Early foundations
The British Library was created on 1 July 1973 as a result of the British Library Act 1972. Prior to this, the national library was part of theLegal deposit
In England,Using the library's reading rooms
The Library is open to everyone who has a genuine need to use its collections. Anyone with a permanent address who wishes to carry out research can apply for a Reader Pass; they are required to provide proof of signature and address. Historically, only those wishing to use specialised material unavailable in other public or academic libraries would be given a Reader Pass. The Library has been criticised for admitting numbers of undergraduate students, who have access to their own university libraries, to the reading rooms. The Library replied that it has always admitted undergraduates as long as they have a legitimate personal, work-related or academic research purpose. The majority of catalogue entries can be found on Explore the British Library, the Library's main catalogue, which is based on Primo. Other collections have their own catalogues, such as western manuscripts. The large reading rooms offer hundreds of seats which are often filled with researchers, especially during the Easter and summer holidays. British Library Reader Pass holders are also able to view the Document Supply Collection in the Reading Room at the Library's site inOnline, electronic and digital resources
Material available online
The British Library makes a number of images of items within its collections available online. Its ''Online Gallery'' gives access to 30,000 images from various medieval books, together with a handful of exhibition-style items in a proprietary format, such as the Lindisfarne Gospels. This includes the facility to "turn the virtual pages" of a few documents, such as Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks. Catalogue entries for many of the illuminated manuscript collections are available online, with selected images of pages or miniatures from a growing number of them, and there is a database of significant bookbindings.Electronic collections
''Explore the British Library'' is the latest iteration of the online catalogue. It contains nearly 57 million records and may be used to search, view and order items from the collections or search the contents of the Library's website. The Library's electronic collections include over 40,000 ejournals, 800 databases and other electronic resources. A number of these are available for remote access to registered St Pancras Reader Pass holders. PhD theses are available via theDigital Library System
In 2012, the UKExhibitions
A number of books and manuscripts are on display to the public in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery which is open seven days a week at no charge. Some manuscripts in the exhibition include '' Beowulf'', the Lindisfarne Gospels and St Cuthbert Gospel, aServices and departments
Business and IP Centre
In May 2005, the British Library received a grant of £1 million from the London Development Agency to change two of its reading rooms into the Business & IP Centre. The centre was opened in March 2006. It holds arguably the most comprehensive collection of business and intellectual property (IP) material in the United Kingdom and is the official library of the UK Intellectual Property Office. The collection is divided up into four main information areas: market research, company information, trade directories, and Magazine, journals. It is free of charge in hard copy and online via approximately 30 subscription databases. Registered readers can access the collection and the databases. There are over 50 million patent specifications from 40 countries in a collection dating back to 1855. The collection also includes official gazettes on patents, trade marks and Registered Design; law reports and other material on litigation; and information on copyright. This is available in hard copy and via online databases. Staff are trained to guide small and medium enterprises (SME) and entrepreneurs to use the full range of resources. In 2018, a Human Lending Library service was established in the Business & IP Centre, allowing social entrepreneurs to receive an hour's mentoring from a high-profile business professional. This service is run in partnership with Expert Impact. Stephen Fear was the British Library's Entrepreneur in Residence and Ambassador from 2012 to 2016.Document Supply Service
As part of its establishment in 1973, the British Library absorbed the National Lending Library for Science and Technology (NLL), based nearSound archive
The British Library Sound Archive holds more than a million discs and 185,000 tapes. The collections come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound, from music, drama and literature to oral history and wildlife sounds, stretching back over more than 100 years. The Sound Archive's online catalogue is updated daily. It is possible to listen to recordings from the collection in selected Reading Rooms in the Library through their ''SoundServer'' and ''Listening and Viewing Service'', which is based in the Rare Books & Music Reading Room. In 2006, the Library launched a new online resource,Moving image services
Launched in October 2012, the British Library's moving image services provide access to nearly a million sound and moving image items onsite, supported by data for over 20 million sound and moving image recordings. The three services, which for copyright reasons can only be accessed from terminals within the Reading Rooms at St Pancras or Boston Spa, are: * BBC Pilot/BBC Redux, Redux: A collaboration with BBC Research & Development to mirror its archive which has, since June 2007, been recording 24/7 of all of the BBC's national and some regional broadcast output. BBC Pilot includes 2.2 million catalogue records and 225,000 playable programmes, but unlike BBC Redux it does not include any broadcasts beyond 2011. * Broadcast News: Since May 2010, the British Library has been making off-air recordings of daily TV and radio news broadcasts from seventeen channels, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky News, Al-Jazeera English, NHK World, CNN, France 24, Bloomberg, Russia Today and China's CCTV News. Many of the programs come with subtitles, which can be electronically searched, greatly enhancing the value of the collection as a research tool. * Television & Radio Index for Learning & Teaching (TRILT): Produced by the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC), TRILT is a database of all UK television and radio broadcasts since 2001 (and selectively back to 1995). Its 16 million records, growing by a million per year, cover every channel, broadcast and repeat.Periodicals and philatelic collections
Newspapers
The Library holds an almost complete collection of British and Irish newspapers since 1840. This is partly because of the legal deposit legislation of 1869, which required newspapers to supply a copy of each edition of a newspaper to the library. London editions of national daily and Sunday newspapers are complete back to 1801. In total, the collection consists of 660,000 bound volumes and 370,000 reels of microfilm containing tens of millions of newspapers with 52,000 titles on of shelves. From earlier dates, the collections include the Thomason Tracts, comprising 7,200 seventeenth-century newspapers, and the Burney Collection, featuring nearly 1 million pages of newspapers from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The section also holds extensive collections of non-British newspapers, in numerous languages. The Newspapers section was based in Colindale in North London until 2013, when the buildings, which were considered to provide inadequate storage conditions and to be beyond improvement, were closed and sold for redevelopment. The physical holdings are now divided between the sites at St Pancras (some high-use periodicals, and rare items such as the Thomason Tracts and Burney collections) and Boston Spa (the bulk of the collections, stored in a new purpose-built facility). A significant and growing proportion of the collection is now made available to readers as surrogate facsimiles, either on microfilm, or, more recently, in digitised form. In 2010 a ten-year programme of digitisation of the newspaper archives with commercial partner DC Thomson subsidiary Brightsolid began, and the British Newspaper Archive was launched in November 2011. A dedicated newspaper reading room opened at St Pancras in April 2014, including facilities for consulting microfilmed and digital materials, and, where no surrogate exists, hard-copy material retrieved from Boston Spa.Philatelic collections
