At the National Library of Scotland we are fortunate to look after some of the best collections of manuscripts in the country. As well as the large groups of estate papers and personal papers we also bring together many individual items, such as letters and poems, into a single volume. Over the last few months I’ve been […]
Tag: David Hume
A Scottish philosopher in Italian
We are always thrilled to find items we can add to our already quite comprehensive collection of works by the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume. This two-volume set, Saggie filosofici sull’umano intelletto de David Hume (RB.s.2913-2914) contains the first Italian translations of three of his works: of his Enquiry concerning Human Understanding (first published in […]
Ex libris David Hume
Recently we had an opportunity to acquire a volume with five works by the French writer, historian and philosopher Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) (1694-1778). They were printed between 1766 and 1769. But the really exciting thing about the volume (RB.s.2875(1-5)) is not its contents, but its provenance: it was formerly in the library of the eminent Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-1776)! We […]
David Hume – Treasures Display
A new Treasures display opening today at the National Library of Scotland celebrates the 300th birthday of David Hume, the great Scottish philosopher although better known in his own time as historian and essayist. It runs until 28 June. The curators working on this display found it very close to their hearts. In addition to his other […]