To view
some of these items you will need to join the Rare Materials Membership Scheme.
19th century agriculture, commerce, history, philosophy,
political economy and economics.
Richard Cobden was responsible for the establishment of
the Anti-Corn Law League in 1839 and this part of his general library, The
Cobden Collection, contains approximately 3,000 pamphlets and 100 books.
Items are in both English and French.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library
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Narcissus, watercolour inserted
in Phillips, Henry Flora historica (1824)
One of Brighton & Hove
Libraries' rare books.
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Art & Antiques
Covers all aspects of fine and decorative arts but particularly strong on painting
and antiques, and can be found in Brighton Library's main stock of books. We also
have the Lewis Collection which is a bequest
of approximately 2,000 books on fine arts written in Russian, French, German and
Spanish.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Brighton, Hove & Sussex -
Illustrations
An extensive collection on all aspects of Brighton, Hove and Sussex. 6,000
slides, 3,000 postcards and over 32,000 photographs and illustrations from a number
of sources. Sources include Francis Frith postcards, Herald newspaper collection
and the Sussex Survey.
To view items from this collection contact the Brighton History Centre.
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Brighton in the 19th century
The Erredge Collection is a collection
of working scrapbooks containing original prints, cuttings and ephemera on 19th
century Brighton. It includes the indexed scrapbooks of John Ackerman Erredge's
best-known work 'History of Brighthelmstone'. John Ackerman Erredge donated the
collection.
For information on items from this collection contact the
Brighton History Centre. [Back
to top]
Children's Books
This collection has been acquired by purchase or donated to the library since
its inception and dates from 1796 to the 1970's. It includes a wide range of literature,
fantasies, educational books, comic albums and annuals, fairy tales and biblical
stories, and represents authors and illustrators such as Andrew Lang, Edmund Dulac,
Kate Greenaway, Randolph Caldecott and Honour Appleton.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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'How many boys are sitting at the table?' from Bohny,
Nicholas The New Picture Book (1868).
From the children's books collection kept at Hove library
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Hebrew & Oriental literature
The Mathews Collection was described
at one time by a prominent member of the Jewish community as the finest collection
he knew of outside Israel. This collection was donated over a period of about
twenty years in the early 1900s. The collections includes many early works covering
Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages dating from 1500 to
1900. Examples include 'Dictionarium Hebraicum' 1539 and J. Golius 'Lexicon
Arabico-Latinum' 1653.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Italian writers
The Clericetti Collection
has editions and translations of celebrated Italian writers, including early printed
works and fine bindings. One of the most important books in the collection is
Giovanni Boccacco 'Incominca il Libro di Madonna Fiammetta da
lei alle Innamorale Mandato' printed in Venice in 1481.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Canapé Louis XIV, from Victor
Quétin's Le Magasin des Meubles (1852)
Taken from the Bloomfield collection of literature
and the arts.
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Literature, history and the
arts from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries
Leonard Lionel Bloomfield acquired an outstanding collection
of books and prints which were donated to the library in 1917.
The Bloomfield Collection totals over 13,000 items, including manuscripts,
early printed works and original works. The collection includes many illuminated
manuscripts such as a 14th century 'Book of Prayers and Devotions' bound in carved
wood. The Bloomfield Collection includes
111 items of the personal library of Robert Browning and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning. It was purchased at Sothebys by Bloomfield in 1916 and includes volumes
bearing manuscript notes by the poet and a watercolour.
The dispersal of the personal collection was considered a disaster at the
time. Pen Browning, the only child of Robert and Elizabeth, had died intestate
and the administrators of the estate ordered his effects sold. Sothebys 6-day
sale commenced on 1st May 1913.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Epiphany (detail) from Missale
Secundum Usum Carthusianum (14th cent).
Taken from the Bloomfield collection of literature
and the arts.
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Natural History
A growing collection since the birth of the public library in Brighton in 1873
when the Royal Literary and Scientific Institution donated its books to the town.
Some of the earliest works date back to the 15th century and many have been donations
from supporters of Brighton through the years. Early works include 'Margarita
Philosophica Nova' by G. Risch, 1508 and and a manuscript of 220 'Coloured Illustrations
of Plants' on vellum, from around 1547.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Railway Photographs
A collection totalling nearly 4,000 photographs which have been donated by
railway enthusiasts over the years. The three main sources are the Stent
collection, mostly of steam engines in the Brighton and Hove area,
the Vyse-Grey collection,
which mainly consists of locomotives in the London area and the Madgewick
Collection, which covers the years 1930-1950.
To view items from this collection contact theBrighton History Centre. [Back
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Shakespeare
The Halliwell-Phillipps Collection contains
1,000 volumes of Shakespeare donated in 1876, many of which are notable for their
age. James Halliwell-Phillipps was an accomplished Shakespeare scholar and donated
many rare items of works on Shakespeare thoughout his life. Notable examples being
'The Merry Wives of Windsor' 1602, 'Venus and Adonis' 1593, and a facsimile of
Shakespeare's first folio.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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William Shakespeare Comedies, Histories and Tragedies. 2nd ed (1632)
Taken from the Bloomfield collection of literature
and the arts.
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Theology
The Elliot Collection
was the first substantial collection given to the new library in 1871, it consists
of over 3,000 theological works, most of which date from the late 18th and early
19th centuries. The collection includes items written by Henry Elliott, including
his memoirs and a volume of his sermons.
To view items from this collection contact Jubilee Library.
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Trade Union Collection
'The Left in Britain' on microform includes journals relating to the early
Trade Union movement. You will need to book a reader-printer machine to view this.
To view items from this collection contact Hove library.
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In addition to this a collection is kept at East Sussex Record Office. The
material dates back to the 1840s.
To view items from this collection contact East
Sussex Record Office. [Back to
top]
World War Two - BBC Radio Scripts
Two collections of radio news broadcast scripts covering the periods 1939-1945
(9 o'clock news broadcasts) and 1978-1979 (6 o' clock news broadcasts). These
are on microfiche, so you will need to book a reader-printer machine to view them.
To view items from this collection contact Hove library.
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Special Collections covering many subjects
