Exhibitions

Worth Ten Thousand Words

The collections of printed illustrated books in Senate House Library are a particularly rich and varied resource. They reflect the history of book illustration from the birth of printing in the fifteenth century to modern times. To give an insight into the sheer variety of material, some of the books on display will be changed from time to time over the period the exhibition is running.

Founded in 1837, the first major collections were added to Senate House Library in 1871 with the gift of Augustus De Morgan's fine library. A major period of growth followed in the early twentieth century. A number of important early illustrated books were added to the Foundation Collections when the University was presented with the library of the London Institution at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then there have been many other purchases and donations. For richness in illustration perhaps the most important materials are held in the Durning Lawrence Library, the Preedy Memorial Library and the Sterling Library.

The Sterling Library, in particular, is full of important illustrated books, and original artwork, from such artists as William Blake, Walter Crane, the Cruikshanks, and Thomas Rowlandson. It also contains a large number of Private Press books, with copious material from Ashendene Press, Doves Press, Essex House Press, First Edition Club, Limited Editions Club of New York, Nonesuch Press, Golden Cockerel Press, Gregynog Press, and Kelmscott Press.

The printed illustrated books on display here are only an introduction to the wealth of the collections to explore here at Senate House Library and represent a significant strand of our national intellectual heritage.