![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Although this are now dispersed across the British Library and indeed other institutions, a quick check of the online database of Sloane Printed Books will confirm if a researcher has already examined your copy and found evidence to support a Sloane provenance. Many Western printed books acquired at the foundation of the British Museum (and therefore published before 1753) have their origins in the collections of Sir Hans Sloane. Provenance information for the British Library’s incunabula (15th-century printed books) can often be found in Catalogue of Books printed in the XVth Century now in the British Museum and online in the 15th Century Book Trade Project’s Material Evidence in Incunabula database (British Library items can be found under ‘LondonBL’ when browsing by Holding Institution). Some specialist catalogues can be particularly helpful. It is only recently that provenance details have begun to be added as a matter of course to records in Explore the British Library. Nevertheless, it is always worth checking to see whether your book is one of the few that does include this information. Historically, the main printed book catalogues of the British (Museum) Library did not generally record the earlier ownership or copy-specific information about the books it describes. In these instances a range of external and internal evidence can be sought. More often, however, you will have a British Library book in hand and will want to find out who its previous owners were. Book sale catalogues may also prove to be a helpful resource in reconstructing historic collections dispersed at auction or via bookdealers, and annotated copies may identify subsequent owners. In these cases the resources listed in the guide to Major named collections of printed books now in the British Library may provide the information needed to locate and confirm the identity of those books today. Sometimes you may already know the identity of the individual or institution whose books you wish to trace in the library’s collection. Undertaking provenance research at the British Library This considers the unique characteristics of each copy (binding, annotations, marks of ownership, etc.), and can provide insights into who read what, how ideas spread, and how books were traded as commodities. Investigating the previous history of a particular book or reconstructing the content of an historical library are aspects of provenance research. For many volumes, and indeed for early books acquired more recently, there may also be a story to discover about the private individuals, bookdealers, institutions and even monarchs who owned them in the past. For the majority, this will include a period of ownership by the library of the British Museum, most of whose printed book collections were transferred to the new institution. All books already in the library by then will therefore have been acquired second hand. ![]()
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