SION COLLEGE LIBRARY CATALOGUES

Catalogus librorum omnium quotquot in hac bibliotheca Collegii Sionensis sub arctiore custodela in archivis asservantur'. Catalogues of the books of Sion College kept 'in archivis', ie. on closed access and not forming part of the chained library, 1650-65. In the hand of John Spencer (d. 1680), Librarian of Sion College. The printed books kept 'in archivis' were primarily the smaller works, octavo or smaller (but including some quartos) which were not chained. They were stored in a gallery; none survived the Fire of London in 1666 (see Sion L40.2/E58/1 f. 46r). Also stored on closed access were a collection of rare and special printed books and the manuscripts. Sion L40.2/E5/1. 76 ff. 'Catalogus librorum omnium quotquot in bibliotheca Collegii Sionensis sub arctiore custodela in archivis asservantur. 1650. Sed anno MDCLXVI (eodem quo maxima pars urbis Londini) perierunt incendio'. A catalogue of the printed books kept 'in archivis'. Begun in 1650 and continued until 1665. Arranged by shelfmarks A1 to T56. These volumes were destroyed in the Fire of London. Sion L40.2/E5/2. 113 ff. 'Catalogus librorum omnium quotquot in hac bibliotheca Collegii Sionensis sub arctiore custodela in archivis asservantur. MDCLVIII. Sed anno MDCLXVI (eodem quo maxima pars urbis Londini) perierunt incendio'. A catalogue of the printed books and manuscripts kept 'in archivis'. Begun in 1658 and continued until 1665. f. 1r. Title page. ff. 2r -70v. Catalogue of printed books 'in archivis'. Arranged by shelfmarks, A1 to T56. f. 72r-v. 'Libri rariores in repositorio primo juxta fenestram ad caput Bibliothecae'. A catalogue of rare and special books kept in a locked repository. [These survived the Fire of London]. ff. 75r-106r. Catalogue of Greek, Latin and English manuscripts, arranged in one series by authors, A-Z. Includes the manuscripts transferred to Sion College from St. Paul's Cathedral Library in 1648. f. 107r-v. Catalogue of Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts. ff. 108r-113v. 'Catalogus librorum a Bibliotheca Paulina London. ad hanc Sionensem transmissorum Martii 13 1647'. A catalogue of books from the Library of St. Paul's Cathedral transferred to Sion College in March 1648. Comprising folio and quarto Latin manuscripts (ff. 108r-112r) and folio and quarto Latin printed books (ff. 112v-113v). On the books from St. Paul's, see Neil Ker, 'Medieval manuscripts in British libraries', vol 1 (1992) pp. 240, 263, and Nigel Ramsay, 'The Library and archives to 1897' in 'St. Paul's, the cathedral church of London, 604-2004', eds. Derek Keene, Arthur Burns, Andrew Saint (London, 2004), pp. 413-429. The latter work (p. 420, fig. 346) reproduces a list of 3 manuscripts and 24 printed works which were saved from the destruction of Sion College in the Fire of London in 1666; most are now in St.Paul's Cathedral Library. This list (preserved in St. Paul's Cathedral Library) is in the hand of John Spencer.

Catalogues of Sion College Library in the hand of John Spencer: Sion L40.2/E4; E5 (2 vols); E58 (2 vols); E92; E93; E117; E169-171.

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