Adopt a Book - Durham Cathedral · The Westminster Shorter Catechism; London, 1813 – H.IIIC.79...

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Adopt a Book Catalogue 2017

Transcript of Adopt a Book - Durham Cathedral · The Westminster Shorter Catechism; London, 1813 – H.IIIC.79...

Page 1: Adopt a Book - Durham Cathedral · The Westminster Shorter Catechism; London, 1813 – H.IIIC.79 What became known as the Westminster Shorter Catechism was originally produced in

Adopt a Book Catalogue 2017

Page 2: Adopt a Book - Durham Cathedral · The Westminster Shorter Catechism; London, 1813 – H.IIIC.79 What became known as the Westminster Shorter Catechism was originally produced in

1. Claudius Ptolomaeus, Geographia; Venice, 1562 – H.III.16

In his Geographia, Greek astronomer and polymath Claudius Ptolemy offered instruction in laying out maps by three different

methods of projection; provided coordinates for some eight thousand places; and treated such basic concepts as geographical

latitude and longitude. A best seller both in the age of luxurious manuscripts and in that of print, Ptolemy's Geography became

one of the most influential cartographical manuals in history. Maps based on scientific principles had been produced in Europe

as early as the 3rd century B.C.; however, Ptolemy’s work was different in that it offered instruction in the art of map projection.

Its translation, first into Arabic in the 9th century, and then later into Latin in the 14th century, was seen as strongly influencing

the cartographic traditions of both the Medieval Caliphate and Renaissance Europe. Columbus – one of its many readers –

found inspiration in Ptolemy's exaggerated value for the size of Asia for his own fateful journey to the west. It was a key

source for the maps of prominent cartographers including Martellus and Waldseemueller.

ADOPTED £80

2. John Shute Barrington, Theological Works; London, 1828 – Q.X.62-64

The Barrington who authored this work is not the Shute Barrington who would serve as Bishop of Durham over a thirty five

year period (who also published extensively on matters theological), but rather his father, John Shute Barrington, the 1st

Viscount Barrington, a “politician and Christian apologist”. Barrington began publishing his theological works anonymously

in 1701, with the publication of his essay concerning England and its Protestant dissidents; later editing this and publishing it

under his own name, he followed it with works on The rights of Protestant dissenters and later, A dissuasive from Jacobitism. He

came to the attention of George I after speaking out vocally against the dangers of popery and the Young Pretender, and the

new king greeted Barrington on his first day in London.

This three volume collection of his theological works was the first extensive collection published – nearly one hundred years

after his death, by George Townsend. Its boards have become worn and loose; it requires rebacking in leather, repair to the

damaged boards, and the remounting of the original title piece.

£100

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3. Benjamin Ferrey, Recollections of A.N. Welby Pugin; London, 1861 – P.VIA.45

This mid-19th century account of the life of architect and designer Augustus Pugin – itself written by an architect – is one of the

most recent books available to adopt through Durham Cathedral’s Adopt-a-Book scheme. Its spine is damaged and its cover is

coming away; some of the pages inside also require conservation cleaning. Augustus Pugin is primarily remembered for his

key role in the Gothic Revival style of architecture.

Pugin is perhaps best known for his work designing the interior of the Palace of Westminster in London following a

devastating fire in 1834. Pugin’s designs for the Palace included stained glass, metalwork, wood carving, upholstery,

furnishings, a royal throne, and – one of the last things he designed, while in the Royal Bethlem Hospital in Southwark

(otherwise known as Bedlam), following something resembling a seizure – the Elizabeth Tower: otherwise known as Big Ben.

Pugin also did a significant amount of work at Ushaw College – a former seminary based in the countryside of County

Durham, now under the care of Durham University. Himself an architect of the Gothic Revival, the author of this work,

Benjamin Ferrey, was a student of Pugin’s father (also named Augustus), and a friend of Pugin himself. He carried out

significant work on Wells Cathedral, and was twice appointed Vice-President of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

This work, printed ten years after the death of Pugin, may well have been an attempt by Ferrey to protect the damaged

reputation of his friend, whose work had been soundly criticised by John Ruskin in his seminal work The Stones of Venice.

Ruskin suggested that Pugin “is not a great architect, but one of the smallest possible or conceivable architects”.

ADOPTED £100

4. George Townshend Fox, Synopsis of the Newcastle Museum; Newcastle, 1827 – N.IV.56

In 1822, following the purchase of the ornithological collections of Marmaduke Tunstall, an offshoot of the Newcastle Literary

and Philosophical Society established the basis of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle-

upon-Tyne Museum – or the Newcastle Museum, as it came to be known. It is now better known as the Great North Museum:

Hancock. Before ownership of Tunstall’s extensive collection passed to the Newcastle Society, it had been owned by George

Allan – celebrated antiquary and resident of Darlington, whose extensive collection of manuscripts is also held by Durham

Cathedral Library.

Printed in Newcastle, this 1827 edition contains the memoirs of both Marmaduke Tunstall (“the founder”) and George Allan

(“the late proprietor of the collection”), as well as occasional remarks on the species in the collection, and was written and

collated by George Townshend Fox, a member of the Zoological Society of London, and of the Lit. and Phil. Society of

Newcastle. Its historical relevance to the North East lies in both its content and its contributors.

ADOPTED £100

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5. Vita Di S. Oswaldo Re Di Northumberland; 1769 – D.V.61

As the preface to this Italian work acknowledges, much of what is known of the life of St. Oswald comes from the Venerable

Bede, who viewed Oswald as a saintly king, and wrote most positively of him during the century after his death. Becoming

King of Northumberland in 634AD, after the defeat of Cadwallonap Cadfan (who, in his turn, had deposed Oswald’s brother

Eanfrith in order to become King of Bernicia), Oswald supposedly had a vision of St Columba before going into battle. The

Irish apostle appeared in a dream, stating “Be strong and act manfully. Behold, I will be with thee”. Upon hearing of his vision,

his council and Oswald all agreed that they would be baptised and convert to Christianity following the battle.

Oswald is often depicted – as in the frontispiece to this work – with both a halo and a crown. Killed at the Battle of Maserfield

in 641 or 642, Oswald prayed for the souls of his soldiers before being killed and dismembered; the site of his death came to be

associated with miracles, and when a raven grabbed – and later dropped – his arm, a spring sprang from the site on which it

fell. The head of Oswald was later interred with the body of St. Cuthbert, where they both remain in Durham Cathedral.

This 18th century, Italian version of the life of Saint Oswald was printed in the Italian city of Udine, and dedicated to the city’s

archbishop. Its soft, marbled binding has begun to come loose, and many of the pages beneath have started to sustain damage

as a result.

ADOPTED £120

6. The Westminster Shorter Catechism; London, 1813 – H.IIIC.79

What became known as the Westminster Shorter Catechism was originally produced in the 1640s by the Westminster

Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians working to reform the Church of England in the run up to the English

Civil War. As part of a military alliance with Scotland, Parliament agreed to an attempt to bring the Church of England more in

line with the Church of Scotland. The intended use of the ‘shorter’ catechism – based on the ‘larger’ catechism – was to teach

children, as well as those “of weaker capacity” about the Reformed faith. The catechisms were set down in a question and

answer format, which congregations would be expected to learn and answer by rote. This Shorter Catechism – consisting of

107 questions – is still in use by the Church of Scotland today.

Measuring only 89mm by 56mm, this is the smallest book in the Cathedral Library’s collection. It requires rebacking in leather,

and repair work to its marbled boards.

ADOPTED £125

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7. Sarah Trimmer, A Series of Prints Designed to Illustrate The English History; London, 1821 – H.IIIB.20

A devout evangelical Anglican, educational reformer Sarah Trimmer was a writer and early critic of English children’s

literature; her periodical The Guardian of Education not only marked the first time children’s literature was taken seriously as a

genre in its own right, but also now serves as a useful early history of the development of children’s literature – still useful to

scholars of this field today. Trimmer devoted herself primarily to formulating methods, practices, and materials that would be

acceptable to evangelical parents educating their children at home, and that could be utilised in charity schools. Her works

encouraged other women to establish Sunday schools and to write for children and the poor. She also popularized the use of

pictorial material in books for children.

Trimmer produced a series of prints to help illustrate various stories, including tales from both the Old and New Testaments,

tales from Roman history, and French history. This small collection consists of a series of prints depicting various events from

English history, including the execution of Charles I, the Great Fire of London, and the humiliation of the body of Richard III

after his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth. A former owner has rather inexpertly attempted the hand-colouring of many of the

prints. Like many of the chapbooks in the collections of Durham Cathedral Library, it was donated in 1967 by William Waples.

ADOPTED £140

8. Sir William Dugdale, The History of St. Paul’s Cathedral; London, 1716 – I.I.28

Originally published in 1658 – less than a decade before the original building of St. Paul’s was destroyed in the Great Fire of

London – this book not only printed the surviving documentary records of St. Paul’s Cathedral, it also preserved its

appearance for posterity. Its Norman and Gothic details, and the alterations made by Inigo Jones in the 1630s, were recorded in

extensive plates prepared by Wenceslas Hollar, several of them based on drawings made by William Sedgwick in 1641.

This was one of the first monographs dedicated to a single building and, as with Monasticon Anglicanum, was commissioned by

Sir Christopher Hatton amid a fear that the building would soon be destroyed – this proved true: though through fire, and not

through the impending English Civil War, which was the original concern. Its depictions of the ceremonies that took place, the

saints’ days which were celebrated therein, and how the Cathedral spaces were used and decorated, have proved a useful tool

in early modern studies of religious buildings and their day to day workings.

ADOPTED £145

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9. The Lord’s Prayer in Above a Hundred Languages, Versions and Characters; London, 1700 – B.III.4

This lovely little volume, as its title suggests, consists of translations of the Lord’s Prayer in over one hundred languages. As

well as the common languages of the day for prayer books and bibles – Latin, Greek, English, German, Spanish, plus all their

relevant sub-dialects and languages – the Lord’s Prayer is also included in languages as diverse as Mandarin, Georgian,

numerous Scandinavian languages and even Anglo-Saxon. Where the text blocks did not exist – or could not be sourced – the

words were engraved rather than printed. It also includes cited authorities, glossarial readings, and tables and indices.

It was printed in London by Daniel Brown, and features his printer’s mark of a sheepdog watching over its flock with the

legend ‘Easie, not Idle’. It also features a Latin version of Psalm 19, deemed to be appropriate to this volume: “The Heavens

declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork / Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night

sheweth knowledge”. Conservation work is required to repair the loose binding, and halt the damage that is starting to

become noticeable on many of the leaves.

ADOPTED £150

10. Torquato Tasso, Gierusalemme liberata, Poema Heroico; Venice, 1595 – O.VB.18

Inspired by the epic works of Virgil or Homer, Gierusalemme liberata, or Jerusalem delivered by Torquato Tasso depicts a largely

mythical First Crusade where Catholic knights battle Muslims in order to seize (“deliver”) Jerusalem. Although loosely based

around real events, a number of contemporary critics condemned Tasso’s inclusion of magical happenings and fantasy

elements; nevertheless, it was exceptionally popular at the time of its publication and for a number of centuries afterwards –

particularly amongst a populace who saw reflected in this poem concerns about the growing power and influence of the

Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe.

Tasso’s first attempt to write an epic account inspired by the Crusades came when he was a mere fifteen years old; his

realisation that he may not yet have the technical ability to do credit to such a subject made him delay the work for over a

decade. Although eventually completed around 1575, Gierusalemme liberatawas not published until 1581 – by which time Tasso

had been admitted to a hospital suffering from what would now be recognised as mental illness (perhaps bipolar disorder). He

died in 1595. Printed only fourteen years after the poem’s initial publication, this version of Gierusalemme liberatawas published

in Venice and bound in full leather. It requires some repair to its boards, and rebacking in leather.

