By its Royal Charter of 1751 the Society of Antiquaries of London is charged with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'. The range of the Society's interests thus covers a wide field, from the archaeology of all periods and all countries to heraldry, art history, architectural history and other subjects based on the study of the material remains of the past. [...] The Library has acquired material since the early eighteenth century and its present holdings number more than 100,000 books and nearly 700 British and foreign periodical titles. The main subjects covered are archaeology (especially British), architectural history and the decorative arts (especially medieval), heraldry and older works on British local history and genealogy. British county archaeological and record society publications are well represented, as well as archaeological journals from most European countries. There are special collections of broadsides, proclamations and Civil War tracts. [self-description]