Drexel 4257, also known by an inscription on its first page, "John Gamble, his booke, amen 1659" is a music manuscript commonplace book. It is the largest collection of English songs from the first half to the middle of the 17th century, and is an important source for studying vocal music in its transition from Renaissance music to Baroque music in England. Many songs also provide commentary on contemporary political events leading up to the Restoration.
Drexel 4257
Folio 3 recto, containing the first page of "The Cattalogue"
Binding information from the inside back cover of Drexel 4257
Watermark from Drexel 4257
The Drexel Collection is a collection of over 6,000 volumes of books about music and musical scores owned by the Music Division of The New York Public Library. Donated by Joseph W. Drexel in 1888 to the Lenox Library, the collection, located today at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, is rich with materials on music theory and music history as well as other musical subjects. It contains many rare books and includes a number of significant 17th-century English music manuscripts.
Bust of Joseph W. Drexel by John Quincy Adams Ward (1889), located at the 3rd floor entrance of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts