THE LARGEST , LONGEST , OLDEST and SMALLEST BOOKS at MITCHELL LIBRARY JEFFREY ROOM

This was a very rare opportunity to see some of the most unique items from the Mitchell Library's "Treasures" collection including our largest, longest, oldest and smallest books.

 As part of this commemoration of World Book Day I had the pleasure with two other people to see Glasgows own original of the worlds Most valuable Book . Only 120 exist in the world , our one is even rarer as it has original descriptions by the author himself.
Many of the birds featured are now extinct , with the drawings being the sole examples of their appearance in existence.
No image you see of the prints can do justice to the exquisite three-dimensional vibrant colours and hues that can only compare to the marvels of Ishfahan for sheen and shading.This Guardian article gives more details about Glasgows finest treasures.

" "Birds of America is most significant for its sheer beauty. It's a masterpiece of illustration," said Richard Davies of rare and used book specialist AbeBooks. "Aside from being famous in the rare book world, Birds of America has also immense historical and ornithological importance. Some of the birds John James Audubon painted are extinct and he also discovered new species.""

you can see more images from the Book by scrolling down to the bottom of this link .The drawings feature the types of vegetation the birds habitat was located in and the types of prey they ate.

This documentary examines the Author and the Book



The other remarkable Book was an original print of Samuel Johnson  A Dictionary of the English Language

Not to be confused as a dry work this is a unique example of satire , parody and exemplary scholarly research that has had a profound effect on future generations from the time it was published in 1755.The copy we saw was opened at the page beginning with the words "oats" , the description spends more word mocking a parodying a rival of Johnson that it does on the etymology and explanation of the word , though what it does say is very detailed with an exacting methodology which has a scientific approach that would have been rare even in the sciences in those days.Though satire is the main idiosyncratic feature .
Oats. n.s. [aten, Saxon.] A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.

This BBC Documentary records Samuel Johnson and his monumental work.

The longest Book is a elongated pictorial record of the funeral procession of the Duke of Wellington  which goes on for many dozens of feet.

The oldest Book featured is a Dutch Bible ( written in that language rather than Latin) which was printed in 1440 , which makes it a very new "old" Book as it would have been made barely a year after the first Guttenburg Press came into being in 1439.