Collecting area: Books and book history

Preparing to translate the Bible from Hebrew into Latin, St. Jerome relocated to Palestine, where in 388, he began, as he wrote, to “set forth a book of Hebrew Names, classing them under their initial letters, and placing the etymology of each at the side.” His Interpretationes nominum Hebraeorum (Interpretations of Hebrew Names) enjoyed wide popularity throughout the Middle Ages and was a regular part of early medieval Gospel books as an exegetical aid.

This incomplete copy of the Interpretation of Hebrew Names begins with “A[h]az apprehendens” and continues through “Tirus angustia v[e]l tribulatio s[i]v[e] plasmatio aut fortitudo.” Internal evidence suggests that it was once part of a larger manuscript, presumably a Bible.

A poet, critic, and essayist, and close friend of Coleridge and Wordsworth, Charles Lamb was a popular figure in literary circles in late Georgian Britain. Born in London in 1775, Lamb began working in the accounting office of the British East India Company at the age of seventeen. Despite struggling with mental illness in his family, he built a reputation as a writer. With an elegant, eccentric, and somewhat antiquated style, he became known first for his poetry, but soon gained notice for prose and criticism. Written with his sister Mary, Tales from Shakespeare (1808) achieved notable success, however Lamb’s fame rests primarily on the essays he wrote during the 1820s under the pseudonym Elia. Lamb died from erysipelas on Dec. 29, 1833.

From the 1960s through 2010s, Rocco and Barbara Verrilli built this extensive collection of first and early editions of Charles Lamb’s writing. Among the volumes they acquired are Lamb’s personal copy of his first publication, Poems on Various Subjects; a rare copy of his first book for children King and Queen of Hearts (1806); and a presentation copy of his best known work, Elia (1823). The twenty-five manuscript items in the collection are particularly noteworthy. Displaying a characteristic combination of charm, wit, and insight, these include a long letter to Robert Southey discussing poetry; humorous letters to his admirer John B. Dibdin; an acrostic by Lamb on the name of Sarah Thomas; and two particularly fine letters to the poet Edward Dyer, including an eye-witness account of the agricultural rebellion known as the Swing Riots.

One of the pioneers in the ephemera trade, Samuel E. Murray (1906-1989) was a long time antiquarian bookman, based at his home in Wilbraham, Mass. Born on Christmas Day, 1906, Murray interrupted his college studies to go to sea, but after the Depression left him unemployed, he landed a position as sales representative for McGraw-Hill and, later, G. & C. Merriam and other firms. Always an avid book collector, Murray left the publishing industry in 1970 to become a full time bookseller. Without ever advertising or issuing catalogs, he developed a wide reputation among dealers and collectors for his keen eye and perspicacity with rare and uncommon books. A generalist by trade, Murray had a particular fondness for colorplate books and travel literature, but was renowned both for his extensive reference library and for recognizing early on the value of ephemera. After a lengthy bout with myelofibrosis, Murray died at home on June 4, 1989.

The Murray Papers contain correspondence between Murray and a range of his fellow booksellers and clients, as well as his extensive card files on fellow book dealers and wants lists. The collection offers insight into the operations of a well known antiquarian bookman during the 1970s and 1980s.

Founded in 1975 in Lebanon, NH, by Beth Dingman, Claudia McKay (Lamperti), Katie Cahill, Nina Swaim, and Shelby Grantham, New Victoria Printers became one of two all-female print shops in New England at the time. Believing strongly that “the power of the press belongs to those who own it,” they began to solicit work from non-profit and politically-oriented groups. Like its namesake Victoria Press, an 1860s women run print shop in London owned by Emily Faithful, an early advocate of women’s rights, New Victoria was also committed to feminist principles. The shop offered work and training in printing, machine work, and other traditionally male dominated fields; initially focused on printing materials from the women’s movement; and was organized as a collectively owned and democratically run organization.
Additionally, the shop functioned as a de facto women’s center and lesbian hub for Lebanon and the surrounding area, often overlapping with the lesbian social club Amelia Earhart’s Underground Flying Society, (a.k.a. the Amelia’s). The print shop was a place of education, community, creativity, and activism, and soon publishing opportunities, as the group founded New Victoria Publishers in 1976 to publish works from their community. The print shop closed in 1985, with Dingman and McKay taking over the running of the non-profit publishing company out of their home in Norwich, VT, with an emphasis on lesbian fiction in addition to other women-focused works. An early bestseller, Stoner McTavish by Sarah Dreher, put them on the map, with the company publishing over a hundred books by and about lesbians, winning three Lambda Literary Awards and several other honors.
The New Victoria Publishers Records consist of photographs, newsletters, and cards put out by the collective, materials printed by the press, marketing and promotional materials, author correspondence, graphics and cover art, book reviews, financial and legal records, histories of the organization, news clippings, and an almost full run of the books published by the company. The collection is particularly rich in documenting the work and production of a women owned business within the feminist press movement as well as the lesbian publishing industry.

