12 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



addition of this number to those already given produces a total of 94,549 articles 

 received in the Department. 



(</.) The number of stamps impressed upon articles received is altogether 351,949. 



Among the acquisitions of interest may be noted : — 



A veiy bandscme folio book of great rarity founded on Ovid's Metamorphoses, and 

 entitled, " La Bible des Poetes Metamorphosee." It was printed on vellum, by Verard 

 at Paris in 1493, and is magnificently illuminated throughout, being embellished with 

 14 large bordered miniatures, and no less than 205 smaller paintings, illustrative of the 

 stories iu the Metamorphoses. The text itself is a French translation, by Colard Mansion, 

 of a Latin work by Thomas de Walleis, an English Dominican Friar, in which tlie 

 " literal, allegorical, historical, and moral explanation " of the several stories is each 

 separately expounded. This copy was probably printed for Henry VII., King of England, 

 his arms being emblazoned on the lower border of each of the 14 larger miniatures, and it 

 entirely accords in style with several books now in the Museum, which formed part of 

 the old Royal Library, and were executed by Verard for Henry VII. 



A volume containing six English works of the Elizabethan period, of the greatest 

 interest and rarity, none of which were in the Museum (Jollection ; four of the pieces 

 are in verse, and two are in prose. The first of the poetical tracts is Gosenhyll's 

 *' School-House of Women," a humorous and severe poetical satire against the female 

 sex, printed in London by John King in 1560. This is followed by More's "Defence of 

 Women," also printed by John King in 1560. To this succeed : " The Proud Wives' 

 Pater Noster," printed by the same printer in the same year, and " 'Ihe seven sorrows 

 that Women have when their Husbands be dead," written by Kobert Copland, and printed 

 in London by William Copland. The last named piece is unique, and ajjparently 

 unknown. The two remaining works are in prose, and of neither of them is any other 

 copy of the same edition known. The one is "The Deceit of Women," the other a 

 " Treatyse of a merchauntes wyfe, that afterwards wente lyke a man and became a grete 

 lorde, and was called Fredcrvke of Jennen." Both Avere printed in London by Abraham 

 Vele. ■' 



A collection of various works expurgated and annotated by the Inquisitors of the 

 Church of Rome, whose actual erasures and signatures appear in the volumes. Some of 

 them are of peculiar interest, as showing that fathers and saints of the church, such as 

 St. Augustine of Hipjjo, and St. Anselm, were not exempt from castigation. The 

 collection comprises several editions of the "Index Exjmrgatorius," which were wanted 

 to com{)lete the extensive collection of these works already in the Museum. 



Several rare English Black Letter Books were purchased at the sale of the Reverend 

 J. Fuller Russell in July last. Amongst those of most interest may be mentioned : 

 " Gcdly Meditations upon the Ten Commandments," by John Bradford, the Protestant 

 Martyr, 1567. " An humble supplication to Her Majestic on behalf of Cathoiyke 

 Priests." Written by Robert frouthwell, the Jesuit, shortly before his execution. Holt 

 (J.) "Lac Puerorum : Mylke for Children." Printed by Wynkyn de AVorde ; the 

 only copy knovvn. Joye (G.; ,' Subversion of Moris False Foundacion whereupon he 

 sweteth to set faste and shove under his shameless shoris to underpropjie tlie Popis 

 Churche." Emden, 1534. Written by George Joye, the friend of Tyndale, and his sup- 

 porter in the controversie with Sir Thomas More. Knell (J.) " Epitaph on the Life and 

 Death of D. Boner, sometimes unwortiiy Bisshoj) of London." London, John Allde, 1569. 

 Avale (Lemeke) "Commemoration or Dirige of Bastarde Edmonde Boner, alias Savage 

 usurped Bisshoppe of London." Two satires on Bishop Bonner; the latter being exces- 

 sively bitter, and tracing his descent from a juggler and cutpurse, and a Tom O'Bedlam. 

 " A dyaloge of comfort against tribulacion, made by Syr Thomas More." Printed by 

 Richard Tottel iu 1553 : this is a very rare book, and a particularly valuable addition to 

 the Museum Library. " Ortus Vocabulorum," etc. Printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 

 1511 ; a very early Latin-English Vocabulary, and a work of great rarity ; apparently 

 no other copy is known. Ridley (Launcelot) " An exposition in English upon the 

 Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians," etc. Printed by R. Grafton, 1548. Tyndale 

 (W.) " The Obediece of a Christen Man." At Marlborow in the Lande of Hesse, by me 

 Hans Luft, 1528. " The Hunting of the Fox and the Wolfe," etc. : a rare work by 

 W. Turner, the famous writer against the Church of Rome, circa 1568. 



At Mr. Crossley's sale was acquired the only perfect copy known of what is considered 

 by many scholars the most important work of Daniel Defoe, viz., the "Review," a pe- 

 riodical written entirely by himself, extending over the period from 1705 to 1713, and 

 comprising more than 5,000 printed pages. It is of excessive rarity, and is of the utmost 

 consequence, not only as a monument of Defoe's genius, but as material for the history 

 of the age to which it relates. 



A collection of 68 Old English Ballads, which Avere wanting in the extensive collection 

 m the Museum ; 27 of these are virtually unique. Presented by the Earl of Crawford and 

 Balcarres. 



_ Several extremely interesting books were purchased at the sale of the Ellis Collection 

 m November last. Amongst these may be mentioned a Spanish translation of ^Esop : 

 " La Vida y fubulas de Ysopo," por Juan JoflFre, 1520. This is a very early and rare 



edition, 



