The Bookworm Collection

A Hundred Highlights from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek

The online version of the book Honderd hoogtepunten uit de Koninklijke Bibliotheek - A hundred highlights from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. (Eds: W. van Drimmelen, A. Leerintveld, T. Vermeulen & C. de Wolf. English tr.: L. Croiset van Uchtelen-Brouwer. Zwolle: Waanders Uitgevers, 1994. 223 p. Ill. ISBN: 90-6630-490-1. )

From the book's preface: "The Koninklijke Bibliotheek is a treasure-house of books and manuscripts from many centuries. In the present publication one hundred of its finest and most interesting objects are shown and interpreted, objects which, except for temporary exhibitions, hardly ever leave their bookcases or cabinets because they are so extremely vulnerable."

Aberdeen Bestiary

"A Bestiary is a collection of short descriptions about all sorts of animals, real and imaginary, birds and even rocks, accompanied by a moralising explanation. … A great deal of its charm comes from the humour and imagination of the illustrations, painted partly for pleasure but justified as a didactic tool 'to improve the minds of ordinary people, in such a way that the soul will at least perceive physically things which it has difficulty grasping mentally: that what they have difficulty comprehending with their ears, they will perceive with their eyes' (Aberdeen MS 24, f25v)."

With English translations.

Evangiles de la Sainte-Chapelle: <br>Le Christ en majesté

Torah Bible Coran: Livres de Parole
Bibliotèque Nationale de France

See post.

Hand Bookbindings: Plain and Simple to Grand and Glorious

Hand Bookbindings

From Special Collections in the Princeton University Library

Leaves of Gold: Treasures of Manuscript Illumination from Philadelphia Collections

Macclesfield Psalter

Annunciation to the Shepherds

Macclesfield Psalter

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University

Making Art: Medieval Manuscripts

An interactive animation on the making of an illuminated manuscript.

Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts from Western Europe

From the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery

Scattered Leaves

Remaking the Book (conference)

Scattered Leaves (exhibition)

See post for description.

Schøyen Collection

Schoyen Collection

Slide show

"Checklist of 650 manuscripts spanning 5000 years, by Martin Schøyen."
(No, that's not a typo, this collection covers five millenia.)

Spring[binding] Hath Sprung

"Long threatened with extinction, the organizers of Spring[binding] Hath Sprung, an informal Bind-O-Rama, hope to help revive the springback style and promote its use as a canvas for creative binding. While the title, timing, and play on words may not seem serious, rest assured, we are serious about promoting this style of binding."

The Age of King Charles V (1338–1380)

One thousand illuminations from the Department of Manuscripts, Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

The Cambridge Illuminations

Epistle Lectionary
Alemannia, St Gallen, c.970

The Cambridge Illuminations

The St. John's Bible

St. John's Bible

"At the dawn of the 21st century, Saint John's Abbey and University seek to ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world by commissioning a work of art that illuminates the Word of God for a new millennium."

Possibly the only item in my collection in English. See post for more.

Gift shop, where pages of the St. John's Bible can be viewed and prints ordered.

Treasures in Full

"Examine every page of rare historic works; compare different editions side-by-side; choose standard or magnified view; read supporting material by our curators and other experts."

Shakespeare in Quarto
Caxton's Chaucer
Gutenberg Bible
Magna Carta
Renaissance Festival Books - coming soon

Turning the Pages

Turning the Pages
The British Library

Leaf through virtual books, including the Sforza Hours, Sherborne Missal, Lindisfarne Gospels (shown here), and Luttrell Psalter.

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