an unexpected treasure box by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) This blog is based on a talk I gave alongside the Librarians of Merton College and Worchester College at the online event “Printing for Pleasure: Private Press Collections at Three Oxford Collages” on 9 December 2021 organised by the Oxford Bibliographical Society. Next to our designatedContinue reading “Private Press Books at St John’s College”
Category Archives: Modern Special Collections
“To delight and entertain”: Children’s Literature in the Special Collections
This blog post explores texts in our special collections written and created for children, and the ways in which this genre has evolved through the centuries. These items span from Ancient Greek stories and 17th century fatherly advice, to Victorian adventurers and mischievous modern poems. Links throughout the post will allow you to learn moreContinue reading ““To delight and entertain”: Children’s Literature in the Special Collections”
James Joyce in the Collection of Livres d’Artistes
This month’s blog post on the Library’s Livres d’Artistes is written by Tom Cullimore, a previous trainee and recent Assistant Librarian at St John’s College Library. The Library has a collection of livres d’artistes – you can find out more about these texts by reading Tom’s previous blog post. This collection includes two visual interpretationsContinue reading “James Joyce in the Collection of Livres d’Artistes”
Your Guide to Christmas in 1884
It can be tricky to navigate the maze of gifts, food, entertainment, cards, and relatives that make up Christmas – how can you know for sure you are making the perfect purchasing decisions? This month’s Special Collections blog post picks the best bits from the 1884 Pall Mall Gazette Christmas Extra Edition, which offers theContinue reading “Your Guide to Christmas in 1884”
Scandinavia in the Special Collections
This month, we gather together a number of different items which share a northern theme: twentieth-century cartoons, seventeenth-century astronomy, nineteenth-century literature, sixteenth-century history, eighteenth-century exploration, and a seventeenth-century Bible. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus [Description of the Northern people], Olaus Magnus (1550) ∑.2.14 Olaus Magnus (1490-1557) was a Swedish writer and Archbishop of Uppsala, and thisContinue reading “Scandinavia in the Special Collections”
Paul Eluard, Poèms d’amour = Love Poems; illustrations by S. W. Hayter, versions by Brian Coffey (Bath: 107 Workshop, 1984)
Dr Peter Hacker, Fellow in Philosophy at St. John’s College, became friends with Stanley Hayter, acquiring two illustrated livres d’artiste directly from the artist’s studio while Fellow Librarian (between 1985 and 2006). Hayter’s collaboration with Paul Eluard and his translator Brian Coffey produced Poèms d’amour = Love poems in 1984. The book is one ofContinue reading “Paul Eluard, Poèms d’amour = Love Poems; illustrations by S. W. Hayter, versions by Brian Coffey (Bath: 107 Workshop, 1984)”