£150

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11. James Greenwood, The London Vocabulary; London, 1782 – H.IIIB.10

This is the earliest work by the grammarian James Greenwood, first published in 1711. Surmaster of St. Paul’s School, London,

until his death in 1737, Greenwood wrote a series of books on grammar and language, the most famous of which was his Essay

Towards A Practical English Grammar, which was being reprinted until as recently as 2009. The London Vocabulary, English and

Latin: put into a new method, proper to acquaint the Learner with Things as well as pure Latin words was produced in the style of

Orbispictus: the first widely-used textbook for children with pictures, originally published in Latin and German by the Czech

writer John Amos Comenius.

The London Vocabulary enjoyed great popularity – partly due to its accessible nature, and its ‘Twenty-Six pictures for the use of

schools’, and wasreprinted until at least 1828. This volume has an interesting provenance, with the inscriptions of at least three

former owners inscribed within – including William Caites in 1793, and later, the Longstaffe family, of Norton, Stockton-on-

Tees. Two of the former owners appear to have disagreed over whether or not some of the woodcuts were early attempts by

Northumberland-born artist Thomas Bewick: a letter in the back argues not, while an inscription next to the title page states: “I

think they may be early Bewick cuts. It does not follow that because it is the 18th edition, all the older versions had the cuts”. It

was donated to Durham Cathedral Library in 1967, by William Waples.

ADOPTED £150

12. Abraham Farley, The Domesday Book; London, 1783

Originally undertaken during the reign of William I, the survey carried out for the Domesday book in 1086 was the biggest

survey of land ever in England and Wales. Its main intention was to establish who owned which lands, in order for

appropriate levels of taxation to be levied. The decision of the Domesday assessors was final – hence the name which came into

common usage, meaning ‘Day of Judgement’.

Originally in manuscript form (now held at the National Archives in Kew), the Domesday Book was not published in printed

form until 1783 – this is a first edition, edited by Abraham Farley. Originally, responsibility for the printing of the Domesday

Book had been given to Charles Morton, a librarian at the British Museum; Farley, however, who was a deputy chamberlain in

the Exchequer and had, as such, controlled access to the Domesday Book for many years, argued that he should be passed the

responsibility instead. Discouraged by spiralling costs, the government asked Morton and Farley to work together on

publication; following a strained and resentful relationship, however, full control passed to Farley in 1774.

The volume was published nine years later. Circulation of Farley’s edition was poor: copies expensive, and difficult to get hold

of. The two parts of Farley’s work have here been bound together in this significant volume, which requires rebacking in

leather, and the remounting of the original title page.

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ADOPTED £165

13. George Herbert, The Temple; London, 1678 – O.VB.7

Now recognised as “one of the foremost British devotional lyricists” by the Poetry Foundation, George Herbert wrote poems in

English, Latin and Greek; all of his English poems were first printed in a collection entitled The Temple in 1633 – the year of

Herbert’s death of consumption at the age of thirty-nine. Shortly before his death, Herbert sent his poems to friend Nicholas

Ferrar, with the instruction that they be published if he thought they might “turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul”,

but otherwise to burn them.

The Temple proved to be so popular that it had gone through eight editions by 1690. Herbert was a deeply religious figure, and

all of the poems in The Temple reflect this: Puritan poet and hymn writer Richard Baxter said of Herbert that he “speaks to God

like one that really believeth in God, and whose business in the world is most with God. Heart-work and heaven-work make

up his books”.He played with the shape of the words on the page, utilising stanzas of different line length and shape to paint

pictures: the lines in ‘The Altar’, for example, make up the shape of an altar; ‘Easter wings’ is printed sideways on a double

page spread to make the shape of angel’s wings. In his meditation on the passage ‘Our life is hid with Christ in God’,

capitalised words throughout the text spell out the message “My life is hid in him that is my treasure”. Herbert felt an

increasing calling to holy orders, and eventually decided to enter the priesthood in 1629.

ADOPTED £170

14. Charles Cotton, Scarronides or Virgil Travestie: A Mock Poem; 1807 – H.IIIB.46

Scarronides or Virgil Travestie is a 17th century burlesque, or parody, of the first and fourth books of Virgil’s Aeneid produced by

English poet, writer and angler Charles Cotton. Cotton’s reputation as a writer of burlesque material, combined with the fact

his most famous published work was The Complete Gamester (a work considered the ‘standard’ English-language volume on

how to play a number of games, including billiards, dice, horse-racing and cock-fighting), had led many to dismiss his literary

abilities; however, he was hailed as a significant talent by both Wordsworth and Coleridge, who praised the “purity and

unaffectedness of his style”.

Scarronides was Cotton’s first attempt at burlesque, and was much-imitated during his lifetime. This edition of Scarronides was

printed in Durham in the early 19th century, and compares, through its notes, with former editions of the work – which was

still proving popular a century and a half later. The binding of this small volume is now almost completely loose, and the spine

significantly eroded. It was donated to the collections of Durham Cathedral Library in the 1960s, by the widow of H.S.

Harrison.

£170

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15. Joannes Asser, Annales rerum gestarum Aelfredi Magni; 1722 – H.IIIC.10

This Latin account of the life of Alfred the Great is based on the biography produced by the Welsh monk Joannes Asser: later

Bishop of Sherborne, Asser was a contemporary of Alfred and was asked by the king to attend his court, as one of the learned

men Alfred was gathering around him. Much of what is known of the life of Alfred the Great comes from Asser’s 893

biography, and has helped ensure that he is better known and better recognised than any other early English ruler; it survived

to the modern era in a single complete manuscript, held at the Cotton Library (the basis of the British Library) but was

destroyed by fire in 1731 – though fortunately, not before it had been copied and referenced enough to preserve at least the text

for posterity.

It is thought that Asser may have been one of the scholars who assisted Alfred’s translation of Gregory the Great’s Pastoral

Care, and possibly his account of Boethius too. This 18th century version of Asser’s Life of Alfred was printed at Oxford – more

specifically, at Trinity College, which began its existence as Durham College – Durham Cathedral’s pre-Reformation cell for

monks who left Durham to study at Oxford. Its binding is starting to come loose, and its spine is in need of repair.

£170

16. Cornelius Tacitus and Amelot de la Houssaye; The modern courtier, or the morals of Tacitus upon flattery; London,

1687 – I.III.6

In The modern courtier, French writer and former Bastille prisoner Abraham Nicolas Amelot de la Houssaye set out to

paraphrase and expand upon Cornelius Tacitus’ Roman work warning of the dangers of flattery. In the original work, Tacitus

warned that only weak and evil Princes would act to surround themselves by flatterers; and that flattery itself was often a front

for contempt. A Prince who surrounded himself by flatterers, he warned, would find he was a subject of hatred long before he

was respected or beloved. This volume, published in de la Houssaye’s lifetime, was originally bound in full leather and

requires rebacking. Its boards, which have become detached and worn, also require repair.

£180

17. Wheler; A journey into Greece; London, 1682 – I.I.9

George Wheler travelled to Greece and Asia Minor in 1675-6 with Dr Jacob Spon of Lyons with the primary intention of

studying antiquities. Wheler’s account of their travels had a great impact in England. Wheler and Spon have been called the

founders of modern Greek travel literature. Among their accomplishments was the first correct identification of the shrine at

Delphi, as well as the first modern eyewitness account of the monuments of Athens. After his return, Wheler was knighted by

King Charles II. He ended his life as a prebendary of Durham Cathedral, where he is buried in the Galilee Chapel. His

collection of Greek and Roman coins are also held in the collections of Durham Cathedral Library. This volume requires some

minor repairs to its leaves, rebacking in leather and the remounting of the spine.

ADOPTED £180

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18. Book of Common Prayer; Oxford, 1710 – H.X.26

Unlike most of the Book of Common Prayers the Cathedral holds, this is illustrated by a series of engraved plates depicting the

appearance of the choir of angels to the shepherds on the evening of the Nativity, the baptism of Christ in the River Jordan,

Peter’s denial of Christ, and Peter’s escape from prison aided by an angel – as well as numerous other engravings of the

apostles and the evangelists. A frontispiece engraving of Queen Anne also reflects the era in which the book was printed.

The Book of Common Prayer was first issued by King Edward VI in 1549, when the issuing of the Act of Uniformity made it

the official prayer book of the realm. In setting out the text of the liturgical services including Holy Communion, Matins and

Evensong in English, as well as the occasional services such as marriage and baptism, it was ensured that much of the

language used in the Book of Common Prayer is still familiar to us now. This volume also includes prayers and services that

would be more relevant to its Stuart audience than to our own: prayers to be said every November 5th to mark the “happy

deliverance of King James I … from the most traitorous and bloody intended Massacre by Gunpowder”; prayers to mark the

anniversary of the martyrdom of Charles I; prayers to mark the anniversary of the Restoration of the monarchy; and prayers to

be said every March 8th, to mark the anniversary of Queen Anne coming to the throne. The spine and boards of this edition of

the Book of Common Prayer have become worn and damaged, and are starting to become detached.

ADOPTED £185

19. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene; London, 1751 – L.III.54

The Faerie Queene is the most famous work by Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser (c.1552-1599). First published in 1590, it

marked a new direction in the history of English poetry, being a combination of Italian romance, classical epic, and native

English styles. Despite remaining unfinished upon Spenser’s death, it remains one of the longest poems in the English

language and saw the first example of the Spenserian stanza in use. A celebration of the Tudor dynasty, it was so well received

by Elizabeth I (inspiration for the Faerie Queene, or Gloriana, herself) that on the basis of this poem alone, she granted Spenser

an annual pension of £50 per year. In contrast, James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) had the poem banned in

Scotland due to its unflattering depiction of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, in the guise of Duessa.

In his influential illustrations for this 1751 edition, artist and architect William Kent used his knowledge of garden design,

architecture, painting, and interior design to construct a Gothic world of mystery, intrigue, and the supernatural. This Gothic

interpretation of The Faerie Queene went on to influence poets such as John Keats and William Blake.

ADOPTED £185

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20. Denis Petau, Rationarium Temporum; 1652 – I.V.54

Also known as Dionysius Petavius, Denis Petau was a French Jesuit theologian and scholar; he wrote on a vast array of

subjects including not only theology, but also history, politics, philosophy and chronology. This volume was an abridged

version of his most famous work on chronology, Opus de Doctrina Temporum, first printed in 1627.

An inscription in a 17th century hand at the front of this volume suggests that it previously belonged to William Pell – an

English nonconformist minister who had been a tutor at the short-lived Durham College (established late in the life of Oliver

Cromwell, Durham College collapsed at the Reformation before it could be formally designated a university) and later jailed

for illegal preaching. Pell was rector at both Easington and Great Stainton in County Durham, and in the late 17th century,

moved to become the assistant of prominent nonconformist minister and physician Richard Gilpin. Pell left no publications of

his own, but left unfinished collections which demonstrate his interest in orientalism and rabbinical studies.

The boards on this delicate volume have now become fully detached at both the front and the back of the book; the spine is

also starting to become loose.

