Chapter 9

PUBLISHING SOCIETIES.

A large amount of important information is to be found in the publications of the numerous Societies formed for the purpose of supplying to their subscribers valuable works which are but little likely to find publishers. These publications have in a large number of instances added to our knowledge of history and literature considerably. The Societies have much increased of late years, but no record of the publications is easily to be obtained, since the full account given in Bohn's Supplement to Lowndes's _Bibliographer's Manual_.

The earliest of Publishing Societies was the _Dilettanti Society_, instituted in London in 1734, which issued some fine illustrated volumes of classical travel. A long period of time elapsed without any societies of a similar character being formed.

_The Roxburghe Club_ formed in the year 1812 in commemoration of the sale of the magnificent library of John third Duke of Roxburghe (died March 19, 1804). It was chiefly intended as a Social Club, and a long list of bibliographical toasts was run through at the banquets. The publications were not at first of any great literary value, although some of them were curious and interesting. After a time competent editors were employed, and some important works produced. Sir Frederick Madden's editions of "Havelok the Dane" was issued in 1828, of the Romance of "William and the Werwolf" in 1832, and of the old English version of "Gesta Romanorum" in 1838. The valuable "Manners and Household Expenses of England in the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Centuries," edited by T. Hudson Turner, was presented to the Club by Beriah Botfield in 1841; Payne Collier's edition of the "Household Books of John Duke of Norfolk, and Thomas Earl of Surrey, 1481-1490," was issued in 1844, and his "Five Old Plays illustrative of the Early Progress of the English Drama" in 1851; the Rev. Joseph Stevenson's edition of "The Owl and the Nightingale, a Poem of the Twelfth Century," was issued in 1838, and his edition of "The Ayenbite of Inwyt" in 1855; John Gough Nichols's edition of the "Literary Remains of King Edward the Sixth" appeared in 1857 and 1858 (2 vols.), and Dr. Furnivall's edition of Henry Lonelich's "Seynt Graal" in 1863-1864.

Several years elapsed before the second great Printing Club was founded. In 1823 _The Bannatyne Club_ was started in Edinburgh, chiefly by Sir Walter Scott, for the purpose of printing works illustrative of the History, Antiquities and Literature of Scotland. It derives its names from George Bannatyne (born Feb. 22, 1545, died 1607). A long series of books have been issued by the Club to its members, many of which are of great interest. The Catalogue of the Abbotsford Library was presented in 1839 to the members "by Major Sir Walter Scott, Bart., as a slight return for their liberality and kindness in agreeing to continue to that Library the various valuable works printed under their superintendence." In the same year appeared Sir Frederick Madden's edition of _Sir Gawayne_. Bishop Gawin Douglas's "Palace of Honour" was printed in 1827, and his translation of Virgil's "Æneid" in 1839 (2 vols.). The Club was closed in 1867.

_The Maitland Club_, which derived its name from Sir Richard Maitland of Lethington (born in 1496, died March 20, 1586), was instituted in Glasgow in 1828. A volume containing "The Burgh Records of the City of Glasgow, 1573 to 1581," was presented to the Club in 1832-34; the Poems of Drummond of Hawthornden in 1832; Robert Wodrow's "Collection upon the Lives of the Reformers and most eminent Ministers of the Church of Scotland" in 1834-45 (2 vols.). Dauncey's Ancient Scottish Melodies in 1838. Sir Bevis of Hamtoun in the same year, the Metrical Romance of Lancelot du Lak in 1839; Wodrow's Analecta, or Materials for a History of Remarkable Providences, in 1842-3 (4 vols.). Henry Laing's Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Seals, in 1850. The Club was closed in 1859.

_The Abbotsford Club_ was founded in honour of Sir Walter Scott in 1834, by Mr. W.B.D.D. Turnbull. The first book (issued in 1835) was a volume of "Ancient Mysteries from the Digby MS."; "Arthur and Merlin, a Metrical Romance," was printed in 1838; "Romances of Sir Guy of Warwick and Rembrun his Son," in 1840; "The Legend of St. Katherine of Alexandra," in 1841; "Sir Degaree, a Metrical Romance of the end of the nineteenth century," in 1849. The Club was closed in 1866.

