This week Emily reports on an item discovered by the Lighting the Past team from within the ‘D’ section of the Copyright Collection. You can… Read More »Copyright ABCs – “This book is very ill used”: Student Marginalia in A Tour in Scotland
This week we have the first part of a new series by the Lighting the Past team – we will be publishing further posts in… Read More »Copyright ABCs: Introduction and A, B and C
In the second part of his investigations into the ways in which the books in St Andrews’ University Library were used in 18th century, Matthew… Read More »‘William French is a damned bragging, lying b****’: Book Use and Marginal Contentions in Eighteenth-Century St Andrews, Part Two
John Stuart Mill, arguably the most important British philosopher of the 19th century, and principal architect of philosophical utilitarianism, was elected Rector of the University… Read More »150th anniversary of John Stuart Mill’s rectorial address
This week, Elizabeth writes about New Year’s baking. Tartan tins of shortbread, optionally adorned with romantic depictions of Eilean Donan castle, Scottie dogs, or Bonnie… Read More »Shortbread for New Year: the Evolution of a Recipe
With various Christmas dinners looming, I was wondering what students might have been eating for their Christmas dinners in times past, if they were not… Read More »Christmas feasting in St Andrews
Earlier this year we published a blog post by Dr Karen McAulay of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland about her research using the St Andrews… Read More »Claimed from Stationer’s Hall – Update
Over the last six weeks we’ve had a glimpse into the world of Victorian cloth bindings, from its humble beginnings in coloured cloths and paper… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 7: conclusion
Book covers commissioned from a designer first made their appearance in the 1840s. It was during this period that the design of covers for a… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 6: designers
Titles on books are important, as they tell us what to find inside without opening the covers. Most often these are found on the spine;… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 5: titles
Briony, our Assistant Rare Books Librarian, continues her wanders through the stacks. It wasn’t long before book binders demanded more than just black ink and… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 4: the introduction of colour
Last week we considered grains as a form of decoration, whereby the natural grain of the cloth was disguised with a design. Almost simultaneously with… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 3: blocking in gold, blind, black, and silver
