The library of his excellency Sir. George Grey presented by him to the South African Public Library, early printed books.

This catalogue of English early printed books in the Sir George Grey Collection at the South African Public Library was compiled by Wilhelm Bleek . It was printed by Saul Solomon in Cape Town in 1867 and sold by Nicholas Trübner in London. This catalogue details 316 individual works printed in England from the beginning of printing in that country until the end of the seventeenth century. The collection includes early printed books by Caxton and his contemporaries and copies of works by early English vernacular poets. Notable works include a Caxton edition of the works of Chaucer, two early printed copies of The Vision of Piers Plowman (1550, 1561), John Gower’s De confessione amantis (1554), works by George Gascoigne (1575) and Spenser’s The faerie queene (1590-96). There are also 46 works of Daniel Defoe published between 1697 and 1754.

The catalogue has a contents page organising it into the following subjects: histories; political literature; theology; astrology and magic; romances; poetry; moral philosophy; law books and science and travel. Works are numbered and entries are given in great detail including title, author, translator (where applicable), place of publication, date of publication, printer, format, extent. There follow detailed notes describing the material features of the books, their provenance and notable owners and their value. Bleek includes a preface introducing the collection and an appendix listing all the publishers and printers whose publications are listed.

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