On Oct. 30, an offer made by the Trustees of the Ashmolean Museum for
the transfer of the printed books, coins, and MSS. there contained to
the Bodleian, in order to facilitate the devotion of a part of the
building to the purposes of an Examination School, was accepted by the
Curators; but a similar offer with regard to the antiquities was
declined. The latter consequently remain in their old repository, but
the collections in Natural History were transferred to the New Museum.
It was not, however, until 1860, that the books were actually received
into the Library, where they now fill one small room. Altogether they
amount to upwards of 3700 volumes, forming five different series. First
are those of Elias Ashmole himself, numbering originally 2175, but
reduced by losses before the transfer to 2136, of which about 850 are
MSS[354]. This collection is extremely rich in heraldic and genealogical
matter, together with an abundance of astrology. The printed books are
chiefly scientific and historical; these, with the books in the
following collections, are now in process of incorporation into the new
General Catalogue of the Library. A list of the MSS. is given in
Bernard's catalogue, A.D. 1697; but a very elaborate and minute
account, forming a thick quarto volume, was drawn up by Mr. W. H. Black,
the well-known antiquary, and published in 1845. As this, however, was
destitute of an index, it remained comparatively useless until 1866,
when a full Index, edited by the writer of this volume, was published
under the direction of the Delegates of the University Press.
The next collection is that of Anthony à Wood, containing about 130 MSS.
and 970 printed volumes[355], which were bequeathed to the Museum by the
owner on his death in Nov. 1695. The former are of extreme value for the
history of Oxford and the neighbourhood; among the latter are most
curious sets of the pamphlets of the time, with the ballads, fly-sheets,
chap-books, almanacks, &c. just such 'unconsidered trifles' as most men
suffer to perish in the using, but a few, like Wood, lay by for the
amusement and information of future generations. There are also seven
volumes of his own correspondence, including letters from Dugdale,
Evelyn, &c. Of the MSS. a list is to be found in the old Catalogue of
1697; a fuller and better one, compiled by William Huddesford, M.A.,
the Keeper of the Museum, was printed in a thin octavo volume, in 1761,
which was reprinted by Sir Thomas Phillips, at Middlehill,
Worcestershire, in 1824. There are also bundles of charters and deeds,
chiefly monastic, but nearly all more or less mutilated or injured by
damp and dirt, so as to be partially useless.
The third collection is that of Dr. Martin Lister, physician to Queen
Anne, who died Feb. 2, 1711/2. Besides his books, he was the donor of
various other gifts to the Museum, in return for which he was created
M.D. of Oxford, in 1683. The books are chiefly medical and scientific,
and number in a written catalogue 1451 volumes (including thirty-two
MSS.), but thirty-five of these were missing when the transfer from the
Museum was made.
The collections of Sir William Dugdale, which form a fourth series,
number forty-eight volumes. A list of these is in the old Catalogue of
1697.
In the fifth place there are the MSS. of the well-known antiquary, John
Aubrey. These are about twenty in number, of which fifteen are in his
own hand, and are described in Britton's Life of him, printed for the
Wilts Topographical Society, pp. 88-123. Collections for the history of
Wiltshire, entitled _Hypomnemata Antiquaria_, form one of Aubrey's own
works[356], but unfortunately the second volume (marked with the letter
B) is missing. It was borrowed from the Museum, in 1703, by William
Aubrey, the author's brother, and was never returned. A paper on the
subject was inserted by Rev. J. E. Jackson, in 1860, in vol. vii. of the
Wiltshire Archæological Magazine, and a reward for information as to the
present _locale_ of the missing volume was subsequently publicly
offered, but to no purpose, by the same gentleman. A small MS. of
_Horæ_, which had belonged to Sir Thomas Pope, the founder of Trinity
College, is among Aubrey's books. A MS. of Matthew of Westminster, (now
_e Mus._ 149) had been given to the Library by Aubrey, in 1675, through
Ant. à Wood.
There are also five or six MSS. which were given to the Museum by
William Kingsley before 1700. Some few others, which were given by E.
Lhuyd and Dr. W. Borlase, together with a volume of W. Huddesford's
correspondence, are now incorporated with the Ashmole MSS., and are
described in Mr. Black's catalogue, as well as the latest gift of this
kind which was made to the Museum, _viz._ a little volume of _Private
Thoughts_, by Bishop Wilson, of Sodor and Man, which was presented in
1824 by Lieut. Brett, R.N.
Thirty-nine choice Persian and Arabic MSS., which had formed part of Sir
Gore Ouseley's collection, were bought from his son, Sir Fred. Gore
Ouseley, Bart., the present Professor of Music, for £500. The rest of
the collection came by gift, as will be seen under the following year.
At the sale (in June-Aug.) of the library of Dr. Bliss, a large number
of volumes (still kept separate) were purchased, including a volume of
original letters of Charles I, Clarendon, &c., and poems by Lord Fairfax
(see p. 97); together with many from the series of books of _Characters_
collected by Dr. Bliss, and from his like series, both of books printed
in London shortly before the fire of 1666, and of books printed at
Oxford. The Library obtained by his bequest his own interleaved copy of
the _Athenæ_, with many MS. additions[357].
A copy of the octavo Bible printed by Barker in 1631 (not 1632, as
generally said), in which the word 'not' was omitted in the seventh
commandment, was bought for £40. For this error (which looks very much
like a wicked jest) the printer was fined 1000 marks by the High
Commission Court[358], and the edition was rigidly suppressed, all the
copies which could be found being condemned to the flames.
Another purchase was a large collection of political tracts in seventy
volumes, chiefly relating to foreign affairs, which had been formed by
Mr. -- Hamilton, of the Diplomatic Service.
[354] This number includes some fifteen or sixteen volumes given by
subsequent donors, but incorporated with Ashmole's own books.
[355] About fifty volumes out of Wood's whole number were missing when
the Library became possessed of them.
[356] These were printed by the Wiltshire Archæological Society in 1862,
in one volume quarto, under the editorship of Rev. J. E. Jackson.
[357] A very valuable Index of notes and references on all kinds of
biographical, historical, and antiquarian matters, contained in forty
small covers, which had been the growth of the many years of Dr. Bliss's
literary researches, was bequeathed by him to Rev. H. O. Coxe, by whom
it is kept in the Library for the use of readers. Several references are
made to this Index in the earlier part of the volume.
[358] In Burn's _High Commission Court_, 1865, it is said (from the
Reports of proceedings in the Court) that the fine inflicted on Barker
was £200 and on Lucas £100. 'With some part of this fine Laud causeth a
fair Greek character to be provided, for publishing such manuscripts as
time and industry should make ready for the publick view; of which sort
were the _Catena_ and _Theophylact_ set out by Lyndsell.' Heylin's
_Cyprianus Anglicus_, p. 228.