The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts is something I posted to the slumbering Poisoned Pen Authors Blog a long time back and thought I'd put t here because it is fascinating examination of how old manuscripts pass the centuries. Written by M.R. James of ghost story fame, no less.

James introduces the book: "The Wanderings and Homes of Manuscripts is the title of this book. To have called it the survival and transmission of ancient literature would have been pretentious, but not wholly untruthful. Manuscripts, we all know, are the chief means by which the records and imaginings of twenty centuries have been preserved. It is my purpose to tell where manuscripts were made, and how and in what centres they have been collected, and, incidentally, to suggest some helps for tracing out their history."