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Harley MS 4924
- Record Id:
- 040-001617397
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 040-001617397
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000000109.0x0002b1
- LARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100172079060.0x000001
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Harley MS 4924
- Title:
- Thomas Osborne, Treatise on arithmetic
- Scope & Content:
-
A treatise on arithmetic by Thomas Osborne.
Decoration:
The decoration of the manuscript imitates that of printed books. It comprises:
A title page with the royal arms of Queen Elizabeth I supported by a lion and a dragon and encircled by the Garter, with Elizabeth's initials E R held by angels, and two students writing below (f. 1r);
4 pages introducing arithmetic calculations in medallions: 'addition' with a crowned Tudor rose supported by two bearded angels, two heralds playing horns, and a bust of a king (f. 4r); 'substraction' with a crown supported by a lion and a dragon, Elizabeth I's initials 'ER, two men playing horns and a date 1601 (f. 5r); 'multiplication' with the crown inscribed with Elizabeth I's initials surrounded by clouds and adored by angels and two women, below a teacher with students and a town on the sea with ships and boats (f. 6r); 'division' encircled by an arabesque border with a bust of a man and a head of a donkey (7r);
Decorated initials with birds, animals and floral motifs; ornamental, arabesque and floral borders. Tables of contents of each of the three sections and 1 additional table are written on folding leaves and are decorated with large floral borders, some folding pages are missing (ff. 2v, 3r, 15r, 21r).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Harley Collection
Harley Science Project - Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "040-001617397", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Harley MS 4924: Thomas Osborne, Treatise on arithmetic" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002045828
040-001617397 - Is part of:
- Harley MS 1-7661 : Harley Manuscripts
Harley MS 4924 : Thomas Osborne, Treatise on arithmetic - Hierarchy:
- 032-002045828[4924]/040-001617397
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Harley MS 1-7661
- Record Type (Level):
- File
- Extent:
-
1 volume
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Harley_MS_4924 (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1601
- End Date:
- 1602
- Date Range:
- 1601-1602
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Letter of introduction required to view this manuscript
- Physical Characteristics:
-
Materials: Paper.
Dimensions: 295 x 180 mm (text space: 260 x 150 mm); except of ff. 3: 285 x 375 mm; 21: 290 x 365 mm; folding parts of ff. 2 and 15 are missing.
Foliation: ff. vi + 65 (all unfoliated flyleaves are paper). Leaves mounted on paper guards.
Script: Gothic.
Binding: British Museum/British Library in-house binding.
- Custodial History:
-
Origin: England.
Thomas Osborne, composed by him and probably also written by him between 1601-02: 'This boock teacheth the perfect worke and practice of arethmeticke both in whole numbers and fractions made by me Thomas Osborne at Lowedoune (and fullie finished) before the 28 day of March: Anno Domini 1602 (f. 1r); the date of 1601 is inscribed on f. 5r; probably intended for presentation to Elizabeth I (b. 1533, d. 1603), queen of England and Ireland.
Provenance:
The Harley Collection, formed by Robert Harley (b. 1661, d. 1724), 1st earl of Oxford and Mortimer, politician, and Edward Harley (b. 1689, d. 1741), 2nd earl of Oxford and Mortimer, book collector and patron of the arts.
Edward Harley bequeathed the library to his widow, Henrietta, née Cavendish Holles (b. 1694, d. 1755) during her lifetime and thereafter to their daughter, Margaret Cavendish Bentinck (b. 1715, d. 1785), duchess of Portland; the manuscripts were sold by the Countess and the Duchess in 1753 to the nation for £10,000 (a fraction of their contemporary value) under the Act of Parliament that also established the British Museum; the Harley manuscripts form one of the foundation collections of the British Library.
- Publications:
-
A Catalogue of the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum, 4 vols (London: Eyre and Strahan, 1808-12), III, no. 4924.
Cyril Ernest Wright, Fontes Harleiani: A study of the sources of the Harleian collection of manuscripts preserved in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1972), pp. 131, 314.
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)