A long-time librarian at UMass Amherst and Brown University, Barbara Parker was an avid collector of rare books. Interested in the history of printing, binding, and book design, and herself a bookbinder, Parker collected widely, from early printing to the Victorian book artists of the Chiswick Press.

The Parker Collection contains an eclectic mix of books to illustrate various aspects of the history of the book through 1900. Intended for hands-on instructional use, the collection includes eight volumes printed prior to 1600, a leaf from the Nuremberg Chronicles, and an assemblage of works by Charles Whittingham and the Chiswick Press. In addition to fine examples of binding and illustration, the collection includes works printed by Elsevier, Gregorium de Gregoris, and Domenico Farri, five by Joseph Barbou, and two each by the Aldine Press, Simon Colin, and John Baskerville.

View the Parker collection in the library’s catalog.

Simultaneously prolific and tragic, Cesare Pavese was a major figure in 20th century Italian letters. Born in the Piedmont region in 1908 and educated in Turin, Pavese was drawn to English-language literature as a student, writing his thesis on Walt Whitman (1930). Nearly overnight, he became well known as a translator of modern American and British fiction, from Melville, Faulkner, and Steinbeck to James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, and at the same time, he began to publish his own creative work beginning with Lavorare stanca, a book of poetry, in 1936. Although sentenced to three years of internal exile for his anti-fascist sympathies (1938-1941), he continued to write, capped by the appearance of his first two novels in 1941 and 1942. The war’s end saw Pavese blossom into an exceptionally creative period, however even as his renown grew, the effects of depression and a failed love affair with the American actress Constance Dowling led him to suicide in August 1950. Two months before he had been awarded the prestigious Strega Prize.

This collection of first and early editions by Cesare Pavese, donated by Lawrence G. Smith, includes first and early editions by Cesare Pavese, five of which are inscribed: three to Constance Dowling, one to his friend Leone Ginzburg (and later to Dowling), and the fifth to Doris and Harry. Smith also donated dozens of other volumes by and about Pavese to the Library’s general collection.

Background

4to, 237 x 170 mm., 53 leaves, the complete Juzʾ (جزء) Qāla ʾalam (قال ألم) (XVI), containing text from the 18th Sūrah, Sūrat al-Kahf (ٱلْكَهْف), beginning with verse 57, up until the 20th Sūrah, Sūrah Ṭāʾ Hāʾ (طه), verse 135. This manuscript was likely part of a 30 volume section, sometimes copied into independent volumes. Each subsection, or Juzʾ, is a complete section of the Qurʾān itself. For manuscripts of this style, the Qurʾān is usually divided into 30 equal-length Juzʾ sections in order to preserve not only the whole work, but to produce a manuscript in a legible font, a manuscript that is not too large, and one that can be illuminated elegantly. This style of division is most popular in North Africa. 

This manuscript is an example of a Baḥrī Mamlūk Sulṭānate (1250-1382 CE/648-784 AH) Qurʾānic Juzʾ. The Baḥrī Mamlūks (al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyyah, المماليك البحرية), sometimes referred to as the Baḥrī dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamlūk Sultanate of Egypt following the earlier Ayyubid dynasty. These rulers were of Kipchaq Turkish origin, and their name, “Mamlūk,” derives from the Arabic word mamlūk (مملوك, plural mamālīk, مماليك), literally meaning “owned person/slave.” The Baḥrī component of their name comes from their connection to the Nile River. Baḥrī literally means “of the river,”  and refers to the location of their original barracks on Roda Island in the Nile (Nahr al-Nīl, نهر النيل) in Cairo, at the citadel of Ar-Rawdah which was built by the Ayyubid sultan aṣ-Ṣaliḥ Ayyūb. This particular manuscript was likely made for a wealthy member of the Baḥrī Mamlūk court.