£190

21. William Nicholas Darnell, Sermons; London, 1816 – H.IIIC.78

The son of a wine merchant from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, William Darnell took up his post as rector of the Church of St. Mary-

le-Bow in Durham City after spending thirteen years at Oxford – first as a student, then as university examiner. Further posts

followed at St. Margaret’s church in Durham and as a prebendary at Durham Cathedral – a post he eventually swapped for the

rectory of Stanhope. He was a member of the Society of Antiquities at Newcastle – an organisation still prospering now – and

one of the Lord Crewe trustees – who still provide funding and assistance in the provision of a modern theological lending

library within Durham Cathedral.

During the course of his life, Darnell published sermons on, amongst other subjects, the deaths of George III and Archdeacon

Bowyer and a book of sermons dedicated to his patron, Bishop Barrington. This volumes includes sermons on self-love (“If

thou be wife, thou shalt be wife for thyself, but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it”); mental sufferings; the Christian

temper; and consumption (“Then said I, Lo, I come, to do thy will, O God”) and requires repair to the boards and rebacking in

leather.

£165

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22. William Greenwood, Bouleuterion, or A practical demonstration of county judicatures; 1659 – Q.IX.52

This 17th century legal tract set down, for the first time, the expectations, duties and role of the coroner, and served to act as a

handbook or step by step guide for anyone finding themselves in such a role for the first time. Greenwood’s examples are

thorough and wide-ranging, including broad issues such as “an Inquisition of Murder” or an “Appeal of Mayhem”, through to

far more specific incidences, such as “An Inquisition for Man-slaughter, where one was Starved, and perished for want of

sustenance” or “Inquisition where one is slain by misfortune by a Cart laden with Hay”. Greenwood’s step by step outline of

the procedure from summons, to jury selection, to returning a verdict, is simple and easy to understand for even those with

basic literacy, and would have been used to model documents and scripts.

The office of coroner in England dates from the 11th century and the Norman Conquest; the role was formally established in

1194, where its purpose was to “keep the pleas of the Crown” – protect the financial interests of the Crown during any criminal

proceedings. A number of manuals were written for coroners, sheriffs, bailiffs and justices of the peace during the sixteenth

and seventeenth centuries – of which Greenwood’s was the best known.

This is another volume donated to the Cathedral Library by the estate of William Waples of Sunderland during the 1960s. It

has sustained some damage to its pages – missing some, including its title page – and binding.

£190

23. Pomponius Mela, De situ orbis; London, 1719 – F.IV.8

Viewed as the earliest Roman geographer, little is known of the life of Pomponius Mela; De Situ Orbis, however, the most

famous of his works, is the only formal treatise on this subject in Classical Latin, and is still in print – the most recent English

translation produced as recently as 1998. Mela’s version of the geography of the world was most probably derived from

accounts produced by navigators: using a descriptive method, he traces oceans along their coasts. His theories mainly

correspond to those produced by his Greek contemporaries including Strabo and Eratosthenes: although his knowledge of the

Indian sub-continent appears to be inferior to that of his Greek counterparts, his knowledge of Western Europe seems to be

more developed. He was the first person to name and correctly locate the Orcades (or Orkney Islands), and he identifies a great

bay (‘Codanus sinus’) to the north of Germany, among whose islands included ‘Cadonovia’ – a Latin rendering of the

Germanic term ‘Scandinavia’.

This edition of Mela, printed in London and written in Latin, includes a series of maps relating to the areas Mela is describing.

It has been part of the collections of Durham Cathedral Library since 1719.

£190

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24. A collection of cheap repositories; London, 1790s – Q.IX.51

The Cheap Repository Tracts were a series of over two hundred concise tales with a moral, religious, or occasionally political

bent issued in a number of volumes between 1795 and around 1817, and in various collected editions thereafter. The idea of

English religious writer and philanthropist Hannah More, they were intended for the poor illiterate, as an alternative to what

she saw as the ‘immoral’ chapbooks of the day. They proved to be highly popular, and over two million copies were sold and

distributed within the first year of the scheme.

This volume of cheap repositories is part of the Hazard-Marshall series, printed between May 1795 and January 1796. Its tales

are typical of the repositories in general, which would usually depict a single, central character – usually poor – undergoing

some kind of trial, and either responding well and being rewarded for that, or responding badly, and dying repenting.

Therefore, in The Two Soldiers, where the figures of Good and Evil are personified in the personalities of the two protagonists,

the ‘Evil’ character repents and turns to God after committing highway robbery and serving a jail sentence; likewise, The

Lancashire Collier Girl manages to care for both herself and her disabled mother through her work and, when she falls ill, is

‘rewarded’ with a ‘relatively easy’ post as a servant, so she can continue providing for her mother. Like many of the chapbooks

in the collections of Durham Cathedral Library, this was donated to the library in the 1960s by the estate of William Waples.

Many of its pages are loose, and it requires rebinding.

£195

25. Mungo Park; Travels in the interior districts of Africa; London, 1799 – C.VIB.27

Scottish explorer Mungo Park first travelled to Africa as part of a project to discover the course of the River Niger – he was sent

out to replace Major Daniel Houghton, working for the African Association, who had died in his attempt to do so. His

thousand mile journey, taken over the course of over two years, provoked great public interest when it first was published as

Travels in the interior districts of Africa in 1799, and was the first time this vast and previously unexplored continent had been

described in such detail to Europeans. Park’s honest approach to what he experienced gives this volume a strong human

element: such as when he describes an encounter with African tribespeople, curious to know if European people are cannibals,

convinced as they are that slaves taken in slave-ships were taken to be devoured.

The extensive public interest in Africa following the publication of Park’s book led to the government sponsoring another

expedition to the Niger – unfortunately this resulted in the death of Park and all but one of his men in 1806. The full leather

binding of this volume has become detached and worn; the boards need repairing and the entire book rebinding in leather.

ADOPTED £195

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26. Aristotle, Historia de Animalibus; Tolosa, Spain; 1605 – H.I.36

This edition of Aristotle’s Historia de Animalibusis not the oldest edition held by Durham Cathedral Library; an incunable copy,

dating from 1481 (within the first thirty years of the invention of printing), is also held – although this copy, bound in full

vellum at its original publication at the beginning of the seventeenth century, still holds significant historical value. It requires

rebacking in vellum, and then the remounting of its original spine.

Originally written in 350 BCE, Aristotle’s History of Animals was originally in ten volumes, and focused on a vast array of

subjects: the groupings of animals and the parts of the human body; the internal organs; non-blooded animals (cephalopods,

crustaceans, etc.); reproduction (of vertebrates, non-vertebrates, and humans); and the relations of animals to each other and

their means of gathering food. Setting the bar for future zoological and natural history texts, it heavily influenced later works

including Pliny’s Natural History and Aelian’s On the characteristics of animals. Many of his observations particularly on

crustaceans and a number of other marine invertebrates were exceptionally accurate, and could only have been researched

from first-hand dissection.

Tutor of Alexander the Great and student of Plato, Aristotle is viewed as the father of western democracy and the first true

scientist; his theories on natural history shaped scholarship for many centuries after his death, up until the Enlightenment.

Aristotelian ethics and philosophy are still a basis for study today; and his views on natural science, presented here, went on to

form the basis for many of his other works.

£195

27. Thomas Morley, A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke; London, 1597 – Pr Music B11

This is a first edition of Thomas Morley’s famous work of musical theory, providing a wonderful snapshot of English music at

the end of the sixteenth century. It is bound with the first edition of Heinrich Glarean’s 1547 musical treatise Dodecachordon.

Thomas Morley (1557/8-1602) was an influential figure of the Elizabethan period; starting as a chorister in Norwich Cathedral,

he progressed to become the organist at St Paul’s and was later sworn in as ‘Gentleman of the Chapel Royal’ in 1592. He

played a key role in the development of the English madrigal, fusing the Italianate style into vernacular composition.

Morley produced and published more madrigals than anyone else in the 1590s, at a time when few others were publishing

them. His work A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke is dedicated to his teacher William Byrd and takes the form

of the Socratic master-pupil dialogue, discussing the skills required of a chorister and composer. It is divided into three

sections: teaching to sing simple song, teaching to sing two parts over a plainsong or ground, and teaching counterpoint. As

well as explaining and promoting Italian music forms such as the madrigal, Morley also investigates the scientific and

mathematical principles of music at the end of the book, including the classical theory that the planets make music as they

travel.

ADOPTED £200

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28. John Hawkesworth, An account of the voyages undertaken … for making discoveries in the southern hemisphere;

London, 1773 – C.IV.2

This volume is the second of three compiled by John Hawkesworth in 1773, charting the voyages of the southern hemisphere

undertaken by Captains Byron, Wallis, Carteret, and – most famous of all – James Cook. Hawkesworth had succeeded Samuel

Johnson as compiler of the parliamentary debates in the Gentleman’s Magazine and was commissioned to produce this account

by the Royal Admiralty, drawing from the papers of the scientist (and later President of the Royal Society) Joseph Banks, who

had accompanied Cook on the Endeavour.

Volumes II and III of Hawkesworth’s accounts are devoted solely to Cook’s voyages in the Endeavour between 1768 and 1771,

to the South Pacific. Cook arrived in Tahiti on 11 April 1769, and stayed long enough to witness the transit of Venus on 3rd June

(which had been the purpose of his expedition). After leaving the Society Islands (named after the Royal Society, which had

sponsored his voyage), he then steered south to try to discover the “Great South Land”. Hawkesworth’s volumes were eagerly

anticipated by a public hungry for information on these new and previously unchartered territories, and the initial print run of

2,000 sold out almost immediately, despite its high price of three guineas.

ADOPTED £200

29. Joseph Ames, Typographical Antiquities: Being an Historical Account of Printing in England; London, 1749 – C.V.39c

Though educated no further than grammar school, Ames was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities in 1736, and a

Fellow of the Royal Society in 1743 – primarily due to the valuable collection of rare books and antiquities that he had

managed to amass, and the research he subsequently undertook on them. Ames was a controversial figure amongst literacy

circles in his lifetime; his appointment as a Fellow of the Royal Society in particular provoked a strong reaction, one member

accusing him of being “an arrant blunderer”, and suggesting that the works he published were not even his own. He was also

accused of damaging books by tearing out their title pages; it is thought that one of those defaced by Ames was the British

Library copy of William Tyndale’s 1526 New Testament, one of only two complete copies ever known.

The research for Typographical Antiquitiesrelied heavily on the libraries of Ames’ prominent friends, including Lord Orford, Sir

Hans Sloane, and others. It features not only bibliographical information of prominent printers in England between 1471 and

1600 – including the father of English printing, William Caxton, and his assistant and successor Wynkyn de Worde – but also

lists of books they printed, the printer’s marks they used, and paper marks which might help identify the books as having been

printed by them. The title page itself displays “a collection of old English printers marks; rebuses; devices etc.” including those

of royal printer Christopher Barker, Richard Pynson, and Caxton himself.

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£200

30. Nehemiah Grew, Musaeum Regalis Societatis. Or a catalogue & description of the natural and artificial rarities

belonging to the Royal Society : and preserved at Gresham Colledge; London, 1681 – H.II.27

Nehemiah Grew was a physician, botanist and microanatomist best known for his investigations into the structure and

characteristics of plants. Primarily interested in the morphology and taxonomy of plants, he extended his research into plant

physiology, considering how buds grew and seeds developed. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1671 and

became joint Secretary with Robert Hooke (famous for his work on microscopy, Micrographia) in 1677. During his tenure as

Secretary, Grew assembled this catalogue of the society’s repository of rarities: Musaeum Regalis Societatis.

