A.D. 1853
A portion of the collection of Hebrew MSS. formed by Prof. Isaac Sam. Reggio, at Goritz, amounting to about seventy-two volumes, was purchased for £108. Many other MSS. in this class of literature occur yearly in the accounts at this time. But the great acquisition of 1853 was the Breviarium secundum regulam beati Ysidori, dictum Mozarabes, printed on vellum at Toledo, by command of Cardinal Ximenes, in 1502. £200 were given for this book, which is the only vellum copy known, and which is in most immaculate condition. It is of extreme rarity even on paper, as it is believed that only thirty-five copies were printed.
An imperfect copy of Caxton’s Chronicle, 1480, was bought for £21; and a large gathering of Norfolk tracts was obtained at the sale of Mr. Dawson Turner’s library.
It was in this year that Dr. Constantine Simonides visited the Library in the hope of disposing of some of the products of his Eastern ingenuity, but failed here, as also at the British Museum, although successful in most other quarters. It is much to be lamented that the talent and ability which he undoubtedly possessed in no small degree were devoted to such unworthy purpose as his history discloses. The story of his interview with Mr. Coxe, then Sub-librarian, is well known, and was reproduced in an article in the Cornhill Magazine for Oct. 1867 (p. 499); and as the version there given appears to be substantially correct, it will be sufficient to borrow it from its pages:—
‘On visiting the [Bodleian Library, Mr. Simonides] showed some fragments of MSS. to Mr. Coxe, who assented to their belonging to the twelfth century. “And these, Mr. Coxe, belong to the tenth or eleventh century?” “Yes, probably.” “And now, Mr. Coxe, let me show you a very ancient and valuable MS. I have for sale, and which ought to be in your Library. To what century do you consider this belongs?” “This, Mr. Simonides, I have no doubt,” said Mr. Coxe, “belongs to the [latter half of the] nineteenth century.” The Greek and his MS. disappeared.’
An account of this visit was given in the Athenæum for March 1, 1856, and a full narrative, including a letter from Sir F. Madden respecting the dealings with Simonides on the part of the British Museum, is to be found in S. L. Sotheby’s Principia Typographica, vol. ii. pp. 133-136f350.
Notes
350 The death of Simonides, from the terrible disease of leprosy, was announced as having occurred at Cairo in last year.