Image, via fastcompany, of a screenshot of the new British Library app for iPad. Will be downloading this one ASAP. I love the idea of preserving not just the original prose, but the original look of their vast 19th-century collection.
The British Library is launching a new library-in-an-iPad application that gives tablet users access to tens of thousands of 19th-century books in their original form. The app, called the19th Century Historical Collection, is taking a notably different tack to putting classic literature online than rivals such as the Kindle platform: Antiquarian books viewed through the British Library application will come in their original form—complete with illustrations, typefaces, pull-out maps and even the occasional paper wear.
Currently, the application gives access to over a thousand 19th-century books—primary travelogues and illustrated works of fiction that showcase the British Library’s graphics-and-design approach to putting books on tablet computers. Later this summer, the amount of books available through the application will rise to approximately 60,000. Users will be required to pay an undisclosed amount for full access to the ebook collection and a full list of literature has not been disclosed; however, the British Library has stated that it will include early editions of Frankenstein and Oliver Twist.
