Have you ever wondered what is in the Library tower? It will soon be easy to find out. The Library is celebrating the award of a million-dollar grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation towards the cost of creating online catalogue records for the nineteenth-century British publications that are stored in the topmost floors of the tower. The collection is of major national and international importance as a source of primary material for historical and literary research. It reflects the Victorian view of the world, from their most ephemeral and controversial opinions to those read every day in the parlour and the schoolroom.
Originally acquired by the Library under legal deposit legislation, the collection consists of 170,000 publications – books, pamphlets, school textbooks, calendars, games, timetables, trade catalogues – that were relegated to the ‘secondary’ sheaf catalogue, being considered unsuitable for inclusion in the ‘primary catalogues’ of an academic library. Many of the books are in mint condition, with their original bindings. There are popular science titles, travel guides, children’s books, religious tracts, works by and for women, pamphlets on social issues and thousands of ‘penny dreadfuls’ - the hugely popular, luridly illustrated tales of adventure and romance.
As the definition of ‘academic’ in the nineteenth century was extremely restricted – all translations of foreign and classical literature and authors not studied by Cambridge undergraduates, were excluded – the collection is rich in early editions of nineteenth-century literature. Successive editions of standard works aimed at the general public provide an invaluable insight into the development of ideas during the century. However, it is the everyday ephemeral material of the period that will be a goldmine for historians in various fields.
A random glance along the shelves yields titles such as
Whilst the nineteenth-century collection is at present ‘serendipity heaven’, the limitations of the handwritten and now increasingly illegible sheaf catalogues have meant that a vast amount of nineteenth-century publications is currently ‘invisible’ to scholars. The University Library’s online catalogue offers a sophisticated search facility that will enable readers to search the collection effectively for the first time.
Work will start in the next few months and will be completed by 2010.
For more information, contact Vanessa Lacey at vl203@cam.ac.uk
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