Seal of Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke, from Lansdowne MS. 203.

The Lansdowne manuscripts are a significant named collection of the British Library, based on the collection of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne.[1] The purchase of the collection by the British Museum was in 1807.[2]

The main features of the collection, as outlined by Nicholas Harris Nicolas, are:[3]

  • State papers and correspondence of Lord Burghley.
  • Papers of Sir Julius Caesar.
  • Papers of White Kennett; his manuscripts passed to James West and so to Lansdowne.[2]
  • Historical papers from the 15th century to 18th century, relating to major figures in English history.
  • William Petyt's parliamentary papers, and papers of legal interest.
  • Topographical and heraldic collections.

Notes

  1. British Library, Manuscripts: Closed collections.
  2. 1 2 Dictionary of National Biography, Kennett, White, D.D. (1660–1728), bishop of Peterborough, by Thompson Cooper. Published 1892.
  3. Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas, A Description of the Contents, Objects, and Uses of the Various Works Printed by Authority of the Record Commission (1831), pp. 106–7; Google Books.
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