30 Royal Colonial InstUtUe. 



an extensive collection of several thousand maps and charts, presented mainly by the 

 Admiralty, the War Ofl&ce, and the Overseas Governments. 



A section of the library of value to historical students is that which contains the 

 proceedings of the various American historical societies, of which there are several 

 long sets in the library, notably those of the American Historical Association, the New 

 York Historical Society, the Ohio, Michigan, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and 

 Iowa Societies. Another important section is the Cobham collection of books 

 relating to Cyprus, presented by C. Delaval Cobham, Esq., C.M.G. This contains 

 practically every printed book describing the island and its history and antiquities, 

 and includes many rare and valuable volumes. 



The additions to the library are catalogued upon cards, and every item which 

 deals in any way with the British Empire, be it book, pamphlet, or magazine article, 

 is carefully noted for future reference. The first printed catalogue was published 

 in 1881, and the last in 1901, since which date no catalogue has been issued for distribu- 

 tion. The printed catalogues form a fairly complete bibliography of the literary 

 activities of the Empire, and the manuscript catalogues reveal the immense range of 

 literature published during recent years. Amongst the treasures of the library are 

 many books of great value and rarity, both bibUographicaUy and historically. The 

 collection of drawings made by William Westall, A.R.A., who accompanied Flinders 

 on his expedition to the shores of Australia in 1801-2, is unique, as are those of scenes 

 in the Transvaal and in Rhodesia made by A. A. Anderson. The collection of books 

 relating to Australia is extensive, and contains the chief collections of voyages to the 

 South Seas, a valuable set of Gould's Birds, and many scarce pamphlets. The Dominion 

 of Canada is also well represented, and amongst the rarer books may be noted Colden's 

 " History of the Five Nations " (1747) ; Jeffrey's " Natural and Civil History of the 

 French Dominions in North and South America " (1761) ; Rogers' " Account of North 

 America " (1765) ; Sagard's " Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons " (1632) ; Bacque- 

 ville's " Histoire de I'Ameriqne Septentrionale " ; Charlevoix' " Histoire de La 

 Nouvelle France " (1744), and the celebrated series of the Jesuit Relations. The 

 literature relating to the West Indies is extensive, and contains Davies' " History of 

 the Caribby Islands " (1666) ; Burton's " English Empire in America " (1685) ; 

 Blome's " Jamaica " (1672), and Hickeringill's " Jamaica Viewed," an extremely 

 rare publication issued in 1661. The African section. Eastern, Western, and Southern, 

 is of great interest. Here are the sumptuous volumes issued by Ogilby in 1670, contain- 

 ing some of the earliest illustrations of the Cape, the quaint literary hoax written by 

 Damberger in 1801, Kolbe's " Present State of the Cape " (1718), and the works 

 of the principal African voyagers and discoverers, such as Sparmann, Paterson, Barrow, 

 Lichtenstein, Le Vaillant, Latrobe, BurcheU, and many others. A splendid edition 

 of Darnell's " African Scenery and Animals " and other rare illustrated works add 

 distinction to this section of the library. The Indian section also contains many 

 of the more important works relating to India, and a special section is devoted to 

 Egypt and the Sudan. Nor are the smaller dependencies neglected. There is quite 

 a collection of literature relating to the Falkland Islands, and even such small is'ands 

 as the Cocos-Keeling group and Fanning Island have their section in the catalogue as 

 well as on the shelves. Of general works of travel attention may be directed to those 

 known as Hakluyt (1598-1600) ; Purchas (1625-6) ; Churchill (1732) ; Harleiau (1745) ; 

 Harris (1705) ; Callander (1788) ; Burney (1803-17) ; Pinkerton (1808) ; Astley 

 (1745-7) ; Kerr (1811-24) ; Ramusio (1554-83), and Prevost (1746-70), and the 

 publications of the Hakluyt, Navy Records, Linschoten, and similar societies. Among 



