[Manuscript] Diary of an Assistant in the British Museum Department of Manuscripts, 1869, and miscellaneous related material

Edward John Long Scott (1840-1918), Keeper of Manuscripts and Egerton Librarian, British Museum, 1888-1891; Keeper of Muniments at Westminster Abbey (1891 to his death). Educated at Marlborough and Lincoln College, Oxford. Classical Scholar, 1859; Senior Exhibitioner, Goldsmiths Company, 1861; Boden Sanskrit Scholar, 1862; in College eight and eleven; BA in 1862; MA in 1866; D. Litt. in 1902. Among his works is an edition of Eikon Basilike (Elliot Stock, 1880), and an English translation of the Eclogues of Virgil (Kegan Paul, 1884).A collection of material from Scott's personal papers. In good condition, with light signs of age and wear. The material can be divided into the following six sections.A. Diary as assistant in the Manuscripts Department of the British Museum, 1869B. Two letters to Scott from Sir Anthony PanizziC. Scott's contributions to the Athenaeum, 1877-1907D. Miscellaneous letters to Scott, 1869-1890E. Scott's school handwriting and mathematics exercise bookF. Scott's Sanskrit exercise book, c.1862The items are as follows:A. Autograph diary as Assistant in the Manuscripts Department of the British Museum, 1869Autograph diary, 1 January to 10 August 1869, written while an Assistant in the Manuscripts Department of the British Museum. 63pp., 12mo. In 'Pettitt's Shilling Octavo Diary for 1869'. Good, on aged paper, in worn printed card wraps. Regular daily entries, in a neat close hand, until 27 July; thereafter the only other entries are for 8, 9 and 10 August. At the time of writing Sir Edward Augustus Bond (1815-1898) was head of Scott's department, and the diary contains numerous references to him. As the extracts below indicate, the volume provides a wonderful insight into the world of the mid-Victorian British Museum Library, with Scott mainly employed in indexing, sorting and pasting down slips for the 'New Class Catalogue', in such classes as Sacred Music, Natural Philosophy (Mechanical and Experimental), Numismatics, French Metrical Theology, Chaucer, and Historical and Political Poetry. The first entry (1 January 1869) is typical in its businesslike tone: '9 a.m. - 4 p.m. At the B.M. Had a letter from Mr Fishwick of Rochdale about some extra work. Had my solitary Bill for 1868 viz £6 due to my tailor. Had a note from Flight asking me to dine with him at 1.30 p.m. which I did. Worked at extra work for Walford from 3-4 p.m. Worked at Index of Journal of Archaeological Association from 6.30-7.30. Went to A.F.D. [his future wife Anna F. Donoghue] from 8-10.30 | Wrote to Jennie'. It comes as a surprise to see Scott being granted permission to work from home, and to find him also engaged in freelance work. (The volume begins with him engaged on an 'Archaeological index' - on 2 January 'with the help of Misses Williams & Nelly' - and ends with him working on 'my Charter Index'.) His other tasks include checking the volumes on the shelves and displaying the Museum's treasures to visitors. When not eating his own sandwiches, he takes his lunch at the Horseshoe in Tottenham Court Road. His personal life is varied and full, with visits to pantomimes in Drury Lane, games of cricket for the Islington Albion and Gryphons clubs, and preparations for his marriage later in the year. The following extracts are no more than a representative selection. On 6 January Scott hears 'from Major Fishwick about copying out the pedigree of Newsom of Lancashire'. On 7 January he finishes 'the Gandy Correspondence by 12 oclock', and gives it to 'Thompson for the binders'. He then reads over with Thompson his 'work for Walford'. On 27 January he discovers 'that the MSS of the Royal Appendix had never been cut up for the New Catalogue. Bond ordered Jeffreys to make a copy & Burch to cut it up.' On 29 January: 'Heard from E.F. about her going to hear Chas Dickens read on Tuesday to get tickets for her & Miss Agar.' And on 2 February 'E. F & Miss A. went to C. Dicken's [sic] readings. I fetched E. F. at 10.30 p.m.' On 3 February, 'At 2 p.m. came Emily Baker, & seven other ladies with a gentleman to see the Museum. Showed them illuminated MSS. the Reading Rooms & the Blacas & Abyssinian things. [in 1867 the British Museum had acquired the collection of antiquities of the Duc de Blacas]' On 6 February he finishes 'temporarily the Music Catalogue & took it into Bond having first made a tabular plan of it'. 