Hello, my name is Lydia Ferguson and I am a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh studying History of Art, Theory, and Display. For the past three months I have been working as an intern at the National Library of Scotland in the Rare Books Division under the supervision of Rare Books Curator James Mitchell. During this time, I […]
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You can now explore “The Listener” magazine for free
You might have thought about getting a reader’s ticket for the National Library of Scotland but decided against it as it is not convenient for you to visit our Edinburgh reading rooms. Did you know that free membership of the Library lets you consult our physical collections but also gives you remote access to digital […]
1776: a revolutionary year for Scottish newspapers
Can you imagine living in a time where the news only appeared three days a week? In 18th-century Scotland that was normal; but for us, living in an era of 24-hours rolling news, 365 days a year, it would be very strange. In 1776 one Edinburgh newspaper owner, John Robertson, dared to be different. He […]
Breaking the news in the 1710s: The Scots Courant
Ever wondered about what kind of news people were reading in Scotland over 300 years ago? What kind of small advertisements were appearing in print? How, in an age where travel and communications were slow and difficult, a newspaper’s editor managed to find news to print while worrying about government censorship?
Myth, romance, adventure: An Outlander inspired trip through the Scottish film archive
This blog, inspired by the television series Outlander, will take you on a time travelling tour of Scotland on film! The National Library of Scotland has a world-class collection of moving images available to all. Whether a scholar or fan, explore the romance and reality of Scottish history recorded in both documentary and imaginative works. […]
![Handel's Overtures 11th Collection Set for the Harpsichord or Organ ... Time and Truth, Jephtha, Theodora, Deborah, to which is added the Coronation Anthem. London: I. Walsh, [1758]. NLS reference: BH.266](https://blog.nls.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Almut4-750x410.jpg)
George Frideric Handel and his coronation anthems
It is coronation time again after seventy years! It will be a grand ceremony with old and new elements of the service and its music. Let us introduce you to a coronation anthem which was composed by German-British composer, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) for the coronation of George II in 1727: Zadok the Priest. It […]
David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes: Collector and Engraver
Hello, my name is Caroline Thirlwell and I am a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh studying Global Premodern Art: History Heritage and Curation. For the past three months I have been working as an intern at the National Library of Scotland in the Rare Books Division under the supervision of curator James Mitchell. […]
‘Razor cuts’ from the Aberdeen New Shaver
We have recently published images of some early Scottish newspapers on our Digital Gallery, ‘Scotland’s News’, including the short-lived scandal sheet the Aberdeen new shaver
Ian Rankin and the Missing Person Case of Jack Harvey
In 1993, the novel ‘Witch Hunt’ appeared in bookshops. But who was the author, Jack Harvey, seemingly a first-time novelist? Given his now familiar status as the biggest-selling contemporary writer of crime fiction in the UK it is hardly a secret. But at the time this was not an easy mystery to solve. Harvey was […]
100th Anniversary of One of the Greatest Poems of the 20th Century
October 2022 marks the centenary of the publication of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land. Arguably the most influential poem written in English in the 20th century, it marked a turning point in modernist literature. Although the poem’s origins arose in the desolation of post-World War I Europe, its myriad themes still resonate today through their […]