This innovative and pioneering catalogue was one of the first scientific works to be published by subscription and contains

detailed engravings of objects from the Royal Society’s collection, including the skull of a hippopotamus, some examples of

tortoise shells and a scaled illustration of a coconut. The Society’s collection was held in Gresham College and was more of a

‘cabinet of curiosities’ with an emphasis on peculiar and wonderful objects, rather than a serious scientific collection; donations

and acquisitions came to collections from many travellers to distant lands. These works, combined with Grew’s later work The

Anatomy of Plants, marked the pinnacle of Grew’s career as a scientist; his contributions to the Royal Society and to research

had virtually ceased by the end of the 1680s. Grew is best remembered, however, for his eminence as a physican and botanist;

the great Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus even named a genus of trees Grewia in his honour.

£200

31. The knightly tale of Golagrus and Gawane and other ancient poems; Edinburgh, 1827 – Q.I.12a

This collection of ‘ancient poems’ was donated to Durham Cathedral Library in January 1948 by Evelyn Hardy. A letter of hers,

attached to the marbled frontispiece, gives some information as to its provenance: she bought it herself while a student, with

her “hard-earned pocket money”, and believes it to be a facsimile copy of the first book ever printed in Scotland, by the first

royal Scottish printers, Walter Chepman and Andrew Myllar. Their printer’s marks are dotted liberally throughout the

volume.

No manuscript copy of the Middle Scots Arthurian romance poem of the title is still in existence; the Knightly Tale of Golagrus

and Gawane survives solely through the printed book by Chepman and Myllar, from 1508, currently held by the National

Library of Scotland. It is mainly set during King Arthur’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land – though the main hero of the poem is

Gawain, his nephew living in France. It centres around two episodes: one where Gawain succeeds in obtaining provisions by

graciously asking for them – rather than trying to take them by brute force; the other where Arthur and his men attempt to

besiege a castle on the Rhone, when the conflict is decided by a battle between the chivalrous Gawain and the castle’s

formidable lord, Golagrus. Other poems included in this volume include William Dunbar’s The Golden Targe and A Gest of

Robyn Hood – one of the earliest surviving tales of Robin Hood, dating from around 1450. This beautiful facsimile copy of the

1508 edition was produced in Edinburgh in 1827 by Scottish antiquary David Laing; its spine is damaged and the gold-tooled

binding has become separated as a result.

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£200

32. Edward Clarke; Travels in Greece, Egypt and the Holy Land; Cambridge, 1810-1823; C.VIA.24-26

The antiquary and mineralogist Edward Daniel Clarke published a series of works detailing his travels throughout Europe,

Asia and Africa: these three volumes, primarily concerning his travels through Greece, Egypt and Holy Land, require

rebacking in leather, repair of the original boards, and remounting on what remains of the original spine. Throughout his

travels, Clarke collected and brought back to Britain a vast array of specimens, including minerals, plants, classical vases, coins

and, on one occasion, a two-ton bust of a female figure – at the time believed to be Ceres and used by local people as a fertility

symbol – dating from the third or fourth century B.C.

George Wheler, whose collection of Roman coins is held by Durham Cathedral, had tried to remove this statue over one

hundred years earlier and been refused; it is believed that Clarke bribed more than one official in order to remove it. Clarke’s

sold some of his collections to private buyers; others were donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

£200 per volume

33. Stephen Hales, Vegetable Staticks: or, an account of some statical experiments on the sap in vegetables; London, 1727

– H.IVB.6

Stephen Hales was an English clergyman and polymath who made significant contributions to a number of scientific fields. He

was the first person to measure blood pressure, and invented several devices including surgical forceps for the removal of

bladder stones, a primitive ventilator (in the hope of reducing some of the ‘bad air’ that was thought to cause disease), and a

pneumatic trough. By the second decade of the 18th century, he had been appointed to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris

and in Bologna, and frequently gave advice to Princess Augusta on the development of Kew Gardens; she later had a

monument raised to Hales in the south transcept of Westminster Abbey after his death in 1761.

In Vegetable Staticks, Hales studied transpiration – the loss of water from the leaves of plants. By calculating the surface area of

the leaves, and the length and surface area of the roots of the plant, he was able to calculate how much water was lost to the

plant through transpiration, and how this varied depending on temperature. Building on theories set down by Isaac Newton,

he speculated that plants use light as a source of energy for growth – so was an early proponent of what we now know as

photosynthesis. Although these discoveries may seem somewhat primitive now, Hales’ theories proved important in his own

lifetime; the American Society of Plant Biologists still award the Stephen Hales Award annually for a scientist working in the

field of plant biology.

ADOPTED £200

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34. Richard Percyvall, Bibliotheca Hispanica; London, 1591 – H.IVC.37

A first edition of one of the earliest Spanish dictionaries, this volume combines two of Richard Percivale’s former works: a

Spanish dictionary for English readers, and a Spanish grammar. Thomas Doyley later expanded the volume further by adding

Latin translations. It was printed in London, by John Jackson for Richard Watkins.

Percivale lived in Spain for four years during the 16th century, eventually returning to England upon the death of his wife. He

would later become secretary to the court of Elizabeth I. A second edition of the Bibliotheca Hispanica was enlarged and

expanded by the English lexicographer John Minsheu, who published it in 1599 under the title Dictionarie in Spanish and

English.

This volume is still in its original binding, which is now loose from the pages contained inside. It is dedicated to Robert, Earl of

Essex – later executed for treason by Queen Elizabeth I.

ADOPTED £210

35. Henricus Goltzius, Ovidii Metamorphoses; 17th century – Q.I.4

The leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period, Hendrik Goltzius has been described as “the last professional

engraver who drew with the authority of a good painter and the last who invented many pictures for others to copy”. His right

hand damaged from a fire when he was a baby, Goltzius developed a style that worked round this, drawing instead by using

the large muscles in his arm and shoulder, which helped manipulate the burin (the tool used for engraving) to make lines

appear thicker or thinner from a distance – giving the images a tonal quality. Goltzius was a prolific engraver with at least 388

prints credited to him; with two friends he set up an academy in Haarlem while still in his twenties, and in middle age also

took up painting, expanding his artistic portfolio even further.

This collection of engravings from Ovid’s Metamorphoses dates from the 17th century; the engravings therein were probably

produced by Goltzius with help from his scholars, Estius and Ryckius. Comprising fifteen books, and over 250 myths, Ovid’s

work chronicles the history of the world from creation up until the deification of Julius Caesar. Monsters, gods, and other

mythical beings litter the images.

Alongside the collection of prints of the works of Shakespeare, this work was also donated to Durham Cathedral Library in

1915 by Miss Mary E. Crawhall. Its binding is damaged and requires repair, and it is hoped to have the pages conservation

cleaned, in order to better display the attractive marbled fore-edges.

£210

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36. John Bunyan, A disclosure upon the Pharisee and the publicane; 1685 – H.IIIC.26

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (sometimes referred to as the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector) is a

parable of Jesus’ appearing in the Gospel of Luke, which contrasts a Pharisee obsessed by his own virtue and a tax collector

who humbly asks God for forgiveness. An illustration on the titlepage of this work depicts the two men standing in the temple:

“See how the Pharisee in the temple stands / And justifies himself with lifted hands / Whilst a poor publican with downcast

eyes / Conscious of guilt to God for mercy cryes”.

It was one of 42 works published by prolific Christian writer John Bunyan during his lifetime; this version is a first edition of

his work, printed in London (“printed for John Harris, at the Harrow, over against the Church in the Poultry”) and depicts its

author (most famous for his Pilgrim’s Progress) in a portrait below the illustration of the two subjects of the parable. Its spine

has cracked and as a result, the wooden boards of the small volume have started to become loose.

£210

37. Busick Harwood, A System of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology; Cambridge, 1796 – O.V.17

Busick Harwood was appointed Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge in 1785. Initially apprenticed to an

apothecary, upon qualifying as a surgeon he moved to India, where he was in great demand and attended to a number of

Indian princes. However, with his own health suffering, he returned to Britain and to university, where he completed his

thesis on the subject of blood transfusion. Interest on this subject had been building since William Harvey first accurately

described, in De Motu Cordis, the importance of the circulatory system, and how exactly the heart pumped blood around the

body; blood transfusions had been carried out first between animals – and then later between animals and humans – from as

early as the 1660s. Harwood researched extensively – though published little – on the subject of blood transfusion; in particular

undertaking a series of experiments whereby he transfused blood from sheep to dogs. He was dissatisfied by the

discontinuance of his peers of further research into blood transfusion, and hoped to eventually undertake research on the

communication of diseases, or medicine, through blood.

A System of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology is Harwood’s most famous work, written while he was in post at Cambridge.

This is the first volume. Funded by subscriptions, it covers subjects mainly covering the relationship between the brain and the

sensory organs in humans, mammals, fish and birds. Its binding has come fully loose from its spine, and requires rebinding.

ADOPTED £210

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38. Thomas de Vio, Cardinal Cajetanus; Lyon, 1639 – Q.V.5

This edition of the works of Thomas de Vio – Cardinal Cajetanus – was printed in Lyon in the mid-17th century, some two

hundred years after the death of the author. It requires repair work to the boards and rebacking in leather. De Vio is most

commonly recognised today for his staunch opposition to the Reformation and, in particular, to the teachings of Martin Luther;

he was also one of the nineteen Cardinals who refused to grant the divorce of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, thereby

helping prompt the break with Rome of the English Church. His highest concern, during his lifetime, was to protect the Roman

Catholic Church and uphold the wishes and status of the Pope who, he felt, should be treated as “the mirror of God on earth”.

De Vio was lauded for his intellect and published on a vast range of subjects, including many of those included in this volume:

commentaries on Aristotle and on Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica; treatises against Luther; and detailed studies of the

Bible. Feeling that a greater understanding of scripture was necessary in order to combat what he saw as the dangers of

Protestantism, he even produced his own translation of the Old and New Testaments in order to deepen his own

understanding.

£210

39. Athanasius Kircher; Mundus subterraneous, Amsterdam, 1665 – H.I.9

A Jesuit scholar as well as a polymath, Kircher published around forty major works on a series of subjects, including

Orientalism, medicine, music and disease. Compared to Leonardo da Vinci during his lifetime due to his large range of

interests, he has even been credited with founding the study of Egyptology, establishing the links between disease and

microorganisms after studying bacteria under a microscope; and inventing the megaphone.

After a disastrous visit to Italy in 1638, where he witnessed volcanic activity from Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli, was driven

ashore at Cape Peloro and experienced devastating earthquakes in Calabria, Kircher resolved to produce a work examining the

phenomena of the earth’s interior. Mundus subterraneous is a study of the underground world, describing the origins of

continents, oceans and mountains, the cavernous chambers below the Earth’s surface, the movement of currents and the

disciplines of geology, minerology and metallurgy. It was one of the earliest works to accurately depict ocean currents and to

correctly describe the formation of igneous rock. While Mundus subterraneous boasts several pioneering scientific discoveries,

much of its subject matter may appear to be quite farfetched for modern audiences; as well as identifying the legendary lost

island of Atlantis, Kircher also discusses the remains of giants found in the ground and describes the various types of animals

who belong to the subterranean world, including the dragon.

£210

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40. Henry Purcell, The Vocal and Instrumental Musick of the Prophetess, or the History of Dioclesian; London, 1691 – Pr

Music B1

The composition and subsequent staging and performance of Dioclesian (sometimes referred to as the Prophetess) marked a key

turning point in the career of composer Henry Purcell. This edition, printed in 1691, marked the first time that a semi-opera

had been published as a full score. Certainly the most famous pre-20th century English composer, Henry Purcell was a key

figure of the Baroque era. Said to be composing music from the age of nine, the earliest composition positively attributed to

Purcell was an ode for the King’s birthday produced when he was eleven and serving as a chorister in His Majesty’s Chapel.