The British Library Philatelic Collections are held at St Pancras. The collections were established in 1891 with the donation of the Thomas Tapling, Tapling collection; they steadily developed and now comprise over 25 major collections and a number of smaller ones, encompassing a wide range of disciplines. The collections include postage stamp, postage and revenue stamps, postal stationery, essay (philately), essays, proofreading, proofs, cover (philately), covers and entries, "cinderella stamp" material, specimen issues, airmails, some postal history materials, official and private postal system, posts, etc., for almost all countries and periods. An extensive display of material from the collections is on exhibit, which may be the best permanent display of diverse classic stamps and philatelic material in the world. Approximately 80,000 items on 6,000 sheets may be viewed in 1,000 display frames; 2,400 sheets are from the Tapling Collection. All other material, which covers the whole world, is available to students and researchers. As well as these collections, the library actively acquires literature on the subject. This makes the British Library one of the world's prime philatelic research centres. The Head Curator of the Philatelic Collections is Paul Skinner.Other projects
The British Library sponsors or co-sponsors many projects of national and international significance. These include: * International Dunhuang Project * Theatre Archive Project * Friends of the British Library * Incunabula Short Title Catalogue * British Library Preservation Advisory Centre * DataCite, an international not-for-profit organisation which aims to improve data citation * Endangered Archives ProgrammeHighlights of the collections
Highlights, some of which were selected by the British Library, include:1300 BC – 500 AD
* More than 450 Chinese oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty, the oldest artefacts in the British Library (1300–1050 BC) * Constitution of the Athenians (Aristotle), Constitution of Athenians, papyrus work describing the constitution of Classical Athens by Aristotle or one of his pupils, from Hermopolis, Egypt (78–100 AD) * Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 30, De bellis macedonicis, fragment of a Latin Codex recording the Macedonian Wars in an early form of uncial script (1st–2nd centuries AD) * Gandhāran Buddhist texts, some of the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered (1st–3rd centuries AD) * William John Bankes, Bankes Homer, one of the longest and best preserved papyrus, papyri of Homer's literary works surviving from antiquity, containing the bulk of the text of the final book of the Iliad (2nd century AD) * Egerton Gospel, one of the two earliest preserved papyrus witnesses to the Christian gospel tradition (2nd century AD) * Sixty-six Indian copper plate inscriptions, Indian charters on copper plates, including those from Chamak copper plates, Chamak and two similar groups of plates from Java, (1st century BC – 13th century AD) * Fragments of the Spitzer Manuscript, the oldest surviving manuscript in Sanskrit discovered so far, from the Kizil Caves, China (200–230 AD) * Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 208 + 1781, Gospel of John Papyrus, early copy of the Gospel of John, Gospel according to John from the New Testament, discovered in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt (250 AD) * Sogdian Ancient Letters, the earliest substantial texts written in Sogdian language, Sogdian, the language formerly spoken in the area around Samarkand in present-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (313–314 AD) * Codex Sinaiticus, the major portion of the world's second-oldest manuscript of the Bible in koine Greek (330–360 AD) * Letters of Cyprian, three fragments from St Cyprian's epistles in uncial script, part of a Latin Codex from Carthage, north Africa (late 4th century AD) * Codex Alexandrinus, early manuscript of the Greek Bible containing the majority of the Old Testament and New Testament and one of the four Great uncial codices (400–440 AD) * British Library, Add MS 12150, Jacob Manuscript, the second oldest extant Syriac language, Syriac manuscript and the oldest codex bearing a date in any language, handwritten by the scribe Jacob (411 AD) * Curetonian Gospels, manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament in Syriac language, Old Syriac (c. 450–470 AD) * Fragments of the Cotton Genesis, luxury illuminated manuscript copy of the Book of Genesis and one of the oldest illustrated biblical codices to survive to the modern period (4th to 5th centuries AD) * Leaf from the Codex Palatinus, Latin Gospel Book written on purple dyed vellum in gold and silver ink (5th century AD) * Maunggun gold plates, two gold strips found at Maunggun near Sri Ksetra Kingdom, Sri Ksetra, inscribed in the ancient Pyu script and among the earliest Buddhist texts discovered in Myanmar, donated by Sir Frederick William Richards Fryer, Frederick Fryer, Lieutenant-Governor of Burma (5th century AD) * Seven folios of a manuscript containing the Sanskrit text of the Lotus Sutra in Sharada script from Gilgit, the earliest paper manuscript from South Asia (5th–7th centuries AD) * Earliest British Library, Add. 14470, Syriac manuscript with the complete Peshitta text of the New Testament (5th–6th centuries AD)500–800 AD
* Earliest dated Syriac British Library, Add MS 14459, manuscript of the two Gospels and the British Library, Add MS 14479, Peshitta Apostolos, Syriac language, Syriac manuscripts of the Peshitta or Peshitta, Syriac Bible (528–534) * British Library, Harley MS 1775, Codex Harleianus or Harley Latin Gospels, one of the earliest manuscripts of the Gospels in Latin, Italy (550) * Codex Nitriensis, Greek New Testament codex containing the Gospel of Luke from the Monastery of St. Mary Deipara in the Nitrian Desert, Egypt (c. 550) * Ravenna Papyri, Ravenna Papyrus, 2.5m long papyrus scroll in Latin cursive script with contract for the sale of a property in Ravenna, Italy (dated 3 June 572) * Four leaves from the Codex Purpureus Petropolitanus, a Greek manuscript of the Gospel book, Gospels written on purple parchment in silver and gold ink (6th century) * London Canon Tables, Golden Cannon Tables, Byzantine illuminated Gospel made in Constantinople before the Iconoclasm period (6th century) * Dunhuang Go Manual, the earliest surviving manuscript on the strategic board game of Go (game), Go from Dunhuang, China (6th century) * Askew Codex, unique manuscript in the Coptic script, one of three surviving codices containing full copies of all of the Pistis Sophia, gnostic writings (c. 6th century) * Manuscript copies of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra in the Chinese language, Chinese and Classical Tibetan, Tibetan languages from Dunhuang in China (7th to 9th centuries) * Ceolfrid Bible, fragment of one of the three single-volume Bibles ordered by Ceolfrid and closely related to the Codex Amiatinus (late 7th – early 8th centuries) * Dunhuang Star Chart, one of the first known graphical representations of stars from ancient Chinese astronomy (700) * Lindisfarne Gospels, illuminated Latin Gospel book from Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, one of the finest examples of Hiberno-Saxon or Insular art (715–720) * Gospel Book (British Library, Royal MS 1. B. VII), Royal Athelstan Gospels, Anglo-Saxon Illuminated manuscript, illuminated Gospel Book with Merovingian decoration, closely related to the Lindisfarne Gospels (700–749) * St Cuthbert Gospel, a Northumbrian gospel book with the oldest Western binding (early 8th century) * Codex Beneventanus, illuminated codex containing a Gospel Book for the Monastery of San Vincenzo al Volturno near Benevento, Italy (739–760) * Hyakumantō Darani or the "One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers", the earliest surviving examples of printing in Japan (764–770) * Tiberius Bede, illuminated manuscript of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, produced at Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (8th