Book of the month
Explore highlights from our collections, from the 15th century to the present day.
A tale of dread
As the nights draw in and Halloween looms closer, our Book of the Month blog for October is a spooky tale of demons and witchcraft set on Dartmoor. This blog was written and researched by Becky Rae, one of our Prints and Drawings Volunteers.
Book of the Month: David Gregory and Euclid
September's Book of the Month blog was written by Library Volunteer Edward Maunder, and looks into Scottish mathematician David Gregory and his commentary on Euclid's Elements - one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics.
A gift to the Queen of Seaweed
As it is the season to be poking around in rock pools and enjoying the Devon coast, our Book of the Month is Landsborough’s A popular history of British sea-weeds. Published in 1849, this work invited amateur and expert alike to take delight in the natural history of the seashore. The DEI is lucky to hold a copy formerly owned by Mrs Griffiths of Torquay – the Queen of Seaweed.
Oyntments, powders and syrops – a mysterious medical recipe manuscript
Deep in the Manuscripts Cupboard of the Devon and Exeter Institution library lives a small, roughly bound, handwritten book, containing recipes for the treatment of many ailments, from ‘almond milk for a fever’, to ‘a powder against bleeding of lunggs’ and ‘an oyntment against swellings’. There are even instructions to make ‘a distilled water for the plague’. This manuscript contains no clear indications of authorship, and no definite date of creation. Written in different hands, there is the suggestion of this book being passed down, sharing its medicinal wisdom through the generations.
Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Ballad of Reading Gaol’
On Saturday 14 May 2022, Exeter Pride takes to the streets to celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and questioning communities, in this 50th anniversary year of the UK’s first Pride […]
Benjamin Donn – Putting Devon on the map
In a fine example of competition as the fuel for innovation and scientific advancement, Benjamin Donn[e] produced A map of the county of Devon, with the city and county of […]
A British Science Week Special: Celebrating the Legacy of William Elford Leach
William Elford Leach (1791-1836) was a prominent zoologist, born in the height of the Age of Enlightenment in Plymouth, Devon. From a young age, he began to collect marine specimens […]
An unusual valentine: Jane Austen’s “Love and Freindship”
Donated in 1977 to the Institution as a generous gift from Chawton House, this small volume of Jane Austen's juvenilia has borne witness to a fascinating history of friendship and correspondence.
Annotating Alice: An Exam-Season Special Collection Highlight
January is exam season, and we would like to extend wishes of good luck to our student members, many of whom have been revising and studying here over the last […]
Charlotte Chanter’s “Ferny Combes” and the fashioning of the fern craze in Devon
“My humble effort is designed to lead the youthful and cheer the weary spirit, by leading them, with a woman’s hand, to the Ferny Combes and Dells of Devon.” Beautifully […]
