10 ACCOUNTS, &C., OF THE BKITISH MUSEb'M. 



Catalogue of Seals in the British Museum. By Walter de G. Birch, 

 Assistant in the Department of Manuscripts, 1887. Octavo, 



Guide to the Historical Collection of Prints exhibited in the Second 

 Northern Gallery, 1887. Octavo. 



Guide to the Chinese anj* Japanese Illustrated Books exhibited in the 

 King's Library, 1887. 



Guide to the Printed Books exhibited to the public, 1887. 



Guide to the English Ceramic Ante-room and the Glass and Ceramic 

 Gallery, 1888. 



Guide to the Exhibition of Chinese and Japanese Paintings in the 

 Pkint and Drawing Gallert, 1888. 



British Museum, Edviard A. Bond, 



31 May 1888. Principal Librarian. 



VIIL — PROGEESS made in the Arrangement and Cataloguing of Collec- 

 tions, and Additions made to them, in the Year 1887. (Bloomsbury.) 



Department of Printed Books. 



I. Arrangement. — The Avorks added to the Collection during the past year have, as far as 

 possible, been placed on the shelves of the Libr.iry according to the system of classifi- 

 cation adopted in the Museum. The press-marks, indicating their respective localities, 

 have been marked on the inside, and affixed to the back of each volume ; also on the 

 title-slip and entry in the Catalogue. The total niunber of these press-marks amounts to 

 75.888; in addition to Avhich 33,713 press-marks have been altered, in consequence of 

 changes and re-arrangements cari-ied out in the Library. 29,154 labels have been affixed, 

 and 90,910 obliterated labels have been renewed. The process of attaching third press- 

 marks to the books in the New Library, with the view of accelerating their delivery 

 to readers, has been continued; 26,484 books have been thus marked during the year, 

 and the corresponding alterations have been carried out in the Reading Room 

 Catalogues. 



II. Cataloguing. — {a.) 48,074 title-slips have been written (the term "title-slip" 

 applying equally to a main-title and a cmss-reference). Of these, 31,868 were written for 

 tlie General Catalogue, and 16,206 for the separate Cat.ilogues of Music and the several 

 Oriental Collections. 



(Jb.) Printing. — 33,408 titles have been prepared for printing during the year, upon 

 the plan announced in the Statement of Progress for 1879, and 32,412 titles have been 

 printed off. 



Progress has also been made in printing the whole Catalogue in alphabetical sequence 

 from the beginning. With the exception of thcj headings : " Bible," " Catalogues," 

 " England," " France," and a few other articles, the Catalogue was, at the end of 

 1887, either printed or at press up to the heading " Gaume." 116 MS. volumes have 

 been printed during the past year, forming 28 printed volumes. 



(c.) Incorporation. — General Catalogue. — 36,623 title-slips have been incorporated into 

 each of three copies of this Catalogue. This incorporation has made it necessary, in 

 order to maintain the alphabetical arrangement, to remove and re-insert in each copy 

 33,237 title-slips, and to add to each copy 180 new leaves to receive them. 



The number of new entries made in the Hand-Catalo£[ue of Periodical Publications 

 is 297, and in that of Academies, 128. 



((/.) Music Catalogue. — 9,884 title-slips have been written for this Catalogue, and 5,957 

 title-slips have been incorporated into each of two copies of it. This incorporation has 

 rendered it necessary to remove and re-insert 7,774 title-slips in each copy, and to add 

 to each copy 23 new leaves. 



(e.) Hebrew Catalogue. — 319 title-slips have been written for this Catalogue. 



(f.) Oriental Catalogues. — The number of title-slips written is 5,344, of which 

 690 were for Sanskrit and Sinhalese books ; 3,468 for Arabic and Persian ; 95 for 

 Armenian, Syriac, &c. ; 205 for Bengali ; 348 for Hindustani; 133 for Marathi ; 147 for 

 Hindi ; 205 for Gujarati; and 53 for works in the Punjabi language. The Catalogue ot 

 the Hindustani books has been prepared for printing, and the two first sheets of it have 

 been printed. 



{g.) Chinese 



J 



