ESTIMATES, &C. OF BRITISH MUSEUM. 



PROGRESS made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement of the Collections, and 

 Account of Objects added, in the Year ending 25th December 1851. 



Depaktment of Manuscripts. 



1. The List of Additions for the year 1846 is nearly completed, and is now under revision 

 for the press. It includes the Additional Manuscripts from No. 15,668 to No. 16,405, 

 inclusive ; the Additional Charters and Rolls, from No. 6,293 to No. 6,333 ; and the 

 Egerton Manuscripts, 1,140-1,145. 



2. The Additional Manuscripts, 15,954-15,957, 15,970, 15,975-6, and the Egerton Ma- 

 nuscripts, 19-21, 23-25, have been describe^ in detail ; and, in a briefer form, the Additional 

 Manuscripts, 16,409-16,463, 16,481-16,539, for the List of Additions, 1847. 



3. Portions of the Cottonian Manuscripts, Caligula, D. IV. and D. V., and Otho, E. IX., 

 have been described in detail from the fragments recently restored. 



4. The Additional Charters and Rolls have been described, from No. 1,603 to No. 1,912, 

 inclusive ; and indexed, from No. 1,449 to No. 1,530. The slips, from No. 1,263 to 

 No. 1,448, have been revised, and transcribed into the new series of the Charter Catalogue. 



5. A List has been printed of the selection of Autograph Letters, Original Charters, Great 

 Ssals and Manuscripts, exhibited to the Public in the Department during the summer. 



6. The brief Catalogue of the Additional Manuscripts placed in the Reading Room, has 

 been continued from December 1849 to the end of 1850. 



7. The Second Part of the Catalogue of Arabic manuscripts (pp. 181-352), has been 

 completed and printed. It includes the classes of works on Geography, Philosophy, Natural 

 History, Medicine, Lexicography and Grammar, Poetry, Fiction, and Miscellaneous. 

 Sixty-two Arabic manuscripts have also been described for the Supplement. 



8. Two hundred and fifty Persian manuscripts have been described, and contain nearly 

 300 authors, in the classes of Poetry, Fiction, and Philology. 



9. Above 3,000 loose leaves of vellum and paper, belonging to the Syriac Collection of 

 manuscripts, have been collated or placed in volumes, and a brief List of them drawn up. 

 The whole of the paper fragments have been inlaid, to form volumes. 



10. The Additional Manuscripts have been arranged, numbered and registered, from 

 No. 18,454 to No. 18,756, inclusive; and bound, repaired, lettered and stamped, from 

 No. 18,098 to No. 18,659. 



11. The Additional Charters and Rolls have been numbered, from No. 7,483 to No. 8,120 ; 

 registered, from No. 7,361 to No. 7,904 ; and stamped up to the same number. 



12. The Egerton Manuscripts have been arranged, numbered and registered, from 

 No. 1,507 to iNo. 1,533, inclusive ; and bound and stamped, from No. 1,190 to No. 1,216. 



13. Several Inventories and Shelf Catalogues have been made to the various Collections; 

 and 3,660 volumes of manuscripts press-marked. 



14. One hundred and twenty-nine of the Old Royal Collection of Manuscripts, and 

 493 of the Additional, have been folio'd ; as have also the Egerton Manuscripts, No. 1,178- 

 1,463. 



15. Every tract, letter, or separate document has been stamped in 622 volumes of the 

 Harleian Collection, 15 of the Cottonian, 52 of the Old Royal, 121 of the Egerton, and 

 813 of the Additional Manuscripts. The Charters and Rolls stamped are from the follow- 

 ing Collections ; namely, Sloane, 286 ; Harleian, 298 ; Campbell, 210 ; VVolley, 1,032 ; and 

 Additional, 588; together with 113 Pipe-Holls, 127 Church Briefs, and 290 Books of 

 reference belonging to the Department. The total number of stamps affixed, amounts to 

 107,425. 



16. Eleven of the Cottonian Manuscripts on vellum (including a portion of the History of 

 Ingulphus, supposed to be lost), and two Old Royal, as well as eleven Cottonian on paper 

 (all injured in the fire of 1731), have been carefully flattened, repaired, inlaid and bound. 

 'Ihe leaves of these have been collated and re-arranged, so as to rescue from destruction 

 much valuable matter ; and above 300 loose leaves of vellum have been inlaid, belonging 

 to Cottonian volumes, the references to which are not yet ascertained. 



17. Ten Sloane, 63 Harleian, 20 Cottonian, 46 Old Royal, 4 Lansdowne, 1 Arundel, 

 30 Egerton, and 615 Additional Manuscripts, with 385 Books belonging to the Depart- 

 ment, have been bound, repaired and lettered ; and, when in the form of loUs or reeds, placed 

 in boxes. 



191. A3 18. The 



