books when recommended by some beneficed metropolitan clergyman. The library is especially rich in liturgies, Port-Royal authors, pamphlets, &c. The copyright privilege was commuted in 1835 for an annual sum of £363, 15s. 2d. The present building was erected immediately after the great fire. The chamber in the old cloisters, in which the library of the dean and chapter of Westminster is preserved, is well known from the charming description by Washington Irving in his Sketch Book. There are about 11,000 volumes, mostly of old theology and history, including many rare Bibles and other valuable books. The library of the dean and chapter of St Paul's was founded in very early times, and now numbers some 8700 volumes, mainly theological, besides over 10,300 pamphlets, with a good collection of early Bibles and Testaments, Paul's Cross Sermons, and works connected with the cathedral. Dr Williams's library was founded by the will of an eminent Presbyterian divine of that name; it was opened in 1729. The books (30,000 printed volumes and 1000 MSS.) are housed in a new building, completed in 1873. Theology of all schools of opinion is represented, and there are special collections of theosophical books and MSS., the works of Boehme, Law, and other mystical writers. The MSS. include the original minutes of the Westminster Assembly, letters and treatises of Richard Baxter, &c. The British and Foreign Bible Society has a remarkable collection of Bibles and Biblical literature, of which a printed catalogue was published in 1855. Perhaps the best library of Catholic theology in London is that of the Oratory at South Kensington, established in 1849.
Of the law libraries, that at Lincoln's Inn is the oldest and the largest. It dates from 1497, when John Nethersale, a member of the society, made a bequest of forty marks, part of which was to be devoted to the building of a library for the benefit of the students of the laws of England. A catalogue of the printed books was published in 1859, and the MSS. were catalogued by the Rev. Joseph Hunter in 1837. The library of the Inner Temple is known to have existed in 1510. In the middle of the 17th century it received a considerable benefaction from William Petyt, the well-known keeper of the Tower records. There are now about 36,000 volumes, including the pamphlets collected by John Adolphus for his History of England, books on crime and prisons brought together by Mr Crawford, and a selection of works on jurisprudence made by John Austin. A library in connexion with the Middle Temple was in existence during the reign of Henry VIII., but the date usually assigned to its foundation is 1641, when Robert Ashley left his books to the inn of which he had been a member. Gray's Inn Library was perhaps established before 1555. In 1669 was made the first catalogue of the books, and the next, still extant, in 1689. The Incorporated Law Society (1831) has a good law and general library (30,000 volumes), including the best collection of private Acts of Parliament in England, and a large number of pamphlets relating to Anglo-Catholic controversies brought together by the late Rev. Joseph Mendham. The catalogue was printed in 1869.
The collegiate library at Dulwich dates from 1619, and a list of its earliest accessions, in the handwriting of the founder, may still be seen. There are now about 7000 volumes of miscellaneous works of the 17th and 18th centuries, with a few rare books. A catalogue of them was printed in 1880; and one describing the MSS. (567) and the muniments (606) was issued during the succeeding year. The last two classes are very important, and include the well-known "Alleyn Papers" and the theatrical diary of Philip Henslow. Soon after the foundation of the University of London in 1837, an endeavour was made to provide a library, but it has had to look to gifts rather than to purchases for its accessions. In 1871 the university obtained, in this manner, the library of the historian Grote, and in the same year Lord Overstone purchased and presented the mathematical collection of De Morgan. A catalogue was printed in 1875. The books at University College (1828) are much more numerous, and here also a considerable proportion are donations, including the Morrison Chinese library of 10,000 volumes, the Daulby-Roscoe Icelandic books, the Graves mathematical and physical library, and the Barlow Dante bequest. A printed catalogue of the greater portion was brought out in 1879. The library at King's College includes a collection of works on Eastern subjects bequeathed by Dr Marsden, as well as the scientific books formerly belonging to Sir Charles Wheatstone. The medical library is distinct. The educational library at the South Kensington Museum numbers about 42,200 volumes, and may be consulted by teachers and students of the departmental schools, and by other persons on the same terms as the art library mentioned below. The ninth edition of the catalogue appeared in 1876.
The library of the Patent Office is the largest scientific and technical collection, indeed the only one which is readily open to the public. There are at present 80,000 volumes, including a very extensive series of the transactions and journals of learned bodies. A catalogue is now in the press. Transactions and proceedings of societies, with scientific periodicals, compose almost the whole library of the Royal Society, which extends to about 40,000 volumes. The diarist Evelyn induced the seventh duke of Norfolk to present to the Society the Arundel library, part of which had formerly belonged to Matthias Corvinus. The MSS., however, were sold to the British Museum in 1831 for £3559, and a quantity of rare printed books have also been disposed of. Scientific inquirers are freely admitted to the Museum of Practical Geology in Jermyn Street, where there are over 30,000 volumes on geology, mineralogy, mining, and metallurgy, including the former collections of De la Beche and Murchison. A printed catalogue was issued in 1878. For the libraries of other scientific institutions see the tables.
Medical and surgical libraries are attached to all the chief hospitals and medical societies (see the tables).
For the fine arts there is the National Art Library (1852) at the South Kensington Museum, which is now an excellent collection of 56,000 volumes, 56,000 photographs, 25,000 drawings, and 80,000 prints. Art students are admitted free, as are ordinary visitors on Museum pay days; otherwise a charge of 6d. per week is made to the latter. The library of the Royal Academy of Arts, after its journey from Somerset House to Trafalgar Square, has been lodged in the old ball-room of Burlington House since 1875. At the National Gallery is preserved for official use the library (3500 volumes) formerly belonging to Sir C. L. Eastlake, P.R.A., which is particularly rich in catalogues and descriptions of picture galleries. The Royal Institution of British. Architects (1834) possesses over 6500 volumes on architectural and allied subjects, including an almost complete collection of editions of Vitruvius. The library of the Royal Academy of Music (1822) is almost exclusively musical, and, although numbering less than 1000 volumes, contains many rare and interesting works. The library of the Sacred Harmonic Society is said to be one of the best arranged and most valuable musical collections in England. A third edition of the printed catalogue appeared in 1872, when the library contained 4851 volumes.[1]
- ↑ For a very complete account of the chief public and private musical collections both at home and abroad, see the article "Musical Libraries", in Dr Grove's Dictionary of Music, ii. 417.
