The British Library

The name doesn't sound all that exciting. It's British. And it’s a library. 'Nuff said, right? Wrong. A name such as "The British Library" does little justice to the great treasures displayed within this incredible museum that I visited today with my British Seminar class.

Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the Ritblat Gallery we were visiting, so I'll have to do my best to describe it.

When you first walk in, you find yourself in a quiet, dim room with dark floors, walls, and ceiling, seemingly illuminated only by the lighted display cases along the walls. I didn’t know where to turn first, but eventually I found myself looking at original works by Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. A handwritten manuscript for Jane Eyre (not one of my favorite books, but one I remember studying in high school) and short stories written in Bronte’s journal for the enjoyment of her family were included in the collection.

There was also the original Alice in Wonderland written in Lewis Carroll’s own hand and complete with a funny looking sketch of Alice herself on the page margins. To actually see these writings in their authors’ own ink just makes everything burst into reality. These are no longer just childhood stories with which you grew up – you now have a new kind of connection with it, almost as if the writer is telling you their story in person.

I thought the music was interesting too – original works from Mozart, Haydn, and other classical composers were carefully propped open in Plexiglas cases, as well as a few pieces from the Beatles. Little doodles in the corners of the pages, scribbled notes, and scratched out words make you realize that all of these things were written by very real (albeit famous) people.

One of my favorite exhibits was the Buddhist texts. Having just studied Asian Religions last semester, I was ecstatic to see real Mahayana sutras from the 3rd century AD sitting right before me. The Sanskrit and Chinese scrolls were in impeccable condition, vivid in color. There were also Hindu texts with images depicting stories like the Ramayana and legends of Shiva and Vishnu.

Among the religious works were also texts from Islam, Judaism, Jainism, Christianity, and Daoism.

The highlights of the gallery are the Magna Carta and the Gutenberg Bible. The Magna Carta was one of only 4 known left in existence. As something we all learn about in grade school, it was almost unreal to find myself standing in the small room that held the world renowned document. The Gutenberg Bible was interesting as well, mostly because it was one of the first works printed by the Gutenberg printing press.

Other texts represented in the Ritblat Gallery included the Bestiary, a book published around 1230 about mythological creatures; the Splendor Solis, an alchemical treatise published in 1582 concerning the origin of the philosopher’s stone; and early star charts, including one mapped by Galileo himself.

Need I say it? I LOVE the British Library. It was a great afternoon there, and my only regret is that I didn’t have any friends or family from back home with whom to share it, because I know you all would have really appreciated it. For what it’s worth though, I had a lot of fun and I definitely plan on returning to the museum in the near future to see what other treasures it holds in store.