His first anthem, Lord, Who Can Tell, was composed and performed when he was nineteen. His teacher Dr John Blow stepped

aside as organist of Westminster Abbey in favour of Purcell when he was twenty, and for the next six years Purcell devoted

himself entirely to producing sacred music.

Purcell would return to the music of the theatre, however, and proved himself prolific, producing over one hundred songs,

miniature operas including Dido and Aeneas, and incidental music to accompany a famous production of Shakespeare’s A

Midsummer Night’s Dream before his death at the age of thirty-six. Dioclesian concerns two of the popular myths surrounding

the story of the Roman Emperor Dioclesian – in particular, how he first became emperor, and later, his abdication. As well as

its overall popularity at the time of its publication, it affords us now a valuable resource on Purcell’s theatre music. The music

contained therein is still clear and readable; the spine and the binding are slightly damaged, however, and require repair.

£210

41. Roger Long, Astronomy, in Five Books; Cambridge, 1742-64 – H.V.24

Roger Long was the first Lowndean professor of astronomy and geometry at Cambridge University. His Astronomy, in Five

Books took some time to be completed: the first volume was published in 1742, part of the second in 1764, the remainder,

posthumously, in 1784, having been prepared for publication by Richard Dunthorne (who served as butler and astronomer at

Pembroke College under Long), and the astronomer and mathematician William Wales.

Long, like many other scientists of the period, openly acknowledged the contribution made by scientists working in the Arab

and Muslim worlds, and demonstrated wide knowledge of this contribution. Long used the observations of Muslim

astronomers such as al-Fergani and al-Battani, and then devoted a chapter to ‘Astronomy of the Arabians, Persians and

Tartars’.

Something of an eccentric, Long created a ‘water-work’ in the garden of his Cambridge home and paddled around it on a

water-cycle; he also constructed what he referred to as a ‘zodiack’: a hollow sphere which could accommodate up to thirty

people which demonstrated the movement of the planets and the stars. This creation, now acknowledged as one of the first

planetariums and the frontispiece of volume two of Astronomy, remained in the grounds of Pembroke College until 1871.

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ADOPTED £210

42. John Weemse, The Works of John Weemse; London, 1633 – Q.IIIA.47-50

John Weemse – sometimes also spelled Weemes, or Wemyss – was a Church of Scotland minster and an early proponent of the

rights of Jewish people to settle in England. He initially gave up his ecclesiastical role in 1620, after being brought before the

Perth Assembly for disobeying their Five Articles (an attempt by James I to impose practices on the Church of Scotland that

would bring it more in line with the more episcopalian Church of England), in order to focus more on his writing. Over the

years, however, his presbyterian sympathies waned, and his commitment to episcopalianism started to develop. He was

eventually appointed a prebendary of Durham by Charles I in 1634.

Weemse was a pioneer of the study of Jewish life and learning in seventeenth century Scotland – he studied writings from the

Midrash, through to the medieval and early modern writers, focusing in particular on Hebrew texts. He was one of the first

Christian writers to speak positively of Jews settling in a Christian country, and was a loud voice in favour of the resettlement

of Jews in England. All four volumes of Weemse’s work require conservation and repair, and are therefore available for

adoption.

£210 per volume

43. Thomas Warton, James Bentham, Francis Grose and John Milner, Essays on Gothic Architecture; London, 1802 –

R.II.40

This series of essays on the subject of gothic architecture, collated by printer Josiah Taylor of the British Museum in the late

eighteenth century, has a loose spine and a damaged binding. Originating in 12th century France and lasting until well into the

16th century (eventually being superseded by Renaissance architecture), gothic architecture is characterised by pointed arches,

ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses.

In his preface to this work, it is argued by Taylor that the subject of gothic architecture is “peculiarly interesting to every

Englishman, as his country contains the best specimens of a style of building not unequal in grace, beauty, and ornament, to

the most celebrated remains of Greece or Rome.” Furthermore, he argues that it should, more accurately, be described as

‘English architecture’: “for if it had not its origin in this country, it certainly arrived at maturity here; under the Saxon dynasty

this style of building was introduced, and under the Norman dynasty it received its ultimate degree of beauty and perfection”.

Feeling that there was no key text available on the subject, Taylor gathered works published on gothic architecture elsewhere –

including Bentham’s essay on Saxon and Norman architecture from his acclaimed History and Antiquities of the … Cathedral

Church of Ely; Grose’s preface from his Antiquities of England; and the history of the style by Warton’s introduction to Spenser’s

The Faerie Queene – and produced engravings himself to illustrate the work. These plates include the magnificent columns of

Durham Cathedral, the tower of York Minster, and the pointed arches of Westminster Abbey.

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ADOPTED £215

44. Robert Plot, The Natural History of Oxfordshire; Oxford, 1677 – I.I.11

Robert Plot was a British naturalist, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, and the first Keeper of the Ashmolean

Museum. His seminal work, The Natural History of Oxfordshire, contains descriptions and illustrations of a wide range of

Oxfordshire fossils, rocks and minerals, and even includes the first known illustration of a dinosaur bone (the femur of a

Megalosaurus), thought by Plot to be the bone of a giant human: “If then they are neither the Bones of Horses, Oxen, nor

Elephants, as I am strongly persuaded they are not, it remains, that (notwithstanding their extravagant Magnitude) they must

have been the bones of Men or Women.” The Natural History of Oxfordshire was an immediate success upon publication, and is

even credited as being the key in reassuring Elias Ashmole that Oxford was the ideal location to deposit his collection: hence

the formation of the Ashmolean, with Plot as its first Keeper.

It was published at the very beginning of the development of scientific interest in fossils – there was still great debate amongst

natural scientists about what, exactly, fossils were, and how they were formed. Plot himself argued that fossils were not the

remains of living organisms at all, but rather crystallisations of mineral salts, which happened to set into a vaguely zoological

form.

£215

45. Alexander Malcolm, A Treatise of Musick; Edinburgh, 1721 – Pr Music A22

The most famous work of Scottish mathematics teacher and writer Alexander Malcolm, A Treatise on Musick was described by

the English music historian Charles Burney as having considerable merit, but being too scientific for an elementary textbook,

while too superficial in the rules for practical harmony. Nevertheless, this was a popular work, and proved to be of particular

use to the encyclopaedist Ephraim Chambers, who drew from it significantly while producing his Cyclopaedia, or a Universal

Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences. This is a first edition of Malcolm’s work, printed in his home town of Edinburgh in 1721. He

breaks his work into three sections: the first dealing with musical theory – in particular defining the object, and the end, of

music; a description of the scales and the chords; and concepts including dissonance and harmony.

The second section examines the practice of composition – something which, Malcolm admits, are “for want of sufficient

practice”; while the third section is concerned with the historical aspect of music. In her work Music as a Science of Mankind in

Eighteenth-Century Britain (2012, Routledge) Maria Semi states that the Treatise “not only betrays the author’s clear interest in

mathematics, it also reveals a knowledge of the Lockeian philosophy of the mind and the philosophical debates of the time”.

The spine on this volume is almost completely degraded – revealing the sewn thongs beneath; the binding itself, as well as the

pages, also require significant repair.

ADOPTED £215

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46. George Wharton, Calendarium Carolinum, or A New Almanack … for the Year of Christ 1665; London, 1665 – Q.IX.49

Royalist soldier and astrologer George Wharton (later 1st Baronet) produced an almanac almost every year from 1641 until 1666

(first under the penname George Naworth, then under his own name from 1645 onwards), later expanding them to include not

only the usual calendar dates, saints’ days and zodiacal phases, but also history – including a list of kings and queens since the

Norman Conquest – and warnings for his post-Restoration audience on the dangers of anti-monarchism: “I ask our anti-

Monarchists how they / Could more oblige us, if they had the Sway? / For let them fancy what they please New Things / No

Freedom’s like to that proceeds from KINGS”. A staunch Royalist, Wharton sold his family property in order to raise an army

to fight for the Royalist cause in 1642. It is likely that he would have been executed in 1649 had it not been for the interventions

of his friend Elias Ashmole (founder of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford), and his former opponent, the astrologer William

Lilly.

This edition of Wharton’s New Almanack for 1665 was previously owned by Isaac Basire – chaplain to Charles I, prebendary of

Durham Cathedral, and archdeacon of Northumberland, Basire is now buried in the grounds of Durham Cathedral (not next to

his wife, who is buried within the Cathedral, but next to “the body of an ancient servant that had lived many years with him”).

Basire has annotated his almanac liberally with prayers (in both Latin and English), to-do lists, and concise diary entries (“27th

May – arrived at Lond. From Cambr.”).

ADOPTED £220

47. Rene Descartes, The Letters of Rene Descartes; 1688 – H.IV.61

Philosopher, mathematician and scientist – as well as a key figure of the scientific revolution – Rene Descartes is often referred

to as the Father of Western Philosophy. Indeed, much of western philosophy that was written post-Descartes is in response to

his writings. Descartes refused to accept what had been set down by the philosophers who came before him; although much of

his philosophy has its precedents in late Aristotelianism, or with earlier philosophers such as Augustine, Descartes was

determined to set his views apart from those of his predecessors, writing “as if no one had written on these matters before”.

His most famous statement, and one for which he is still remembered today, was “Cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”).

Although more famous for his philosophical theories, his developments in mathematics were also significant: the Cartesian

coordinates system was named after him, and he is often credited as being the father of analytical geometry (the concept of

which supposedly appeared to him in a ‘vision’, alongside the idea that all truths were linked to one another which would

become central to his life’s work). He also took the first ever set of barometric readings in Stockholm, to see whether or not

barometric pressure could be used to successfully forecast the weather. Descartes was also considered to be the first thinker to

use reason in order to develop studies of the natural sciences. In his view, “all Philosophy is like a tree, of which Metaphysics

is the root, Physics the trunk, and all the other sciences the branches”. This collection of letters by Descartes has a damaged

binding, and has had pages cut from it – most likely by a previous owner (a partially obscured inscription inside the binding

reads “Will Richardson, his book, 1692”).

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ADOPTED £225

48. Diderot, Encyclopediè; Paris, 1751-1772 – Q.VIA.2-28

One of the key texts of the Enlightenment, Diderot’s Encyclopediè was published in 28 volumes (17 of them text) over a period

of twenty-one years (1751-1772) and featured the work of over one hundred contributors, including the great Enlightenment

thinkers Voltaire, Rousseau and Montesquieu. It was a hugely ambitious project: the first modern encyclopaedia, the aim of

which was to draw together the sum of man’s learning up to that point. Knowledge was broken down into three ‘branches’ on

‘The Tree of Knowledge’: Memory/History; Reason/Philosophy; and Imagination/Poetry.

For the first time, knowledge and understanding was seen as coming from man and not from God – something which

provoked great controversy at the time, and even led to the removal of the Royal License from the Encyclopediè. All twenty-

eight first edition volumes are held by Durham Cathedral Library; two have been adopted, but twenty-six are still requiring

conservation work.

