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Spotlight: Libraries Represented by Bridgeman

Libraries offer a rich source of imagery and historical documents, and we are proud to represent a number of these great institutions around the world.

Here we hightlight only some of these amazing collections:

 

British Library, London, UK

 

Reading room / British Library, London, UK / © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images

 

 

Bridgeman Images now represent the British Library exclusively in the UK.

The British Library's collections are unrivalled, comprising of over 18 million items from all continents of the world. The collections are extremely diverse, including maps, photographs, bookbinding, newspapers, and many other treasures of historical importance. The archive holds a unique and constantly growing collection of superb images of international importance, including the Magna Carta and Lindisfarne Gospels, as well as religious art, social history and portraiture.

 

Cott Nero D VII f.105v Nigel Lorning, Knight of the Garter, from the Benefactors Book of St. Alban's Abbey, c.1380 (vellum), English School, (14th century) / British Library, London, UK / © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images
 

 

Add 39943 f.2b St. Cuthbert and two of the brethren returning from the land of the Picts, from 'Life and Miracles of St. Cuthbert' by Bede, Latin (Durham) (vellum), English School, (12th century) / British Library, London, UK / © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images

 

 

Runaway Buffalo, Johnson Album XIV, no.11, verso, c.1700 (coloured drawing on album leaf), Mughal School (18th century) / British Library, London, UK / © British Library Board. All Rights Reserved / Bridgeman Images

 

 

The Newberry Library, Chicago

 
A Native American encampment (b/w photo), American Photographer / Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, USA / Bridgeman Images

 

The Newberry Library was founded on July 1, 1887 and opened for business on September 6 of that year. It was intended to be a free public library for the city of Chicago. The collection consists of a wide range of material including American history, Native American history, maps and travel, history of the Chicago and the Midwest, amongst other things.

 

Map of Tenochtitlan and the Gulf of Mexico, from 'Praeclara Ferdinadi Cortesii de Nova maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio' by Hernando Cortes (1485-1547) 1524 (colour litho), Spanish School, (16th century) / Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois, USA / Bridgeman Images

 

 

Lambeth Palace Library, London, UK

 

Lambeth Palace, 1647 (engraving), Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77) / Lambeth Palace Library, London, UK / Bridgeman Images

 

Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library and record office of the Archbishops of Canterbury and the principal repository of the documentary history of the Church of England. Its collections have been available for research since 1610.

 

Ms 19 f.1 Adam and Eve with the serpent offering the apple, chronicle in Latin, (vellum), German School, (16th century) / Lambeth Palace Library, London, UK / Bridgeman Images

 

The records held there date from the 9th century to the present day, and their broad scope reflects the office of Archbishop as head of the Province of Canterbury, as well as his national and international roles in leading the Church of England and the Anglican Communion worldwide, and the wealth and power of Archbishops in past centuries which enabled them to collect books and manuscripts of the highest quality and significance.

 

State Library of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

 

Sydney, capital of New South Wales, c.1800, Thomas Watling (1762-1814) (attr.to) / Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales / Bridgeman Images

 

The State Library of NSW is one of the great libraries of the world, with a history dating back to 1826. Its renowned historical and contemporary collections, comprising more than six million items, hold the growing history of Australia.

 

Koala and Young, 1803 (w/c), John William Lewin, (1770-1819) / Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales / Bridgeman Images

 

Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland

 

Thomas Burgh Library, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland (photo) / The Irish Image Collection / Design Pics / Bridgeman Images

 

The Library’s history dates back to the establishment of the College in 1592 and it is the largest library in Ireland. Today it has over 6 million printed volumes with extensive collections of journals, manuscripts, maps and music reflecting over 400 years of academic development. The most famous of its manuscripts, the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, were presented by Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath and former vice-chancellor of the University, in the 1660s.

 

MS 57 fol.85v Carpet page preceding St. Mark's Gospel with circles of interlacing design linked with angular interlacing, from the Book of Durrow, c.650-700 (vellum), Irish School, (7th century) / The Board of Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland / Bridgeman Images

 

Free Library of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 

Stone Carvers from the John Donnelly Company completing Corinthian capitals at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia, c.1924-25 (b/w photo), American Photographer, (20th century) / Free Library of Philadelphia / Bridgeman Images

 

The Free Library of Philadelphia was chartered in 1891 as "a general library which shall be free to all", through efforts led by Dr. William Pepper. 

Located at the Parkway Central Library, the Free Library’s Special Collections span genres and generations, from ancient cuneiform tablets to children's book illustrations and historic photographs of Philadelphia.

