Tag Archives: Leiden

The British Library

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I went to an amazing place last Sunday: the British Library, near St Pancras tube station. I wanted to see a temporary exhibition called ‘The Printed Face of the European Avant Garde 1900-1937’. It was nice but I guess I have seen most of the printed books, posters, record covers and brochures at exhibitions in the Lowlands already. One thing was quite funny: ‘de Stijl’ was one of the subjects of the exhibition as part of the Avant Garde. Each subject was linked to the city of origin. So the first thing I noticed when I walked in was my own place of birth ‘Leiden’ printed in huge block capitals followed by ‘Amsterdam’. I have to admit I had this funny feeling all of a sudden. It’s just weird to see such a familiar name in such an unfamiliar place.

The other section is a permanent exhibition where you can find books, manuscripts, maps, sound recordings, photographs and stamps. Examples are the Magna Carta, Alice’s Adventures Under Ground by Lewis Carroll, Shakespeare’s First Folio of works, the Gutenberg Bible and Mozart’s music scores along with some other scores of great composers. I was sneaking a few pictures when I was told off by the security guard so my camera ended up in my handbag. I think this part of the British Library was the most interesting part to be honest. I love to see all the old handwritten books, the thick paper, the beautiful bright colour illustrations in the bibles and manuscripts. It’s a shame that I wasn’t allowed to take pictures because these really are wonderful treasures.

Another part that caught my eye was the King’s Library: a glass tower of books at the heart of the British Library. The private collection of George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820. The Tower is designed by Colin St John Wilson, architect of the St Pancras building. Possibly inspired by a similar tower at Yale University in the United States. It has six levels all linked by one internal staircase and two lifts. All book cases are on rollers so they can easily be pulled back to allow access. The books are kept in a controlled environment with a temperature of 16º C [61º F] and 50% relative humidity. The Tower houses the King’s Library and the private library of the politician Thomas Grenville, about 105000 volumes in total.

The King’s Library Collection compromises around 85000 volumes, mostly books and pamphlets with smaller numbers of periodicals, maps and atlases some of which are manuscript dated from the 1450s to the 1830s. Almost all printed in Europe or America. Much of the material is in English or Latin, but many other languages are well represented especially Greek, Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

The Entrance

The Reception

Mac Rules! ;)

The King’s Library

The King’s Library

Stamp and Envelope collection

The Restaurant

Leidens Ontzet

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Today is Leidens Ontzet which is a day of celebration in the town I was born, I’ve written a post two years ago about the siege of Leiden in 1574 by Spanish soldiers during the Eighty Year’s War. Oddly enough I do miss my herring and I was supposed to celebrate this Friday but had to cancel. I’ve joined the organisation for Dutch expats here in London and they will serve herring that day along with a typical traditional meal called ‘Hutspot’ which can be best described as a dish of boiled and mashed potatoes, carrots and onions with a long history in traditional Dutch cuisine.

I haven’t been well for weeks caused by the Chinese tea which is basically a total detox and because of that my body rejects any kind of food or liquid. So I’m afraid I won’t be eating any herring or Hutspot this year. I have to admit I was really looking forward to that evening of indulgence so yes I’m slightly disappointed. But I guess certain things happen for a reason, perhaps next year will be a better opportunity…