Digital gallery

Here you can view digitised material from the National Library of Scotland's outstanding collections.

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	Maps of Scotland Further your family, local history or school project using this collection of thousands of zoomable maps of Scotland for the period 1560-1928.		The word on the street Discover early news stories and ballads that informed and entertained Scots between 1650 and 1910 as you browse around 1,800 broadsides.
	Scottish Screen Archive Watch films digitised from Scotland's national moving images collection, which preserves over 100 years of Scottish history on film and video.		The last letter of Mary Queen of Scots Read in English and French - the last letter by Scotland's 16th-century queen, written only hours before her execution in Fotheringhay Castle.
	Experiences of war The nurse, the soldier and the general - three stories from the front and at home during the First World War. Features schools resources.		First World War official photographs Black-and-white photographs mainly of the Western Front during the First World War. From the papers of Field Marshal (Earl) Haig.
	The Auchinleck Manuscript Middle English language and literature as Chaucer would have known it, contained in this rare document, with a full transcription.		Early Gaelic book collections Several hundred books in Gaelic and other Celtic languages, plus works about the Gaels, their languages, literature, culture and history
	Robert Burns The life, work and legacy of Scotland's Bard, together with fascinating detail about original material in the Library's collections, and short song clips.		Scottish Science Hall of Fame A tribute to 10 great Scottish scientists of the past. Read transcripts of letters, papers and published works about or by them.
	Scots abroad Read and hear six stories of Scots who emigrated to start a new life between the 1770s and the 1930s.		Propaganda - a weapon of war A selection of images of British Government propaganda which was used at home and in Europe during the Second World War.
	Robert Louis Stevenson See letters, sketches and photographs in our biography of story-teller and poet Robert Louis Stevenson - and read 'Kidnapped' page by page.		Slezer's Scotland Dozens of zoomable engravings show us Scottish towns, castles and palaces from the 17th-century, as seen by military surveyor John Slezer.
	Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect Read page by page the first published collection of poems by Robert Burns, known as 'The Kilmarnock edition', printed in 1786.		12 key Scottish plays 1970-2010 Introducing 12 of the major plays and major playwrights of Scotland. See images from theatre productions and related archive material.
	Medical history of British India Search nearly 180 volumes of rare official documents recording disease prevention and public health in India in the 19th and 20th centuries.		Scottish history in print Two major Jacobite sources are online as keyword searchable files, together with details of thousands of works published by historical clubs.
	Scotland's pages Move along the timeline of key events in Scottish history, and discover along the way some of the 'treasures' held by the Library.		The photographs of John Thomson Find out about the Scottish photographer and traveller who helped pioneer photojournalism on London's Victorian streets.
	Pencils of light Delve into photographic history with 300 images taken in the 1840s by the Edinburgh Calotype Club - the world's first photography society.		The Murthly Hours View each page of this book of prayer dated 1280 - one of the most richly illustrated manuscripts in Scotland during the Middle Ages.
	Muriel Spark Using material from her personal archive, we tell the story of the life and career of one of Scotland's greatest novelists, Dame Muriel Spark.		Churchill: The evidence The life and times of Winston Churchill, MP for Dundee before he became a wartime Prime Minister. Features schools resources.
	The Gutenberg Bible Read our rare copy of the first book to be printed with moveable type. Johannes Gutenberg printed it in Germany around 1455.		The Blaeu Atlas The first Atlas of Scotland, printed in 1654, containing 49 engraved maps, and 154 pages of descriptive text translated from Latin.
	Military maps of Scotland Maps and plans made for government troops by the Board of Ordnance during the Jacobite period in the 18th century.		The Aberdeen Breviary See the Latin church service book that was the reason printing was introduced to Scotland. Printed in Edinburgh in 1510.
	First Scottish books See online, page by page, 'The Chepman and Myllar Prints' - nine of the earliest books printed in Scotland, in or around 1508.		Phoebe Anna Traquair Examine in detail Traquair's exquisite illuminated manuscript of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'Sonnets from the Portuguese'.
	The spread of Scottish printing Trace the spread of printing across Scotland from 1508 to 1900. Read an early item produced in each of the first 33 printing towns.		Soviet posters Around 70 posters issued in the Soviet Union between 1919 and1930, relating to the Russian Civil War and economic and social issues.
	Golf in Scotland 1457-1744 Take a swing through golf's early history. Key documents, including the first 'rules' of the game, show how golf developed in Scotland.		A guid cause The history of women's suffrage in Scotland, with photographs, newspaper reports, diary entries and other sources. Activities for secondary schools.
	Jacobite prints and broadsides Portraits of people and illustrations of events relating to the Jacobite Rebellions in Scotland in 1715 and 1745-1746.		Northern lights Explore the spirit of enquiry, debate, and improvement which characterised the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century.
	The Bartholomew Archive Read about the remarkable record of mapmaking and printing by the world-famous Bartholomew firm in Edinburgh from 1820 to 2002.		Out of Africa: The Kirk papers An overview of the personal papers of Sir John Kirk, a British Consul in Africa who explored the Zambesi with David Livingstone.
	Genealogical collections concerning families in Scotland 1750-1751 Volume one of Walter Macfarlane's collection of genealogies of ancient Scottish families, compiled around 1750.		Scottish bridges Photographs showing the building of the Forth Bridge, taken from 1886-1887, and the Tay Bridge after its collapse in 1879.
	Photographs of the south side of Edinburgh Black-and-white photos of tenements and shops around St Leonards, Edinburgh, taken in 1929 by Alfred Henry Rushbrook.		Scottish decorative bookbinding Distinctive examples of bookbinding created in Scotland, from our pre-eminent collection of decorative bindings, which spans 500 years.
	James VI and the Union of the Crowns A look at the union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603, and the monarch who wanted to lead a peaceful, united Britain.		Early books of Scottish songs Three early books of Scottish (and some English) songs with melodies and illustrations. Includes songs with words by Allan Ramsay.
	The Moir Rare Book Collection Learn about John William Moir's collection of rare books on all aspects of bees and beekeeping, including how bees 'sing'!		Playbills of the Theatre Royal Edinburgh Find out about this important theatre in the 19th century by searching through our selection of playbills.
	The write stuff Modern Scottish writers - among them J K Rowling, Liz Lochhead and George Mackay Brown - through the lens of photographer Gordon Wright.		Morall fabillis of Esope the Phyrgia 'Aesop's Fables' put into Scots by 15th-century poet Robert Henryson, who lived in Dunfermline. This edition printed in 1571 in Edinburgh.