National Library of SA publication design

Publisher: Jacana Media
Client: National Library of South Africa

To mark the 200th anniversary of the National Library on 20 March 2018, exhibitions were held at the Library’s Pretoria and Cape Town campuses. The Treasure House of Knowledge records the exhibition, which was conceptualised, collated and curated by Andrew Lamprecht in Cape Town.

Popular and seemingly ordinary items were featured along with unexpected treasures such as medieval manuscripts and rare historical documents. We would like to believe that collected knowledge – envisaged in the 1818 Proclamation establishing the Library – is the real treasure that the National Library holds, yet knowledge may sometimes be clothed in very humble attire.

We trust that seeing the selection of treasures that follow will spark questions, curiosity and debate, encouraging readers to look at the National Library of South Africa and its unique resources with a fresh sense of enquiry. It is South Africans’ national legacy. We hope all will claim it as their own, and benefit from its rich diversity.