Six centuries ago, Richard “Dick” Whittington – yes, the very one from the folk tale – left money in his will to set up a library in London. Today, that library is celebrating its 600th birthday with

an exhibition of some of its rarest and most curious treasures.

The Guildhall Library hasn’t had a straightforward history. When it first opened in 1425, it served the College of Priests. But the Dissolution of the Monasteries swept through, and the Crown seized the collection. Statesman William Cecil borrowed what remained (likely on behalf of the Duke of Somerset to decorate Somerset House), and the books were never returned. For the next three centuries, the Guildhall was left bookless until a smaller replacement library finally opened in 1828.

The collection eventually found its current home in the Guildhall’s modern west wing, while the grand Gothic Old Library became a venue for events and meetings.

Now, to mark its 600th anniversary, the Guildhall Library is showing off highlights from its extraordinary collection. Among the stars:

- The ‘Peter de Riga Bible’, nearly 800 years old.

- The ‘Chronicles of France’, printed in 1399.

- John Stow’s ‘Survey of London’, the city’s first great local history.

Some items are wonderfully quirky. The world’s smallest English dictionary, printed in 1890, is barely larger than a matchbox and still snug in its original metal case. On the other extreme, massive City meeting records are displayed—one page even documents the library’s founding in 1425, while another notes its seizure under Henry VIII.

But perhaps the most evocative piece is a chained Bible from 1589. Still bound to its lock and chain, it once sat in the Tyler and Brickmakers Hall, where it played a role in ceremonies admitting new Freemen into the Livery.

Like any exhibition of rare books, you won’t be leafing through the pages. Instead, the joy comes from simply standing in front of these centuries-old volumes, marveling at their beauty and the stories they carry.

The exhibition ‘Guildhall Library 600 Anniversary’ runs until the end of the year. Entry is free, and the library is open Monday to Thursday, 10am–4pm, on the west side of the Guildhall in the City of London. If you wander around to Basinghall Street, you can also spot the Victorian-era entrance of the Old Library. Photo by JuliaC2006 from Rochester, UK, Wikimedia commons.