Studies in English Official Historical Documents (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from Studies in English Official Historical Documents Amongst the numerous works which have dealt, at different times, with the history of the Public Records and with the description of their nature or uses, it is scarcely surprising that the great majority are due to the professional zeal of native archivists. We should also be prepared to find that, with several important exceptions these works have been produced by private and not by official enterprise. The bibliography of this class of antiquarian literature is, indeed, extensive and includes, besides the elementary essays of 16th and 17th century official antiquaries, several valuable works produced during the Victorian period. Moreover, during the last thirty years, these unofficial printed books may be supplemented by numerous articles and other periodical essays which are not exclusively published in antiquarian journals. At the same time none of these published books or articles will be found to deal in a comprehensive manner with the several aspects of the national Archives which concern the historical student. The practical Guide to the official sources does not indulge in any disquisitions upon their formulas or scripts. Similarly the hand-book of Palaeography is not concerned with the historical aspect of these documents, nor does the essay in Diplomatic deal with the principles of their classification. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.