August 2007
Here is some information on a sample of items recently acquired by Rare Book Collections at the National Library of Scotland.
A football programme from 1928
In 1928 the final one of the Home International Championship took place at Wembley Stadium. Scotland's team was afterwards immortalized as the 'Wembley Wizards'. They beat England unexpectedly 5-1 and won for the first time at Wembley.
Displayed here is the rare match programme of this England-Scotland football international of 1928. The programme also includes photographs of the players.
A Croatian design
Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution was first published in a Serbian translation in 1837. The copy we have recently acquired has a particular binding. It is a striking, colourful leather binding designed by the Croatian artist Mirko Racki (1879-1982). It appears to be of the first edition of the translation by Mihailo Dobric.
The French Revolution is one of Carlyle's most famous works. Maybe this has to do with an anecdote. It is said that the maid of the philosopher John Stuart Mill threw the original manuscript into the fire by accident.
New style in German architecture
sketch
detail
James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater and Seafield (1750-1811), compiled a collection of engravings which was published in Leipzig in 1805.
The work played a significant role in introducing neo-classical architecture to Germany. The structures were designed in the style of the Scottsh architects Robert and James Adam.
The book has beautifully illustrated architectural plans and elevations. German architectural historian Christian Stieglitz wrote the introductory essay. It has been wrongly assumed that he was responsible for the whole work.