Andy Ffrench on a book that catalogues the masterpieces to be found in Oxford’s famous library

A few years ago, Richard Ovenden, now Bodley’s Librarian, took me on a whistle-stop tour of the stacks.

He had an intimate knowledge of where the library’s treasures were buried and pointed out a few of his favourites.

At the end of the tour I crossed Broad Street via an underground tunnel and emerged feeling dizzy, following a glimpse of some of the country's most precious books and manuscripts.

Marks of Genius, a book about 130 masterpieces from the collections of the Bodleian, had a similar effect.

Mr Ovenden has collaborated on this colourful and informative guide with Stephen Hebron, who works in the Department of Special Collections at the library.

This weighty yet readable overview catalogues the treasures the library is now in a good position to display, following the recent opening of the Weston Library, and an exhibition also entitled Marks of Genius runs until September.

As I read Marks of Genius, I found it difficult to choose which treasures and antiquities I would most like to see displayed. I was impressed by the First Folio Shakespeare, the colourful illustrations of the Douce Apocalypse, and the Oxford University careers service reference cards for poets such as Auden and Larkin.

But I was moved by the care taken by Kenneth Grahame in his holiday letters to his son Alistair, who he addresses as ‘Dear Mouse’.

He began the letters to his son in 1907, when he and his wife were taking a holiday in Cornwall, and the letters contain a version of the stories that formed The Wind in the Willows.

The letters and the manuscript of the book were donated to the Bodleian by Mr Grahame’s widow in 1943 and both were given bindings of blue morocco.

This was just one of more than 100 fascinating stories in this compendium which I shall return to time and time again, and to the Bodleian itself to learn more about its invaluable collections.

Marks of Genius: Masterpieces from the Collections of the Bodleian Libraries by Stephen Hebron, is published by Bodleian Library, priced £25 paperback