These Printing Clubs were select in their constitution, and the books being printed for the members in small numbers, they are difficult to obtain and their price is high.

With the foundation of the Camden Society an entirely new system was adopted, and the general body of book lovers, poor as well as rich, were appealed to with great success, and valuable books were supplied to the subscribers at a price which would have been impossible without such means. The Camden Society is entitled to this honour on account of the general interest of its publications, but the Surtees Society was actually the first to inaugurate the new system. The subscription fixed was double that which the founders of the Camden Society adopted, but it was, perhaps, a bolder step to start a Society, appealing to a somewhat restricted public with a two guinea subscription, than to appeal to the whole reading public with a subscription of one pound. Before saying more of the Surtees and Camden Societies, it will be necessary to mention some other printing clubs which preceded them.

_The Oriental Translation Fund_ was established in 1828, with the object of publishing Translations from Eastern MSS. into the languages of Europe. When the issue of books was discontinued, the stock of such books as remained was sold off, and many of these can still be obtained at a cheap rate.

_The Iona Club_ was instituted in 1833, for the purpose of investigating the History, Antiquities, and early Literature of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, but little has been done in the way of publication. The first book was "Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis," and the second, "Transactions of the Club," vol. i. in 4 parts. A second volume was announced, but never appeared.

_The Surtees Society_ was founded at Durham in 1834 for the publication of inedited Manuscripts, illustrative of the moral, the intellectual, the religious, and the social condition of those parts of England and Scotland included on the East, between the Humber and the Frith of Forth, and on the west, between the Mersey and the Clyde, a region which constituted the ancient kingdom of Northumberland. The Society is named after Robert Surtees, of Mainforth, author of the "History of the County Palatine of Durham." Although founded more than fifty years ago, the Society is still flourishing, and carried on with the same vigour as of old. The series of publications is a long one, and contains a large number of most important works. The second book issued was "Wills and Inventories, illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, etc., of the Northern Counties of England, from the Eleventh Century downwards" (Part 2 was issued in 1860); the third, "The Towneley Mysteries or Miracle Plays"; the fourth, "Testamenta Eboracensia: Wills illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, etc., of the Province of York, from 1300" (vol. 1). The second volume of this series was issued in 1855. "Anglo-Saxon and Early English Psalter" was issued in 1843-44 (2 vols.); "The Durham Household Book; or, the Accounts of the Bursar of the Monastery of Durham, from 1530 to 1534," in 1844.

_The Camden Society_, instituted in 1838, has issued to its subscribers a large number of books of the greatest interest on historical and literary subjects. The set of publications is so well known that it is not necessary to enumerate titles here. Among the most valuable are the several volumes devoted to the correspondence of certain old families, such as the "Plumpton Correspondence" (1839), "Egerton Papers" (1840), "Rutland Papers" (1842), and "Savile Correspondence" (1858). The Romances and Chronicles must also be mentioned, and the remarkable edition of the oldest English Dictionary, "Promptorium Parvulorum," which was fully and learnedly edited by the late Mr. Albert Way. A second series was commenced in 1871, which is still continued.

The same year which saw the foundation of the Camden Society also gave birth to _The English Historical Society_. Sixteen works of considerable value were issued, but the greatest of these is the grand "Codex Diplomaticus Ævi Saxonici" of the late J. Mitchell Kemble (1845-48).

_The Spalding Club_, named after John Spalding, Commissary Clerk of Aberdeen, and founded at Aberdeen in 1839 for the printing of the Historical, Ecclesiastical, Genealogical, Topographical, and Literary Remains of the North-Eastern Counties of Scotland, was formed on the model of the exclusive clubs; but being affected by the more democratic constitution of the later printing societies, its subscription was fixed at one guinea. Amongst the most interesting of the Club's publications are the "Sculptured Stones of Scotland" (1856), "Barbour's Brus" (1856), and the "Fasti Aberdonensis: Selections from the Records of the University and King's College of Aberdeen from 1494 to 1854" (1854).

The year 1840 saw the foundation of three very important Societies, viz. the Parker, the Percy, and the Shakespeare.

