A CATALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE COTTONIAN LIBRARY, DEPOSITED IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

London: Printed by command of His Majesty King George III [by Luke Hansard], 1802. First Edition. Hardcover. This copy was presented to Paul Naiditch, longtime curator of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts at the University of California, Los Angeles, on the occasion of his retirement in 2005 and is accompanied by a printed sheet acknowledging all the librarians, antiquarian booksellers, and friends who contributed to the cost of the book. The standard guide to to the collection of manuscripts that came into the hands of the antiquarian and bibliophile Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571-1631). Among Cotton's many treasures were the Lindisfarne Gospels, two of the contemporary exemplifications of Magna Carta, and the only surviving manuscript of Beowulf. Folio: xvi, 618, [75, index] pp. In a later one-half orange morocco over black cloth binding, with black-stamped titles, five raised bands, and new endpapers. Occasional toning and foxing to the contents, with the ink stamp of the Royal Institution of South Wales to the title page and a few concluding leaves. The boards are a little rubbed, with some minor staining to the spine. (Inventory #: 78104)