Marsh's Library
@marshslibrary.bsky.social
Beautiful library of the early Enlightenment in central Dublin. Opened in 1707; still welcoming visitors, tourists and scholars.
Registered Charity RCN 20000752
Registered Charity RCN 20000752
Our collection of parrots, watercolour on velum, from Eleazar Albin's 'Natural History of Birds', mid 18th century
November 18, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Our collection of parrots, watercolour on velum, from Eleazar Albin's 'Natural History of Birds', mid 18th century
So many heretics out there, but thankfully you can spot them by their pointy ears!
November 14, 2025 at 5:13 PM
So many heretics out there, but thankfully you can spot them by their pointy ears!
Our Maddock fellow Ben Card spotted this error correction in a 1645 pamphlet 'The primitive practise for preserving truth' this morning. We think the errors in every copy were corrected manually in the print shop before they were sent out. A lot of work for some poor apprentice! #errors #printing
November 14, 2025 at 3:08 PM
If you are in Dublin over the next few months, don't miss this gorgeous exhibition of some of the treasures in our Benjamin Iveagh Library at the Farmleigh Gallery in the Phoenix Park. #opw #farmleigh
November 13, 2025 at 1:01 PM
If you are in Dublin over the next few months, don't miss this gorgeous exhibition of some of the treasures in our Benjamin Iveagh Library at the Farmleigh Gallery in the Phoenix Park. #opw #farmleigh
Who's a good weesle headed armadillo?! This engraving of what we now call a a nine-banded armadillo is from Nehemiah Grew's 'Musaeum Regalis Societatis', a 1681 catalogue 'of the natural and artificial rarities belonging to the Royal society'.
November 12, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Who's a good weesle headed armadillo?! This engraving of what we now call a a nine-banded armadillo is from Nehemiah Grew's 'Musaeum Regalis Societatis', a 1681 catalogue 'of the natural and artificial rarities belonging to the Royal society'.
We have it on good authority that this 17th century play by Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher is one of the dirtiest in English!
November 6, 2025 at 12:08 PM
We have it on good authority that this 17th century play by Francis Beaumont & John Fletcher is one of the dirtiest in English!
Remember remember! Some very blurry printing on this highly sectarian pamphlet about 'the 5th of November' printed in 1679
November 5, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Remember remember! Some very blurry printing on this highly sectarian pamphlet about 'the 5th of November' printed in 1679
Best to look away now if you're squeamish! Surgical instruments for use on the eyes, from 'Les Oeuvres de chirurgie de Jacques Guillemeau' printed in 1694.
November 4, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Best to look away now if you're squeamish! Surgical instruments for use on the eyes, from 'Les Oeuvres de chirurgie de Jacques Guillemeau' printed in 1694.
A teeth-rottingly happy hallowe'en to all!
Skeleton from William Cowper's Anatomy of Human Bodies, 1698. The plates in this enormous book are from the 1685 Dutch edition of Govert Bidloo's 'Anatomia humani corporis' & were used by Cowper with no acknowledgement.
Skeleton from William Cowper's Anatomy of Human Bodies, 1698. The plates in this enormous book are from the 1685 Dutch edition of Govert Bidloo's 'Anatomia humani corporis' & were used by Cowper with no acknowledgement.
October 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM
A teeth-rottingly happy hallowe'en to all!
Skeleton from William Cowper's Anatomy of Human Bodies, 1698. The plates in this enormous book are from the 1685 Dutch edition of Govert Bidloo's 'Anatomia humani corporis' & were used by Cowper with no acknowledgement.
Skeleton from William Cowper's Anatomy of Human Bodies, 1698. The plates in this enormous book are from the 1685 Dutch edition of Govert Bidloo's 'Anatomia humani corporis' & were used by Cowper with no acknowledgement.
Gabriel Naudé's History of Magick, originally printed in French in 1625, was a defence of science & intellectualism against accusations of witchcraft & magic. Glad we're past that now!
October 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Gabriel Naudé's History of Magick, originally printed in French in 1625, was a defence of science & intellectualism against accusations of witchcraft & magic. Glad we're past that now!
We're seeing a Jacobus Riterus in this scribbled out inscription, anyone else fancy weighing in?
October 29, 2025 at 3:11 PM
We're seeing a Jacobus Riterus in this scribbled out inscription, anyone else fancy weighing in?
Gorgeous gourds, from 1552.
October 28, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Gorgeous gourds, from 1552.
