Historic Books. At Home. For Everyone.
Let Ancient Libraries Inspire You Today…

Welcome to our new interactive digital resource: Discover Historic Books! It allows you to look inside some of the UK’s marvellous historic books and explore their hidden histories. You’ll discover everything from how the books were made to the ideas they contained and who owned them centuries ago. You can also make make your own creative responses to what you’ve discovered, guided by East Anglian designers, printmakers, and artists.

Our resource was made during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic under strictly-observed lockdown. It is brought to you by the University of East Anglia’s Unlocking the Archive team, working with our partners in the National Trust (Blickling Estate), the Norfolk Library and Information Service, and Northumberland Archives. We are proud to help our cultural partners open up public access to their collections in new ways at this time of crisis and beyond.

Start your journey by watching our short film to discover more about the historic books of East Anglia, the core of the collections you’re about to encounter…