IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.—“I would not claim that the British Museum was unique among the museums and galleries of the world. That would be presumptuous and very un-British. But I do claim that it is, at least, unusual.” Thus, with an understatement all the more delightful because it is so studied, Sir John Wolfenden begins his introduction to “Treasures of the British Museum” (Collins, 222 pp.). The book, designed as a follow-up to the 1971 Thames Television series of the same name (a series not yet shown here), relies upon the same team of writers; men who—like Tyrone Guthrie, John Betjeman, Peter Young, Asa Briggs and Malcolm Macdonald —are all well known in other fields, but bring enthusiasm rather than expertise to the aspect of the museum they Introduce. The book is copiously illustrated in colour and black-and-white, the photographs being of a uniformly high standard, typified by this illustration of the bronze head of a griffin, a Greek artefact made about 650 B.C.

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32880, 1 April 1972, Page 10

IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.—“I would not claim that the British Museum was unique among the museums and galleries of the world. That would be presumptuous and very un-British. But I do claim that it is, at least, unusual.” Thus, with an understatement all the more delightful because it is so studied, Sir John Wolfenden begins his introduction to “Treasures of the British Museum” (Collins, 222 pp.). The book, designed as a follow-up to the 1971 Thames Television series of the same name (a series not yet shown here), relies upon the same team of writers; men who—like Tyrone Guthrie, John Betjeman, Peter Young, Asa Briggs and Malcolm Macdonald —are all well known in other fields, but bring enthusiasm rather than expertise to the aspect of the museum they Introduce. The book is copiously illustrated in colour and black-and-white, the photographs being of a uniformly high standard, typified by this illustration of the bronze head of a griffin, a Greek artefact made about 650 B.C.