XXIV 
INTRODUCTION. 
value set upon them by experienced dealers iti 
the different branches, when the House of Com¬ 
mons called for such an estimate, with a view to 
remit the Legacy-tax upon the whole bequest.* 
To this list must be added the name of 
the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart,, K. B., 
who, alter his return from his circumnaviga¬ 
tion, deposited at different times in the Mu¬ 
seum numerous collections of natural and arti¬ 
ficial curiosities from the newly discovered islands 
in the South Seas, which, with considerable 
additions since made by the Admiralty, Capt. 
Cook, and other officers who have since perform¬ 
ed similar distant and perilous voyages, forms now 
one of the most conspicuous parts of the Museum* 
Among the many donations of various kinds which 
Sir Joseph Banks has since bestowed, and still 
continues to confer upon the Establishment, we 
must 
* This valuation is as follows : 
Printed books.....«£l0,000 
Coins and Medals.. 6,000 
Prints. 5,000 
Shells and Minerals. 2,000 
Gems..... 500 
