1,011 plays and libretti published in Italy between about 1,720 and 1,900 including a number of Italian translations of plays written by French, German and other European dramatists.

Books on music and printed music published in Britain from the mid-17th century to the 20th century.

About 300 books including incunabula and early editions of classical texts, plus limited edition reprints of celebrated English writers, mostly published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Country house library collection of 1648 books and 54 serials with strength in English and French publications of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

Records for much of the Rare Books Collection are in our catalogue, but if you do not find the item you are looking for, please ask for help: the item may not yet be catalogued, or an alternative version may be available

About 15,000 books and pamphlets. The great strength of the collection is in Pacific voyages and early Australiana with many very rare items. Also manuscripts including papers of Joseph Banks, maps and pictures.

About 440 books published by William Pickering between 1820 and 1854 including reprints of classics and 17th-century Anglican religious works, plus contemporary writers of his time.

Around 6,000 books, mostly in Portuguese, mostly relating to literature, history and religion among many other topics.

We stepped into the private libraries of one of history’s most infamous royal couples and discovered how ink, margins, and manuscript flourishes reveal more than meets the eye.

Dr Susannah Helman provided her insights into the Jamie and Michael Kassler Collection.

The Alston Collection is a treasure trove of over 1,800 works on philology and linguistics. From rare books and manuscripts to Robin Alston’s personal drafts and correspondence, this collection is a must for anyone exploring the history of language and early bibliographical studies.

Enter the musical world of seventeenth and early nineteenth century Britain with rare prints, books and manuscripts.