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Its History and Treasures

A View of the Origins of that Great Institution,
Sketches of Its Early Benefactors and Princi-
pal Officers, and a Survey of the Priceless
Objects preserved within its Walls.

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HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
FROM THE LIBRARY OF
ERNEST LES GAY
JUNE 15, 1927

Copyright 1911
BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
[INCORPORATED]

All rights reserved

Entered at Stationers' Hall, London

First Impression, September, 1911

Electrotyped and Printed by THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H Simonds & Co., Boston, U. S. A.

PREFACE

NOTWITHSTANDING the large additions to the literature of learning which have been made in exposition of the rich and varied stores of the British Museum, and the interesting sidelights which have been thrown on the history of that famous institution by such writers as Edward Edwards, Robert Cowtan, and others, the ensuing pages represent the first attempt to combine within the scope of a single volume an ordered history of the museum and a conspectus of its contents.

With regard to the first section, it is hoped that the narrative of the origins, foundation, and growth of the British Museum will give the reader a clear and sequent view of events, based, as it is, upon the evidence offered before Parliamentary Commissions, and upon careful research among other authoritative printed and original sources of information. Of course it would not have been difficult to amplify those historical chapters, and especially to have dealt at greater length with the careers of the earliest benefactors of the museum; but the porch had to bear some proportion to the house.

Consequently the larger share of the volume is devoted to the treasures of the museum, and than

the writer no one can be more conscious of the inadequacy of the space so apportioned. Seeing that the official guide-books already exceed thirty in number, and that these are but prefatory to a library of exhaustive treatises and catalogues the mere titles of which extend to twenty-four pages larger than this, it will be obvious that the eight chapters describing the various departments cannot make any pretence to completeness in detail. That is to say, the reader must not expect to find specific mention of every object in the different departments. Instead of attempting the impossible, the method adopted has been to give the reader a point of view, useful alike, it is hoped, either for a visit to the museum or for an arm-chair understanding of its contents. In pursuit of this plan the various departments have been frequently visited and closely studied, while for factual knowledge reliance has of course been placed upon the official publications, supplemented where necessary by reference to other authorities. By this method the reader is provided with such a concise outline of the phase of knowledge represented by each of the departments as will enable him to appreciate the interest and educational value of the objects displayed in those departments.

Among the volumes which have been useful in the preparation of these pages special mention should be made of Edward Edwards's "Lives of the

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