century) * Otho-Corpus Gospels, fragments of an Insular art, insular Gospel Book, the best preserved page representing an Evangelist portrait of the Lion of Saint Mark (8th century) * Vespasian Psalter, Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter decorated in Insular style, belonging to a group of manuscripts from southern England known as the Tiberius group, which includes the Tiberius Bede and the Book of Nunnaminster (late 8th century) * Gospel Book (British Library, Add MS 40618), London Gospel Book, Illuminated Manuscript, illuminated Pocket Book of the Four Gospels with Evangelist portraits, made in Ireland with later Anglo-Saxon additions (late 8th century) * Moralia in Job (British Library, Add MS 31031), Moralia in Job by Pope Gregory I, St Gregory, and Theological miscellany (British Library, Add MS 43460), Theological Works of St Augustine of Hippo, Jerome, St Jerome and Commodianus, two theological manuscripts produced in Laon, France and Nonantola Italy respectively (late 8th century) * Chronicle of 754, Mozarabic Chronicle, Visigothic minuscule written by Mozarab chronicler in Al-Andalus, with the earliest known reference in Latin to "Europeans" (europenses) (late 8th century) * One of the oldest and most complete surviving Qur’an codices in the world, produced in the Hijazi script in the Hijaz region of Arabia where the holy places of Mecca and Medina are. (8th century)800–1000 AD
* Schuttern Gospels, an early illuminated gospel book produced in Baden, Germany (early 9th century) * Æthelstan Psalter, small book of psalms made near Reims, once owned by King Æthelstan of Wessex and given by him to Winchester Cathedral (early 9th century) * Durham Liber Vitae, confraternity book, recording the names of visitors to the church of the bishopric of Durham, England, Durham, and its predecessor sees at Lindisfarne and Chester-le-Street (early 9th century) * Harley Golden Gospels, Carolingian illuminated manuscript written in gold ink, produced in Aachen, Germany (800–825) * Earliest surviving copy of Vitruvius's De architectura, Carolingian manuscript made at the scriptorium attached to the court of Charlemagne in Aachen, Germany (800–825) * Tibetan Annals, two manuscripts written in Old Tibetan covering the period from 643 to 764 AD (800–840) * Harley Aratea, Carolingian copy of ''Phaenomena Aratea'' by the Greek poet Aratus, with 22 full-page representations of the constellations in Calligram, text or scholia within the shapes, from Rheims, France (820) * Carolingian Gospel Book (British Library, Add MS 11848), Fridugisus Gospel Book, illuminated Carolingian Latin Gospel Book produced at Tours under the abbacy of Fridugisus with original treasure binding (820–830) * :fr:Bible de Moutier-Grandval, Bible from Moutier-Grandval Abbey, one of three illustrated bibles containing the text of the Vulgate made at the scriptorium of Tours in the ninth century, France (840) * Lothair Psalter, sumptuous Carolingian manuscript with original Bookbinding, binding furnishing a large silver-gilt medallion of the Emperor Lothair I (840–855) * An early copy of the Qur’an in Kufic script, with beginnings of elements of Arabic illumination and decoration, possibly from al-Kufah, Iraq (850) * Diamond Sutra, the world's earliest-dated printed book printed during the Tang dynasty (868) * Codex Ulmensis, manuscript in Caroline minuscule containing the Epistles and Book of Revelation, Revelation, produced at the Abbey of Saint Gall, monastic centre under Hartmut of Saint Gall, Abbot Harmut in St Gallen, Switzerland (872–878) * Bodmin manumissions, Bodmin Gospels, illuminated gospel-book copied in Brittany and owned by the Parish Church of St Mary and St Petroc, Priory of St Petroc in Bodmin, Cornwall, with recording of the freeing of slaves entered on some pages (875) * Anglo-Saxon copy of Orosius's ''Historiae Adversus Paganos'' with enlarged zoomorphic initials, produced at the scriptorium in Winchester Cathedral, England (892–925) * Breton Gospel Book (British Library, MS Egerton 609), Marmoutiers Gospel Book, illuminated manuscript mixing Insular and Carolingian styles produced in Brittany or Tours, western France (late 9th century) * Codex Seidelianus I, Greek language, Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels containing 252 parchment leaves (9th century) * Irq Bitig or Book of Omens from the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China, the only known complete manuscript text written in the Old Turkic script (9th century) * Gospels of Elisha, Armenian alphabet, Armenian gospels commissioned by Lord Elisha, one of the earliest gospels written in the Armenian language (c. 900) * Coronation Gospels (British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius A.ii), Coronation Gospels, Ottonian art, Ottonian illuminated Gospel book gifted to King Athelstan (late 9th or early 10th centuries) * Testament of Ba, manuscript written in Classical Tibetan, Old Tibetan marking the establishment of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet and the foundation of the Samye Monastery during the reign of King Trisong Detsen (9th–10th centuries) * Passionarium Hispanicum, illuminated Passional manuscript in Visigothic minuscule from the Monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña near Burgos, northern Spain, (911 AD) * Ivor Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, Guest-Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, Coutts New Testament, Byzantine illuminated manuscript of the New Testament in Greek, with silver-gilt cover, Constantinople (mid 10th century) * Bald's Leechbook or ''Medicinale Anglicum'', unique Anglo-Saxon manuscript pertaining to medical remedies, diagnoses and charms (mid 10th century) * Benedictional of St. Æthelwold, the most important surviving work of the Anglo-Saxon Winchester School of illumination (963–984) * New Minster Charter, Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscript with gold lettering, commissioned by Æthelwold of Winchester, Bishop Æthelwold and presented to the Winchester Cathedral, New Minster in Winchester by Edgar the Peaceful, King Edgar to commemorate the Benedictine Reform (966) * Lei feng ta scroll, early printed document found walled up in the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, China (975) * Ramsey Psalter, Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter made for use at the Benedictine monastery of Ramsey Abbey for its founder Oswald of Worcester, St Oswald (late 10th century) * :fr:Psautier de Bosworth, Bosworth Psalter, oldest English manuscript that includes all of the important texts of the Benedictine Office, from Bosworth Hall (Husbands Bosworth), Bosworth Hall, Leicestershire (late 10th century) * The sole surviving Nowell Codex, manuscript copy of the poem '' Beowulf'', one of four extant Anglo-Saxon poetry manuscripts (975–1025) * List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, London Codex and Moses Gaster, First Gaster Bible: two of the oldest surviving Hebrew biblical codices, Palestine (region), Palestine and Egypt (10th century)1000–1200 AD
