The new Library and University Collections Calendar, 2015: Images from the David Laing Collection, is now available to buy online and from a number of locations across the University.

Featuring newly-surfaced images from the David Laing Collection, including a 16th century petition to the Pope, a burgess ticket from the town of Rutherglen and a stunning gold leaf manuscript fragment from the Darien scheme’s first expedition in 1698, the calendar showcases why the collection is considered one of the jewels in the Library’s crown. To view the images online, visit www.collections.ed.ac.uk/calendars.

Priced £8 and spanning a fifteen month period from October 2014 to December 2015, the calendar can be purchased online at http://www.giftshop.ed.ac.uk/2015-Calendar.html and in person from the Visitor Centre, the Centre for Research Collections and the Main Library helpdesk.

This small collection of images is only the tip of the iceberg: the David Laing Collection includes approximately half a million individual documents and, because of its size, much of the content remains uncatalogued and therefore largely undiscovered. The Library is seeking funds in order to apply modern archival and preservation methods to make the papers available to a worldwide audience: if you are interested in supporting our work to conserve and preserve the entire collection, please email laingcollection@ed.ac.uk.