A Review of the National Library of Thailand, Manuscript Collection (ห้องเอกสารโบราณ หอสมุดแห่งชาติ) (Bangkok, Thailand)
The Manuscript Collection of the National Library of Thailand is the country’s largest
A Review of the National Library of Thailand, Manuscript Collection (ห้องเอกสารโบราณ หอสมุดแห่งชาติ) (Bangkok, Thailand)
The Manuscript Collection of the National Library of Thailand is the country’s largest collection of old handwritten documents, totaling several hundred thousand titles. These consist primarily of palm leaf manuscripts, various kinds of paper manuscripts, and facsimiles of inscriptions. The Manuscript Collection does not include printed books, which can be found in the National Library’s rare books collection or its main stacks. Likewise, researchers are advised to see the National Archives of Thailand for typed, printed, and (some) handwritten administrative documents from the Fifth Reign (1868-1910), administrative documents in any media from the Sixth Reign onward, and photographs from every period.
The Organization of the Collection
The Manuscript Collection is broadly divided into three major divisions: inscription facsimiles, palm leaf manuscripts, and paper manuscripts. Most of the actual inscriptions are stored at the National Museum’s warehouses. The National Library’s Manuscript Collection instead holds rubbings, transcriptions, and other facsimile versions of at leas