British Library: Virtual books

Within the British Library’s Online Gallery exists a gem called Virtual Books. Here, readers will find a collection of great books that can be viewed online using the library’s own award-winning “Turning the Pages” software. A great place to start is by scoping out the six works displayed on the landing page, which include selections from the great Indian epic, The Ramayana, draft scores of Handel’sMessiah, a handful of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches, and other masterpieces. From there, readers may like to explore the Most Viewed and Recent Additions sections. To explore items, simply click on a title. The book then takes a moment to load, but the Turning the Pages format lets you read, listen, rotate, zoom, and view the original writing next to modern, easily viewable font transliterations.

turning the pages