The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-04-16
Mss Treasures That May
Contain Valuable Shakespeare Records

London Standard: The possibility
OF Shakespeare records being among
the large quantity of unexamined
documents in the vaults of the Guild
hall, as stated by DR.. Sharpe, before
the royal commission on public rec
ords has aroused keen and widespread
interest. DR.. Sharpe, as records clerk
to h city corporation, has been en-
gagged for many years deciphering ain
Client records of the city, and has al
ready published, under the direction
Of the authorities, a number of VOL
umes bearing on the research already
made and the important discoveries
found in the archives. of the Guildhall.
The documents which lie untouched in
the city records office are very valu-
able, but unless some attempt is made
to rescue them it is probable that
some will be lost entirely, Professor
Wallace is anxious that a systematic
search be made and the corporation
will, it is expected. be approached in
the near future in the hope that some
more light will be thrown on the life
of Shakespeare.
A responsible official told one Of our
representatives on Saturday that 1t
was only last year hat a new charter
closet had been finished for the hold
ing of the ancient charters, many Of
which bore the Signatures of historical
personages, but were in an extremely
dilapidated condition. Even after the
new chambers were built" he said, 1T
was found that the temperature of the
strong room in the town clerks de-
partment was often too high and
damage was caused to the bindings
Of the volumes. We have also been
collecting parish records from all the
churches and old public buildings
where such existed. They We're
--,,-I 49, z- -.--
in such a state. that .disinfectants had
to be used before they could be
handled.
Many of these records related to the
great plague of London, and were wit
ten about that time In beautiful hand
writing. These have not yet been in
dexed or catalogued and it will take
many years before the work is &C
complished.
1t is not surprising to learn that
many documents have been irretriev-
ably lost, for it is only now that the
record office at the Guildhall Is begin
ming to see a way out of the unutter-
able chaos which threatened to over
Whelm 1t half a century Age So late
as the year 1859 the library committee
sent a resolution to the court of COM
mon council pointing out the danger
which ove~rshadowed the valuable pa
pers buried in the vaults. The appeal
emphasized the fact that there are
among the record of the corporation in
the custody of the own clerk MANI
scripts of great historical interest and
Importance which 1T is desirable
should be rescued from the Oblivion to
which they are at present consigned"
An inventory Of Treasures.
An inventory of the treasures was
determined on, and the result showed
that even where charters had been
translated the interpretations were in
many instances wrong, and in other
cases no trace of the original docu-
ments was to be found. The record
room was a vaulted chamber beneath
the council apartment and when an
examination was made the results
somewhat appalled, the investigators.
Vast quantities of original papers and
documents relating to the mayors
court. proceedings under writs of dow
err, etc, we're lying rotting in damp
corners. Papers bearing royal sigma
lures were full of yermin, and lay
huddled among others, widowed and
decaying. There were several hundred
rolls Of inventories of orphans eff