Gustave David (1860–1936): the Cambridge bookseller
Cambridge has a long history of bookselling, stretching back well before the advent of printing into the mists of medieval time. Books were first printed […]
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Reformation lives
One of the great joys of working with special collections in an historic library like the UL is the discovery (or re-discovery, with each new […]
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The Great Fire of London
On this day 350 years ago – 2nd September 1666 – began the Great Fire of London, which burned for three days, consuming 13,000 houses, […]
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Martin Bucer and the Reformation in Cambridge
Between 17th and 19th March, a number of Cambridge librarians – along with a host of academics – spent a happy time in the Parker […]
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‘That noble cabinet’: the British Museum and its links with Cambridge
This week is Museum Week, which seems like an excellent occasion to look at books in the University Library with connections to our national museum […]
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A binding for the organist John Bull (1562/3-1628)
The virtuoso composer, musician and organ builder John Bull (who probably spent some time at the University of Cambridge) died on this day in 1628. […]
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Malthus in Cambridge
On this day in 1766 – 250 years ago – was born Thomas Robert Malthus, for whom bells rang out in Cambridge yesterday. A scholar, cleric and […]
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A. N. L. Munby’s Christmas ghost stories
A. N. L. ‘Tim’ Munby (1913-1974), who has featured on these pages before, has at least two connections with Christmas. Most importantly, he was born […]
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Christmas cookery in the University Library
Cookery books are not, as one might expect, a modern phenomenon. Before Nigella, Delia and the great Fanny Cradock taught us all how to make […]
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Cambridge connections: Trinity Hall and the University Library
About sixty years before the University had its own purpose-built library, William Bateman (Bishop of Norwich) founded Trinity Hall in Cambridge. It remains one of […]
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