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nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
NHM Library and Archives
@nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
14K followers 1K following 290 posts
One of the finest collections of natural history literature, art and online resources.

Come and research with us Tuesday - Thursday 10.00 - 16.00 (by appointment).

linktr.ee/nhmlibraryarchives

(Natural History Museum, London and Tring)
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nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
NHM Library and Archives @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social · Feb 20
Become a member of our Library and Archives and use our Reading Room.

Gain access to:
✔️A wide range of online resources.
✔️A world leading collection of printed books, journals, unique manuscripts, artwork and archives.

✔️ L&A membership is free.

Learn more buff.ly/412DnR7.
#NaturalHistoryMuseum
A photograph of items sitting on a table in the Library and Archives Reading room. In the foreground, a table with a laptop, a small pile of books and journals and open modern book showing images of butterflies. On the right is an open bound manuscript, with colour illustrations of caterpillars. It is resting on foam supports. In the background are wall to wall book shelves, a seated life sized model of Charles Darwin and computers on desks.
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Some folk give a bunch of red roses for Valentine's Day. But surely a bunch of red books is better? #ModernCollections #BookSky #BlueSkyBooks #ValentinesDay #Bookcovers
Alt text: a reel showing the red covers of books from NHM Library collections.
February 14, 2026 at 10:02 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Fresh Wood Ashes, Breast of the Robin round the Red, Common Calcedony -- What's your Werner Grey colour today? Follow the link in our bio to see more of Werner's Nomenclature of Colours in our Digitised Special Collections. #NatureInArt
A colour photograph of a page containing a 17x6 ruled table. In the table are 8 samples of grey paint colours with a range of uses listed for each. A photograph of a printed page titled 'Werner's Nomenclature of Colours' in all caps.
February 10, 2026 at 4:04 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Week 6 of #NHMMusicMondays, last week's answers on the final slide. Any music over the post is not a clue! #MusicMondays
A collage of three images. Top, a colour drawing of three views of a zebra, shown from front, rear, and side. A red circle is over the zebra's haunch. Bottom right, a black and white photograph of a football team c.1920. The players wear monochrome striped jerseys. Bottom left, a drawing of a piece of quart layered in black and white. A collage of two images. Top, a colour drawing of a black and white bird. A red circe has been added to highlight its eye. Bottom, a colour drawing of insects and plants. A red circle highlights a pod of legumes. A slide of white text on a black background giving citation details of the previous weeks' solutions and images.
February 9, 2026 at 1:46 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
A recent project has enabled us to share records produced during and after James Cook’s Endeavour voyage landfall in New Zealand.

This blog traces the journey of this unique collection from manuscript to digital form.
buff.ly/azZGGoe

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #Digitisation #BehindTheScenes
Voyaging through Library and Archives digitisation | Natural History Museum
This blog traces the journey of our unique Library and Archives collection from manuscript to digital form.
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 12:53 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
New additions to our library book collections 🎉

⬆️Learn more about our collections and how to visit us via the link in our bio.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #ModernCollections #BookSky #BlueSkyBooks #NaturalHistory #Science
Eleven books displayed on a shelving unit, library bookshelves can be seen in the background.
February 4, 2026 at 12:34 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Week 5 of #NHMMusicMondays, last week's answers on the final slide. Any music over the post is not a clue! #MusicMondays
February 2, 2026 at 1:45 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
No week is ever the same with the variety of subjects being researched by visitors in our public reading room.

What items from our collections would be brought together for your visit?

