# British Museum catalog symbol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018 "2006-11-11T17:49:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/1 "2006-11-11T17:49:01Z")
Can somebody explain the symbol in the fifth line down left hand column of this old journal? It looks like a c over a 3 or a five. [Old journal](http://www.pgdp.net/c/tools/project_manager/displayimage.php?project=projectID43d04e4c0f46f&imagefile=034.png) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/2 "2006-11-11T18:05:06Z")
Don’t know, but a search for ‘howleglas’ in the British Library catalogue ([www.bl.uk](http://www.bl.uk), now the home of the British Museum’s books) turned up two editions of the book cited with C21 shelfmarks: [http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/HUTAY4FAXNYQAHC5H7YR7HP66GXBU5YQJ5T6AE7JHSHAYNMVVU-10983?func=full-set-set&set\_number=043220&set\_entry=000002&format=999](http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/HUTAY4FAXNYQAHC5H7YR7HP66GXBU5YQJ5T6AE7JHSHAYNMVVU-10983?func=full-set-set&set_number=043220&set_entry=000002&format=999) [http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/HUTAY4FAXNYQAHC5H7YR7HP66GXBU5YQJ5T6AE7JHSHAYNMVVU-10990?func=full-set-set&set\_number=043220&set\_entry=000003&format=999](http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/HUTAY4FAXNYQAHC5H7YR7HP66GXBU5YQJ5T6AE7JHSHAYNMVVU-10990?func=full-set-set&set_number=043220&set_entry=000003&format=999) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/3 "2006-11-11T18:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=sinjin] Can somebody explain the symbol in the fifth line down left hand column of this old journal? It looks like a c over a 3 or a five. [Old journal](http://www.pgdp.net/c/tools/project_manager/displayimage.php?project=projectID43d04e4c0f46f&imagefile=034.png) [/QUOTE] I think it’s a _c_ over an old-fashioned _z_. Don’t know what that would mean, though. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/4 "2006-11-11T20:40:39Z")
GorrilaMan; I think you’re right. C21 indicates the “Garrick Collection” in the old British Museum terminology I think. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/5 "2006-11-11T20:51:17Z")
And I think the other is a c over a 5, to complete that shelf mark in some old school manner? (was C21 c5-- now there’s another copy and so one’s c53 and one’s c57 (the one referred to in your text)?) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/6 "2006-11-11T21:18:01Z")
[QUOTE=capybara] And I think the other is a c over a 5, to complete that shelf mark in some old school manner? (was C21 c5-- now there’s another copy and so one’s c53 and one’s c57 (the one referred to in your text)?) [/QUOTE] C.21.c.5 is a different book: [http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/8QTYF9AJ48D59UI3KIYH5LRUHIJKE1JA3CPNDKGI6QGAQIJVQK-10493?func=full-set-set&set\_number=048029&set\_entry=000001&format=999](http://catalogue.bl.uk/F/8QTYF9AJ48D59UI3KIYH5LRUHIJKE1JA3CPNDKGI6QGAQIJVQK-10493?func=full-set-set&set_number=048029&set_entry=000001&format=999) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/7 "2006-11-11T21:20:48Z")
BTW, I visit the British Library occassionally - if I can be of help checking anything first-hand, email me via my profile. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/8 "2006-11-11T21:41:47Z")
SinJin, why are you working on Eulenspiegel, may I ask? ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-museum-catalog-symbol/380018/9 "2006-11-12T00:48:28Z")
Capybara; I’m not working on Til E. as such. I’m helping at [Distributed Proof-readers](http://www.pgdp.net/c/activity_hub.php) to get old periodicals such as Notes and Queries (kind of like the internet of the 19th century) and out of copy-write books onto Project Gutenberg. I’m making an html and ascii document for up-loading that many other folks have pre-proofed and formatted. I couldn’t figure out what that symbol meant so have been looking on the net, and have since discovered, thanks to G-man’s tip, that the British Museum, now Library, has many [named collections](http://bllearning.co.uk/collections/early/catalogues.html) including the Garrick, which Til E. is a part of. (This is one of the reasons I like doing this, I learn so much new old stuff!!) Kind of coincidentally, when I was a kid I took a music appreciation class in High School and the only thing I ever remembered was the story of Til. E. put to music.