Monthly Archives: December 2011

Finding Christmas in Handwritten

With Christmas looming at the end of this week, I thought it was a good opportunity to forget about Christmas present shopping (which I have almost finished) and packing to go away (which I haven’t started yet) and to think … Continue reading

Posted in Exhibition | 2 Comments

Handwritten ‘lefties’

The other day whilst in the exhibition a left-handed visitor asked our left-handed security guard Steve if anyone had figured out how many of the authors of manuscripts in the exhibition were  ‘lefties’.  As one of three southpaws in the … Continue reading

Posted in Exhibition | 10 Comments

Curatorial favourites

It’s hard to choose a favourite manuscript in Handwritten. Many I find instantly appealing on an aesthetic level: the spectacular Flemish Book of Hours (c.1500), Michelangelo’s (or ‘michelagniolo’, as he calls himself) careful script and a young Handel’s confident yet … Continue reading

Posted in Exhibition | 12 Comments

How Handwritten came to the Library

In April 2008 I received an email from my friend and colleague Dr Gabriele Kaiser from the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin.  She said: Tomorrow is the last day of our … exhibition “Sternstunden eines Mäzens” (Great moments of a patron). I am now … Continue reading

Posted in Exhibition | 9 Comments