The architectural history of the University of Cambridge, and of the colleges of Cambridge and Eton . gs are later, having evidently been put up during themastership of Thomas Eden, (Master 1626—45), as his 1 [History of Trinity Hall, Vol. I. p. 226.]VOL. III. 29 450 THE LIBRARY. arms appear on the end of the bookcases. They are therefore aremarkable instance of a deliberate return to ancient forms at atime when a different type had begun to be adopted cases and seats (figs. 14, 15) are set on two sleepers, as atMerton College, Oxford (fig. 12). They are of oak, 6 feet 7 in
The architectural history of the University of Cambridge, and of the colleges of Cambridge and Eton . gs are later, having evidently been put up during themastership of Thomas Eden, (Master 1626—45), as his 1 [History of Trinity Hall, Vol. I. p. 226.]VOL. III. 29 450 THE LIBRARY. arms appear on the end of the bookcases. They are therefore aremarkable instance of a deliberate return to ancient forms at atime when a different type had begun to be adopted cases and seats (figs. 14, 15) are set on two sleepers, as atMerton College, Oxford (fig. 12). They are of oak, 6 feet 7 incheslong, and 7 feet high, measured to the top of the ornamentalfinial at the ends, and 2 feet wide. In their general outline andplan they offer a remarkable resemblance to those at Merton,but there are some equally remarkable features which are quiteoriginal. There is a sloping desk at the top, beneath whichthere was a single shelf for books (a, fig. 15). The books werechained to an iron bar which passed under the desk, and throughthe two vertical ends of the case. At the end farthest from the. Fig. 16. Lock at the end of the bookcases in the Library of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. wall, the hasp of the lock is hinged to the bar, and secured by twokeys (fig. 16). The bars and locks remain, but the chains have BOOKCASES AT QUEENS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 451 been long since removed. The position of the bar renders itprobable that each chain was attached to the top, and not tothe side, of the book which it secured. Beneath the shelf therewas a sliding desk, as is proved by the existence, on most of thecases, of the slip of wood (ibid, b) on which it rested. At thebottom of the case there was a plinth (ibid, c), replacing thebar in this position elsewhere. The reader could thereforeconsult his convenience, and work either sitting or standing. A somewhat similar arrangement had been adopted in thelibrary of Queens College1, which forms part of the originalbuildings completed in 1448. The
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