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Posted by: Marianna Stell
Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim, a tenth-century Saxon living in an abbey, wrote plays inspired by the classical author Terence at a time when it is typically thought that the classics had been forgotten or discarded.
Posted in: Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press), Women in Book History
Posted by: Mark Manivong
George Schneeman was a poet and artist who collaborated with the Poetry Project at St. Mark's in New York City. This blog post provides a short biography and some examples of his work found in his archive.
Posted in: 20th Century, Poetry
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
No vegetable splits opinion quite like the Brussels sprout, which caused a disagreement between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lady Clementine Churchill in the summer of 1944.
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, Botanicals, Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, History of Science
Posted by: Stephanie Stillo
2023 was a memorable year for the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. As a way of reflecting on this past year and looking forward to the next, we have highlighted Library resources that are now, or will soon become, available to the public. Happy 2024!
Posted in: News and Events, Seasonal
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Is that mermaid holding a mirror? No, and yes. The lower border of the January calendar page from this fifteenth-century illuminated Book of Hours contains a Siren, who is holding a mirror. What is a Siren? Why it is in this Book of Hours? Learn more in this New Years post.
Posted in: Illuminated manuscript, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press), Seasonal, Women in Book History
Posted by: Marianna Stell
The Edith Book of Hours from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection is the smallest medieval manuscript at the Library of Congress. Created in Paris in the fourteenth century in the style of miniature painter and manuscript illuminator, Jean Pucelle, this tiny book offers researchers an experience like no other in the collection. Recently digitized, the Edith Book of Hours is now available for remote viewing for the first time. This blog post offers observations about the size of this manuscript in the hopes of providing remote researchers with a sense of its physical presence.
Posted in: 14th Century, Illuminated Manuscript, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press)
Posted by: Marianna Stell
The Library of Congress has several important works by the printmaker, painter, and art theorist, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), including his famous engraving, Melencolia I (1514), and his Treatise on Measurement (1525).
Posted in: 16th Century, Fine Prints, History of Mathematics, History of Science, Illustrated Book, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press)
Posted by: Mark Manivong
The Dim Gray Bar Press was founded by Barry Magid and produced a number of monographs, broadsides, and ephemera during its most active years. This blog post touches briefly on the history of the press and highlights some of the materials within the archive.
Posted in: 20th Century, Contemporary Book Arts
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Among the resources on the Lenape language in the holdings at the Library of Congress are two hymnals, published in 1847 and 1874 respectively. Printed at a time when governmental policies in Canada and the United States were actively attempting to destroy tribal languages, these hymnals provided a way for Lenape communities to remain connected to their language even amongst attempted erasure. The Halfmoon hymnal includes new translations into Munsee, a Lenape language that is rarely the focus of such linguistic preservation. Guest post by Meg Nicholas, Folklife Specialist, American Folklife Center.
Posted in: 19th Century, American History, Indigenous Peoples