Newcastle University

These books are a very small sample of the c. 450 volumes which, in addition to a remarkably generous monetary sum, were bequeathed to the Library in 1998 by Mrs. Marjorie Robinson, the widow of Philip Robinson, antiquarian bookdealer and a native of Newcastle. A larger selection is on display in the Robinson Library until early August 2000.

The volumes in the bequest date from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Amongst them are:

• texts of Prior and Milton which once belonged to Alexander Pope, together with presentation copies by Pope of his own works to his friend Martha Blount.
• rare pamphlets by Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.
• early editions of Italian writers such as Dante, Boccaccio and Tasso.
• musical works, including a 14th century gradual.

and in particular

• 16th, 17th and 18th century books about sea-voyages, exploration and the work of missionaries, especially in africa and the Americas.

The collection is multilingual, with texts being not just in English, but in Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch and Czech.

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