by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) The so-called Nuremberg Chronicle was printed as Registrum huius operis libri cronicarum by Anton Koberger in Nuremberg in 1493. Despite its early date, it is certainly not a rare book. The Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue lists 858 holding institutions, some of which hold multiple copies. It is, however, one of those books you can keepContinue reading “The Nuremberg Chronicle : A Masterpiece of the Incunable Period”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Caxton’s Chess Book
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Among the Library’s early printed books are eleven published by William Caxton, including his second edition of Jacobus de Cessolis’s The Game and Play of Chess, which Caxton translated himself and printed it with woodcuts in his workshop in Westminster around 1483. Almost from the beginning chess was perceived asContinue reading “Caxton’s Chess Book”
A Hand-coloured Atlas
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) This hand-coloured copy of the 1603 edition of Theatrum orbis terrarum by Abrahman Ortelius, printed in Antwerp, is one of the Library staff’s all-time favourite book in St John’s extraordinary collection of early printed books. Ortelius’s Theatrum orbis terrarum is generally considered to be the first modern atlas. Although Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598)Continue reading “A Hand-coloured Atlas”
An unidentified (or presumed lost?) Persian translation of the Book of Psalms
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) MS 105 is an early modern translation of the Book of Psalms into the Persian language: Kitāb-I Zabūr [-I Dā’ūd] (The Book of the Psalms [of David]) completed on 8 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1071 [= 4 August 1661]. One of the earliest Persian translations of the Bible is the so-called PahlaviContinue reading “An unidentified (or presumed lost?) Persian translation of the Book of Psalms”
Hobbes on the Civil War
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) St John’s College’s MS 13 is a fine copy Behemoth, or The Long Parliament, in which the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) discusses the English Civil War (1642-1651). Dividing the subject matter into four sections, called ‘dialogues’ in St John’s copy, Hobbes’s work covers the timespan from 1637 to 1660Continue reading “Hobbes on the Civil War”
A Medieval Self-Portrait
by Petra Hofmann (College Librarian) Devotional books, Books of Hours in particular, were the “bestsellers” of the late Middle Ages. Indeed, “from the fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth century, more books of hours were made than any other type of book.” (Stein). Books of Hours contain prayers linked to the canonical hours (the hours at whichContinue reading “A Medieval Self-Portrait”
Ink and Illumination : Colour in Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond
Library Exhibition 20 January – 15 March 2025 Curated by Victoria Kinne (History of Art Undergraduate at St Catherine’s College, Oxford) Contents Part 1: The Effect of Colour Colour as Political Symbolism Colour as a Teaching Tool Colour as Character Colour in the Medieval Imagination The Effect of Colour Colour as Accident Colour as LuxuryContinue reading “Ink and Illumination : Colour in Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond”
Surprising Diversity : The Length and Breadth of St John’s Historic Collections
Celebrating the Reopening of St John’s College’s Historic Libraries 4 October – 13 December 2024 Contents Introduction The Oldest … in Our Collections Royal Connections Words & Deeds: Women in Print(ing) From Bestiaries to Zoology: Animals through the Centuries Middle Eastern Manuscripts 1: Sciences Middle Eastern Manuscripts 2: Qurans & the Hadith Middle Eastern ManuscriptsContinue reading “Surprising Diversity : The Length and Breadth of St John’s Historic Collections”
Thomas Willis (1621-1675) : Neurologist, Chemist, Physician
Willis, Opera omnia (Amsterdam: Heinricus Wetstein, 1682), frontispiece. Portrait of Thomas (engraving by David Loggan, 1667) Thomas Willis was born on 27 January 1621 to Thomas Willis (d. 1643) and Rachel Howell (d. 1631). He matriculated at Oxford’s Christ Church in 1638, possibly aiming for a clerical career at first. His interest for medicine wasContinue reading “Thomas Willis (1621-1675) : Neurologist, Chemist, Physician”
From Ink to Pixels: Digitizing Manuscripts at St John’s College
Library Exhibition 24 April – 22 June 2023 Introduction St John’s College Library has over 400 manuscripts, which are the focus of an ongoing digitization project begun in 2020. The aim of this project is to support global research by making catalogue records of our manuscripts accessible online in central databases (the metadata phase) andContinue reading “From Ink to Pixels: Digitizing Manuscripts at St John’s College”