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The Enduring Beauty of a 300-Year-Old Decorated Ketubah

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

The Library of Congress' Hebraic Section recently acquired a Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract), handwritten in 1722 in Ancona, Italy. Because the Ketubah is displayed during the ceremony, the tradition evolved to decorate the Ketubah. This Italian Ketubah from 1722 shows how the decoration adds beauty and meaning to a dry legal document.

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Freedom in the Black Diaspora: Conducting Research for “Ayiti Reimagined”

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

January 1804 marks Haitian independence from French colonial rule. Self-liberated enslaved people on the island led and carried out the only successful insurrection by enslaved peoples in the Western Hemisphere. The Latin American, Caribbean, and European Division (LACE) has released a research guide, “Freedom in the Black Diaspora: A Resource Guide for Ayiti Re-imagined.”

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The Second Rabbinic Bible, Venice, 1525: The Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division Celebrates an Important New Acquisition

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

The Hebraic Section of the Library of Congress African and Middle Eastern Division acquired the Second Rabbinic Bible, the Hebrew Bible printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice, 1525. This is the Bible which preserved for all time the ancient legacy of the Masorah, the great mass of rabbinic tradition that safeguarded the sacred Hebrew text through the millennia.

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Southwest West Meets Northeast in Shoestring Productions: Brazilian Storytelling through Contemporary Woodcuts, Artists’ Books, and Small Press Books

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

Combining work at Arizona State University Library and the Library of Congress, this post discusses contemporary Brazilian woodblocks, chapbooks, and artists books to illuminate contemporary Brazilian reflections on the Canudos War (1896-1897), Black Brazilian heroines, and the important connections between graphic design, poetry and small press publications in Brazil.

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Hanuman, Planets, Princely States, and the “Arabian Nights” in Urdu: Highlights of South Asian Materials from the Library’s International Collections Facebook Page

Posted by: Anchi Hoh

A calligram of the Hindu god Hanuman, an 18th-century Nepalese astrological manuscript, documents from India’s princely states, and a rare edition of the “Arabian Nights” in Urdu are just some of the South Asian highlights from the Library of Congress International Collections Facebook page.