_The Parker Society_ took its name from the famous Archbishop of Canterbury, Martin Parker, and its objects were (1) the reprinting, without abridgment, alteration or omission, of the best works of the Fathers and early Writers of the Reformed English Church published in the period between the accession of Edward VI. and Queen Elizabeth; (2) the printing of such works of other writers of the Sixteenth Century as may appear desirable (including under both classes some of the early English Translations of the Foreign Reformers), and (3) the printing of some MSS. of the same authors hitherto unpublished. The Society was an enormous success, and at one time the list contained seven thousand members; but owing to the multitude of copies printed, and the somewhat dry character of the books themselves, many of them can now be obtained at a ridiculously small sum, the price of a complete set usually averaging little more than a shilling a volume. When the series was completed, a valuable General Index to the whole was compiled by Mr. Henry Gough, 1855.

_The Percy Society_ took its name from Bishop Percy, author of the "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry" (born 1729, died 1811), and was founded for the purpose of bringing to light important but obscure specimens of Ballad Poetry, or Works illustrative of that department of Literature. The Society was dissolved in 1853, but during the thirteen years of its existence it produced a singularly interesting series of publications. The number of separate works registered in Bohn's Appendix to Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual is 94, besides "Quippes for Upstart Newfangled Gentlewomen by Stephen Gosson," which was suppressed, and "Rhyming Satire on the Pride and Vices of Women Now-a-days, by Charles Bansley," 1540, which was reprinted in 1841, but not issued. The set is much sought after, and fetches a good price.

_The Shakespeare Society_ was founded in 1840, to print books illustrative of Shakespeare and of the literature of his time, and a very valuable collection of works was issued to the subscribers during the term of its existence. It was dissolved in 1853, and the remaining stock was made up into volumes and sold off. There was much for the Society still to do; but the controversy arising out of the discovery of the forgeries connected with John Payne Collier's name made it difficult for the Shakespearians to work together with harmony.

In this same year the _Musical Antiquarian Society_ was founded, and during the seven years of its existence it issued books of Madrigals, Operas, Songs, Anthems, etc., by early English composers.

In the following year (1841), the _Motett Society_ was founded for the publication of Ancient Church Music. Five parts only, edited by Dr. Rimbault, were issued.

In 1841 the _Society for the Publication of Oriental Texts_ was founded, and a series of works in Syriac, Arabic, Sanscrit, and Persian was distributed to the subscribers until 1851, when the Society was dissolved.

_The Wodrow Society_ was instituted in Edinburgh in 1841, for the publication of the early writers of the Reformed Church of Scotland, and named after the Rev. Robert Wodrow. Among its publications are, "Autobiography and Diary of James Melvill," "Correspondence of the Rev. R. Wodrow" (3 vols.), "History of the Reformation in Scotland, by John Knox" (2 vols.). The Society was dissolved in 1848.

_The Ælfric Society_ was founded in 1842 for the publication of those Anglo-Saxon and other literary monuments, both civil and ecclesiastical, tending to illustrate the early state of England. The publications, which were not numerous, were edited by Benjamin Thorpe and J.M. Kemble, and the Society was discontinued in 1856.

_The Chetham Society_, founded at Manchester in 1843, for the publication of Historical and Literary remains connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester, was named after Humphrey Chetham (born 1580, died 1653). The Society, which still flourishes, has now produced a very long series of important works, and the volumes, which are not often met with, keep up their price well.

_The Sydenham Society_ for reprinting Standard English Works in Medical Literature, and for the Translation of Foreign Authors, with notes, was founded in 1843. After printing a number of important works, the Society was dissolved in 1858, and was succeeded by _The New Sydenham Society_.

