Getting Up Close and Personal with the British Library's Rare Historical Documents

Today I received an email announcing the release of "Treasures", a new smartphone app that showcases over 100 of the British Library’s greatest collection items.  The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research libraries.  The Library's collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages.

Through the app users will experience an up close and personal experience with some of the Library’s most unique items, such as the first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the world’s oldest bible Codex Sinaiticus, Nelson’s Battle Plan, written before his victory at Trafalgar, Galileo’s letters and Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks.  Expert commentary is provided on many of the items and users can watch, for example, videos of explorer Ben Fogle talking about Scott’s Diary and Linguist David Crystal discussing the 1,000 year old poem Beowulf.

Literary highlights include Charles Dickens’s handwritten draft of Nicholas Nickleby and Jane Austen’s teenage writings, while key historical documents include 2000-year-old Oracle Bones from China and an original Magna Carta of 1215. The section devoted to music includes manuscript scores from some of the best-known classical composers, such as Handel, Purcell, Mozart and Schubert, alongside hand-written lyrics by The Beatles.

Christian texts include the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Gutenberg Bible. Other faiths are represented by the Golden Haggadah, Sultan Baybars’ Qur’an, and Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian manuscripts. The scientific documents explore fields such as astronomy, botany, zoology and medicine.  They include manuscripts, notebooks and letters that reveal some of the key scientific developments of all time, including Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, and Copernicus’s and Galileo’s findings on the structure of the cosmos.

I downloaded the iPhone version and was soon examining images of original maps like the Psalter World Map commissioned by Henry III in the 1230s:

and the Anglo Saxon map of 1025-1050 CE:

The app includes over 250 high definition images like these that can be easily zoomed in with standard iPhone "pinch and stretch" techniques.  

I also viewed an original page from an 1100-year-old copy of Beowulf then viewed a video, one of over 40 in the application, of linguist David Crystal explaining the background of the legend and then reading the pageof Beowulf included in the app in Old English, the language used by Anglo-Saxons of the period.  I'm so glad he explained each phrase because I couldn't understand a word!  I tweeted about the video using the integrated Twitter/Facebook interface.

The following image of Elizabeth 1 from a guild book of the Barber Surgeons in York was included with a copy of a speech in the Virgin Queen's own hand.

As someone who grew up along the coast, I am always fascinated by drawings of fish and sea creatures so particularly enjoyed the images from naturalist John Ray's Book of Fishes:

Arthurian legends continue to fascinate through the centuries and it was a real treat to see one of the earliest  illustrations of Sir Gwain and the Green Knight from a medieval copy:

I must admit I've never been much of a fan of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" (I hope you're not too shocked!) but I did find this illustration of Alice from the first edition very endearing.

Frances Brindle, British Library Director, Strategic Marketing & Communications commented: “Access to our collections through mobile technologies is an exciting initiative for the Library.  We are delighted to be able to make our unique collection items available to a wider audience via this interactive app in such a dynamic format.  The Library is committed to increasing access to its collections and broadening the reach of our services and this app demonstrates our commitment to engaging with the mobile community.”

Treasures will be available for download globally on iPhone and iPod Touch, in the iTunes App Store and in the Android Marketplace for $3.99.  The HD version is available for download globally for iPad for a price of $5.99.  More information can be found at http://a.toura.com/3091.

The Library is also offering an introductory price of $1.99 for iPhone, iPod Touch and Android smartphones, and $3.99 for iPad until January 24, 2011. 

In addition to sections on Literature, History, Science, Maps, Illustrated Manuscripts, and Music there is also a chapter about current exhibitions that will be updated periodically.  I do hope additional modules for other objects in the collections will become available as well.  As more museums embrace this type of mobile technology I hope that developers will incorporate a function that enables you to link between objects in other museums' collections.  This may mean that participating museums may need to standardize on a particular platform like the one developed by Toura for this application or at least develop a standard schema and xml-driven import export functionality.

I would also like to see an annotation utility added to the application and the ability to email or Tweet a highlighted portion of text and image integrated into the application.  I was able to capture screen shots from the application using the screen capture function built into iPhones using OS 2.0 or newer.  This function, activated by holding down the Home button then pressing the Sleep/Reset button on the top right edge of your iPhone for a second or two, automatically sends the screen image to your iPhone's Camera Roll application.  From there you can email it or access it through your computer via USB but it would be so much more convenient to access an image and mail it directly from the application.

Since I received a Barnes and Noble Android-based color Nook e-reader from my daughter for Christmas, I would also like to see this app available for e-readers besides the iPad, especially since the number of e-reader users is increasingly rapidly.

Related articles

• British Library app brings Beowulf, the Beatles (news.cnet.com)
• Is the physical library a redundant resource? British Library Podcasts - Talks, Discussions and Interviews (bl.uk)
• Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices, British Library, review (telegraph.co.uk)

       

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Viewing King Tut's Tomb Through Howard Carter's Eyes

I see that my friends from Heritage Key got a chance to travel to Manchester, England to see the Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures' exhibition. When I first heard about this exhibition, I emailed the organizers and asked if it was scheduled for any appearances in the United States but unfortunately, they said no. I was really disappointed because I think people here would find it so interesting to view one of history's most important archaeological discoveries in the context that Howard Carter explored in 1922.



