This collection consists of 57 volumes of German literature and German translations of foreign literature. They were formerly held in the royal residence of Balmoral Castle, Aberdeenshire, purchased by Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert in 1852. The books, published mainly between 1839 and 1860, include the works of prominent German authors of the Enlightenment and Romantic eras, such as Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Jean Paul and Johann Heinrich Voss. They have a distinguished provenance, as they contain Queen Victoria's Balmoral bookplate and were possibly collected by Prince Albert.

Organisation

The books have been catalogued individually and have the shelfmark 'Bal.'.

Acquisition

The collection was presented to the Library in 1957 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.