A.D. 1824
A collection of valuable original papers relating to affairs in Church and State, which had belonged to Archbishop Sheldon, were sold by his great-nephew, Sir John English Dolben, of Finedon, Northamptonshire, to the Library for £40 5s. They are now bound in six volumes, of which three are lettered Sheldon, and three Dolben. Of the first three, two contain letters from English, Welsh, Scotch and Irish Bishops, and the contents of the other are miscellaneous; of the second three, one contains miscellaneous letters and papers commencing at 1585, another has similar papers from 1626 to 1721, and the third contains miscellaneous ecclesiastical letters and documents. Some of the letters are addressed to the Archbishop’s secretary, Miles Smyth, Esq. A short letter from Sir John Dolben to Dr. Bandinel, relating to his disposal of these papers, dated Oct. 12, 1824, is preserved in Bodl. MS. Addit. ii. A. 32. He had previously given, in 1822, a fine copy of a quarto Bible which had belonged to Sheldon, containing (1) the Prayer-Book and Metrical Psalms, printed at Cambridge in 1638, (2) the Old Test., printed by Field at London in 1648, and (3) the New Test., Cambr. 1637. At the end are some memoranda by the Archbishop of the births, baptisms, and deaths of members of the Sheldon and Okeover families, and of the legitimate children of Charles II and the Duke of York. The Library more than a century before had received benefactions from a member of the same family of Dolben; Gilbert Dolben, of Finedon, having given some printed books in 1697, together with a manuscript of Gower. And twenty vols. of Chamberlaine’s State of Great Britain were given by Mr. J. E. Dolben in 1796. An additional volume of the Sheldon correspondence was given to the Library in 1840, by Dr. Routh, the President of Magdalen College. It is a copy-book of business-letters written by the Archbishop. In a note to Dr. Bandinel which accompanied the gift, and which is now fixed in vol. i. of Burnet’s autograph copy of his Own Times, Dr. Routh says:—
‘The President takes the opportunity of sending a volume containing the first draught of letters sent by Archbp. Sheldon to different persons, together with a few other contemporary papers. They were put into the President’s hands by the late Sir John English Dolben, and as the University purchased of that gentleman what were commonly called the Sheldon Papers, he thinks they cannot be deposited anywhere more suitably than in the Bodleian Library.’
To the annual catalogue for this year was attached a special list, filling thirty-two folio pages, of the books (upwards of 1500 in number) which were bought at the Hague, at the sale of the library collected by the distinguished Dutch scholars and lawyers, Gerard and John Meerman. The sale-catalogue is a volume of more than 1200 pages. The books bought for the Library were chiefly such as supplied deficiencies in foreign history and law, together with some Greek310 and Latin MSS., for the most part patristic and classical. The sum expended was £925. Some rare Spanish historical books (in which class of literature, thanks to Dr. Bandinel’s care in keeping it steadily in view, the Library is now very rich) were bought at the sale of Don J. Ant. Conde.
But the chief distinction of this year lies in the acquisition, by bequest of Mrs. Elizabeth Dennis Denyer (widow of Mr. John Denyer, of Chelsea, who died in 1806) of a most valuable collection of early editions of the English Bible, numbering altogether about twenty-five. To show the rarity and worth of this collection, it will be sufficient to mention but a few of the volumes which it contains. Imprimis, Coverdale’s first edition, 1535311, and his second edition, 1537; Cranmer’s, in April, 1540 and in 1541, and by Grafton in 1553; Matthew’s, by Becke, in 1551; Tyndale’s New Testament, in 1536, and another of his earliest editions; Hollybush’s English and Latin Testament, 1538, and Erasmus’ Testament, 1540. Besides the Biblical collection, Mrs. Denyer also bequeathed twenty-one English theological works, nearly all printed before 1600; including a beautiful copy of Fisher on the Penitential Psalms (by Wynkyn de Worde) and books by (amongst others) Bale, Bonner, Brightwell, Erasmus, Hooper, Joye, and Tonstall.
Mr. L. E. Judge, New College (B.A. 1827, M.A. 1830; Chaplain; deceased 1853), succeeded Mr. Roberts, in March, as assistant; but in July of the next year retired, and was succeeded by Mr. W. Bailey, also of New College (B.A. 1829).
Notes
310 These, in number thirty-eight, are described in Mr. Coxe’s Catalogue, cols. 724-773. An eighth-century copy of Eusebius’ Chronicon is among the Latin MSS.
311 Wanting title and map. A title had been supplied by Mrs. Denyer, who in several instances had supplied deficiencies very successfully in pen and ink; a perfect facsimile, however, by Mr. J. Harris, which might pass for the original, were not the minute mark ‘Fs. T. H.’ seen on the back of the page, has since been substituted. It is a marvel of caligraphic skill. Another imperfect copy came to the Library among Selden’s books.