University of Virginia Library

COLLECTIONS OF AMERICANA

The manuscripts in the Library of Congress, the Smyth of Nibley papers in the
New York Public Library, and the patent books in Virginia are the only original
records of the company or of the colony previous to 1625 now in America. But
there are two public collections of Americana which are extremely valuable for this
period: The John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island, which
contains only books on America published before the year 1800, and the New York
Public Library.

In the John Carter Brown Library are two royal proclamations, which are the
only documents of the character for the period in America; while a declaration of a
division of land in 1616, which is a supplementary pamphlet in the Declaration by
the Company of June 22, 1620, has no duplicate in existence, although there is an
imperfect copy of the latter in the British Museum. The copy of the 1620 declara-
tion in the Lenox Library is also unique, since it contains a different supplementary
pamphlet of which there is but one other to be found, neither of which has hereto-
fore been noted.[127] It is a declaration of November 15, 1620, concerning the dispatch
of supplies, and proves by its date that this is a later edition of the declaration of
June 22. The John Carter Brown Library also contains a unique treatise by John
Brinsley, bearing the date 1622, the only other copy of which is in the Lenox
Library. It has also two sermons, one by Patrick Copland, entitled Virginia's God
be Thanked,[128] with duplicates in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, and of the
Pequot Library, Southport, Connecticut, and one by John Donne, of which there
are copies in the Lenox, the Ayer, and the Congressional libraries. In addition
to these rare books, the Declaration of Edward Waterhouse of 1622, containing
"The Inconveniences that have happened, 1622," and Observations to be followed for
making of fit roomes for silk worms, 1620, including "A valuation of the commodi-
ties growing and to be had in Virginia; rated as they are worth," are to be found in
the Providence collection, while the latter is also in the Harvard and the Lenox
libraries.[129] In the same year a Treatise on the art of making silk was published by
John Banoeil, containing a royal letter of encouragement to the Earl of Southampton,
now to be found both in the Brown and the Lenox libraries.

The New York Public Library is second only in value to the John Carter
Brown Library for this subject. In addition to the books noted above it contains
two unique publications of the company, the first is a broadside of May 17, 1620,
which is the only copy known to the Editor. A catalogue of Bernard Quaritch, in

May, 1887, describes such a broadside, which is known to have been purchased by
Mr. Kalbfleisch. The second is A Note of the Shipping, etc., sent to Virginia in
1621. The Cholmondeley copy of this also was sold by Mr. Quaritch to Mr.
Kalbfleisch.[130] A third copy of the same is in the collection of printed broadsides
of the Society of Antiquaries in London.

The volumes of printed material relating to the Virginia Company, which are in
the Harvard Library, have been mentioned above.

Two private collections deserve mention for their comparatively large number
of important publications of the company, the private collection in New York
and that of Mr. Edward Ayer, in Chicago, Illinois.[131] In addition to twenty other
rare publications of the company Mr. Ayer has a unique book entitled "Greevovs
Grones for the Poore," 1621. It refers to the Virginia Company in its address
only, and in the statement of the number of poor that had been sent to Virginia,
but is of value for an understanding of that movement. The other private
collection is of about the same size. It contains the duplicate of the 1620
declaration in the Lenox and the only known copy of a four-page tract entitled
"Declaration how the monies were disposed (being) collections for the Grammar
Schooles," by Patrick Copland.[132]