CHENNAI: The Connemara Public Library is drawing attention of many books lovers in the city to its rare collection of old books dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries as these publications are on public display as part of the World Book Day celebrations.
The book repository was a boon to many book lovers, particularly researchers and scholars. “The library houses several erstwhile books, which are on high demand now as about 70 people visit every day, most of them are researchers and scholars,” says a library official.
The library conserves one of the oldest Bibles in the world, published in 1608. The book had been preserved for more than 100 years. It is said that this Holy Bible is older than the one in the United Kingdom.
Also known as the Geneva Bible, it was first published in Geneva in 1560 and was the first English edition to introduce verse numeration.
It is popularly known as the Breeches Bible. The copy with Connemara library was printed at London by Robert Barker in the year 1608.
Similarly, another book called the Refutatio Alcorani , published in 1698 by Ex Typographia Seminavii, is the text of the Koran in Arabic with Latin translations and has a commentary by Lvdoico Mamaccio Lucensi.
It was the second major translation into Latin, following that of Robert Ketenensis in 1143 — both were the basis of numerous subsequent editions and translations into
modern languages.
Besides books in Latin, there were a rare collection of books on Tamil language as well. A grammar of the high dialect of the Tamil language called Centamil was the centre of attraction for many book lovers who visited on Sunday.
This book was authored by Beschi Castantino Gueseppe in Latin and later translated from the original Latin book by Benyamin Guy Babington in 1822.
It is the grammar of classical Tamil with examples in Tamil.
Similarly, the library also has the oldest Tamil book called Rituale published in 1781 at Trangambaricum, near Nagapattinam, at the first printing press of Tamil Nadu.
The oldest book that the library has is the Omnesquae Extant, a Latin book authored by D Heronymi Strido. The content of the book unknown as it is in Latin, said a library official.
In order to conserve the collection, the books are fumigated every six months and public access to the books is restricted to avoid any physical damage to the books during the public visit. However, people can glance through these books for reference on request.
According to the library administration, the then governor Lord Connemara shipped most of these books, which are rare to find now in the market, during British rule after the library opened in 1886.
Lord Connemara, the then Governor of Madras State, laid the foundation stone for the present Connemara Public Library in 1890, which was formally opened on December 5, 1896, naming it after Lord Connemara.