* Illustrated copy of Prudentius's ''Psychomachia'' or "Battle of the Soul", the first allegorical work in European literature (late 10th-early 11th centuries) * Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' (10th–12th centuries) * Hemming's Cartulary, manuscript cartulary or collection of charters and other land records, collected by a monk named Hemming (monk), Hemming at Worcester Cathedral around the time of the Norman conquest of England (10th–12th centuries) * Charles Burney (schoolmaster), Burney Gospels, illuminated copy of the Greek Gospels by the Kokkinobaphos Master, once owned by the imperial Comnenus family in Constantinople (10th-12th centuries) * Grimbald Gospels, luxury gospel-book with gold initials and silver decoration made by Eadwig Basan, a monk at Christ Church, Canterbury, named after Grimbald of Saint-Bertin who was recommended in a letter that accompanied the volume to King Alfred the Great by Fulk (archbishop of Reims), Fulk, archbishop of Reims (1012–1023) * Manuscript copy of ''Liber Scintillarum'' or Book of Sparks, patristic anthology of biblical sayings in Latin from Rochester Cathedral (1015) * Harley Psalter, earliest of three surviving medieval copies of the Carolingian Utrecht Psalter (1020–1040) * Harleian Library, Harley Echternach Gospels and Egerton Collection, Egerton Echternach Gospels, two lavishly illuminated Gospel Books produced at the Benedictine Abbey of Echternach, Abbey of St Willibrord in Echternach, Luxembourg, (1025–1075) * New Minster Liber Vitae, New Minster ''Liber Vitae'', confraternity book produced in Winchester recording the names of visitors to the Winchester Cathedral, New Minster with a celebrated image of King Cnut the Great and Queen Emma of Normandy (1031) * ''Encomium Emmae Reginae'', lavishly illustrated Latin encomium in honour of Queen Emma of Normandy, consort of kings Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great of England, and mother of kings Harthacnut and Edward the Confessor (1041) * Odalricus Peccator Lectionary, illuminated lectionary with gold inscriptions by Odalricus Peccator at Lorsch Abbey, Germany (1000–1050) * Tiberius Psalter and Stowe Psalter, two of four surviving Gallican psalters produced at the New Minster, Winchester in the years around the Norman conquest of England (c.1050) * Theodore Psalter, one of the richest illuminated manuscripts to survive from Byzantium (1066) *Codex of the Lives of the Saints in the Georgian script from the Monastery of the Cross, Holy Cross Monastery, Jerusalem, including unique copies of works by Cyril of Scythopolis and Athanasius of Alexandria (11th century) * Old English Hexateuch, late Anglo-Saxon period translation of the six books of the Hexateuch into Old English, made under the tutelage of Ælfric of Eynsham (11th century) * Giant medieval bibles such as the Arnstein Bible, :fr:Bible de Floreffe, Floreffe Bible, Montpellier Bible, Parc Abbey Bible, Rochester, Kent, Rochester Bible, Stavelot Bible and :de:Frankenthaler Bibel, Worms Bible (11th–12th centuries) * Latin–Old Cornish Glossary, an early Cornish-Latin glossary with the oldest complete text in the Cornish language (11th–12th centuries) * Mar Saba Psalter, Byzantine Book of Psalms with full-page miniatures from the Monastery of Mar Saba near Jerusalem, (1090 AD) * :fr:Beatus de Silos, Silos Apocalypse, Silos Apocalypse, commentary on the Book of Revelation from Santo Domingo de Silos near Burgos, northern Spain (1091–1109) * Préaux Gospels, luxury copy of the Four Gospels produced under the leadership of abbot Richard of Fourneaux, a student of Anselm of Canterbury, Saint Anselm, at the Benedictine Préaux Abbey, abbey of St Pierre in Les Préaux, Préaux, Normandy (early 12th century) * Shaftesbury Psalter, illuminated Book of Psalms made for use at the Benedictine nunnery of Shaftesbury Abbey in Dorset, perhaps originally owned by Queen Adeliza of Louvain, widow of Henry I of England (1125–1150) * :fr:Cartulaire de Quimperlé, Cartulary of Quimperlé from the abbey of the Holy Cross at Quimperlé, important Cartulary, source for the history of Brittany during the Middle Ages (1125–1150) * Melisende Psalter, illuminated manuscript commissioned in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem for Queen Melisende (c.1135) * Gospels of Máel Brigte or Armagh Gospels, illuminated Gospel Book produced by a scribe named Máel Brigte úa Máel Úanaig in Armagh, Ireland (1138–1139) * Leaf from the Eadwine Psalter, one of the most decorated psalters from medieval England, named after the scribe Eadwine, a monk from Canterbury Cathedral (1155–1160) * Gospels of Simeon, gospels written in an early form of the Armenian alphabet, Armenian script or ''Erkatagir'' by a monk named Simeon, collected by the traveller William Burckhardt Barker, William B. Barker (1166) * Fragment of the luxurious Psalter of Henry the Lion with text written in gold on purple parchment and scenes of months and zodiac signs (1168–1189) * Guthlac of Crowland, Guthlac Roll, strip of parchment containing 18 roundels depicting the life of the Anglo-Saxon saint, from Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire (1175–1215) *Winchester Psalter, Romanesque art, Romanesque illuminated psalter made for Henry of Blois, brother of Stephen, King of England, King Stephen (12th century) * The General's Garden (Tangut translation), ''The General's Garden'' scroll, unique manuscript translation in the Tangut language and Tangut script, script of a Chinese military text, collected from the abandoned fortress city of Khara-Khoto by Aurel Stein in 1914 (12th century) * :nl:Annalen van Egmond, Annals of Egmond Abbey, the earliest manuscript copy in Latin of the annals from Egmond Abbey, a significant source for the early history of the Netherlands (late 12th/early 13th centuries)1200–1300 AD
* Avag Vank Gospels, lavishly illuminated manuscript of the Four Gospels in the Armenian language, eastern Turkey (1200–01) * Westminster Psalter, illuminated manuscript commissioned by the Abbot of Westminster and the oldest surviving psalter used at Westminster Abbey (c.1200) * ''Tacuinum Sanitatis'', "The Maintenance of Health", a medical digest composed by Ibn Butlan in Arabic for Az-Zahir Ghazi, al-Malik al-Ẓāhir, son of Saladin (1213) * Two first edition copies of the Magna Carta out of 4 extant copies (1215) * Rochester Bestiary, richly illuminated manuscript of a medieval bestiary, a book describing the appearance and habits of familiar and exotic animals, both real and legendary, Rochester, Kent (1220–1230) * Annals of Boyle, Irish medieval chronicle from Holy Trinity Abbey, Lough Key, Trinity Island on Lough Key near Boyle, County Roscommon (1235) * Part of the Oxford-Paris-London Bible moralisée, luxury illuminated manuscript commissioned by Blanche of Castile for Margaret of Provence (1230–45) * William de Brailes, De Brailes Hours, earliest surviving English Book of Hours, once owned by Charles William Dyson Perrins, Charles Dyson Perrins (1240) * ''Mahzor Vitry'', liturgical manuscript written in Ashkenazic script, unique compendium of Jewish prayers for the entire year according to the north French rite and a host of laws on everyday practices (1242) * Felbrigge Psalter, illuminated manuscript with the earliest Opus Anglicanum, embroidered bookbinding on an English book, from Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk (mid 13th century) * Third part of the ''Chronica Majora'' or history of the world by Matthew Paris, Benedictine monk and celebrated historian from St Albans Abbey (1254–1259) * John Manners, 5th Duke of Rutland, Rutland Psalter, earliest extant example of an English Psalter with extensive marginal imagery, London (1260) * Sumer is icumen in, manuscript copy of a musical composition composed at Reading Abbey, oldest known Round (music), musical round yet discovered, with Middle English words (1261–1265) * ''Chronicles of Mann'', medieval Latin manuscript relating the early history of the Isle of Man (1262) * Oscott Psalter, English manuscript with scenes from the Bible and some of the most striking paintings of the period (1265–1270) * Dering Roll, the oldest English roll of arms surviving in its original form (1270–80) * Grandisson Psalter, once owned by John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter and bequeathed to Isabella, Countess of Bedford, Princess Isabella, eldest daughter of King Edward III (1270–80) * Hispano-Moresque Haggadah, illuminated Passover Haggadah manuscript with 66 full-page illustrations depicting episodes from the Book of Exodus, made in Castile (historical region), Castile, Spain (1280) * Coldingham Breviary, illuminated liturgical book made for Coldingham Priory, Berwickshire (1275–80) * ''The Owl and the Nightingale'', one of the earliest substantial texts to be written in Middle English (1275–1300) * North French Hebrew Miscellany, important Hebrew illuminated manuscript containing a wide range of Hebrew language texts (1278–98) * Alphonso Psalter, ornate illuminated manuscript made for Alphonso, Earl of Chester, Prince Alphonso, son of Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, for his betrothal to Margaret, daughter of Floris V, Count of Holland and Zeeland (1284) * Collection of Mishnah commentaries by Rabbinic scholar Isaac ben Melchizedek from Siponto, Italy (1287–1288) * Copy of Sultan Walad's Ibtidānamah, said in a note by the Mughal prince Dara Shikoh to be an autograph copy (1298) * Gospel Lectionary of Sainte-Chapelle, illuminated collection of Gospel passages read during mass-produced for the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris (late 13th century) *Fécamp Bible, largely intact illuminated bible originally from the Abbey of Fécamp, Normandy (late 13th century) *Copy of Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī's ''Kitāb Ṣuwar al-kawākib al-thābitah'', an illustrated description of the 48 classical constellations in Ptolemy's Almagest (13th century) * ''Chronicle of Melrose'', medieval chronicle written by monks at Melrose Abbey with the earliest independent account of the sealing of the Magna Carta (late 13th century) * House of Percy, Percy Psalter-Hours, rare and early example of an illuminated devotional book from York, northern England (late 13th century) * Rare manuscript of a Qur’ān in maghribi script from Al-Andalus, Volume 39 of 60 volumes, originally produced in Granada, Spain (13th century)1300–1400 AD