_The Spottiswoode Society_ was founded at Edinburgh in 1843, for the revival and publication of the acknowledged works of the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, and rare, authentic, and curious MSS., Pamphlets and other Works illustrative of the Civil and Ecclesiastical State of Scotland. It takes its name from John Spottiswoode, the first duly consecrated Scottish Archbishop after the Reformation (born 1566, died 1639.) The late Mr. Hill Burton gives an amusing account of the foundation of this Society in his delightful _Book-Hunter_. He writes: "When it was proposed to establish an institution for reprinting the works of the fathers of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, it was naturally deemed that no more worthy or characteristic name could be attached to it than that of the venerable prelate, who by his learning and virtues had so long adorned the Episcopal Chair of Moray and Ross [Robert Jolly], and who had shown a special interest in the department of literature to which the institution was to be devoted. Hence it came to pass that, through a perfectly natural process, the Association for the purpose of reprinting the works of certain old divines was to be ushered into the world by the style and title of the JOLLY CLUB. There happened to be amongst those concerned, however, certain persons so corrupted with the wisdom of this world, as to apprehend that the miscellaneous public might fail to trace this designation to its true origin, and might indeed totally mistake the nature and object of the institution, attributing to it aims neither consistent with the ascetic life of the departed prelate, nor with the pious and intellectual object of its founders. The counsels of these worldly-minded persons prevailed. The Jolly Club was never instituted,--at least as an association for the reprinting of old books of divinity,--though I am not prepared to say that institutions, more than one so designed may not exist for other purposes. The object, however, was not entirely abandoned. A body of gentlemen united themselves together under the name of another Scottish prelate, whose fate had been more distinguished, if not more fortunate, and the Spottiswoode Society was established. Here, it will be observed, there was a passing to the opposite extreme, and so intense seems to have been the anxiety to escape from all excuse for indecorous jokes or taint of joviality, that the word Club, wisely adopted by other bodies of the same kind, was abandoned, and this one called itself a Society." The publications were discontinued about 1851.

_The Calvin Translation Society_ was established at Edinburgh in 1843, and its work was completed in 1855, by the publication of twenty-two Commentaries, etc., of the great reformer in fifty-two volumes.

_The Ray Society_ was founded in 1844 for the publication of works on Natural History (Zoology and Botany), and a large number of valuable books, fully illustrated, have been produced, many of them translations from foreign works. Many of the later publications are more elaborately coloured than the earlier ones.

_The Wernerian Club_ was instituted in 1844 for the republication of standard works of Scientific Authors of old date.

_The Handel Society_ was founded at London in 1844, for the purpose of printing the Works of Handel in full score. Sixteen volumes were issued, and in 1858 the Society was dissolved, the German Handel Society resuming the publication.

_The Hanserd Knollys Society_ was instituted in 1845 for the publication of the works of early English and other Baptist writers, and one of these was an edition of Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress from the text of the first edition. The Society was dissolved about 1851.

_The Caxton Society_ was instituted in 1845 for the publication of Chronicles and other writings hitherto unpublished, illustrative of the history and miscellaneous literature of the middle ages. This Society was formed on a somewhat original basis. The members were to pay no annual subscription, but they engaged to purchase one copy of all books published by the Society. The expense of printing and publishing to be defrayed out of the proceeds of the sale, and the money remaining over to be paid to the editors.

_The Cavendish Society_ was instituted in 1846 for the promotion of Chemical Science by the translation and publication of valuable works and papers on Chemistry not likely to be undertaken by ordinary publishers. During its last years the Society existed for the publication of Gmelin's voluminous "Handbook of Chemistry," and when this work was completed, with a general Index, the Society ceased to exist.

_The Ecclesiastical History Society_ was instituted in 1846, and one of its early publications was the first volume of Wood's "Athenæ Oxoniensis," edited by Dr. Bliss, but this only contained the life of Anthony Wood himself. The Society was dissolved in 1854, after publishing the Book of Common Prayer according to a MS. in the Rolls Office, Dublin (3 vols.), and sundry other works.

_The Hakluyt Society_, named after Richard Hakluyt (born 1553, died 1616), was founded at the end of 1846 for the purpose of printing the most rare and valuable Voyages, Travels and Geographical Records, from an early period of exploratory enterprise to the circumnavigation of Dampier. The first two volumes ("Sir Richard Hawkins's Voyage into the South Sea, 1593," and "Select Letters of Columbus") were issued in 1847, and the Society still flourishes. Between 1847 and 1885 the Society has presented to its members an important series of books of travel, at the rate of about two volumes a year for an annual subscription of one guinea.

