Leeds Brotherton Lt 24

• Primary compiler
• Major author

• Major author

• Major author

f. 8r-v from back
Local title: A song.
Attributed author: Richard West
Adaptation: n/a
Other variants: n/a
Other: n/a

ff. 3r–4r from the back

Local title: Collins complaint.

Attributed author: n/a

Adaptation: n/a

Other variants: n/a

Other: n/a

f. 46v-47r from back
Local title: A song.
Attributed author: Barton Booth
Adaptation: n/a
Other variants: n/a
Other: n/a

Occasional.

Pre-bound paperbooks, made from at least two separate books. Subsequently rebound together after compilation. Text frequently runs into the gutter, suggesting subsequent binding of at least two paperbooks or perhaps several loose gatherings that were once paginated continuously but are now broken into blocks.

[Lt 53 (by the same compiler) is also made up of at least two pre-bound paperbooks, and was composed around the same time.]

Red morocco gilt, back board and flyleaves nearly detached.

Yes, occasional.

Print paste-in figures of machines on flyleafs at the beginning, end, and in the center of the book. 

Two hands, Coles’ hand is the primary, though they are compiling simultaneously given the dates, and the contributions they make to each other’s items. The second hand copied a lot more prose items compared to Coles’ hand, though they both copied some verse and some prose. 

Apparent creation of the book out of at least two previous books, with segments of each book intermingled, shows a large-scale organizing effort subsequent to compilation.

Same compiler and similar compilation period to Leeds Brotherton Lt 53.

p. 33 large ownership mark dated 1729, and subsequent list of names in fainter ink that are partially covered by a swirl, presumably marking the end of the last item. Given that the previous item follows poems dated 1740, perhaps this ownership mark and list were copied before the manuscript was conceived of as a poetry miscellany.

p. 110–111 (the middle of an item attributed to Coles) sees the second hand take over for a page and a bit, taking up mid-sentence on p. 110. The only possible explanation for this, given that the beginning and the end of the item are in Coles’ hand, is that for whatever reason, he momentarily passed the book to a friend or family member to continue copying for him, and took it back shortly after. On p. 130 Coles also annotates one of the second hand’s items.

Some decorative marks between items (eg pp. 18, 23, 44), though most items have no mark at all between them.

If an item fills more than one page, the title is often written at the top of each page it occupies.

The second section (after the Table of Contents) is largely prose, and mostly Christian philosophy; it has the appearance of a commonplace book to some degree, with items like “Examples of sudden Death” (p. 8) and “Examples of great Strength” (p. 33). The first section is not so overtly religious.

Quite a difficult to follow manuscript because items aren’t always copied over consecutive pages. Items are frequently completed on pages elsewhere in the book, with notation to see that other page number; it seems that blank pages were left for these items (titles entered and blanks left), but there was a miscalculation of the needed space at times. References to other items in the form of “Look back to p. —” or “Look forward to page —”. In short, this manuscript was compiled out of order.

Yes, p. 109, which is signed and dated both when and where the item was written, and when and where it was copied into this manuscript. Also p. 120, and likely more items.

Second flyleaf is very neatly laid out, reads: "Benj. Coles At Great Forster’s near Egham In Surry. Owns this Book 24^th May MDCCXXXII."

Benjamin Coles' signature frequently beneath items throughout the manuscript.

Front flyleaf says “purchased by R Brown for a valuable Consideration of Benjamin Coles Anno 1754…August 8th.” 

Paginated (by Coles: pp. 3–208 + pp. 105–118 + [10 pages] + TofC + [13 pages] + pp. 4–104 + pp. 209–212 + p. 118).

p. 45 print paste-in "The Devil of Tinkerton."

Yes, on pp. 116–­117 of the PDF (unpaginated in the manuscript), after the center flyleaves which introduce the pp. 1-104 section.

The Table of Contents only includes the items in the remainder of the manuscript (primarily prose). These page numbers are not always accurate, especially because items are sometimes copied on non-consecutive pages given the sporadic, disorganized nature of this manuscript’s compilation. The list is not entirely in ascending numerical order.