Manuscript Search

The boards have become detached. Otherwise the manuscript is in good condition. The notes are written margins ruled on the lefthand side in two hands, presumably those of Coles, father and son.

These appear to be the preacher's detailed sermon notes on the texts listed in the table near the end of the volume. The DWL cataloguer records that this volume is missing a table, but it appears three pages before the end and was likely missed by the cataloguer for this reason.

273 pages.

The manuscript is more fragile than the others in the series. The boards have become separated from the leaves.

pp. 282. This volume is in better repair than earlier volumes, where the leaves are coming away from the binding. The very last page of the volume begins to put down thoughts on 1 Peter 5:8, but they are not developed enough to merit an entry.

The volume is spectacularly beautiful. It has a contemporary early 18th-century binding, with an older manuscript pasted beneath as filler (provenance unknown). Someone has reinforced the tooled design on the cover in ink and on the spine is written "Mr. Frenchman's Sermons." An owner's signature with an elaborate flourish is written on f. 1v. It appears to be "J. Taylor." There is a table of contents indicating the seventeen sermons for which notes have been taken in the volume, the texts on which the sermons were preached, and the page number on which each set of notes begins. The book itself is paginated by the scribe. The heading for each set of notes is contained within a carefully designed box at the top of the notes.

This volume is written in same hand as MS 24.31, but is more hastily done, without the neat flourishes, ruled margins, good quality dark ink, and decorative elements that made that volume so beautiful. Even the binding -- similar to that used in 24.31 -- is in poorer conditions, and less well decorated. 4to.ff.150.

The volume is in decent condition, with leather-covered boards (the spine of which has disintegrated).

Fair copies in leather-bound notebook. Ruled margins with some marginal annotations. Manuscript was created in 1721, presumably from notes or earlier copies made when the lectures were given in 1691.

Small notebook of rough notes. The handwriting is large and untidy with many corrections and deletions.

Each sermon is written neatly in one or more small pamphlets, formed by folding a single sheet of paper, which are held together with paper or metal fastenings. The hand is small but fairly legible. Each sermon has been assigned a piece number; however, this number appears only on the first pamphlet. When there is more than one pamphlet, the author has identified their order on the first pages as "1st sheet," "2d sheet," etc.

Notebook in marbled paper covers. On the inside flyleaf is written "Manuscript volume of Matthew Henry's sermons written by himself -- received through the Bretts, Elizabeth Wainwright." In a different ink is added "And presented by her to Matthew Henry Lee, Vicar of Hanmer. Belle Vue, Shrewsbury May 13th 1870."

Small notebook bound in leather with metal clasps. Notes have been written starting at each end of the volume. The pages are numbered 1-84 from one end. The rest of the volume is unpaginated.

Sheaf of unbound papers containing only the funeral sermon, neatly written out in full with a short preface describing how the preacher learned of his friend's death and came to preach the funeral sermon.

Small pamphlets, some held together with original pins (similar to those of Ms 28.31, Sermons by Owen Stockton), others simply folded. The handwriting is neat but very tiny.

Small notebook bound in leather. "Kath. Savage's Book" on second page. Katherine Savage is probably Sarah's daughter. The pagination is original and has been worn away with the corners of the paper on many pages.

Single small pamphlet (unbound) containing one sermon. The sermon is written out neatly without marginalia.

A series of small paper pamphlets (unbound), each containing one of Henry's sermons.