2025 is the ninetieth anniversary of the launch of Penguin Books one of the UK’s most enduring and successful publishers. From the outset Penguin was synonymous with its branding with their considered logos, fonts and most vividly their colour coded series – orange for fiction, green for crime fiction, dark blue for biography and so […]
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What links Scotland with Mulberries, Whales, Gooseberries, Hippos, Beetles, and Swiss Rolls?
Swiss Rolls, Gooseberries and Hippos were all parts of the pre-fabricated Mulberry Harbours that were towed across the channel as part of the D-Day fleet, and constructed in situ on Gold and Omaha Beaches. Scotland played a large part in the production and testing of the Mulberry Harbours. Two Mulberry Harbours were built – Mulberry […]
Unique Miniature Bible
The National Library of Scotland recently acquired a unique miniature Bible to add to our collection of volumes published by David Bryce & Son of Glasgow. David Bryce (1845-1923) was one of the world’s most prolific and successful makers of miniature books. It is a 1912 unrecorded variant of Bryce’s second edition of the Bible […]
D-Day 80th Anniversary Commemoration
I remember the day, soon after I started as a Map Assistant in the Map Library, while searching for maps of France I opened a drawer and saw five aerial photos taken by the RAF after D-Day sitting beside large scale maps of the five D-Day landing beaches. I was, and still am, fascinated by […]
The Guild of Woman-Binders
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 […]
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 […]