Treatise on the worship of Priapus

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0096 MS 228
Held at	: Senate House Library, University of London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.senatehouselibrary.ac.uk/our-collections ›
Full title	: Treatise on the worship of Priapus
Date(s)	: [1786]
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 1 volume containing 130 leaves and 17 plates
Name of creator(s)	: Unknown
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Richard Payne Knight (1750-1824) was a numismatist. Having travelled in Sicily, in 1777, he began to form a magnificent collection of bronzes, which he bequeathed upon his death to the British Museum. He was MP for Leominster, 1780, and Ludlow, 1784-1806. He was Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries, and wrote extensively on ancient art.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Manuscript copy, [1786], of a work by Richard Payne Knight entitled An Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus, lately existing at Isernia, in the Kingdom of Naples...to which is added a discourse on the worship of Priapus, and its connexion with the mystic theology of the ancients, which was privately published and distributed by Payne Knight in 1786, who gave a copy to each member of the Dilettanti Society. The work, however, was so severely attacked by Thomas James Mathias that the author endeavoured to buy back all the copies. It is unclear whether this manuscript is the original of Payne Knight's work, or a copy made by another person following the publication of the work.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Single item.

Conditions governing access:

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Uncatalogued material may not be seen. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Finding aids:

Collection level description.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

From the Library of the London Institution.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Richard Payne Knight, An Account of the Remains of the Worship of Priapus, lately existing at Isernia, in the Kingdom of Naples: in two letters; one from Sir William Hamilton ... to Sir Joseph Banks ... and the other from a person residing at Isernia: to which is added a discourse on the worship of Priapus, and its connexion with the mystic theology of the ancients (T. Spilsbury: London, 1786).

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Sarah Smith as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Rules or conventions:
ISAD(G) 2nd edition, and NCA rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names (1997).

Date(s) of descriptions:
Jun 2000