_The Palæontographical Society_ was founded in 1847 for the purpose of figuring and describing a stratigraphical series of British Fossils. The annual volumes consist of portions of works by the most eminent palæontologists, and these works are completed as soon as circumstances allow, but several of them are still incomplete.

_The Arundel Society_ is so important an institution that it cannot be passed over in silence, although, as the publications chiefly consist of engravings, chromolithographs, etc., it scarcely comes within the scope of this chapter. The Society takes its name from Thomas Howard Earl of Arundel, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I., who has been styled the "Father of _vertu_ in England." It was founded in 1849, and its purpose is to diffuse more widely, by means of suitable publications, a knowledge both of the history and true principles of Painting, Sculpture, and the higher forms of ornamental design, to call attention to such masterpieces of the arts as are unduly neglected, and to secure some transcript or memorial of those which are perishing from ill-treatment or decay. The publications of the Society have been very successful, and many of them cannot now be obtained.

Most of the societies above described have appealed to a large public, and endeavoured to obtain a large amount of public support; but in 1853 was formed an exclusive society, with somewhat the same objects as the Roxburghe Club. _The Philobiblon Society_ was instituted chiefly through the endeavours of Mr. R. Monckton Milnes (the late Lord Houghton) and the late Mons. Sylvain Van de Weyer. The number of members was at first fixed at thirty-five, but was raised in 1857 to forty, including the patron and honorary secretaries. The publications consist chiefly of a series of Bibliographical and Historical Miscellanies, contributed by the members, which fill several volumes. Besides these there are "The Expedition to the Isle of Rhe by Lord Herbert of Cherbury," edited and presented to the members by the Earl of Powis; "Inventaire de tous les meubles du Cardinal Mazarin," edited and presented by H.R.H. the Duke d'Aumale; "Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne sous la regne de Charles II., 1678-82," edited and presented by William Stirling (afterwards Sir William Stirling Maxwell); "The Biography and Bibliography of Shakespeare," compiled and presented by Henry G. Bohn; "Analyse des Travaux de la Société des Philobiblon de Londres," par Octave Delepierre.

_The Ossianic Society_ was instituted at Dublin in 1853 for the preservation and publication of manuscripts in the Irish Language, illustrative of the Fenian period of Irish history, etc., with literal translations and notes.

_The Warton Club_ was instituted in 1854 and issued four volumes, after which it was dissolved.

_The Manx Society_ was instituted at Douglas, Isle of Man, in 1858, for the publication of National Documents of the Isle of Man.

All the Societies mentioned above are registered in Henry Bohn's Appendix to Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual, and lists of the publications up to 1864 are there given. Most of them are also described in Hume's "Learned Societies and Printing Clubs of the United Kingdom" (1853). Since, however, the publication of these two books, a considerable number of important Printing Societies have been formed, and of these a list is not readily obtainable, except by direct application to the respective Secretaries.

The newly printed General Catalogue of the British Museum in the Reading Room however contains a full list of the publications of the various Societies under the heading of _Academies_.

The foundation of the _Early English Text Society_ in 1864 caused a renewed interest to be taken in the publications of the Printing Clubs. The origin of the Society was in this wise. When the Philological Society undertook the formation of a great English Dictionary, the want of printed copies of some of the chief monuments of the language was keenly felt. Mr. F.J. Furnivall, with his usual energy, determined to supply the want, and induced the Council of the Philological Society to produce some valuable texts. It was found, however, that these publications exhausted much of the funds of the Society, which was required for the printing of the papers read at the ordinary meetings, so that it became necessary to discontinue them. Mr. Furnivall, then, in conjunction with certain members of the Philological Society, founded the Early English Text Society. The Society possessed the inestimable advantage of having among its founders Mr. Richard Morris (afterwards the Rev. Dr. Morris), who entered with fervour into the scheme, and produced a large amount of magnificent work for the Society. Dr. Furnivall put the objects of the Society forward very tersely when he said that none of us should rest "till Englishmen shall be able to say of their early literature what the Germans can now say with pride of theirs--'every word of it is printed, and every word of it is glossed.'"

The Society prospered, and in 1867 an Extra Series was started, in which were included books that had already been printed, but were difficult to obtain from their rarity and price.