* One of the ''Grandes Chroniques de France'', once owned by John II of France, vernacular royal compilation of the history of France (1300–1399) * Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, Duke of Sussex's German Pentateuch, Hebrew manuscript richly decorated with mythical beasts in the margins, southern Germany (c.1300) * The Gwentian Code of the Welsh Law or Cyfraith Hywel, Book of Cyfnerth, medieval legal manuscript in Welsh language, Welsh produced in Neath, south Wales (1300–1325) * :de:Machsor Tripartitum, Tripartite Maḥzor, one of three volumes from a festival prayer book for the Shavuot, Feast of Weeks and Sukot, Feast of the Tabernacles, written in Hebrew in southern Germany (1300–1329) * Breviary of Renaud de Bar, originally owned by Reginald of Bar (bishop of Metz), Reginald of Bar, Bishop of Metz (1302–1303) * Mamluk Baibars II, Sultan Baybars II's seven-volume Qur’an written in gold in thuluth script, the earliest dated Qur’an from the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), Mamluk period, Cairo (1304–06) * Juz', Part 25 of the Qur’ān commissioned by the Ilkhanate ruler Öljaitü, Sultan Öljaitü, written in a fine gold muhaqqaq script with illuminated frontispiece. Mosul, Iraq (1310–1311) * Stowe Breviary, illuminated manuscript breviary from England, providing divine office according to the Sarum Ordinal and calendar (1320–1330) * Hours of Saint-Omer, illuminated book of hours produced in Saint-Omer, northern France for the use of Marguerite de Baugé, Marguerite de Beaujeu (1320–1330) * Taymouth Hours, illuminated Book of Hours produced in England with unusually rich decoration, named after Taymouth Castle in Scotland where it was kept for centuries (1325–1335) * Illuminated manuscript of ''Roman de Brut'' in Norman French by Wace, the earliest surviving vernacular chronicle of British history, with the earliest depiction of Stonehenge (1325–1350) * Psalter of Queen Philippa, illuminated manuscript probably made as a gift for Philippa of Hainault to mark her marriage to Edward III of England (1328) * Holkham Bible with illustrated collection of biblical and apocryphal stories in Norman French, from Holkham Hall, Norfolk (1327–1335) * Regia Carmina, address in verse to Robert of Anjou, King of Naples from the town of Prato in Tuscany, written by :it:Convenevole da Prato, Convenevole da Prato and illuminated by Pacino di Buonaguida (1335–1340) * An early manuscript of the Samaritan Pentateuch, containing basic text of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible in the Samaritan script, Damascus, Syria (1339) * :it:Smithfield Decretals, Smithfield Decretals, copy of the glossed Decretales Gregorii IX, Decretals of Pope Gregory IX, renowned for its extraordinary programme of marginal illumination, once owned by St Bartholomew-the-Great church in Smithfield (1340) * Golden Haggadah, :ca:Hagadà de Barcelona, Barcelona Haggadah, Sister Haggadah and Brother Haggadah, four illuminated manuscripts for the Jewish Passover from Catalonia (early 14th century) * Gorleston Psalter, illuminated manuscript containing early music instruction and humorous marginalia (early 14th century) * Queen Mary Psalter, Luttrell Psalter and Howard Psalter and Hours, three lavishly illuminated Gothic manuscripts (early 14th century) * Illustrated copy of ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt or "Wonders of Creation" by Zakariya al-Qazwini (early 14th century) * Maastricht Hours, book of hours made in Liège, remarkable for its large number of vibrant illuminations (early 14th century) * Kildare Poems, group of sixteen poems written in an Irish dialect of Middle English, one of the earliest manuscripts in Irish English, Kildare, Ireland (c. 1350) * Serres Tetraevangelion, Gospels, made by Kalist Rasoder for Jakov of Serres and written in the Serbian recension of Church Slavonic (1354) * Gospels of Tsar Ivan Alexander, the most important medieval Bulgarian manuscript (1355–1356) * Robertsbridge Codex, earliest surviving music manuscript written specifically for keyboard, Robertsbridge, East Sussex (1360) * Coronation book of Charles V of France, sumptuous illustrated manuscript recording the rituals of a royal coronation (1365) * Sherborne Missal, one of the finest English examples of International Gothic illuminated manuscripts (1385–1415) * Korean manuscript of volume 32 of the Avatamsaka Sutra, written on gold pigment for a royal patron (1390) * Illustrated Persian miniature, Persian manuscript of three of the five poems from the Hamsa (literature), Khamsa by Khwaju Kermani, Khvājū Kirmānī (1396) * Al-Kashshaf, a commentary on the Qurʻān by al-Zamakhshari (14th century)1400–1500 AD
* Manuscript of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, one of the earliest illustrated English literary works (c. 1400) * British Library, Add MS 29987, London Manuscript, a medieval music, medieval Tuscany, Tuscan musical manuscript containing some of the earliest purely instrumental pieces in the Western musical tradition (c. 1400) * The Life and Acts of Lalibela, Ethiopian manuscript of the history of Lalibela (Emperor of Ethiopia), King Lalibela of Lasta (1400) * Lovell Lectionary, illuminated codex painted by John Siferwas, Dominican Order, Dominican friar and illuminator of the Sherborne Missal, commissioned by Baron Lovel, John, Lord Lovell, of Titchmarsh (1400–1408) * Copy of British Library, Stowe MS 54 (Histoire ancienne), Histoire ancienne jusqu'à César, historical illuminated manuscript recounting tales of the ancient world, especially the Trojan War, the conquests of Alexander the Great and the greatness of ancient Rome (1400–25) * :fr:Heures Egerton, Hours of René of Anjou, illuminated manuscript made in Paris acquired by René of Anjou, René, Duke of Anjou and King of Naples (1405–1410) * Great Bible, at over half metre long the largest manuscript of the Bible in the British Library's collection, once owned by Henry IV of England (early 15th century) * :la:Codex Bellunensis, Codex Bellunensis, illustrated florilegia and List of florilegia and botanical codices, botanical codex with 180 full-page painted drawings of plants from Belluno, northern Italy (early 15th century) * One of the earliest copies of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, perhaps the most influential literary text in Middle English (1410) * Book of the Queen, lavishly decorated collection of works by the poet Christine de Pizan presented to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen Isabeau of France (1410–1414) * Beaufort/Beauchamp Hours, composite book of hours, the main part of which was most likely made for Margaret Beauchamp (1411–1443) * Gospel lectionary inscribed in Greek at the St. Marina's Monastery, Monastery of St Marina in Berat, Albania (1413) * Old Hall Manuscript, the largest and most complete source of English sacred music of the late 14th and early 15th centuries (1410–1420) * Wardington Manor, Wardington Hours, Hours of the Passion illuminated by an artist from the school of the Bedford Master, Paris (1410–1440) * :fr:Bréviaire de Jean sans Peur, Breviary of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria, illuminated manuscript given to the John the Fearless, couple to celebrate their betrothal (1413–19) * Bedford Hours, a richly illustrated late-medieval book of hours once owned by the John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, Duke of Bedford (1410–1430) * Psalter of Humphrey of Gloucester, illuminated Book of Psalms belonging to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, uncle to King Henry VI