University of Glasgow Library
manuscripts
Laing film artist in running for Turner Prize
Glasgow-based artist Luke Fowler has been nominated for this year’s Turner Prize for his art film All Divided Selves (2011), the third in a trilogy of films which explore the life of R.D. Laing. Luke has previously worked with the R.D. Laing collection held here in Special Collections, which was catalogued with funding from the … Continue reading
Cooking up a story – new Level 12 display
Our current display on Level 12 includes a 400-hundred year old manuscript on alchemy, a 19th century cookbook and a writer’s notebook from the 1960s. What links them is that they all contain recipes (of sorts). Antonio Neri’s ‘di Alchimia’ c 1599 has wonderful illustrations and includes instructions for all kinds of medical, culinary and … Continue reading
Divine Write: An exhibition to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible
Divine Write: the King James Bible and Scotland, an exhibition celebrating the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, is currently taking place in Glasgow’s Mitchell Library. It will run from 9th September 2011 to 14th January 2012. The majority of exhibits featured come from Glasgow University Library Special Collections’ Euing Collection. The King James … Continue reading
The Magic of Medieval Manuscripts
Earlier this week I was happy to organise a session on medieval manuscripts for a group of calligraphy students from Strathclyde University. The visit was requested by Annie Good, who – as a former of member of staff in the library – was aware of our outstanding collection of manuscripts. You can read all about … Continue reading
18th century botanical drawings on the mend
These botanical illustrations from the Cullen collection are some of the items which have been treated as part of our Wellcome Trust funded conservation project. MS Cullen 141 was enclosed in a letter to William Cullen (1710-1790) from James Kerr, then living in Calcutta. He appears to have been a former student of Cullen and … Continue reading
Lanark at 30 – a novel collection
Our collection of Alasdair Gray’s handwritten drafts and original artwork for his novel ‘Lanark’ appear in a new online slideshow celebrating the 30th anniversary of its publication in February 1981. Filmed by the BBC, it features commentary by Gray talking about the influence of Glasgow in the book’s creation, described as ‘one of the greatest Scottish novels ever … Continue reading
MacCunn music manuscripts
As part of my placement in Special Collections, I was made responsible for cataloguing the Andrew MacCunn collection. While the department already has an extensive and fascinating collection relating to his older brother, the composer Hamish MacCunn, the opportunity to learn about and make available material relating to another MacCunn proved to be hugely enjoyable. … Continue reading
Resources for medical history: conservation project begins
Following a successful application to the Wellcome Trust, Special Collections is pleased to announce the beginning of a conservation project to preserve the papers of William Cullen (1710-1790), John Thomson (1765-1846) and his sons William and Allan Thomson. Dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these papers are an important resource for the study of medical … Continue reading
A poet’s scrapbooks – Edwin Morgan’s 90th birthday
Edwin Morgan, the distinguished Scottish poet, celebrates his 90th birthday on 27th of April 2010. To mark the occasion, Special Collections are exhibiting material from his significant and extensive archive, which includes scrapbooks, correspondence and handwritten drafts of poems, given to the department over recent years. Morgan began compiling scrapbooks in the 1930s and continued to add to them … Continue reading
A life in medicine – The story of William Cullen (1710-1790) and John Thomson (1765-1846)
William Cullen was a chemist and physician, as well as a noted teacher of medicine. He gave lectures in the theory and practice of physic at the University of Glasgow, and was appointed Professor of Medicine in 1751. John Thomson was a physician and surgeon, and a teacher of medicine in Edinburgh. In 1832, Thomson … Continue reading
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