For more information and to apply for a readers ticket, please see the admissions webpages. Mar 11, 2020 emily dourish, deputy keeper of rare books and early manuscripts at the cambridge university library, was recently making rounds through the collection when she made a most unusual discovery. Raymond murphys english grammar in use is the worlds bestselling grammar reference and practice book for learners of english. Visit to the cambridge university library rare book. Cambridge histories is the essential reference collection spanning 350 volumes in 10 subject areas. Many of them have been displayed in library exhibitions in the past now they can be accessed at any time, from anywhere in the world, and browsed cover to cover. The book is a beautifully unspoiled copy of suetoniuss vitae xii caesarum published in 1480 in venice by an anonymous printer identified as johannes rubeus vercellensis istc is00820000. The oldest is a book on virtues by guillelmus paraldus printed not after 1475. To enter the university library you must have either a current university of cambridge id card or a current readers ticket. It is known throughout the world due to its invaluable collection of over 600 manuscripts, particularly medieval texts, the majority of which were bequeathed to the college by archbishop of canterbury matthew parker, a former master of corpus christi college. He began to collect in 1939 with the purchase of ackermanns history of the university and colleges of cambridge paying. The bodleian libraries special collections at the weston library holds the second largest collection of manuscripts and archives in britain, with items ranging in date from papyri of the 3rd century b. Researchers can access the librarys collections through an interim reading room. Rare books collections cambridge university library.
The rare book collections of cambridge university library cover all subjects and include material from the first european printing presses in. Home rare books at cambridge university library libguides at. The cambridge library collection has recently topped 1,000 titles and ranges from anthropology to zoology. The collection was formed by an old member of college graham watson b. The incunabula cataloguing project began in october 2009 and is scheduled to run until 2014. Harvards principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, literary and performing arts archives, and more. Tim munbys donations to cambridge university library. Cambridge library collection a collection of outof and rare books from the cambridge university library and other worldclass institutions that have been digitally scanned, made available online, and reprinted in paperback. We are grateful to jill whitelock head of special collections, brian jenkins retired head of special collections, ed potten head of rare books and adam perkins curator of scientific manuscripts for establishing the history of this chain of ownership. Archives, cambridge digital library, cambridge university archives, digital resources, digitisation, ely assizes, manuscripts, rare books, special collections erotica comes to cambridge posted on 4 february 2020 by liam sims.
This book is a celebration of the treasures of the library by a group of eminent scholars. Andoverharvard theological librarys special collections include about 85,000 volumes of printed books, pamphlets, and broadsides, with imprints dating from the fifteenth to the twentyfirst century. Houghton library is a destination for students and scholars on campus and around the world. The pendlebury library supports both research and undergraduate and graduate teaching at the music faculty. Kings college library has been in continuous existence since the foundation of the college in 1441. The map department of cambridge university library holds 1. The parker library is proud to be the single largest lender of manuscripts to the british librarys magnificent exhibition, anglosaxon kingdoms. The invention of rare books cambridge university press.
Liam sims cambridge university library special collections. You will be directed to the rare books room by the location given on an item record in the online library catalogue, or the printed finding lists. Online catalogues the library catalogue is idiscover. Numbers are restricted to 15 people due to the size of the room. Dec 11, 2019 the following is a brief list of electronic resources which may be useful to users of the rare books reading room. As well as preserving many rare book and manuscript treasures, the library serves the current needs of undergraduate, graduate and senior members of the college with a stock of approximately,000 books.
In 200001, cambridge university library was receiving about 1,600 printed books a week 85,000 per year and about 1,800 serial parts newspapers and so on. A collection of mainly eighteenth to nineteenthcentury books with handcoloured plates. Some were printed with the text book illustrations, some were added to the text after printing painting and illumination, some were bound. Ed potten, head of rare books, cambridge university library professor paul binski, professor of the history of medieval art, university of cambridge professor david parker, edward cadbury professor of theology and director of the institute for textual scholarship and electronic editing, university of. The rare books department of the library holds early material pre1900 books and pre1850 journals and specific named collections. Munby gave his next incunable to the library on 22 november 1948 inc. Collections rare books at cambridge university library. Cambridge university library is one of the worlds greatest repositories of books, and many of these books contain artworks. The library is open to members of the public and visiting scholars. Paper request slips can be found on the staff desk.
