660 Items Tagged

Books

Some of the buildings which form the Palace Green Library

Durham, England

Palace Green Library

This library dates back to the late 17th century and was one of the first public lending libraries in England.

Behold: Great Britain's red grouse.

See 500 Years of Artful Nature Illustrations

Over 57 million pages of wildlife are catalogued.

Isaac Schultz February 17, 2020

It's got a bookish secret.

objects of intrigue

How a Trashed Italian Manuscript Got Sewn Into a Sweet Silk Purse

Book waste can be beautiful.

Jessica Leigh Hester February 14, 2020

The collection comprises volumes from all over the world, including this handwritten holy book, composed on parchment in an Ethiopian monastery.

The Belgrade Book Collection That Survived War, Fascism, and Neglect

One family has kept it going—and growing—since 1720.

Bhavya Dore January 30, 2020

Milbourne, England

The Millbourne Lane Phone Box Library

A classic red phone box converted into an informal village library.

View of the inside of the library

Yusuhara, Japan

Yusuhara Town Library

High in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture, a magnificent library designed by a world-famous architect.

The view from Watership Down

Ecchinswell, England

Watership Down

This grassy, tree-lined hill shares a name with the much-loved novel that it inspired.

objects of intrigue

The Best 18th-Century Toilets Were Designed to Look Like Books

This shit is lit.

Jessica Leigh Hester January 9, 2020

Kowloon Walled City was built without regulations.

The Strange Saga of Kowloon Walled City

Anarchic, organic, surreal, this enclave was once among the most densely populated places on Earth.

James Crawford January 6, 2020

Permanently Closed

Archer City, Texas

Booked Up

A massive collection of rare and antique books in a tiny ranching community in northern Texas.

Arabinda Das Gupta in his historic shop, which was founded by his grandfather in 1886.

The Uncertain Future of the World's Largest Secondhand Book Market

At the College Street market in Kolkata, India, independent booksellers fear the arrival of a massive mall.

Peter Yeung November 18, 2019

Myles Standish and his fellow Puritans crashing the festivities at Merrymount.

native americans

America's First Banned Book Really Ticked Off the Plymouth Puritans

The author, known as the "Lord of Misrule," had the audacity to erect a maypole in Massachusetts.

Matthew Taub November 1, 2019

Austen's observations about grisly dental procedures might make your mouth hurt.

For Sale: Jane Austen’s Wince-Inducing Descriptions of 19th-Century Dentistry

In a letter to her sister, the novelist politely recounts a grisly scene.

Jessica Leigh Hester October 16, 2019

Glendalough, Ireland

Writers' Room at The Wicklow Heather

A restaurant with an extensive Irish whiskey bar also has several first editions of famous works by Irish authors.

The Norrington Room.

Oxford, England

The Norrington Room

Once one of the largest rooms full of books in the world, this bookstore basement is still a treat for bibliophiles.

A 15th-century medical manuscript in Gaelic. No spaces here!

The Merriam-Webster of Medieval Irish Just Got a Major Update

A tiny group of scholars added 500 words and made 5,000 revisions to the Dictionary of the Irish Language.

Sabrina Imbler September 19, 2019

Bakehouse Close.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Bakehouse Close

This alley off Edinburgh's Royal Mile contains remnants of the city's seedier history.

Inside the Biblioteca Palafoxiana.

Biblioteca Palafoxiana

The first public library in the Americas has more than 45,000 books dating back to the 15th century.