church, Oxford. He was created D. C. L. In 1793, andreceived the same degree by diploma in 1819. In 1779, through hisfather's interest, he obtained the sinecure of one of the Chamberlainsof the Tally Court of the Exchequer, and in 1794 he was appointed to theComptrollership of the Customs of the Port of London, when he resignedthe representation of the family borough of Banbury, to which he hadsucceeded when his eldest brother, George Augustus, came to the Earldomin 1792. North was Secretary of State to the Viceroy of the IonianIslands during 1795 and 1796, and in 1798 he was made Governor ofCeylon, a post he held until July 1805. On the death of his brotherFrancis, the fourth Earl, in 1817, he succeeded to the Earldom ofGuilford, and in 1819 he was created a Knight Grand Cross of the Orderof St. Michael and St. George. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society anda Member of the Eumelean Club. Lord Guilford, who had been received intothe Eastern Church at Corfu in 1791, died unmarried in London on the14th of October 1827, and was succeeded by his cousin, the Rev. FrancisNorth, Prebendary of Winchester and Master of the Hospital of St. Cross. Lord Guilford was a distinguished scholar, and a most accomplishedlinguist. He took the greatest interest in everything relating to Greekliterature and art, and it was principally through his exertions, andwith his money, that a University was founded in 1824 at Corfu, of whichhe was the first chancellor, and in which he resided until 1827, when hewas obliged to return to England on account of his health. He left hiscollections of printed books, manuscripts, etc. , at Corfu to theUniversity, but in consequence of its failure to comply with certainconditions which accompanied the bequest, it was not carried out. LordGuilford's fine library was sold by Evans, in seven parts, in the years1828, 1829, 1830, and 1835. The first sale took place on December 15th, 1828, and eight following days; and the others on January 12th, 1829, and five following days; February 28th, 1829, and two following days;December 8th, 1830, and four following days; December 20th, 1830, andfour following days; January 5th, 1831, and three following days; andNovember 9th, 1835, and seven following days. The last three sales wereof the manuscripts and books removed from Corfu. There were eightthousand five hundred and eleven lots in the seven sales, which realisedtwelve thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds, ten shillings andsixpence. 

Lord Guilford's collection was an excellent one, and, as might beexpected, the Greek manuscripts in it were particularly numerous andchoice. The printed books were good, but they were not equal to themanuscripts either in interest or value. Among the latter was theoriginal manuscript of Tasso's _Gerusalemme Liberata_, with somealterations of verses in the margin, likewise in the handwriting ofTasso. This sold for two hundred and four pounds, fifteen shillings. Four Greek manuscripts of the eleventh century: a copy of the FourGospels; the Greek Offices, with Intonations or Musical Directions forChanting; an Evangelistarium and Menologium of the Greek Church; andJosephus's _Historia de Bello Judaico_, deserve special notice onaccount of their beauty and rarity. These fetched at the salerespectively one hundred and two pounds, eighteen shillings; one hundredand seventy-three pounds, five shillings; seventy-three pounds, tenshillings; and two hundred and seventy-three pounds. Another interestingmanuscript was a copy of the New Testament in Glagolitic characters, which realised one hundred and sixty-eight pounds. Among the printedbooks may be mentioned a large paper copy of the first edition of theSixtine Bible, printed at Rome in 1590, and suppressed by order ofGregory XIV. , on account of the numerous inaccuracies in it, whichrealised sixty-three pounds; and the Duke of Northumberland's _Concio adPopulum Londinensem_, printed at Rome in 1570, of which the only otherknown copy is in the library of the Vatican, for which forty-two poundswas obtained. 

GEORGE SPENCER CHURCHILL, FIFTH DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, 1766-1840

George Spencer Churchill, fifth Duke of Marlborough, the collector ofthe famous library at White Knights, near Reading, Berkshire, was theelder son of George, fourth Duke of Marlborough, by Caroline, onlydaughter of John, fourth Duke of Bedford. He was born on the 6th ofMarch 1766, and was educated at Eton, and subsequently at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating M. A. In 1786 and D. C. L. In 1792. At the generalelection in 1790 he was returned to Parliament as one of the members forOxfordshire, and in August 1804 he was appointed a Lord of the Treasury, which office he held until February 1806. On the 12th of March in thesame year he was called to the House of Lords as Baron Spencer ofWormleighton, and on the death of his father on the 29th of January 1817he succeeded to the dukedom. In the May following he was authorised totake and use the name of Churchill after that of Spencer, and to bearthe arms of Churchill quarterly with those of Spencer, in order toperpetuate in his family the surname of his celebrated ancestor, John, first Duke of Marlborough. He married, on the 15th of September 1791, Susan, second daughter of John, seventh Earl of Galloway, by whom he hadissue four sons and two daughters. He died on the 5th of March 1840, andwas succeeded by his eldest son, George. 

The splendid library which the Duke of Marlborough, while Marquis ofBlandford, collected at White Knights was one of the finest in thekingdom. Its two great treasures were the Bedford Book of Hours, now inthe British Museum, purchased by the Duke in 1815 at the sale of thelibrary of James Edwards, for the sum of six hundred and ninety-eightpounds, five shillings; and the edition of Boccaccio's _Decameron_, printed by Valdarfer at Venice in 1471, which he acquired at the Duke ofRoxburghe's sale in 1812, after a spirited contest with his relative, Earl Spencer, at the enormous price of two thousand two hundred andsixty pounds. This copy, Edward Edwards tells us (_Libraries andFounders of Libraries_), had been offered to Lord Sunderland for ahundred guineas just a century before one of his great-grandsons offeredmore than two thousand guineas for it, and was outbidden by another. Among many other choice manuscripts and rare books the library containeda beautiful Missal, said to have been executed for Diana of Poitiers; nofewer than eighteen Caxtons; the _Bokys of Hawkyng and Huntyng_, printedat St. Albans in 1486; a large number of very rare books from thepresses of Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, and other early Englishprinters; a copy on vellum of the first edition of Luther's translationof the Bible after his final revision; a collection of Churchyard'sWorks in two volumes; many of the early editions of Shakespeare's plays, together with the first edition of his _Sonnets_; and Ireland's accountof the Shakesperian Forgery, in his own handwriting. The collection wasespecially rich in missals, books of emblems, and Italian, Spanish, andFrench romances of chivalry, poetry, and facetiæ. 

The extravagance of the Duke compelled him to dispose of his magnificentcollection during his lifetime, and it was sold in two parts by Mr. Evans at 26 Pall Mall. The sale, which consisted of four thousand sevenhundred and one lots, commenced on the 7th of June 1819 and lasted tillthe 3rd of July following. It realised but fourteen thousand fourhundred and eighty-two pounds, ten shillings and sixpence, a much lesssum than that paid for the books by the Duke. The Valdarfer Boccacciosold for nine hundred and eighteen pounds, fifteen shillings, and theCaxtons fetched one thousand three hundred and sixteen pounds, twelveshillings and sixpence; the highest prices being obtained for Gower's_Confessio Amantis_, and Chaucer's _Troylus and Creside_, which realisedtwo hundred and five pounds, sixteen shillings, and one hundred andsixty-two pounds, fifteen shillings. The Book of St. Albans, which wasimperfect, fetched eighty-four pounds; Luther's translation of theBible, two hundred and twenty pounds, ten shillings; Churchyard's Works, eighty-five pounds, one shilling; and Shakespeare's _Sonnets_, thirty-seven pounds. The Missal said to have been written for Diana ofPoitiers sold for one hundred and ten pounds, five shillings. 

ALEXANDER, TENTH DUKE OF HAMILTON, 1767-1852

A good library had no doubt existed in Hamilton Palace for aconsiderable period of time, but Alexander, tenth Duke of Hamilton, whowas born on the 5th of October 1767, and died on the 18th of August1852, was the first of his line who was a book-collector on an extensivescale. He formed a large and very choice collection of printed books, but that of his manuscripts was of still greater interest and value. Itwas wonderfully rich in Bibles and portions of the Scriptures, Missals, Breviaries and Books of Hours, many of them having been written andilluminated for Francis I. , King of France, the Emperor Maximilian, PopeLeo X. , the Duke of Guise, and other distinguished personages. Thefinest of these was a copy of the Gospels in Latin, known as 'The GoldenGospels, ' written about the end of the eighth century in gold lettersupon purple vellum, which was at one time the property of King HenryVIII. Another famous manuscript in the library, valued at five thousandpounds, was the _Divina Commedia_ of Dante, illustrated with upwards ofeighty original designs attributed to Sandro Botticelli, now in theRoyal Library at Berlin. 

In addition to his own books, the Duke acquired the whole of WilliamBeckford's splendid collection by his marriage with Beckford's daughterSusan Euphemia. William, the eleventh Duke, who was born on February the19th, 1811, and died on July the 15th, 1863, added considerably to thelibrary, but his successor was reluctantly obliged to part with it, andit was advertised to be sold by auction on June 30th, 1882. Before, however, the time appointed for the sale, the Royal Museum at Berlin, bya private arrangement, acquired the whole of the manuscripts for a sumwhich is believed to have amounted to about seventy-five thousandpounds, and they were divided between that Institution and the RoyalLibrary at Berlin. A portion of them, which related to Scottish history, was purchased of the Prussian authorities by the British Museum; andninety-one other manuscripts which were not required by the BerlinMuseum, including the 'Golden Gospels, ' were sent to Sotheby, Wilkinsonand Hodge, by whom they were sold on the 23rd of May 1889 for fifteenthousand one hundred and eighty-nine pounds, ten shillings and sixpence. The 'Golden Gospels' was bought by Mr. Quaritch for one thousand fivehundred pounds. The printed books were sold by the same auctioneers onMay 1st, 1884, and seven following days. The sale consisted of twothousand one hundred and thirty-six lots, and realised twelve thousandeight hundred and ninety-two pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. Thefollowing are a few of the rarest and most interesting books, and theprices they fetched--_Boecius de Consolatione Philosophie_, printed byCaxton in 1477-78, one hundred and sixty pounds; Dante's _Commedia_, printed at Florence in 1481, with twenty engravings by Baccio Baldini, three hundred and eighty pounds; the Poems of Pindar in Greek, printedby Aldus in 1513, with the arms of France and the monogram and devicesof Henry II. And Diana of Poitiers on the binding, one hundred andforty-one pounds; the Prince of Condé's copy of _L'Hystoire du RoyPerceforest_, Paris, 1528, with his arms on the covers, one hundred andeighteen pounds; a dedication copy, printed upon vellum, and bound forJames V. , King of Scotland, of Hector Boece's _History and Croniklis_, translated by Bellenden, and printed at Edinburgh in 1536, the bindinghaving on the upper cover IACOBVS QVINTVS, and on the lower REXSCOTORVM, eight hundred pounds; a Collection of Architectural Designs, executed with pen and ink by J. Androuet du Cerceau, in a beautifulbinding attributed to Clovis Eve, two hundred and forty pounds; De Bry's_Collectiones Peregrinationum_, in eleven volumes, bound in blue moroccoby Derome, five hundred and sixty pounds; Book of Common Prayer, 1637, folio--King Charles I. 's copy, with numerous alterations in his ownhandwriting which were used in printing the Scottish Prayer-book of thesame year, usually termed Laud's Book. Prefixed to the Order for MorningPrayer the King has written: 'Charles R. --I gave the Archbp. OfCanterbury comand to make the alteracons expressed in this Book and tofit a Liturgy for the Church of Scotland, and wheresoever they shalldiffer from another Booke signed by us at Hampt. Court Septembr. 28, 1634, our pleasure is to have these followed rather than the former;unless the Archbp. Of St. Andrews and his Brethren who are upon theplace shall see apparent reason to the contrary. At Whitehall, April 19, 1636'--one hundred and thirty-seven pounds. 

The paintings and objects of art belonging to the Duke of Hamilton weresold in July 1882, and realised three hundred and ninety-seven thousandpounds. 

SIR MARK MASTERMAN SYKES, BART. , 1771-1823

Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, Bart. , was the eldest son of Sir ChristopherSykes, second baronet, of Sledmere, Yorkshire. He was born on the 20thof August 1771, and in his seventeenth year was sent to BrasenoseCollege, Oxford. In 1795 he served the office of High Sheriff ofYorkshire, and on the death of his father in 1801 he succeeded to thetitle and estates. He was elected Member of Parliament for the city ofYork in 1807; was again returned in 1812 and 1813, and retired onaccount of ill health in 1820. Sir M. Masterman Sykes was twice married. His first wife was Henrietta, daughter and heiress of Henry Masterman ofSettrington, Yorkshire, and on his union with her in 1795 he assumed theadditional name of Masterman. She died in 1813, and in the followingyear he married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of William Tatton Egerton, andsister of Wilbraham Tatton Egerton, of Tatton Park, who survived him. Sir Mark died at Weymouth, on his way to London, on the 16th of February1823. He had no children, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir TattonSykes. 

Sir M. Masterman Sykes early developed a love for books, and themagnificent library which he formed, one of the finest privatecollections in England, was the result of upwards of thirty years'unremitting and careful work. Some of the rare volumes it contained, weare informed in the preface to the sale catalogue of his library writtenby the Rev. H. J. Todd, 'were procured during the collector's travelsabroad, but many of them were acquired at the dispersion of thelibraries of Major Pearson, Dr. Farmer, Steevens, Reed, the Rev. Mr. Brand, the Duke of Roxburghe and others, but especially of that of thelate Mr. Edwards, from whom the celebrated Livy of 1469 wasobtained--the only known copy of the first edition of Livy on vellum. '

Among the principal treasures of the collection were the GutenbergBible; the Psalter of 1459, on vellum; the _Rationale DivinorumOfficiorum_ of Durandus, on vellum, 1459; the _Catholicon_ of JoannesBalbus de Janua, 1460; the Latin Bible of 1462, on vellum; and theEpistles of St. Jerome, on vellum, 1470: all printed at Mentz. 

The library was especially rich in early editions of the Greek and LatinClassics, and on its shelves were to be found the only copy known toexist on vellum of the first edition of Livy, printed at Rome bySweynheym and Pannartz about 1469, to which we have already referred;the first edition of Pliny, printed by Joannes de Spira at Venice in1469; that printed at Rome by Sweynheym and Pannartz in 1470; a copy onvellum of the beautiful 1472 edition from the press of Nicolas Jenson ofVenice; and the earliest editions of Homer, Cicero, Horace, Virgil, Tacitus, Terence, and Valerius Maximus. 

The library also contained the Dante printed at Foligno in 1472, andthat printed at Florence in 1481; the first issue of the Latintranslation of the Letter of Columbus, printed at Rome in 1493; a finecopy of the _Poliphili Hypnerotomachia_, printed by Aldus at Venice in1499; the Aldine Petrarch of 1501; several rare Missals and Books ofHours, the most notable of them being a vellum copy of the VallombrosaMissal, printed at Florence in 1503; and a copy of the _Tewrdannck_, also on vellum, printed at Nuremberg in 1517. 

There were several Caxtons, among them being _The Myrrour of the World_and Higden's _Polychronicon_. 

The literature of the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. Was wellrepresented, and the library contained a copy of that rare work, Archbishop Parker's _De Antiquitate Ecclesiæ Britannicæ_. 

The collection also comprised several fine and interesting manuscripts. Deserving especial notice were a beautiful illuminated Office, onvellum, of the Virgin Mary, executed for Francis I. , King of France; theoriginal Report of Convocation to Henry VIII. On the Legality of hisproposed Divorce from Anne of Cleves, subscribed with the autographsignatures of the Archbishop and all the Bishops and Clergy assembled inConvocation, dated July 9th, 1540; and an autograph manuscript ofDugdale's Visitation of the County of York in 1665-66. 

Sir M. Masterman Sykes possessed an immense collection of prints. Itincluded a complete set of Bartolozzi's engravings which is said to havecost Sir Mark nearly five thousand pounds; his collection of portraitswas considered to be one of the best in the kingdom; and Dibdin declaredthat his 'Faithornes and Hollars almost defied competition. ' He alsoaccumulated a considerable number of pictures, bronzes, coins andmedals. 

All the collections were dispersed by sale in 1824. The books were soldby Mr. Evans of Pall Mall in three parts, commencing on the 11th of Mayand continuing until the 28th of June. The total amount realised waseighteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds, sixteenshillings. The prices obtained were by no means high. The GutenbergBible, which was a very fine one, fetched less than two hundred pounds, and the copy of the Mentz Psalter, for which Mr. Quaritch subsequentlygave four thousand nine hundred and fifty pounds at Sir J. H. Thorold'ssale in 1884, sold for one hundred and thirty-six pounds, ten shillings. The Latin Bible of 1462 was disposed of for the same sum; and the uniquevellum Livy, which cost Sir Mark nine hundred and three pounds at thesale of Mr. Edwards's books in 1815, realised but four hundred andseventy-two pounds, ten shillings. This volume was bought by Messrs. Payne and Foss, who sold it to Mr. John Dent, and at the sale of hiscollection in 1827 it was acquired for two hundred and sixty-two pounds, ten shillings by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, who bequeathed it tothe British Museum in 1846. The three manuscripts mentioned--The Officeof the Virgin Mary, the Report of Convocation on Henry VIII. 's divorcefrom Anne of Cleves, and Dugdale's Visitation of the County ofYork--fetched respectively one hundred and sixty-three pounds, sixteenshillings; two hundred and fifteen pounds, five shillings; and onehundred and fifty-seven pounds, ten shillings. 

Sir M. Masterman Sykes was one of the original members of the RoxburgheClub, and in 1818 printed for presentation to the members a portion ofLydgate's Poems. He was the 'Lorenzo' of Dibdin, who describes him as'not less known than respected for the suavity of his manners, thekindness of his disposition, and the liberality of his conduct in allmatters connected with books and prints. '

RICHARD HEBER, 1773-1833

Richard Heber, styled by Sir Walter Scott 'Heber the Magnificent, whoselibrary and cellar are so superior to all others in the world, ' was theeldest son of Reginald Heber, lord of the manors of Marton in Yorkshire, and Hodnet in Shropshire, and was half-brother to Reginald Heber, Bishopof Calcutta. He was born in Westminster on the 5th of January 1773, andwas first educated under the private tuition of the Rev. George HenryGlasse; afterwards proceeding to Brasenose College, Oxford, where hegraduated B. A. In 1796, and M. A. In the following year. In 1822 theUniversity conferred on him the degree of D. C. L. On the death of hisfather in 1804, Heber succeeded to the estates in Yorkshire andShropshire, which he considerably augmented and improved. He was one ofthe founders of the Athenæum Club, and in 1821 he was elected arepresentative in Parliament for the University of Oxford, but resignedhis seat in 1826. From his earliest years he was an ardent collector, and Dibdin says that he had seen a catalogue of Heber's books, compiledby him at the age of eight; and when ten years old he requested hisfather to buy some volumes at a certain sale, where 'there would be thebest editions of the classics. ' Of many of his books he possessedseveral copies, and on being asked by a friend why he purchased them, heseriously replied: 'Why, you see, Sir, no man can comfortably do without_three_ copies of a book. One he must have for his show copy, and hewill probably keep it at his country house. Another he will require forhis own use and reference; and unless he is inclined to part with this, which is very inconvenient, or risk the injury of his best copy, he mustneeds have a third at the service of his friends. ' Soon after the peaceof 1815 Heber paid a visit to the Continent to collect books for hislibrary, and in 1825 he again left England for a considerable period forthe purpose of still further adding to his literary stores. On hisreturn in 1831 he spent his time in seclusion between his countryresidence at Hodnet, near Shrewsbury, and his house at Pimlico, devotinghimself to the last days of his life to the increase of his immensecollection. He died at Pimlico of an attack on the lungs, accompaniedwith jaundice, on the 4th of October 1833, and was buried at Hodnet onthe 16th of the following month. The Rev. Mr. Dyce in a letter to SirEgerton Brydges, gives a melancholy account of his end. 'Poor man, ' hewrites, 'he expired at Pimlico, in the midst of his rare property, _without a friend to close his eyes_, and from all I have heard I am ledto believe he died broken-hearted: he had been ailing for some time, buttook no care of himself, and seemed indeed to court death. Yet hisruling passion was strong to the last. The morning he died he wrote outsome memoranda for Thorpe about books which he wished to be purchasedfor him. He was the most liberal of book-collectors: I never asked himfor the loan of a volume, _which he could lay his hand on_, he did notimmediately send me. [91] Heber, who was a man of deep learning, numberedamong his friends Porson, Cracherode, Canning, Southey, Dr. Burney, SirWalter Scott, and many other distinguished persons. Sir Walter dedicatedthe sixth canto of _Marmion_ to him, and alludes to his library in thefollowing lines:--

 'Thy volumes, open as thy heart, Delight, amusement, science, art, To every ear and eye impart; Yet who, of all who thus employ them, Can like the owner's self enjoy them?-- But, hark! I hear the distant drum! The day of Flodden Field is come. -- Adieu, dear Heber! Life and health, And store of literary wealth. '

The number of volumes accumulated by Heber was enormous. He collectedmanuscripts as well as printed books. At the time of his death hepossessed eight houses overflowing with books. At Hodnet he had built anew library which he is said to have filled with volumes selected onaccount of their fine condition; and so careful was he of these, thatoccasionally he used to engage the whole of the inside places of thecoach for their conveyance from London. The walls of all the rooms andpassages of his house at Pimlico were lined with books; and anotherhouse in York Street, Westminster, which he used as a depository fornewly purchased books, was literally crammed with them from the floorsto the ceilings. He had a library in the High Street, Oxford; an immensecollection at Paris, which was sold in the years 1834 to 1836; anotherat Ghent, sold in 1835; and others at Brussels and Antwerp, togetherwith smaller gatherings in several places on the Continent. Dibdinestimated the total number of volumes in Heber's collections in Englandat one hundred and twenty-seven thousand five hundred, but othercalculations have placed it at a somewhat lower figure. The whole of thelibraries which he possessed in England and on the Continent probablycontained from one hundred and forty-five thousand to one hundred andfifty thousand volumes, as well as a very large number of pamphlets; andthey are believed to have cost him about a hundred thousand pounds. AsHeber was an accomplished scholar as well as a collector, his books werechosen with ability and judgment. He was a purchaser at every greatsale, and so keen was he in the prosecution of his favourite pursuit, that on hearing of a rare book he has been known to undertake a coachjourney of several hundred miles to obtain it. His library wasparticularly rich in the works of the early English poets, and hiscollection of Greek and Latin Classics, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese andFrench books was very extensive and choice, but he had a great objectionto large paper copies, because they occupied so much room on hisshelves. He possessed also a number of books printed in Mexico; andamong his manuscripts were to be found the letters and papers of SirJulius Cæsar, the autograph manuscript of _The Monastery_, by Sir WalterScott, and a large collection of the letters of distinguished men. For aconsiderable period his will could not be found, although diligentsearch was made for it, both at home and abroad, and his sister, Mrs. Cholmondeley, was on the point of taking out letters of administration, when it was accidentally discovered by Dr. Dibdin among some books on anupper shelf at Pimlico. As it did not contain any directions as to thedisposal of his books, those in England, together with some brought fromHolland, were sold by Sotheby and Son, Evans, and Wheatley at a seriesof sales extending over four years, and realised fifty-seven thousandfive hundred and fifty-four pounds, twelve shillings. The catalogue isin thirteen parts, bearing the dates 1834-37. His books on theContinent, with the drawings and coins, fetched about ten thousandpounds more. 

Heber edited the works of Persius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, andClaudianus. He also reprinted the _Caltha Poetarum, or the Bumble Bee_, of T. Cutwode, from the edition of 1599, for the Roxburghe Club, andassisted in the preparation of the third edition of Ellis's _Specimensof the Early English Poets_. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 91: _The Book Fancier. _ By Percy Fitzgerald (London, 1887), p. 230. ]

RICHARD GRENVILLE, FIRST DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM, 1776-1839

Richard Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, first Duke ofBuckingham, was born in London on the 20th of March 1776. He was theeldest son of George Grenville, Earl Temple, who was made Marquis ofBuckingham in 1784. He began collecting books at a very early age, andin 1798 had already commenced the formation of a library at Stowe; andthe acquisition of the manuscripts and papers of Thomas Astle, Keeper ofthe Records in the Tower; the Irish manuscripts from Belanagare, theseat of The O'Conor Don; the State Papers of Arthur Capel, Earl ofEssex, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in the reign of Charles II. , togetherwith some other purchases, placed his library among the finest privatecollections in the kingdom. [92] On the death of his father in 1813 hesucceeded to the title, and nine years later he was created Duke ofBuckingham and Chandos. In 1827, in consequence of his great expenditureon his various collections, and the munificence with which he hadentertained the royal family of France, he found himself in embarrassedcircumstances, and left England, remaining abroad about two years. In1834 he was compelled to sell his furniture, pictures, and articles ofvirtù, but did not part with his books, which, on his death on the 17thof January 1839, passed into the possession of his only son, RichardPlantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, who was born onFebruary the 11th, 1797. The habits of the son were not less extravagantthan those of his father, and in 1847 the effects at Stowe and his otherresidences were seized by bailiffs, and in August and September 1848 thepictures, furniture, china, plate, etc. , were sold by auction, realisingover seventy-five thousand five hundred pounds. The printed books in thelibrary were sold by Sotheby and Wilkinson, on January 8th, 1849, andeleven following days, and January 29, and eleven following days. Therewere six thousand two hundred and twelve lots in the two sales, whichbrought ten thousand three hundred and fifty-five pounds, sevenshillings and sixpence. The extensive and valuable series of engravedportraits contained in the Duke's illustrated copy of the _BiographicalHistory of England_, by the Rev. James Granger, was sold by the sameauctioneers on March 5th and eight following days, and a continuation ofit by the Rev. Mark Noble, together with some other engravings, on the21st of March and five following days. There were two thousand twohundred and one lots in these two sales, for which the sum of threethousand seven hundred and ninety-nine pounds, eighteen shillings andsixpence was obtained. The manuscripts were bought by the Earl ofAshburnham for eight thousand pounds. The collection of printed books inthe Stowe library was inferior in interest to that of the manuscripts, but it contained some rare and choice volumes. Amongst them was ablock-book, _The Apocalypse_, which sold for ninety-four pounds;_Missale ad usum Ecclesiæ Andegavensis_, on vellum, printed in 1489, sixty-three pounds; Le Fevre's _Recuyles of the Hystoryes of Troye_, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1503, fifty-five pounds; a complete set ofthe twenty-five parts in eight volumes of De Bry's _CollectionesPeregrinationum_, printed at Frankfurt in 1590-1634, eighty-one pounds;De Bry's _Relation of Virginia_, translated by Hariot, printed atFrankfurt in 1590, sixty-three pounds; the first Shakespeare folio(mended, and the title-page slightly imperfect), seventy-six pounds;fine, large, and perfect copies of the second and third folios, elevenpounds, five shillings and thirty-five pounds; Shakespeare's _Poems_, 1640, seven pounds, ten shillings; Prynne's _Records_, three volumes, 1665-70, one hundred and forty pounds; the fourth volume, printed in1665 or 1666, believed to be unique, three hundred and thirty-fivepounds; Houbraken's _Heads of Illustrious Persons_, two volumes, 1756, folio, large paper, with first states and duplicate proofs of theplates, etc. , ninety-one pounds; Bartolozzi's Engravings, a collectionof six hundred and sixty plates in various proof states, bound in eightfolio volumes, sixty-two pounds; Boydell's Prints, five hundred andforty fine impressions, bound in nine folio volumes, seventy-eightpounds, fifteen shillings; Lysons's _Topographical Account ofBuckinghamshire_, inlaid in eight volumes, atlas folio, andsuper-illustrated with four hundred and eighty drawings, etc. , fivehundred and forty pounds; and Lysons's _Environs of London_, largepaper, eighteen volumes quarto, super-illustrated with eight hundreddrawings and a large number of plates, one hundred and thirty-threepounds. The Duke, who died at the Great Western Hotel, London, on Julythe 29th, 1861, was the author of _Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets ofGeorge III. _, 1853-55, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Court of Englandduring the Regency_, 1856, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Court of GeorgeIV. _, 1859, two volumes; _Memoirs of the Courts and Cabinets of WilliamIV. And Victoria_, 1861, two volumes; and _Private Diary of Richard, Duke of Buckingham and Chandos_, 1862, four volumes; together with a fewpolitical works. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 92: A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the Stowelibrary by the Rev. Charles O'Conor, D. D. , the Duke's librarian, wasprinted in 1818-19. ]

HENRY PERKINS, 1778-1855

Henry Perkins, who was born in 1778, was a partner in the well-knownfirm of Barclay, Perkins and Co. , brewers, but he does not appear tohave taken an active part in the business, and he spent the later partof his life in retirement among his books at Hanworth Park, Middlesex. He died at Dover on the 15th of April 1855. 

Mr. Perkins, who was a Fellow of the Linnean, Geological andHorticultural Societies, possessed a small but exceedingly valuablelibrary, which, among many other extremely rare books, contained twocopies of the Gutenberg Bible, one on vellum and the other on paper; acopy on vellum of Fust and Schoeffer's Latin Bible of 1462; a copy ofthe Coverdale Bible; several works from the press of Caxton, and thefirst four editions of Shakespeare's Plays. It also comprised many finemanuscripts, some of them superbly illuminated. Mr. Henry Perkinsbequeathed his books to his son, Mr. Algernon Perkins, and after hisdeath in 1870 they were sold by auction at Hanworth by Gadsden, Ellisand Co. On the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th of June 1873. There were but eighthundred and sixty-five lots in the sale, but they realised an average ofthirty pounds, or a total of twenty-five thousand nine hundred andfifty-four pounds, four shillings, the largest sum ever obtained for alibrary of the same extent. The vellum copy of the Gutenberg Bible waspurchased for the Earl of Ashburnham for three thousand four hundredpounds; and the paper copy, now in the Huth library, fetched twothousand six hundred and ninety. Fust and Schoeffer's Latin Bible of1462, which Mr. Perkins acquired at the sale of Mr. Dent's books for onehundred and seventy-three pounds, five shillings, sold for seven hundredand eighty pounds; while the copy of Coverdale's Bible, which wanted thetitle and two following leaves and the map, realised four hundredpounds; and the 1623 edition of Shakespeare's Plays brought five hundredand eighty-five pounds. The manuscripts also went for large sums. JohnLydgate's _Sege of Troye_, a magnificently illuminated manuscript onvellum of the fifteenth century; _Les OEuvres Diverses_ of Jehan deMeun; and _Les Cent Histoires de Troye_ of Christine de Pisan, of aboutthe same period, sold respectively for thirteen hundred and twenty, sixhundred and ninety, and six hundred and fifty pounds. The pricesobtained for the books were generally greatly in excess of those givenby Mr. Perkins for them. 

FREDERICK PERKINS, 1780-1860

Frederick Perkins of Chepstead, Kent, born in 1780, was a brother ofHenry Perkins, and a partner in the same firm. He also formed a goodlibrary, which contained the first four Shakespeare folios, and aconsiderable number of the separate plays in quarto. Among them were thefirst editions of _Love's Labour Lost_, _Much Ado about Nothing_, theSecond Part of _Henry the Fourth_, _Troilus and Cressida_, _Pericles_, _Othello_, and the second or first complete edition of _Romeo andJuliet_, as well as the first edition of _Lucrece_. Three Caxtons wereto be found in the collection: the _Mirrour of the World_, the_Chastising of Goddes Children_, and Higden's _Polycronicon_, but theywere not good copies. The library also comprised some fine illuminatedHoræ and other manuscripts, including a copy on vellum of Chaucer's_Canterbury Tales_ of the fifteenth century. Mr. Perkins died on the10th of October 1860, and his library was sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson andHodge on July 10th, 1889, and six following days. There were twothousand and eighty-six lots in the sale, which realised eight thousandtwo hundred and twenty-two pounds, seven shillings. The firstShakespeare folio fetched four hundred and fifteen pounds, the secondforty-seven pounds, the third one hundred pounds, and the fourthfourteen pounds. Of the quarto plays, the Second Part of _Henry theFourth_ sold for two hundred and twenty-five pounds, _Othello_ for onehundred and thirty pounds, and _Romeo and Juliet_ for one hundred andsixty-four pounds. The copies of _Love's Labour Lost_, _Much Ado aboutNothing_, _Troilus and Cressida_, and _Pericles_ were poor ones, andrealised but comparatively small sums. The _Lucrece_ fetched two hundredpounds. 

JOHN BELLINGHAM INGLIS, 1780-1870

John Bellingham Inglis was born in London on the 14th of February 1780. His father, a partner in the firm of Inglis, Ellice and Co. , merchants, Mark Lane, London, was a Director of the East India Company, and was atone time its Chairman. In consequence of the failure of his father youngInglis set up in business on his own account in the wine trade, but thisnot proving successful, he retired after a short time on the moneyrescued from the wreck of the fortune of his father, who died soon afterhis failure. He resided for many years in St. John's Wood, butafterwards removed to Hampstead Heath. He died at 13 Albion Road, N. W. , on the 9th of December 1870. 

Mr. Inglis, who was a good classical scholar, an excellent linguist, anda man of considerable literary ability, commenced collecting books at avery early age, and soon formed a very valuable and important library, which was especially rich in works from the presses of the earlyEnglish printers. Unlike some possessors of libraries, he read thebooks which he had collected; and the Duke of Sussex, at one of hisliterary dinners at Kensington Palace, is reported to have said:'Gentlemen, you are all very learned about titles, editions, andprinters, but none of you seem to have read anything of the books exceptMr. Inglis here. ' In 1832 he translated into English, for the firsttime, the _Philobiblon_ of Richard de Bury, and presented it to ThomasRodd, the bookseller, who published it. He also made translations ofseveral other mediæval printed books and manuscripts, which have neverbeen published. A biographical notice of him appears in _The Bookworm_of December 1870, by J. P. Berjeau, the editor of that periodical. Aportion of Inglis's books was sold anonymously by Sotheby on June 9th, 1826, and seven following days. The title-page of the catalogue reads:'Catalogue of a singularly curious and valuable selection from theLibrary of a Gentleman, including three extraordinary specimens of BlockPrinting; Books printed in the Fifteenth Century; Books printed onvellum; Fine copies of Works from the Presses of Caxton, Machlinia, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Julyan Notary, Verard, etc. ; an extensiveCollection of Old English Poetry; Romances; Historical and TheologicalTracts; early Voyages and Travels; curious Treatises on Witches andWitchcraft; some of the earliest Dictionaries and Vocabularies in theEnglish Language, etc. Likewise several Manuscripts on vellum, mostbeautifully illuminated, etc. ' The number of lots in this sale wassixteen hundred and sixty-five, and the sum realised three thousandthree hundred and thirty-three pounds, nine shillings and sixpence. Theprices obtained for the books were extremely low. The threeblock-books:--the first edition of the _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, _Historia Sancti Johannis Evangelistæ ejusque Visiones Apocalypticæ_, and the _Biblia Pauperum_ fetched but ninety-five pounds, elevenshillings; forty-seven pounds, five shillings, and thirty-six pounds, fifteen shillings respectively; while no more than four hundred andthirty-one pounds, fifteen shillings and sixpence could be obtained forthe thirteen Caxtons in the sale--about thirty-three pounds each. Thefollowing are a few of the other notable books in this fine collection, and the prices they fetched: _Les Faits de Maistre Alain Chartier, imprimez a Paris par Pierre le Caron pour Anthoine Verard_, printed onvellum, with capital letters painted in gold and colours, fifty-sixpounds, fourteen shillings; _Le Recueil des Histoires Troiennes, imprimea Paris par Anthoine Verard_, presentation copy to Charles VIII. , printed on vellum, ornamented with eighty-three miniatures, twenty-sevenpounds; Vincent, _Les cinq volumes du Miroir Hystorial_, _imprime aParis par Anthoine Verard_, 1495-96, forty-six pounds, four shillings;_Speculum Christiani_, printed by Machlinia, sixteen pounds, sixteenshillings; _Promptorius Puerorum_, printed by Pynson in 1499, thirty-eight pounds, seventeen shillings; _The Floure of theCommandments of God_, Wynkyn de Worde, 1521, thirteen pounds, thirteenshillings; _The Catechisme, set furth by . . . Johne, Archbischop of SanctAndrous, etc. Prentit at Sanct Androus_, 1552, sixteen pounds, fiveshillings and sixpence; _Mary of Nemmegen_, printed at Antwerp by JanVan Doesborgh in 1518 or 1519, the only copy known, twenty-four pounds;Painter, _The Palace of Pleasure_, London, Thomas Marshe, 1575, a veryfine copy, twenty-three pounds; and Shakespeare's _Sonnets_, London, 1609, forty pounds, nineteen shillings. Perhaps the finest of themanuscripts were a beautifully illuminated copy on vellum of the _Liberde Proprietatibus Rerum, Anglice_, by Bartholomæus de Glanvilla, writtentowards the end of the fourteenth century, which fetched fifty-onepounds, nine shillings; and Boccaccio's _Tragedies of the Falle ofUnfortunate Princes_, translated into English verse, written on vellumin England in the early part of the fifteenth century, and richlyilluminated. Thirty pounds, nine shillings was all that was obtained forthis fine manuscript. After Inglis's death, his son, Dr. C. Inglis, soldsuch books as he could not find room for. They were disposed of bySotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge on the 31st of July 1871, and fivefollowing days, and realised two thousand seven hundred and sixty-sixpounds, thirteen shillings and sixpence. Among the fifteen hundred andeighty-eight lots in the sale were a few rare books and some finepapyri. A third sale of the books in this splendid library, by order ofDr. C. Inglis, took place on June 11th, 1900, and three following days, by the same auctioneers. In this sale there were eight hundred andforty-nine lots, for which the sum of seven thousand five hundred andnineteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence was obtained. Although noCaxtons were to be found among the books, there were many rare andinteresting examples from the presses of Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn deWorde, Julian Notary and other early English printers. The foreignprinters were also well represented, and the collection containedseveral beautiful Books of Hours, both printed and in manuscript. Somevery high prices were obtained for the more important books, as thefollowing list of a few of the most notable will show:--_Speculum HumanæSalvationis_, printed by G. Zainer at Augsburg in 1471, eighty-fourpounds; Turrecremata, _Meditationes_, Romæ, 1473, one hundred pounds;the first edition of the _Philobiblon_ of Richard de Bury, Coloniæ, 1473, eighty pounds; _Rolle de Hampole super Job_, attributed to theOxford press of Rood and Hunt, about 1481-86, three hundred pounds;_Chronicle of England_, printed by Machlinia about 1484, one hundred andseventy-five pounds; _Heures de lusaige de Romme_, with cuts printed invarious colours, Paris, Jehan du Pré, 1490, two hundred and seventy-twopounds; First Letter of Columbus (Latin) 1493, Vespuccius, _MundusNovus_, 1502, and other rare tracts in one volume, two hundred andthirty pounds; _Verardus in Laudem Fernandi Hispaniarum Regis_, etc. , containing the letter of Columbus to King Ferdinand on his discovery ofAmerica, 1494, ninety pounds; _Vitas Patrum_, printed by Wynkyn de Wordein 1495, fifty pounds; _Hoefken van Devotien_, Antwerpen, 1496, onehundred and one pounds; _Postilla Epistolarum et EvangeliorumDominicalium_, printed by Julian Notary in 1509, fifty pounds; _Mirrourof Oure Ladye_, R. Fawkes, 1530, forty-nine pounds; _Heures de Rome_, with illustrations by Geoffroy Tory, Paris, 1525, one hundred andforty-four pounds; and Spenser's _Faerie Queene_, _Foure Hymnes_, _Prothalamion_, etc. , all first editions, 1590-96, one hundred andseventy pounds. 

WILLIAM HENRY MILLER, 1789-1848

Mr. William Henry Miller, who was born in 1789, was the only child ofMr. William Miller of Craigentinny, Midlothian. In 1830 he enteredParliament as one of the Members for Newcastle-under-Lyme, which seat heheld until the year 1841. He died unmarried at his residence, Craigentinny House, near Edinburgh, on the 31st of October 1848, and wasburied, according to his desire, in a mausoleum on his estate. Mr. Miller formed a fine collection of very choice books at Britwell Court, Buckinghamshire, many of which he acquired at the Heber and otherimportant sales of the first half of the nineteenth century. He was veryparticular about the condition and size of the volumes he purchased, andfrom his habit of carrying a foot-rule about him for the purpose ofascertaining their dimensions he became known as 'Measure Miller. ' Thelibrary was bequeathed to his cousin Miss Marsh, from whom it passed toMr. Samuel Christie-Miller, who was Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme from1847 to 1859, and on his death on the 5th of April 1889 to Mr. WakefieldChristie-Miller, who died at Dublin on the 22nd of February 1898. Manyrare books have been added to the Britwell Library by its laterpossessors. The additions made by the last owner were especiallyimportant, notably that of the larger portion of the Elizabethanrarities discovered in 1867 at Lamport Hall, the seat of Sir CharlesIsham; and the collection may now be considered unrivalled among privatelibraries for the number of choice examples of English and Scottishliterature which it contains, particularly in the division of Englishpoetry. The finest copy known of the _Dictes or Sayings of thePhilosophers_, one of the three extant copies of the _Morale Prouerbesof Cristyne_, and nine other works printed by Caxton, are to be found onthe shelves of the library, as well as a large number of books from thepresses of Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Julyan Notary, and other earlyEnglish printers. Among them are many editions of the grammaticaltreatises of Robert Whitinton and John Stanbridge, printed by Wynkyn deWorde, and unique copies of Fitzherbert's _Boke of Husbandrie_, theromance of _Oliver of Castile_, and _Fysshynge with an Angle_, all bythe same printer. The library contains also a fine series of the earlyeditions of the English Chronicles, and of the works of Chaucer. Amongthe treasures of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods are the firstShakespeare folio (the second, third, and fourth folios are also in thelibrary); an unique copy of an edition of _Venus and Adonis_, printedfor William Leake at London in 1599, from the Isham collection; all theearly editions of Sidney's _Arcadia_; fine examples of the earlyeditions of the works of Edmund Spenser; the only perfect copy known ofthe first edition of the _Paradyse of Daintie Devises_; and remarkablycomplete sets of the works of Churchyard, Breton, Greene, Dekker, Witherand Brathwaite. Other notable books in this splendid library are a copyon vellum, with coloured maps, of Ptolemy's _Cosmographia_, printed atUlm in 1482, and bound by Derome; the Aldine edition of _PoliphiliHypnerotomachia_, in the original binding, and an unique copy of theEnglish translation printed in London by Samuel Waterson in 1592; a fineand perfect set in nine parts of the _Mirrour of Princely Deedes andKnighthood_ (a translation of the Spanish _Espejo de Principes yCavalleros_); editions of Hakluyt's _Voyages_; a beautiful and tall copyof _Purchas his Pilgrimes_; the finest and most complete set which hasbeen formed of De Bry's _Voyages_; the first issue of Milton's _ParadiseLost_; the first edition of Walton's _Compleat Angler_ in the originalsheepskin binding; the Kilmarnock edition of Burns's _Poems_; andseveral of the original editions of Shelley's works, including theexcessively rare _OEdipus Tyrannus_. There is a fine collection ofearly English music in the Britwell Library, and it possesses thegreater portion of the Heber ballads and broadsides, and a large numberof books which once belonged to De Thou. Many of the volumes aremasterpieces of the work of Bedford, Riviere, Lortic, and other Englishand foreign binders. 

GEORGE DANIEL, 1789-1864

George Daniel was born in London on the 16th of September 1789. Afterreceiving an education at Mr. Thomas Hogg's boarding-school atPaddington Green, he became a clerk to a stockbroker in TokenhouseYard, [93] and afterwards followed the profession of an accountant; buthe employed all his leisure time in literary pursuits, and in thecollection of books, works of art and curiosities. He commenced writingat a very early age, and was the author of a novel _The Adventures ofDick Distich_, and a considerable number of poetical and dramaticpieces. He also contributed many articles to _Ackerman's PoeticalMagazine_, _Bentley's Miscellany_, and other magazines, and was theeditor of Cumberland's _British Theatre_, and Cumberland's _MinorTheatre_. His first printed production, _Stanzas on Lord Nelsons Victoryand Death_, written in conjunction with a young friend, appeared in1805, but he tells us that he wrote some verses when he was but eightyears of age on the death of his father. In 1811 he published a poemcalled _The Times, or the Prophecy_, and in 1812 a poetical squibfounded on the reputed horse-whipping of the Prince of Wales by LordYarmouth, entitled _R-y-l Stripes; or, a Kick from Yar--th to Wa--s_, for the suppression of which a large sum was paid by the Prince Regent. In the same year appeared _The Adventures of Dick Distich_ in threevolumes, which was written by the author before he was eighteen, and avolume of _Miscellaneous Poems_; and in 1814 _The Modern Dunciad_, inwhich he sings the praises of 'old books, old wines, old customs, andold friends. ' He continued to write during the whole of his life, andhis last work, _Love's Last Labour not Lost_, was published in 1863. Daniel was fond of convivial society, and numbered Charles Lamb andRobert Bloomfield among his acquaintances, and he was also intimate withmany of the principal actors of the day. He died at his son's house, TheGrove, Stoke Newington, on the 30th of March 1864. The cause of hisdeath was apoplexy. 

Daniel formed a very choice and valuable library in his residence, 18Canonbury Square, Islington, which was chiefly remarkable for rareeditions of old English writers, and very fine collections ofElizabethan black-letter ballads and Shakespeariana. The Elizabethanballads would alone be sufficient to render any library famous. Theywere one hundred and forty-nine in number, and he is said to havepurchased them for fifty pounds from Mr. William Stevenson Fitch, Postmaster at Ipswich, who is believed to have obtained them from thehousekeeper at Helmingham Hall, Suffolk, the residence of the Tollemachefamily. Of these ballads seventy-nine were sold to Mr. Heber by Mr. Daniel for seventy pounds, and the remaining seventy were bought at thesale of his library for seven hundred and fifty pounds by Mr. Huth, whohad them printed for presentation to the members of the PhilobiblonSociety. The Shakespearian collection comprised splendid copies of thefirst four folios and eighteen of the quarto plays, together with the1594 and 1655 editions of _Lucrece_, the 1594 and 1596 editions of_Venus and Adonis_, and the first editions of the _Sonnets_ and _Poems_. The library also contained a large number of early Jest-Books, Drolleries, Garlands and Penny-Histories; and among the rare editions ofEnglish writers were works by John Skelton, Edmund Spenser, AnthonyChute, Robert Chester, Anthony Munday, Ben Jonson, Patrick Hannay, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, John Milton, and many others. Severalvery beautiful manuscripts were also to be found in it. 

Daniel's library was sold by auction by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge onthe 20th of July 1864, and the nine following days. There were eighteenhundred and seventeen lots, which realised thirteen thousand ninehundred and eighty-four pounds, eleven shillings; the water-colourdrawings, engravings, portraits, coins, etc. , of which there were fourhundred and sixty-one lots, were sold at the same time, and produced onethousand eight hundred and eighty pounds, eleven shillings more. 

The sale excited great interest, and many of the books went for largesums; but the prices obtained for others were small compared with thosethe volumes would fetch at the present time: a fine copy of the firstedition of Walton's _Compleat Angler_ realised no more than twenty-sevenpounds, ten shillings. All the Shakespeares sold well. The first folio, probably the finest example extant, was bought by the BaronessBurdett-Coutts for six hundred and eighty-two guineas, till recently thehighest price ever obtained for a copy;[94] and the second, third andfourth folios fetched respectively one hundred and forty-eight pounds, forty-six pounds, and twenty-one pounds, ten shillings. The third foliowas a good copy, but had the title in facsimile, which accounts for thesmall sum it realised. Of the quarto plays, the first edition of _KingRichard the Third_--a very fine copy--sold for three hundred andfifty-one pounds, fifteen shillings; the first editions of the _MerryWives of Windsor_ and _Love's Labour Lost_ for three hundred andforty-six pounds, ten shillings each, and the first edition of _KingRichard the Second_ for three hundred and forty-one pounds, fiveshillings. The 1594 and 1596 editions of _Venus and Adonis_ realised twohundred and forty pounds and three hundred and fifteen pounds; a copy ofthe _Sonnets_ two hundred and twenty-five pounds, fifteen shillings; andthe first edition of _Lucrece_ one hundred and fifty-seven pounds, tenshillings. The copy of _Love's Labour Lost_, and the 1596 edition of_Venus and Adonis_, of which the Bodleian Library possesses the onlyother copy, were secured for the British Museum. 

The following are a few of the other more notable books in the library, together with the prices they fetched at the sale:--Unique copy of _TheBoke of Hawkynge and Huntynge and Fysshynge_, printed by Wynkyn deWorde, without date, one hundred and eight pounds; _Rychard Cuer deLyon_, also printed by Wynkyn de Worde, 1528, ninety-two pounds;_Complaynt of a Dolorous Lover_, printed by Robert Wyer about 1550, unique, sixty-seven pounds, four shillings; _The Tragicall Historie ofRomeus and Juliet_ (London, 1562), seventy-seven pounds, fourteenshillings; _Merry Jeste of a shrewde and curste Wyfe_ (London, about1575), unique, sixty-four pounds; Munday's _Banquet of DaintieConceits_ (London, 1588), unique, two hundred and twenty-five pounds;Chute's _Beawtie Dishonoured_, written under the title of _Shores Wife_(London, 1593), unique, ninety-six pounds; _Maroccus Extaticus, orBankes Bay Horse_ (London, 1595), eighty-one pounds; Chester's _LovesMartyr, or Rosalins Complaynt_ (London, 1601)--this work contains a poem(Threnos) by Shakespeare at p. 172--one hundred and thirty-eight pounds;_Meeting of Gallants at an Ordinarie, or the Walkes in Powles_ (London, 1604), unique, eighty-one pounds; _Sejanus, his Fall_, by Ben Jonson, first edition (London, 1605), printed on large paper, a presentationcopy from the author with the following autograph inscription--

 'To my perfect friend Mr. Francis Crane I erect this Altar of Friendship, and leave it as an eternall witnesse of my Love. 

 BEN JONSON'--

unique, one hundred and six pounds; Hannay's _Philomela, theNightingale_, etc. (London, 1622), ninety-six pounds. 

A carved casket made out of the mulberry tree in Shakespeare's Garden, and presented to Garrick with the freedom of the borough ofStratford-on-Avon, was purchased at Charles Mathews's sale in 1835 byDaniel for forty-seven guineas, and presented by him to the BritishMuseum. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 93: _Dictionary of National Biography. _]

[Footnote 94: At a sale at Sotheby's on July 11th, 1899, Mr. M'George ofGlasgow gave seventeen hundred pounds for a copy; and two years laterMr. Quaritch purchased another copy at Christie's for seventeen hundredand twenty pounds. ]

WILLIAM, SIXTH DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, 1790-1858

All the Dukes of Devonshire were men of letters and collectors of books. William, the first Duke, acquired many volumes which had belonged to DeThou, and William, the third Duke, bought largely at the sales of thelibraries of Colbert, Baluze, Count von Hoym and other collectors of histime; but William, the sixth Duke, who was born on May the 21st, 1790, may justly be regarded as the founder of the Chatsworth Library in itspresent form. 'He imbibed a taste for literature and books, ' says SirJ. P. Lacaita in his preface to the catalogue of the Library, 'from hismother, Lady Georgiana Spencer, the "beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, "and from his uncle George John, second Earl Spencer, who formed what isperhaps the finest private library in existence. ' In 1811 he succeededto the Dukedom, and shortly afterwards endeavoured to add to his libraryCount M'Carthy's collection, for which he offered twenty thousandpounds, but the offer was declined. He purchased the choicer portion ofthe books of Thomas Dampier, Bishop of Ely, and he bought largely at thesales of the Edwards, Roxburghe, Towneley and other libraries. In 1815the Duke removed the books from his other residences to Chatsworthwith a view to the formation of a great library there, [95] and in 1821he purchased John Philip Kemble's splendid collection of plays for twothousand pounds, adding to it four years later the first edition of_Hamlet_, which he purchased of Messrs. Payne and Foss, the booksellersof Pall Mall, for one hundred pounds. But one other copy of thisprecious little volume is known to exist, that in the British Museum, which wants the title-page, while that acquired by the Duke is withoutthe last leaf. After the death of the Duke on January the 18th, 1858, the collection at Chatsworth was further enlarged by his successor, whotransferred to it some choice books from the library at Chiswick, andalso added to it a select portion of the books of his brother, LordRichard Cavendish, who died in 1873. [96] In 1879 a catalogue of thebooks at Chatsworth was compiled by Sir J. P. Lacaita, the librarian, infour volumes, and printed at the Chiswick Press. The library is rich inchoice and early editions of the Greek and Latin Classics, and theproductions of the Aldine Press are particularly numerous and fine. Ofthe Bibles, the Latin Bible of 1462, and a vellum copy of that printedby Jenson in 1476, are perhaps the most important. As many astwenty-five works from the press of Caxton, and twenty-four from thatof Wynkyn de Worde are to be found in the catalogue. Among the Caxtonsis a copy of the _Recuyell of the Histories of Troye_, which oncebelonged to Elizabeth Grey, wife of Edward IV. This volume was bought atthe Roxburghe sale for one thousand and sixty pounds, ten shillings. Amagnificent copy of De Bry's _Collectiones Peregrinationum_, whichformerly belonged to François César Le Tellier, Marquis de Courtanvaux, is also deserving of special notice. A large proportion of the books arein handsome and historical bindings, and no fewer than twenty-fourvolumes from the library of Grolier are to be found on the shelves ofthe collection, which also contains a nearly complete set of CountyHistories. Among the manuscripts is one of great interest. It is aMissal given by King Henry VII. To his daughter Margaret, Queen Consortof James IV. , King of Scotland, and mother of the Lady Margaret Douglas, who later presented the volume to the Archbishop of St. Andrews. Thebook contains two notes in the handwriting of Henry. On the recto of thefourteenth leaf he has written, 'Remember yor kynde and louyng fader anyor good prayers, Henry Ky'; and on the reverse of leaf 32, 'Pray foryour louyng fader that gave you this booke, and I geve you att all tymesgodds bless[~y]g and myne, Henry Ky. ' On the reverse of leaf 156 LadyMargaret Douglas has written, 'My good lorde of Saynt Andrews i prayyou pray for me that gaufe yow thys buuk--yowrs too my pour, Margaret. '

[Illustration: DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. ]

The Devonshire library also contains a magnificent series of drawings bythe old masters, and prints by the early engravers, which were acquiredby William, the second Duke. The gem of the collection of drawings isthe _Liber Veritatis_, a set of original designs by Claude Lorrain, which Louis XIV. Endeavoured in vain to purchase. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 95: Preface to the catalogue of the library at Chatsworth, bySir J. P. Lacaita. ]

[Footnote 96: _Ibid. _]

SIR THOMAS PHILLIPPS, BART. , 1792-1872

Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. , who was the son of Thomas Phillipps, ofBroadway, Worcestershire, was born at Manchester on the 2nd of July1792. He was educated at Rugby, and in 1811 proceeded to UniversityCollege, Oxford, graduating B. A. In 1815 and M. A. In 1820. In 1818, onthe death of his father, he succeeded to the family estates, and in 1821he was created a baronet. Phillipps died at Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham, on the 6th of February 1872, and was buried at Broadway. Hewas twice married, and by his first wife had three daughters. Phillipps, who was a Trustee of the British Museum and a Fellow of the RoyalSociety and of the Society of Antiquaries, and also a member of theprincipal learned societies, both English and foreign, began at a veryearly age to collect books. While at Rugby he formed a small library, the catalogue of which is still in existence, and the inheritance of hisfather's property in 1818 enabled him to commence the formation of hismagnificent collection of manuscripts. With a view to their acquisition, in 1820 he paid a visit to the Continent, and remained abroad until1825, during which time he made large purchases of manuscripts, especially at the sale of the famous Meerman collection at the Hague in1824, and he also privately bought the manuscripts belonging to theextensive and important collection of Professor Van Ess of Darmstadt, together with a number of his early printed books. Phillipps wasindefatigable in the acquirement of his treasures, and at the time ofhis death his library contained some sixty thousand manuscripts, and agoodly collection of printed books. He writes: 'In amassing mycollection of manuscripts, I commenced with purchasing everything thatlay within my reach, to which I was instigated by reading variousaccounts of the destruction of valuable manuscripts. . . . My principalsearch has been for historical, and particularly unpublishedmanuscripts, whether good or bad, and particularly those on vellum. Mychief desire for preserving vellum manuscripts arose from witnessing theunceasing destruction of them by goldbeaters; my search for charters ordeeds by their destruction in the shops of glue-makers and tailors. As Iadvanced the ardour of the pursuit increased, until at last I became aperfect vello-maniac (if I may coin a word), and I gave any price thatwas asked. Nor do I regret it, for my object was not only to secure goodmanuscripts for myself, but also to raise the public estimation of them, so that their value might be more generally known, and consequently moremanuscripts preserved. For nothing tends to the preservation of anythingso much as making it bear a high price. The examples I always kept inview were Sir Robert Cotton and Sir Robert Harley. '

Sir Thomas Phillipps's collection was not confined to Europeanmanuscripts. It contained several hundred Oriental ones, and he alsoacquired those relating to Mexico belonging to Lord Kingsborough. Theilluminated manuscripts were particularly fine, and some of them hadbeen executed for regal and other distinguished persons, and werebeautifully bound. Many of the manuscripts which related to Ireland andWales were of special interest and great value. For many years Phillippskept his library, together with his fine collections of pictures, drawings, and coins at his residence at Middle Hill, Worcestershire; butin 1862, in consequence of their ever-increasing size, he removed themto Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham, which he purchased from LordNorthwick. On Sir Thomas's death his entailed Middle Hill estates wentto his eldest daughter, Henrietta Elizabeth Molyneux, the wife of JamesOrchard Halliwell, the Shakespearian commentator, but in a will madeshortly before his death he left Thirlestaine House, together with hisbooks, manuscripts, pictures, and other collections, to his thirddaughter, Katherine Somerset Wyttenbach, wife of the Rev. J. E. A. Fenwick, at one time vicar of Needwood, Staffordshire. This bequest was, however, encumbered with the singular condition, that neither his eldestdaughter, nor her husband, nor any Roman Catholic should ever enter thehouse. [97] His second daughter, Maria Sophia, who married the Rev. JohnWalcott of Bitterley Court, Shropshire, predeceased her father. Sincethe manuscripts came into the possession of Mrs. Fenwick, portions havebeen sold by private arrangement to several of the foreign governments;amongst these, however, were no English ones. A large number of theremainder have been disposed of by auction at a series of sales bySotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, but the immense collection is by no meansexhausted. The first sale took place on August 3rd, 1886, and sevenfollowing days; and the others on January 22nd, 1889, and two followingdays; July 15th, 1891, and following day; December 7th, 1891, andfollowing day; July 4th, 1892, and two following days; June 19th, 1893, and three following days; March 21st, 1895, and four following days;June 10th, 1896, and six following days; May 17th, 1897, and threefollowing days; June 6th, 1898, and five following days; and June 5th, 1899, and five following days. The total amount realised at all theseauction sales is upwards of thirty-six thousand six hundred pounds. Theprinted books in Phillipps's library, which 'included a complete set ofthe publications privately printed by him at Middle Hill; importantheraldic and genealogical works, county histories and topography, Welshbooks, valuable dictionaries and grammars, and a large collection ofrare articles relating to America; history, voyages and travels, ' weresold in three parts by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge on August 3rd, 1886, and seven following days; January 22nd, 1889, and two following days;and December 7th, 1891, and following day. There were five thousand fourhundred and sixty-two lots in the three sales, which realised threethousand two hundred and fourteen pounds, thirteen shillings andthreepence. 

About 1822 Sir Thomas Phillipps set up a private printing-press inBroadway Tower, situated on his Middle Hill estate, where he printed alarge number of his manuscripts. Among the more important of thesewere:--_Institutiones Clericorum in Comitatu Wiltoniæ_, 1297-1810, twovolumes, 1821-25, folio; _Monumental Inscriptions in the County ofWilton_, two volumes, 1822, folio (only six copies of this work wereprinted, one of which realised fourteen pounds, ten shillings at thesale of the books); _A Book of Glamorganshire Antiquities, by RiceMerrick, Esq. , 1578, now first published by Sir T. Phillipps, Bart. , 1825_, folio; and _Collectanea de Familiis Diversis quibus nomen estPhillipps, etc. _, two volumes, 1816-40, folio (a copy of which fetchedsixteen pounds at the sale). Phillipps also printed catalogues of hismanuscripts and printed books. A fair but not complete list of the workswill be found in Lowndes's _Bibliographer's Manual of EnglishLiterature_. In 1862 the printing-press was removed with the library andother collections to Thirlestaine House. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 97: _Athenæum_, February 17, 1872. ]

REV. THOMAS CORSER, 1793-1876

The Rev. Thomas Corser was the third son of George Corser, banker, ofWhitchurch, Shropshire. He was born at Whitchurch in 1793, and receivedhis early education first at the school of his native place, andafterwards at the Manchester Grammar School, from whence he wasadmitted a commoner of Balliol College, Oxford. He took the degree ofB. A. In 1815 and that of M. A. In 1818. In 1816 Corser was ordained tothe curacy of Condover, near Shrewsbury, and after filling several othercuracies he was appointed in 1826 to the rectory of All Saints' Church, Stand, Manchester, which living he held, together with the vicarage ofNorton-by-Daventry in Northamptonshire, for nearly half a century. Hedied, after a long illness, at Stand Rectory on the 24th of August 1876. 

The Rev. T. Corser was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in1850, and he was one of the founders of the Chetham Society, for whichhe edited four works: _Chester's Triumph_, James's _Iter Lancastrense_, Robinson's _Golden Mirrour_, and _Collectanea Anglo-Poetica_. Thelast-named work, of which a portion was written by Corser and theremainder by James Crossley, is an elaborate account of Corser'ssplendid collection of early English poetry. 

Corser was one of the most learned and enthusiastic book-collectors ofhis day, and his noble library contained, besides a wonderful collectionof unique and rare editions of the works of the early English poets anddramatists, a fine block-book, 'Apocalypsis Sancti Johannis, ' sevenCaxtons, and a large number of books printed by Machlinia, Wynkyn deWorde, Pynson, Notary, Redman, and other early English printers. Thelibrary also comprised a large number of books of emblems, drolleries, jest-books, garlands, and many other scarce and curious works in allclasses of literature. Mr. Corser also possessed a few choicemanuscripts. 

