Later 17th and 18th Centuries
The agreement with the Stationers' Company meant that the growth of stock was constant and there were also a number of large bequests and acquisitions for other reasons. Until the establishment of the British Museum in 1753 the Bodleian was effectively the national library of England. By then the Bodleian, Cambridge University Library and the Royal Library were the most extensive book collections in England and Wales.
The astronomer Thomas Hornsby observed the transit of Venus from the tower of the five orders in 1769.
Read more about this topic: Bodleian Library
Famous quotes containing the word centuries:
“Isolate city spread alongside water,
Posted with white towers, she keeps her face
Half-turned to Europe, lonely northern daughter,
Holding through centuries her separate place.”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)