One hundred and twenty-six volumes have been issued between 1864 and 1884, eighty-two volumes of the Original Series and forty-four of the Extra Series, and there can be no doubt that the publications of the Society have had an immense influence in fostering the study of the English language. The prefaces and glossaries given with each work contain an amount of valuable information not elsewhere to be obtained.

These books throw light upon the growth of the language, and place within the reach of a large number of readers works of great interest in the literature of the country. The greatest work undertaken by the Society is the remarkable edition of "William's Vision of Piers the Plowman," which Prof. Skeat has produced with an expenditure of great labour during nearly twenty years. The last part, containing elaborate notes and glossary, was issued in 1884.

The subjects treated of are very various. There is a fair sprinkling of Romances, which will always be amongst the most interesting of a Society's publications. Manners and Customs are largely illustrated in a fair proportion of the Texts, as also are questions of Social and Political History. Perhaps the least interesting to the general reader are the Theological Texts, which are numerous, but the writers of these were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of their times, and although they are apt to be prosy, they are pretty sure to introduce some quaint bits which compensate for a considerable amount of dulness. These books help us to form a correct idea of the beliefs of our forefathers, and to disabuse our minds of many mistaken views which we have learnt from more popular but less accurate sources.

_The Ballad Society_ grew out of the publication, by special subscription, of Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript, edited by F.J. Furnivall and J.W. Hales. This was issued in connection with the Early English Text Society (but not as one of its Texts), through the energy of Mr. Furnivall, who had many difficulties to overcome before he was able to get permission to print the manuscript, which had been very faithfully guarded from the eyes of critics. He had to pay for the privilege, and in the end the old volume was sold to the nation, and it now reposes among the treasures of the British Museum. When this useful work was completed, Mr. Furnivall was anxious to follow it by a reprint of all the known collections of Ballads, such as the Roxburghe, Bagford, Rawlinson, Douce, etc., and for this purpose he started the Ballad Society in 1868. He himself edited some particularly interesting "Ballads from Manuscripts," and an elaborate account of Captain Cox's Ballads and Books in a new edition of Robert Laneham's Letter on the Entertainment at Kenilworth in 1575. The veteran Ballad illustrator, Mr. William Chappell, undertook to edit the "Roxburghe Ballads," and produced nine parts, when the Rev. J.W. Ebsworth took the work off his hands. Mr. Ebsworth had previously reproduced the "Bagford Ballads," and he is now the editor-in-chief of the Society. The following is a short list of the publications of the Society: Nos. 1, 2, 3, 10, "Ballads from Manuscripts"; Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19. "The Roxburghe Ballads," edited by Wm. Chappell; No. 7, "Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books"; No. 11, "Love Poems and Humourous Ones"; Nos. 14, 15, 16, 17, "The Bagford Ballads." No. 20, "The Amanda Group of Bagford Ballads;" Nos. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, "The Roxburghe Ballads," edited by the Rev. J.W. Ebsworth. No. 26 completes the fifth volume of the "Roxburghe Ballads." There are two more volumes to come, and then Mr. Ebsworth will undertake "The Civil War and Protectorate Ballads." Much of the work on these volumes is done, and they only await an increase in the subscription list. It is to be hoped that when the good work done by the Ballad Society is better known, the editor will not be kept back in his useful course by the want of funds for printing. Mr. Ebsworth's thorough work is too well known to need praise here, but it may be noted that his volumes contain a remarkable amount of illustration of the manners of the time not to be obtained elsewhere. The value of this is the more apparent by the system of arrangement in marked periods which the editor has adopted.

_The Chaucer Society_ was founded in 1868 by Mr. Furnivall, "to do honour to Chaucer, and to let the lovers and students of him see how far the best unprinted Manuscripts of his Works differed from the printed texts." For the Canterbury Tales, Mr. Furnivall has printed the six best unprinted MSS. in two forms--(1) in large oblong parts, giving the parallel texts; (2) in octavo, each text separately. The six manuscripts chosen are--The Ellesmere; The Lansdowne (Brit. Mus.); The Hengwrt; The Corpus, Oxford; The Cambridge (University Library); The Petworth. Dr. Furnivall has now added Harleian 7334 to complete the series. The Society's publications are issued in two series, of which the first contains the different Texts of Chaucer's Works, and the second such originals of and essays on these as can be procured, with other illustrative treatises and Supplementary Tales.