This is SO cute. A lovely sketch of the highlights of our little library by the French artist Dominique Montagnon. You can see more of her work at instagram.com/sketchbibli/
October 24, 2025 at 2:50 PM
This is SO cute. A lovely sketch of the highlights of our little library by the French artist Dominique Montagnon. You can see more of her work at instagram.com/sketchbibli/
In the 17th century some Europeans believed that a bite from a tarantula (or rather wolf spider) led to tarantism, a type of hysteria that could only by cured by a frenzied dance, the tarantella!
October 23, 2025 at 11:02 AM
In the 17th century some Europeans believed that a bite from a tarantula (or rather wolf spider) led to tarantism, a type of hysteria that could only by cured by a frenzied dance, the tarantella!
Printed posthumously, Joseph Glanvill's 'Saducismus Triumphatus' recounted hundreds of stories to prove the existence of witches & spirits. It includes the first recorded account of a poltergeist, the 'Drummer of Tedworth', illustrated in the top left of the engraved title page.
October 22, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Printed posthumously, Joseph Glanvill's 'Saducismus Triumphatus' recounted hundreds of stories to prove the existence of witches & spirits. It includes the first recorded account of a poltergeist, the 'Drummer of Tedworth', illustrated in the top left of the engraved title page.
Our 1584 Lyon edition of Malleus Maleficorum or 'The hammer of witches', Heinrich Kramer's infamous manual for identifying and prosecuting witches, first published in 1486.
October 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Our 1584 Lyon edition of Malleus Maleficorum or 'The hammer of witches', Heinrich Kramer's infamous manual for identifying and prosecuting witches, first published in 1486.
The red of these anemones has really cheered me up on this miserable day in Dublin! From Hieronymus Bock's 16th century herbal, hand-coloured by an early reader.
October 20, 2025 at 1:54 PM
The red of these anemones has really cheered me up on this miserable day in Dublin! From Hieronymus Bock's 16th century herbal, hand-coloured by an early reader.
For Oscariana, the Oscar Wilde Festival, we'll be displaying our first editions of 'An Ideal Husband' and 'A House of Pomegranates' from the Benjamin Iveagh collection in Marsh's until Saturday.
October 17, 2025 at 8:49 AM
For Oscariana, the Oscar Wilde Festival, we'll be displaying our first editions of 'An Ideal Husband' and 'A House of Pomegranates' from the Benjamin Iveagh collection in Marsh's until Saturday.
I think it's fair to say this early reader didn't quite hit the mark when they tried to recreate this double-tailed mermaid, the device of 16th century Venetian printer, Giovanni Varisco. From our 1569 edition of Bernardo Gamucci's 'Le Antichita' della citta'.
October 16, 2025 at 8:22 AM
I think it's fair to say this early reader didn't quite hit the mark when they tried to recreate this double-tailed mermaid, the device of 16th century Venetian printer, Giovanni Varisco. From our 1569 edition of Bernardo Gamucci's 'Le Antichita' della citta'.
We had a lovely class on 'The Grand Tour' this afternoon with the students from Lynda Mulvin's MA students from UCD. This 1567 edition of Vitruvius' 'Ten books on architecture' was one of the many volumes we looked at as we reimagined walking through 17th century Rome!
October 14, 2025 at 4:22 PM
We had a lovely class on 'The Grand Tour' this afternoon with the students from Lynda Mulvin's MA students from UCD. This 1567 edition of Vitruvius' 'Ten books on architecture' was one of the many volumes we looked at as we reimagined walking through 17th century Rome!
We are advertising for an Assistant Director to join us in Marsh's Library. Full details about this exciting post here: marshlibrary.ie/vacancy-for-...
October 13, 2025 at 11:18 AM
We are advertising for an Assistant Director to join us in Marsh's Library. Full details about this exciting post here: marshlibrary.ie/vacancy-for-...
Stamps from the earliest days of the Irish Free State in 1922. These are from a stamp book deposited in Marsh's in 1935 by then Keeper, Newport B. White #WorldPostDay2025
October 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Stamps from the earliest days of the Irish Free State in 1922. These are from a stamp book deposited in Marsh's in 1935 by then Keeper, Newport B. White #WorldPostDay2025
Small book, big map! As part of his research on Huguenot-Indigenous American interactions, Maddock Fellow Dr Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social is looking at translations of Alexander Exquemelin's book on pirates. Apparently the pirates of the Caribbean used to hang out around Tortuga in Haiti
October 8, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Small book, big map! As part of his research on Huguenot-Indigenous American interactions, Maddock Fellow Dr Joe Borsato @theecoalchemyst.bsky.social is looking at translations of Alexander Exquemelin's book on pirates. Apparently the pirates of the Caribbean used to hang out around Tortuga in Haiti