Visiting fellowship, undergraduate fellowship, wpr creative fellowship, and new england regional consortium fellowship. Secrets of the tower opens to the public from may 2october 28. More than 90 per cent of the objects have never before been on public display. The invention of rare books david mckitterick examines, for the first time, the development of the idea of rare books, and why they matter. The library is open to members of the college and also to visitors by. Harvardyenching library chinese rare books digitization projectcollected works. Thompsons working library was donated to the egypt exploration fund, which he supported throughout his life, and his rare books to the fitzwilliam museum. Over the centuries the library has built up impressive collections of rare books by purchase, bequest, gift and through the copyright act. Services rare books at cambridge university library. Cambridge university library is the main research library of the university of cambridge in england.
The mysterious cambridge library tower, supposedly full of. Newspapers published before 1900 need to be ordered to and read in the rare books reading room. Newspapers stored in the library storage facility should be ordered online as indicated on idiscover. Oates 2224, it is the earliest printed book donated to the library by munby. Collected and collated in eighteenthcentury cambridge by hughes himself. There is a large amount of slavonic, predominantly russian, material among its various collections. The parker library is the rare books and manuscripts library of corpus christi college, cambridge.
Cambridge university library is celebrating its 600th anniversary by putting some of its. A number of the larger collections have been kept together and named, including some which were once private collections as in the case of the royal library, the acton library and sandars and some which were once in institutional ownership ely and peterborough cathedrals, bury school library and the royal commonwealth. More information about this seller contact this seller 18. Cambridge university library acquired its first chinese book in 1632 as part of the collection of the duke of buckingham, but the first substantial holdings of chinese books came with the donation of 4,304 volumes by sir thomas wade 18181895, first professor of chinese in the university from 1888 until his death. Treasures of the library cambridge university library. Manuscripts and rare books in the bodleian libraries manuscripts and archives.
The encyclopedie methodique was the last and largest of the great french encyclopedias of the eighteenth century. The following is a brief list of digital resources which may be useful to users of. Echoes from the vault st andrews university special collections. Cambridge university library dusts off darwin and newton. The university library purchases some books directly from cambridge books online. Incunabula project blog 20092015 sanskrit manuscripts project, cambridge 20112014 tower project blog 20062012 links. Researchers can access the library s collections through an interim reading room. Dec 11, 2019 rare books department cambridge university library west road, cambridge, cb3 9dr. Some were printed with the text book illustrations, some were added to the text after printing painting and illumination, some were bound into a volume, and some were pasted on by later collectors. Regarded as the jewel in the crown of magdalene college, the pepys library is a rare example of a 17thcentury private library. Women at cambridge opens on monday 14th october 2019. Rare books cambridge university library special collections.
Mar 21, 2020 special collections include, rare books, historical photographs and prints, slides, videos and cdroms. Cambridge books online getting started with ebooks. The library provides access to an increasing collection of ejournals, fulltext and citation databases, and to ebook collections from a wide range of publishers and suppliers. Over the centuries the library has built up impressive collections of rare books. Cambridge university library and the faculty and departmental libraries are. Jun 04, 2010 thousands of rare books and manuscripts at camrbidge university library including handwritten notes by sir isaac newton are to be made available on line thanks to a.
Now, the treasures of cambridge university library s fabled 17storey tower collection, chosen from nearly a million volumes, will go on public display together for the first time in a free exhibition. The rare book collections of cambridge university library cover all subjects and include material from the first european printing presses in the fifteenth century to the present day, and publications from all parts of the world. Cambridge university press isbn 9780521583398 extracts. Cambridge university library dusts off darwin and newton for. In a series of blog posts spanning the christmas holiday and into the new year, we will shine a spotlight on a selection of the parker manuscripts currently on display. Cambridge university library is one of the worlds great research libraries. As a term, rare books is bandied about so frequently that it cannot be said to be very precise. You will be directed to the rare books reading room by the location given on an item record in the online library catalogue. For more details about the library and its use, please see the library guide. Newspapers published after 1900 held in the library need to be ordered to and read in the west room. Rare books digital resources cambridge university library. The collection includes all of the librarys pre1851 holdings and all pamphlets printed before 1901.
A number of the larger collections have been kept together and named, including some which were once private collections as in the case of the royal library, the acton library and sandars and some which were once in institutional ownership. It is also the largest of 114 libraries within the university. Cambridge collection cam most of the books and many of the pamphlets in class cam are catalogued online, but some pamphlets and other ephemera are entered only in a card catalogue in the rare books microfilm annexe. It is often referred to within the university as the ul. Rare and outofprint books held by the university library are being made accessible in new ways thanks to a collaboration with cambridge university press cup, who are scanning the books for publication as. From library to bookstore a unique collaboration has resulted in the reissue of over 1,000 rare books of enduring scholarly value. Libraries and museums have perfected the art of book preservation, working to prevent future damage and even reversing existing condition issues.
