In this survey of surviving books of music published before 1640, David Greer has gleaned information about the books? early and subsequent owners by studying the traces those owners left in the books themselves. The result is a treasure trove of information about musical culture in early modern England. The temptation to ?scribble in books? was as irresistible to some Elizabethans as it is to some of us today and from these inscriptions and marks of ownership Greer has identified clues to their identity, how they kept their music, how they used it, and the multifarious ways in which it played a part in their lives.