We hope you are all keeping safe despite the windy weather brought in by Storm Benjamin. Here at the Congregational Library we are very definitely staying indoors and continuing our unpacking journey. The big news is that shelving is being installed in the Carrie Room as we write: we will soon be finished unpacking in the Cheshunt Room (perhaps by the end of the year?) so it’s not a moment too soon!

Apart from that, business is very much as usual here. We have been enjoying (and, occasionally, shuddering) at what we have been pulling out of our boxes.

Along with centuries-old insects and nibble marks from hungry rats, we were especially excited to find possibly the oldest book unwrapped so far: a (possibly) 1535 edition of Loci communes theologici recens collecti & recogniti, by Philip Melanchthon. We will be writing more on this latter book as we research it, but you can have a sneak peek at KU Leuven’s copy of the same edition here.

We also found the following book, which I am reliably informed is written in Urdu.

It forms part of a donation by John Scott in 1927 of a collection bibles and liturgies translated into various languages. This one has not been catalogued as we have not been able to find anyone able to translate the title page reliably. We believe it to be a copy of St Matthew’s Gospel, and to be published by an American press, but that is all we know. We would massively appreciate any tips from our readers (let the librarian, Jacqueline Reiter, know if you have any leads!). Thank you so much in advance!

As always, please follow us on Twitter and Instagram if you have not already done so and investigate our website to find out more about the Library and the Congregational Memorial Hall Trust. If you think we can help you with an enquiry you may have about Congregational or Dissenting history in Britain, or if you have a connection with Congregationalism and think we may have information that might help you with your family history, please get in touch!

See you next month!