In 1868 Mr. Corser, in consequence of ill health and failure of hiseyesight, which precluded him from the further enjoyment of his books, determined to part with his library, and it was sold in eight parts bySotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. The first portion was sold on the 28th ofJuly 1868, and two following days; and the last portion on June the25th, 1873, and three following days. There were six thousand twohundred and forty-four lots in the eight sales, and the total amountrealised was nineteen thousand seven hundred and eighty-one pounds. Catalogues, with the prices, of all the sales are preserved in theBritish Museum. The sums obtained for the books were not large. Theblock-book sold for four hundred and forty-five pounds, and the sevenCaxtons--the first edition of the _Dictes or Sayings_, _Tully of OldAge_, _Knight of the Tower_, _Golden Legend_, _Life of Our Lady_, _Speculum Vitæ Christi_, and _Fayts of Arms_--realised but thirteenhundred and forty-three pounds; the _Knight of the Tower_ and _Fayts ofArms_ fetching the highest prices--five hundred and sixty pounds, andtwo hundred and fifty pounds. Several of the Caxtons were, however, imperfect. _The Dyalogue of Dives and Pauper_, 1493, until recentlybelieved to be the first dated book printed by Pynson, brought onehundred and four pounds, and _The Recuyles of the historyes of Troye_, 1503; _Bartholomæus de proprietatibus rerum_, about 1495; and _TheExample of Vertue_, 1530, all printed by Wynkyn de Worde, one hundredand fourteen pounds, sixty pounds, and fifty-eight pounds. Mr. Corser'sfour Shakespeare folios sold for one hundred and sixty pounds, forty-nine pounds, seventy-seven pounds, and twelve pounds, while thefirst edition of the _Sonnets_ realised forty-five pounds, and the 1636edition of _Venus and Adonis_ fifty-five pounds. Some other rare books, and the prices obtained for them, were the _Sarum Missal_, printed atParis in 1514, eighty-seven pounds; _Biblia Pauperum_ (A. Verard, Paris, about 1503), ninety-nine pounds; _Guy de Waruich_ (Paris, 1525), twohundred and eighty-two pounds; unique copy of an edition of _Huon ofBordeaux_, thought to have been printed by Pynson, eighty-one pounds;_Nurcerie of Names_, by Guillam de Warrino (William Warren) (London, 1581), one hundred pounds; Daye's _Daphnis and Chloe_ (London, 1587), unique, sixty pounds; _The Three Ladies of London_, by W. R. (London, 1592), seventy-six pounds; _The Phoenix Nest_ (London, 1593), sixty-four pounds, ten shillings; Chute's _Beawtie Dishonoured_(London, 1593), one hundred and five pounds; _Maroccus Extaticus, orBankes Bay Horse_ (London, 1595), one hundred and ten pounds; the firstfive editions of Walton's _Compleat Angler_, one hundred and fortypounds; and twenty early ballads in black letter, bound in a volume, eighty-nine pounds. 

The more important manuscripts in the collection were _Le Romant desTrois Pelerinages_, by Guillaume de Guilleville, written on vellum inthe fourteenth century, and ornamented with many illuminations anddrawings, two hundred and ten pounds; _Bartholomæus De ProprietatibusRerum_, vellum, richly illuminated, fourteenth century, ninety-onepounds; a _Poem on the Lord's Prayer_, by John Kylyngwyke, vellum, fourteenth century, seventy pounds; _Lyf of Oure Lady_, by John Lydgate, fifteenth century, written and illuminated on vellum, forty-six pounds;and _Officium Beatæ Mariæ Virginis_, fifteenth century, illuminated, sixty-four pounds. 

Some additional manuscripts and books which had belonged to Mr. Corserwere sold after his death, at Manchester, by Capes, Dunn and Pilcher onDecember the 13th, 1876, and two following days. These realised onethousand four hundred and eight pounds, sixteen shillings and sixpence. Among them was the original manuscript of Cavendish's _Life of Wolsey_, which fetched sixty guineas. 

DAVID LAING, 1793-1878

David Laing, the eminent Scottish antiquary, was the second son ofWilliam Laing, a bookseller in Edinburgh, and was born in that city onthe 20th of April 1793. He was educated at the Canongate Grammar School, and afterwards attended the Greek classes of Professor Dalzel at theEdinburgh University. [98] At an early age he was apprenticed to hisfather, and in the year 1821 he entered into partnership with him. Hisfather died in 1832, and David Laing continued to carry on the businessuntil 1837, when, having been elected librarian to the Society ofWriters to H. M. Signet, he gave it up, and disposed of his stock bypublic sale. Laing was Honorary Secretary of the Bannatyne Club from itsfoundation by Sir Walter Scott in 1823 to its dissolution thirty-eightyears later, and himself edited a large number of its publications. Healso edited papers for the Spalding, Abbotsford, and Hunterian Clubs, and the Shakespeare and Wodrow Societies; while his contributions to the_Proceedings_ of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, of which he waselected a Fellow in 1826, consisted of upwards of one hundred separatepapers. In 1864 the University of Edinburgh conferred on him the degreeof LL. D. He died unmarried on the 18th of October 1878. 

Laing's life was one of great literary activity, and although he did notproduce any large original work, he edited many of the writings of theold Scottish authors. His acquaintance with the early literary andecclesiastical history, as well as the art and antiquities, of Scotlandwas very extensive; and Lockhart, in _Peter's Letters to his Kinsfolk_, states that he possessed a 'truly wonderful degree of skill andknowledge in all departments of bibliography. ' A list of the variouspublications issued under his editorial superintendence from 1815 to1878 inclusive, together with his lectures on Scottish art, appear in acollection of privately printed notices of him edited by T. G. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1878. 

Laing availed himself of his exceptional opportunities to form a verylarge and fine library, which was particularly rich in booksillustrative of the history and literature of Scotland, many of whichwere of excessive rarity, and several unique. Nearly every publicationrelating to Mary Queen of Scots was to be found in it. After Laing'sdeath his library, with the exception of his manuscripts, which hebequeathed to the University of Edinburgh, was sold in four portions bySotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. 

 _First Sale_--

 December 1st, 1879, and ten following days. Three thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine lots = thirteen thousand two hundred and eighty-eight pounds, eight shillings and sixpence. 

 _Second Sale_--

 April 5th, 1880, and ten following days. Four thousand and eighty-two lots = one thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight pounds, three shillings. 

 _Third Sale_--

 July 20th, 1880, and four following days. Two thousand four hundred and forty-three lots = seven hundred and seventy-one pounds, nine shillings and sixpence. 

 _Fourth Sale_--

 February 21st, 1881, and three following days. One thousand four hundred and nineteen lots = seven hundred and thirty-eight pounds, eighteen shillings. 

Large prices were obtained for many of the books, especially for theearly ones printed in Scotland. 

The following are a few of the rarest of the volumes, together with theamounts for which they were sold:--

A Roman Breviary on vellum, printed by N. Jenson at Venice in 1482, andornamented with borders to the pages, drawn by a pen, ninety-threepounds; _Lo Doctrinal de Sapiensa_, in the Catalan dialect, by Guy deRoye, printed about 1495, one hundred pounds; _Missale pro usu totiusRegni Norvegiæ_ (Haffniæ, 1519), with the arms and cypher of the King ofDenmark on the back of the binding, one hundred and thirty-two pounds;_The Falle of Princis_, etc. , by Boccaccio, translated by John Lydgate, and printed by Pynson in 1527, seventy-eight pounds; _The Catechisme_ ofArchbishop Hamilton, printed at 'Sanct Androus' in 1552, one hundred andforty-eight pounds; _Tractate concerning ye Office and Dewtie ofKyngis_, etc. , written by William Lauder, and printed by John Scott atEdinburgh in 1556, seventy-seven pounds; _Confessione della FedeChristiana_, by Theodore Beza, printed in 1560, containing the autographof Sir James Melville, and having MARIA R. SCOTOR[=V] stamped in gold oneach cover, one hundred and forty-nine pounds; _The Forme and Maner ofExamination before the Admission to ye Tabill of ye Lord, usit by yeMinisterie of Edinburge_ (Edinburgh, 1581), seventy pounds; the firstedition of the author's corrected text of _Don Quixote_ (Madrid, 1608), together with the first edition of the second part (Madrid, 1615), onehundred and ninety-two pounds; dedication copy to King Charles II. Ofthe _Institutions of the Law of Scotland_, by Sir James Dalrymple ofStair, afterwards Viscount Stair, two volumes (Edinburgh, 1681), in aremarkably fine contemporary Scotch binding, with the royal arms in goldon the covers, two hundred and ninety-five pounds; a first edition of_Robinson Crusoe_, three volumes (London, 1719-20), thirty-one pounds;one of the twelve copies, printed at a cost of upwards of ten thousandpounds, of the _Botanical Tables_ of the Earl of Bute, nine volumes, with the arms of the Earl impressed in gold on the bindings, seventy-seven pounds; the first edition of Burns's _Poems_ (Kilmarnock, 1786), with lines in the autograph of Burns, and a letter from J. G. Lockhart, ninety pounds; and a fine collection of Scots Ballads andBroadsides, one hundred and thirty in number, issued between 1669 and1730, many of great rarity, one hundred and thirty-three pounds. Laingleft a collection of drawings to the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, of which he had been elected Honorary Professor of Ancient History andAntiquities in 1856. His prints were sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson andHodge on the 21st of February 1880, in two hundred and thirteen lots, and realised two hundred and seventy pounds, thirteen shillings. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 98: _Dictionary of National Biography. _]

BERTRAM, FOURTH EARL OF ASHBURNHAM, 1797-1878

Bertram, fourth Earl of Ashburnham, who was born on the 23rd of November1797, and died on the 22nd of June 1878, was one of the greatest andmost ardent of English book-collectors. He developed a taste forbook-buying at a very early age. It is said that his first purchase wasmade in 1814, when, a boy at Westminster School, he bought a copy of the_Secretes_ of Albertus Magnus for eighteenpence at Ginger's well-knownshop in Great College Street, and at the time of his death he hadamassed a library which ranked among the first in the kingdom. Magnificent as was his collection of printed books, the library was evenstill more notable for the manuscripts it contained, which amounted tonearly four thousand, and were remarkable for their value andimportance. In addition to those which he bought separately, LordAshburnham acquired in 1847 the manuscripts of Count Guglielmo Libri foreight thousand pounds, and in 1849 he purchased the Stowe manuscriptsfor the same sum, and those of Jean Barrois for six thousand pounds. Five years after the death of Lord Ashburnham, his successor, thepresent Earl, offered the manuscripts, for one hundred and sixtythousand pounds, to the Trustees of the British Museum, who wereanxious to purchase them for that sum. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, however, declined to find the money for the entire collection, but theStowe manuscripts were acquired by the Government for forty-fivethousand pounds, and divided between the British Museum and the libraryof the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin. To the latter institution weregiven the Irish manuscripts and certain volumes specially relating toIreland. It had long been suspected that many of the manuscripts in theLibri and Barrois collections had been abstracted from French andItalian public libraries, and when this was proved to have been thecase, principally through the researches of M. Delisle, the Director ofthe Bibliothèque Nationale, it was arranged between the Trustees of theBritish Museum and the French authorities that should the former becomepossessors of the manuscripts, they would return the stolen volumes forthe sum of twenty-four thousand pounds. As the Treasury refused tosanction the purchase of the whole of the Ashburnham manuscripts, thisarrangement could not be carried out, and in 1887 the manuscripts, onehundred and sixty-six in number, stolen from the French and Italianlibraries, were bought by Mr. Karl Trübner, acting as agent for theGrand Duke of Baden and the German Imperial authorities, for the samesum as the French had been willing to pay for them. The primary objectof this transaction, says Mr. F. S. Ellis in his excellent account of thelibrary in Quaritch's _Dictionary of English Book-Collectors_, 'was torecover the famous Manesse Liederbuch, a thirteenth century MS. Carriedaway by the French from Heidelberg in 1656, the loss of which had eversince been regarded as a national calamity in Germany. For £6000 in cashand this precious volume, he handed over the 166 Libri and Barrois MSS. To the Bibliothèque Nationale. By a simple arithmetical process, we canconclude that £18, 000 was the net cost to the German Exchequer of asingle volume of old German ballads--the highest price ever paid for abook. ' The stolen manuscripts which were not required to replace thosetaken from the French libraries, were purchased by the ItalianGovernment. 

Mr. Yates Thompson is understood to have purchased that portion of theother manuscripts in the library known as 'The Appendix, ' for aboutforty thousand pounds, and after selecting those he required for his owncollection, to have sent the remainder to the auction rooms of Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, where they were sold on May the 1st, 1899. Therewere one hundred and seventy-seven lots in the sale, which realisedeight thousand five hundred and ninety-five pounds, five shillings. Thechoicest manuscript in the catalogue was an important text of the laterversion (1400-40) of 'Wycliffe's English Bible, ' known as the 'BramhallManuscript, ' which was knocked down to Mr. Quaritch for seventeenhundred and fifty pounds. Other fine manuscripts were a copy of the_Historia Ecclesiastica_ of the Venerable Bede, written in the eighthcentury; an _Evangeliarium_ of the twelfth century, with beautifulilluminations; _Officia Liturgica_, fifteenth century; and _Horæ BeatæMariæ Virginis_, written in the sixteenth century, richly illuminated. These realised respectively two hundred and thirty pounds, three hundredpounds, four hundred and sixty-seven pounds, and three hundred pounds. On the 10th of June 1901 and the four following days the manuscripts inthe Barrois Collection, not previously disposed of, were sold by thesame auctioneers. There were six hundred and twenty-eight lots in thissale, and the very large sum of thirty-three thousand two hundred andseventeen pounds, six shillings and sixpence was obtained for them, thechoicest manuscripts fetching exceptionally high prices. The manuscriptswere of great importance and much interest. Among them were to be foundearly copies of the Gospels and Epistles, and beautifully illuminatedmanuscripts of the Latin and Italian Classics, Books of Devotion, andearly French Romances and Chronicles. The collection also contained anumber of papers relating to Mary, Queen of Scots, and a valuableseries of Anglo-Norman Charters, etc. The following are a few of themore interesting and valuable manuscripts, together with the prices theyrealised:--_Roman du Saint Graal et Lancelot du Lac_, on vellum, inthree folio volumes, with beautifully painted miniatures and initials, fourteenth century--eighteen hundred pounds; _Psalterium Latinum_, onvellum, fourteenth century, with paintings attributed to Giotto--fifteenhundred and thirty pounds; _Vie du vaillant Bertrand du Guesclin_, written on vellum in the fourteenth century, with miniatures in _camaïeugris_--fifteen hundred pounds; _La Légende Dorée_, translated by Jehande Vignay, fifteenth century, on vellum, with a large number of veryfine illuminated miniatures and ornamental initials--fifteen hundredpounds; _Chronique Generale dite de la Bourcachardiere_, by Jehan deCourcy, in two large folio volumes, on vellum, with large illuminations, fifteenth century--fourteen hundred and twenty pounds; _Horæ Beatæ MariæVirginis_, with very fine illuminations, fifteenth century--elevenhundred and sixty pounds; _Histoire Universelle_, on vellum, in twovolumes, with miniatures in _camaïeu gris_, fifteenth century--ninehundred and ten pounds; _Dante_, vellum, richly illuminated, fourteenthcentury--six hundred and thirty pounds. The collection of Anglo-NormanCharters fetched three hundred and five pounds, and the Letters andPapers relating to Mary, Queen of Scots, one hundred and ninety-sixpounds. 

For upwards of fifty years Lord Ashburnham availed himself of everyopportunity of acquiring the finest and most perfect copies obtainableof the rarest and choicest books, and he brought together a collectionof printed volumes which was well worthy of being associated with thatof his manuscripts. It was especially rich in Bibles, and in Missals, Horæ and other Service Books, and in the early editions of Dante, Boccaccio and Chaucer. Among the Bibles and portions of the Scriptureswere a block-book, a copy of the _Biblia Pauperum_, regarded byHeinecken as the second edition of that work; vellum and paper copies ofthe Gutenberg Bible; a vellum copy of the 1462 Latin Bible; a perfectcopy of Tyndale's translation of the Pentateuch, printed at 'Marlborow'by Hans Loft in 1534; and the Coverdale Bible of 1535. Of foreignincunabula there was a large number; of Caxtons a very goodly list, [99]but comparatively few of them perfect; and the rarest productions of thepress of St. Albans, and of those of Machlinia, Lettou, Pynson, Wynkynde Worde, Copland, and other early English printers were to be found inthe library. The collection of the editions of the _Book of Hawking, Hunting_, etc. , attributed to Dame Juliana Berners, may be considered tohave been unique, for it included the _Book of St. Albans_, printed in1486, the extremely rare edition printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1496, thethree editions printed by William Copland, those of William Powell andJohn Waley, and the only known copy of the first separate edition of_Fysshynge with an Angle_, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1532. Otherrare English books were the first edition of the first _ReformedPrimer_, printed in 1535; an _Abridgement of the Chronicles ofEnglande_, printed by Grafton in 1570, which belonged to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded in 1572, with an interesting letterwritten by him on the blank space of the reverse of the last leaf, shortly before his death; _The Principal Navigations, etc. , of theEnglish Nation_, by Richard Hakluyt, printed in 1598-1600, with the veryrare map having the Voyage of Sir Francis Drake, 1577, and that ofStandish, 1587, and the original suppressed pages of the Voyage toCadiz; the four Shakespeare folios, and the first five editions ofWalton's _Compleat Angler_, in the original bindings (three sheep andtwo calf) as issued by the publisher. Books also worthy of specialnotice were the beautifully illuminated copies of Boccaccio's _Ruine desNobles Hommes_, printed by Colard Mansion at Bruges in 1476; the _OperaVaria Latine_ of Aristotle, printed on vellum by Andrea de Asula atVenice in 1483; and _Heures de la Vierge Marie_, also printed on vellum, by Geoffroy Tory in 1525. A catalogue of the more rare and curiousprinted books in the library was privately printed in 1864. 

Although bookbindings did not form a special feature of the library, Lord Ashburnham possessed some remarkably fine and interesting examplesof them. That on a tenth century manuscript of the Gospels, which formany centuries belonged to the Abbey of Noble Canonesses at Lindau, onthe Lake of Constance, is one of the finest specimens of gold andjewelled bindings to be found in any collection. This beautiful work ofart, the lower cover of which is of the eighth century and the upper ofthe ninth, is of gold or silver gilt, and is profusely decorated withjewels. It is described in the _Vetusta Monumenta_ of the Society ofAntiquaries, and was shown at the Exhibition of Bookbindings at theBurlington Fine Arts Club in 1891. [100] The collection also contained aparticularly fine mosaic binding, with doublures, by Monnier, and manyvolumes from the libraries of Grolier, Maioli, the Emperor Charles V. , De Thou, etc. 

Lord Ashburnham's printed books were sold in three portions in 1897 and1898 by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge. The first sale took place on June25th, 1897, and seven following days; the second on December 6th, 1897, and five following days, and the third on May 9th, 1898, and fivefollowing days. There were four thousand and seventy-five lots in thethree sales, and the total amount realised was sixty-two thousand sevenhundred and twelve pounds, seven shillings and sixpence. 

Very high prices were obtained for the books. The _Biblia Pauperum_block-book sold for a thousand and fifty pounds; the vellum copy of theGutenberg Bible for four thousand pounds, the largest sum paid for acopy of this Bible, and the highest but one ever given for a printedbook (Lord Ashburnham's copy on paper was sold privately to Mr. Quaritchfor three thousand pounds); the Latin Bible of 1462 for fifteen hundredpounds; and the Coverdale Bible and Tyndale's Pentateuch for eighthundred and twenty pounds, and two hundred pounds. The illuminatedcopies of Boccaccio's _Ruine des Nobles Hommes_, printed by ColardMansion; Aristotle's _Opera Varia Latine_, printed by Andrea de Asula;and the _Heures de la Vierge Marie_, printed by Geoffroy Tory, realisedsix hundred and ninety-five pounds, eight hundred pounds, and eighthundred and sixty pounds. 

Of the Caxtons the _Life of Jason_ and the _Dictes_ fetched the highestprices--two thousand one hundred pounds, and thirteen hundred and twentypounds; the former being the largest sum ever paid for any Caxton book. Three hundred and eighty-five pounds were obtained for the 'Book of St. Albans'; one thousand pounds for Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_, printedby Wynkyn de Worde in 1498, believed to be the only copy extant; andthree hundred and sixty pounds for the _Treatyse of Fysshing with anAngle_, by the same printer. This little book, which consists of sixteenleaves, and without the covers weighs about two ounces, sold for nearlyforty-five times its weight in gold. The first edition of the _ReformedPrimer_ sold for two hundred and twenty-five pounds; Grafton's_Chronicle_, with the letter of the Duke of Norfolk, for seventy pounds;and a vellum copy of the _Tewrdannck_ for three hundred and ten pounds. 

The first folio Shakespeare, which was slightly imperfect, was bought byMr. Sotheran for five hundred and eighty-five pounds, for presentationto the Memorial Library, Stratford-on-Avon. The second folio fetchedninety pounds, and the third one hundred and ninety pounds. Hakluyt's_Navigations_ sold for two hundred and seventy-five pounds, and the setof the first five editions of the _Compleat Angler_ for eight hundredpounds. At the Corser sale they realised but one hundred and fortypounds. The copy of _Merlin_ with the Monnier binding brought sevenhundred and sixty pounds, and a collection of early impressions ofsixty-two prints by Albert Dürer three hundred and fifty pounds. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 99: Eighteen are mentioned in Blades's _Life and Typography ofCaxton_. London, 1861-63. ]

[Footnote 100: This volume was recently sold for the Earl of Ashburnhamby Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge to a private purchaser for ten thousandpounds. ]

SIR WILLIAM TITE, C. B. , 1798-1873

Sir William Tite, C. B. , was the son of Mr. Arthur Tite, a Londonmerchant. He was born in London in 1798, and after receiving hiseducation at private schools, became a pupil of David Laing, thearchitect of the Custom House. Sir William Tite designed many buildingsin London and the provinces, and a considerable number of the moreimportant railway stations; but the work with which his name isespecially associated was the rebuilding of the Royal Exchange, whichcost £150, 000, and was opened by the Queen on the 28th of October 1844. In 1838 he was elected President of the Architectural Society, and ofthe Royal Institute of British Architects from 1861-63, and from1867-70. He entered Parliament in 1855 as Member for Bath, and continuedto represent that constituency until his death. In 1869 he was knighted, and in the following year he received the Companionship of the Bath. SirWilliam was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and also of the Society ofAntiquaries. He died at Torquay on April 20th, 1873, and was buried inNorwood Cemetery. 

