Exhibition celebrating 25 years of support for Cambridge ֱ̽ Library.

ֱ̽Library’s Exhibition Centre reopens on 25 January with ‘All Good Friends’, a fascinating collection of material donated or funded by the Friends of Cambridge ֱ̽ Library.

Books, maps, music and manuscripts are included in the display, representing some of the most important and interesting of the gifts, bequests and purchases made by the Friends.

Among the treasures on display are early scientific books and manuscripts by Galileo and Newton; sketches from the French battlefields of the First World War; an eighteenth-century London stagecoach timetable; a nineteenth-century map of eruptions from Mount Etna; and the ֱ̽’s earliest printed edition of Horace, dated 1479.

A letter from the late Poet Laureate, Ted Hughes, written to the Secretary of the Royal Society of Literature, tries rather unsuccessfully to explain his failure to attend a performance he was due to give of his poetry.

There is a children’s board game from the mid-nineteenth century consisting of a colour map of England and Wales, illustrated with views, around which players must travel by throwing dice.

An eighteenth century book advertises works by instrument maker John Neale, including a ‘planetary machine for which His Majesty has granted his royal patent’, a sphere in a shagreen case advertised for sale at seven shillings and sixpence.

ֱ̽ Librarian Peter Fox said:

“We are indebted to the Friends of the ֱ̽ Library for their support. This exhibition celebrates their imagination, energy and generosity.”

ֱ̽free exhibition runs until 4 June, open to the general public between 9am and 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4.30pm on Saturday (closed on Sundays and over Easter, 25 to 28 March inclusive).

ֱ̽Friends of the ֱ̽ Library were formed in 1980 with the aim of fostering contact between the Library and those interested in its collections, its history, its current activities and its future development. There is an active programme of events including talks, visits and invitations to the opening of exhibitions in the Library’s Exhibition Centre. For information on how to join contact the Friends’ Secretary at the Library on 01223 333055 or e-mail details to friends@lib.cam.ac.uk

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