Thousands of rare books left to Trinity College’s Wren Library in Cambridge

This interesting books news item appeared in Cambridge News December 15, 2016. This is the kind of thing librarians dream of – and sometimes are privileged to experience in their lifetime.

As we close out 2016, I am thankful for the PRC Seminary acquisitions of this past year – purchased and donated. None of these books was perhaps as rare as those received by Trinity College, but to us they are all invaluable.

Below is the beginning of the story as reported by Cambridge; read the rest and view more images at the link below.

An extraordinary’ private collection of books has been bequeathed to Trinity College’s Wren Library in Cambridge.

More than 7,500 texts were left to the library by Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe – one of the largest bequests in its history.

The vast collection features rare first editions by the poets Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth and Tennyson.

Other fascinating texts include previously unknown manuscripts of Napoleon Bonaparte, George Washington, Florence Nightingale and Charles Dickens.

Dr. Nicholas Bell, Trinity’s librarian said it was “an extraordinary library – one of the most important private collections in Britain, which offers untold discoveries.”

Source: ‘One of the most important private collections in Britain’ – thousands of rare books left to Trinity College’s Wren Library in Cambridge – Cambridge News