IN 'I I IK P088EUION or LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN. I I.M STIl \Tl.ll BY OCCASIONAL EXTRACTS AND REMARKS, LONDON: PRINTED 111 THOMAS DAVIgON, WHITEPBIABS, FOK THE PROPRIETORS OF THE COLLECTION. ADVERTISEMENT. In forming the very extensive series of early English Poetry, a Catalogue of which is now presented to the public, the attention of many years has been employed in selecting those productions which are estimable, as well for their uncommon rarity, as for their intrinsic excellence; and no expense has been spared, by incessant research, to render the Collection in all respects equal to any that accident or design has hitherto brought to light. In this Collection there are many curiosities which were once the ornaments of the most distinguished libraries, of recent as well as remote date; and no opportunity has been omitted, even to the period of publication, of enriching it with copies prized on account of their variations, and with some productions, a the extreme rarity of which has long baffled the researches of our most anxious collectors, and which, in the progress of years, will, of course,* be still farther beyond their reach. That such a collection should be preserved entire, and deposited where it may become a public benefit, is surely a desideratum; and it has already been intimated, and may here be repeated, that the Proprietors are ready to receive applications for its purchase. In the mean time, whether it shall be doomed to enrich one library, or to be dispersed among many, it is presumed that the utility of the present Catalogue will not be disputed, as whatever may be the fate of the extraordinary series therein described, it will form no unimportant addition to our stores of Bibliography, comprehending as it does more poetical works than any other publication of the kind. They are described with unusual minuteness, and it is believed with accuracy. The result of a careful examination and collation ascertains the date, form, and other particulars of many works of such rare occurrence, as to be accessible to few poetical antiquaries, and should this library be |