Cambridge University Library Special Collections

Islamic Codicology at Cambridge University Library

Posted on 3 October 2017 by Yasmin

Every autumn – since 2006 – Cambridge University Library is hosting an Introduction to Islamic Codicology, a one week course and workshop on the material and artistic […]

Conservation, Manuscripts, Near and Middle Eastern

‘The Tweed’ in Colombo Harbour, 1888

Posted on 2 October 2017 by John C.

The Royal Commonwealth Society Library is thrilled to have acquired a beautiful historical painting from John Weatherstone, who has already generously donated much of the […]

Cambridge Digital Library, Photographs, Recent acquisitions, Royal Commonwealth Society, Special Collections

Papers of a forgotten folklorist: Charles Dack

Posted on 14 September 2017 by Special Collections

There is often more to the books in Cambridge University’s Rare Books Room than meets the eye, with many of them containing unique handwritten accessory […]

Collectors and collecting, Manuscripts, Rare Books

Edward Gibbon’s library: a new acquisition

Posted on 13 September 2017 by Liam Sims

Thanks to three private collectors in the twentieth century, Cambridge libraries contain significant holdings of books by and from the library of Edward Gibbon, eighteenth-century […]

Collectors and collecting, Library history, Rare Books, Special Collections

Every subject under the sun, or how to categorise archival enquiries

Posted on 11 September 2017 by Jacky Cox

A recent blog post revelled in the unusual, often humorous, questions asked in the Reading Room from the 1930s to the 1970s and recorded by […]

Archives, Cambridge University Archives, Cambridge University history

Summer at the Museums – guest post by Vasiliki Vartholomeou

Posted on 6 September 2017 by Special Collections

We have come to the end of the Summer At The Museums, a series of exciting events for families during the summer holidays. After the […]

Conservation, Events

Student, soldier and author: Basil Godfrey Quin MC.

Posted on 2 September 2017 by Special Collections

The Battle of Passchendaele, or Third Ypres was fought one hundred years ago between July and November 1917. One of the regiments involved was the […]

Anniversaries, Exhibitions, In the spotlight, Library history

The Fluctuating Fortunes of the University Library during the 15th and 16th Centuries

Posted on 1 September 2017 by James Freeman

While elucidating finer points of library administration and the placing of manuscripts on the shelves, the early catalogues of the University Library additionally bear witness […]

Cambridge University Archives, Library history, Manuscripts, Subject guide, Uncategorized

Sir George Biddell Airy: instrument making and engineering

Posted on 24 August 2017 by Dr Emma Saunders

A guest blog post by Daniel Belteki, University of Kent Sir George Biddell Airy was the Astronomer Royal and the director of the Royal Observatory […]

Archives, Astronomy, Engineering, Science, Special Collections

Absence as Evidence: Recovering the Losses in an Eighth-century Gospel Book

Posted on 11 August 2017 by Special Collections

Guest post by Dr Eleanor Jackson

Manuscripts