With regard to chronology, it may be roughly asserted that the
earliest books which occur are Psalters of the thirteenth century.
Next to them come Bibles, of which an enormous issue took place
before the middle of the fourteenth century. These are followed by
an endless series of books of Hours, which, as the sixteenth century
is reached, appear in several vernacular languages. Those in
English, being both very rare and of great importance in liturgical
history, are of a value altogether out of proportion to the beauty
of their illuminations. Side by side with this succession are the
Evangelistina, which, like the example mentioned above, are of the
highest merit, beauty, and value; followed by sermons and homilies,
and the Breviary, which itself shows signs of growth as the years go
on. The real Missal, with which all illuminated books used to be
confounded, is of rare occurrence, but I have given a collation of
it also. Besides these devotional or religious books, I must
mention chronicles and romances, and the semi-religious and moral
allegories, such as the "Pelerinage de l'Ame," which is said to have
given Bunyan the machinery of the "Pilgrim's Progress." Chaucer's
and Gower's poetry exists in many MSS., as does the "Polychronicon"
of Higden; but, as a rule, the mediaeval chronicles are of single
origin, and were not copied. To collate MSS. of these kinds is
quite impossible, unless by carefully reading them, and seeing that
the pages run on without break.

I should advise the young collector who wishes to make sure of
success not to be too catholic in his tastes at first, but to
confine his attention to a single period and a single school. I
should also advise him to make from time to time a careful catalogue
of what he buys, and to preserve it even after he has weeded out
certain items. He will then be able to make a clear comparative