British Library scans 18th and 19th-Century newspapers

British Library scans 18th and 19th-Century newspapers

A bit of old news from last week here, about a lot of old news from 200 years ago. 

Some of you may have read that the British Library now has 4 million pages of newspapers from as far back as the 1700s online, with a further 8,000 pages being scanned every day.  A huge selection of historic British newspapers from all over the country are now available for searching on the Internet.  Of course there is a charge to actually view the papers, but the search function itself is free.  This will at least allow for a speedier discovery of articles of interest for, as the story makes clear, one can type in a search term and find the exact newspaper in which it appears in just a few minutes.  Then, if you're not a subscriber (or simply like to leaf through old newspapers), you have at any rate the reference number which you can use to go straight to the 'paper in question at the British Library.

This is good news in a number of ways, from the increased ease of access for people all over the world to the continued preservation of some ancient and in some cases fragile newspapers.  You can of course still read the hard copy at the British Library site, and I wouldn't blame you if you did.  Like so much history it is all the more evocative if you can hold it in your hands.  But this latest innovation does make it quicker to find first.

Arthur Conan Doyle's first novel hits shops

Arthur Conan Doyle's first novel hits shops

I wrote last year about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's literary "debut" - a signed copy of A Study In Scarlet from 1887 - but now it is possible to walk into your local book shop and purchase a copy of an even earlier example of his work, his very first novel no less!

It seems that even the creator of Sherlock Holmes encountered problems with the postal system, leading to his first foray into fiction being lost in the aether (I wonder where it is now?).  Luckily (and despite his later self-deprecating dismissiveness of it) he kept his original notes which are now in the possession of the British Library, who have been allowed by the Conan Doyle estate to publish it.

It sounds quite interesting - a simple narrative yet it will no doubt contain thoughts and opinions that likely reflect those of Doyle, not to mention giving an insight into the politics and social aspects of the period.

I shall keep an eye out for this book the next time I am in my local booksellers.