Add MS 52421

'JOANNIS DAVEY EJUS LIBER CARMINUM. ITEM EJUS MANUS, ET PENNA. SCRIPTUS ANNO DOMINI, MDCCXCV', comprising the words of fifteen 'Christmas Carols', mostly of Cornish origin, calligraphically written by John Davey, mathematician and schoolmaster of St Just (b. 1770, d. 1844); 1795. Preceded

(f. 2) by a contents list. Includes variant readings and extra verses not found in

D. Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols, 1822, 2nd ed. 1823; W. Sandys, Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern, 1933; and in a carol book, written out by John Hutchens for Davies Gilbert, noted by I. Gundry, Now Carol We, 1966. Three carols, no. 1, 'Now when Joseph and Mary' (ff. 3-4b), no. 10, 'In a slumbring sleep I lay' (ff. 17b-19), and no. 15, 'When the fierce North Wind'

(ff. 24-25b), are untraced elsewhere. See R. M. Nance, 'John Davey, of Boswednack, [son of John Davey of St Just,] and his Cornish Rhyme', Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, xxi, part 2, 1923, pp. 146-53, and W. Bottrell, Stories and Folklore of West Cornwall, 3rd series, 1880, pp. 83-4. Owned by E. T. Berryman, of Towednack, descendant of John Davey, bef. 1964.

Paper; ff. ii+35. Folio. 1795. Title-page (f. 1b) with penwork decoration; at the foot an epitaph 'When I am dead & in my grave . . . ', 'Nov. 22, 1795'. At the foot of f. 22 a pen drawing of a church, with spire and weather vane, stands over the verse, 'When this you see remember me . . . '. Original ink pagination from 3 to 47 on ff. 3b-25b. Watermark, Britannia, 1794, and the name 'TAYLOR 1794', similar to Heawood, Watermarks, no. 217. See also no. 3441.