leidenspecial­collectionsblog — page 2

The ‘East Indies Conan Doyle’: censored passages from Ucee’s Indo-detective resurface

Between 1924 and 1931, a certain Ucee published a five-part ‘Indo-detective’ series, following the Eurasian sleuth Leo Brandhorst. A newly donated ultra-rare first edition reveals censored passages cut from later reprints, exposing social tensions and everyday racism in the former Dutch East Indies.

Asian Special Collections

‘I was born into Cantonese’ – In kind memory of Liang Xiaoman

Issue 10 of Wings provides a comprehensive insight into the world of contemporary, unofficial Chinese women's poetry. It also serves as an important and rare printed record of the late Liang Xiaoman’s artistic legacy, capturing her intellectual reflections on humanity during times of global crisis.

Asian Special Collections · Maps and Atlases

Leiden University Libraries acquires oldest known map of Deshima

Looking for the earliest map of Deshima, the Dutch VOC trading post in Japan? Save yourself a long journey: from now on it can be found in Leiden University Library.

Early Printed and Rare Books

A Collection of Almanac Prints: In Conversation with the Collector

Last year, Leiden University Libraries acquired the collection of Bart Fontein, consisting of some two hundred student almanacs (1815-2015) and associated almanac prints. Curator Mart van Duijn spoke with Fontein about the hunt for missing copies and the transfer of his collection to the UBL.

Manuscripts, Archives and Letters

Willem Einthoven's “thump-free hall”

Dirk van Delft discovers in Leiden’s curator archive where exactly Willem van Einthoven built his ‘thump-free’ hall: the room that allowed him to register the electrocardiograms that would earn him a Nobel prize.

Manuscripts, Archives and Letters

Blame it on the mailman: Nietzsche and the Vossianus Graecus 18 

Did you know Friedrich Nietzsche is among the past users of Leiden University Library? Two letters from the famous philosopher give a fascinating glimpse of his early activities as a budding philologist. They also tell us a surprising story of ‘interlibrary loan’ in the nineteenth century.