⬆️Learn more about our collections and how to visit us via the link in our bio.
#NaturalHistoryMuseum
A pile of four books sit on a desk, displaying the titles on their spines. In the background are library bookshelves, tables and a ladder.
January 28, 2026 at 12:34 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Week 4 of #NHMMusicMondays. Last week's answers/credits on the final slide! #MusicMondays (the music over the post is not a clue!)
A collage of three images. Top left,a coloured print of a bananas on their plant, with a red flower. Above the plant is a brown moth, on the flower is a green caterpillar. Right, two male sheep. Bottom left, the yellow spine of a book with a finger pointing to the letter A. A monochrome photograph of a group of men standing in front of an unfinished whale model. A collage of four images. Top left, a sketch of two legs of a skeleton. Top right, a red arrow pointing to a hole in a cliff face. Bottom right, a cross section of a fruit. Bottom left, the cover of a book titled "Bad times." A text slide giving answers and credits for last week's post.
January 26, 2026 at 10:57 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Today is the 125th anniversary of the close of Queen Victoria's reign, during which she added her name to the signature book of the Medico-Botanical Society of London. Follow the link in our bio ⬆️ to see more of this finely illustrated manuscript in our Digitised Special Collections. #OnThisDay
A colour photograph of a hand-painted page. Top, a blue and gold crown above two vines with leaves. Middle, the signature 'Victoria R' in a botanical wreath featuring pink and white roses. Bottom, sprigs of blue and white flowers tied with a blue ribbon. A colour photograph of a handwritten title page. The text reads "Signature Book of the Medico Botanical Society of London instituted 1821."
January 22, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by NHM Library and Archives
perfect-specimen.bsky.social
Time for ARTISTIC! This week featuring special guest @andreahart.bsky.social from @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social who shares some incredible stories from our collections. m.youtube.com/watch?v=nVTU...
Natalie finds herself doing an impression of a pufferfish | The 'Perfect' Specimen Ep18
YouTube video by Natural History Museum
m.youtube.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:53 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Darwin's Book Club reassembles for Museum Selfie Day 2026.

Which natural history books are you reading at the moment?

#MuseumSelfieDay
#NaturalHistoryMuseum
#BookSky
#BlueSkyBooks
A colour photograph showing a white statue of Charles Darwin surrounded by twelve people in a library setting. Each person, including Darwin, reads a book with the cover toward the camera.
January 21, 2026 at 12:15 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Week 3 of #MusicMondays. Last week's answers/credits on the final slide! #NHMMusicMondays
A collage of four images. Top left, a cartoon of a gorilla yawning and stretching in bed below the heading "Gorilla Fight." Top right, an oil painting of a silverback gorilla in a jungle. Bottom right, a photograph of the blue and yellow cover of a book title "Gorillas were my neighbours." Bottom left, a monochrome photograph of a man sculpting th head of a gorilla. A coloured engraving of a man in eighteenth-century clothing. He wears a black tricorn hat, a blue coat and breeches, and a red waistcoat. He is sitting on a tree stump in a woodland setting, and holds a box of butterflies and a butterfly-catching net. A thought bubble contaning a picture of dragons rises from his head. A collage of two images. At left, a black and white engraving of a reptile's tail wrapped around a tree branch. At right, a coloured print of three grey and black birds with forked tails. Two perch on a branch in the foreground, the third flies in the background. A page of text giving solutions and credits of bands from the previous week. At the foot on the text is a coloured photograph of action-blurred peple in a library setting.
January 19, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by NHM Library and Archives
andreahart.bsky.social
Very proud to have worked with @edwinrose.bsky.social and our other partners in New Zealand and at Cambridge on this. Even happier to see the fruits of Sydney Parkinson’s skill and efforts in glorious high resolution detail nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/44... #botanicalart #collaboration
January 16, 2026 at 8:20 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Week 2 of #MusicMondays, still keeping it easy. For last week's answers/credits, see the final slide. #SpecialCollections #NHMMusicMondays
A collage of three coloured artworks. Top left, three pomegranates with leaves and developing flowers. Top right, a sprig of green holly with nine red berries. Bottom, a cricket's head drawn from the front, back, and side. A collage of five images. Top left, the cover of a book titled "The Polar Book", with a polar bear above the title and penguins below it. Top right, a drawing of a thin brown monkey on a grey branch. Across the middle, an architectural pencil drawing of two monkeys. Bottom left, a yellow-faced black monkey sitting on a branch. Bottom right, the green cover of a book titled "Bird Life in the Arctic Spring." A photograph of a handwritten journal, with the script in brown ink. In front of the handwritten page are two sheets of original watercolour scientific drawings of seven beetles. Beetles vary in colour and are drawn from above. A landscape colour photograph of action-blurred people in a library space.
January 12, 2026 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by NHM Library and Archives
edwinrose.bsky.social
Delighted to see this recent article in the @smithsonianmag.bsky.social by @donnalferguson.bsky.social on some of the research outputs for the Naming Species in the South Pacific project: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/newl... With thanks to our collaborators, @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Newly Digitized Records Reveal How Indigenous People Shared Their Knowledge of New Zealand's Plants With Captain Cook's Crew
Long-overlooked documents housed at London's Natural History Museum testify to the exchange of information between 18th-century European botanists and their Indigenous counterparts
www.smithsonianmag.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:41 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Whilst Edward Wilson (1872-1912) is primarily known as a polar explorer, taking part in the Discovery and Terra Nova expeditions with Captain Scott, he was also an accomplished natural history artist.

