Singapore Before 1867’, an exhibition of over 150 paper-based records that recount our early history – from a 17th-century Portuguese navigational chart to the key document that established the Straits Settlements as a Crown Colony of Britain on 1 April 1867. Featuring the collections of the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore, the exhibition was further enriched by rare materials from 14 institutions in Singapore and overseas – many of which are being shown to the public in Singapore for the first time. This publication, also titled On Paper: Singapore Before 1867, features a small selection of items displayed in the exhibition, illuminated through essays written by scholars, librarians and archivists”—Foreword.