8 February: 'Worked at Oliphant's Catalogue of Music'. 10 February is 'A general holiday at the Museum. Walked to the B.M. at 9 am to give up my key.' 11 February: 'Worked at indexing my Collections of State Papers & at sorting Box of History.' The following day he borrows 'of Holmes [fellow assistant Richard Holmes, son of John Holmes (1800-1854)] £2.00 & lent Ned £1.10 to pay his Civil Service Cricket Club subscription last year'. 17 February he 'Worked at the slips of English Chronicles till 4 p.m. sorting the Authors Chronologically. Heard from Jeffreys that our Chief was going away for holidays directly. [...] Some friends of Holmes, relations of Hamilton our late Trustee were brought to me to show illuminated MSS.' 19 February: 'As we came home from C[hrist's]. H[ospital]. last night we passed a tremendous fire in a timberyard near Goswell Street.' The entries for 26 and 27 February contrast domestic news with work news: '[26 February.] Heard from my Father [George H. C. Scott, Rector of Rhôs-Crowther, Pembrokeshire] about my refusal to go down to the opening of our Church at Easter. Took the Wood Green Bus to the Angel being late. Dined at the Horseshoe by myself at 4 p.m. having forgotten to take my sandwiches for lunch. Worked at the Music and General Science Catalogues till 4 p.m. Continued my poem on the "Ministry of Angels." Went at 8 pm. to see A.F.D. | [27 February] 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. At the B.M. Heard from Holmes inclosing a letter having an offer of some extra work. Answered the letter for him accepting the work. Bond offered me to index 3,300 Add. Charters for £50 at home, & if the Trustees consented to index the rest with Birch (114,000 in number) for £250. Accepted it at once.' On 4 March he finds, 'to my awful horror & distress that Mr. Donoghue was dead! Poor A.F.D quite wild with grief'. The following day he informs six individuals at the Museum of Donoghue's death: 'Jones, Reid, Watts, Bond, Vaux [William Sandys Wright Vaux (1818-1885), Keeper of Coins and Medals] & Birch [Samuel Birch (1813-1885), Keeper of Oriental Antiquities]'. 6 March: Heard from Major Fishwick about some extra work in the Harleian MSS. [...] Worked at indexing Charters & at Natural History till 4 p.m.' 9 March: 'Worked at slips of Bestiaria till 4 p.m.' 10 March: 'At 10.30 a.m. came my youngest sister and brought with her Isabel Cartinel. Went out with them for half an hour to buy a black mourning brooch for A.F.D. Gave them lunch in the Museum and then took them upstairs and showed them the Blacas Collection & the Abyssinian relics.' On 11 March he records the visit to the Museum of Princess Beatrice: 'Nelly Garwood & Johnnie Lewis [...] saw her come in and go out very nicely but I did not see her'. On 13 March he is told by Bond that 'the trustees had consented to my indexing 3,300 Add. Ch. for £50 at home. Hurried home to tell A.F.D. of my good fortune.' 17 March: 'Bond did not come to the Museum all day being ill in bed with tooth-ache and neuralgia. Edward Manson wrote to Taylor to ask for admission to the Reading Room. Taylor referred to me for his age. And answered him (I believe) that he was too young.' (Curious report on same day: 'Heard from Diana that Louis Chaumette had been wilfully tripped up by some one unknown while running to catch the last Broad St train on Saturday night & seriously injured.') 23 March: 'Offered Bond to make an Index to the Robinson Correspondence in Add. MSS. 23780-23879 during extra hours which he gratefully accepted. He is still very ill and week.' 25 March: 'At 9.15 a.m. while I was looking over the books Jones came through and told me that he had received the sanction of the Treasury & that I might begin my Charter Index at once. Hurrah! Hurrah!! Hurrah!!!' On 29 March he reports that 'Holmes and Jeffrey have gone from our Department. [...] Worked at pasting down Numismatics till 11 am when Bond sent for me & gave me three bundles of Oxenden Papers to sort Chronologically.' 6 April: 'Worked at the Oxenden Correspondence till 3 p.m and finished the sorting of the three bundles of the letters in chronological order of decades.' 16 April: 'Heard from J. C. Robinson of South Kensington Museum about the Buonarroti Correspondence.' 3 May: 'Worked at checking the Books on the Shelves till 3 p.m.' 7 May: 'Heard that Bond had given orders for all the Volumes of the New Class Catalogue to be got ready for the inspection of the Trustees to-morrow.' And the following day: 'The Trustees came to our Department to see the New Class Catalogue. Bennett of the Geological Department was dismissed for illness and non attendance.' On 15 May: 'Walked from the Museum to the Albion Cricket Ground at 3 p.m. And played in a scratch match till 8 p.m. The flagstaff broke in two from the high wind at 6 p.m.' On 17 May he has 'a most loving and kind letter from my Father about my marriage [to Anne F. Donoghue] [...] in September next'. On 18 May: 'Discovered in one of my Class Catalogue slips a poem on the Torments of Marriage belonging to George Boleyn in 1526 brother of Queen Anne Boleyn, with his autograph and Wyatt's & Mark Smeaton's'. 20 May: 'Had a row with my Keeper about pasting down Romances without consulting him.' 31 May: 'At 12.30 p.m. went with Ned & Freeman to see the first stone of the new Elgin Gallery laid by Winter Jones.' 8 June: 'At 3.30 p.m. Thompson came to me and asked if I would undertake a lot of extra work for Lord Saltoun, who wants to discover all notices of Frasers or Abernethys between 1200 & 1306 in our Department. Accepted it and gave Birch similar work in the Record Office for him.' On 9 June: 'With Tate and Ned to the Brecknock by Bus thence to the Islington Albion Cricket Club to play in the match of 22 v First Eleven. The 11 went in first and only made 85. I bowled two wickets in my first over, White and West. I only got 2 runs and ran poor Ned out before he scored.' On 6 July he hears from 'Gatley of the Customs asking me to play for the Gryphons [cricket club] at Haling Park Croydon on Saturday next at 2.30. Accepted it by return of post.' He also goes to Lords for two matches: Oxford v. Cambridge (rained off) and Eton v. Harrow. On 10 July, on returning from the Croydon cricket match, a hot cinder flies in his eye and he is forced to take a few days off work. He returns on 14 July, when Bond finds him 'some extra work [...] to find letters of Diane de Poitiers Catherine de Medicis & Henry II. of France', after which he 'Worked at my Charter Index'. On 17 July he announces: 'Think I have discovered in Philip Massinger the Author of the Milton poem in the Kings Library from an autograph of his in Roy. 18.A.20. Went to play against Stoke Newington 2nd. Eleven at Holloway. Made no runs. We beat by 68 to 54.' At the end of July he is forced to take a week off work as a result of an attack of erysipelas. The final entries (8, 9 and 10 August) relate to the reading of the banns and preparations for Scott's wedding.B. Two letters to Scott from Sir Anthony PanizziTwo Manuscript letters, in a secretarial hand, both signed by Sir Anthony Panizzi (both 'A Panizzi'), Principal Librarian, the British Museum. The two items both in very good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Both addressed from the British Museum The first (2pp., 4to) is dated 20 October 1863. Informing Scott that he has been 'provisionally appointed by the Principal Trustees of the British Museum an Assistant of the second class on probation.' The rest of the letter explains the details of Scott's probation. The second letter (1p., 4to) is dated 2 November 1864. Confirming, on behalf of the Trustees, Scott's 'appointment as an Assistant of the Second Class in this establishment, on the understanding, however, that your engagement be determinable at any time that the good of the service may be considered to require it.'C. Scott's contributions to the Athenaeum, 1877-1907Scrapbook containing cuttings of his contributions ('connected with literary history') to the Athenaeum, 1877 to 1907, and other cuttings, including obituaries of him. Scott's ownership inscription at head of first page: 'Edward Scott | Xmas Day 1877 | A. F. S.' Laid down over 50pp., 4to. In blue calf binding, gilt, with 'E. J. L. S. | 1877-1918' stamped on the front board. In good condition, on aged paper, in very good binding. With his bookplate and a thumb index filled out in pencil. Scott's first piece, dated 30 June 1877, is on 'Caxton's Moral Distichs', and his last on 'Traditions of Queen Boadicaea'. Other material in the scrapbook includes a report of the award of Scott's degree of doctor of letters, and seven obituaries. Also three typed copies of letters: the first to the Dean of Westminster Abbey from Arthur Bigge, Viscount Stamfordham, private secretary to King George V, dated from Buckingham Palace, 20 May 1918: 'The King and Queen were shocked to hear of the sudden death of Dr. Scott and Their Majesties beg that you will express their true sympathy with his family in their sorrow. There is something so pathetic in his being stricken in his work room - quite alone. [...] | The heavy breathing was heard and it was feared that some one had fainted.' The second typed copy is of a letter from Scott's successor as Keeper of the Abbey Muniments Lawrence Edward Tanner to Scott's son. Dated from 6 Dean's Yard, Westminster Abbey, 20 September 1927, thanking him for the 'really delightful picture of your Father'. The third typed copy is of a letter to The Times from 'Senex', dated from Edgbaston, 29 September [no year], and praising Scott's 'invaluable work'. Also a manuscript copy (2pp., foolscap 8vo) of a letter from Scott, dated 24 Terrapin Road, Balham, 14 March 1910, discussing 'the vexed question as to the true meaning of the word "Judaea" in Acts II.9.'D. Miscellaneous letters to Scott, 1869-1890Twenty Autograph Letters Signed by eighteen individuals (three by Wordsworth) and one Autograph Letter in the third person (by Lauderdale). Written between 1869 and 1890. Loose and all in good condition. The contents of the collection is conventional, the letters having been retained for placing in an autograph album.Charles Barclay-Maitland (1822-1884), Earl of Lauderdale ('Killed by lightning') John Campbell (1817-1898), Earl CawdorSarah Mary Campbell (1813-1881), Countess of CawdorLouisa Caroline Elizabeth Capell (d.1876), Countess of EssexRichard William Church (1815-1890), Dean of St Paul'sSir Robert Hawthorn Collins (1841-1908)Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice (1845-1927), 5th Marquess of LansdowneEdward Meyrick Goulburn (1818-1898), Dean of Norwich and headmaster of Rugby School (regarding a 'curious' prayer book)Francis William Lambton (d.1921) of BrownsladeRoundell Palmer (1812-1895), 1st Earl of Selborne ('Lord High Chancellor of England')John Prideaux Lightfoot (1803-1887), Rector of Exeter College (1803-1887), OxfordWilliam Munk (1816-1898), physician (regarding Dr William Cromer)John Humffreys Parry (1816-1880), serjeant-at-lawCharles Kegan Paul (1828-1902), publisher (asking to be sent Scott's translation of Virgil, with a view to publication)Charles Edward Searle (1828-1902), Master of Pembroke College, CambridgeSir Edward Henry Sieveking (1816-1904), physicianArthur Stanley (1815-1881), Dean of WestminsterWilliam Stubbs (1825-1901), Bishop of ChesterChristopher Wordsworth (1807-1885), Bishop of Lincoln (three letters, one praising Scott's edition of Eikon Basilike)E. Scott's school handwriting and mathematics exercise bookNotebook of school handwriting and mathematics exercises, with ornate ownership signature of 'C F S Scott' on front free endpaper. 120pp., 4to. In fair condition on aged paper, in worn leather quarter binding with marbled boards. Clearly compiled while Scott was a schoolboy, and with numbers and text of mathematical problems written up clearly in a large and laboured copperplate hand, with occasional flourishes. Headings include 'Division of Money', 'Bills of Parcels' and 'How many sheep can I pasture on 9 acres and a half if I allow 500 square yards to each?'F. Scott's Sanskrit exercise book, c.1862Notebook containing manuscript exercises and notes, in pencil and ink, relating to the Sanskrit Language. (Scott was Boden Sanskrit Scholar at Oxford in 1862.) 52pp., 4to. In worn leather quarter-binding with marbled boards. 'Edward John' in pencil on first page.