4 VOLUMES ADOPTED £230 per volume

49. John Bunyan, The Barren Fig-Tree: or, the Doom and Downfall of the Fruitless Professor; London, 1762

The Barren Fig-Tree was another parable – this one also only appearing in the Gospel of Luke – studied and interpreted by the

prolific Christian writer and preacher John Bunyan. The story of a fig-tree planted in a vineyard that did not bear fruit, was

seen to represent the sinner turning to Christ; the gardener refusing the fell the fruitless tree for another year representing

Jesus giving sinners a second chance to repent. As in many of his works, Bunyan dissects the parable word by word, to explore

its meaning for his 17th century audience, and to set out its relevance to the life of the modern sinner. This edition was not

contemporary to Bunyan – instead printed almost a century after his death in 1688 and during a period when his writings had

fallen out of favour somewhat. It has the inscriptions of at least two former owners inside the pages – Thomas Addison, and

George Wilson, the second of which likely lived during the 18th century, and owned at least two other early printed books

which now reside inside Durham Cathedral Library. The binding on this delicate little volume is starting to become loose, and

the pages damaged.

£230

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50. John MacPherson, Critical Dissertations on the Origins, Antiquities, Language … of the ancient Caledonians; 1768 –

H.V.45

The most famous work of Scottish politician and antiquarian John MacPherson, Critical Dissertation on the Origins, Antiquities,

Language, Government, Manners and Religion of the Ancient Caledonians, is a work on the Ossian controversy. John MacPherson’s

friend and colleague James MacPherson claimed to have collected word of mouth material in Gaelic, from ancient sources, and

translated it himself into his own version. The narrator, Ossian, or Oisìn, was a legendary bard from Irish mythology; his

stories “are of endless battles and unhappy loves” with little explanation or context. Critical Dissertations on … the Ancient

Caledonians upheld the authorship of Ossian: the ‘ancient Caledonians’ of which MacPherson writes were, he argued, originally

from Gaul, the ancestors of the Picts, Scottish and Irish. Therefore, the monarchy and language of the Picts and the “Irish

antiquities peculiarly dark and fabulous” are examined alongside dissertations on the Scottish bards, the religion of the ancient

Caledonians, and why the Highlanders refused, initially, to refer to themselves as Scots. MacPherson drew on numerous

sources for his work – including the Ecclesiastical History by the Venerable Bede – though an explanation is given in the preface

by MacPherson’s son as to why Bede and MacPherson differ one some accounts: Bede, he argues, “was neither critically

inquisitive, or knew much of national antiquities … Miracles, visions, dreams, martyrologies, Easter and the Tonsure, and

above all, St. Cuthbert and the see of Rome, engaged his whole attention and diverted his mind from a study more amusing

than important”.

This is a first edition of MacPherson’s work – though published three years after his death. Although he asked his son to edit

and amend his work prior to publication, his son – who, working as a Scottish administrator in India would later become

Governor-General of Bengal – refused to do so: he “chose rather to give his father’s dissertations to the world as they stood,

than to attempt any amendments, which perhaps might injure the memory of a parent he tenderly loved.”

£240

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51. Thomas Stanley, The History of Philosophy; 1701 – H.VI.10

The History of Philosophy, the seminal work of metaphysical poet and translator Thomas Stanley, is considered to be the first

English work in the academic study of the history of philosophy. This new school focused the literary and scientific aspects of

scholarship that were increasingly being applied in all fields, to the study of philosophy. A series of critical biographies of key

thinkers, starting with the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Thales, Stanley considered the life, writings and theories of each

philosopher in turn. The volume also includes attractive woodcuts of many of the figures studied.

Thomas Stanley entered Pembroke Hall at Cambridge as a boy of thirteen, already adept in the study of classics and an

enthusiastic student of French, Italian and Spanish. A friend of many poets, he left England during the Civil War and travelled

around mainland Europe, devoting himself to his literary work upon his return to London. The History of Philosophy appeared

in three volumes, printed between 1655 and 1661; this volume is a slightly later third edition, from the early eighteenth

century. Included in this volume was a never-before published account of the life of the author, stating from the outset that

“the Reader cannot expect to find in this Place a long Recital of Intrigues and Adventures … [the life of] a Scholar is in the

Solitude of his Study: And as Mr. Stanley’s Learning made up the brightest part of his Character, so an Account of his Life is

but a Relation of his Achievements in the Learned World”.

£240

52. Simeon of Durham, History of Durham; London, 1732 – K.VIII.70

Simeon, or Symeon, of Durham, was a chronicler and monk of Durham Priory (now Durham Cathedral) in the late 11th and

early 12th centuries. He was tasked with writing a history of Durham by his monastic superiors, in the hope that he could

demonstrate the continuity of Durham’s history despite the numerous interruptions and obstacles its community faced along

the way – including Viking invasions and the Norman Conquest. This Tract on the Origins and Progress of this the Church of

Durham, to give it its full English title, was composed between 1104 and 1107; it concerns not only the church in Durham from

its foundation in 995 until the year 1096, but also its predecessors on Lindisfarne and at Chester-le-Street. Symeon drew

heavily from Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica– copying from Bede’s account word for word in some parts – and from Bede’s prose

Life of Cuthbert; he ends his account with a description of the life and career of Bishop of Durham William of Saint-Calais, and

concludes with the death of the Bishop in 1096.

This printed account of Symeon of Durham, translated from the Durham manuscript by Thomas Bedford, includes a Latin

dissertation by Thomas Rud: Librarian to the Dean and Chapter of Durham in the 18th century, Rud was responsible for the

cataloguing of all of Durham’s medieval monastic manuscripts in the main catalogue that is still consulted today. In his essay,

Rud aimed to prove the authorship of Symeon of Durham was accurate, against those who claimed it was a forgery. Thomas

Bedford was brother-in-law to George Smith, who had produced the first critical edition of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, ten

years before the publication of this volume.

ADOPTED £240

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53. Walter Raleigh, The History of the World, in Five Books; 1677 – I.I.34

The History of the World is one of the better known – and certainly one of the most important – prose works of the English

knight Sir Walter Raleigh, written during his thirteen year imprisonment in the Tower of London for treason. Raleigh had

originally intended his five volume set to cover all of history from 146 BC through to the present day, with a particular focus

on warfare, law and kingship. The work presented history as a moral exercise, and had initially been planned as an

educational tool for Henry, Prince of Wales – eldest son of King James I.

Although Raleigh was in prison at the time of its publication, the links to Prince Henry ensured that the book was on the Royal

Stationer’s list of approved books in 1611. However, his critical treatment of monarchs in the text, and what James I viewed to

be thinly-veiled threats against him, angered the King, who demanded publication to cease and copies of the book to be

banned. This only further increased demand for the work; eventually it was issued with no title page, thus depriving Raleigh

of any open authorial credit.

Although a great favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, her successor James I mistrusted Raleigh and had him sentenced to death for

plotting the king’s death in 1603. This was later commuted to life in prison, and Raleigh was released from the Tower in 1616

to lead a second expedition to the fabled city of El Dorado. The expedition a failure, Raleigh ended up defying the King’s

orders and attacking the Spanish. His death penalty was reinstated, and he was executed in October 1618.

£240

54. Colin MacLaurin, An account of Sir Isaac Newton’s philosophical discoveries; London, 1775 –F.IV.24

Colin MacLaurin, something of a child prodigy (he was admitted to the University of Glasgow at the age of eleven)and a key

figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, was a student of both mathematics and divinity, and was the youngest professor ever

appointed when made professor of mathematics at Marischal College in Aberdeen at the age of 19 (a record he held until as

recently as 2008). He wrote several works of mathematics on Newtonian principles, arguing that the ultimate purpose of

natural philosophy is to reveal God’s work. He was admitted to membership of the Royal Society in 1719, where Newton

became his patron.

After Newton’s death, MacLaurin was invited to collaborate on a biography of the great man by John Conduitt, the husband of

Newton’s niece and heir Catherine. Conduitt died before his project could be completed, but MacLaurin continued with his

part in it, dictating the last chapter until a few hours before his death. It was published posthumously in 1748, and has long

been recognised as the leading authoritative statement of mainstream Newtonianism.

This is the third edition of MacLaurin’s work – dedicated by his widow, Anne. The binding has started to become loose, and

many of the fold-out diagrams of mathematical formulae and principles are starting to become damaged as a result.

£240

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55. Thomas Ebdon, Sacred Music; London, 1790 – Pr Music D15

The Sacred Music contained within this volume was composed for the use of the choir at Durham Cathedral by Durham’s

organist Thomas Ebdon in the late 18th century.

Originally a chorister at Durham, Thomas Ebdon was appointed organist at the age of thirty-five in an appointment which was

initially divisive within the Dean and Chapter. Ebdon was a key figure of the active and varied musical scene of Durham at the

time, which not only covered sacred music, but also concerts,as well as playing a key role in a number of public occasions

including civic and ceremonial events. Ebdon himself was an early member of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham’s

Freemasons, and composed a march for wind and brass for the installation of William Lambton as the first Provincial Grand

Master of Durham in 1788.

This volume of sacred music includes pieces to be sang at Morning Prayer, Holy Communion and Evensong, as well as seven

stand-alone anthems in five part harmony. Its publication was financed by a long list of subscribers (covering five pages at the

beginning of the volume) which included George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV) and a number of prominent Durham

figures including Granville Sharp. Its front board is now loose and the volume requires rebinding.

ADOPTED £245

56. Anton Friedrich Büsching, A New System of Geography; 1762 – H.V.39-44

This is a first edition of the English translation of the magnum opus of geographer and theologian Anton Friedrich Büsching,

Erdebeschreibung (‘Earth description’), first printed in London from 1762 onwards. All six volumes of this complete set require

some level of conservation, and are therefore available for adoption. Büsching supposedly became aware of the sorry state of

geographical science while travelling to St. Petersburg as tutor to the children of the German ambassador, and resolved to do

something about it; this work, in stressing statistics and approaching each country of the world in a scientific – rather than

descriptive – manner, was hailed as the first geographical work of any scientific merit. Drawing from his own experiences and

travels wherever possible, Büsching approached “men of learning and politeness in different parts of the world” to fill in the

gaps in his knowledge, and found a positive aspect on which to reflect every country covered, stating in the Preface: “there is

not a single country on the Globe which cannot boast of some peculiar advantages”. He also refrained from reflecting on the

supposed characteristics of particular nations, refusing to bow to stereotypes: “I wholly avoid giving the characters of nations,

it being not only a very difficult task in itself, but such general characters are also, at best, uncertain, and for the most part ill-

grounded and partial.”

Only the first five volumes – the first four covering Europe, the fifth the first of those dealing with Asia (in particular, Asiatic

Turkey and Arabia) had been printed in its original language during Büsching’s lifetime.

£255 per volume

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57. John Baptist Jackson; Titiani Vecellii Pauli Caliarii Robusti et Jacobi de Ponte opera selectiora; Venice, 1745 –

L.IIIA.53

Now considered something of a monument of 18th century printmaking, this book depicts woodcut reproductions of seventeen

of the great Venetian paintings by artists including Titian, Tintoretto, Leandro da Ponte Bassano, Jacopa Bassano and

Francesco da Ponte Bassano. Each woodcut was painstakingly carved by John Baptist Jackson, an artist who received little

recognition at the time, but who is now considered to be a master of chiaroscuro woodcuts (coloured woodcuts printed with

different blocks, each using a different coloured ink – leading to a greater contrast of light and dark). The sepia-effect of the

images as a result offers an alternative interpretation of these great works of art. The text block in this volume is in good

condition; however, the boards are loose and worn and require repair. The book also requires conservation cleaning.

£260

58. Johann Georg Graevius; Thesaurus Antiquitatum Romanarum; Rhens, 1694-99 – M.VI.1-12

The twelve volumes of Thesaurus Antiquitatum Romanarumare considered to the be the most important work of Johann Georg

Graevius, historiographer royal of William III of England, and a great favourite of Louis XIV of France. When published

between 1694 and 1699, it was the most comprehensive summary of ancient art and antiquity to date; furthermore, by

translating into Latin contemporary and near-contemporary writings from authors across Europe, it intended to bring together

antiquarian scholarship from a broad band of researchers and smooth over the developing rivalries caused by localised

studies. All twelve volumes are held by Durham Cathedral Library, and they all require re-backing and repair.

