Hello, everyone! My name is Ugnius, and I come from an old and distinguished family of dragons. Not long ago, I discovered a hidden treasure in my family home – a pile of the most wonderful books. Leafing through them, I became so enchanted that I taught myself to read! Do you enjoy reading too?

To me, every book is a true work of art. With my sharp claws, I carefully run across the pages testing the strength of the paper or parchment. By the light of a flame, I admire the gilded edges and colourful illustrations. With great curiosity, I study the letters of different alphabets and their typefaces. I sometimes tug at the threads along the spine checking whether the bookbinder’s needle has stitched the pages together firmly enough. A good book must be both beautiful and durable!

In this exhibition, you will discover how a good book comes to life: what materials it is made from, how it is printed, illustrated, and bound. You will find that the history of books is a fascinating one. Did you know that books were once extremely rare and expensive objects?

After all, you are a guest in the home of a true book lover – the bibliophile Kazys Varnelis. Over the course of his life, he collected more than 9,500 books! The most beautiful and interesting of them are on display in this exhibition.