Another old photograph of mine from a trip to Oxford in the 1980s.
Sir Thomas Bodley
Looking up the text on the plaque led me to the story of Sir Thomas Bodley, and his dedication to the opening of the Bodleian Library at Oxford in 1602.
Regarding his great work in restoring Duke Humfrey’s Library, Sir Thomas said “that he felt well qualified to do this as he possessed four special attributes which would be advantageous: wide learning, wealth, many contacts (“a great store of honorable friends”) and plenty of free time.”