Sir William Tite was an ardent collector of manuscripts, books, andworks of art, and he formed a very large and choice library, whichcontained many valuable manuscripts, and a great number of rare earlyEnglish books. It was sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, in May andJune 1874. The sale occupied sixteen days, and realised nineteenthousand nine hundred and forty-three pounds, six shillings. There werethree thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven lots. 

Among the more notable manuscripts in the library were a richlyilluminated _Lectionarium_, written on vellum about A. D. 1150 at themonastery of Ottenbeuren in Suabia, which sold for five hundred andfifty pounds; a Wycliffe New Testament on vellum of the first half ofthe fifteenth century, which brought two hundred and forty-one pounds; acopy of the Four Gospels of about the same period, which fetched onehundred and eight pounds; a number of Horæ and other service books, andthree devotional works written by Jarry, the famous Frenchcalligraphist. There were also the original manuscripts of three of thenovels of Sir Walter Scott--_Peveril of the Peak_, the first volume ofthe _Tales of my Landlord (The Black Dwarf)_, and _Woodstock_, whichtogether realised three hundred and ninety-eight pounds. The collectionalso contained a block-book, _The Apocalypse_, which brought two hundredand eighty-five pounds; four Caxtons, the most important of which--aperfect copy of the second edition of the _Mirrour of the World_--soldfor four hundred and fifty-five pounds; and many books from the pressesof Machlinia, Pynson, Wynkyn de Worde, Notary, and other early Englishprinters. Shakespeare was well represented. The first three folios wereto be found in the library, as well as the first editions of _Lucrece_and the _Sonnets_, and a large number of the quarto plays. The firstfolio and _Lucrece_ realised respectively four hundred and forty poundsand one hundred and ten pounds. There was also a choice collection ofthe works of other writers of the time of Elizabeth and James I. A copyof the first edition of _Don Quixote_; and a set of the first fiveeditions of Walton's _Compleat Angler_, which sold for sixty-eightpounds, also deserve especial notice. A series of autographs in thirteenfolio volumes realised three hundred and twenty-five pounds; and thesale catalogue contained as many as two hundred and fourteen lots ofautograph letters of Mary Queen of Scots, Lord Bacon, Cromwell, andother celebrities. 

Sir William Tite was the author of a 'Report of a Visit to the Estatesof the Honourable Irish Society in Londonderry and Coleraine in theyear 1834, ' and of a 'Descriptive Catalogue of the Antiquities found inthe Excavations at the New Royal Exchange, ' which he published in 1848. Several of his papers and addresses, which principally treated ofbibliographical or antiquarian subjects, were privately printed. He wasa liberal promoter of all schemes for the advancement of education, andhe founded the Tite Scholarship in the City of London School. 

JAMES THOMSON GIBSON-CRAIG, 1799-1886

Mr. James Thomson Gibson-Craig, who was born in March 1799, was thesecond son of Mr. James Gibson, the political reformer, who, onsucceeding under entail to the Riccarton estates in 1823, assumed thename of Craig, and in 1831 was created a baronet. He was educated at theHigh School and the University of Edinburgh, and after spending sometime in foreign travel, he became a Writer to the Signet, and joined thefirm afterwards known as Gibson-Craig, Dalziel and Brodies, ofEdinburgh, of which he continued a member until about the year 1875. Mr. Gibson-Craig was well known for his literary and antiquarian tastes, andit was principally owing to his exertions that the HistoricalManuscripts of Scotland were reproduced and issued during the time hisbrother, Sir William Gibson-Craig, held the office of Lord ClerkRegister. He was a friend of Sir Walter Scott, of Lord Jeffrey, and LordCockburn, and at a later period of Lord Macaulay; and he was alsointimate with most of the principal Scottish artists and antiquaries ofhis time. He died at Edinburgh on the 18th of July 1886. Mr. Gibson-Craig, who began to collect during his student days, formed anextensive and valuable library of choice books, many of which were boundby celebrated binders, and were once to be found in such famouslibraries as those of Grolier, Canevari, Diana of Poitiers, Mary Queenof Scots, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, De Thou, Count von Hoym, Longepierre, and Madame de Pompadour. After his death his collection wassold by Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge in three portions. The firstportion was sold on June the 27th, 1887, and nine following days; thesecond on March the 23rd, 1888, and five following days, and on April6th and eight following days; and the third on November the 15th, 1888, and two following days. There were altogether nine thousand four hundredand four lots, and the amount realised was fifteen thousand five hundredand nine pounds, four shillings and sixpence. 

The following are some of the more notable books and manuscripts in thecollection, and the prices obtained for them:--

_Bartholomæi Camerarii de Prædestinatione dialogi tres. _ Parisiis, 1556. Bound in white morocco, the sides blind-tooled with the various emblemsof Diana of Poitiers, and the initial of Henry II. , King of France, surmounted by a crown. In the centre of the upper cover are the wordsCONSEQVITVR QVOD CVNQVE PETIT, and on the lower cover NIHIL AMPLIVSOPTAT. One hundred and forty-six pounds. 

_Cronique de Savoye, par Maistre Guillaume Paradin. _ Lyon, 1552. Thisvolume formerly belonged to Mary Queen of Scots. It is in the originalcalf binding, and has in the centre of each cover a shield bearing thearms of Scotland, surmounted by a crown, with a crowned M above, below, and on each side of them, as well as at the corners of the book, andalso on the panels of the back. Two hundred and sixty-five pounds. 

_Larismetique et Geometrie de Estienne de la Roche. _ Lyon, 1538. Thebinding bears the arms of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, third husbandof Mary Queen of Scots. Eighty-one pounds. 

_The XIII. Bukes of Eneados, translated out of Latyne verses intoScottish metir bi Mayster Gawin Douglas, Bishop of Dunkel, and unkil tothe Erie of Angus. _ [W. Copland], London, 1553. Seventy-five pounds, tenshillings. 

_Poliphili Hypnerotomachia. _ Aldus, Venetiis, 1499. Ninety pounds. 

_Tewrdannck. _ Augsburg, 1519. Thirty-nine pounds. 

Walton's _Compleat Angler_. First edition. London, 1653. 

Cotton's _Complete Angler_. First edition. London, 1676. Together, onehundred and ninety-five pounds. 

Burns's _Poems_. Kilmarnock, 1786. One hundred and eleven pounds. 

The more important of the manuscripts were:--

_Horæ B. Mariæ Virginis_, written in the thirteenth century on vellum byan Anglo-Saxon or Scottish scribe. Three hundred and twenty-five pounds. 

The First and Second Series of Sir Walter Scott's _Chronicles of theCanongate_. An autograph manuscript presented by the author to R. Cadell. One hundred and forty-one pounds. 

A collection of valuable and interesting correspondence and memorandarelating to the Rebellion of 1715, comprising many of the originalletters and despatches from the Earl of Mar, etc. Ninety-nine pounds. 

In 1882 Mr. Gibson-Craig issued, in an edition of twenty-five copies, _Fac-similes of Old Book Binding_ in his collection; and in thefollowing year a facsimile reprint of the _Shorte Summe of the wholeCatechisme_, by his ancestor John Craig, accompanied by a memoir of theauthor by Thomas Graves Law, of the Signet Library. He also printed forthe Bannatyne Club 'Papers relative to the marriage of King James theSixth of Scotland with the Princess Anna of Denmark A. D. MDLXXXIX, andthe Form and Manner of Her Majesty's Coronation at Holyroodhouse A. D. MDXC. '

ALEXANDER WILLIAM, TWENTY-FIFTH EARL OF CRAWFORD, 1812-1880

It is about three hundred years since the founder of the BibliothecaLindesiana died. John Lindsay, the Octavian, better known by his titleof Lord Menmuir, the ancestor of the Earls of Balcarres, had adistinguished though but brief career. He was not quite forty-sevenyears old when he died. During his short though eventful life he took aleading part in State affairs, being much trusted by his Sovereign, KingJames VI. He was a man of varied talents--lawyer, statesman, man ofbusiness, scholar, man of letters, and a poet. He seems to have beenfamiliar with Greek, and to have corresponded in the Latin language. Besides these he acquired a knowledge of French, Italian and Spanish. Heaccumulated many State papers and letters from distinguished personsboth at home and abroad. [101] These, now known as 'the BalcarresPapers, ' were presented by Colin, Earl of Balcarres, to the Advocates'Library in 1712. A summary account of them is given in the First Reportof the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Lord Menmuir's library is nowrepresented at Haigh[102] by two volumes and three fragments, all ofwhich bear his autograph. Lord Menmuir was succeeded by a son, who diedwhilst yet a youth and unmarried. The second son, David, who after hisbrother's death inherited the estate of Balcarres, may be termed thesecond founder of the library. The father's love of books and learningseems to have in a very large measure descended to the son. He added tothe library until it became one of the best in the kingdom. A verycharming letter from William Drummond of Hawthornden to David Lindsay, sent with a copy of the _Flowers of Zion_, which the poet had privatelyprinted, is clear evidence of the terms on which Lindsay lived with hisfriends and fellow book-lovers. The original letter is preserved in theMuniment Room at Haigh, but the identical copy of Drummond's work has, alas! been lost sight of. 

[Illustration: THE SMALL BOOK-STAMP OF THE FIRST LORD BALCARRES. ]

The library of Sir David Lindsay, Lord Balcarres, continued at thefamily seat on the shores of the Firth of Forth until comparativelyrecent times. Sibbald in 1710 mentions the 'great bibliothek' atBalcarres. In Sibbald's time the owner, Colin, third Earl of Balcarres, had added many books to the library, and spent the evening of his daysin the pursuit of letters. When Lady Balcarres, great-grandmother of thepresent Earl of Crawford, left Fife and removed to Edinburgh, whilst herson was in the West Indies, the greater portion of the library wasliterally thrown away and dispersed--torn up for grocers as uselesstrash, by her permission. Of the library collected by generations ofLindsays, all that now remains is a handful of little over fiftyvolumes. The books of David Lindsay, first Lord Balcarres, who died in1641, are recognisable from his signature, and on many of them his armsare impressed in gold on the sides. 

[Illustration: THE LARGE BOOK-STAMP OF THE FIRST LORD BALCARRES. ]

Of the present library at Haigh, the nucleus of it may be said to be thebooks inherited by the grandfather of the present Earl, whose wife wasthe heiress of the first Baron Muncaster. These Muncaster books, although not of the greatest value, formed a basis on which the lateEarl of Crawford, who was born in 1812, built up the present library, which will be always associated with his memory. When a boy he was firedwith enthusiasm for books, and determined to form a great library inwhich every branch of human knowledge in every language should have aplace. He began collecting about 1826, shortly after going to Eton, andcontinued most assiduously to gather of all that was best until hisdeath in 1880. His success may be judged in some measure by theremarkable collections dispersed in 1887 and 1889, which togetherconsisted of three thousand two hundred and fifty-four lots, andrealised twenty-six thousand three hundred and ninety-seven pounds, fourteen shillings. Family burdens rendered it needful for the presentpossessor of the library to put his hands on some available assets, andthis necessity coming at a period of great commercial depression, aportion of the literary treasures unfortunately suffered. But the workwas again renewed, and the present state of the library will not compareignobly with its past. The number of manuscripts is very considerable, probably about six thousand, not a few of which are of the greatestinterest and value, many of them having covers of the precious metals orcarved ivory, enriched with gems and crystals. There are also manypapyri, a great number of Oriental manuscripts, collections of Frenchautograph letters of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods, and ofEnglish autograph letters. The printed books amount to about one hundredthousand, and among them are to be found several block-books and a largenumber of incunabula, including books printed by Caxton, Machlinia, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Rood, and other early English printers. Thelibrary is particularly rich in the productions of the early Italianpresses, especially those of Rome and Venice; and it also contains afine collection of rare works on the languages of North and SouthAmerica, many of them printed in Mexico and Lima, and a series of booksprinted in Aberdeen from 1622 to 1736. Of other printed matter there arecollections of broadside ballads; broadside proclamations illustrativeof English, French, Dutch, German and Italian history; a long series ofPapal Bulls; early English newspapers from 1631 to the Restoration;Civil War tracts; tracts by, for and against Martin Luther; newspapersand periodicals published during the various French revolutions; and alarge number of caricatures issued in France and Germany during theSecond Empire and the Commune. 

It is not an easy task to pick out the choicest gems from the abundanttreasures of this splendid collection, but the following are a few ofthe most interesting and valuable of the manuscripts:

A Legal Instrument of Donation from Johannes, the Primicerius, orCaptain of a company of soldiers, to the Church of Ravenna; written onpapyrus, probably about A. D. 580-600, at Ravenna. Five feet four incheslong by eleven and a half inches broad. 

The Four Gospels in Syriac, in the original Peshitto version, written onvellum about 550. 

St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, _Epistolæ et Opuscula_, written in theseventh or eighth century in rude Merovingian characters, often mixedwith uncial letters. One of the oldest manuscripts in existence of thisFather of the Church. 

The Four Gospels in Latin, written about 850. 

A Textus or Book of the Gospels, probably written at the Benedictinemonastery of St. Gall, Switzerland, in the ninth or tenth century. Inthe centre of the upper cover, which is intended to be used as a pax atMass, is an ivory panel of the Crucifixion, with figures of the VirginMary and St. John the Evangelist. The border is of gilt copper engravedwith a floriated pattern, and studded with silver bosses and jewels; atthe corners are Limoges enamel plaques with the four Evangelists. Theivory carving is of the tenth or eleventh century, the border earlythirteenth. 

The New Testament in Syriac: the Gospels of the Peshitto version, andthe remaining books of the Heraclean version, written about 1000. Remarkable as being the only complete Syriac New Testament of anyantiquity in any library in Europe. 

The Old Testament in Latin, written by a German scribe in the eleventhcentury. The upper cover consists of a carved ivory panel of thethirteenth century, with a border of silver gilt, decorated withfiligree work and figures in _repoussé_, and enriched with crystals _encabochon_. 

St. Beatus, _Commentarius in Apocalypsim_, written in Spain about 1150;with one hundred and ten very large miniatures and a circular map ofthe world. 

_Bible Historiée_, executed in the south of France about 1250; a seriesof full-page paintings on a background of burnished gold, representingscenes from the Book of Genesis. 

_Psalterium_, written in Paris about 1260. This volume belonged at onetime to Joan of Navarre, Queen Consort of Henry IV. , King of England, whose autograph is on one of the blank leaves. 

_Roman de la Rose_, written for, and presented to, Christina deLindesay, Dame de Coucy, 1323. 

_Rime di Petrarca et Cançoni di Dante. _ One of the most importantmanuscripts of the two poets, written during the lifetime of Petrarch, or immediately after his death, by Paul the Scribe for Lorenzo, the sonof Carlo degli Strozzi, a member of one of the noblest families ofFlorence. 

Lydgate's _Siege of Troy_, probably written for William Carent, ofCarent's Court, in the Isle of Purbeck, about 1420. The volume hasilluminated borders and seventy miniatures, and bears the arms of Carentat the end. 

_Missale Romanum_, six volumes folio, written on vellum in 1510-17 forCardinal Pompeo Colonna. The tradition handed down by the family wasthat the large full-page illuminations with which the manuscript isadorned were executed by Raphael about the year 1517, when the owner wasmade a cardinal; and there is no doubt that, if not actually by hishand, the work was done by his followers under his supervision. In allprobability, we may say that the large miniatures are painted by TimoteoViti, and the illuminations and arabesques by Litti di Filippo de'Corbizi. [103]

Some of the more notable of the incunabula are two block-books--thefirst Dutch edition of the _Speculum Humanæ Salvationis_, and a copy ofthe _Ars Memorativa_ printed before 1474-75. Cicero, _Officiorum libritres_, printed at Mentz by Fust and Schoeffer in 1465. Lactantius, _Opera_, printed in the Monastery of Subiaco, near Rome, by Sweynheymand Pannartz in 1465. Higden's _Polychronicon_ and the _Boke ofEneydos_, printed by Caxton in 1482 and 1490. The _Chronicles ofEngland_ and the _Speculum Christiani_, printed by Machlinia. Lyndewode, _Constitutiones provinciales ecclesiæ anglicanæ_, printed at Oxford byRood and Hunte in 1483-85. The _Croniclis of Engl[=o]de with the fruteof timis_, from the St. Albans press. 

Among other books of later dates deserving of special notice may bementioned--Vespucci, _Paesi novamente retrovati_, Vicenza, 1507. Thefirst and very rare edition of the celebrated Thesis of Luther againstthe system of indulgences, which he affixed to the gate of theUniversity of Wittemberg, 1517. _Huon of Bordeaux_, printed by Wynkynde Worde about 1534--believed to be unique. Archbishop Parker's _DeAntiquitate Britannicæ Ecclesiæ_, London, 1572. A magnificent set of DeBry's _Grands et Petits Voyages_, in one hundred and eighty-two volumes, 1590-1644. A Booke containing all such Proclamations as were publishedduring the Raigne of Elizabeth (and James I. ); collected by HumphreyDyson, London, 1618. The first and second Shakespeare folios. Threecopies of the first edition of Milton's _Paradise Lost_, with the first, third and fourth title-pages. 

The immense collection of broadsides forms one of the most remarkablefeatures of this magnificent library. In volume iv. P. 201 of the_Transactions of the Bibliographical Society_, published in 1898, LordCrawford informs us that 'in the last fourteen or fifteen years he hadmanaged to collect something like nineteen thousand of them, includingEnglish, French, German and Venetian Proclamations (3000), Papal Bulls(11, 000) and English Ballads (3000). ' Among them are several very rareindulgences printed by Wynkyn de Worde and Pynson, and a large number ofproclamations and ballads of special interest and value, far toonumerous to mention. 

The present Earl of Crawford, who is a Trustee of the British Museum, President of the Camden Society, a Fellow of the Royal Society and theSociety of Antiquaries, and who was formerly President of the RoyalAstronomical Society, has printed catalogues of the English broadsidesand ballads, and of the Chinese books and manuscripts in his collection, together with hand-lists to the Oriental manuscripts, the early editionsof the Greek and Latin writers, and the proclamations issued byauthority of the kings and queens of Great Britain and Ireland. He hasalso printed collations and notes of some of the rare books in thelibrary. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 101: Mainly contributed by Mr. J. P. Edmond, Librarian to LordCrawford. ]

[Footnote 102: Lord Crawford's Seat, near Wigan. ]

[Footnote 103: Since the above was printed it has been announced thatLord Crawford's MSS. Have become by purchase the property of Mrs. Rylands of Manchester. ]

HENRY HUTH, 1815-1878

Mr. Henry Huth, who was born in London in 1815, was the third son of Mr. Frederick Huth of Hanover, who settled at Corunna, in Spain; but on theoccupation of that town by the French in 1809 he came to England, wherehe became a naturalised British subject, and founded the well-known firmwhich is still carried on by his descendants. Mr. Henry Huth, we areinformed in the preface to the Catalogue of the Huth Library, written byhis son, Mr. Alfred Henry Huth, was intended for the Indian CivilService, and was sent to Mr. Rusden's school at Leith Hill in Surrey, where he 'learned Greek, Latin, and French (Spanish was hismother-tongue), and had also got well on with Hindustani, Persian, andArabic'; but in 1833, the East India Company having lost their Charter, his father removed him from the school and took him into his business. Office-work proving distasteful to him, he travelled for some years onthe Continent and in America, rejoining his father's firm as partner in1849. From his early years Mr. Henry Huth had been a collector of books, and on his return home he set energetically to work to form thatsplendid library which ranks among the finest in England, and which hasbeen carefully preserved and augmented by his son, Mr. Alfred HenryHuth. Mr. Henry Huth gave commissions at most of the importantbook-sales, and we are told that 'he called daily at all the principalbooksellers on his way back from the city, a habit which he continued upto the day of his death. ' He was a member of the Philobiblon Society, and in 1867 printed for presentation to the members a volume of _AncientBallads and Broadsides published in England in the Sixteenth Century_, reprinted from the unique original copies he had bought at the Danielsale. He was also a member of the Roxburghe Club. Mr. Huth died on the10th of December 1878, and was buried in the churchyard of Bolney, inSussex. He married Augusta Louisa Sophia, third daughter of FrederickWestenholz of Waldenstein Castle, in Austria, by whom he had three sonsand three daughters. 

Among the treasures in Mr. Huth's library are block-books of the _ArsMoriendi_, _Ars Memorandi_, and the _Apocalypse_; the superb copy of theGutenberg Bible which was formerly in the libraries of Sir M. MastermanSykes and Mr. Henry Perkins; two copies of the Fust and Schoeffer Bibleof 1462, one on vellum; and a particularly fine copy of St. Augustine's_De Civitate Dei_, printed at Rome in 1468. The collection alsocomprises several of the pre-Reformation German Bibles; the firstedition of Luther's Bible; the Coverdale Bible of 1535, and theIcelandic Bible printed at Holum in 1584; together with upwards of onehundred other Bibles, a large number of New Testaments, and variousportions of the Scriptures in all languages. 

In books from the presses of Caxton and other early English printers thelibrary is remarkably rich. It contains no less than twelve Caxtons;about fifty Wynkyn de Wordes, of which several are unique; sixteenPynsons, and a Machlinia. A vellum copy--the only one known--of the_Fructus Temporum_, printed at St. Albans about 1483; and the _ExposicioSancti Jeronimi in Symbolum Apostolorum_, printed at Oxford, and bearingthe date 1468 (a typographical error for 1478), are also found on itsshelves. 

