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British Library

@britishlibrary.bsky.social

We’re the national library of the UK.

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British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 4d ago

Please be aware that our St Pancras site will be closed this weekend from 18.00 on Friday 25 September for essential maintenance work. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and look forward to welcoming you back on Monday 28 September! See the latest updates on our website link.bl.uk/5ym

Temporary building closures for essential maintenance

We’ll be carrying out essential maintenance work at our St Pancras site over the coming months.

link.bl.uk

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 5d ago

We’re delighted to announce Dr Paul Bate as the British Library’s new Chief Executive Joining us from the UK Space Agency, Paul brings experience supporting world-class research communities. We look forward to welcoming his expertise at the Library. Read the full announcement here link.bl.uk/fc6

A photograph of Dr Paul Bates stood in a stairwell at the British Library. He is a white man, with dark brown hair and wearing a white shirt and camel coloured chinos.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 5d ago

‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’ Today, we’re bringing out the first edition of Tolkien’s The Hobbit 🐉 It started off with a single sentence and became a well-loved children’s book, complete with illustrations and decorations from the author himself.

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last wk.

The Wuthering Heights first published in 1847 isn't quite the version we know today... Our new facsimile reproduces the first edition, before Charlotte Brontë's later revisions. Here's a closer look at the original and the story behind this new publication 👇

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 3w ago

Happy World Beard Day 🧔 We couldn’t let the day pass without celebrating one of the Library’s finest beards - accompanied, naturally, by four larks, a wren, two owls and a hen. A Book of Nonsense by Edward Lear. Shelfmark: 12332.dd.1

An illustration of a man in a waistcoat with a large bushy beard, where four larks, a wren, two owls and a hen nest. The caption in this page from Edward Lear's A Book of Nonsense reads: 'There was an old man with a beard, who said, "It is just as I feared! - Two owls and a hen, four larks and a wren, have all built their nests in my beard!"'
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 3w ago

Please note that the Treasures Gallery will be closed on Monday 7 September while maintenance work takes place.   The Treasures Gallery will also close at 5pm on Wednesday 9 September for a private event.

Open books lay behind glass cases in the British Library's Treasures Gallery. One case is labelled 'Art of the Book'.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 4w ago

Happy birthday to Mary Shelley, born on this day in 1797 📕 At 18, she began writing Frankenstein, helping to invent a whole genre and giving us one of literature’s most iconic monsters. Not a bad legacy.

Black and white etching portrait of Mary Shelley. Her portrait is set in an oval, she is wearing a black off the shoulder gown. Her hair appears to be a dark brown and falls around her jawbone.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 4w ago

Fun library fact: our Piazza isn’t just a great spot to read in the sun, it’s also pretty good for fossil hunting While books live inside our London building, the stonework outside contains fossils of oysters, plants and snails - all millions of years old A perfect Friday afternoon if you ask us

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

A sad time for music and book lovers alike. Dolly Parton was not only an extraordinary songwriter and performer, but a passionate champion of reading, putting books into the hands of millions of children through her Imagination Library.

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

Summer holiday, 1813 edition 🌊   That summer, artist William Daniell set off from Land’s End to travel the coast of Great Britain, sketching the landscapes along the way.   The result? Voyage Round Great Britain, an eight-volume record of 308 beautifully detailed acquatints of Britain’s coastline

An engraved drawing from inside a cave looking out to sea. The cave is full of cylindrical rock formations (that almost look like tree trunks or logs) and waves are crashing against them. In the background you can see ships out at sea in the distance, with birds flying in the sky.Engraving of a scenic view of a rugged coastline. Waves are crashing up against the side of the rocks and in the distance you can see land further out at sea. The coast is covered in puffins, both sat on the clifftops and flying.Engraving illustration of a ruined castle, all that remains is a turret, precariously positioned on the edge of a cliff. Surrounding it is lots of greenery, a beach and the sea. It looks like a lovely summer evening and there are people down at the beach and a couple sat by the ruins with their dog admiring the view.An engraving illustration of the a view out to the sea. In the foreground, you can see lots of greenery, grass where deer are grazing and large Monterey Cypress trees are growing leading down from the clifftop to the sea. In the background is the sea, you can see for miles and there are lots of little sailing boats in the water.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

Not all fairy tale heroines need rescuing ✨   From Madame d’Aulnoy, to the women whose stories shaped the Brothers Grimm’s collections, women writers and storytellers have had a huge influence on the genre   Read all about the incredible women behind your favourites www.bl.uk/stories/blog...

Not just damsels in distress: women writers and fairy tales

We celebrate five female writers who have had a lasting impact on the fairy tale genre.

bl.uk

British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

Anyone want to look at some cool illustrations? These are by illustrator and author, Aubrey Beardsley, born #OnThisDay in 1872 A leading figure in the aesthetic movement and his black ink drawings of the grotesque, the decadent and the erotic encapsulated the spirit of the fin de siècle

Black and white drawing of a woman sat in a forest, surrounded by trees and flowers. She is wearing a crown on her head and has a young child sat in her lap. The majority of the drawing is black, however the child is entirely dressed in white.Black and white ink drawing of a woman with horns surrounded by two jester-like figures. A black and white ink drawing of a woman standing wearing an elaborately decorated cloak. She is walking away, but has her head turned to face us. Black and white ink illustration of a female-like figure floating, they have long dark hair, some of which has been fashioned to resemble horns. They are floating above what looks like a lily pond. The floating figure is holding up a medusa-like head, lifted to it's face and looking into it's eyes.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · last mo.

English artist and illustrator Walter Crane was born #OnThisDay in 1845 Best known for his children’s book illustrations, Crane was inspired by a wide range of artistic styles, from Japanese colour prints to the work of William Morris and John Ruskin. Which influences can you spot in these works?

illustration by Walter Crane. Illustrations of scenes from a farm, including a large rooster at the centre, a farmer sowing seeds at the top left, a woman sitting in a chair yawning after a hard days work top left. Several words repeat: Corn, morn, shorn, forlorn, horn, thorn, tornIllustration by Walter Crane featuring fairies. They are all stood in an elaborately decorated bedchamber and fawning over a baby. A few fairies to the side are observing an evil looking crab, peeking out from behind the bed. Illustration of a jester wearing a blue and yellow unitard with black shoes, a black belt and a black mask. Around his head, wrists and ankles are flowers. He is dancing holding a large scythe and a sand timer. Behind him appears to be a statue of a woman with a large cloth over her head and body, holding berries. Text reads: The wild thyme they had, and the fuss kept the guests in a touth thro the that was made deadly night shade.Illustration of a knight in shining silver armor. He looks to be stood in an orchard, surrounded by apple trees, however on the ground are lots of skulls. He is holding his shield up as a mirror to a large two headed dragon.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 2mo ago

As we all look up at today's solar eclipse, here's how they were doing it nearly 86 years ago* These photographs, supposedly from 1 October 1940, show people observing an eclipse using a small retractor on a tall tripod to project an image of the sun. Anyway, we're off to grab our colanders...

A black and white film negative showing a total eclipse of the sun. The surround is black and in the middle you can see the distinct circular outline of the moon, with large sunrays all around it.A black and white film negative showing a photograph of individuals watching a solar eclipse. In the foreground, a small refractor on a tall tripod is used to project an image of the Sun. Behind this apparatus is a fork mount and stand.
British Library@britishlibrary.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Glimpse into the world of Homer's Odyssey, from Enlightenment poet Alexander Pope's hand. He translated the epic into English in 1725-26. While it wasn't all his work, the rhyming couplets are a thing to behold... 📜 Alexander Pope's Odyssey (1726), Add MS 4809.