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British Museum.—Arranges to consult McKerrow and Greg about choosing books for the Museum from the Huth Collection, and invites McKerrow to subscribe to a publication in honour of G. F. Warner.

(With envelope.)

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Transcript

British Museum

20. Jany 1911

Dear McKerrow,

I’ve got Fortescue’s leave to consult you & Greg abt one or two difficulties as to the (conditional) choice of books for the B.M. from the Huth Collection {1}—that is if you will suffer yourself to be consulted. Greg will look in here tomorrow (Saty) afternoon to see the books we have got up. If you can come in then so much the better, but if you can’t I’ll be glad to see you any day. It is more convenient however in† days other than Saturday to take you into Fortescue’s room (where the books are) between 1∙30 & 2∙30 than at other times.

2. Are you a lover of Warner or of MSS. If so, you may like to join a game which is on foot to reproduce the miniatures (occupations of the months) from a jolly Flemish MS. of which he is fond in his (Warner’s) {2} honour. He leaves in October & as it will take some time to get the thing done a start is being made. A copy of the book will be presented to each subscriber of a guinea, & I think he will get good value for his money!

Please regard both parts of this letter as confidential.

Yours ever,
A W Pollard

[Direction on envelope:] R. B. McKerrow Esq. | 4 Phoenix Lodge Mansions | Brook Green | Hammersmith | W.

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The envelope was postmarked at London, W.C., at 7.30 p.m. on 20 January 1911. The number ‘104357’ has been marked on the back in pencil.

{1} The book-collector Alfred Henry Huth (1850–1910) directed by his will that if at any time his library should be sold the Trustees of the British Museum should be allowed to choose fifty volumes from it. The principal conditions were that the Trustees should not select a better copy of any volume already in the Museum except by way of exchange, every copy so exchanged being counted as one of the fifty; that the volumes selected should be marked with the words ‘Huth Bequest’; and that the Trustees should print a separate catalogue of them. See the Catalogue of the Fifty Manuscripts and Printed Books bequeathed to the British Museum by Alfred H. Huth (1912), which contains an introduction by Pollard.

{2} ‘Warner’s’ was added above ‘his’. The brackets have been supplied.

† Sic.

Postcard from Alfred Henry Huth, 5 Aug. 1909, one sheet from someone at Chatsworth, answering questions about books there, with Greg's questions clipped and pasted on the verso, with two sheets about the 1602 Merry Wives of Windsor copies held by Huth and at Chatsworth.