Bibliotheek van het British Museum 1841

Edward Radclyffe made this print of the British Museum Library sometime in the mid-19th century. Libraries are not neutral spaces, but institutions with a powerful role in shaping what kind of knowledge is produced and who has access to it. Libraries were becoming newly important in England at this time, as a result of the rise of industrial capitalism. The British Museum Library was founded as part of the British Museum in 1753, at a time when the British Empire was expanding around the world. Its encyclopedic collection of books reflected the Empire's global reach. At this time, museums and libraries were typically accessible only to a privileged elite. Art historians might ask, how did the architecture of this space affect who was able to use it? How did libraries promote certain kinds of knowledge while marginalizing others? By consulting historical sources, we can understand how artworks like this one reflect the social and institutional history of their time.