Treasures of Pembroke College Library
Pembroke Rare Books cataloguer, Adriana Celmare, writes on the cataloguing project and an upcoming exhibition of incunabula and rare items
The cataloguing project of the Incunabula Collection at Pembroke College is well underway, with at least 115 bibliographic records created so far and uploaded into the library catalogue. All of the records include full bibliographic description of the volumes and detailed binding and provenance information about former owners and donors.
Fourteen of the most interesting items in the collection will go on display for a day, for all members of the College, on October 11th 2016 in the Yamada Room. This will be a rare opportunity to see some of the most treasured possessions in the library, including five incunabula (books printed before the year 1500) and a number of rare items from the 16th and 17th centuries. Highlights of the exhibition will include: the ‘oldest’ printed book in the collection, the Speculum historiale, a medieval history of the world published in 1473 in Strasbourg and decorated with several illuminated initials; the Expositio psalterii, a book of commentaries on the Psalms, exquisitely printed in 1476 by Peter Schöffer, Gutenberg's apprentice, and a 1620 London edition of the Booke of common prayer, bound in red velvet, embroidered with a medallion portrait of the Virgin Mary on the front cover and portraits of Christ and the Four Evangelists on the back cover.
[caption id="attachment_25797" align="alignleft" width="282"]
Gold illuminated initial ('Speculum historiale', 1473)[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_25798" align="alignright" width="290"]
Red velvet binding with portraits of Christ and the Four Evangelists[/caption]
Also on display, there will be a number of volumes bound in beautiful early bindings, executed by English craftsmen such as the ‘Unicorn Binder’ (active in Cambridge), ‘'Binder D.' (associated with a shop in Oxford) and the ‘Huntsman Binder’ (London). Continental bindings will also be represented: a Paris edition of the Book of Hours will illustrate the elegance of the French entrelac (interlaced) style, while a volume of canon law will showcase a German blind-stamped pigskin binding, decorated with the coloured arms of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn (1545-1617), Prince-Bishop of Würzburg.
[caption id="attachment_25799" align="alignleft" width="264"]
Calfskin binding decorated in the French interlaced style[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_25800" align="alignright" width="263"]
German blind-stamped pigskin with arms of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn[/caption]
If you are interested in especially rare items, you might want to have a look at the Triplex lilij arithmetice vtilissima practice, a concise guide to arithmetic, fractions and algebra printed in 1514 in Cologne and surviving in a unique copy at Pembroke College. Or, if you prefer things royal, then a 1629 edition of the Bible formerly owned by King Charles I and bound in embroidered velvet with gold and silver threads, might just satisfy your curiosity.
If any of these treasures capture your imagination, we look forward to seeing you in the library on October 11th!