ABSTRACT
Montagu House was the chief glory of Bloomsbury; it was one of the four houses in London which Pierre Jean Grosley thought comparable to the hotels of the nobility in Paris, and the only one he described. The five years which elapsed between the acquisition of Montagu House and the opening of the Museum to the public were no doubt fully occupied in the tasks, first of repairing and furnishing the house and then of arranging the collections. These were divided into three Departments, of Printed Books, of Manuscripts, and of “Natural and Artificial Productions.” Before the Reading Room was opened occasional scholars were given access; we know that Robertson the historian was introduced by Birch. Most notable was Gray, the poet, who came in 1759, and in his letters wrote satirical accounts not only of the Trustees’ finances, but also of the Reading Room.
