SIR WILLIAM MUSGRAVE AND BRITISH BIOGRAPHY - British Library

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disperccment, given by Sir George Carye, Captain, this fyrst of September 1586'. This was of topical interest when given during the invasion scare of 1797, but less so when eventually published in Archaeologia in 1800.* As a member of the Royal Society, he never contributed to its Philosophical Transactions.^ Although crippled by ill-health** and an excessive modesty, Musgrave was, nevertheless, one of the foremost antiquarians of his day, and compiled pioneering collections, which all focused on his central interest in British biography. These were made freely available to his contemporaries, and served as the basis for much scholarship of the time. Sections of his library retain their importance to the present day. His interests covered printed books, prints, autographs, and manuscripts. It is the purpose of this paper to gather information together about these collections, and hence to establish the comprehensive and indeed professional way in which Musgrave went about his amateur interest. The chief surviving parts of his collection are now in the British Library, and it is therefore Musgrave's life as a Trustee of the British Museum that is the starting point of this enquiry. He was elected Trustee on 23 January 1783 in the place of the late Charles Gray; the other Trustee elected on the same day was Sir William Hamilton.'' On 11 lune the following year the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode joined them on the board. Musgrave was assiduous in his attendance both at the General Meetings, and at the more frequent Committees when the real business of the Trustees was done. The minutes are unfortunately too brief to reveal what particular contributions he made to their deliberations; we know only the decisions that were finally taken. Thus he was present when it was agreed that 'such historical books as are not in the house be bought at reasonable prices at Mr Gulston's sale', but whether he spoke in favour we do not know. The only Trustee of the period who clearly did concern himself actively in the day-to-day activities of the Museum was Sir Joseph Banks. The first record of Sir William Musgrave as donor to the Museum occurs in#'i79O, when he was thanked on 13 August for presenting 400 books; no indication is given as to what they were.^ On 11 January 1799 he presented two French copper coins 'of the type now in circulation'; five months later on 7 June, Planta, the principal librarian, was instructed to pay him £9 6s for a choice copy of Harding's Shakespeare illustrated by engravings which he had purchased for the use of the Museum. At the same time, Musgrave presented 'several catalogues of painted portraits in many of the public buildings and capital mansions of England and Scotland together with a writ of privy seal of King Charles I'. On II May 1799 the death of Cracherode was announced to the Trustees, and the news of the bequest of his library and collection of prints and drawings. They then resolved that' the present Committee Room be properly fitted up and secured with wire book cases for the reception of the books and prints' of the bequest, and on 13 July decided that 'six cabinets of the construction recommended by Sir William Musgrave for the securing properly Mr Cracherode's collection of prints be put in hand immediately'. Musgrave made a further gift on 4 October 1799 of'a large collection of manuscripts 172
Fig. I. Sir William Musgrave; portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott 173
Page 1: SIR WILLIAM MUSGRAVE AND BRITISH BI
Page 5 and 6: 8 Fig. 2. Musgrave's crest. C. J. H
Page 7 and 8: collected originally with a view to
Page 9 and 10: An examination of the list of title
Page 11 and 12: portrait print collecting was still
Page 13 and 14: 1 AG Jtha Bafl. Jibn Bafl. A7«, Bo
Page 15 and 16: any further prints and information
Page 17 and 18: mainly historical autographs; the s
Page 19: specialist dealer in portrait print

SIR WILLIAM MUSGRAVE AND BRITISH BIOGRAPHY - British Library

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