A.D. 1858
On Oct. 30, an offer made by the Trustees of the Ashmolean Museum for the transfer of the printed books, coins, and MSS. there contained to the Bodleian, in order to facilitate the devotion of a part of the building to the purposes of an Examination School, was accepted by the Curators; but a similar offer with regard to the antiquities was declined. The latter consequently remain in their old repository, but the collections in Natural History were transferred to the New Museum. It was not, however, until 1860, that the books were actually received into the Library, where they now fill one small room. Altogether they amount to upwards of 3700 volumes, forming five different series. First are those of Elias Ashmole himself, numbering originally 2175, but reduced by losses before the transfer to 2136, of which about 850 are MSS354. This collection is extremely rich in heraldic and genealogical matter, together with an abundance of astrology. The printed books are chiefly scientific and historical; these, with the books in the following collections, are now in process of incorporation into the new General Catalogue of the Library. A list of the MSS. is given in Bernard’s catalogue, A.D. 1697; but a very elaborate and minute account, forming a thick quarto volume, was drawn up by Mr. W. H. Black, the well-known antiquary, and published in 1845. As this, however, was destitute of an index, it remained comparatively useless until 1866, when a full Index, edited by the writer of this volume, was published under the direction of the Delegates of the University Press.
The next collection is that of Anthony à Wood, containing about 130 MSS. and 970 printed volumes355, which were bequeathed to the Museum by the owner on his death in Nov. 1695. The former are of extreme value for the history of Oxford and the neighbourhood; among the latter are most curious sets of the pamphlets of the time, with the ballads, fly-sheets, chap-books, almanacks, &c. just such ‘unconsidered trifles’ as most men suffer to perish in the using, but a few, like Wood, lay by for the amusement and information of future generations. There are also seven volumes of his own correspondence, including letters from Dugdale, Evelyn, &c. Of the MSS. a list is to be found in the old Catalogue of 1697; a fuller and better one, compiled by William Huddesford, M.A., the Keeper of the Museum, was printed in a thin octavo volume, in 1761, which was reprinted by Sir Thomas Phillips, at Middlehill, Worcestershire, in 1824. There are also bundles of charters and deeds, chiefly monastic, but nearly all more or less mutilated or injured by damp and dirt, so as to be partially useless.
The third collection is that of Dr. Martin Lister, physician to Queen Anne, who died Feb. 2, 1711/2. Besides his books, he was the donor of various other gifts to the Museum, in return for which he was created M.D. of Oxford, in 1683. The books are chiefly medical and scientific, and number in a written catalogue 1451 volumes (including thirty-two MSS.), but thirty-five of these were missing when the transfer from the Museum was made.
The collections of Sir William Dugdale, which form a fourth series, number forty-eight volumes. A list of these is in the old Catalogue of 1697.
In the fifth place there are the MSS. of the well-known antiquary, John Aubrey. These are about twenty in number, of which fifteen are in his own hand, and are described in Britton’s Life of him, printed for the Wilts Topographical Society, pp. 88-123. Collections for the history of Wiltshire, entitled Hypomnemata Antiquaria, form one of Aubrey’s own works356, but unfortunately the second volume (marked with the letter B) is missing. It was borrowed from the Museum, in 1703, by William Aubrey, the author’s brother, and was never returned. A paper on the subject was inserted by Rev. J. E. Jackson, in 1860, in vol. vii. of the Wiltshire Archæological Magazine, and a reward for information as to the present locale of the missing volume was subsequently publicly offered, but to no purpose, by the same gentleman. A small MS. of Horæ, which had belonged to Sir Thomas Pope, the founder of Trinity College, is among Aubrey’s books. A MS. of Matthew of Westminster, (now e Mus. 149) had been given to the Library by Aubrey, in 1675, through Ant. à Wood.
There are also five or six MSS. which were given to the Museum by William Kingsley before 1700. Some few others, which were given by E. Lhuyd and Dr. W. Borlase, together with a volume of W. Huddesford’s correspondence, are now incorporated with the Ashmole MSS., and are described in Mr. Black’s catalogue, as well as the latest gift of this kind which was made to the Museum, viz. a little volume of Private Thoughts, by Bishop Wilson, of Sodor and Man, which was presented in 1824 by Lieut. Brett, R.N.
Thirty-nine choice Persian and Arabic MSS., which had formed part of Sir Gore Ouseley’s collection, were bought from his son, Sir Fred. Gore Ouseley, Bart., the present Professor of Music, for £500. The rest of the collection came by gift, as will be seen under the following year.
At the sale (in June-Aug.) of the library of Dr. Bliss, a large number of volumes (still kept separate) were purchased, including a volume of original letters of Charles I, Clarendon, &c., and poems by Lord Fairfax (see p. 97); together with many from the series of books of Characters collected by Dr. Bliss, and from his like series, both of books printed in London shortly before the fire of 1666, and of books printed at Oxford. The Library obtained by his bequest his own interleaved copy of the Athenæ, with many MS. additions357.
A copy of the octavo Bible printed by Barker in 1631 (not 1632, as generally said), in which the word ‘not’ was omitted in the seventh commandment, was bought for £40. For this error (which looks very much like a wicked jest) the printer was fined 1000 marks by the High Commission Court358, and the edition was rigidly suppressed, all the copies which could be found being condemned to the flames.
Another purchase was a large collection of political tracts in seventy volumes, chiefly relating to foreign affairs, which had been formed by Mr. — Hamilton, of the Diplomatic Service.
Notes
354 This number includes some fifteen or sixteen volumes given by subsequent donors, but incorporated with Ashmole’s own books.
355 About fifty volumes out of Wood’s whole number were missing when the Library became possessed of them.
356 These were printed by the Wiltshire Archæological Society in 1862, in one volume quarto, under the editorship of Rev. J. E. Jackson.
357 A very valuable Index of notes and references on all kinds of biographical, historical, and antiquarian matters, contained in forty small covers, which had been the growth of the many years of Dr. Bliss’s literary researches, was bequeathed by him to Rev. H. O. Coxe, by whom it is kept in the Library for the use of readers. Several references are made to this Index in the earlier part of the volume.
358 In Burn’s High Commission Court, 1865, it is said (from the Reports of proceedings in the Court) that the fine inflicted on Barker was £200 and on Lucas £100. ‘With some part of this fine Laud causeth a fair Greek character to be provided, for publishing such manuscripts as time and industry should make ready for the publick view; of which sort were the Catena and Theophylact set out by Lyndsell.’ Heylin’s Cyprianus Anglicus, p. 228.