A FREE exhibition at The Guildhall, Bath will display a selection of rare books and fine bindings from the Bath Record Office collection, including illustrated volumes, children’s books and historic tourist guides.

The Remarkable Books exhibition will run at The Guildhall, Bath from Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28, 10am to 4pm. It features rare books originally acquired by Bath Municipal Library and now cared for by Bath Record Office. Many of these volumes are notable survivors of the 1942 Bath Blitz and the devastating floods of December 1960, which destroyed more than 2,600 books.

A highlight of the exhibition will be a rare trial sheet of William Morris’s Kelmscott Chaucer, published in 1896, which is still widely considered to be the most beautiful book ever printed.

Only 13 copies of the Kelmscott Chaucer were produced on vellum, a type of animal skin. This vellum trial sheet was presented to the Bath Reference Library in 1927 by May Morris, daughter of William Morris, who was a regular visitor to Bath.

The display will also feature a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the most famous specimens of early European printing, which is known as ‘the crown of German medieval craftmanship’. Created by Hartmann Schedel and printed by the Koberger Press, it is a history of the world based on religious, secular and mythical themes, and is famous for the beauty and precision of its printing and illustrations.

Bath was a pioneer in the publication of city guides, and the exhibition will include a rare surviving copy of Boddely's Bath and Bristol Guide from 1753. The guide features a description of the Guildhall prior to the construction of Baldwin’s 1775 building that stands today. It records: “The City of Bath is greatly improved within these few Years in its buildings; the new Houses are strong, large and commodious…”

The guide also includes descriptions of the city and its baths, the cost of hiring chairmen, arrival and departure times of stagecoaches and boats, and other useful information for visitors.

A display celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen will feature books by female authors associated with Bath who inspired Austen, such as Ann Radcliffe and Fanny Burney. The case will include authors from the 20th and 21st century, including a first edition copy of Orbital, the 2024 Booker Prize winner, presented to Bath Record Office by the Bath-based author Samantha Harvey.

The exhibition will also showcase historic children’s books dating from Georgian times up until the early 20th century, including a first edition of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, Georgian card games, and gorgeous examples of children’s ‘bookcase libraries’ – decorative miniature bookcases filled with tiny books in pretty bindings.

The Remarkable Books exhibition will coincide with the antiquarian book fair taking place at Bath Pavilion over the same two days, organised by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association and Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association.

For more information about the Remarkable Books exhibition, visit www.batharchives.co.uk or contact Bath Record Office at [email protected]