If you are a bibliophile or just love to see old books, texts and manuscripts, drop everything you are doing and head to The Asiatic Library at Horniman Circle.

From now till the first week of June, you can feast your eyes on some of the rarest books in the library’s collection.

15 of these rare volumes (some of which are more than 500 years old) in languages like Greek, Latin and Italian that are on display at the Asiatic Library till the first week of June. Among the tomes that are being exhibited, is ‘Greek Gram mar of Constantine Lascares’ printed in 1495. “Aldus Manutius, who is con sidered to be the greatest printer/publisher of his time, began printing books in 1495. This book is the very first title printed by him and is an excellent example of type and layout,” says Virchand Dharamsey, the curator of the exhibition.

The books, according to Dharmsey, reveal a fascinating history through their intricate illustrations, texts and lettering. “They also give us insights into history by allowing us to study different types of literature and poetry,” he adds. There is also a photographic exhibit section on early printed books including ‘History of Maffei’ (printed in 1590), which is one of the first books in which Bombay gets a mention along with historical ” The idea behind this exhibition is to draw the attention of book lovers and scholars towards the vast treasure of books that need special care.” [link]

If you have been there already, do drop in a line in the comments section letting us know your opinion and experience.

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