of England (1430–1440) * Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor Carol (music), Carol Book, manuscript of music and carols for Holy Week, probably written for St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (1430–1444) * ''The Book of Margery Kempe'', the earliest surviving autobiography in the English language (1436) * Tractatus de Herbis, illustrated treatise of medicinal plants, with nearly 500 representations of plants, animals and minerals, originally from Lombardy, northern Italy (1440) * :fr:Heures de Dunois, Dunois Hours, highly decorated French Book of Hours by the Dunois Master, commissioned by Jean de Dunois, Jean d'Orléans, Count of Dunois (1439–1450) * Collected commentaries on the Spring and Autumn annals, Print culture, printed document with early use of Kabin font moveable type under the Korean King Sejong, Seoul (1442) * Talbot Shrewsbury Book, large richly-illuminated manuscript presented to Margaret of Anjou from Rouen, France (1444–1445) * Illuminated manuscript copy of Dante Alighieri, Dante's Divine Comedy, produced for Alfonso V of Aragon, Alfonso V, king of Aragon, Naples and Sicily, Siena, Italy (1450) * Volume of Poems of Charles of Orleans, illuminated folio of poems written by Charles, Duke of Orléans during his imprisonment in England following the Battle of Agincourt (c.1450) * Leaf from the Hours of Étienne Chevalier, illuminated book of hours commissioned by Étienne Chevalier, treasurer to King Charles VII of France, the only work of the famed illuminator Jean Fouquet in the collection (1452) * Two Gutenberg Bible, Gutenberg or 42-line Bibles, two copies of a Latin Bible printed at Mainz, Germany, the earliest major books printed using mass-produced Movable type, movable metal type in Europe (1450–1455) * Mainz Psalter, the second work to be produced with movable type in Europe and the first to experiment with multi-coloured printing, one of 10 extant copies, Mainz, Germany (1457) * Copy of the Bamberg Bible, Bamberg or 36-line Bible, the second moveable-type-printed edition of the Bible from Bamberg, Germany (c. 1458–60) * Rime and Trionfi by Petrarch, illuminated manuscript of poetry once owned by Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga (1444–1483), Francesco Gonzaga, northern Italy (1465) * :de:Mentelin-Bibel, Mentelin Bible, the first bible to be printed in any vernacular language, one of the first edition copies printed by Johann Mentelin in Strasbourg (1466) * Shamakhi anthology of poetry, illustrated by Sharaf al-Dīn Ḥusayn, a royal scribe based at the court of the Shirvanshah Farrukh Yassar in Shirvan, Azerbaijan (1468) * Sanaa Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses, with stylised representations of mountains and fish swimming in the sea outlined in scriptural micrography, Yemen (1469) * Only surviving manuscript copy of1500–1700 AD
* Codex Arundel, one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks (1480–1518) * Sforza Hours one of the most richly illuminated books of hours of the Renaissance (1490–1520) * Petit Livre d'Amour, manuscript collection of love poems written by :fr:Pierre Sala, Pierre Sala, antiquary and valet de chambre of Louis XII of France (1500) * The Hours of Joanna I of Castile, illuminated manuscript by Gerard Horenbout from the Ghent-Bruges school (1500) * Anne Boleyn's Book of Hours, opulent Book of Hours once owned by Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII of England, with lover's inscriptions (1500) * Nimatnama-i-Nasiruddin-Shahi, medieval Indian cookbook, written in Persian language with Naskh (script), Naskh script, commissioned by Sultan Ghiyath Shah of the Malwa Sultanate in central India (1500) * Charles Stuart, 1st Baron Stuart de Rothesay, Stuart de Rothesay Book of Hours, illuminated Book of Hours written by Bartolomeo Sanvito and commissioned by Cardinal Marino Grimani with four miniatures by Giulio Clovio (c.1508–1538 AD) * Family tree of Portuguese monarchs, Portuguese Genealogy, illuminated manuscript made for Infante Ferdinand of Portugal, Duke of Guarda, Dom Fernando of Portugal with paintings by Simon Bening and :es:Antonio de Holanda, Antonio de Holanda (1530–1534) * One of only three wikt:extant, extant copies of the first edition of the Tyndale Bible, Tynedale New Testament, the first bible to be translated and mass-produced in English by William Tyndale (1526) * Diminutive prayer books made for Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, Anne Seymour, Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey; the latter two said to have been taken to the Scaffold (execution site), scaffold at their executions (1536–1544) * Poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt, the earliest notebook in the English language of any major poet that has survived (1530–1540) * Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII's personal copy of the Great Bible, the first authorised version of the Bible in English (1540) * Tahmasp I, Shah Ṭahmāsb's copy of Nizami Ganjavi's Hamsa (literature), Khamsah (Five Poems) with illustrations of The Prophet Muhammad's Celestial Journey by Sultan Mohammed, Tabriz, Iran (1539–1543) * Psalter of Henry VIII, illuminated psalter by Jean Mallard that belonged to Henry VIII of England (1540–1550) * Golf book, Golf Book, illuminated Book of Hours manuscript created by Simon Bening in Bruges, Belgium (1540–1550) * The Glorification of the Great Goddess, beautiful palm leaf manuscript of the Devimahatmya, copied in Nepal in Classical Newari, Newari script during the reign of King Prana Malla of Bhaktapur (1547) * Triumphs of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Charles V, codex of 12 full page miniature paintings by Giulio Clovio celebrating the victories of the Holy Roman Emperor (1556–1575) * ''Yongle Encyclopedia'', 24 volumes of the second edition of the encyclopedia commissioned by the Yongle Emperor, containing the most important texts available at that time, China (1562–1572) * Splendor Solis, medical and alchemical treatises attributed to Salomon Trismosin, meticulously painted and highlighted with gold in Germany (1582) * Imperial illuminated copy of the :de:Dārāb-nāma (British Library Or. 4615), Dārāb-nāma in Nastaliq script by Abu Ṭahir Ṭarsusi, originally from the Mughal Library of Emperor Akbar (1585) * Baburnama, Illustrated memoirs of the Mughal Babur, Emperor Bābur and the first volume of Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak's Akbarnamah, both produced for Bābur's grandson Akbar, Lahore, Pakistan (1590) * Illuminated manuscript of the Khamsa of Nizami (British Library, Or. 12208), Khamsa of Nizami, lavishly illustrated manuscript created for the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1590–1600) * An incomplete manuscript of the Razmnamah (British Library, Or. 12076), Razmnama, an illustrated Mughal Empire, Mughal translation of the Hindu epic Mahabharata written by Naqib Khan (1598–1599) * Vologda-Perm, Russia, Perm Chronicle, chronicle of events in Russian Church Slavonic, important early source for the history of Russia (16th century) * Important music manuscripts for keyboard, including ''Elizabeth Rogers' Virginal Book'', The Mulliner Book, ''My Ladye Nevells Booke'' and the Susanne van Soldt Manuscript from Holland (16th–17th centuries) * The Book of Sir Thomas More, one of a small number of Elizabethan plays to survive in manuscript form with three pages attributed to William Shakespeare (1601–04) * Rare first edition of Don Quixote, the first modern novel (1604) * Illuminated manuscript of Panchatantra, Anvar-i Suhayli or Lights of Canopus, copied for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir with 36 beautiful miniatures (1604–1614) * Five copies of William Shakespeare's First Folio of plays (1623) * Lavishly decorated scroll of Chapter 8 of the Lotus Sutra, presented by Emperor Go-Mizunoo to the Nikkō Tōshō-gū, Tōshō-gū Shrine in Nikkō. Japan (1636) * Kaifeng Torah Scroll, sheepskin scroll with 239 columns of text in Hebrew, one of only seven complete scrolls to have survived from the Kaifeng Jews, Synagogue in Kaifeng, China (1643–1663) * Second edition of the Bay Psalm Book, earliest printed book in British North America (1647) * Most volumes of the Mewar Ramayana, illustrated manuscript with 450 paintings of the Hindu Epic, commissioned by Acarya Jasvant for the library of Jagat Singh I of the Rajput kingdom of Udaipur State, Mewar in Rajasthan (1649–1653) * Ethiopian manuscript collections, Ethiopian manuscript of Canonical gospels, The Four Gospels, richly illustrated manuscript displaying European artistic influences, Gondar, Ethiopia (1664–1665)1700 AD – present