University level academic research outputs and professional development. Cambridge university library to publish rare faith and. The conveyor bodleian libraries special collections. The library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the university of cambridge and external researchers. In this special collection within the cambridge digital library we will draw together books, manuscripts and other items from across our collections that are especially significant. Arc contains a number of seventeenthcentury books, including a very rare venetian imprintl alcibiade fanciullo a scola alcibiades the schoolboy loosely based on the form of platonic dialogue and often called the first homosexual novel. Pages of books scribbled on by now famous owners are among rare items in 600th anniversary exhibition. The rare books team welcomes enquiries in person, by phone, or by email.
Rare books cambridge university library university of cambridge. University of cambridge, uk queens old library blog rare. The rare book collections of cambridge university library cover all subjects of study and include material from the first european printing presses in the fifteenth century up to the present day, and publications from all parts of the world. Emily dourish, deputy keeper of rare books and early manuscripts at the cambridge university library, was recently making rounds through the collection when she made a. The houghton library building is closed for renovation. Unique handwritten verses from a nineteenthcentury cambridgeshire poet who died destitute and in relative. For an insiders look at the library join our facebook group. Guidelines for using idiscover to find special collections items pdf libguide for working with official publications material early periodicals moved to the. At this time, less than 10% of the books offered by cambridge university press on this site have been purchased by the library.
Charles darwins library biodiversity heritage library. The library houses an outstanding collection of music scores, books, sound recordings, video recordings and periodical titles and provides access to various online music resources. Mar 31, 2020 the university library purchases some books directly from cambridge books online. Specialist catalogues cambridge university library. Cambridge and heidelberg announce major project to. Mar 08, 2016 pages of books scribbled on by now famous owners are among rare items in 600th anniversary exhibition. A detailed description of the collection can be found in the article scandalous and libellous books. This book is a celebration of the treasures of the library from the perspective of a group of eminent scholars who actively use the collections for research. The library uses the dewhirst classification system.
A collection of over 300 books bequeathed to the library upon thompsons death in 1944, this contains primarily books on european literature. Ul incunabula cataloguing project now ended, but content remains parker library at corpus christi college cambridge. Cambridge university library, rare books room university of cambridge training you are not currently logged in. The wade collection, assembled during forty years residence in china. University library archive reveals the facts behind the hollywood myths of the aeronauts. Simmons, the slavonic experts in the university library and oxfords taylor institution respectively, wrote two articles on cambridges early slavonic books for the journal transactions of the cambridge bibliographical.
Ordering rare books reservation and transferring material borrowing laptops. A concise chineseenglish dictionary for lovers by xiaolu guo and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Newspapers cambridge libraries university of cambridge. Rare and outofprint books held by the university library are being made accessible in new ways thanks to a collaboration with cambridge university press cup, who are scanning the books for publication as paperbacks and ebooks. A visit to the rare books collection of cambridge university library. Emily dourish deputy keeper of rare books and early. A catalog of the wade collection of chinese and manchu books in the library of the university of cambridge. Find the books you want at the cambridge rare books online bookstore, based in cambridge, gloucestershire, gbr. However, we do purchase many cambridge university press books on other platforms including ebrary, ebsco ebooks, and knovel. Archives, cambridge digital library, cambridge university archives, digital resources, digitisation, ely assizes, manuscripts, rare books, special collections 1 2 3 60. Emily dourish deputy keeper of rare books and early manuscripts at cambridge university library cambridge, united kingdom 216 connections. Particular strengths are medieval manuscripts, 17thcentury. Generously funded by the andrew w mellon foundation, it will see the creation of a modern and comprehensive catalogue of the university librarys renowned collection of incunables books printed in or before the year 1500.
Queens old librarys current exhibition, the age of reason, religion and ridicule in the library of the revd david hughes c. Chapters have been selected to illustrate the vast range of the library s collections from fourth century manuscripts to contemporary writers. The department is responsible for most of the older printed material in the library, as well as some more recent publications which require special care. Access to most of these resources is provided by the university library through subscriptions, and is restricted to computers on university networks, or to library users with a raven login off campus. Houghton library supports research on its collections by scholars, poets, artists, and harvard university undergraduate students through four annual fellowship programs. A collection of outof and rare books from the cambridge university library and other worldclass institutions that have been digitally scanned, made available online, and reprinted in paperback. Special collections library emmanuel college, cambridge.
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