The chapters (sūwar, سور, sing. sūrah,  سورة) include passages related to Maryam and ʿĪsā (Mary and Jesus), God’s call to Mūsā ibn ʿImrān (Moses), the Exodus of the Israelites and the crossing of the Red Sea. 

Contents of Collection

Text is in a single column throughout the manuscript, with 7 lines of fine scribal muḥaqqaq (محقَّق) script in black. Vocalization marks are in red. As is standard, all ḥarakāt  (حركات), i.e., diacritics, are provided to ensure proper pronunciation. The opening two pages feature text blocks framed with gold borders, each containing rectangular panels at the top with headings in white muḥaqqaq against blue, green, and orange arabesque designs. Likewise, there are three circular floral medallions extending into the margins on each side. Additionally, there is a recto of the first leaf with a large circular device heightened in gold with decorative rays extending outwards. Two of the Sūrah headings are illuminated in the text, each with white thuluth (ثلث) text against gold polychrome banners, with a circular device extending into the outer margins. Verses are marked throughout with gold roundels, each decorated with red and blue. The covers of the manuscript are in leather, with large medallions on each cover. These medallions contain floral imagery, which has been pressed into the leather. The border around each cover is in gold, with a swirling pattern surrounding the medallion. 

Some spotting can be found throughout the text, along with some smudging. Some page corners have been damaged, and wormholes appear on some pages without disrupting the text itself. Some of the paint has faded or scuffed since the manuscript’s creation. On occasion, spacing between words and letters is reduced to fit into the margins of the manuscript. Because of this, reading is ever so slightly impaired for certain verses. Lastly, there is additional commentary or notes toward the end of the manuscript. This text is in much smaller, black handwriting, notably different from the calligraphy of the Qurʾānic text.

Processing Information

Processed by Andrew Bielecki, May 2024.

Although printing requires a substantial capital investment in equipment before any hope of profitability can be entertained, there have been numerous attempts over the years to set up printing houses in communities with astonishingly small population bases. In even the most remote Massachusetts towns, people like John Metcalf (Wendell), Ezekiel Terry (Palmer), and John and Solomon Howe (Enfield and Greenwich) operated as printers during the nineteenth century, specializing in a quotidian array of broadsides, song sheets, almanacs, toy books, and printed forms, hoping to supplement, or provide, a decent living.

This small, but growing collection consists of materials printed prior to the twentieth century in small Massachusetts towns, defined as towns with populations less than about 2,500. Although few of these houses survived for long, they were important sources for rural communities. Typically simple in typography, design, and binding, even crude, the output of such printers provides an important gauge of the interests and tastes of New England’s smallest and often poorest communities.

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Originating in 1991, the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP) was established “to create a global network for book historians working in a broad range of scholarly disciplines.” With more than 1,000 members, research interests include the composition and reception of books as well as their survival and transformation over time.

Records cover the earliest days of the organization’s development, including founding documents, and document a variety of their activities from hosting conferences and publishing a newsletter to promoting scholarship.

In 1589, Pedro Guillén de las Casas of Jaen, Andalusia, began the effort to petition the crown to have his claim to a noble lineage recognized. The carta executoria de hidalguia he sought was the written culmination of a legal process that began with assembling a “pruebas de hidalguia” containing evidence of a noble lineage and testimonies from town or regional officials. The request was submitted to one of two chancelleries that handled lawsuits of nobility, the Real Chancillería in Granada (for southern Spain) or Valladolid (for the north), and if approved, the carta executoria was issued acknowledging, rather than granting, nobility. De las Casas’s petition was approved in May 1590.

Issued in the name of King Philip II of Spain and Portugal at the time of his marriage to Mary I (1554-1558), this document is an exceptional example of the patents of nobility produced in Granada during the late sixteenth century. Bound in contemporary red velvet, it bestows the rank of hidalgo (gentleman) on Pedro Guillén de las Casas, and is illuminated with a series of exquisite miniatures, including one of Philip II, aged 33. The carta appears to be missing a frontispiece and text leaf, but includes a single paper leaf loosely inserted at the beginning with a nineteenth-century depiction of Christ carrying the Cross.