Medieval History
The University of Otago in New Zealand has published online samples of 38 books it owns that were printed before 1501, in a bid to promote greater interest in them.
The medieval books are mostly religious texts in European languages, handbound and handprinted on handmade paper, and illustrated with woodcuts.
Special Collections Librarian Donald Kerr hopes the samples on the university's website will encourage more scholarly use of the books.
?These books don?t get their fair share of attention,? says Dr Kerr. ?Everybody looks to the illuminated manuscripts because they are seen as ?sexy?.
?The project came about when I decided to update the old 1966 census of holdings of pre-1501 printed books held in Australasian libraries. Over the years, holdings have changed and some are not catalogued. Others have very poor or skimpy descriptions. It definitely needed doing again. The new Census has generated new activity in the Inkie world with colleagues in Australia and New Zealand cooperating to beef up the information. We?ve also had a lot of interest from overseas, including the British Library and the State Library of Berlin. They tend to forget that there are old books held over here, too.?
Dr Kerr says the oldest book in the collection was printed in 1472, less than 20 years after the first printing press was invented.
There is one highly unusual English sample: four binding fragments printed by William Caxton, and John Lettou, about 1480 and bound in a 1481 edition of Nicolas de Lyra?s Commentaria in bibliam. There is a selection of printers, ranging from Johann Amerbach, Peter Drach, Ulrich Han, and Georg Husner to Anton Koberger, Aldus Manuitus, Johann Mentelin, and Johannes Trechsel.
Operating from European towns such as Basel, Speyer, Rome, Strassburg, Nuremberg, Venice, Strassburg, and Lyon, their productions reflect their expertise and resources in this burgeoning industry. Typefaces, style, and quality of printing and bookmaking also vary.
Click here to go to the Incunabula Special Collection Website
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Medieval History
New Online Collection of Medieval Texts
The medieval books are mostly religious texts in European languages, handbound and handprinted on handmade paper, and illustrated with woodcuts.
Special Collections Librarian Donald Kerr hopes the samples on the university's website will encourage more scholarly use of the books.
?These books don?t get their fair share of attention,? says Dr Kerr. ?Everybody looks to the illuminated manuscripts because they are seen as ?sexy?.
?The project came about when I decided to update the old 1966 census of holdings of pre-1501 printed books held in Australasian libraries. Over the years, holdings have changed and some are not catalogued. Others have very poor or skimpy descriptions. It definitely needed doing again. The new Census has generated new activity in the Inkie world with colleagues in Australia and New Zealand cooperating to beef up the information. We?ve also had a lot of interest from overseas, including the British Library and the State Library of Berlin. They tend to forget that there are old books held over here, too.?
There is one highly unusual English sample: four binding fragments printed by William Caxton, and John Lettou, about 1480 and bound in a 1481 edition of Nicolas de Lyra?s Commentaria in bibliam. There is a selection of printers, ranging from Johann Amerbach, Peter Drach, Ulrich Han, and Georg Husner to Anton Koberger, Aldus Manuitus, Johann Mentelin, and Johannes Trechsel.
Operating from European towns such as Basel, Speyer, Rome, Strassburg, Nuremberg, Venice, Strassburg, and Lyon, their productions reflect their expertise and resources in this burgeoning industry. Typefaces, style, and quality of printing and bookmaking also vary.
Click here to go to the Incunabula Special Collection Website
- University Of Oxford And Vatican To Digitize 1.5 Million Pages Of Historical Texts
A collaboration between the University of Oxford?s Bodleian Library and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana at the Vatican will bring historical texts dating back to the Middle Ages into the digital era. 1.5 million pages from both collections will be...
- Major Medieval Library In Amsterdam May Have Collection Sold Off
The upcoming sale of a medieval manuscript has raised speculation that a major academic library will be closed and have it collection sold off in order to pay off its owner?s debts. The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in the Dutch city of Amsterdam...
- Reused, Rebound, Recovered: Medieval Manuscript Fragments In Law Book Bindings: Exhibit At Yale University
Nearly 150 early printed books in the Yale Law Library have bindings that incorporate visible pieces of medieval manuscript. A number of these books are featured in the latest exhibit from the Law Library's Rare Book Collection, "Reused, Rebound,...
- World's Largest Collection Of Incunabula Will Be Digitized!
World's largest collection of incunabula will be digitized! Dear colleagues, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München (BSB) holds the largest collection of incunabula world wide, which currently comprises 9708 editions in nearly 20.000 copies. The...
- Lambeth Library Online
Forwarded by Bob Schacht to the Ecchst List: > ENGLAND: Lambeth Palace library to go online > Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 > One of the oldest public libraries in the country is set to go into > cyberspace. The printed book collection of Lambeth...