£270 per volume

59. Diurnall occurrences, or Heads of proceedings of both Houses of Parliament; London, 29th Nov – 6th Dec 1641 –

I.VII.17

Seen as heralding the birth of the British press, the weekly published newsbook Diurnall occurences, or the heads of several

proceedings in this present parliament was published for the first time in November 1641. This weekly edition aimed to set out the

parliamentary discussions held that week in pamphlet form and tended, especially in the early editions, to be very much ‘on

message’ with what parliament wanted them to promote. Later, as the Civil War developed, each warring faction would use

their newsbooks to aid their own propaganda. This is the first edition of the very first of the newsbooks to be produced, and

has significant historical importance. Around 1,500 copies of the more successful editions of the newsbook would be published

at any one time – and far fewer than this for the first issue. This newsbook shows that during the week of 29th November to

December 6th 1641, King Charles I was handed the Grand Remonstrance at Hampton Court; letters were read out in the house

regarding Irish rebels; and that four men were brought before the house for creating a “hubbub” in the Hall and shouting

about the Antichrist and Bishops. Bound together with Diurnall occurrences from November 1641 are the weekly editions up

until June 1646; giving a first-hand account of both the early days of the press, and detailing events in parliament during one of

the most explosive times in parliament’s history. This volume requires repair to the leaves and boards, and rebacking in

leather.

£270

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60. A forme of common prayer; London, 1779 – I.VII.18

This volume consists of a series of prayers, published and issued separately for different occasions during the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries, bound together in one volume during the late eighteenth century. Amidst the general prayers for saints

day and fast days are included prayers against plague (1636), prayers for the recovery of the city after the Fire of London

(1666), and prayers to be said during the ‘American War’. Each separate pamphlet (which included not just prayers but entire

services) was printed by the king’s printer at the time – one of whom, during the seventeenth century, was Robert Barker –

who would later die in debtors’ prison following his substantial fine after publishing what came to be known as the ‘sinner’s’

or ‘adulterer’s’ Bible.

As may be expected when gathering together a series of different published prayers from different eras and different printers,

there has been some damage to the leaves which now require repair; the volume also requires repair to its boards and

rebacking in leather.

£275

61. Thomas Moore, The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland; London, 1855 – ChapterLib ++578.21 MOO

Fern fever (or pteridomania) swept the nation during the Victorian period; ferns were grown in glazed fernerys, shady yards,

window boxes or Wardian cases (an early example of the modern terrarium) and roads and houses were named after them.

Ferns became particularly prominent in Victorian decorative arts, appearing on pottery, textiles and memorials, and even later

influencing the embossed design of the custard cream.

Written by the curator of the Chelsea Botanic Garden, Thomas Moore, and containing fifty-one beautiful illustrations nature-

printed by Henry Bradbury, The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland contains scientific descriptions of all the varieties of ferns

found in Great Britain and Ireland. This book is one of the best known examples of ‘nature printing’ where the plant was

pressed in a lead plate, which was then inked and printed: the impressions created were therefore an exact copy of their

originals. The nature-print method flourished in Austria and Germany in the nineteenth century.

The botanist John Lindley, who edited The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland, believed that nature-printing was a clear way of

providing the best representation of botanical specimens, stating in the preface that ‘compared with the result of Nature-

Printing, botanical drawings are often little more than indifferent diagrams.’ The two dimensional, delicate appearances of

ferns lent itself well to this form of reproduction and the book was a success, costing six guineas per volume sold, a huge

amount of money for the time.

ADOPTED £275

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62. Statute: An additional act for the better observation of the Lord’s Day; London, 1650 – I.VII.20

This act, passed during the Interregnum under Oliver Cromwell, set down in law the strict enforcement of Sunday as the

Lord’s Day. The passing of this act ensured that any form of work undertaken on a Sunday could get an individual put in the

stocks; dancing, sport, and any form of entertainment was banned. Even going for a walk – unless it was to church – was

frowned upon.

This statute is bound in a collection with many others – most of them official ecclesiastical documents, issued and printed

between 1650 (the date of this statute) and 1721. Many were printed by John Field, who became Cambridge University Press’s

printer in 1655 and built the printing house that would remain in place until the mid-19th century (the land where it stood is

now part of the Master’s Lodge of St. Catharine’s College).

This volume requires repair to the boards and rebacking in leather.

£285

63. Samuel Pufendorf, Of The Law of Nature and Nations; 1729 – H.VI.6

Inspiration to American political theorists including Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Samuel

Pufendorf’s commentary on and revisions to the natural law theories of philosophers including Thomas Hobbes and Hugo

Grotius proposed that natural law did not exist beyond the constraints of this life, and that it confined itself to regulating

external acts. Unlike Hobbes, he argued that the natural state of nature is not one of war, but of peace – but a peace so fragile

and insecure that without civil law coming to its aid, it could do very little for the preservation of mankind. In proposing such

a theory, Pufendorf pre-empted what would eventually be developed into Rousseau’s ‘social contract’, which would inspire

and help create the American constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Pufendorf also argued passionately that

international law was not something that should be limited to Christendom, but should exist between all sovereign nations, as

all nations and nationalities form part of humanity.

Pufendorf was a prolific German political philosopher, economist, statesman and historian, and a key figure of the pre-

Enlightenment era. John Locke, Denis Diderot and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all campaigned for Pufendorf’s ideas to be included

in law curricula, and he was viewed to have greatly inspired figures including Montesquieu and William Blackstone – author

of the Commentaries on the Laws of England. However, his reputation suffered some damage due to his ongoing feud with the

German polymath and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who called Pufendorf “a very small philosopher”.

The binding on this substantial volume is starting to come loose, and the boards are beginning to detach.

ADOPTED £290

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64. John Carter, Durham Cathedral; London, 1801– ChapterLib +++L942.81 CAR

The Society of Antiquaries’ Cathedral Series, published from 1795 to 1813, was the first attempt to provide accurate, detailed

and measured illustrations of religious houses in England. John Carter, who was responsible for most of the illustrations,

proved outstanding as a draughtsman and vigorously campaigned for the preservation of the buildings. Durham was chosen

as 'the most magnificent' construction in the Norman style, and Carter's cross-section of the Cathedral from East to West was

the largest of his drawings to be engraved.

James Basire II, who engraved Carter’s drawing, came from a prominent family of engravers: his grandfather, Isaac Basire, was

famous in his own right, and his father James had apprenticed the young William Blake. Basire, his father, and his son, were all

officially appointed engraver to the Society of Antiquities.

There are five volumes in this remarkable series, and all require conservation work.

1 VOLUME ADOPTED £300 per volume

65. Special forms of prayer; London, 1605 – I.VII.19

This collection of prayers – specially issued to commemorate or give thanks for a series of significant events – spans a two

hundred year period; published separately, they were bound together and published in this current volume sometime in the

early nineteenth century. Events marked through these special prayers include the safe deliverance of the king and parliament

from the Gunpowder Plot in 1605; the queen’s pregnancy in 1687; the subsequent safe delivery of the baby in 1688; the victory

at Blenheim in 1704; the union of England and Scotland in 1717; and Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805. Some prayers are to

be read in churches nationwide; others – such as that praising the actions of the Duke of Newcastle in standing up to the

‘Yorkshire and Lancashire rebels’ – in only those specified.

Some of the prayers bound in this volume have inscriptions suggesting they belonged to former bishops of Durham, including

Thomas Morton. There is some damage to the leaves, which require repair; the volume also requires repair to its boards and

rebacking in leather.

£300

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66. Robert Harris; A sermon preached to the House of Commons; London, 1642 – I.VII.21

This sermon was preached before the House of Commons by the staunch Puritan Robert Harris before a fast day in May 1642.

It is bound in a volume with seventeen other sermons, all dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and now

requires repair to its leaves and boards, and rebacking in leather.

At first, Harris attempted to maintain neutrality in the rapidly growing tensions between crown and parliament, declaring in

this very sermon that “mens consciences are miserably perplexed between command and command. … Let me assure you, the

case betwixt pastor and flock will be very sad if there be not a timely settlement. But things of this nature I had rather speak in

private than in press or pulpit”.

However, this position became increasingly untenable, and after Harris and his family were evicted from their home by

Royalist forces during the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, Harris was forced to travel to London and appointed to the Westminster

Assembly – a group appointed to restructure the Church of England in direct opposition to King Charles I and Archbishop of

Canterbury William Laud. Harris’s desire for a quieter and less political life was, at least in part, met later when he was

appointed President of Trinity College at Oxford, where he was expected to lecture once a week and preach every Sunday at

Garsington.

£300

67. Catalogus librorum impressorum Bibliothecae Bodleiane in academia Oxoniensi; Oxford, 1843– O.I.40-42

These 1843 editions of the Bodleian Library Record all require repair to their boards and rebacking in leather.

Oxford University’s Bodleian Library is one of the most famous libraries in the world; it has stood on its current site since 1602,

incorporating an earlier library which stood on the same site during the 15th century, originally founded by money granted by

Humfrey, Duke of Gloucester – younger brother of Henry V. The money to reform the library, and to restock its depleted

collections after the confiscation of books under the reign of Edward VI, was provided by Sir Thomas Bodley, a fellow of

Merton College; the library was named in his honour, and is still sometimes referred to as ‘the Bodley’.

The first printed catalogue of the Bodleian collection was issued in 1605; in 1610, Bodley drew up an agreement with the

Stationers’ Company of London which established that every book printed in England would be deposited in the Bodleian.

The Bodleian Library Record has been published as a biannual journal since 1914, reducing the need for bulky, heavy volumes

such as this one.

£310 per volume

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68. George Staunton, An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain [George III] to the Emperor of

China [Ch’ien Lung]; 1797 – L.IIIA.51

A botanist, and an employee of the East India Trading Company, Sir George Staunton was named Secretary to the British

mission to the Chinese Imperial court – the Macartney Embassy – in 1793. Led by Lord George Macartney, the Macartney

Embassy failed to bring back any of the diplomatic and trade concessions they had hoped for – including the opening of new

ports in China for British trade, the opening of a permanent British embassy in Beijing and the relaxation of trade restrictions

on British merchants in Guangzhou. However, the mission was later recognised and applauded for the extensive political,

geographical and cultural observations it returned – written up and published by Staunton in a multi-volume work.

This volume contains a series of maps and engravings made during the diplomatic mission, and alongside a series of detailed

maps and plans, also includes images and engravings of, amongst others, wildlife such as the fire-backed pheasant of Java, a

Chinese military post, and weapons utilised by Chinese armies. The spine and boards of this large volume have become

separated, and conservation work is required to prevent any further damage to the maps and plates contained within.

The emperor Ch’ien Lung (or Qianlong) was not coy in refusing to entertain the requests of the embassy, sending a letter back

to George III, asking him to “Consider, moreover, that England is not the only barbarian land which wishes to establish …

trade with my Empire: supposing that other nations were all to imitate your evil example and beseech me to present them each

and all with a site for trading purposes, how could I possibly comply?” This letter was largely unknown to the public until the

beginning of the 20th century. Macartney’s damning and somewhat offensive summary of the delegation was more widely

disseminated, however: “The Empire of China is an old, crazy, first-rate Man of War, which a fortunate succession of able and

vigilant officers have contrived to keep afloat for these hundred and fifty years past, and to overawe their neighbours merely

by her bulk and appearance. But whenever an insufficient man happens to have the command on deck, adieu to the discipline

and safety of the ship. She may, perhaps, not sink outright; she may drift some time as a wreck, and will then be dashed to

pieces on the shore”.

