Treasure Indeed

We went today to the British Library in London, an incredible treasure house of books, manuscripts, maps, stamps, sounds and audio recordings…..between 170 and 200 million items, growing each day by about 8,000 items (It is the legal depository for everything published in the UK and Ireland). And amazingly enough, anyone who has a legitimate need to use its collections can apply for a Reader Pass and call for most any book in its collection. You simply need to show proof of signature and address – and you don’t have to be a citizen, either. The books cannot be removed from the library, but you are free to read them during the Library’s open hours.

We took the “Treasures of the Library” tour and were amazed at the books and manuscripts we saw – just a small percentage of the whole! For example, there is a copy of the Magna Carta (the library has 2, one was badly damaged in a fire) but unfortunately, the lights over the case don’t allow for clear photographs. This is the best I could do:

Of course, there are many sacred texts, including the Codex Sinaiticus from the 4th century (sorry, the photo I took didn’t come out). But there are many other sacred texts.

Here, the Wycliffite Bible, which John Wycliffe translated from the Latin in about 1384. It was illegal to own a copy of this translation without a bishop’s permission (many of Wycliffe’s views were viewed as heretical by Church authorities). This copy was owned by Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, youngest son of King Edward III and Philippa of Hainaut

And Tyndale’s New Testament. William Tyndall translated the Bible from more historic texts – Greek and/or Hebrew, and he used everyday English. Again, it was illegal to make such a translation (regarded as dangerous to the Church) and he was burned at the stake in 1536. Ironically, however, his translation was included in later editions of the Bible, and about 80% of the King James Version is based upon his translation. A further irony is that this copy was owned by Anne Boleyn, mother of Queen Elizabeth I, who was succeeded by James I, who sponsored the translation and publication of the Bible.

One of the most beautiful of sacred texts displayed, to my mind, is a book “Songs in Praise of the Prophet” from Java, Indonesia, 1864. The text is written in Arabic and there is a translation into Javanese (in Arabic script) written in a smaller hand in between each verse.

Here is a magnificent Qur’an, the Mamluk Qur’an from the 14th century

Of course, Judaism is reflected in the collection. Here is a page from the Duke of Sussex’s “Italian Pentateuch”, created in Florence, Italy between 1441 and 1467 and written by Isaac Ben Obadiah of Forli.

This is Rani Jinan’s Prayer book, created between 1828 and 1830. Each hymn begins with a full-page colored illustration. Interestingly enough, this is the only book displayed with a cloth beneath it. Unfortunately, I was unable to ask why this is so – perhaps the book was wrapped in this cloth originally?

Here is a Gutenberg Bible, printed about 1454-55 in Mainz. The illuminations were added by hand, probably in Erfurt.

A commonly held belief is that the Gutenberg Bible was the first book to be produced with movable type. NOT SO! The Chinese first came up with the idea in the 1040s, using type of baked clay, which was not very durable, and the Koreans refined the concept, producing the first books in this fashion in the early 13th century. The earliest surviving Korean book printed with movable type dates from 1377. This book, a commentary on the Chinese classic “Spring and Autumn Annals” was printed in 1442.

Yes, of course, the Library has a copy of Shakespeare’s “First Folio”. Again, it was difficult to photograph because of the reflection on the case, sorry.

The Library’s collection includes musical manuscripts as well:

Here is “My Ladye Newell’s Booke” written in England in 1591 by the scribe John Baldwin. His style lets you almost hear the music!

There are handwritten texts of music by the Beatles, of course, including “Yesterday” but photography of them is forbidden. So here is a Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Wo sol Ich fliehen hin” from 1724.

And Chopin’s “Barcarolle in F sharp major, op 60” from 1846. He apparently wrote out this copy to be used in the preparation of the first edition of the piece issued by his publishers Breitkopf & Hartel.

This is just a small part of the “Treasures of the British Library” exhibit – priceless treasures indeed!

Mary

Written and posted in London, England, 10/12/19