In Case X. some of the Illuminations are very beautiful, as, for example, in Nos.

6. Virgil.-On vellum. Printed at Venice by Aldus, in April, 1501. The first book printed in Italic types, and the earliest attempt to produce cheap books. It belonged to the Gonzaga family, and has the autographs of the two Cardinals, Ippolito and Ercole, as well as that of Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode.

7. Martialis. Epigrammata.-On vellum. Printed at Venice by Aldus in 1501. From the library of King George III.

10. Hours for the use of the diocese of Paris.-On vellum. Printed at Paris by P. Pigouchet, about 1488. Purchased. 12. Boccaccio. Des nobles et cleres femmes.-On vellum.

Printed at Paris by Ant. Verard, in 1493. Henry VII.'s copy. From the old royal collection.

In Case XI., containing specimens of Illustrations on wood and copper-plate, attention is called to the following:

5. Breydenbach. Opus transmarinæ peregrinationis ad sepulchrum dominicum in Jherusalem. Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.-On vellum. Printed at Mentz, in 1486. One of the earliest books of travel printed, and the first illustrated with folding views. From the library of King George III.

6. Dürer. Epitome in Dive Parthenices Mariæ historiam ab Alberto Durero per figuras digestam; cum versibus Chelidonii.Printed by Albert Durer at Nuremberg in 1511. From the library of King George III.

9. Holbein. Historiarum Veteris Testamenti Icones. Lugduni, 1539. The second edition of Holbein's Bible cuts.

11. Map of Cambridge. engraved by Richard Lyne.-in Caius, Historia Cantabrigiensis Academiæ. Lond. 1574.- No other copy of this map known. A presentation copy of the book from John Parker, son of Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, to James I. From the old royal collection. 12. The procession at the Obsequies of Sir Philip Sydney, drawn and invented by T. L[ant], Gent., servant to the said honourable Knight, and engraven on copper by D. T. de Bry, in the city of London, 1587.-Intended to form a long roll. The only perfect copy known. Bequeathed by Miss Banks.

In Case XII. are numerous books containing Autographs of distinguished or remarkable persons, as, for instance: Lord Bacon Michael Angelo; Calvin; Cecil, Lord Burghley; Queen Katharine Parr; Luther; Melanchthon; Milton; Sir

I. Newton, etc. In this case are also contained some remarkable Broadsides, among which the following deserve particular attention, viz:

22. Copy of the, Indulgence issued by Pope Leo X. for the rebuilding of St. Peter's at Rome, 1517. On Vellum. This Indulgence was sold by Tetzel and Samson, as Sub-Commissioners under Albert, Archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburg; a proceeding which called forth the indignant remonstrance of Martin Luther, regarded as the commencement of the great Reformation. Purchased in 1875.

23. Luther's Appeal to a General Council against the Proceedings commenced against him at Rome and elsewhere by order of the Pope.-Dated Nov. 28, 1518. Purchased in 1846.

24. Order of the Council of State, appointing Cromwell Lord Protector.-Dated December 16, 1653.

In Case XIII., containing Typographical and Literary Curiosities, the Visitor may chiefly notice the following :—

66

7. Henry VIII., King of England. Assertio septem Sacramentorum. Printed by Pynson, at London, in 1521.—The first edition of the work for which Pope Leo X. conferred upon Henry the title of Defender of the Faith." From the old royal collection. 9. The Great Bible, April, 1540.-On vellum. This is called the second edition of Cranmer's Bible, but is the first revised by him, and having his preface. The arms of Cromwell, Earl of Essex, which were inserted in the title-page of the first edition (1539), were cut out after his execution. Presentation copy to Henry VIII., as is shown by the following MS. inscription on the reverse of the flyleaf: "This Booke is presented unto your most excellent highnesse by youre loving, faithfull, and obedient Subject and daylye Oratour, Anthonye Marler, of London, Haberdassher." Described in Anderson, Annals of the English Bible, vol. ii. pp. 131 and 142. From the old royal collection.

17. Shakspere. Romeo and Juliet. London, 1597.-First edition. Bequeathed by David Garrick.

20. Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Printed by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, London, 1623. The first collected edition of Shakspere's Plays. With dedication to William Earl of Pembroke and Philip Earl of Montgomery, signed by John Heminge and Henry Condell, the editors, and two of the principal actors of Shakspere's plays. The lines facing the portrait are by Ben Jonson: the portrait by Martin Droeshout. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode.

25. Defoe. Robinson Crusoe. London, April, 1719.-The first edition. Purchased in 1852.

Among the examples of Bookbinding contained in Cases XV.-XVIII. the following are very beautiful specimens of the art:

Rainerius de Pisis. Pantheologia. Printed by Bertholdus, Basle, about 1475.-German stamped leather binding of the 15th century.

Witichindi Saxonis libri III. Printed at Basle, in 1532.Specimen of Grolier binding. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode.

Opus eximium de vera differentia Regiæ potestatis et ecclesiasticæ. London, 1534.—On vellum. Henry VIII.'s copy. From the old royal collection.

Macchiavelli. Il Prencipe, &c.

Printed by Aldus, at Venice, in 1540. A specimen of Grolier binding. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode.

