In a historical twist, some of the world’s oldest, most fragile texts are finding a new life in the digital world.  Meet the British Library’s Turning the Pages Web site (www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html).  Here you can view some of the world’s greatest masterpieces:  William Blake’s sketchbook and poems, Leonardo da Vinci’s Scientific sketches and notes, Lewis Carroll’s original and written version of Alice in Wonderland, and Mozart’s musical notebook – all written in the artists’ own hands.  You can use a virtual magnifying glass to examine the texts closely – plus the texts have audio components.  You can listen to the notes Mozart wrote as you view them, for instance - or hear the entirety of Alice being read out loud.

Newsletter – September 2008