_The Spenser Society_ was founded at Manchester in 1867 for the publication of well-printed editions of old English authors in limited numbers. The chief publication issued to subscribers was a reprint, in three volumes folio, of the works of John Taylor, the Water-poet, from the original folio. The other publications are in small quarto, and among them are the works of John Taylor not included in the folio, the works of Wither, etc.

_The Roxburghe Library_ was a subscription series, commenced by Mr. W. Carew Hazlitt in 1868, with the same objects as a publishing society. It was discontinued in 1870. The following is a list of the publications:--"Romance of Paris and Vienne"; "William Browne's Complete Works," 2 vols.; "Inedited Tracts of the 16th and 17th Centuries (1579-1618)"; "The English Drama and Stage under the Tudor and Stuart Princes, 1543-1664"; "George Gascoigne's Complete Poems," 2 vols.; "Thomas Carew's Poems."

_The Harleian Society_ was founded in 1869. Their chief publication has been the late Colonel Chester's magnificently edited Registers of Westminster Abbey. Other Registers published are those of St. Peter's, Cornhill; St. Dionis Backchurch; St. Mary Aldermary; St. Thomas the Apostle; St. Michael, Cornhill; St. Antholin, Budge Lane; and St. John the Baptist, on Wallbrook. Of the other publications there are Visitations of Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Devon, Essex, Leicestershire, London 1568, 1633, Nottingham, Oxford, Rutland, Somersetshire, Warwickshire, and Yorkshire, and Le Neve's Catalogue of Knights.

_The Hunterian Club_ was founded at Glasgow in 1871, and named after the Hunterian Library in the University. Among the publications of the Club are a Series of Tracts by Thomas Lodge and Samuel Rowlands; the Poetical Works of Alexander Craig; Poetical Works of Patrick Hannay; Sir T. Overburie's Vision by Richard Niccols, 1616. The printing of the famous Bannatyne Manuscript, compiled by George Bannatyne, 1568, was commenced by the Society in 1873, and the seventh part, which completed this invaluable collection of Scottish Poetry, was issued in 1881.

_The Folk Lore Society_ was founded by the late Mr. W.J. Thoms (inventor of the term Folk Lore) in 1878, and during the seven years of its existence it has done much valuable work, chiefly through the energetic direction of Mr. G.L. Gomme, the Hon. Sec. (now Director). The object of the Society is stated to be "the preservation and publication of Popular Traditions, Legendary Ballads, Local Proverbial Sayings, Superstitions and Old Customs (British and Foreign), and all subjects relating to them." The principal publication of the Society, the _Folk Lore Record_, now the _Folk Lore Journal_, was at first issued in volumes, and afterwards in monthly numbers. It is now a quarterly. The other publications are:--Henderson's Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders, a new edition; Aubrey's Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme; Gregor's Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-east of Scotland; Comparetti's Book of Sindibad and Pedroso's Portuguese Folk Tales; Black's Folk Medicine; Callaway's Religious System of the Amazulu.

The year 1873 saw the formation of several publishing Societies.

_The New Shakspere Society_ was founded by Dr. F.J. Furnivall, for the reading of papers, which have been published in a Series of Transactions, and also for the publication of collations of the Quarto Plays, and works illustrating the great Dramatist's times. Among the latter works are Harrison's Description of England, Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses, Dr. Ingleby's Shakespeare's Centurie of Prayse, etc.

_The English Dialect Society_ was founded at Cambridge by the Rev. Professor Skeat. Its objects are stated to be (1) to bring together all those who have made a study of any of the Provincial Dialects of England, or who are interested in the subject of Provincial English; (2) to combine the labours of collectors of Provincial English words by providing a common centre to which they may be sent, so as to gather material for a general record of all such words; (3) to publish (subject to proper revision) such collections of Provincial English words that exist at present only in manuscript; as well as to reprint such Glossaries of provincial words as are not generally accessible, or are inserted in books of which the main part relates to other subjects; and (4) to supply references to sources of information which may be of material assistance to word-collectors, students, and all who have a general or particular interest in the subject. The publications are arranged under the following Series: A, Bibliographical; B, Reprinted Glossaries; C, Original Glossaries; D, Miscellaneous. In 1875 the Society was transferred to Manchester, and Mr. J.H. Nodal became Honorary Secretary.

