The Rare Materials Collection at the National Library, Singapore, contains more than 11,000 items and spans six centuries of history. The collection comprises books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, correspondence, and more, which together provide us with valuable insights into Singapore’s history.

This book presents a diverse selection of almost 50 of the rarest and most priceless items in the collection, including the Mao Kun Map, a recently-acquired Munshi Abdullah edition of the Sejarah Melayu, 19th century lithographs,  Japanese reconnaissance maps, correspondence from Raffles, and even a football rule book in Jawi.

Each item is described and analysed with an insightful essay and richly complemented with illustrations, helping to bring these stories from the stacks to life and lead us down new avenues of historical understanding.

The essays were written by a team of contributing experts, including historians, academics, and librarians from the National Library, Singapore.