At least here in the United States you can view museum quality replicas of many of the artifacts from King Tut's Tomb at the Las Vegas Museum of Natural History. These replicas, authorized by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, once composed a popular exhibit at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. When the Luxor decided to change their theme in 2008, the exhibit was donated to the nearby museum.

I was so relieved to hear the exhibit would not be discarded as I had enjoyed touring the exhibit every time I visited Las Vegas until my last visit in September 2008. The quality of the replicas is so good that when I attended the current King Tut exhibit when it was displayed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, I saw several of the actual items whose replicas I had seen in the Luxor Hotel exhibit and must honestly say if the real item and the replica had been displayed side by side I would not have been able to point out the original.

Here's a slideshow of the items I saw in Las Vegas:

Related articles

• Met Is to Repatriate to Egypt Artifacts From King Tut's Tomb (nytimes.com)

           

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Circassian warrior found in 14th century tomb

Image via WikipediaA Circassian warrior armed with a sabre and arrows, has been found in a 14th century tomb by Russian archeologists in an ancient barrow in Teuchezhsky Region of Adygeya. Other grave goods included an ornamented silver vessel and a delicately shaped blue jug.

When I saw this notice on the Russian-IC website, I was immediately curious since I knew nothing about these tribal people of the Caucasus.   Fortunately, I found a very detailed description of a 19th century Circassian warrior written by British traveler in 1836 and assume much of the 19th century costume reflected earlier traditions as well except for accessories related to firearms -  compound bows and arrows, sabers and daggers were the primary weapons in the 14th century. These weapons co-existed with firearms for a time in the early 18th century but were no longer worn after that time.

The usual dress of a Circassian warrior of all classes is a tunic resembling a military Polonaise, without a collar, closely fitted to the body, and descending to the knee, secured around the middle by a leather girdle, ornamented, according to the wealth or fancy of the wearer, with gold or silver, in which are stuck a pair of pistols and a poniard: the latter is a most formidable weapon in close combat; during an attack they hold it in the left hand, and from its breadth and length, reaching to the elbow, it serves every purpose of a shield.

In addition to this, the Circassian is armed with a light gun, slung across the shoulder, and a sabre suspended by a silk cord in the Turkish fashion; attached to the belt is a powder flask, and a small metal box containing flints, steel, gun-screws, oil, and, not infrequently, a small hatchet. Hence, a Circassian, whether on foot, or on horseback, is at all times completely armed. Sometimes he carries a javelin, which he uses with singular dexterity and effect, hurling it to a considerable distance with an aim that never errs. The latter weapon is also used as a rest for the rifle, having a groove at the top expressly for that purpose. Bows and arrows are now very rarely used, except in cases where it is necessary to arm the whole population.

On either side of the breast of the coat are the patron pockets, made of morocco leather, usually containing twenty-four rounds of ball cartridge: these not only add to the military appearance of the soldier, but in some measure protect the breast, and are extremely convenient: a round fur cap, with a crown the same colour as the ammunition pocket, is the covering for the head; and cloth trousers, in the eastern fashion, complete the costume. Princes and nobles are alone entitled to the privilege of wearing red; and the Circassian, like the natives of most other eastern countries, shave the head, and are never seen barefoot. When marching, or on a journey, they always add a cloak made from camel or goat's-hair, with a hood which completely envelopes the whole person – this is called a tchaouka [щIакIуэ]..." - Circassian World

Royal Circassian war costume.  Image
courtesy of Circassian World

I was fascinated to learn that the Circassian ideal warrior would have broad shoulders and a very narrow waist.  To create the ideal proportions in their children, Circassians would use leather straps to bind the waist, especially in the case of noble male offspring.

The tomb found recently, however, did not contain chain mail armor so the occupant was probably not of noble birth.  However, its contents may be some of the earliest examples of medieval Circassian weaponry found so far.

"There is a large collection of late medieval Circassian swords and daggers found at excavation sites near Maikop displayed in the Historical Museum of Moscow. Some of the exhibits had inscriptions and were dated to the 16th and 17th centuries AD. There has also been a large haul of weapons unearthed in Kabardian sepulchral mounds that go back to the 15th to 16th centuries AD. These finds represent the Eastern Circassian version of the Belorechenskaya Culture (Belorechenskaya is situated to the northwest of Maikop) in Adigea." - Circassian World

I highly recommend reading the comprehensive article about this fascinating culture on the Circassian World website as it includes a wealth of information and images of both male and female costumes as well as further discussion of their weapons and lifestyle.

Related articles

• New Bronze Age civilization discovered in Russian Caucasus (newsinfo.inquirer.net)
• Scythian Burial from Kazakhstan (rogueclassicism.com)

           

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