ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BlirTISH MUSEUM. 



V. Additions. — (g.) 36,786 volumes and pamphlets have been added to the Library in the 

 course of the year (including books of Music and volumes of Newspapers), of which 1,731 

 were presented, 7,223 received in pursuance of the laws of English Copyright, 539 

 received under the International Copyright Treaties, and 27,293 acquired by purchase. 



(h.) 38,005 parts of volumes (or separate numbers of periodical publications, and of 

 woriis in progress) have also been added, of which 778 were presented, 18,141 received 

 in pursuance of the lausof English Copyright, 1,042 received under the International 

 Copyright Treaties, and 18,044 acquired by purchase. 



(c.) The number of sets of Newspapers published in the United Kingdom and received 

 under the provisions of the Copyright Act during the past year has been as follows, 

 viz. : 254 published in London and suburbs, 1,016 in other parts of England and Wales, 

 154 in Scotland, and 120 in Ireland. 132 volumes, and 590 numbers of Newspapers 

 belonging to 19 different sets, have been purchased. 



{d.) 4,701 pieces of Music have been acquired, each piece complete in itself,. of which 

 1,964 were received by English and 1,41 1 by International Copyright, and 1,326 purchased. 

 Of 1,327 portions of musical works in progress, 514 have been received by English and 

 813 by 'International Copyright. 4,047 v\ orks of greater extent than single pieces have 

 also been acquired, comprising 1,607 by English and 788 by International Copyright, and 

 1,635 by pui'chase. 



(e.) The number of distinct works comprised in tlie 36,786 volumes and pamphlets, and 

 38,005 parts of volumes already mentioned, amounted, as nearly as could be ascertained, 

 to 42,016. Of these, 1,513 have been presented, 7,616 acquired by English, and 1,031 by 

 International Copyright, and 31,856 by purchase. 



7,667 articles have been received in the Department, not included in the foregoing 

 enumeration of volumes and parts of volumes, comprising Playbills, single pieces of 

 Music, Broadsides, Songs, and Ballads, Parliamentary Papers, and other miscellaneous 

 items ; the addition of this number to those already given produces a total of 82,458 

 articles received in the Department. 



The number of stamps impressed on articles is altogether 219,845. In addition 

 to this, 90 extra stamps have been impressed on volumes of various collections for 

 further security. 



Among the acquisitions of interest during the year, the following may be mentioned: — 



(I.) Six copies of Indulgences, printed on vellum, and of very great rarity. The first 

 of these indulgences is that issued hy Pope Nicholas V. to persons furnishing aid to the 

 King of Cyprus against the Turks, and is one of the earliest specimens of printing, being 

 dated 1455. It commences: "Universis Cristifidelib® pntes litteras inspecturis Paulinus 

 Chappe," &c. There is another edition of this indulgence in the Museum. 



The second is an Indulgence issued by Pope Innocent VIII. in return for aid against 

 the Turks, and is dated 1488. It commences: "Universis Presentes Iras inspecturis 

 Eaymudus peraudi," &c. 



The sixth is very important, being a copy of the indulgence granted by Pope 

 Leo X., through Albert, Archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburgh, in return for con- 

 tributions towards the building of St. Peter's at Rome. It commences: "Albertus 

 dei 7 aptce sedis gra. scte Moguntinen sedis . . . Archieps," and is dated 1517. This is 

 the Indulgence for the sale of wliich John Tetzel and Bernardinus Samson were sub- 

 commissaries. The objectionable manner in which Tetzel carried on the traffic called 

 forth an energetic remonstrance from Luther, which was the commencement of the great 

 Reformation. 



(II ) A valuable collection of Chinese books in 511 volumes, being part of the library 

 of the late John R. Morrison, Esq., presented to the Museum by Her Majesty's 

 Government. Amongst many topographical, scientific, and literary works comprised in 

 it, the following are particularly worthy of notice : — 



(1.) The Leuli Leih yuen yuen, or a Thesaurus of the Exact Sciences. This great 

 work, in 60 volumes, was drawn up under direct Imperial superintendence, and was 

 published in the beginning of the 18th century. It consists of an elaborate treatise on 

 Astronomy, a comprehensive survey on the science of arithmetic, and a work on music. 



(2.) The Ta ke tuny die clioo tseih, or a statistical account of the Manchoos classed 

 under the eight banners. This work, which consists of 250 books, was compiled by 

 Imperial order, and published in 1738. It treats at great length of the eightfold division 

 of the nation, and is accompanied by 'I'ables of nobility, members of the Imperial house- 

 hold, ministers; together with biographies of the Imperial Princes, ministers, literary- 

 men, &c. 



(3.) The Keang-soo hae yun tseuen gan, or a discussion of the plan of transporting 

 the Imperial Impost Grain from the Province of Keang-soo to the metropolis. 



III. An important acquisition of works connected with the history of the Reformation, 

 from the library of Mr. A. F. H. Schneider, of Berlin. This gentleman, who is the 

 author of one or two works on subjects connected with the history of this period, occupied 



himself 



