Rare Books Edinburgh 2023

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Events

16th March – 6pm – 7pm

March Lecture: “Scottish Necromancers and Elite Magic”

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

A survey of necromancers and elite magic in Scotland with two sixteenth century case studies: firstly the 1568 political conspiracy of Sir William Stewart of Luthrie, during which he ritually summoned a lunar spirit called ‘Obirion’ and consulted prophetic witches from Scotland and Norway, and secondly Ritchie Graham of North Berwick witch fame, 1590. The lecture will argue that ‘necromancers’ need to be understood in the context of broader practices of elite magic, and their connections to popular magic.

Book tickets

Venue full – free online tickets available

23rd March – 11am – 11:40am & 12pm – 12:40pm

Treasures of the Library

Surgeons’ Hall Museums

We will be exhibiting some of the oldest items in our collection, including a 1460 “Book of Hours”, and a superb copy of “The Nuremberg Chronicle” from 1493, as well as unique medical texts such as Henry Gray’s handwritten annotations on the first edition proof of “Gray’s Anatomy”. Ticket holders will be able to view these treasures and other rare items held by the College Library and Archive. Your ticket also gives you museum access between 10am-5pm on the day of your library visit.

Book tickets

Surgeons Hall Museum, Nicolson Street, EH8 9DW

23rd March – 5:45pm – 7pm

The Kind of Bibliography I Like: some reminiscences of a retired antiquarian bookseller

Edinburgh Bibliographical Society

Andrew Hunter, a retired Antiquarian Bookseller, will be reminiscing about his professional interaction with bibliographies, over a career of some 40 odd years spent mostly in London, but latterly in Oxford (he now lives in Kirkcaldy). Bibliographies are the tools of the Trade, and over those decades he was consulting bibliographies every day, and made a few minor contributions. Naturally he developed some favourites in the genre, and some pet hates, and there will be a few asides on Book Trade practices. The emphasis will be on descriptive, rather than analytiscal, bibliography.

Free entry

Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, EH1 2JL

24th March – 10am – 11am

Treasures of the National Library of Scotland

National Library of Scotland

Rare books, video installations, illuminated manuscripts and fascinating maps are among the gems on display at our permanent exhibition, ‘Treasures of the National Library of Scotland’.

The exhibition includes the Library’s copy of a complete Gutenberg Bible which is on permanent display alongside other rare and early printed books, including the works of Scotland’s first printing press established at Edinburgh in 1508 by Walter Chepman and Androw Myllar. Maps are represented by Gerhard Mercator’s 1595 Scotia Regnum and there are some fine examples of the Scottish bookbinder’s art in the shape of wheel and herringbone bindings.

Also on display is the first issue of The Scotsman newspaper, original photos from the construction of the Forth Road Bridge, a Kilmarnock Edition of Robert Burns’s Poems and the recently acquired manuscript of Sir Walter Scott’s Rob Roy.

The curators of Treasures will be on hand between 10-11 am on the 24^th to introduce the items on display.

Free drop-in

Treasures Gallery, NLS, George IV Bridge, EH1 1EW

24th March – 12pm – 7pm

Edinburgh Book Fair

Antiquarian Booksellers Association & Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association

Scotland’s largest antiquarian and collectable book fair, the Edinburgh Book Fair is a joint production of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association and the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association. More than forty specialist booksellers from around the UK will be exhibiting books, ephemera, maps, prints, photographs, and more for sale.

Free entry

Radisson Blu Hotel, High Street, EH1 1TH

25th March – 10pm – 4pm

Edinburgh Book Fair

Antiquarian Booksellers Association & Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association

Scotland’s largest antiquarian and collectable book fair, the Edinburgh Book Fair is a joint production of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association and the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association. More than forty specialist booksellers from around the UK will be exhibiting books, ephemera, maps, prints, photographs, and more for sale.

Free entry

Radisson Blu Hotel, High Street, EH1 1TH

Ongoing

Printing at Edinburgh Central Library

Edinburgh Central Library

An exhibition on the theme of ‘Printing’, drawn from the extensive collections of Edinburgh Central Library, the city’s main public library.

Free entry

Staircase Gallery, Edinburgh Central Library, 7-9 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EG