Well, first off....WOW! This tour really hit home for me because I love art in all its forms. I am no expert at pieces of work; however, I love being stopped in my tracks because of of connections I feel with art.
When you walk into the V & A (Victoria & Albert) Museum, the beauty of the hand-blown glass chandelier is mesmerizing. I have only seen a smaller version of this structure as a piece of art in a local restaurant back home. Never one this size. I could have stared at it for an hour, but I couldn't because we were on our way to another private tour.
The senior librarian met our group at the front of the library and we were divided up. My group went into their archival display room. Here, we were presented with one of Shakespeare's folios from 1623 and our guide opened up the 3rd copy of the set for the first time, in front of us! It was beautiful to witness her reactions as she turned the pages for the first time. The V & A Art Library has the largest collection of book art in the United Kingdom and we were sitting in the middle of it.
As we were mesmerized with viewing the material on the table, the senior librarian came in to tell us we had to switch. I had to say goodbye to the 18th Century poetry with Picasso's illustrations inside.
I really enjoyed the energy of the senior librarian. You could feel her passion for the collection and the excitement she felt as she shared their treasures with us. The library receives roughly 30,000 visitors per year, 10% of the visitors who walk through the gallery doors. Though the library is beautiful, the librarian let us know all staff are trained for disaster (ie: leaks from the ceiling) clean up with "salvage equipment". It was a reminder of how important it is to protect the collection. Most of the items are irreplaceable and their collection is roughly 1 million books.
Interesting fact: The V & A Museum is located on the property of the Great Exhibition in 1851. The library collection includes the original manuscripts from the exhibition as well as the original ticket of a Royal Family member to the event. What I found even more fascinating are the funds raised from the exhibit still provide a source of income for the museum and the library - over 160 years later. We need more of those initiatives and financial responsibility on a global scale.