£320

69. John Nichols, Collection of the wills of the Kings and Queens of England; London, 1780 – N.III.29

In this volume, printer John Nichols gathered together the wills of every English king from William I to Henry VII (no queen

had ruled in her own right up until that point), and also those of their queens, and the princes and princesses of Wales. The

continuing interest in this subject has prompted several reprints throughout the centuries – the most recent in 2012. This is a

first edition dating from 1780.

A noted antiquary and author, John Nichols made a significant impact in the field of literary biography during his forty years

as editor of the periodical The Gentleman’s Magazine and, in this role, was an important figure within the Republic of Letters.

This volume requires repair of the leaves, and rebinding in its original style.

£320

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70. The Geneva Bible; London, 1577 – B.III.17

This English language Bible uses a text which was “translated according to the Ebrewe and the Greeke, and conferred with the

best translations in divers languages” in Geneva in the mid-16th century. Geneva, at this time, was viewed as the centre of

Protestantism in Europe: home of the Reformation’s key theologian John Calvin – seen by many as the natural successor to

Martin Luther – the pastors sent out by Calvin from Geneva would eventually help establish Presbyterianism in Scotland,

Puritanism in England, and the Reformed Church in the Netherlands. Geneva was also home to many of those – including

William Whittingham, later Dean of Durham – who felt they had to flee from England when Queen Mary Tudor took the

throne in 1553. Whittingham produced his own English translation of the Bible, printed as the 1557 Geneva Bible, which may

have been the text used for this volume.

This 1577 work was printed by Robert Barker in London, printer to Queen Elizabeth I and later King James I: it was Barker and

his partner who would print the 1611 King James Bible. Sadly, it has suffered significant damage over the years – many of the

leaves are missing or defective, with a substantial loss of text having been replaced by pages from a different bible. Its binding

is also starting to come loose, meaning further pages are at risk of becoming detached.

£320

71. A series of magnificent engravings to illustrate the various folio or quarto editions of the works of Shakespeare and

Milton; London, 1818 – Q.I.1

This beautiful leather bound volume contains over fifty engravings – thirty-eight depicting the works of Shakespeare, thirteen

depicting the works of Milton. A first edition, it cost a hefty £9:9s. when first available in 1818.

The engravings in this volume are particularly fine, and depict famous scenes including the death of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet,

the appearance of Bottom with an ass’s head in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the appearance of the three witches in

Macbeth; as well as scenes from the Garden of Eden, Heaven, and Hell from Milton’s Paradise Lost. A number of the engravings

were produced by James Heath, “Historical Engraver to His Majesty and HRH the Prince of Wales”, who had previously

produced the engravings for John Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery. Most of the engravings were based on paintings by English

painter and engraver Thomas Stothard: a member of the Royal Academy and most acclaimed for his book illustrations,

Stothard had worked with Heath on the Boydell project, and had also produced his own six-volume illustrated edition of

Shakespeare.

An inscription in the front of this volume tells us that it was presented to Durham Cathedral Library by Miss Mary E. Crawhall

in January 1915; its pages require some conservation cleaning to prevent further disrepair, and some reinforcement is

necessary to help preserve the spine. It is hoped to fully preserve the beautiful gold-tooled binding

£320

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72. Lawrence Giustiniani, Opera Omnia; Venice, 1606 – P.VIA.11

This collection of works by the Roman Catholic saint Lawrence Giustiniani, printed in Venice in 1606, gathers together a series

of texts on contemplation, the monastic life, mysticism, and the perception of Eternal Wisdom.

Born in 1381, Giustiniani came from a family well-known for its piety, and devoted himself to a life in the church from a young

age. From his role as the first prior of the Benedictine monks in the community of San Giorgio in Alga, he was promoted to

Bishop of Castello in 1433 by Pope Eugene IV – a role he conducted with great personal austerity, preferring a life of poverty

and using the opportunity to give clothing and food to the poor of the city. In his role as the (disputed first) Patriarch of

Venice, Giustiniani took a leading role in the Republic in working with the clergy and calming the population when

Constantinople fell to invading Muslim forces. He was canonized by Pope Alexander VII in the 17th century – though his feast

day is no longer celebrated in the General Roman Calendar.

The repair work required on this significant volume includes rebacking in leather and a repair to the sewing.

£330

73. Johannes Blaeu, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum sive Novus Atlas; Amsterdam, 1648-55 – L.IIIA.17

Dutch cartographer and publisher Willem Blaeu established his cartographic publishing house in 1612, using his astronomical

and mathematical knowledge (he had been a student of the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe) to establish a name for

himself in cartography. Twenty years later, he was appointed mapmaker for the East India Trading Company; his detailed and

carefully constructed maps can sometimes be recognised in the paintings of Johannes Vermeer, who frequently featured them

hanging on walls in the background of his pictures.

Inspired by Mercator’s Atlas, Blaeu and his son, Johannes, announced that their Atlas Novus would be ready for publication by

1634; it was eventually issued in 1635 in four different versions (French, German, Latin and Dutch). Jan continued to work on

and expand the atlas following his father’s death, and eventually issued the Atlas Maior, the most expensive book published

during the seventeenth century, in its final form in 1665. This is a 1655 reissue of the original 1635 work.

£350

74. Adrian Reland, Antiquitates sacrae veterum hebraeorum; Rhens, 1709 – I.III.60

Adrian Reland (sometimes referred to as Hadraini Relando) was a Dutch cartographer and Orientalist acclaimed during his

lifetime despite never actually leaving the Netherlands. This work, translated as Sacred Tales of Ancient Hebrew, focuses on what

Reland classed as Jewish antiquities, and is written in Latin with some Hebrew (which Reland spoke fluently). Also bound in

this volume is Johann Baptist Otte’s reply to Reland’s work. The spine has unfortunately received some damage and therefore

the book requires re-sewing and rebacking, as well as some repair work to the boards.

£415

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75. Robert Smith, A Compleat System of Opticks; Cambridge, 1738 – H.V.19-20

A Compleat System of Opticks is the most famous work of mathematician and music theorist Robert Smith – published while

Professor of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, and shortly before his appointment as Master of Trinity College.

Alongwith mathematics and theoretical optics,it explored the theories set down in Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica in

greater detail, applying the theories to explain a set of optical phenomena including reflection, refraction and inflection. His

work did a lot to help spread the ideas of Newton around Europe, and was popular in part because of its thorough

examination of the history of the theory, as well as its application. The list of subscribers to A Compleat System of Opticks

includes many clergymen, lawyers, physicians and academics, as well as a number of well-known instrumentmakers. Its

popularity was such that translations were produced in Dutch, German and French – as well as a shortened version in English

for students.Both volumes of Smith’s work held in Durham Cathedral Library need some conservation work, as the boards are

starting to come away from their bindings and will need rebacking.

£440 per volume

76. History of Newcastle miscellany; 18th-19th century – P.VIA.39

This volume consists of two works on the history of Newcastle-upon-Tyne: William Gray’s 1649 survey of Newcastle,

Chorographia, printed in 1813, and Henry Bourne’s 1736 work The History of Newcastle-upon-Tyne or, the Ancient and Present State

of That Town.

Gray’s foreword to his work explains that “every countrey hath had his chronologer, or writer, to portrait unto their

countreymen their Antiquities, and noble acts”, and that in producing this volume, he sought to do for Newcastle what Homer

did for Greece, Virgil did for Rome, Bede did for the Anglo-Saxons, and that Camden and Speed did for England as a whole.

He describes the difficulties he has had in producing the work because of the damage sustained during Scottish and Viking

invasions, stating that “Questionlesse, many great men have lived in this towne and countrey … but they are all buried in

oblivion”. Nevertheless, his account begins before the Roman invasion, and covers topics including the building of Newcastle’s

walls and gates, its bridges and churches, and the streets and buildings. He describes Pilgrim Street as “the longest and fairest

street in the Town”.

The Bourne volume has an interesting provenance: an inscription on the title page explaining that it was owned by John White,

the Newcastle-based printer who first printed the work. Henry Bourne was the son of a tailor and expected to be a glazier;

however, his promise was such that he was sent to grammar school and from there achieved a scholarship to Cambridge

University. Curate of All Hallows Church in Newcastle, he was best known for his acclaimed work Antiquities of the Common

People. This work was unfinished at his death in 1733, and was eventually published posthumously. It is unclear when these

two volumes were bound together; however, they came into the care of Durham Cathedral Library in the 1960s, when they

were donated by the estate of William Waples.

£450

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77. Jan Jansson, Novus Atlas; Amsterdam, 1646-1650 – L.IIIA.12-16

One of the 17th century’s leading cartographers, Jan Jansson had already produced what was known as the Hondius Atlas in

partnership with his brother-in-law, Henricus Hondius, when he decided to expand and develop it further into the Novus Atlas

as we know it today. Published between 1646 and 1656, the Cathedral Library holds five of the original eleven volumes,

including volume 4 with its collection of ‘English County maps’.

The Novus Atlas contains the work of around one hundred credited authors and engravers, and claims to include descriptions

of “most of the cities of the world”, the waterworld, the Ancient world, and, in volume eleven, the ‘Atlas of the Heavens’. All

five volumes held by Durham Cathedral Library are bound in full vellum which is starting to come away at the spine; it

requires rebacking and remounting in order to protect both the valuable maps contained in the volume, and the gold leaf

edging each page. Some repair of the maps and plans is also necessary.

1 VOLUME ADOPTED £530 per volume

78. Archimedes, Works; Paris, 1615 – H.II.42

Greek mathematician, astronomer, inventor and engineer Archimedes of Syracuse is regarded as one of the greatest scientists

of classical antiquity. His advances in mathematics anticipated modern calculus, and he was able to propose and prove a

number of theorems, including methods for calculating the area of a circle and the volume of a sphere, and an accurate

approximation of pi. Despite orders for him not to be harmed during the Siege of Syracuse, Archimedes was killed by a Roman

soldier; his (now unknown) tomb was said to bear a sphere and a cylinder to reflect his mathematical achievements.

This volume was deposited in Durham Cathedral Library within fifty years of its printing; a handwritten note on the title page

informs us that it comprised part of the Cathedral collections by July 1661. Its contemporary, pasteboard binding has almost

completely worn away from the spine, exposing the six raised bands onto which the sections of the book were originally sewn.

The panels have also suffered some damage. Through the Adopt-a-Book project, a specialist conservation binder will be able to

mend the damaged boards and produce a new spine, preserving the volume from falling further into disrepair.

£650

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If you would like to adopt any of the books featured in

this catalogue or would like to find out how you could

contribute to the continuing care of Durham

Cathedral’s early printed book collection or wider

collections, please contact:

Sophia Stovall

Relationship & Development Manager

Tel: 0191 374 4055

Email: [email protected]

The Cathedral Office

The College

Durham

DH1 3EH

www.durhamcathedral.co.uk

@DurhamCathedral

@BedesBooks

@DCathPatrons

#AdoptaBook

Durham Cathedral's Refectory Library has recently undergone extensive refurbishment, and contains over thirty

thousand early printed books covering a variety of subjects. On the eve of this year's Durham Book Festival we

launch Adopt A Book 2017; an initiative which gives you the opportunity to restore a book from the Cathedral's

unique collection so that it can be preserved for future readers, researchers, historians, and members of the public.

All costs go towards the conservation work and administration associated with the repair process.