GENEKAL PROGRESS OE THE MUSEUxM. 13 



Printed Books — continued — 



Music .-----..- 10,843 



Newspapers (single numbers) - - _ - 282,692 



Misceilaneous 1,862 



Manuscripts and Seals ------ 460 



Oriental Printed Books and MS S. - - - - 1,890 



Prints and Drawings -_.___ 4,773 



,, (Oriental) - - . . 878 



Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities - - - - 2,347 



Greek and Roman Antiquities ----- 66 



Britjsli and Mediaeval Antiquities - - - - 1,614 



Coins and Medals - - 7,919 



Tbtal 429,990 



Of the total increase of 96,000, nearly tke whole is accounted 

 for by an increase of 81,500 in the number of newspapers, but 

 most Departments show increases except the Department of 

 Egyptian and Assjrrian Antiquities. 



Among the accessions described in the Departmental reports 

 that follow, a few of the most notable may be mentioned here. 

 The Department of Printed Books made considerable acquisitions 

 of early English and Spanish books — two branches of biblio- 

 graphical research to which considerable attention is now being 

 paid. The Department of M,SS. acquired at the Yates Thompson 

 sale a very valuable and early illuminated Life of St. Cuthbert, 

 written at -Durham a,t the end of the 12th century ; and jit 

 received a gift of special interest in the volume of Middle English 

 verse presented by a group of teachers of English in America, 

 as a mark of their sympathy with England during the war, and 

 of the assistance which they had derived from the British 

 Museum. 



In the Department of Prints and Drawings the most important 

 single accessions were the album of drawings by a North Italian 

 artist (formerly supposed to be Mantegna), presented by Lord 

 Rosebery, and the very early portrait of Yoritomo, the first 

 Shogun of Japan. 



The Department of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities 

 acquired a very fine papyrus roll, nearly 60 feet in length, con- 

 taining a late recension of the Book of the Dead, in a fuller 

 form than in any other kno^vn manuscript. The Department of 

 Greek and Roman Antiquities received by bequest from Lord 

 Astor a most attractive half-length bronze statue of a young 

 priestess, which was at one time stated, but without authority, 

 to be a portrait of Drusilla, Caligula's sister, and to have been 

 dredged up from Lake Nemi. The Department also acquired a 

 particularly fine rock crystal gem, formerly in the Cockerell col- 

 lection ; and it was fortunate in securing several interesting 

 Greek vases. 



The Department of British and Mediaeval Antiquities was 

 enriched by a speciallv interesting gift, Mr. G. Eumorfopoulos 

 (a frequent and munificent benefactor of the Museum) having 

 elected to commemorate the completion of forty years' service by 



