The present year, 1916 A.D., is the centenary of the acquisition by the public of the Elgin Collection of ancient sculptures, inscriptions, casts and drawings. It has therefore seemed a suitable moment to print a fuller account than has hitherto been attempted of the formation and purchase of that collection.I should state that I have been engaged on this subject for some time past, by desire of the Earl of Elgin, who has put all his papers bearing on the subject into my hands. It was the wish of Lord Elgin that the episode of the marbles should appear in its due proportion in a full biography of his distinguished grandfather. The other aspects of that career are being studied by Sir Harry Wilson, K.C.M.G. But the call of other duties and the distractions of the time have made it doubtful whether the biography can be completed at an early date. The present narrative is therefore offered now, by way of a centennial commemoration.