Petri Bembi Cardinalis Historia Veneta. Venetiis, 1551.-French binding of the 16th century; with the arms of Henry II. of France, and the monogram and devices of the King and Diana of Poitiers. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. Petri Bembi Cardinalis Historia Veneta. Venetiis, 1551.-English binding of the 16th century; with the arms of Edward VI. From the old Royal Collection.

Calvete de Estrella. El Viaje del Principe Don Philippe. Antwerp, 1552.-Bound for Queen Mary I. From the old Royal Collection.

Plato. Convivium. Paris, 1543. Bound for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, whose crest is stamped on the cover of the volume. From the library of King George II.

Mascher. Il fiore della Retorica. Venice, 1560.- Bound for Queen Elizabeth, to whom the book is dedicated. From the old royal collection.

Flores Historiarum per Matthæum Westmonasteriensem collecti. Londini, 1570.-English binding of the 16th century. Presented to Queen Elizabeth by Archbishop Parker. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode.

Breviarium Romanum. Paris, 1588. French binding of the 16th century. Bound by Nicholas Eve. Purchased in 1838.

The Bible. Cambridge, 1674.-Bound in embroidered velvet for King James II. Purchased in 1847.

GEORGE BULLEN.

[Guide to the Books exhibited in the Grenville and King's Libraries, 1d.]

12

DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS.

THE Collections of this Department have been formed partly by the acquisition of private libraries and partly by purchases and donations accumulated from year to year. The Manuscripts of Sir Robert Cotton, of Edward Harley, Earl of Oxford, and of Sir Hans Sloane, were among the first collections brought together by the Act of Parliament of 1753, to which the British Museum owes its origin. The other collections are: The Old Royal MSS. (incorporated with the early collections in 1757), the King's MSS., collected by George III.; the Birch MSS., of the Rev. Thomas Birch, D.D.; the Lansdowne MSS., of William Petty, Marquess of Lansdowne; the Arundel MSS., of Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel; the Burney MSS., of the Rev. Charles Burney, D.D.; the Hargrave MSS., of Francis Hargrave, Q.C.; the Egerton MSS., of Francis Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater, augmented by purchases made from funds bequeathed by the Earl and by Charles Long, Lord Farnborough; and the Additional MSS., the largest of all the collections, purchased from the annual parliamentary grant or acquired by donation or bequest. The Department contains altogether 50,000 volumes, of which upwards of 8,500 are written in Oriental languages; more than 46,000 charters and rolls; nearly 7,000 detached seals and casts of seals; and upwards of 100 ancient Greek, Coptic, and Latin papyri.

THE MANUSCRIPT SALOON.

This room, in which are exhibited specimens of Ancient and Illuminated Manuscripts, Bindings, Autograph Letters, Charters, and Seals, is lined with bookcases, containing on the right, or south side, the Harleian MSS., on the left the Lans

downe and Old Royal collections, and on the east side the In the galleries above are deposited the

Cottonian Library.

Sloane MSS. and a portion of the Additional MSS.

On entering the Room, from the Grenville Library, the visitor has on his right hand a series of English and Foreign Charters in glazed frames. They are :

A selection from the Anglo-Saxon Charters, of which as many as one hundred and forty are preserved in the Department.* They record grants made by Hodil redus or Ethelred, a kinsman of Sebbi, King of Essex, in the year 692-3; and by Edgar, Canute, and Edward the Confessor, Kings of England, in 961, 1031, and 1045. Grants by Kings Henry I., Henry II., Richard I., Henry III., and Edward I.; together with a deed whereby Louis, son of Philip Augustus, King of France, when fighting with the disaffected English barons against King John, makes a grant of the town of Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, in 1216; an acknowledgment by Queen Eleanor, wife of Henry III., of a debt due to Florentine merchants in Eugland, in 1262; and a grant by Magnus, King of Man and the Isles, in 1256.

Letters Patent of Edward II., confirming articles for the reform of the government, A.D. 1311. A deed of Edward III.. restoring the lands of Richard Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, A.D. 1331; with a wellexecuted ornamental border.

Photograph of the original Articles of Liberties demanded by the Barons of King John, which formed the foundation of Magna Charta, A.D. 1215; with the Great Seal attached. The original is preserved in the Department.

Charters of William II. and Henry I.; signed with crosses by the Kings and witnesses. Decree of the Emperor Hludouuicus [Louis le Débonnaire] respecting lands on the river Weser, A.D. 840.

A charter of Peter, Bishop of Beauvais, A.D. 1123; with the episcopal seal. Charter of Ferdinand IV., King of Castile, A.D. 1307; with a bulla, or leaden seal.

Adjoining the above are two large frames, in which are enclosed a collection of books and papers containing autograph works or inscriptions. They are:

Specimens of caligraphy, or copy-books, written in their youth by Edward VI., the Princess, afterwards Queen, Elizabeth, Charles I. when Prince, and William, Duke of Cumberland, in 1727. A manual of prayers, having on the margins some lines in the handwriting of Lady Jane Grey, and said to have been used by her on the scaffold, 12 February, 1554. The original draft of the will of Mary, Queen of * Printed in photographic facsimile, in four volumes, entitled, "Ancient Charters in the British Museum," 1873-1878.