A.D. 1745
In this year died Nathaniel Crynes, M.A., Fellow of St. John’s College and Superior Bedel of Arts, to which latter office he had been elected Jan. 26, 1715/16209. He bequeathed to the Library all such books out of his own valuable collection as it did not already possess, the rest going to his own College. His books in octavo and smaller sizes, with a few quartos, are still kept distinct, under his own name, and number 968 volumes, many of which are of great rarity. Seven MSS. were presented by him in 1736. In 1727 he purchased some duplicates from the Library, for £3 16s. 8d., and a story, told by Warton in connection with this purchase, of his fortunately rejecting books which bore the name of Milton, will be found under the year 1620. There is a biographical notice of him in J. Haslewood’s Introduction to Juliana Barnes’ Boke of St. Alban’s, Lond. 1810, pp. 86-7. In the Accounts for 1746 occur special payments to Fr. Wise, and to one Mr. Gerard Bodley, for cataloguing and arranging Crynes’ books.
Notes
209 He left a benefaction to his successor in this office, which now produces £13 6s. 8d. yearly.