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¡¡¡¡When£¬ twenty years ago£¬ at the invitation of Messrs. Kegan Paul£¬ Trench£¬ Truebner & Company£¬ I contributed to their International Scientific Series a Handbook of Greek and Latin£¬ Palaeography£¬ I hardly dared to hope that such a work would appeal to more than a limited number of students. Yet£¬ even at that time£¬ the study of Palaeography had begun to take a wider range£» and the ever-growing output of photographic reproductions and especially the interest aroused by the recovery of valuable relics of Greek Literature which so frequently were coming to light among the newly-found papyri from Egypt combined to give it a greater stimulus. For this reason£¬ and rather because it happened to be the only book of its kind in the English language than for any particular merit of its own£¬ the Handbook attained a larger circulation than had been anticipated£¬ and served more effectually the purpose£¬ for which it was written£¬ of a general guide to the subject.¡¡¡¡A certain inconvenience£¬ however£¬ embarrassed the usefulness which might be claimed for the book£¬ almost from the first. The small form of the volume and the moderate price of the Series prohibited illustration on more than a limited scale£¬ and although the facsimiles£¬ as issued£¬ may have proved sufficient as an accompaniment of the text£¬ their value as palaeographical specimens£¬ representing as they did only very small sections of the pages of the MSS. from which they were selected£¬ could not count for much. Moreover£¬ the letter-press being stereotyped£¬ the introduction of new matter in any satis-factory degree was attended with difficulties. Therefore£¬ when£¬ in 1906£¬ a third edition of the Handbook was called for£¬ it was suggested to the publishers that the time had arrived for a fuller treatment of the subject both in text and in illustration. They were£¬ however£¬ of opinion that the Handbook£¬ as it stood£¬ still had its value£¬ at the same time they very handsomely gave me authority to make use of it as a basis for a larger work. I here desire to record my grateful thanks for this concession.