Among the books printed by Caxton are the first editions of _The Dictesor Sayings of the Philosophers_, Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_, _Tullyof Old Age_, Gower's _Confessio Amantis_, and Christine de Pisan's_Fayts of Arms_. 

The books from the presses of foreign printers are both numerous andfine. Some of the most notable examples are the Dantes of Foligno andMantua, both printed in the year 1472; the first edition of Homer, printed at Venice in 1488; a magnificent copy on thick paper, with theoriginal binding, of the _Poliphili Hypnerotomachia_, printed by Aldusat Venice in 1499; the Aldine Virgil of 1501, with the book-plate ofBilibald Pirkheimer; and two copies of the _Tewrdannck_, one on vellum, printed at Nuremberg in 1517. There is also a copy of the first editionof _Don Quixote_, with the Privilege only for Madrid. 

Few collections are richer than the Huth Library in old English poetryand dramatic literature. It contains the first four folio Shakespeares, and a goodly gathering of quarto plays, many of which were acquired atthe Daniel sale in 1864. Among them are the first editions of _RichardII. _ and _Richard III. _, printed in 1597; _Henry V. _, _Much Ado aboutNothing_, _Midsummer Night's Dream_, and the _Merchant of Venice_, allprinted in 1600; the first sketch of _The Merry Wives of Windsor_, printed in 1602; the second edition of _Hamlet_, printed in 1604; andthe first editions of _Pericles_, printed in 1609, and _Othello_, printed in 1622. Other rare Shakespeareana are the first editions of_Lucrece_, the _Sonnets_, and the _Poems_, printed respectively in 1594, 1609, and 1640. It is only possible to mention a few of the rare Englishbooks in this grand library; but the _Hundred Merry Tales_, published byRastell about 1525; the unique copy of Munday's _Banquet of DaintieConceits_, printed in 1588; a first folio of Ben Jonson's _Works_ onlarge paper, of which only one other copy is known in that state, and aperfect set of the editions of Walton's _Compleat Angler_ from 1653 to1760, cannot be passed over without notice. The unique collection ofElizabethan ballads, to which reference has already been made, would beconsidered a great treasure in any library. The collection of Voyagesand Travels is believed to be the richest private one in Europe. Itcomprises the early letters of Columbus and Vesputius, and perfecteditions of De Bry, Hulsius, Hakluyt, Purchas, etc. , together with thevoyages of Cortes, Drake, and other famous travellers. 

The fine and large collection of manuscripts contains many choice andinteresting examples. Several beautifully written Bibles, and a numberof Books of Hours are to be found in it. Some of the latter are mostcharmingly illuminated; two of them, written in the fifteenth century, of Flemish execution, are especially good. One of these contains thecoats of arms of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and Isabella hiswife. There are also three handsomely illuminated Petrarchs, and aremarkable manuscript on vellum in four volumes, with very beautifulillustrations of beasts, birds, fish, and insects, painted by GeorgeHoefnagel for the Emperor Rudolph II. A collection of Madrigals forthree voices, the words by John Milton, Thomas Tompkins, and others, isof especial interest, for Mr. A. H. Huth informs us that several of thesongs by Milton in it have never been published, and that he composedsome of the music. 

The library also contains a considerable number of interesting letters, and a very fine collection of engravings; the series by Albert Dürerbeing nearly complete. A somewhat recent addition to the collection is'a proof set before numbers of the engravings to the Landino Dante of1481, by Baccio Baldini, after the designs of Botticelli, and separatelyprinted on slips. '[104]

Many of the volumes once formed part of the libraries of Grolier, Maioli, Canevari, Diana of Poitiers, Henry IV. Of France, De Thou, CountMansfeld, Louis XIII. , and other celebrated collectors, and bear ontheir covers the arms or devices of their former owners. There are fineexamples of the work of all the great binders, and many books bound insilver, needlework, etc. 

The admirable catalogue of the library in five volumes was compiled byMr. F. S. Ellis and Mr. W. C. Hazlitt, and partly revised by Mr. HenryHuth himself. 

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 104: Account of additions to the Huth Library, by Mr. A. H. Huth, in Mr. Quaritch's _Dictionary of English Book-Collectors_. ]

ROBERT SAMUEL TURNER, 1818-1887

Mr. Robert Samuel Turner was born in 1818. Although engaged incommercial affairs from his youth he was a most enthusiasticbook-collector, and at a very early age began to form that noblelibrary, with which only a few collections of his time could vie invalue, extent or condition. Mr. Turner principally directed hisattention to the acquisition of rare Italian, French and Spanish books. His English books were not numerous, and there were but few German onesin the collection, but some of them were of much interest. He possessedone of the finest copies in existence of the first folio ofShakespeare's Plays, and an exceptionally good example of the_Tewrdannck_. He always endeavoured to obtain the best and choicestcopies possible, and many of them, especially the French volumes, wereclothed in beautiful bindings, bearing the arms or devices of Grolier, Maioli, Diana of Poitiers, Count Mansfeld, Cosmo de' Medici, ThomasWotton, Longepierre, Count von Hoym, and other famous collectors. Mr. Turner resided for some years in Park Square West, Regent's Park, London, but in 1878 he removed to the Albany, Piccadilly. Inanticipation of his change of residence he determined to part with aportion of his collection of French books, and on the valuation of thelate M. Potier, of Paris, he offered it to an eminent French amateur _enbloc_ for four thousand pounds. This offer was declined, and he sent thebooks to Paris to be sold by auction. The sale took place at the SalleDrouot on the 12th of March 1878, and the four following days, when thelots, seven hundred and seventy-four in number, realised three hundredand nineteen thousand one hundred francs--considerably more than threetimes the sum Mr. Turner was willing to take for them. After his death, which occurred at Brighton on the 7th of June 1887, the remainder of hislibrary was disposed of in two sales by Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson andHodge: the first on June 18th, 1888, and the eleven following days, andthe second on November 23rd, 1888, and the thirteen following days. Theyrealised respectively thirteen thousand three hundred and seventypounds, thirteen shillings, and two thousand eight hundred andseventy-four pounds, seventeen shillings and sixpence. The pricesobtained for the books, especially at the French sale, were very high. Adedication copy to Mademoiselle de Montpensier, with the signature ofCharles de Lorraine on the title-page, of _Recueil des Portraits etÉloges en vers et en prose (de personnages du temps par Mademoiselle deMontpensier et autres)_, Paris, 1659, with a morocco binding of theseventeenth century, ornamented with _fleurs-de-lis_, fetched fourteenthousand francs; La Fontaine's _Fables Choisies_, five volumes, Paris, 1678, 1679 and 1694, bound by Boyet, eleven thousand nine hundred andfifty francs; _Les Fais de Jason_, par Raoul Le Febvre, printed at Lyonsabout 1480, seven thousand six hundred francs; _Le Livre appelleMandeville_, Lyon, 1480, six thousand two hundred and fifty francs; _LesOEuvres de Guillaume Coquillant_, Paris, 1532, five thousand fourhundred and fifty francs; and _Les OEuvres de Molière_, eight volumes, Paris, 1739, with additional plates, five thousand francs. Among thebooks at the English sales the exceptionally fine and large copies ofthe _Tewrdannck_, Nuremberg, 1517, and the Aldine _PoliphiliHypnerotomachia_, sold respectively for two hundred and fifty pounds andone hundred and thirty-seven pounds; a copy of _Paesi NovamenteRetrovati_, Vicentia, 1507, with the title in facsimile, for one hundredand eighty-six pounds; and Shakespeare's _Poems_, 1640, for one hundredand six pounds. The first folio of Shakespeare Mr. Turner sold privatelyto an American collector. A Grolier binding realised three thousandfrancs; another binding with the devices of Diana of Poitiers, fourthousand four hundred francs; a book from the library of Longepierre, two thousand five hundred francs; two sets of volumes with _doublures_by Boyet, respectively four thousand francs and three thousand ninehundred francs; and Rogers's _Italy and Poems_, with beautiful bindingsby Bedford, sixty-one pounds. 

Mr. Turner was an accomplished linguist, and he possessed a wide andaccurate knowledge of the literary history and bibliography of France, Italy and Spain. He was also a collector of rare and beautiful bindingsbefore the interest and value of these works of art were generallyappreciated. 

FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON, 1821-1895

[Illustration: MR. LOCKER LAMPSON. ]

Mr. Frederick Locker, the author of _London Lyrics_ and other volumes ofdelightful light and social verse, was born in 1821. His father was Mr. E. H. Locker, a Civil Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, and founder ofthe Naval Gallery there. For some years Mr. Locker was Précis Writer inthe Admiralty. He was twice married: first in 1850 to Lady CharlotteChristian, a daughter of the seventh Earl of Elgin, and secondly in 1874to Hannah Jane, a daughter of the late Sir Curtis Miranda Lampson, Bart. , of Rowfant, Sussex. On the death of his father-in-law in 1885 headded the name of Lampson to his own. He died at Rowfant on May the30th, 1895. 

[Illustration: ONE OF MR. LOCKER-LAMPSON'S BOOK-PLATES. ]

Mr. Locker-Lampson tells us in his interesting autobiography entitled_My Confidences_, that he first collected pictures and rare sixteenthcentury engravings, but collectors with long purses outbid him, so heturned to old books: 'little volumes of poetry and the drama from about1590 to 1610. ' These formed the nucleus of his collection, which soongrew wide enough to include Caxtons and the works of the poets of thelast century. Rare editions of Sidney, Spenser, Churchyard, Middleton, Herbert, Herrick, Dekker, Chapman, and many other writers of thesixteenth and seventeenth centuries, are to be found in it, andShakespeare is splendidly represented by a perfect copy of the firstfolio, the first editions of _Lucrece_, the _Sonnets_ and the _Poems_, and a large number--some thirty in all--of the quarto plays, many ofwhich are the original editions. Mr. Locker-Lampson's folio wanted BenJonson's verses, and he gives an amusing account in _My Confidences_ ofan unsuccessful attempt to purchase a copy of them from a Mr. Dene, whopossessed an imperfect first folio. He ultimately bought the preciousleaf, which had been pasted in a scrap-book, for one hundred pounds, andso completed his copy. The library is also very rich in first editionsof Byron, Tennyson, Browning, and other English poets of recent times, many of the volumes containing autograph inscriptions to Mr. Locker-Lampson himself. Mr. Locker-Lampson placed his library, togetherwith his collections of autograph letters, pictures and drawings, in hisresidence at Rowfant, the beautiful home which he and his wifeinherited from the lady's father; and a handsome catalogue of thempublished in 1886 by Mr. Quaritch, with an introduction by their owner, tells us of the treasures they contain. An etched portrait of Mr. Locker-Lampson and a sketch of his study are inserted in the volume, andMr. Andrew Lang has prefixed some charming lines descriptive of thelibrary:--

 'The Rowfant books, how fair they show, The Quarto quaint, the Aldine tall; Print, autograph, Portfolio! Back from the outer air they call The athletes from the Tennis ball, The Rhymer from his rod and hooks; Would I could sing them, one and all, The Rowfant books!

 The Rowfant books! In sun and snow They're dear, but most when tempests fall; The folio towers above the row As once, o'er minor prophets--Saul! What jolly jest books, and what small "Dear dumpy Twelves" to fill the nooks. You do not find in every stall The Rowfant books!

 The Rowfant books! These long ago Were chained within some College hall; These manuscripts retain the glow Of many a coloured capital; While yet the Satires keep their gall, While the _Pastissier_ puzzles cooks, There is a joy that does not pall, The Rowfant books!

 ENVOY. 

 The Rowfant books, --ah magical As famed Armida's golden looks. They hold the Rhymer for their thrall-- The Rowfant books!'

In 1900 was published an Appendix to the Catalogue, the work of Mr. Frederick Locker-Lampson's son, Mr. Godfrey Locker-Lampson, consistingof additions to the library since the printing of the Catalogue in 1886, to which Mr. Andrew Lang again contributed some verses:--

 'How often to the worthy Sire Succeeds th' unworthy son! Extinguished is the ancient fire, Books were the idols of the Squire, The graceless heir has none. 

 To Sotheby's go both old and new, Bindings, and prose, and rhymes, With Shakespeare as with Padeloup The sportive lord has naught to do, _He_ reads _The Sporting Times_. 

 Behold a special act of grace, On Rowfant shelves behold, The well-loved honours keep their place, And new-won glories half efface The splendours of the old. '

The volume also contains verses by Mr. Austin Dobson, the Earl of Crewe, and Mr. Wilfrid Blunt. 

WILLIAM MORRIS, 1834-1896

William Morris, the poet, art-designer, and manufacturer, was born atElm House, Clay Hill, Walthamstow, Essex, on the 24th of March 1834. Hisfather William Morris, a partner in the firm of Sanderson and Co. , discount brokers, London, died in 1847, leaving him a considerablefortune. Young Morris was first educated at a preparatory school atWalthamstow, and afterwards at Marlborough, from whence he proceeded toExeter College, Oxford. On leaving the University he wished to become apainter, but his studies were not sufficiently successful to warrant himcarrying out his intention. He also paid some attention to the study ofarchitecture. In 1858 he published a small volume entitled _The Defenceof Guenevere and other Poems_, which received but little notice at thetime; but _The Life and Death of Jason_, published in 1867, attractedgeneral attention, and his reputation was further greatly increased by_The Earthly Paradise_, a poem in four volumes, which appeared in1868-70. From that period until the time of his death Mr. Morrispublished a considerable number of other works, and, in collaborationwith Mr. Eirikr Magnusson, some translations from the Icelandic. In1863, in conjunction with D. G. Rossetti, E. Burne-Jones, and Ford MadoxBrown, he established a factory for the production of artistic glass, tiles, wall-paper, etc. , which has greatly contributed to theimprovement of household decoration in England. A large number of thedesigns were the work of Mr. Morris himself, his leisure hours beingdevoted to literature, and it has been said of him 'that his poems wereby Morris the wall-paper maker, and his wall-papers by Morris the poet. '

In 1891 Morris established a printing-press near his residence, Kelmscott House, on the Upper Mall, Hammersmith, from which he issued aseries of beautiful and sumptuous reprints, principally of old books, with ornamentations by himself, and illustrations chiefly by Sir E. Burne-Jones. Of these reprints, which at the present time fetch largeprices, that of _Chaucer's Poems_ is considered the finest. In 1898 thetrustees of Mr. Morris published 'A Note on his aims in founding theKelmscott Press. Together with a short description of the Press by C. S. Cockerell, and an annotated list of the books printed thereat. ' The listgives fifty-three works in sixty-three volumes and nine leaflets. Thiswas the last book printed at the Kelmscott Press. It was finished at No. 14 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, on the 4th of March 1898. In it the aims ofMorris in founding the Press are given in his own words. 'I beganprinting books, ' he writes, 'with the hope of producing some which wouldhave a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should beeasy to read, and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect ofthe reader by eccentricity of form in the letters. ' Mr. Morris, who diedat Kelmscott House on the 3rd of October 1896, collected a fine andextensive library, which passed into the hands of a Manchester collectorfor, it is said, the sum of twenty thousand pounds. The purchaser, afterselecting the books he required--about half of the MSS. And one-third ofthe printed books--sent the others to Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, bywhom they were sold on December 5th, 1898, and five following days. There were twelve hundred and fifteen lots in the sale, and the sumobtained for them was ten thousand nine hundred and ninety-two pounds, eleven shillings. All the books realised good prices, but themanuscripts were of greater interest and value than the printed volumes. The following are a few of the principal manuscripts, and the pricesthey fetched:--_Testamentum Novum Latinum_, Sæc. Xii. , vellum, handsomely illuminated, two hundred and twenty-five pounds; Hegesippus, _De Excidio Judæorum_, Sæc. Xii. , vellum, in the original Winchesterbinding, one hundred and eighty pounds; _Biblia Sacra Latina_, writtenon vellum about 1280, with handsomely painted initials, one hundred andthirty-nine pounds; _Biblia Sacra Latina_, vellum, written about 1300by an Anglo-Norman scribe, with finely illuminated initials, threehundred and two pounds; _Josephi Antiquitates Judaicæ et de BelloJudaico Libri_, written on vellum by a French scribe in the thirteenthcentury, and beautifully illuminated, three hundred and five pounds;_Missale Anglicanum_, called the Sherbrooke Missal on account of ithaving belonged to the Sherbrooke family of Oxton, County Notts, amember of the family having inscribed his name in it about 1600; it waswritten in the fourteenth century on vellum, and has illuminatedcapitals and fine marginal decorations, three hundred and fifty pounds;Gratianus, _Decretales_, Sæc. Xiv. , vellum, with finely painted andilluminated initials, two hundred and fifty-five pounds; Virgilius Maro, _Georgica et Æneis_, written on vellum at the end of the fourteenth orbeginning of the fifteenth century by an Italian scribe, with beautifulilluminated decorations, one hundred and sixty-four pounds; and _LegendaSanctæ Catherinæ de Senis_, Sæc. Xv. , vellum, handsomely illuminated, one hundred and forty-nine pounds. 

Some of the more notable printed books were:--_S. Hieronymi Epistolæ_, printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz at Rome in 1468, fifty-three pounds;_Speculum Humanæ Salvationis Latino-Germanicum_, printed by G. Zainer atAugsburg about 1471, one hundred pounds; _Ptolomæi Cosmographia_, Ulmæ, 1486, ninety-one pounds; _Dives and Pauper_, printed by Pynson in 1493, fifty-five pounds; Higden's _Policronicon_, 1495, _Thordinary of CrystenMen_, 1502, and _The Orcharde of Syon_, 1519, all from the press ofWynkyn de Worde, realised respectively thirty-eight pounds, fiftypounds, and one hundred and fifty-one pounds; _Hystoire du ChevallierPerceval le Galloys_, Paris, 1530, seventy-nine pounds; _Epistole etEvangelii et Letioni Vulgari in lingua Thoscana_, Firenze, 1551, eighty-nine pounds; and the _Historie of the four Sonnes of Aimon_, printed by William Copland in 1554, eighty-one pounds. Among themanuscripts retained were a twelfth-century English Bestiary, for whichMr. Morris gave nine hundred pounds; the 'Windmill' Psalter, writtenabout 1270, which cost him upwards of a thousand pounds; the HuntingdonPsalter, and the Tiptoft Missal. 

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SALES

BY WALTER STANLEY GRAVES. 

ABBREVIATIONS. 

 B. (Baker). B. & L. (Baker and Leigh). C. (Christie). C. & M. (Christie and Manson). C. M. & W. (Christie, Manson and Woods). E. (Evans). L. & S. (Leigh and Sotheby). L. S. & Son (Leigh, Sotheby and Son). P. & S. (Puttick and Simpson). S. (Sotheby). S. & S. (Sotheby and Son). S. & W. (Sotheby and Wilkinson). S. W. & H. (Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge). 

 ADAIR, JAMES. -1798. 2 parts. L. & S. Nov. , Dec. 1798. 8 days. £1815. 

 ADDINGTON, SAMUEL. Autographs. S. W. & H. April 1876. 3 days. £2151. Library. S. W. & H. May 1886. 2 days. £3522. 

 AKERS, EDMUND FLEMING. 2 parts. S. [March], April 1820. 21 days. £3729. 

 ALEXANDER, WILLIAM. 1767-1816. S. Nov. 1816. 6 days. £1380. 

 ALLEN, THOMAS. 2 parts. L. & S. June 1795, 1799. 19 days. £5737. 

 ASHBURNHAM, EARL OF. See page 384. 

 ASHBURTON, LORD. S. W. & H. July 1896. (Selection from French Library, with duplicates of Lord Crawford. ) 4 days. £1870. S. W. & H. Nov. 1900. 4 days. £6256. 

 ASKEW, ANTHONY, M. D. 1722-1774. See page 220. 

 ASTLE, EDWARD. 2 parts. E. Jan. [1816], March [1817]. Part I. 2 days. £2366. 

 ATKINSON, HENRY JOHN FARMER. See Farmer-Atkinson. 

 AUCHINLECK, LORD. (Auchinleck Library. ) S. W. & H. June 1893. 3 days. £2525. 

 AYLESFORD, EARL OF. C. M. & W. March 1888. 9 days. £10, 574. 

 BACON, THOMAS SCLATER. Cock (London). March 1737. 76 evenings. 

 BAKER, GEORGE. 1747-1811. S. June 1825. 3 days. £1468. 

 BAKER, JAMES. Autographs. S. & W. May 1855. 1 day. £278. Library. S. & W. May 1855. 2 days. £2336. 

 BALME, REV. EDWARD. E. March 1823. 5 days. £1540. 

 BANDINEL, BULKELEY, D. D. 1781-1861. 2 parts. S. & W. Aug. , Dec. 1861. 8 days. £2885. 

 BASKERFIELD, THOMAS. S. Nov. 1817. 7 days. £1426. 

 BATEMAN HEIRLOOMS. S. W. & H. May 1893. 6 days. £7296. 

 BAYLIS, SIR ROBERT. B. Nov. -Dec. 1749. 12 days. 

 BECKFORD, WILLIAM. 1759-1844. See page 318. 

 BEDFORD, CHARLES. L. & S. March 1807. 6 days. £1648. 

 BEDFORD, FRANCIS. 1799-1883. S. W. & H. March 1884. 5 days. £4876. 

