British Library - The most unusual items in our collection

 

The British Library For research, inspiration and enjoyment   Standing the test of time Libraries and archives play a very real part in who we are. They can inspire us and help us to understand who we are and where we’ve come from. This month we’re looking into some of the corners of our collection you may not have seen before. Find out more about how we look after them – for you and future generations to use and do something incredible with. Our 10 most unusual items What are the first things that come to mind when you think about our collection? Dig deep within our archives you’ll find some rather unusual and unexpected objects in our collections – from talking stamps to the Edwardian equivalent of today’s sat nav. Join us as we reveal some of the curious items you may never have seen (or imagined) before. Start exploring Scandalous celebrity in the 19th century How we share news and gossip has changed a lot in the past 200 years. Tamara Tubb, curator of our Breaking the News exhibition, takes us through some of the most interesting items on display. Find out how Queen Caroline, Lord Byron and Oscar Wilde all caused a stir in our blog. Stop press At the Library this May Gold Platinum Jubilee Pudding A Queen for All Seasons How we care for our collection How do you preserve old and fragile documents? Conservator Veronica Zoppi tells us how she and her team approached the conservation treatment of the Granville archive to help make this vast collection of letters and papers relating to British national life in the 18th and 19th centuries available to researchers and exhibition goers for years to come. Take a look You could help conserve history Many of our iconic treasures, from Beowulf to Magna Carta, were written in ink which gradually becomes corrosive. With your support we can treat this damage. A donation today could help pay for delicate and painstaking conservation work required to repair our most fragile manuscripts, safeguarding them for everyone to enjoy, now and in the future. Donate now Highlights from our blog Going on a bear hunt Saving endangered archives The 1795 cost of living