10* s. in. MAY 6, 1905.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
341
LONDON, SATCUDAY, MAY 6. 1905.
CONTENTS. No. 71.
NOTBS: The Van Sypestin Manuscripts, 341 'Capt. Thomas Stukeley,' 342 -Residence Dinners in Durham 343-John Aleyn, Law Reporter-May Day : Two Poetical Tracts Good Friday Custom at Bow Dollis Hill, Willes- den 344" Shicer" and " Shicker" St. Mark and Judas "Hooligan" Sheridan's 'Critic' Pot Laureate read at the Head of Troops, 3-to Gutavus Adolphus and Tycho's Star Medieval Clothing - Czech Language- Henry Travers, 346.
OUBRIBS Russians and Japanese Guinea Balances Whaler or Wheeler Family Embassy Buildings " Vas- tern "Rowley, 317 Longman, Barrel-Organ Builder- Weighing -Machine Wisdom Sanderson of Wigtoii " Blanched " Agnew=StaveIey-Unmarried Lady's Coat of Arms Picking up Scraps of Iron Apothecaries Hall in Scotland-Blind Man at Oxford, 348 -The Brent .as a Waterway Norman Inicriptions in Yorkshire Hem- ming=Stevens John Chattock Fanshawe : Boswell : Young, 349.
EBPLIKS :-Diving-Bell. 349 To-day : To-morrow, 350 Twitchel -Armorial Queen's Surname, 351 Weather- cock-Sadler's Wells Play : Beauty of Buttermere ' The Lass of Richmond Hill' ShacMewell, 352 Rocque's and Horwood's Maps of London Colosseum v. Coliseum- Lines on a Mug, 353 Christopher Smart and the Mad- houseMasons' Marks-Epigram on a Rose, 354-Local Government Records -Theatre, Parkgate, 355 Rogest- vensky Cockade Satan's Autograph, 356 Twins Mr. Moxhay Irish Folk-lore, 357.
NOTES ON BOOKS : -Lang's 'Aucassin and Nicolete ' Reviews and Magazines.
Obituary : Mr. J. A. C. Vincent.
Booksellers' Catalogues.
Notices to Correspondents.
THE VAN SYPESTIN MANUSCRIPTS.
WHEN I drew up my 'Catalogues of English Book Sales,' printed in 9 th S. v. 429 and sub- sequent numbers, one of the entries, which involved me in a great amount of trouble without any result, was that of " Manuscripts and Hist. Documents, 1825, May 20 and 6 days, S." (9 th S. vi. 83). I made every possible attempt to identify the owner, but failed. The collection was of considerable literary and historic interest, but not, apparently, of sufficient general importance to attract the notice of the newspapers of the day. I possess several copies of the sale catalogue, and came across another a few days ago at Mr. B. Dobell's shop. It was not only fully priced with names of purchasers, but was Dawson Turner's fine-paper copy, with hi$ autograph signature and date on one of the leaves. But most important of all was a long autograph inscription by Dawson Turner referring to the collection, its owner, and the public sale. This inscription is well worth printing, as it clears up a mystery which has for years puzzled me :
" Some time previously to the sale of these papers Mr. Sotheby told rue that he had it from M. Van
Sypestin himself, the proprietor of them, that thoy
ame into his hands at the time when the Napoleon
lynasty ascended the throne of Holland that
hey were then, with many others of the same
lescription, turned out of the palace, and that he
purchased them for 4 or 5 ducats, and afterwards
teptthem private lest the government should claim
vhat was manifestly their property, and he should
>e brought into trouble. But at the time of the
auction Baron Falck, the Dutch ambassador, told
me a different story, that they belonged to the
Government of the Netherlands and had been
stolen from them, there could, he said, be no doubt;
but he was convinced that the theft had taken
)lace at a period far anterior to that assigned by
. Van Sypestin, for he knew that they had been the possession of that gentleman's father and grandfather, who kept them in a garret, partly jerhaps from a wish not to have their existence tnown, but more from considering them of no value. Baron Falck added that the present M. Van Sypestin was induced to bring them from iheir obscurity, having heard that such papers nad sold in England for a_ considerable sum of money, and being a man with a large family and small property, and that, on his intention being snown, the King of the Netherlands offered him 48,000 florins for them, but he asked 60,000. This was refused on the part of the king. Accord- ingly M. V. S. [M. Van Sypestin] sent them to Mr. Christie, and afterwards to Mr. Sotheby. The result of the sale sadly belied his expectations. The gross produce was less than 2,000^., and from this were to be deducted very heavy charges, not only on the part of Mr. Sotheby. but attendant on journeys to England made by M. V. S. on that account.
"Tome the sale was a very interesting one: it enabled me to form a tolerably correct idea of the value of my own collection of autographs ; and this value is certainly far below what I had supposed before. The sale, though advertised long and sedulously, attracted very little attention. Even on the first day, by far the most interesting, there were at no time more than 15 persons in the room, and of these 15 not above 6 were bidders. On suc- ceeding days, I seldom saw more than 5 or 6 present. Two persons only, Mr- Falck and Mr. Anderdon (represented by Mr. Thorpe), were the buyers at largo prices : had it not been for them, the whole would not have brought 500/. Thus, the letters of Hen. IV., which fetched 78 guineas, would, but for such competition, have gone for 20. The most extra- ordinary event of the whole sale was the price brought by a short note of Archbishop Usher's, only 7 lines of no interest. Mr. Anderdon wanted it, and Longman had sent a commission for it to be bought 'coute qu'il coute.' They had it for 81. 10*. The 10.->'. alone would have been a high price for it. -D. T., 1825."
It will be seen, therefore, that Dawson Turner's most interesting note reveals not only the name of the owner of these MSS., but contains acceptable comments on the sale itself. The auctioneer's copy of the cata- logue, with prices and names, will be found in the Sotheby set at the British Museum (Newspaper Room). W. ROBERTS.
47, Lansdowne Gardens, Clapham, S.W.
