Top of page
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Monty Python's Rabbit of Caerbannog is not the only killer bunny. The Rare Book and Special Collections Division has a fifteenth-century Birgittine manuscript from Mariënwater that contains a variation on this visual tradition.
Posted in: 15th Century, History of the Book, Illuminated Manuscript, Illustrated Book, Low Countries, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press)
Posted by: Marianna Stell
In 1540, humanist polymath, mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer, professor, and printer, Peter Apian (1495-1552) published one of the most lavishly illustrated scientific books ever printed. Dedicated to German Emperor Charles V and Ferdinand I, King of Bohemia, the Astronomicum Caesareum (Imperial Astronomy) contains 21 volvelles and 58 hand-colored woodcuts that involve some of the most spectacular dragons in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Posted in: 16th Century, Astronomy, Famous Printers, History of Mathematics, History of Science, History of the Book, Illustrated Book
Posted by: Marianna Stell
A tiny masterpiece of Flemish illumination, the Warburg Book of Hours in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division recently received a new binding that allows readers to better view some of most beautiful paintings and trompe-l'œil manuscript borders in the Library’s collection.
Posted in: 15th Century, 16th Century, History of Science, Illuminated Manuscript, Illustrated Book, News and Events
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Happy Giant Bible Day! On April 4, 1952, philanthropist and bibliophile, Lessing J. Rosenwald (1891-1979) donated the Giant Bible of Mainz to the Library of Congress. He made this gift exactly five hundred years after the manuscript’s scribe first put quill to parchment. In keeping with Rosenwald's commitment to encouraging broad cultural engagement with the history of the illustrated book, the Library’s digitization allows book lovers near and far to encounter every page of this important and evocative manuscript.
Posted in: 15th Century, History of the Book, Illuminated Manuscript, Illustrated Book, Library History, Provenance
Posted by: Marianna Stell
A closer look at the Library’s copy of the Eliot Algonquian Bible (1663) reveals a connection to the local history of the greater Washington area. Family birth and death inscriptions within the Bible show that it was once owned by the famous Gaither family of Gaithersburg in Montgomery County, Maryland. How and when did it arrive at the Library? Read this post to learn more.
Posted in: 17th Century, 18th Century, American History, Indigenous Peoples, Provenance
Posted by: Marianna Stell
In Anglophone communities during the 16th - 18th centuries, a common custom was for book owners to add in their book a note of ownership in either English or in Latin. The Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds a number of examples of these notes that offer a curious study for those interested in historical linguistics.
Posted in: 17th Century, 18th Century, Classics, Provenance
Posted by: Marianna Stell
At the end of the fifteenth century, simplified versions of medical charts featuring an image of the "Zodiac Man" began to appear in Books of Hours. The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division contains many examples of these printed editions, one of which uses a skeleton in place of the Zodiac Man.
Posted in: 15th Century, 16th Century, Illustrated Book, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press), Medicine, Seasonal
Posted by: Marianna Stell
During the 17th and 18th centuries, classical languages were an important component of education in the North American colonies. Viewed through the lens of material and printing history, the books highlighted in this blog post provide a very human picture of classical studies in early America.
Posted in: 17th Century, 18th Century, American History, Classics, Education History
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Learn about Sebastian Gryphius, one of the most celebrated printers of sixteenth century Lyon, and about the books printed by him which are held by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Gryphius printed Latin textbooks and works by humanist authors and was instrumental in divulging the ideas of the renaissance to Lyon and France.
Posted in: 16th Century, Famous Printers, France, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press)