The Great Affair is to Move: Travel and Topography at the Signet Library

The WS Society Annual exhibition 2021

exhibition home

Room 4: Georgian and Victorian County Histories and their Art

The great Scottish and English tradition of the county or place history in which local antiquarians produced comprehensive and enduring historical accounts of their localities flourished from the seventeenth century right through to the foundation of the Victorian County History Series in the nineteenth century. British antiquarians of this period were the means by which much oral tradition of place survives that would otherwise have been lost, and no major library of the period was complete without a serious collection of these works. The Signet Library holds a virtually complete collection of the classic period of antiquarian writing for Scotland and an excellent representation covering English counties, cities and towns. Perhaps the glory of these works resided in their text rather than in their illustrations, but as the selection shown here demonstrates, the engravings included in many of these works was magnificent, including work from many of the greatest artists and engravers of the day.

westminster abbey 1742

Westmonasterium, or, the History and Antiquities of the Abbey Church of St Peters Westminster. London: Printed and Sold by James Cole Engraver, 1742.

John Dart (d. 1730) English lawyer and cleric, known as an antiquary and man of letters

This survey of the monuments in Westminster Abbey, “curiously Engraven by the best Hands”, is still in use today as an accurate record of the abbey as it was in the early eighteenth century. This stunning illustration is by Dutch artist Jacobus Schijnvoet, fl. 1685-1733, employed by the famous engraver James Cole, who was responsible not only for the printing and selling of this book but also for many of its illustrations. However, another book held by the Signet Library, Dart’s survey of cathedral church of Canterbury, contains a note (seen here) in the hand of antiquarian Samuel Gale which calls into question the contribution of Cole in both works, attributing them to Schijnvoet or “Skeynsfoot”. However, the style of the various engravings is markedly different, so it is unlikely that Gale is correct in attributing all of the engravings to Schijnvoet, and Gale’s description of Schijnvoet’s career is an inaccurately pessimistic one.

hutchinson’s northumberland: an early signet Library acquisition

A View of Northumberland with an Excursion to the Abbey of Mailross in Scotland. Newcastle: printed by T. Saint, for W. Charnley, and Messrs Vesey & Whitfield, 1778

William Hutchinson, (1732-1814), English lawyer, antiquary and topographer

This work is one of the earliest acquisitions of what was to become the English History and Topography collection, and is one of the first non-legal books in the Signet Library, marking the move towards the Enlightenment idea of the widely-cultivated lawyer. Containing many plates of engravings, mostly by John Bailey (1750–1819), an English agriculturist and engraver, this is travel writing that doubles as local history, or perhaps history that doubles as travel writing.

vulgarly called stone-henge

Most Notable Antiquity of Great Britain Vulgularly Called Stone-Heng. London: Printed for D. Browne, jr, 1725.

Inigo Jones (1573-1652), Walter Charleton (1620-1707), John Webb (1611-1672) Antiquaries (and much more!) of the seventeenth century.

Academic debates can be fierce and within the boards of this book, Inigo Jones, Dr Charleton and Mr Webb contest the meaning of Stonehenge. Jones, “the Vitruvius of his Age”, wrote his discourse Stone-Heng Restor’d at the direction of King James VI & I, in 1620. He argues for the Roman origins of the monument, while Dr Charleton disputes this ‘restoration’ and instead ‘restores’ Stonehenge to the Danes, in 1663. John Dryden paid homage to the doctor’s skill in his poem, printed here, where “Such is the healing Virute of Your Pen, / To perfect Cures on Books, as well as Men.” In turn, Jones’ pupil, editor and kinsman, John Webb, defends the Roman theory in 1665, all of which is collected in this edition. Jones’ text is illustrated by several folded spreads, delineated by John Hassell and engraved by Elisha Kirkall. This copy came to the Signet Library via the private collection of Stuart of Dunairn.

The cheshire woman who had horns: Leigh’s natural History 1700

The Natural History of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Peak, in Derbyshire (Oxford, 1700)

Charles Leigh (b. 1662) Physician and naturalist

This beautifully bound volume represents one of the earlier printed books in the collection. It was likely bound to the specification of its owner, Thomas Farbeck, who was a surgeon. The author, Charles Leigh, was a member of the fledgling Royal Society and wrote various tracts, including this volume which contains information on naturalism, antiquities, history and scientific experiments. Mary Davis is described as having both grown and cast horns, with the ones depicted here in a picture dated 1688 being described as four years old and “loose”.

anthony a wood’s civil war oxford

Historia et Antiquitates Universitatis Oxoniensis (Oxford, 1674).

Anthony à Wood (1632–1695) Oxford antiquary

This magisterial work was the product of Anthony à Wood’s lifelong devotion to the history of the University of Oxford. This large folio copy, bound in vellum, consists of two volumes, the first containing the annals of the university, the second the accounts of university buildings and institutions, historical notices of the colleges and their famous men, and lists of university officers. Inspired by William Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwickshire in 1656, Wood began working on it from 1660, when he was given free access to the university archives so that he could, as he put it, “advance his esurient genie in antiquities”. Originally written in English, a condition of publication at the university’s press was that the book be translated into Latin “for the honour of the University in forreigne countries”.

A John Le Keux decorative title page

Annales Furnesienses: History and Antiquities of the Abbey of Furness (London: Payne and Foss, 1844)

Thomas Alcock Beck (1795–1846) Antiquary and historian

This book was published in a run of 250, with 25 plates of engravings and 11 woodcut illustrations, including this striking half-title page of the North Doorway of Furness Abbey, engraved by John Le Keux Senior from a drawing by Henry Shaw. It is obviously a high-end production, printed by William Nicol of the Shakespeare Press, and sold at the time for 7 guineas, likely to considerable loss. The author, Thomas Alcock Beck Esquire, was an antiquary local to Northumberland, and this pioneering work on the history and antiquities of the abbey of St Mary of Furness is still a significant resource for antiquarian research today.

“yorkshire by the sea” 1891

Yorkshire by the Sea: Notes Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive (Leeds, 1891)

George Radford (b. 1851) Author of “Rambles by Yorkshire Rivers”

This limited edition volume of local history is a paean to the author’s beloved Yorkshire. “Our circular tour”, as guided by George Radford, takes us from Middlesbrough to Bridlington to Hull, peppered liberally thorough with Radford’s extensive reading. The book contains 12 etchings and 26 drawings in the text, many featuring the sea. The illustrator, James Ayton Symington, illustrated many works of topography and literature of the period, including Wordsword’s Poetical Works and Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.