46 Mr. Parkes's History of 



Quarto, London, printed for John Dunton, at the Raven in the 

 Poultry. 1692. 



This work was advertised as a continuation of the " Young 

 Student's Library," and was published by the sajpe bookseller, 

 monthly. The number for December 1693 closes the second 

 volume. Four numbers of a third volume were also published, 

 and then appeared the following advertisement. " Many gentle- 

 men that were wont constantly to take in the Complete Library, 

 being gone into the country, it is designed that the Complete 

 Library for May, June, July, August, September, October, No- 

 vember, and December, shall be published all together at the 

 end of the year, which shall contain all the valuable books 

 published from time to time, and also the state of learning for 

 every month, which will complete this third volume." These 

 numbers, I suspect, were, however, not published, as the fol- 

 lowing statement appeared in the Athenian Mercury for De- 

 cember 1, 1694. " There is now published weekly Miscella- 

 neous Letters, giving an account of the works of the learned; 

 upon which account the author of the Complete Library has 

 wholly discontinued his monthly journal." My copy of the Com- 

 plete Library goes no farther than April 1694, and I believe no 

 more numbers were printed. The two first volumes of this va- 

 luable work are said to be written by a " London divine," but 

 the title-page of the third volume purports to be by R. W., M.A. 

 I have reason to think that this early journal is now very rarely 

 to be met with ; I never saw any except my own copy ; and it 

 is evident that Mr. Dibdin had not seen it, or it would have 

 been enumerated in his List of Early Reviews. John Dunton, 

 in his book entitled " The Life and Errors of John Dunton, late 

 Citizen of London," gives the following account of the work. — 

 " A third project of mine," says he, " for the promotion of 

 learning, was a monthly journal of books printed in London, 

 and beyond sea, called the ' Complete Library.' This design 

 was carried on about ten months, when Monsieur La Crose inter- 

 fered with me in a monthly journal, entitled, ' The works of the 

 Learned,' upon which I dropped my own design, and joined 

 with La Crose's bookseller in publishing his work." 



