Ten treasures of the British Library
1 ‘The Diamond Sutra’
The earliest dated printed book from 868AD, found sealed in a cave in China.
2 Leonardo da Vinci notebook
Dating from Florence in 1508, this collection contains short treatises, notes and drawings on various subjects from mechanics to the flight of birds.
3 Beatles lyrics
Including manuscripts of ‘Yesterday’, ‘A Ticket to Ride’ and ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’. On loan from Hunter Davies.
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4 Shakespeare’s first folio
The first collected edition of the plays, published in 1623. The British Library has five copies. The Folger Library in Washington DC has 82.
5 Magna Carta
Four copies of this keystone 1215 document of British history survive, two at the British Library.
6 Handel’s Messiah
Handwritten and autographed draft from 1741.
7 ‘One Million Charms of Empress Shotoku’
The oldest existing example of printed text in Japan, from 761-770AD.
8 Plan of Dover harbour
Superb plan of Dover harbour, with details of proposed new harbour from circa 1543.
9 ‘Alice’s Adventures Underground’
Completed in 1863, this is Lewis Carroll’s original version of the work later published as ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’. Complete with Carroll’s own illustrations, it’s bound in green Morocco leather and was given to Alice Liddell. Carroll’s inscription reads: ‘A Christmas Gift to a Dear Child, in Memory of a Summer Day.’
10 Sultan Baybar’s Qu’ran
Seven volumes, written in gold in Cairo between 1304 and 1306.
