The Composition of the Standfast Library catalogue compared to the Bader-Hatcher Acquisition

The catalogue for the Standfast Library was published in 1863, more than 100 years after Rev. William Standfast donated the books to the Bluecoat School. The catalogue was printed by Stevenson, Bailey, and Smith at Wheeler Gate in Nottingham. It lists 1,412 books divided into Theology, Philosophy, History, General Literature, Fine Arts, and Law, Politics, Naval & Military Tactics.

Unsurprisingly, considering Dr. Standfast's position in the clergy, Theology is represented by the highest number of volumes in the library, with 518 listed titles. Philosophy follows in terms of the most populated categories, with 345 titles listed, followed by History with 230 listed titles.

When searching for books similar to the Bader-Hatcher acquisition present in the Standfast Library, 19 volumes were identified. Of these 19 titles, eight were close matches, seven were partial matches, and four were different books by one of the attributed authors.

Alongside this copy of Britannia, the Standfast Library included an English edition of Britannia, although it was a two-volume edition with one volume missing. 

There were no works listed by Jacques Cujas, Antonio de Guevaro, or John Marbecke. As Cujas wrote works on law that applied more to continental schools of law, his absence is not surprising. Although Marbecke did write a few religious tracts, he is best known for his liturgical setting of the Book of Common Prayer, although it was defunct after the 1552 edition was published. This perhaps indicates that Marbecke did not receive contemporary popularity. Conversely, Guevaro's absence from the Standfast Library may be attributed to the criticism his works received. While his Diall was popular and widely read contemporarily to its publishing, it was also criticized due to the inaccuracies and misattributed sources Guevaro used.

It should also be noted that there may have been, and likely were, books added to the Standfast Library after it was deposited in the Blue Coat School and before this catalogue was written. There are 119 years between Dr. Standfast donating the books and the compiling of the catalogue; included within the catalogue are titles that were published after Dr. Standfast expressed his wishes in 1744 that the library be established.