18 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



1. The first edition of Boccaccio's Decameron, printed at 

 Venice by Christopher Valdarfer in 1471. Like all known 

 copies, except one, this is imperfect, wanting five leaves, only 

 two of which, however, belong to the text. The one perfect 

 copy is in the library of Earl Spencer, and is that for which, 

 at the Roxburghe sale in 1812, Lord Blandford gave 2,250 I., 

 having in his possession at the time the very copy now 

 acquired by the Museum. In every other respect this is a 

 finer copy than Earl Spencer's, and has copious bibliogra- 

 phical notes by the Rev. Vaughan Thomas, librarian to the 

 Duke of Marlborough. The Museum previously possessed no 

 edition earlier than 1478. 



2. L'Art de bien mourir et de bien vivre, printed by 

 Antoine Verard, Paris, 1492. This work consists, in fact, of 

 four distinct treatises : L' Art de bien mourir ; Leguyllon de 

 crainte divine ; Ladvenement de Antechrist ; and Le livre de 

 bien vivre. The illustrations are magnificent specimens of 

 early wood engraving, and those in " Ladvenement de Ante- 

 christ," which are greatly superior to those in subsequent 

 editions, have not been traced elsewhere, the blocks having 

 probably been destroyed or lost. 



3. The second Mentz edition of the Constitutions of Pope 

 Clement V., printed by Fust and Schoeff*er in 1472, on 

 vellum. This completes the series of early Mentz editions of 

 this book in the Museum, and is, like the others, a splendid 

 specimen of typography. The missing first leaf has been 

 replaced in facsimile with exquisite skill. 



4. Doctrina Christiana en Quichua y Aymara, Lima, 1584 ; 

 Confessionario para los curas de los Indios, Lima, 1585 ; 

 Catechismo y esposicion de la doctrina Christiana, Lima, 

 1585. The first three books printed in South America, all 

 occurring within the same cover, perhaps an unprecedented 

 circumstance. 



5. The Octoechus, or hymn book arranged for eight 

 voices, of St. John of Damascus, [Cetinje,] 1493. The second 

 book printed in Cyrillic characters, the second printed in the 

 Servian language, and the first printed in South Slavonia. 

 It is practically the earliest Servian book extant, the first, a 

 Horologium, printed at Venice, having for the present dis- 

 appeared. 



6. The Sarum Manual, printed by Pynson, 1506, on vel- 

 lum. A splendid service book, of which only one other copy 

 is known, that in the library of Stonyhurst College. The 

 Museum copy wants the title, which has been supplied in 

 facsimile by the courtesy of the Stonyhurst authorities. A 

 few J eaves near the end are wanting in both copies, having 

 contained the form of excommunication in English, which 

 was rarely used after about 1520. 



7. Ordinarium 



