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Category: 17th Century

An Alternate Ending to Romeo and Juliet

Posted by: Patrick Hastings

In our current era, we tend to glorify the author and hold the original text in high esteem. We regard Shakespeare with particular reverence, and his text is held aloft as the sacrosanct work of genius. But this was not always the case. In fact, an altered edition of Romeo and Juliet was widely printed and preferred over Shakespeare’s authoritative text for over a century.

Image of title page of Eliot Bible.

Early Owners of an Eliot Algonquian Bible

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.

An illustration of a printing workshop.

Before Control-P: The Printing Process

Posted by: Patrick Hastings

In the digital age, we have all been spoiled by the ease with which we can share our written ideas with others, but let's take a moment to appreciate the skill, time, and resources that were once required to bring a text into print. This post examines the processes involved in operating a printing press in the 15th-18th centuries.

an illustration of workers making a punch in a typefoundry

Just My Type: Making Letters at the Type Foundry

Posted by: Patrick Hastings

Most of us learned in school that Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, which is not entirely accurate. He is, however, conventionally credited with inventing the process of mass-producing individual pieces of type. These innovations in moveable type allowed for books to be efficiently produced in large quantities and revolutionized the human ability to share ideas. This post explains the multi-step process of mass-producing metal letters to be used in printing texts.

Ink inscription reading, "Francis Symes Ejus Liber."

Who’s or Whose Book is This? Pronoun Trouble in Early Modern Book Inscriptions

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.