Houghton MS Eng 606

• Owner

• Primary compiler

Rare.

Later green vellum, subsequently rebacked.

Two primary hands, with a Table of Contents in another hand, and a possible other hand in the ambigragh section. The two primary hands are alternating, not consecutive—Rolfe's hand attributes the author of one of the second hand's poems, and annotates another. 

Annotations of famous people’s names.

Ambigraph section begun with prayers and so perhaps originally intended as a section for prayers instead of poetry.

Begins by using small lines to indiciate a new stanza (text is too close together to tell items apart otherwise) eg. pp. 37, 39. Then on pp. 71–74 stanzas are numbered with bold roman numerals. Then the rest of the manuscript, the stanzas are numbered with arabic numerals.

pp. 77–167 items are seperated by two clean (seemingly rulered) lines, whereas before that and in the ambigraph section, the items simply follow one another, or have a short, informal line scratched after the last word.

Ambigraph. Switch in orientation occurs between pp. 166–167. 

"J. Rolfe" signed on front flyleaf. 

“W.W.W. Tythendye[?] 1 St. James’s Square Notting Hill, W” written in ink on inside front-cover. 

Apparently a G. Davies owned the book at some unspecified point.

Paginated (both sections, pp. 1–167 and 1–30 with one overlapping page paginated as both p. 167 and p. 30). 

Yes, for both hands' sections, but seemingly in a third eighteenth-century hand.