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NOTES AND QUERIES. t n s. x. AUG. 29, 1014.

years \vas inseparable from the convivial feast- Among peg tankards mentioned is the one origin- ally belonging to the Abbey of Glastoubuiy, afterwards in the possession of Lord Arundel of Wardour. It held two quarts, the pegs dividing its contents into half-pints, according to the Winchester standard. On it were carved round the sides the twelve Apostles, and on the lid the scene of the Crucifixion. Under ' The Old Work- box ' we get chats about spinning-wheels, and are reminded that St. Distaff's Day, formerly the 7th of January, was the day on which women resumed work after Christmas. The article on musical instruments gives an interesting 'note! of the introduction of the piano. On a playbill of Covent Garden Theatre issued in 1767 it was announced that " Miss Brickler will sing a favourite song from ' Judith," accompanied by Mr. Dibdin on a new instrument called the pianoforte."

The " Chats " close with a list of obsolete household names. Among these are " Ample," an ointment box formerly carried by a medical man ; " Bombard," a large leathern bottle for carrying beer, a term also applied to ancient ale-barrels ; and " Finger guard," to protect .the nails when nibbing pens.

Transactions of the Hunter Archceological Society. Vol. I. No. 1. (Sheffield, the Society.)

TTHIS Society was inaugurated at Sheffield University on the 13th of May, 1912, when a hundred members were enrolled, and we are glad to see that it is now a flourishing association of some 300 members. The objects of the Society are " the promotion of interest in the preserva- tion, excavation, and restoration of the ancient sites, buildings, &<:., in Sheffield and its neigh- bourhood, and in the preservation of local place- names, folk-lore, and dialect ; the collection and preservation of books, manuscripts, maps, coins, -and objects of local, and particularly antiquarian, interest, and the undertaking of the care of such -objects on loan ; the preparation and publica- tion of papers on local history, and of biographical and genealogical accounts of local worthies," &c.

The first paper, by Mr. Charles Drury, rightly gives an account of Joseph Hunter, whose name the Society has adopted in honour of the historian -of Hallamshire. This is followed by a gossip on ' The Customs of Hallamshire,' by our old con- tributor Mr. S. O. Addy, who explains that " the word Hallamshire is a convenient expression for Sheffield and the surrounding villages, such as Ecclesfield, Bradfield, and Handsworth, without attempting to define its original limits." Mr. Edmund Curtis writes on ' Sheffield in the Four- teenth Century ' ; Mr. T. Walter Hall on ' Ye Backer Way ' ; Mr. R. E. Leader on ' The House at the Church Gates ' ; and Mr. W. T. Free- mantle on ' The Rev. Alfred Gatty, D.D., a Bibliography.' An account is also given of the summer excursions.

The illustrations include ' Lady's Bridge in 1844 ' ; 'Ye Racker Way, 1914 ' ; 'A Brass Sealing Box, 1644 ' ; and some ancient local furniture from the late Reginald Gatty's collec- tion, of which Mr. Charles Green furnishes descriptions.

We offer our cordial greetings to this latest of our Archaeological Societies.

BOOKSELLERS' CATALOGUES. AUGUST.

READERS whose wants are apt to be much longer than their purses might do well to consult Catalogue No. 138 issued by Mr. Andrew Baxen- dine of Edinburgh. It contains a large number of useful works offered at low prices. We mention half a score or so of those which happened to fall in with our own line of thought at the moment ; it would be easy to make several other such lists. There is the 1790 edition of Barbour's ; Bruce ' with Pinkerton's Notes and Glossary, 3 vols., 10s. Gd. There is a copy of the edition of Burke in 12 vols. brought out by Bickers, a new copy and out of print, 21. 18s. Gd. Mr. Eckel's ' Biblio- graphy of First Editions of Dickens,' published last year, is offered for 12s. 6<7. ; and we noticed a set of Blackwood's ' Works ' of George Eliot, published at 21. 12s. 6d., to be had here at 1?. 15s. Lord Braybrooke's ' Pepys,' the edition published three years ago in 4 vols., is certainly cheap at. 10s. 6d. ; and the 1902 edition of Lockhart's ' Scott,' now out of print, in 10 vols., is not dear either at SI. 10s. Mr. Baxendine has also a complete set of The Yclloic Book from April, 1894, to its end in April, 1897, the price being 21. 2s. ; and Weiner's translation of Tolstoy the whole of the ' Works ' for which he asks 21. 15s. Qd.

MESSRS. BROWNE & BROWNE of Xewcastle-on- Tyne describe over 1,100 items in their Catalogue No. 109 recently sent us. The principal one is, perhaps, the complete set of the Surtees Society's Publications from 1834 to 1905, running to 111 vols., and offered for SQL We noticed 'Plutarch's Lives ' A. H. dough's edition of the Dryden translation, so called 5n 5 vols., uncut, 1893, 41. 4s. ; a first edition of Johnson's ' Dic- tionary,' a good copy in the original calf, 1755, 4L 4s. ; and a copy of the best edition of Grote's ' Greece,' in 8 vols., 1862,3?. An item which may interest those who care for antiquities and for curious information is the collection, in seven folio volumes, of some 373 engravings, with appropriate letterpress, by different authors, illustrating costume in Great Britain, China, Turkey, Russia, and Austria, ranging in date froiu 1804 to 1818, and having cost over 701., which is here to be had for 161. We may also mention the late S. W. Stevenson's ' Dictionary of Roman Coins,' revised by C. Roach Smith and completed by Frederick W. Madden, 1889, SI. 10s. ; and a copy, priced 51. 5s., of Mr. George Bedford's ' His- tory of Sales of Pictures,' 1899.

MESSRS. CHARLES THURNAM & SONS of Carlisle have sent us their Catalogue No. 16, which is full of good things relating to the North of England, principally Cumberland and Westmorland. It includes books on topography, books on archae- ology and history, volumes of verse, transactions of societies, and even a certain amount of fiction, as well as sundry pamphlets, papers printed for clubs or societies, and records of different sorts and periods. The most unusual of the items ia one of which the description is entitled ' Cale- donian Railway,' consisting of plans of the railway from Carlisle to Edinburgh, on 18 sheets, and plans also of the line to Castle Carly (Dumfries) on 5 sheets, as well as 23 more sheets giving tables of cost, &c., all mounted on linen and bound in leather, 101. 10s.