The Making of the Wren Library: Trinity College, Cambridge

The Library at Trinity College, designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1695, is known all over the world for its books, its architecture, and its sculpture. Each of these aspects is authoritatively examined in this volume, as David McKitterick, Howard Colvin, and Malcolm Baker explore the ways in which seventeenth-century ideas were modified and extended until, by the early nineteenth century, the Library had achieved the coherent appearance which it has today. Their discussion is accompanied by numerous illustrations, including reproductions of all of Wren’s surviving drawings of the Library.

• A full account of the growth, management, and use of the Wren Library from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries • Authoritative discussions of its books, architecture, and sculpture • Numerous illustrations, including reproductions of all of Wren’s surviving drawings

1. Introduction David MCKitterick; 2. The building Howard Colvin; 3. Books and other collections David MCKitterick; 4. The portrait sculpture Malcolm Baker; 5. Postscript David MCKitterick.

‘This is a book altogether worthy of the great library it honours.’ Peter Hoare, Rare Books Newsletter