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Down memory lane
Margarita Philosophica by Gregor Reisch, 1504. One of the earliest printed books and the first ‘modern’ encyclopedias.
Celebrating 150 years of Senate House Library
The year 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of Senate House Library’s founding collections. An online gallery of 150 unique and treasured items and a timeline charting the growth of the Library launched on 18 June 2021 – exactly 150 years to the day when the first substantial collections of over 8,000 books were given to the Library.
The items on display capture leading campaigners, revolutionary events and radical artists, alongside well-known literary masterpieces to reflect the unique strength of the Library’s collections and present a range of diverse perspectives that have influenced UK culture over the last 150 years.
Chapters in the SHL story
The SHL150 timeline highlights key milestones in the history of the Library from when the founding collections were received in 1871 up until present day. It charts the late 19th and early 20th century transformations, including the move to the purpose-built Senate House in 1937, after a century of being housed in temporary premises, as well as its Second World War history, when it became the headquarters for the Ministry of Information.
It also marks when unique collections entered the Library, such as the Sterling Library collection of first editions and the more recent Terry Pratchett archive, showing how Senate House Library has grown to became one of the UK’s largest academic libraries for the arts, humanities and social sciences, containing over two million books, 50 special collections and 1,800 archival collections. Margarita Philosophica by Gregor Reisch, 1504. One of the earliest printed books and the first ‘modern’ encyclopedias.
Visit bit.ly/SHL-150-Anniversary to explore the SHL150 timeline and online gallery.
A first edition of The Carpet People, Terry Pratchett’s first published work, 1963.
Photo of Rukhmabai, one of the first female students of the University of London, c. 1880-1890.
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African, 1789. A first edition of one of the first significant slave autobiographies.
