BRITISH MUSE'UM. An important na tional institution in London. By the will of Sir Hans Sloane (q.v.), his great natural his tory and art collections, with a large number of books and manuscripts. were in 1753 offered to the Government for £20.000, the first cost having been over £50.000. The necessary funds were raised by a lottery, and the collection, to gether with the Harkian and Cottonian libraries the latter of which, presented to the nation in 1700, was the real beginning of the museum), were arranged in Montague House, which was bought for the purpose. The institution was opened in 1759, under the name which it now bears. The acquisition of new collections made enlargement necessary: and finally, in 1823, the eastern wing of the present building was erected, to receive the library of George M. The com pletion of the structure was delayed until 1847. It is a hollow square, Ionic in architecture, with an imposing facade 370 feet long on Great Russell Street, flanked by the residences of the chief officers. The principal subsequent addition was the splendid reading-room erected within the quadrangle (1854-57), at a cost of 1150.000. It is circular in form, with a dome 106 feet in height and 140 in diameter. The library of the museum contains over three miles of book cases, eight feet high, which is equivalent to space for 1,000,000 octavo volumes. The read ing-room proper in the dome contains 60,000 more. It has accommodation for 200 readers, and in details of arrangement, ventilation, etc., is admirably adapted to its purpose, thanks very largely to the unwearying care of Sir Antonio (then Mr.) Panizzi (q.v.), the principal li brarian, during its construction. When the nat ural-history departments claimed more space, a new building was erected for their exclusive use in Cromwell Road, near the South Kensington Museum, at a cost of nearly £400.000. To this which has been in use since 1SS1, the zoological, mineralogical, geological, and botanical depart ments were transferred, all very rich in speci mens and constantly increasing. The main building, was also considerably enlarged in 1873 and 1SSS, for the benefit of the departments of Greek sculpture and of prints; and several acres of ground adjoining were secured in 1895 for future extension.
Only a brief account can be given of the wealth of collections contained in the museum. They were originally arranged in three depart ments—printed books, manuscripts, and objects of natural history. There are now eight in the museum proper.
Printed Books.—This is the largest depart ment, and, from Sir Bans Sloane's original col lection of 50.000 volumes, has grown to enor mous proportions, by purchase, bequests. and donations. Under the Copyright Act of 1842. it receives a copy of every hook published in England. The annual increase from all sources is nearly 50,000 volumes, and the total number of printed hooks is now about 2.000,000. exceed ed only by the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. The old manuscript catalogue, which used to extend to some :3000 volumes, has at last been superseded by a printed one, begun in 18S1 under the supervision of the learned librarian, Dr. Garnett, and requiring about 600 volumes. The most extensive and valuable additions have been the royal collections given by the last three Georges, David Garrick's collection of plays (1779), the natural-history library of Sir Joseph Banks (1820). and the Grenville collection (1847). Over 50.000 printed and 20,000 manu seript ;naps form a special sub-department. Ac cess to the library is granted by the issuing of a reader's ticket, on a written application accom panied by the recommendation of a householder. The total number of persons using the reading room in 1900 was 198,566.
Manuscript Department.—This now contains upward of 55.000 volumes, besides charters. seals, and Egyptian, Greek, and Roman' papyri. It includes the Cottonian manuscripts (see COT TON, SIR ROBERT rich in documents re lating to English history; the Harleian collec tions (see HARLEY, ROBERT), specially rich in illuminated and classical manuscripts; those from the royal library given by George IT. in 1757. and containing, among other very valu able things, the Codex Alexandrinus (q.v. under BIBLE) ; the Basilicon Doron of James 1. in his own handwriting; and many priceless literary autographs. The most important recent addi tions to this department are the Stowe manu scripts, purchased from Lord Ashburnham, and 430 volumes of the Duke of Newcastle's papers.