The Development of the Pre-1801 Scandinavian Printed Collections in the British Library

Abstract

Early in 1770 a Swedish journal published a brief account by a visitor of the public galleries of the British Museum. Describing the Harley rooms, he remarked that copies of the Harleian manuscript catalogue published by the Museum in 1759 had been sent to Uppsala University Library and to the Royal Library in Stockholm. He admired the nine rooms of printed books and praised the reference service: 'One sits very comfortably in a so-called Reading Room, with all the catalogues around one. One orders whatever book one wishes, while an attendant stands ready to fetch it as if it were one's own. It is all truly royal.'