Inside the British Museum [antikvár]

t'i- - —In the beginning Sir Hans Sloane was a great collector. He filled his house with rare books and pictures, fossils and precious stones, stuffed animals, birds and butterflies, and ancient remains from all over the world. There had never been a collection quite like it, and visitors were amazed by what they saw. When Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753, his will let the King buy the whole collection for just L20,000 so that it could belong to the nation for ever. This was the start of the British Museum. Trustees were put in charge of the collection and they set about finding a home for it. They looked at Buckingham House (now Buckingham Palace) but it was too expensive. In the end they bought Montagu House in Bloomsbury. The British Museum has been there ever since, growing bigger and bigger It was not long before space ran out in Montagu House. New rooms were added, and finally what was left of the old house was pulled down to make way for a grand new building. It took thirty years and thousands of tons of stone to complete the building and the forty-four massive columns which decorate the front.