#DigitisedCollections #OpenAccess #NaturalHistoryMuseum #SciArt #NatureInArt #ZoologicalArt
Original watercolour depicting two stoats. One is on it hind legs looking directly at the viewer and the other is on all fours looking to the right. They are both light brown on the top and cream / white on the underneath. They are shown on rocky ground, with occasional little bits of greenery. Original watercolour drawing of a bat flying in a cave. The bat is viewed from underneath. It has a light buff coloured tummy and medium brown on the rest of its body.
January 9, 2026 at 12:34 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
New year, new additions to our library book and journal collections 🎉

⬆️Learn more about our collections and how to visit us via the link in our bio.

#NaturalHistoryMuseum #ModernCollections #BlueskyBooks #NaturalHistory #Science
A display of twelve books all on different natural history subjects. A display of twelve journals all on different natural history subjects. A display of twenty journals all on different natural history subjects. A display of six journals all on different natural history subjects.
January 7, 2026 at 12:30 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Every Monday in 2026, we'll be posting images from our collection that represent a band or artist. Can you guess them all? (We've kept this week pretty easy, they'll get harder!) #MusicMondays #SpecialCollections
A colour drawing of two wombats on a buff background. One is shown in full, the second is exiting the left-hand side of the frame. A colour drawing of ten seals in a blue ocean, with a lightly sketched background of incebergs. The seals are shown in various poses, including belly up, head only, and tail only. Below the image are the words "Phoca Groenlandica."
January 5, 2026 at 3:15 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
We've put together a 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 25. Iles aquifolium, Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Did you know... #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections #Art #NaturalHistoryMuseum
Alt text: an advent calendar revealing a sprig of holly on a white background.
December 25, 2025 at 9:02 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
Here's our 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 24. Ananas sativas (Pineapple), Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770). Did you know… #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections #Art #NaturalHistoryMuseum
Alt text: an advent calendar revealing an unpicked pineapple.
December 24, 2025 at 9:01 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
We've put together a 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 23. European robin (Erithacus rubecula), William MacGillivray. Did you know… #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections #Art #NaturalHistoryMuseum
Alt text: an advent calendar revealing two robins.
December 23, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Reposted by NHM Library and Archives
linneansociety.bsky.social
📍 Online Lecture
📆 Jan 23, 12:30 -1:30

✨ Join Simon Pooley as he discusses the okapi, a rainforest giraffid which has become a symbol of scientific curiosity, colonial power, and conservation challenges.

Grab your free tickets here:

buff.ly/CGq6rfy
Simon Pooley superimposed on an illustration of two okapis, giraffid animals with striped legs.
December 22, 2025 at 2:31 PM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
We've put together a 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 22. Photograph of the taxidermy preparation of Guy the Gorilla. Did you know… #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections Alt text: a monochrome photograph of a man painting the chest of a taxidermied gorilla.
December 22, 2025 at 9:02 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
We've put together a 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 21. Wild Turkey, John James Audubon (publ.1827-1838). Did you know... #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections #Art #NaturalHistoryMuseum
Alt text: advent calendar revealing coloured print of a live turkey.
December 21, 2025 at 9:01 AM
nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social
We've put together a 25-day #NHMAdventCalendar of Library and Archives art. Enjoy! 20. Iguanodon, Neave Parker (1950s). Did you know… #AdventCalendar2025 #Christmas #SpecialCollections #Art #NaturalHistoryMuseum #PalaeoArt #CrystalPalaceDinosaurs
Alt text: a greywash painting of an Iguanodon.
December 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM