28 ACCOUNTS, ETC., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



All have been press-marked and entered in Hand- and Shelf- 

 Lists. Eleven hundred and thirty-nine Charters and Rolls 

 have been placed and have been entered in the Hand-List. 

 Numbers have been written on 1219 newly-acquired Charters, 

 and, generally, numbers have been re-written on Rolls returned 

 from the Binders. Thirty-five Seals and Casts have been pro- 

 vided with boxes, placed, and entered in Hand-Lists. 



10. Books of Reference. — One hundred and ninety-nine 

 volumes and parts have been received, catalogued, and placed. 



Twenty-five volumes and parts of Facsimiles were added 

 to the series now deposited in the Department and available 

 for the use of Readers. 



IL Consultation of MSS. — 35,555 MSS. and 2,511 Charters 

 and Seals have been consulted in the Students' Room, and 

 seventy-nine MSS. in the Reading Room. The number of 

 Students was 12,142. 



Magna Charta was exhibited to 16,578 visitors. 



12. MSS. photographed. — Seven hundred and seventy-nine 

 MSS. (including Papyri, Charters and Seals) were allowed to be 

 photographed, with a total of 8,925 photographs taken. 



13. Exhibitions. — The General Collection of MSS. exhibited 

 to the public has been slightly rearranged, and a new Guide, 

 in three parts, has been issued. 



Five special exhibitions of MSS. were set out for lectures 

 And visits by separate parties. 



14. Acquisitions. — The number of Manuscripts and Docu- 

 ments, &c., acquired during the year has been : — 



Additional MSS. - - - - - - 141 



Egerton MSS. ------- 1 



Charters and Rolls ------ 1,258 



Papyri --_--_-- None 



Detached Seals and Casts - - - - - 53 



The most valuable acquisition during 1912 is a collection of 

 thirty-six original letters of Erasmus, nearly all addressed to 

 his Antwerp banker, E. Schets. Original letters of Erasmus 

 very rarely come into the market, and even of public libraries « 

 only those of Basle and Copenhagen now possess as many as 

 the British Museum. 



The Museum has benefited, as usual, by the generosity of 

 private donors, the principal gifts including : — 



A volume of autograph directions by Thomas Gray for the 

 publication of the 1768 edition of his poems, including the text 

 of three poems then first printed. Presented by Miss Laetitia 

 Sharpe. 



Liber Regalis, or Order of the Coronation of Kings of Eng- 

 land, 14th cent. Presented by Rev. E. S. Deicick, to whom it 

 was bequeathed by Sir Thomas Brooke, Bart. 



Journal of George Gilbert, midshipman, on Captain Cook's 

 third voyage, 1779. Presented by Alban Doran, Esq. 



