Author Archives: St. John's Library

Capturing Gold Leaf: Photographing St Johns College MS 26

By Sophie Bacchus-Waterman, Special Collections Photographer A number of the items which are going to be digitized for the St Johns College Digitization Project include gold leaf. The application of gold leaf to illuminations was done by hand, and the process is still the same as it was centuries ago. We are lucky enough toContinue reading “Capturing Gold Leaf: Photographing St Johns College MS 26”

St John’s Printed Manuscript

by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Enchiridion preclare ecclesie Sarum St John’s College holds a remarkable 16th-century book of hours (Use of Salisbury) printed by Germain Hardouyn in Paris in 1530 with the title Enchiridion preclare ecclesie Sarum. The volume is full of decorative features (borders with floral motifs on gold, initials in various colours) andContinue reading “St John’s Printed Manuscript”

The Conservation of Peter Small’s Pedigree

by Emma Skinner, Oxford Conservation Consortium November 2022 Before Treatment This large sixteenth-century genealogical table recently arrived at the Oxford Conservation Consortium’s studio for treatment. It provides the pedigree for Peter Small, who was elected as a Founder’s Kin Fellow of St John’s in 1597.[1] It was bound with a nineteenth-century printed list of Founder’sContinue reading “The Conservation of Peter Small’s Pedigree”

Behind the Scenes of Digitization

By Sophie Bacchus-Waterman, Special Collections Photographer As the imaging phase of St John’s digitization project gets underway, I thought it was a good time to introduce my role in the project, and give a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to digitize books from the imaging side of the project (for information on the metadata,Continue reading “Behind the Scenes of Digitization”

Medieval Manuscript Fragments

Sian Witherden, Resource Description Librarian ‘Poirot!’ I cried. ‘This is a fragment of a will!’ […] My brain was in a whirl. What was this complication of a will? Who had destroyed it? The person who had left the candle grease on the floor? Obviously. But how had anyone gained admission? All the doors hadContinue reading “Medieval Manuscript Fragments”

Life Stories from St John’s: the famous & the forgotten

Library exhibition 9 September – 9 December 2022 Introduction For over 450 years the lifeblood of St John’s College has been the people who live and work inside its walls. Some have dedicated a good part of their lives to this College, while others have just passed through. Many have become famous and even moreContinue reading “Life Stories from St John’s: the famous & the forgotten”

Trinity Term 2022 Online Exhibition

Reading, Writing, and Research A Decade in the Life of a President, 2012-2022 by Professor Maggie Snowling When I was elected President in 2012, the Governing Body agreed that I might take some time to pursue my research agenda. While finding that time was not always easy, a long vacation with a trip to AustraliaContinue reading “Trinity Term 2022 Online Exhibition”

The Princess and the Poisoner: early modern wives, capital crime, and autobiography

Georgie Moore, our Graduate Trainee, considers how the voices of two early modern criminalized women, the princess and the poisoner, are collected in the St John’s College Library. Restoration London, 1663 When a German princess checked into an inn, the innkeeper did what any astute uncle would do: he summoned his nephew to marry her.Continue reading “The Princess and the Poisoner: early modern wives, capital crime, and autobiography”

St John’s College and the Colonial Past

Michaelmas Term 2021 Online Exhibition The Library & Study Centre is delighted to host an exhibition curated by Dr Mishka Sinha to showcase her research on St John’s College and the Colonial Past. Dr Sinha is a Research Associate at St John’s College and co-directing the project on St John’s and the Colonial Past with ProfessorContinue reading “St John’s College and the Colonial Past”