A Heap of Books on the Floor?
Published: 29 January 2018
Transcribing the earliest catalogues of William Hunter’s library - a talk on Tuesday 13 February.
Friends of Glasgow University Library
Tuesday 13th February, 2018 – 7pm
Talk Lab, Level 3 - University Library
A heap of books on the floor?
Transcribing the earliest catalogues of William Hunter's library - by Julie Gardham (Senior Librarian in Special Collections, ASC, GUL)
William Hunter is famous for the outstanding collections that he built up in his lifetime, including his library of some 10,000 books. Now in the care of the University Library’s Special Collections, this is often described as being one of the finest eighteenth-century libraries to remain intact. But how much do we really know about Hunter’s core collection, and what do his books tell us today about him and his place as a pre-eminent figure in London society of his day?
This talk is about the recently completed project ‘William Hunter: a transcription of the early catalogues’ (funded by the Wellcome Trust) that aimed to establish which books now in the University Library’s Hunterian Collection actually belonged to Hunter. The contents of Hunter’s library at the time of his death in 1783 were determined by transcribing and analysing three late eighteenth-century manuscript catalogues. As well as giving a whistle-stop tour of Hunter’s life, times and influence, our presentation will give an overview of the methodology of the project and outline its early findings. We will consider Hunter as a book collector, discuss some examples of the books from his magnificent library, and explore the potential of the project’s outcomes for future research. As is usual with most projects, you will see that its findings raise more questions than answers!
First published: 29 January 2018
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