Investigating the Shipton Hoard

Abstract

In August 1840 a letter published in The Musical World announced the discovery of “four large iron chests filled with music-books”, some of great rarity, which have never been recovered. The truth is that the announcement is a hoax. But who perpetrated it? This essay sifts the evidence and attempts to solve the mystery.

Keywords

• the purcell society
• edward taylor
• edward francis rimbault
• antiquarianism
• book collectors