man twenty mark, the Spanish twenty-five peseta, the Argentine five peso, the twenty-five franc piece struck by Belgium in 1848 and proposed in 1867 by Napoleon the III. for France, approach each other very closely, so closely that a slight change in each of them-very slight compared to the alterations which all systems have undergone in the past-would make them of equal weight and fineness. A gold coin weighing eight grammes nine-tenths fine would be a compromise upon which all could unite. Such a coin, which would still be called a sovereign, five dollars, twenty marks and twenty-five francs, would leave the subordinate silver and copper money untouched, and retain the nomenclature and divisions of the different systems as they now are. A point of contact would be secured, while each national coinage would be locally independent.

It seems eminently fitting that our country should be the first to propose officially such a unit. Standing among the foremost of the progressive nations, with local prejudices less deeply rooted than those of other countries, any plan offered by us would receive respectful and attentive consideration.

THE CAMBRIDGE PRESS.

BY ANDREW MCF. DAVIS.

A COLLECTION of Dunster MSS. in the archives of Harvard College, contains much that is interesting. Several of the papers in this collection have already been published, copies of the same documents having been preserved elsewhere. Many of them relate to the controversy between the heirs of the Glover Estate and Dunster, in which various suits were tried in 1656. The question of the ownership of the press came thus to be considered, and an attempt was apparently made to ascertain the profits on the several publications while it was under Dunster's superintendence. From papers bearing on these points some new information can be obtained.

Two items entered in the College Books concerning the press and the first font of letters at Cambridge, have especially attracted the attention of those who have written about the early benefactors of the college. The first of these is the entry made by President Hoar in 1674, of the names of the "Benefactors of the first font of Letters for Printing in Cambridge, New England." The second is the statement. that "Jos. Glover" gave to the college a "font of printing letters" and that "some gentlemen of Amsterdam gave towards the furnishing of a Printing Press with letters, forty nine pounds and something more."

1 In an old steward's Account Book in the archives, credit is given Longe, a student, on the 9th. of the 10th, 1653-as follows:

Payd to the President by intering two actiones

and again on the 9th of the 4th, 1654

1lb: 0: 0.

1lb: 0: 0.

Paid by Mr. Dunster 20s by two actiones These are both credits given Longe for money advanced to Dunster for some purpose, and I know of no other interpretation that can be given to them than that the money so advanced was applied in payment of court fees in some of Dunster's litigations.

"Joss. Glover" whose name is recorded as a benefactor of the college, sailed in 1638 for New England, bringing with him a printing press, types and a practical printer. Glover died on the passage. Dunster married his widow, and it is through this circumstance that a doubt is raised about the ownership of the press. We can trace the types into the hands of the college through the entry above quoted. Stephen Daye, the practical printer, came to Cambridge and worked the press. In this collection of papers we have the bond given by him to "Josse Glover" for the return of moneys advanced by Glover. In the information given by the Corporation and Overseers to the General Court in 1655, we have the statement that the " College hath as appears by the Inventory thereof, a few utensils. with the press. We also know from the same source that the press was then in the President's house; that the revenue from it was small, and that the working of the press was not only inconvenient but was considered hurtful and dangerous. There would be no reason to doubt that the college was the owner of the press were it not for the papers in the suit of " Glover against Dunster," in which the jury by their verdict charged Dunster with the following item, "The Presse & the P'fitt of it £40."

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At a later period in the controversy, all matters in dispute between Dunster and those who were interested in the Joss. Glover estate were submitted to the court and in the decision of the court Dunster was charged with the following item: "To printing presse & paper £50."1

1 Among the papers on file at East Cambridge, in the suit of John Glover against Henry Dunster, there is a paper headed "Mr Dunster acknowledge to receive." One of the items of the paper is "Presse & p'fit £40.00.00." Stephen Daye also made an affidavit as to the value of the press, as follows: "I Steven Day aged 62 years do attest that the charges wch Mr Glover expended in Engl. for the p'curing of the Printing Presse was besides fraight & other petty expenses at least twenty pounds the wch Presse hath been imp'ved by order of Mr Dunster as appeareth by another testimony I have given in, also I do attest that the same materials that were brought over hither as above said are worth in this place at least 40lb.