* The Revelation of Saint John, profusely illustrated manuscript with 126 paintings, Gondar, Ethiopia (1700–1730) * One of only two extant copies of Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, the oldest printed edition of an anthology of English nursery rhymes (1744) * Rare edition of the Qianlong Emperor's 'Eulogy on Shenyang, Mukden', poem written in thirty-two seal-script forms in both Manchu language, Manchu and Chinese language, Chinese (1748) * Luxury Sinhala script, Sinhalese manuscript containing bilingual Atthakatha, Buddhist scriptures incised in gold on palm leaves, Sri Lanka (1756) * Statue of William Shakespeare (Roubiliac), Statue of William Shakespeare by the French sculptor Louis-François Roubiliac, commissioned by the celebrated Shakespearian actor David Garrick (1757) * Copy of the poetical works in the Chaghatai language of Sultan Husayn Bayqara and the Mughal Emperor Babur (1776) * Menggu Ziyun, unique copy of a 14th-century rime dictionary of Chinese written in the 'Phags-pa script (18th century) * The Acts and Life of Saint Tekle Haymanot, profusely illustrated manuscript with the only known example of a metal cover with carvings of figures and the cross outside of Ethiopia (18th century AD) * Serat Selarasa, one of the earliest finely-illustrated Javanese script, Javanese manuscripts known, retelling the adventures of Selarasa, prince of Champa and his two brothers, originally owned by Colonel Colin Mackenzie (1804 AD) * Anthology of poetry by the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar (early 19th century AD) * Copy of Taj al-Salatin or The Crown of Kings, one of the finest illuminated Malayic languages, Malay manuscripts known, Penang (1824) * Rare copy of The Birds of America by John James Audubon, containing illustrations of a wide variety of birds from the United States (1827–1838) * Rani Jindan's Prayer Book, luxurious manuscript written in the Gurmukhi script produced for Maharani Jind Kaur, Regent of the Sikh Empire (1828–1830) * Manuscript copy in Arabic script of the Rawz al-jinan wa ruh al-jinan, Meadows of Paradise by Gidado dan Laima, close associate of Usman dan Fodio, founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, northern Nigeria (1840) * Delhi Book or Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi, album with collection of 120 paintings mostly by the Mughal painter Mazhar Ali Khan (painter), Mazhar Ali Khan, commissioned by Sir Thomas Metcalfe (1844) * First edition of the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, one of only 25 copies that survive today (1848) * Emancipation Proclamation, one of 27 surviving copies of the Charles Godfrey Leland, Leland-George Henry Boker, Boker "Authorized Edition" printed by Frederick Leypoldt, USA (1863) * Pageant of King Mindon manuscript, the finest example of Burmese manuscript art before it became influenced by Western artistic conventions, depicting the procession of King Mindon and his court to dedicate the Kyauktawgyi Buddha Temple (Mandalay), Kyauk-daw-gyi Buddha image in Mandalay (1865) * Imperial manuscript copy of the Tale of Kiều, Vietnamese Epic (genre), epic poem written in Chữ Nôm, Sino-Vietnamese script illustrated with scenes from the story, once owned by the French orientalist Paul Pelliot, (1894) * Kelmscott Chaucer, one of 13 vellum copies of the magnificently decorated book of The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and printed by William Morris's Kelmscott Press, with 87 illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones (1896) * Balfour Declaration, public statement issued by the British government announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine (region), Palestine (1917) * The original hand-written lyrics of Beatles songs including "The Fool on the Hill", "A Hard Day's Night (song), A Hard Day's Night", "Help! (song), Help!", "In My Life", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "Michelle (song), Michelle", "She Said She Said", "Strawberry Fields Forever", "Ticket to Ride (song), Ticket to Ride", and "Yesterday (Beatles song), Yesterday" from the Hunter Davies collection (1960s)Maps, music, manuscripts and literature
* Important maps such as the Anglo-Saxon Map and Psalter world map, two early medieval Mappa mundi from England, one of the earliest maps of Great Britain by the Benedictine monk Matthew Paris, World Map by Ranulf Higden, a Venetian hand-written re-creation of Claudius Ptolemy's British Library, Harley MS 3686, Geographia, the Pinelli–Walckenaer Atlas, Pinelli–Walckenaer and Cornaro Atlas, Cornaro Atlases of Portolan charts from Venice, World Map by Henricus Martellus Germanus, the first map showing the Dragon's Tail (peninsula), Dragon's Tail meaning the Indian Ocean was not landlocked, the Contarini–Rosselli map, first printed map showing the new world, several hand-produced Dieppe maps produced for wealthy Renaissance patrons including one by Pierre Desceliers, the Queen Mary I of England, Queen Mary Atlas made by Portuguese map-maker Diogo Homem, one of only two copies of a Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio, Map of America by Diego Gutiérrez (cartographer), Diego Gutiérrez, part of a Mercator 1569 world map by Gerardus Mercator, a decorative Atlas drawn by the Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado, the Atlas of England and Wales made by Christopher Saxton for William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Lord Burghley, the earliest extant Chinese Globe made by Nicolò Longobardo and Manuel Dias the Younger, Manuel Dias, the Klencke Atlas, the largest atlas in the world, a rare copy of the Velarde map of the Philippines and a copy of the Mitchell Map of North America (11th–18th centuries) * Original manuscripts of musical scores including Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach's ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'' and ''Wo soll ich fliehen hin, BWV 5, Wo soll ich fliehen hin'', Michael William Balfe, Balfe's ''The Bohemian Girl'', the Sketch (music), sketchbook of Beethoven's ''Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven), 6th Symphony'', his ''Violin Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven), Violin Sonata No. 8'', ''Lied aus der Ferne'' and a Fair copy (music), fair copy of the ''Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven), 9th Symphony'', Johannes Brahms, Brahms's ''Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119 (Brahms), Rhapsodie in Eb (op. 119, no. 4) for Piano'' and ''Zigeunerlieder (Brahms), Zigeunerlieder'', Benjamin Britten, Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera), A Midsummer Night's Dream'',''The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'' and ''War Requiem'', Frédéric Chopin, Chopin's ''Barcarolle (Chopin), Barcarolle in F sharp major for piano, op 60'' and ''Polonaises Op. 40 (Chopin), Polonaises Op. 40'', Claude Debussy, Debussy's ''Brouillards'', ''La chute de la maison Usher (opera), La chute de la maison Usher'' and ''Fantaisie for piano and orchestra (Debussy), Fantaisie for piano and orchestra'', Frederick Delius, Delius's ''Brigg Fair'', ''On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring'' and ''Piano Concerto (Delius), Piano Concerto in C minor'', Edward Elgar, Elgar's ''Enigma Variations'', ''Pomp and Circumstance Marches'' and ''Violin Concerto (Elgar), Violin Concerto in B minor'', Gilbert and Sullivan's ''The Gondoliers'', ''Patience (opera), Patience'' and ''Ruddigore'', Edvard Grieg, Grieg's ''Peer Gynt Suite'', Handel's ''Messiah (Handel), Messiah'', ''Music for the Royal Fireworks'', ''Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne'' and ''Zadok the Priest'', Haydn's Symphony's ''Symphony No. 40 (Haydn), No. 40'', ''Symphony No. 95 (Haydn), No. 95'', ''Symphony No. 96 (Haydn), No. 96'' and ''Symphony No. 97 (Haydn), No. 97'', Holst's ''The Planets'', Franz Liszt, Liszt's ''Christus (Liszt), Christus'', Mahler's ''Symphony No. 9 (Mahler), Symphony No. 9'' and ''Ulrich'' from ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Mahler), Des Knaben Wunderhorn'', Mendelssohn's ''Symphony No. 1 (Mendelssohn), Symphony No. 1'', ''A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn), A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and ''String Quartet in E-flat major (1823) (Mendelssohn), String Quartet in E flat'', Mozart's ''Adagio and Fugue in C minor (Mozart), Adagio and Fugue in C minor'', ''God is our Refuge'', ''Horn Concerto No. 3 (Mozart), Horn Concerto No. 3'', ''String Quintet No. 6 (Mozart), String Quintet No. 6'', his last ten string quartets including ''String Quartet No. 19 (Mozart), No. 19'' and the thematic catalogue of all his works from 1784 to 1791, Jacques Offenbach, Offenbach's ''Fantasio (opera), Fantasio'', Henry Purcell, Purcell's ''My Heart is Inditing'', Maurice Ravel, Ravel's ''Boléro'', Schubert's ''An die Musik'', ''Mass No. 3 (Schubert), Mass No. 3'' and ''Piano Sonata in G major, D 894 (Schubert), Piona Sonata in G Major'', Gioachino Rossini, Rossini's ''List of compositions by Gioachino Rossini, Il pianto delle muse in morte di Lord Byron'' and part of ''Ivanhoé'', Schumann's ''Piano Sonata No. 3 (Schumann), Piano Sonata No. 3'', Richard Strauss's ''Die schweigsame Frau'', Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky's ''Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra'' and part of ''The Firebird'', Vaughan Williams's ''The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams), The Lark Ascending'' and ''Pastoral Symphony (Vaughan Williams), Pastoral Symphony'', Giuseppe Verdi, Verdi's ''Attila (opera), Atilla'' and part of ''La traviata'', Richard Wagner, Wagner's ''Die Feen'', ''Der fliegende Holländer'', ''Polonia (Wagner), Polonia'', and ''List of compositions by Richard Wagner, Overture in D, Rule Britannia'', William Vincent Wallace, Wallaces's ''Love's Triumph'', Anton Webern, Webern's ''List of compositions by Anton Webern, Sechs Stücke für grosses Orchester'', and many more (18th–20th centuries) * Autograph letters, diaries, notes and other manuscript material from famous people such as Marie Antoinette, W H Auden, Charles Baudelaire, Samuel Beckett, Hector Berlioz, Bertold Brecht, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Isambard Brunel, Catherine the Great, Charles I of England, Winston Churchill, Hans Christian Andersen, Captain James Cook, Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwin, Daniel Defoe, René Descartes, John Dryden, Albrecht Dürer, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Elizabeth I of England, E M Forster, Michael Faraday, Benjamin Franklin, Sigmund Freud, Galileo, Mahatma Gandhi, Garibaldi, Edward Gibbon, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Goethe, Adolf Hitler, William Hogarth, Victor Hugo, Henrik Ibsen, Henry James, John Maynard Keynes, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Lord Kitchener, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, Lafayette, D.H.Lawrence, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Gottfried Leibniz, Lenin, Abraham Lincoln, Carl Linnaeus, David Livingstone, Louis XVI of France, John Locke, Martin Luther, Karl Marx, Michelangelo, John Milton, Sir Thomas More, Mussolini, Horatio Nelson, George Orwell, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sir Isaac Newton, Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon, Florence Nightingale, Laurence Olivier, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Pope, Ezra Pound, Sir Walter Raleigh, Grigori Rasputin, Rasputin, Rembrandt, Robert the Bruce, Robespierre, Franklin D Roosevelt, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Captain Scott, Mary Shelley, Adam Smith, George Stephenson, Jonathan Swift, Tchaikovsky, Dylan Thomas, Tolkien, Alan Turing, Jules Verne, Voltaire, George Washington, John Wesley, Walt Whitman, Sir Christopher Wren, and many others (14th–20th centuries) * Autograph manuscripts of famous novels and poetry from literature including '' History of England'' and ''Persuasion (novel), Persuasion'' by Jane Austen, ''The Drowned World'', ''Empire of the Sun'' and ''High-Rise (novel), High Rise'' by J. G. Ballard, ''Heartbreak House'' and ''Pygmalion (play), Pygmalion'' by George Bernard Shaw, the Notebook of William Blake (also known as the Rossetti Manuscript) with many of his most famous poems, '' Jane Eyre'', ''Shirley (novel), Shirley'' and ''Villette (novel), Villette'' byCollections of manuscripts
Foundation collections
The three foundation collections are those which were brought together to form the initial manuscript holdings of the British Museum in 1753: * Cotton library, Cotton manuscripts *Harleian Library, Harley manuscripts *Hans Sloane, Sloane manuscriptsOther named collections
Other "named" collections of manuscripts include (but are not limited to) the following: * Arundel Manuscripts * Egerton Collection, Egerton manuscripts * King's manuscripts, British Library, King's manuscripts * Lansdowne manuscripts * Royal manuscripts, British Library, Royal manuscripts * Stefan Zweig Collection * Stowe manuscripts * Henry Yates Thompson, Yates Thompson manuscripts Other collections, not necessarily manuscripts: * Lawrence Durrell CollectionAdditional manuscripts
The Additional Manuscripts series covers manuscripts that are not part of the named collections, and contains all other manuscripts donated, purchased or bequeathed to the Library since 1756. The numbering begins at 4101, as the series was initially regarded as a continuation of the collection of Sloane manuscripts, which are numbered 1 to 4100.Chief executives and other employees
British Library employees undertake a wide variety of roles including curatorial, business and technology. Curatorial roles include or have included librarians, curators, digital preservationists, archivists and keepers. In 2001 the senior management team was established and consisted of Lynne Brindley (chief executive), Ian Millar (director of finance and corporate resources), Natalie Ceeney (director of operations and services), Jill Finney (director of strategic marketing and communications) and Clive Field (director of scholarship and collections). This was so the problems of a complex structure, a mega hybrid library, global brand and investment in digital preservation could be managed better ; Chief Executives * 1973 to 1984: Sir Harry Hookway, first Chief Executive * 1991 to 2000: Brian Lang * 2000 to 2012: Dame Lynne Brindley * 2012 to present: Roly Keating ; Chief Librarians * 2013 to 2018: Caroline Brazier (librarian), Caroline Brazier, first Chief Librarian * from September 2018: Liz JollySee also
* British Library of Political and Economic Science, the main library of the LSE * British literature * Books in the United Kingdom * The National Archives (United Kingdom), an amalgamation of the Public Record Office, the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Office of Public Sector Information, Her Majesty's Stationery OfficeReferences
; CitationsFurther reading
* Alan Day, Day, Alan (1998). ''Inside the British Library''. London: Library Association. . * Phil Harris, Harris, Phil (1998). ''A History of the British Museum Library, 1753–1973''. London: British Library. . * Philip Howard (journalist), Howard, Philip (2008). ''The British Library, a Treasure of Knowledge''. London: Scala. . * Mandelbrote, Giles, and Barry Taylor (editor), Barry Taylor (2009). ''Libraries Within the Library: The Origins of the British Library's Printed Collections''. London: British Library. . * Colin St. John Wilson, Wilson, Colin St. John (1998). ''The Design and Construction of the British Library''. London: British Library. . * Robert Proctor (bibliographer), Proctor, Robert (2010). ''A Critical Edition of the Private Diaries of Robert Proctor: The Life of a Librarian at the British Museum'', edited by J. H. Bowman. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. . * Leapman, Michael (2012). ''The Book of the British Library''. London: British Library. . * * Francis, Sir Frank, ed. (1971) ''Treasures of the British Museum''. 360 pp. London: Thames & Hudson; ch. 6: manuscripts, by T. S, Patties; ch. 9: oriental printed books and manuscripts, by A. Gaur; ch. 12: printed books, by H. M. Nixon * Barker, Nicolas (1989) ''Treasures of the British Library''; compiled by Nicolas Barker and the curatorial staff of the British Library. New York: Harry N. AbramsExternal links
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