_The Palæographical Society_ was formed for the purpose of reproducing Specimens of Manuscripts, and it has produced a Series of Facsimiles of Ancient Manuscripts, edited by E.A. Bond and E.M. Thompson, Part 1 being issued in 1873.

At the end of the year 1877 _The Index Society_ was founded for the purpose of producing (1) Indexes of Standard Works; (2) Subject Indexes of Science, Literature and Art; and (3) a General Reference Index. The publications were commenced in 1878, and the First Annual Meeting was held in March, 1879, the Earl of Carnarvon being the first President. The first publication was "What is an Index?" by H.B. Wheatley. Among the important books issued by the Society may be mentioned Solly's "Index of Hereditary Titles of Honour"; Daydon Jackson's "Guide to the Literature of Botany" and "Literature of Vegetable Technology," and Rye's "Index of Norfolk Topography."

The _Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies_ was founded in 1879 for the following objects: (1) To advance the study of the Greek language, literature, and art, and to illustrate the history of the Greek race in the ancient, Byzantine, and Neo-Hellenic periods, by the publication of memoirs and inedited documents or monuments in a Journal to be issued periodically. (2) To collect drawings, facsimiles, transcripts, plans, and photographs of Greek inscriptions, MSS., works of art, ancient sites and remains, and with this view to invite travellers to communicate to the Society notes or sketches of archæological and topographical interest. (3) To organise means by which members of the Society may have increased facilities for visiting ancient sites and pursuing archæological researches in countries which, at any time, have been the sites of Hellenic civilization. Five volumes of the _Journal_ have been issued.

_The Topographical Society of London_ was formed in 1880. The Inaugural Meeting was held at the Mansion House, and the first Annual Meeting at Drapers' Hall on Feb. 3, 1882, with the Lord Mayor (Sir John Whitaker Ellis), President, in the chair. The following reproductions have been issued to subscribers:--Van der Wyngaerde's View of London, ab. 1550, 7 sheets; Braun & Hogenberg's Plan of London, 1 sheet; Visscher's View of London, 4 sheets.

_The Browning Society_ was founded by Dr. Furnivall in 1881, and besides papers read at the meetings, the Society has issued Dr. Furnivall's "Bibliography of Browning."

_The Wyclif Society_ was founded also by Dr. Furnivall in 1882, for the publication of the complete works of the great Reformer.

_The Pipe Roll Society_ was established in 1883, and in 1885 the first three volumes of its publications have been issued to the members. These are--Vol. 1, Pipe Rolls, 5 Hen. II.; Vol. 2, 6 Hen. II.; Vol. 3, Introduction.

_The Oxford Historical Society_ was formed in 1884, and four handsome volumes have been issued for that year and 1885. These are--1, "Register of the University of Oxford" (vol. 1, 1449-63, 1505-71), edited by the Rev. C.W. Boase; 2, "Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne" (vol. 1, July 4, 1705-March 19, 1707), edited by C.E. Doble, M.A. Both these volumes are supplied with temporary Indexes. 3, "The Early History of Oxford, 727-1100," by James Parker; 4, "Memories of Merton College," by the Hon. George C. Brodrick; 5, "Collectanea." First Series. Edited by C.R.L. Fletcher.

_The Middlesex County Record Society_ was formed in 1885 "for the purpose of publishing the more interesting portions of the old County Records of Middlesex, which have lately been arranged and calendared by order of the Justices." Nothing has been published as yet, but Mr. Cordy Jeaffreson is engaged upon the first two volumes, one of which will be issued shortly.

The Rev. Dr. A.B. Grosart has himself printed by subscription more works of our Old Writers than many a Society, and therefore it is necessary to mention his labours here, although a complete list of them cannot be given. The chief series are: "The Fuller Worthies Library," 39 volumes; "The Chertsey Worthies Library," 14 vols. 4to., and "The Huth Library."