Sworn in court. 2 (2) '56

THO. DANFORTH, Recorder."

Among the papers in the College archives is one which may help in solving this question. It is an affidavit made by Stephen Daye as to the cost of the paper received by Dunster and the amount then remaining in his possession. It was evidently used in the suits connected with the Glover estate. It was dated 1, (2). 56. and contains this clause: "until such time as Mr Dunster sould the presse to the colledge upon his removall from thence." Here we have the ownership of the press by the college fixed and the manner described in which it was obtained. The assertion is made by Thomas in his History of Printing that the press owned by the college must have been the Glover Press. Thomas, so far as appears, arrived at this conclusion from sources of information independent of this affidavit, and notwithstanding he was aware that Dunster was charged with the press in the findings of the court.1

In one of the papers in the archives, estimates are given of the paper required for, and the cost of printing several of the early publications at Cambridge. Joseph Willard, to whom this paper was submitted, easily identified its purpose, and in a letter to T. W. Harris, which is on file with the Dunster MSS., he states that it must have been prepared for use in the Glover suits.2

1 Thomas publishes several of the papers in these Glover suits in notes to his first volume.

2 The following affidavit, filed among the papers of the Glover-Dunster suits, shows that Mr. Willard's conclusion was correct: "Wee whose names are under written being desired to give an acct of the revenues of the Printing Presse during the time it was imp'ved by Mr Dunster, and for that end having spent some time togeth to recount the sevrall impressions that have gone forth from the same during the time that Mr Dunster had the dispose thereof. We do find that a just allowance being given for the hier of the laboro's about ye presse, [or at least such as was allowed to the printers], and for the paper with other smal expenses for utensils about the presse the remainder of the Profits doth amount to about 1921 00% 004. Weh we do conceive to be the truth according to or best knowledge being employed about the workes and in witnes thereof do subscribe or names this 26, 11 mo, 1655. STEVEN DAY SAMUEL GREEN”

The paper mentioned in the text has neither date nor signature. It was by means of the memoranda in it that Mr. Willard identified its purpose. The net

The paper was folded when the notations upon it were made, precisely as sheets are folded to form a quarto. The notations were, however, all made upon one face of the sheet, and when it was inserted in the book in which it is now preserved, the sheet was flattened out. This not only threw the entries out of their natural sequence, but also inverted some of them. It was only after an attempt to restore the items in position in order to inspect them all at one and the same time, that I could see that they were not only classified under the headings "Printed by Mr. Day" and By Bro. Green," but that there was also a probable chronological sequence in the entries of the titles of the books, based upon the dates of their publication.

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The entries, under the heading Printed by Mr. Day," upon the first page as the sheet was folded, are a number of calculations with reference to the Psalm Book, the Law Book and other books, the apparent purpose of which was to fix the amounts received by Dunster from the sale of the books, the amount and value of the paper required for them, and the expense of printing them. Certain palpable errors of entry in some of the columns would indicate that the estimate was a hastily made abstract of the work done by Daye and Green, the main results being correctly preserved, while no pains were taken to compare the separate items. Parallel with the entries alluded to and on the opposite, or succeeding page, were a series of entries giving details concerning several of the publications. They are as follows:

Freeman's Oath.2

Psa. booke.3 33 sheets 1700 collated

charges against Dunster in the estimates were for books published in Daye's time £114. 12. 1, in Green's time £78- total £192. 12. 014. The calculations were rough and did not include a number of books which were issued from the Cambridge press during this period.

1 See Appendix, page 302.

2 Printed by S. Daye, Cambridge, 1639. Transactions Am. Ant. Soc., Vol. VI., p. 309.

3 The Whole Booke of Psalms, &c. Imprinted 1640. Ibid., p. 309.