Many probably know that the Royal College of Music Library has a huge collection of writings on string instruments from the 16th century onwards, collected and donated by Edward Heron-Allen. It includes 28 bound volumes of Miscellanea on strings, players, instruments etc., containing press cuttings, articles, catalogues, and countless other ephemera from an extraordinary range of sources.
A typescript catalogue of the main collection exists, but the Miscellanea have until now been relatively unexplored. An index of the Miscellanea has just been completed, with over 11,000 entries on 115 pages. It is available on the websites of both the Heron-Allen Society and the Royal College of Music Library.
I hope that it will be a very useful resource. Please do bring it to the attention of all researching string playing, performers and string instruments. It’s a good route to otherwise obscure material. There are hidden gems!
Pam Thompson