 BENTHAM, WILLIAM. E. March-April 1838. 11 days. £3090. 

 BENZON, ERNEST L. S. S. W. & H. May 1875. 2 days. £3622. 

 BERESFORD-HOPE, RIGHT HON. ALEXANDER JAMES BERESFORD, 1820-1887. 2 parts. S. W. & H. March 1882, June 1888. 9 days. £5148. (including engravings and drawings). 

 BERNAL, RALPH. -1854. S. & W. Feb. 1855. 6 days. £5273. 

 BERNARD, CHARLES. 1650-1711. Sold at the Black-Boy Coffee-house (London). March 1711. 

 BERNARD, DR. FRANCIS. 1627-1698. See page 112. 

 BERWICK, LORD. 1770-1832. S. July 1817. 3 days. £1180. 

 BERWICK, LORD. 1773-1842. S. & W. April-May 1843. 13 days. £6726. 

 BETHAM, SIR WILLIAM. 1779-1853. MSS. S. & W. May 1860. 1 day. £2194. 

 BINDLEY, JAMEs. 1737-1818. See page 246. 

 BLANDFORD, MARQUESS OF. See Marlborough, Duke of. 

 BLEW, REV. WILLIAM J. S. W. & H. June 1895. 3 days. £2220. 

 BLISS, REV. PHILIP. 1787-1857. Books, 2 parts. S. & W. June-July, Aug. 1858. 25 days. £5057. Autographs and MSS. S. & W. Aug. 1858. 1 day. £614. 

 BLOOD, BINDON. -1855. 2 parts. S. & W. July, Aug. 1856. 13 days. £2530. 

 BOLLAND, SIR WILLIAM. 1772-1840. E. Nov. -Dec. 1840. 13 days. £3019. 

 BOSWELL, JAMES. 1778-1822. S. May-June 1825. 10 days. £1753. 

 BOUCHER, REV. JONATHAN. 1737-1804. 3 parts. L. & S. Feb. -March, April 1806; May-June 1809. 40 days. £4509. 

 BRABOURNE, LORD. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May 1891. P. & S. June 1893. 7 days. £3100. 

 BRAGGE, WILLIAM. 1823-1884. MSS. S. W. & H. [Anon. ]. June 1876. 4 days. £12, 272. Books. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Nov. 1880 and June 1882. 5 days. £2146. 

 BRAND, REV. JOHN. 1744-1806. See page 276. 

 BRIDGES, JOHN. 1666-1724. See page 157. 

 [BRIDGEWATER, DUKE OF. ] 1736-1803. Duplicates, 3 parts. King (London). Aug. 1800, April, June 1802. 11 days. Part II. 2 days. £210. 

 BRIGHT, BENJAMIN HEYWOOD. 4 parts. S. & W. June 1844, March-April, July 1845. 32 days. £11, 086. 

 BRISTOL, EARL OF. -1676. See page 106. 

 BRITTON, THOMAS. 1654-1714. 2 parts. John Bullord. Nov. [1694]. Thomas Ballard. Jan. 1715. 

 BROADLEY, JOHN. Part I. E. July 1832. 3 days. £2052 Part II. E. June 1833 (with another). 5 days. £3510. 

 BROCKETT, JOHN TROTTER. 2 parts. S. Dec. 1823, June 1843. 22 days. Part I. 14 days. £4259. 

 BRODRICK, HON. CHARLES, Archbishop of Cashel. 1761-1822. Books. S. June 1825. 5 days. £847. MSS. S. [Anon. ]. June 1825. 7 days. 

 BRUTON, H. W. (Cruikshankiana. ) S. W. & H. June 1897. 3 days. £2519. 

 [BRYANT, W. ] King and Lochée. Feb. 1800. 8 days. £2566. 

 BUCCLEUCH, DUKE OF. Duplicates and other books. S. W. & H. March 1889. 3 days. £3705. 

 BUCKINGHAM, DUKE OF. (Stowe Library. ) See page 342. 

 BUCKLEY, REV. WILLIAM EDWARD. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Feb. -March 1893, April 1894. 22 days. £9420. 

 BUNBURY, SIR EDWARD HERBERT. S. W. & H. July 1891. 5 days. £2965. 

 BURGESS, FREDERICK. S. W. & H. May-June 1894. 4 days. £1558. 

 BURGHLEY, WILLIAM CECIL, LORD. 1520-1598. See page 39. 

 BURNEY, CHARLES, Mus. Doc. 1726-1814. L. & S. June 1814. 9 days. £1414. 

 BURNEY, CHARLES, D. D. 1757-1817. See page 308. 

 BUTE, EARL OF. 1713-1792. Duplicates. L. & S. [Anon. ]. May-June 1785. 18 days. £843. Library. L. & S. May 1794. 10 days. £3470. 

 BUTLER, CHARLES. 1750-1832. E. Dec. 1832. 6 days. £1014. 

 BUTLER, SAMUEL, Bishop of Lichfield. 1774-1839. 2 parts. C. & M. March-June 1840. 15 days. Part 3 was not sold, although catalogued; the books being purchased by Payne and Foss, and the MSS. And autographs by the British Museum. 

 CÆSAR, SIR JULIUS. 1558-1636. MSS. Paterson. Dec. 1757. 3 evenings. £356. 

 CALDECOTT, THOMAS. 1743-1833. S. Dec. 1833. 6 days. £1210. 

 CALEY, JOHN. 1763-1834. E. July 1834. 9 days. £2620. 

 CAMPBELL, HON. ALEXANDER HUME. B. April 1757. 9 days. £867. 

 CHALMERS, ALEXANDER. 1759-1834. S. & S. March 1835. 11 days. £1880. 

 CHALMERS, GEORGE. 1742-1825. 3 parts. E. Sept. -Oct. 1841, March-Nov. 1842. 23 days. £6189. 

 [CHARLEMONT, EARL OF. ] 1775-1863. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Aug. -Sept. 1865. 2 days. £4444. A large portion of this library was destroyed by fire at the auctioneers', also the catalogue as printed for the intended sale in July. 

 [CHARLOTTE, QUEEN. ] 1744-1818. 2 parts. C. June-July 1819. 20 days. £4540. 

 CHAUNCEY, CHARLES, M. D. , and NATHANIEL. L. & S. April-May 1790. 15 days. 

 CHENEY, EDWARD. S. W. & H. June 1886. 5 days. £2216. 

 CHICHESTER, SIR JOHN, Bart. Jeffery. Feb. -March 1812. 19 days. 

 CLANRICARDE, EARL OF. L. & S. Jan. 1809. 5 days. £1103. 

 CLARE, EARL OF. 1793-1864. 2 parts. S. W. & H. April 1866, Jan. 1881. 3 days. £2959. 

 CLARENDON, EARL OF. 1609-1674. MSS. B. April 1764. 2 days. 

 CLARKE, ADAM. 1762-1832. 2 parts. E. Feb. 1833. S. & S. June 1836. 14 days. £4865. 

 CLARKE, SIR SIMON H. , Bart. C. & M. April 1840. 10 days. 

 CLIFFORD, LORD DE. MSS. C. & M. Feb. 1834. 4 days. 

 COCK, ALFRED. S. W. & H. July 1898. 3 days. £1564. 

 COLE, ROBERT. MSS. And autographs. 2 parts. P. & S. July-Aug. 1861, July-Aug. 1867. 9 days. £1591. 

 COLERIDGE, LORD. S. W. & H. May 1896. 5 days. £2845. 

 COLLIER, JOHN PAYNE. 1789-1883. S. W. & H. Aug. 1884. 3 days. £2061. 

 COLLINS, HENRY. S. W. & H. April 1883. 4 days. £2699. 

 COMERFORD, JAMES. S. W. & H. Nov. 1881. 13 days. £8327. 

 CONSTABLE, WILLIAM. (Burton Constable Library. ) 2 parts. S. W. & H. June 1889. 6 days. £3093. 

 CORNEY, BOLTON. 1784-1870. S. W. & H. May-June 1871. 10 days. £3539. 

 CORRIE, JOHN. S. & W. April 1863. 4 days. £4409. 

 CORSER, REV. THOMAS. 1793-1876. See page 374. 

 COSENS, FREDERICK WILLIAM. S. W. & H. Nov. 1890. 12 days. £5571. 

 CRAIG, JAMES THOMSON GIBSON. See Gibson-Craig. 

 CRAMPON, ALFRED. S. W. & H. June 1896. 2 days. £2492. 

 CRAUFURD, REV. C. H. 2 parts. S. W. & H. April 1864, July 1876. 6 days. £6517. 

 CRAWFORD, EARL OF. See page 402. 

 CRAWFORD, W. H. (Lakelands Library. ) S. W. & H. March 1891. 12 days. £21, 255. 

 CROFTS, REV. THOMAS. Paterson. April-May 1783. 43 days. £3453. 

 CROKER, RIGHT HON. JOHN WILSON. 1780-1857. Autographs. S. & W. May 1858. 2 days. £1099. Library. S. W. & H. Jan. 1882. 1 day. £136. 

 CROSSLEY, JAMES. 1800-1883. 3 parts. Thompson and Son (Manchester). May 1884. S. W. & H. July 1884, June 1885. 23 days. £8296. 

 CURRER, MARY RICHARDSON. S. & W. July-Aug. 1862. 10 days. £5984. 

 CURRY, JAMES, M. D. S. March-April 1820. 10 days. £1918. 

 DALY, RIGHT HON. DENIS. 1747-1791. James Vallance (Dublin). May 1792. £3700. 

 DALY, ROBERT, Bishop of Cashel, Emly, Waterford, and Lismore. 1783-1872. 2 parts. S. & W. [Anon. ]. June 1858. S. W. & H. July 1872. 5 days. £2618. 

 DANIEL, GEORGE. 1789-1864. See page 360. 

 DASENT, SIR GEORGE WEBBE. Part I. S. W. & H. April 1895. 2 days. £803. Part II. S. W. & H. March 1897. (With another. ) 2 days. £728. 

 DAVIS, HENRY NEWNHAM. S. W. & H. Nov. 1900. 2 days. £4168. 

 DENT, JOHN. 1750?-1826. See page 278. 

 DIGBY, SIR KENELM. 1603-1665. See page 106. 

 DILLON, JOHN. Books. S. W. & H. June 1869. 3 days. £2349. Autographs and MSS. S. W. & H. June 1869. 5 days. £3080. 

 D'ISRAELI, ISAAC. 1766-1848. S. & W. March 1849. 4 days. £418. 

 [DONEGAL, MARQUESS OF. ] Stewart. March 1800. 14 days. 

 DORMER, LIEUT. -GENERAL JAMES. 1679-1741. B. Feb. -March 1764. 20 days. £2123. 

 DOUGLAS, REV. W. S. Dec. 1819. 11 days. £2986. 

 DOWDESWELL, LIEUT. -GENERAL WILLIAM. 1761-1828. E. July 1828. 4 days. £1347. 

 DRURY, REV. HENRY. 2 parts. E. Feb. -March 1827. 23 days. £8917. 

 DUCAREL, ANDREW COLTEE. 1713-1785 L. & S. April 1786. 8 days. £997. 

 DUCKETT, SIR GEORGE, Bart. Autograph documents, etc. S. & S. June-July 1832. 4 days. £1362. 

 EDWARDES, SIR HENRY HOPE, Bart. C. M. & W. May 1901. 4 days. £11, 033. 

 EDWARDS, JAMES. 1757-1816. See page 298. 

 EVANS, HERBERT N. , M. D. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May, June 1864. 13 days. £3186. 

 EYTON, J. C. S. W. & H. June 1881. 3 days. £1793. 

 EYTON, JOSEPH WALTER RING. S. & W. May 1848. 8 days. £2693. 

 FAIRFAX, BRIAN. 1676-1749. (Osterley Park Library. ) See page 172. 

 FALCONER, J. J. S. W. & H. Aug. 1877. 6 days. £1925. 

 FARMER, RICHARD, D. D. 1735-1797. See page 237. 

 FARMER-ATKINSON, HENRY JOHN. 2 parts. S. W. & H. March 1896. P. & S. April 1897. 5 days. £2066. 

 FARNHAM, BARON. 1799-1868. S. W. & H. June-July 1869. 9 days. £2168. 

 FAUNTLEROY, HENRY. 1785-1824. S. April 1825. 3 days. £2714. 

 FIELDING, HENRY. 1707-1754. B. Feb. 1755. 4 evenings. £364. 

 FOLKES, MARTIN. 1690-1754. See page 197. 

 FORSTER, RICHARD. King and Lochée. Nov. 1806. 10 days. £1696. 

 FOSTER, BIRKET. S. W. & H. June 1894 (with others). 4 days. £5198. 

 FRASER, SIR WILLIAM AUGUSTUS. S. W. & H. April 1901. 8 days. £20, 334. 

 FREELING, SIR FRANCIS, Bart. 1764-1836. E. Nov. -Dec. 1836. 10 days. £3730. 

 FRERE, JOHN TUDOR. S. W. & H. Feb. 1896. 4 days. £3747. 

 GAISFORD, THOMAS. -1898. S. W. & H. April-May 1890. 8 days. £9236. 

 GARDNER, CECIL DUNN. S. W. & H. June 1880. 6 days. £4734. 

 GARDNER, JOHN DUNN. 2 parts. S. & W. July 1854, Nov. 1875. 12 days. £10, 153. 

 GIBSON-CRAIG, JAMES THOMSON. 1799-1886. See page 396. 

 GILCHRIST, OCTAVIUS GRAHAM. 1779-1823. E. Jan. 1824. 6 days. £1355. 

 GLENBERVIE, BARON. 1743-1823. 2 parts. E. June, July 1823. 15 days. £2534. 

 GLOUCESTER, WILLIAM FREDERICK, DUKE OF. 1776-1834. S. & S. July-Aug. 1835. 8 days. £1265. 

 GOLDSMID, JOHN LOUIS. E. Dec. [1815]. 5 days. £2179. 

 GOLDSMITH, OLIVER. 1728-1774. Good. July 1774. 1 day. 

 GOOCH, ARCHDEACON. S. Nov. 1823. 4 days. £1212. 

 GORDON, SIR ROBERT. (Gordonstoun Library. ) Cochrane. March 1816. 12 days. £1539. 

 GOSFORD, EARL OF. P. & S. April-May 1884. 11 days. £11, 318. 

 GOSSETT, REV. ISAAC. 1735-1812. L. & S. June-July 1813. 23 days. £3141. 

 GOUGH, RICHARD. 1735-1809. See page 240. 

 GRAFTON, DUKE OF. 1735-1811. 2 parts. L. & S. Dec. 1811. E. [Anon. ]. June 1815. 12 days. £4803. 

 GRANT, FRANCIS. 1834-1899. 2 parts. P. & S. Nov. 1881. S. W. & H. May 1900. 3 days. £2526. 

 GRAVE, ROBERT. 1731-1802. L. S. & S. April 1803. 8 days. £1023. 

 GRESLEY, SIR ROGER, Bart. E. May 1838. 3 days. £1601. 

 GUILD, J. WYLLIE. Chapman and Son (Edinburgh). April 1888. 10 days. 

 GUILFORD, EARL OF. 1766-1827. See page 322. 

 [GULSTON, JOSEPH. ] 1745-1786. 2 parts. Compton (London). May [1783], June 1784. 15 days. Part I. 11 days. £1750. 

 HAILSTONE, EDWARD. 1818-1890. (Walton Hall Library. ) 2 parts. S. W. & H. Feb. , April-May 1891. 18 days. £8991. 

 HALLIWELL-PHILLIPPS, JAMES ORCHARD. 1820-1889. S. W. & H. July 1889. 4 days. £2298. 

 HAMILTON, DUKE OF. (Hamilton Library. ) See page 329. 

 HAMPER, WILLIAM. 1776-1831. E. July 1831. 3 days. £1820. 

 HAMPTON, LORD. 1799-1880. S. W. & H. Feb. 1881. 3 days. £3539. 

 HANROTT, PHILIP AUGUSTUS. 6 parts. E. July, Aug. 1833; Feb. -March 1834; Jan. 1857. 50 days. £22, 806. 

 HARDWICKE, EARL OF. (Wimpole Library. ) C. M. & W. June 1888. 1 day. £3242. Hardwicke State Papers advertised for sale by S. W. & H. Were purchased _en bloc_ by the British Museum. 

 HARLEY, EDWARD, Earl of Oxford. 1689-1741. See page 155. 

 HARLEY, ROBERT, Earl of Oxford. 1661-1724. See page 155. 

 HARMAN, JEREMIAH. E. May 1844. 5 days. £1761. 

 HARRISON, W. S. W. & H. Jan. 1881. 4 days. £2890. 

 HARTLEY, LEONARD LAURIE. 1816-1883. 3 parts. P. & S. June 1885, May 1886, April 1887. 28 days. £16, 530. 

 HARTREE, WILLIAM. S. W. & H. July 1890. 8 days. £8255. 

 HARWARD, JOHN. 2 parts. S. & W. Dec. [1858], May 1859. 9 days. £3800. 

 HASLEWOOD, JOSEPH. 1769-1833. E. Dec. 1833. 8 days. £2471. 

 HAWKINS, REV. W. BENTINCK L. 3 parts. C. M. & W. March, April 1895. 6 days. £2903. 

 HAWLEY, SIR JOSEPH, Bart. S. W. & H. July 1894. 3 days. £2882. 

 HAWTREY, EDWARD CRAVEN, D. D. 1789-1862. 2 parts. S. & W. July 1853, June-July 1862. 16 days. £7048. 

 HAYTER, THOMAS, Bishop of London. 1702-1762. B. May 1757. 16 days. £1130. 

 HEATH, BENJAMIN, D. D. 1739-1817. See page 255. 

 HEATHCOTE, ROBERT. 5 parts. L. S. & S. [Anon. ]. April, May, June 1802. L. & S. [Anon. ] Feb. [Anon. ] Dec. 1805. 16 days. £7684. 

 HEBER, RICHARD. 1773-1833. See page 341. 

 HENLEY, JOHN ('Orator'). 1692-1756 MSS. Paterson. June 1759. 

 HERMAN, HENRY. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May 1883 Jan. 1885. 3 days, £2401. 

 HIBBERT, GEORGE. 1757-1837. See page 302. 

 HIGGS, WILLIAM SIMONDS. S. & S. April 1830. 3 days. £1838. 

 HILL, THOMAS. 1760-1840. 2 parts. L. & S. June 1811. E. March 1841. 25 days. £2846. 

 HOARE, SIR RICHARD COLT, Bart. 1758-1838. (Stourhead Library. ) See page 316. 

 HOBLYN, ROBERT. 1710-1756. B. & L. March 1778. 26 days. £1962. 

 HODGES, CHRISTOPHER. E. March 1814. 3 days. £2046. 

 HODGSON, WILLIAM. S. March 1824. 6 days. £2079. 

 HOLLAND, LANCELOT, and HENRY. S. & W. July 1860. 6 days. £4475. 

 HOPE, ADRIAN. S. W. & H. April 1896. 5 days. £3551. 

 HOPE, HENRY P. L. & S. Feb. -March 1813. 18 days. £3837. 

 HOPETOUN, EARL OF. (Hopetoun House Library. ) S. W. & H. Feb. 1889. 4 days. £6117. 

 HORSLEY, SAMUEL, Bishop of St. Asaph. 1733-1806. L. & S. May 1807. 9 days. £1822. 

 HOWARD, HENRY. C. M. & W. June 1898. 2 days. £3500. 

 HUNTER, JOHN. 4 parts. L. & S. Feb. 1805. [Anon. ] [Feb. ] 1808. [Anon. ] Feb. 1813. E. May 1842. Part I. (with another). 5 days. £1523. Parts II. , III. , IV. 9 days. £2516. 

 HUNTER, WILLIAM. E. Feb. [1816]. 6 days. £1421. 

 HURD, PHILIP. 2 parts. E. March-April 1832, July-August 1845. 11 days. £7364. 

 HUTTON, JOHN. Paterson and Bristow. Oct. -Nov. 1764. 28 days. 

 [HUYBERS. ] S. May 1818. 3 days. £2288. 

 INGLIS, JOHN BELLINGHAM. 1780-1870. See page 350. 

 JAMES, CHARLES. S. March 1819. 6 days. £1857. 

 JARMAN, JOHN BOYKETT. Illuminated Missals, etc. S. W. & H. June 1864. 1 day. £2331. Books. S. W. & H. June 1864. 1 day. £136. 

 JERSEY, EARL OF. (Osterley Park Library. ) See page 172. 

 [JOHNSON, RICHARD. ] L. & S. Dec. 1807. 12 days. £1948. 

 JOHNSON, DR. SAMUEL. 1709-1784. C. Feb. 1785. 4 days. £247. 

 KEMBLE, JOHN PHILIP. 1757-1823. E. Jan. 1821. 9 days. £2577. This sale did not include the collection of old plays, which were privately purchased by the Duke of Devonshire for £2000. 

 KERSHAW, JOHN. S. W. & H. July 1877. 6 days. £2099. 

 KING, EDWARD. 1735-1807. L. & S. Feb. 1808. 8 days. £2423. 

 KNIGHT, EDWARD. E. May 1821. 10 days. £2415. 

 LAING, DAVID. 1793-1878. See page 378. 

 LAKE, SIR JAMES WINTER, Bart. Stewart. March 1808. 15 days. £1855. 