 

Birth and Baptismal Certificate (Geburts und Taufschein) for Johannes Kemp, illustration from 'Papers for Birth Dayes: Guide to the Fraktur Artists and Scriveners', c.1815 (pen & ink with w/c on paper), Springing Deer Artist (fl.1802-1815) / Free Library of Philadelphia / Bridgeman Images

 

 

 

St Paul's Cathedral Library, London

 

Paving plan of St. Paul's Cathedral, as executed, c.1710 (pen & ink wash on paper), English School, (18th century) / St. Paul's Cathedral Library, London, UK / Bridgeman Images

 

The library's collection at St Paul's Cathedral was almost completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London. Wren's library chamber was restocked by the Commissioners for rebuilding St Paul's: they bought collections, including valuable Bibles and liturgical texts, and were fortunate to receive a generous bequest in 1712 of nearly two thousand volumes from the library of Henry Compton, late Bishop of London.

 

Early study for the proposed decoration of St. Paul's Cathedral, 1856-57 (w/c on paper), Penrose, Francis Cranmer (1817-1903) / St. Paul's Cathedral Library, London, UK / Bridgeman Images

 

 

 

Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

 

W.953 fol.4v The Archangel Michael (vellum), Ethiopian School, (18th century) / The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin / Bridgeman Images

 

Manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and decorative arts complete this amazing collection which are all the result of the collecting activities of one man - Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968).  Egyptian papyrus texts, beautifully illuminated copies of the Qur'an, the Bible, medieval and renaissance manuscripts are among the highlights. In its diversity, the collection captures much of the richness of human creative expression from about 2700 BC to the present day.

 

In. 11A.28 Aurangzib hunting lions, c.1670-80 (vellum), Indian School, (17th century) / The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin / Bridgeman Images

 

University of St Andrew's Library, Scotland

 

St Andrews Delineated - The Library (pen & wash on paper), John Oliphant (18th century) / The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK / Bridgeman Images 

 

The University of St Andrews has an outstanding collection of books, archives and photography, accumulated throughout the six hundred years since the University’s foundation.  The collection is especially rich in the History of Science, Theology and Church History, Literary Studies and Photography.  In addition to a substantial collection of incunabulum and early printed books, the library has a significant eighteenth-century collection dating from its period as a Copyright Library (1710-1836).  The archives also include an exceptional collection of 15th -16th century materials relating to Fife and to the University and city of St Andrews.

 

Plate X from 'Campi Phlegraei: Observations of the Volcanoes of the two Sicilies' by William Hamilton, 1776 (w/c on paper), Fabris, Pietro (fl.1768-78) / The University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK / Bridgeman Images

 

Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris

 

Bibliotheque Nationale de France / Photo © Limot / Bridgeman Images

 

The Bibliotheque Nationale de France’s collections are unique in the world: 15 million books and printed documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps and plans, scores, coins, medals, sound documents, video and multimedia documents, and scenery elements. All disciplines, whether intellectual, artistic or scientific, are represented in a comprehensively.

 

Ms Fr fol.48 The king dictating his hours while riding a horse, from 'Life and Miracles of St. Louis', c.1330-40 (vellum), French School, (14th century) / Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France / Bridgeman Images

 

Denver Public Library, Colorado

 

William F. Cody with 'Pawnee Bill' and 'Buffalo Jones', c.1900-10 (b/w photo), American Photographer, (20th century) / Denver Public Library, Western History Collection / Bridgeman Images

 

In June 1889, City Librarian John Cotton Dana established the Denver Public Library in a wing of Denver High School. He referred to it as a "center of public happiness."  In 1910, the city opened a Central Library building of its own, an elegant Greek temple design funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and located in downtown's Civic Center Park.

 

Dancing in the firelight, 1907 (b/w photo), Throssel, Richard (1882-1933) / Denver Public Library, Western History Collection / Bridgeman Images

The collection is steeped in American history, with wonderful images from the "wild west", native american culture and black american history.

 

Alice Lone Bear, Sioux, 1898 (b/w photo), Rinehart, Frank A. (1861-1928) / Denver Public Library, Western History Collection / Bridgeman Images

 

Doc Middleton, c.1891 (b/w photo), American Photographer, (19th century) / Denver Public Library, Western History Collection / Bridgeman Images

 

 

Need assistance? 

 

If you are working on a project and need help sourcing a specific image, email us at uksales@bridgemanimages.com.

 

 

 

 

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