Valentines Day

Love is in the air ... and Valentine's Day is upon us. To get you in the mood, here is a selection of love themed images from the heritage collections at Auckland Libraries.

Poetry:

Ref: 7-C1916, William Morris, 'Love is enough', 1898, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Love letters:

Ref: AWNS-19080430-4-5, the love letter, 1908, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Plays:

Ref: AWNS-19121212-10-4, characters from Shakespeare's comedy 'Love's Labour Lost', 1912, , Sir George Grey Special Collections

Weddings & wedding anniversaries:

Ref: AWNS-19231206-48-4, happy ending to a love romance, 1923, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Ref: T6760, diamond wedding anniversary celebration, 1926, North Auckland Research Centre

Ref: AWNS-19381012-54-2, four couples married at the same time, 1938, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Young love:

Ref: AWNS-19251008-52-4, young tennis champions exchange the kiss of victory, 1925, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Cupboard love:

Ref: AWNS-19100825-10-1, Cupboard love, 1910, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Now for a bit of Valentines day fun inspired by the 'Colour Red' blog post from The British Library (Care Collection blog). Ready? Take a peek inside the Rossdhu Book of Hours from the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries. Not only is this medieval manuscript stunning but it's also famous, well travelled and has even been visited by the Prince of Wales!

Ref: 7-C1906, Rossdhu Books of Hours, 1475, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Now for the fun part, simply download the pdf or ebook version of the manuscript and get searching for all things red. You will find that its jam packed with red sumptuous scripts and intricate & beautifully rendered images. Here are some hints ... look out for something red being worn, a beast with red eyes and flowers & fruit. Let us know what you find (place a comment on this blog or tweet us at @Auckland_Libs)!