ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



Institutions in Massachusetts. Presented by the Trustees of the Boston Public Library, 

 through the instrumentality of Mr. Justin Winsor. 



A collection of similar documents relating to Harvard College. Presented by the 

 President and Fellows of that University. 



A series of the Collection des Inventaires, Sommaires des Archives of Prance. Pre- 

 sented to the Trustees by the French Minister of the Interior. 



The executive and legislative documents and other otficial publications of the Govern- 

 ment of the United States of America. Presented by the United States Government. 



Geo. Bullen. 



Depaktment of Maps, Charts, Plans, and Topographical Drawings. 



Mr. I\Iajor has the honour to lay before the Trustees the following report of progress 

 made in the Cataloguing and Arrangement of Maps, Charts, &c., and Account of Acces- 

 sions in the year 1878. 



I. Cdt'ilogKing and Arrangement. — {n.) The number of titles (including both main-titles 

 and cross-references) written for the Catalogue of ]\Iaps and Charts during the year 

 amounts to 7,866 ; those transci-ibed fourfold for insertion, to 7,469. 



(i.) Press-marks have been applied to 2,183 maps and 6,542 titles. The number of 

 small hand-slips written for press-marks is 2,098, and 1,535 hand-slips of purchases have 

 been made; 201 hand-slips of topographical views and ground-plans have also been written. 

 4 Indexes have been made for Atlases, and 3 Indexes for topographical views and ground- 

 plans, and 54 new Indexes have been written for the Catalogue. 14,500 titles (Turn. — Zz) 

 have been re-arranged for laying down in new volumes of the Catalogue. 



(c.) 1,391 Maps, in 4,242 sheets, and 280 Atlases, have been entered for the binder, and 

 290 volumes and 619 Maps have been returned from the binder, the former bound, and 

 the latter mounted, 444 on cards, and 175 on union. 30 sheets of the Ordnance Survey 

 have been mounted. 58 volumes have received separate letterings. 



{cl. ) An incorporation has been made into 3 copies of the Catalogue of 2,841 Titles, in all 

 8,523 Titles, necessitating the removal in the three copies of 1,395 Titles, and the addition to 

 each copy of 3 new leaves. 5,074 slips of the line-copy of the Catalogue have been taken 

 up. 29,273 slips (Schl. to the end ofZ) have been relaid in order to form new volumes; 

 there has also been an additional incorporation into this copy of 1,576 slijjs of new Titles. 

 36,245 slips of the second copy of the Catalogue have been taken up. 41,641 slijjs (Reich, 

 to the end of Z) have been relaid in order to form new volumes ; there has also been an ad- 

 ditional incorporation into this copy of 1,876 slips of new Titles. 121,958 slips of the third 

 copy of the Catalogue have been taken up. 113,577 (Black to Wo.) have been relaid; 

 and there has been an additional incorporation mto this cojjy of 7,091 slips of new Titles. 

 5,500 slips of the fourth copy of the Catalogue have been revised, and incox-poi'ated with the 

 main series. 514 new volumes have been bound. 



(e.) The number of Atlases returned to their shelves from the Reading Room was 716, 

 the number of Maps 1,053, making a total of 1,769. 



(/.) The number of Stamps impressed on Maps was 14,638. 



II. Additions. — (a.) The number of Maps which have been received by the Copyright 

 Act is 876, in 2,728 sheets, and 25 Atlases and G parts of Atlases have also been received 

 by copyright; 319 Atlases and 1,246 Maps, in 8,539 sheets, have been obtained by 

 purchase; and 7 volumes and 612 Maps and Drawings, in 816 sheets, have been pre- 

 sented. 



Besides the students who have consulted Maps and Atlases in the Reading Room, there 

 have been in the course of the year 316 visitors to the Department on special geographical 

 inquiries. 



Among the most interesting acquisitions of the year are the fallowing purchases: — 



A photographic reproduction of a Hydrographical Chart on parchment, of the date of 

 1385, in the Royal Archives, Florence, comprising the Atlantic as far ns Cape Bqjador, 

 at that time the ne plus ultra of geographical discovery southward, to Syria and the Black 

 Sea eastv»ard. On this chart, which is earlier by nearly half a century than the effective 

 discovery of the Azores by Diego de Sevill and other navigators under the auspices of 

 Prince Henry the Navigator, we find the islands of San Miguel and Santa Maria laid 

 down, but with an illegible inscription, while the islands of San Jor^e, Fayal and Pico 

 are described as " Insule de Ventura" and " Columbis," and Terceira is named " Insula de 

 Brazi," so called from the Brazil wood with which it abounded, thus preceding its famous 

 namesake in South America by a century and a quarter, The Chart bears the followino- 

 epigraph, " Guil[ie]lmu3 Solerij civjs Maioricarumrz.c, native of Soller in Maiorcalme 

 fecit anno a Nat. Domini Mccclxxxv." 



^'0. B A photographic 