 LAMBERT, JOHN. L. & S. June 1808. 4 days. £1568. 

 LANG, ROBERT. E. Nov. 1828. 11 days. £2837. 

 LANSDOWNE, MARQUESS OF. 1737-1805. See page 251. 

 LARKING, JOHN WINGFIELD. 1801-1891. S. W. & H. April 1892. 3 days. £3925. 

 LAWRENCE, EDWIN HENRY. S. W. & H. May 1892. 4 days. £7409. 

 LAWRENCE, SIR THOMAS. 1769-1830. S. & S. June 1830. 4 days. £1020. 

 LEIGHTON, LORD. 1830-1896. C. M. & W. July 1896. 2 days. £631. 

 LE NEVE, PETER. 1661-1729. See page 149. 

 LETHERLAND, JOSEPH, M. D. 1699-1764. B. March-April 1765. 22 days. 

 LETTSOM, JOHN COAKLEY, M. D. 1744-1815. 2 parts. L. & S. March-April 1811, April 1816. 11 days. £3565. 

 LEWIS, JOHN DELAWARE. 1828-1884. 2 parts. S. W. & H. June 1866, May 1868. 4 days. £3257. 

 [LITTLEDALE, A. ] S. June 1820. 5 days. £1606. 

 LITTLEDALE, EDWARD. E. July 1837. 10 days. £1750. 

 LLOYD, CHARLES, Bishop of Oxford. 1784-1829. S. July 1829. 5 days. £1538. 

 LLOYD, THOMAS. S. July 1819. 6 days. £2035. 

 LORT, MICHAEL, D. D. 1725-1790. 2 parts. L. & S. April, May 1791. 25 days. £1269. 

 LUTTRELL, NARCISSUS. 1657-1732. See page 141. 

 LYSONS, REV. DANIEL. 1762-1834. Part I. E. March 1828 (with others). 3 days. £2093. Part II. E. Nov. 1834. 1 day. £451 (including remaining copies of Lysons's _Reliquiæ Britannico-Romanæ_). 

 LYSONS, SAMUEL. 1763-1819. E. June 1820. 8 days. 

 MACKENZIE, JOHN MANSFIELD. S. W. & H. March 1889. 8 days. £7072. 

 MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES. 1765-1832. E. Nov. 1832. 9 days. £1797. 

 MAIDMENT, JAMES. 1795-1879. Chapman and Son (Edinburgh). April-May 1880. 15 days. 

 MAINSTONE, JAMES. L. & S. April-May 1800. 13 days. £1175. 

 MAITLAND, THOMAS, LORD DUNDRENNAN. 1792-1851. Tait and Nisbet (Edinburgh). Dec. 1851. 9 days. £2395. 

 MAKELLAR, REV. WILLIAM. S. W. & H. Nov. 1898. 11 days. £11, 118. 

 MALKIN, BENJAMIN HEATH. 1769-1842. E. March 1828. 7 days, £3539. 

 MALONE, EDMOND. 1741-1812. S. Nov. -Dec. 1818. 8 days. £1648. The Early English portion of his library was presented to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, by his brother. 

 MARLBOROUGH, DUKE OF. 1766-1840. (White Knights Library. ) See page 327. 

 MARSH, JOHN FITCHETT. 1818-1880. S. W. & H. May 1882. 9 days. £2809. 

 MASON, GEORGE. 1735-1806. 4 parts. L. & S. Jan. , May, Nov. 1798; April 1799. 11 days. £2661. 

 MATHEWS, CHARLES. 1776-1835. (Theatrical Library, Portraits, etc. ) S. & S. Aug. 1835. 4 days. £947. 

 MATHIAS, THOMAS JAMES. 1754-1835. E. April 1820. 12 days. 

 MEAD, RICHARD, M. D. 1673-1754. See page 163. 

 MIDDLETON, CONYERS, D. D. 1683-1750. B. March 1751. 10 days. 

 [MIDGELEY. ] Robert Saunders (London). Feb. 1818. 6 days. 

 MILLS, GEORGE GALWEY. Jeffery. Feb. -March 1800. 13 days. £4319. 

 MILNER, JOHN. E. May 1829. 3 days. £1236. 

 MITFORD, REV. JOHN. 1781-1859. 3 parts. S. & W. Dec. 1859; April-May, July 1860. 20 days. £4846. 

 MONRO, JOHN, M. D. 1715-1791. L. & S. April-May 1792. 15 days. £1650. 

 MORRIS, WILLIAM. 1835-1896. See page 423. 

 NARES, REV. ROBERT. 1753-1829. E. Nov. -Dec. 1829. 8 days. £1286. 

 NASH, JOHN. 1752-1835. E. July 1835. 5 days. £1748. 

 NASSAU, GEORGE RICHARD SAVAGE. 1756-1823. 2 parts. E. Feb. , March 1824. 20 days. £8505. 

 NAYLER, SIR GEORGE. 1764-1831. (Heraldic books and MSS. ) 2 parts. S. & S. April, July 1832. 5 days. £1991. 

 NAYLOR, F. Autographs, etc. S. W. & H. July-Aug. 1885. 6 days. £2710. 

 NICHOLS, JOHN. 1745-1826. 3 parts. S. April, May 1828. S. & W. July 1856. 7 days. £1833. 

 NICHOLS, JOHN BOWYER. 1779-1863. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May, Dec. 1864. 11 days. £6174. 

 NICHOLS, JOHN GOUGH. 1806-1873. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Dec. 1874, April 1879. 9 days. £2313. 

 NICHOLSON, ALEXANDER. E. Feb. 1830. 3 days. £1468. 

 NICOLAY, FREDERICK. L. & S. Nov. -Dec. 1809. 8 days. £1101. 

 NORFOLK, DUKE OF. 1746-1815. 3 parts. E. Nov. -Dec. [1816], March [1817], Dec. 1821. Part I. 8 days. £1777. 

 NORTH, JOHN. 3 parts. E. March-May 1819. 25 days. £12, 707. 

 OFFOR, GEORGE. 1787-1864. S. W. & H. June-July 1865. 11 days. First two days, £2901. On the third morning of the sale a fire occurred, which so far damaged the remainder that the salvage was sold to Mr. Henry Stevens for £300. The library is said to have been valued for probate at about £70, 000. 

 ORD, CRAVEN. 1756-1832. 3 parts. E. June 1829, Jan. 1830, May 1832. Parts I. And III. 4 days. £3029. Part II. MSS. (with others). 5 days. £2654. 

 ORFORD, HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF. See Walpole. 

 ORFORD, EARL OF. 1813-1894. S. W. & H. June 1895. 2 days. £2609. 

 ORME, ROBERT. 1728-1801. L. & S. April-May 1796. 10 days. £1179. 

 ORMEROD, GEORGE. 1785-1873. S. W. & H. Aug. 1875. 5 days. £2199. 

 OUVRY, FREDERIC. 1814-1881. S. W. & H. March-April 1882. 6 days. £6169. 

 OXFORD, ROBERT and EDWARD HARLEY, EARLS OF. See Harley. 

 [PARKER, WILLIAM. ] E. June 1820. 5 days. £2460. 

 PARR, REV. SAMUEL. 1747-1825. 2 parts. E. May, Oct. -Nov. 1828. 15 days. £2720. 

 PARRIS, P. C. L. & S. May 1815. 5 days. £1302. 

 PARTON, JOHN. E. June 1822. 4 days. £1736. 

 PEARSON, THOMAS. 1740-1781. T. And J. Egerton (London). April-May 1788. 23 days. £1807. 

 PEEL, SIR ROBERT (Peel Heirlooms). Robinson and Fisher. June 1900. 4 days. £5883 (including autographs). 

 PENN, GRANVILLE. 1761-1844. 2 parts. S. & W. June 1851. [Anon. ] July-Aug. 1851. 10 days. £8471. 

 PENRHYN, LORD. 1737-1808. L. & S. March 1809. 5 days. £1188. 

 PERKINS, FREDERICK. 1780-1860. See page 348. 

 PERKINS, HENRY. 1778-1855. See page 346. 

 PERRY, JAMES. 1756-1821. 4 parts. E. March-May 1822. Feb. 1823. 27 days. £7400. 

 PETIT, LOUIS HAYES. 1774-1849. S. W. & H. April-May 1869. 14 days. £2937. 

 PHILIPS, NATHANIEL. 1795-1831. E. March 1837. 2 days. £1464. 

 PHILLIPPS, SIR THOMAS, Bart. 1792-1872. See page 370. 

 PHILLIPS, GEORGE. E. Feb. 1818. 5 days. £1113. 

 [PITT, WILLIAM. ] L. & S. Jan. 1808. 4 days. £1239. 

 POLLOCK, WILLIAM. E. March 1818. 3 days. £1823. 

 PORSON, RICHARD. 1759-1808. L. & S. June 1809. 7 days. £1254. 

 PREST, WILLIAM. S. June 1819. 6 days. £2032. 

 PRICE, SIR CHARLES RUGGE, Bart. S. W. & H. Feb. 1867. 7 days. £3439. 

 PRICE, LAKE. S. W. & H. March 1880. 2 days. £1915. 

 PRINCE, REV. SAMUEL. S. W. & H. Dec. 1865. 4 days. £1902. 

 PRYCE, REV. D. F. S. March 1824. 3 days. £1146. 

 RAINE, MATTHEW, D. D. 1760-1811. L. & S. Feb. -March 1812. 13 days. £2794. Aldine and classical books bequeathed to Trinity College, Cambridge. 

 RANDOLPH, JOHN, Bishop of London. 1749-1813. E. April 1814. 8 days. £2046. 

 RATCLIFFE, JOHN. -1776. C. March-April 1776. 9 evenings. £1105. 

 RAWLINSON, DR. RICHARD. 1690-1755. See page 191. 

 RAWLINSON, THOMAS. 1681-1725. See page 178. 

 REED, ISAAC. 1742-1807. See page 269. 

 REEVES, JOHN. 1752-1829. S. & S. Sept. 1831. 10 days. £1859. 

 REID, HUGH GALBRAITH. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May 1894. 12 days. £3466. 

 RENDORP, JOHN. S. Feb. -Mar. 1825. 8 days. £2522. 

 RENNIE, JOHN. 2 parts. E. July 1829. 11 days. £5169. Remainder. E. March 1833 (with others). 5 days. £2130. 

 RHODES, ABRAHAM. S. Feb. 1817. 3 days. £1328. 

 RHODES, WILLIAM BARNES. 1772-1826. S. April 1825. 10 days. £1751. 

 RIDGWAY, JOSEPH. 2 parts. S. W. & H. May, June 1879. 5 days. £2011 (including autographs). 

 ROBERTS, EDWARD WALPOLE. S. March 1828. 4 days. £1343 (including the Numismatic Library of his son Barré Charles Roberts). 

 ROGERS, SAMUEL. 1763-1855. C. & M. May 1856. 6 days. £1415. 

 ROSCOE, WILLIAM. 1753-1831. Winstanley (Liverpool). Aug. -Sept. 1816. 14 days. £5150. 

 ROUPELL, ROBERT P. S. W. & H. July 1870. 5 days. £2089. 

 ROXBURGHE, DUKE OF. 1740-1804. See page 261. 

 RUSSELL, REV. JOHN FULLER. 1814-1884. 2 parts. S. W. & H. June 1885, Feb. 1886. 9 days. £9485. 

 RUTHERFORD, ANDREW, LORD RUTHERFORD, 1791-1854. Nisbet (Edinburgh). March-April 1855. 11 days. £6886. 

 SALA, GEORGE AUGUSTUS HENRY. 1828-1895. S. W. & H. July 1895. 4 days. £851. 

 SAUNDERS, WILLIAM WILSON. 1809-1879. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Aug. 1873, March 1880. 4 days. £2543. 

 SAVILE, SIR JOHN. 1545-1607. (With Sir Henry Savile, 1549-1622, and Sir John Savile, 1556-1630. ) 2 parts. S. & W. Dec. 1860, Feb. 1861. 3 days. £5844. 

 SCHARF, SIR GEORGE. S. W. & H. Feb. 1896. 4 days. £1304

 SCOTT, SIR CLAUDE, Bart. E. June 1831. 6 days. £4137. 

 SCOTT, GEORGE. 1751-1780. L. & S. March 1781. 16 days. 

 SEAFORD, LORD. 1771-1845. E. June 1832. 4 days. £1551. 

 SEDGWICK, WILLIAM. L. & S. April 1811. 4 days. £1107. 

 SELSEY, LORD. S. W. & H. June 1872. 9 days. £4297. 

 [SHEEPSHANKS. ] S. & S. May 1834. 5 days. £2679. 

 SHELDON, RALPH. 1623-1684. (Weston Library. ) See page 110. 

 SHREWSBURY, EARL OF. S. & W. June-July 1857. 12 days. £2901. Remainder and imperfect books. S. & W. May 1858. 1 day. £164. 

 SIMEON, SIR JOHN, Bart. S. W. & H. March 1871. 9 days. £3509. 

 SIMES, N. P. S. W. & H. July 1886. 6 days. £4621. 

 SKAIFE, JOHN, M. D. S. W. & H. Feb. 1883. 5 days. £2710. 

 SLADE, FELIX. 1790-1868. S. W. & H. Aug. 1868. 6 days. £5718. Selection of MSS. And ancient bindings bequeathed to the British Museum. 

 SMITH, GEORGE. S. W. & H. July-Aug. 1867. 22 days. £9817. 

 SMITH, JOSEPH. 1682-1770. See page 185. 

 SMITH, RICHARD. 1590-1675. See page 94. 

 SMITH, THOMAS. S. May 1825. 8 days. £1583. 

 SMYTH, SIR ROBERT, Bart. L. & S. April 1809. 6 days. £1499. 

 SOUTHEY, ROBERT. 1774-1843. S. & W. May 1844. 16 days. £2933. 

 SOUTHGATE, REV. RICHARD. 1729-1795. L. & S. April-May 1795. 12 days. £1332. 

 SPENCER, GEORGE JOHN, EARL. 1758-1834. See page 312. 

 SPLIDT, PHILIP. L. & S. Feb. 1814. 6 days. £1440. 

 STANLEY, COLONEL. E. April-May 1813. 8 days. £8233. 

 STEEVENS, GEORGE. 1736-1800. See page 242. 

 STEPHENSON, G. H. S. W. & H. June-July 1899. 2 days. £1915. 

 STRANGE, JOHN. 1732-1799. L. S. & S. March-April 1801. 29 days. 

 STRETTELL, AMOS. 2 parts. E. Feb. -March 1820, May 1841. 11 days. £3023. 

 STUART, JAMES ALEXANDER. L. & S. June-July 1814. 16 days. £1393. 

 STUART, WILLIAM. C. M. & W. March 1895. 1 day. £4296. 

 SULLIVAN, SIR EDWARD, Bart. 1822-1885. 3 parts. S. W. & H. May-June 1900. 21 days. £11, 002. 

 SUNDERLAND LIBRARY. See page 168. 

 SUSSEX, DUKE OF. 1773-1843. See page 12. 

 SYKES, SIR MARK MASTERMAN, Bart. 1771-1823. See page 335. 

 TALBOT, SIR CHARLES, Bart. L. & S. May 1814. 6 days £2191. 

 TAYLOR, GEORGE WATSON. 2 parts. E. March, April 1823. 14 days. £8776. 

 TAYLOR, REV. HENRY. S. June 1822. 9 days. £1169. 

 TAYLOR, SIR SIMON, Bart. E. June 1833. 2 days. £1607. 

 TAYLOUR, JOHN. L. & S. June-July 1793. 24 days. £1023. 

 TEBBS, HENRY VIRTUE. S. W. & H. June 1900. 2 days. £1468. 

 TENISON, ARCHBISHOP. 1623-1715. 2 parts. S. & W. June, July 1861. 7 days. £3089. 

 THOMAS, THOMAS. E. Nov. -Dec. 1843. 3 days. £1360. 

 THOMPSON, SIR ALEXANDER. S. Dec. 1817. 5 days. £1648. 

 THOMPSON, SIR PETER. E. April-May 1815. 5 days. £1376. 

 THORNHILL, SIR THOMAS, Bart. S. W. & H. April 1889. 2 days. £2030. 

 THOROLD, SIR JOHN, Bart. 1734-1815. (Syston Park Library. ) See page 234. 

 TITE, SIR WILLIAM. 1798-1873. See page 393. 

 TOWNELEY, JOHN. 1731-1813. See pages 229 and 231. 

 TOWNSHEND, GEORGE, MARQUESS OF. 1755-1811. L. & S. May 1812. 16 days. £5745. 

 TUER, ANDREW WHITE. S. W. & H. July 1900. 1 day. £600. 

 TUFFEN, J. F. 2 parts. S. March 1818. Feb. 1821. 18 days. £2866. 

 TURNBULL, WILLIAM BARCLAY DAVID DONALD. 1811-1863. First library. Nov. 1851. 14 days. Second library. S. & W. Nov. -Dec. 1863. 6 days. £2779. 

 TURNER, DAWSON. 1775-1858. Library. 2 parts. S. & W. March 1853. P. & S. May 1859. 21 days. £6902. MSS. And Autographs. P. & S. June 1859. 5 days. £6558. 

 TURNER, ROBERT SAMUEL. 1818-1887. See page 416. 

 TYSSEN, SAMUEL. L. S. & S. Dec. 1801. 13 days. £1744. 

 UTTERSON, EDWARD VERNON. 1776-1856. 2 parts. S. & W. April 1852. March 1857. 15 days. £9601. 

 VALPY, REV. R. E. June-July 1832. 10 days. £2045. 

 VAN MILDERT, WILLIAM, Bishop of Durham. 1765-1836. Wheatley. June 1836. 10 days. 

 VINCENT, WILLIAM, D. D. 1739-1815. E. March [1816]. 6 days. £1077. 

 WAKEFIELD, REV. GILBERT. 1756-1801. L. S. & S. March-April 1802. 7 days. £1215. 

 WALKER, T. SHADFORD. S. W. & H. June 1886. 2 days. £4461. 

 WALPOLE, HORACE, Earl of Orford. 1717-1797. (Strawberry Hill Library. ) See page 214. 

 WALTON, BRIAN, Bishop of Chester. 1600-1661. Samuel Carr (London). April 1683. 

 WAY, BENJAMIN. E. May-June 1834. 3 days. £1111. 

 WAY, GREGORY LEWIS. 2 parts. S. W. & H. July 1881, March 1884. 2 days. £3056. 

 WEAVER, HAROLD BAILLIE. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Dec. 1897. C. M. & W. March 1898. 5 days. £6575. 

 WEBB, PHILIP CARTERET. 1700-1770. B. & L. Feb. -March 1771. 17 days. 

 WELLESLEY, MARQUESS. 1760-1842. E. Jan. 1843. 4 days. £1217. 

 WELLESLEY, HENRY, D. D. 1791-1866. 2 parts. S. W. & H. Aug. , Nov. 1866. 16 days. £4821. 

 WELLS, JOHN. E. Sept. 1841. 6 days. £1341. 

 WEST, JAMES. 1704?-1772. See page 205. 

 WHELER, BENJAMIN, D. D. B. & L. Nov. [1772]. 10 days. 

 WILBRAHAM, R. W. S. W. & H. June 1898. 3 days. £3231. 

 WILBRAHAM, ROGER. E. June 1829. 6 days. £1000. 

 [WILKES, J. ]. S. & W. March 1847. 11 days. £6533. 

 WILKINSON, GEORGE. E. July 1836. 3 days. £2984. 

 WILLETT, RALPH. 1719-1795. (Merly Library. ) See page 216. 

 [WILLIAM IV. ]. 1765-1837. E. Feb. 1837. 7 days. £1932 (including prints). 

 WILLIAMS, REV. THEODORE. 2 parts. Stewart, Wheatley and Adlard. April-May 1827. 15 days. 

 WILLS, HOWELL. S. W. & H. July 1894. 6 days. £8204. 

 WINDHAM, JOSEPH. 1739-1810. L. & S. Feb. 1811. 12 days. £4269. 

 WINDUS, BENJAMIN GODFREY. S. W. & H. March 1868. 4 days. £2988. 

 WODHULL, MICHAEL. 1740-1816. See page 265. 

 WOODFORD, EMPEROR JOHN ALEXANDER. L. & S. May 1809. 11 days. £4572. 

 WOODHOUSE, JOHN. L. & S. Dec. 1803. 5 days. £3135. 

 WORSLEY, BENJAMIN, D. D. (With others. ) John Dunmore and Richard Chiswell. May 1678, 'daily until all be sold. '

 WREN, SIR CHRISTOPHER. 1632-1723. Cock and Langford. Oct. 1748. 2 evenings. 

 WRIGHT, WILLIAM. S. W. & H. June 1899. 3 days. £8685. 

 WYNNE, EDWARD. 1734-1784. L. & S. March 1786. 12 days. £1066. 

 YATES, EDMUND. 1831-1894. S. W. & H. Jan. 1895. 2 days. £968. 

 YORK, DUKE OF. 1763-1827. Library. S. May 1827. 22 days. £4703. Maps, charts, etc. S. July 1827. 4 days. £1014. 

 YOUNG, ALEXANDER. S. W. & H. June 1890. 3 days. £2238. 

 YOUNG, JOHN. Library. S. W. & H. April 1875. 2 days. £807. Autograph letters and historical documents. 2 parts. S. W. & H. [Anon. ]. April-May 1869, April 1875. 10 days. £5525. 

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