St John's College I.21 (James 317, Wagstaff 3467)

Walter Bayley, of New College Oxford, Regius Professor of Physic (1529-92): 'Parergon explicationis nostrae in tertiam partem Galeni de arte parva ubi agitur de potu convalescentium et senum'. Dedication to an unidentified party dated Cal. Jan. 1582. Apparently never printed.

Manuscript extra information

220x170 mm. 85 fos. On fo. 1r in Thomas Baker's hand, 'Liber olim ornatissimi viri Thomae Wagstaff', and 'Tho: Baker dedit Coll: Jo: Socius ejectus'. Small College bookplate (eighteenth century) sideways in lower margin to fo. 4r. Three fos excised between 32 and 33. 'C 10 d' on back cover. The MS was purchased by Wagstaff as lot 103 for 7s 6d at the sale of the books of Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (d. 1685), 21 Nov. 1687. It may have belonged earlier to William Cecil, Lord Burghley. See Bibliotheca Illustris: sive Catalogus variorum librorum ... quorum auctio habebitur Londini ad insigne Ursi in Vico dicto Ave-Mary-Lane, prope Templum D. Pauli (London, 1687: Wing A801a), preface and p. 86. A copy of this sale catalogue owned by Thomas Baker and annotated with prices and names of the purchasers for all MS items is at SJC Dd.9.1013.

Two hands (italic for dedication), sixteenth century, a clean presentation copy. Paper ruled with margins. Handsome tooled and stamped white vellum binding, slightly damaged at edges.

See P. R. Robinson, Catalogue of dated and datable manuscripts c.737-1600 in Cambridge libraries (Cambridge, 1988) vol. I, p. 89, no. 311; vol. II pl. 385 (fol. 3).