Cambridge University Library Special Collections

Conservation of Indian miniatures

Posted on 24 April 2015 by Rachel Rowe

The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) collections in Cambridge University Library contain a very attractive collection of nineteenth century Indian mica paintings from Tiruchirappalli in Tamil […]

Archives, Conservation, Royal Commonwealth Society, South Asian, Special Collections

Rupert Brooke: 100 years on

Posted on 23 April 2015 by Liam Sims

A century ago today – on 23rd April 1915 – died Rupert Brooke, lauded in his lifetime as one of the country’s finest poets. This […]

Collectors and collecting, Poetry, Rare Books, Special Collections

Digging Deeper 2 launches today

Posted on 21 April 2015 by Suzanne Paul

Numerous classes are held in the UL every year introducing students to the delights and challenges of working with medieval manuscripts. Undergraduates and postgraduates studying […]

Cambridge Digital Library, Conservation, Digital Resources, Manuscripts

Ornaments to be engrav’d

Posted on 7 April 2015 by Special Collections

The Library recently acquired a collection of about fifty wholly engraved books, that is books in which both text and illustration are printed from intaglio […]

Collectors and collecting, Exhibitions, Historical Printing, Rare Books, Recent acquisitions, Special Collections

A book from J. S. Bach’s library

Posted on 31 March 2015 by Liam Sims

On 31 March 1685 was born Johann Sebastian Bach, widely regarded as one of best composers the world has ever known. The Library is fortunate […]

Collectors and collecting, German, Music, Rare Books, Special Collections

Medieval Welsh manuscript digitised

Posted on 27 March 2015 by Suzanne Paul

A manuscript containing the earliest pieces of verse in Old Welsh, the Cambridge Juvencus (MS Ff.4.42), has just been digitised and added to the Cambridge […]

Cambridge Digital Library, Digitisation, Manuscripts, Poetry

Speed maps now in the Cambridge Digital Library

Posted on 23 March 2015 by Andrew

John Speed’s Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine is one of the world’s great cartographic treasures. Published in 1611/12, it marked the first time […]

Cambridge Digital Library, Maps, Special Collections

The library of Gabriel Harvey

Posted on 19 March 2015 by Liam Sims

Discoveries are made frequently in libraries, and the University Library is no exception. Staff and readers alike may call up a volume which has been […]

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

Aldus Manutius (1452? – 6 February 1515) : A humanist printer for humanist readers. Aldine editions at Cambridge University Library

Posted on 9 February 2015 by Laura

The 500th anniversary of Aldus Manutius’s death on 6 February 1515 (Incunabula Project Blog) is celebrated this year by libraries and institutions all over the […]

Exhibitions, Incunabula, Manuscripts, Rare Books, Special Collections

Tea and coffee in India and Ceylon

Posted on 22 January 2015 by John C.

The Royal Commonwealth Society Collections have uploaded an on-line catalogue for a visually rich recent acquisition, donated by the former planter John Weatherstone. Weatherstone was […]

New on Janus, Photographs, Royal Commonwealth Society, South Asian