<div> <p>The earliest libraries belonged to temples and administrative bodies, resembled our modern archives, and were usually restricted to the aristocracy, nobility, theologians, and for the use of scholars.</p> <div>Dispersed along the shelves of the British Library today are many volumes that once stood side by side in private libraries. This&amp;nbsp;collection of&amp;nbsp;original&amp;nbsp;essays&amp;nbsp;explores&amp;nbsp; some of the most important printed collections which&amp;nbsp;have been brought together&amp;nbsp;within the British Museum Library&amp;nbsp;since its foundation in 1753, casting new light on the individuals whose personal interests and taste they reflect.&amp;nbsp;Ranging from the library of Henry VIII to Sir Joseph Banks, and from Sir Hans Sloane to George III, this volume&amp;nbsp;also acts as a handbook to&amp;nbsp;provenance within the British Library collections, providing guidance on the interpretation of marks of ownership, stamps, shelfmarks and other forms of evidence&amp;nbsp;to be found in particular copies.</div> </div>