images of queen’s available online as part of the king’s topographical collection
King George III was a great collector of books and maps. His library is one of the foundation collections of the British Library (BL), now on public view in the dramatic King’s Library Tower in the BL’s entrance hall.
The King’s Topographical Collection constitutes one highlight of this collection, and for the last seven years, the BL has been cataloguing and digitising this rich resource. It contains thousands of maps, prints and drawings and watercolours of interest to the King, and provides a window on the world from the viewpoint of an eighteenth-century, royal, armchair traveller.
On 13 October 2020, the BL added 18,000 images from the collection to the public domain Flickr Commons, making available to anyone a vast range of high-resolution images. Among this collection are a number of fine images of The Queen’s College, some of which are unique or rare, and are a reminder of the connections between the College and the Royal Household, as well as being a record of how the College has developed over time. These include pen and ink drawings of plans of the South Quad and an illustrated manuscript detailing the donation by Queen Caroline of £1,000 from the Royal Bounty towards the rebuilding of the College. Many of the images show items from works held in the College Library, but not previously freely available online.
The collection can be found on Flickr and also via the Explore the British Library website, using the search term ‘George III Queen’s College’, limiting the search to online access, and using the ‘I Want This’ tab.
Matthew Shaw, The Queen's College Librarian