Leighton Library, Dunblane

Scotland's oldest purpose-built independent library founded in 1687

Leighton Library has 1758 edition of Niels Horrebow's "The Natural History of Iceland"

Added at 07:44 on 16 July 2025

It’s #WorldSnakeDay #SnakeDay today, 16 July. Some of the Volunteer Guides at the Leighton Library like to demonstrate their memorising prowess by being able to quote an entire chapter from the Leighton Library’s 1758 edition of Niels Horrebow's "The Natural History of Iceland".

Renowned dictionary compiler Dr Samuel Johnson is also reputed to have boasted of the same feat.

You could try to do the same. Here’s the full text from chapter 72:

“Concerning Snakes. No snakes of any kind are to be met with throughout the whole island.” 😄

https://youtu.be/WSVverNoaY8

< Leighton Library has 1710 edition of "An exposition of the Creed" by John Pearson