Special Collections recently acquired a fine art facsimile of the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a 13th century Galician manuscript which contains a large collection of songs and hymns to the Virgin Mary. The original (known to scholars as the T manuscript) is held by the Biblioteca de El Escorial. The surviving Cantigas manuscripts are highly …
Special Collections has added several outstanding pieces of Edo Period Japanese art and illustration to our holdings, including the work of celebrated artists and a very interesting artistic technique. These items are all currently available for research in our reading room or classrooms! Sō Shiseki gafu 宋紫石画譜, 1765 A woodblock-printed book reproducing the artwork of …
A collection of 18th century editions of French poetry and drama has recently been added to Special Collections. From major authors like Voltaire and Molière to collections of obscure playwrights, there are plenty of resources now available for scholars of French literature. Books from this collection can be found in the library catalog by searching …
One of the more recent additions to BYU’s Rare Japanese Collection is a manuscript which recounts the adventures of Japanese sailors shipwrecked in Vietnam in 1794. The 16-man crew of the fishing vessel Daijomaru spent a year in Vietnam before making their way to Nagasaki via Macao, Canton, and Saho. The manuscript describes the shipwreck …
October 31, 2017 marks exactly 500 years since Martin Luther sent his 95 theses to the Archbishop of Mainz (and likely posted them to the door of the local church in Wittenberg). The theses were rapidly printed and reprinted and spread across Germany over the following months. Special Collections owns a copy of one …
Halloween is fun for little children who dress up and go looking for candy whether it is in the neighborhood or trunk and treat at the local church. Pumpkins and candy corn are abundant. But then they get older and want Halloween to be a little spookier. Wilson Folklore Archives has lots of spooky stories …
Curious Remedies, the library’s current main floor exhibit, highlights the contributions of scientists and physicians of the Renaissance and Early Modern periods. One such individual is Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), whose monumental book on anatomy, De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body, often shortened to Fabrica) was first published in 1543. Vesalius …
About a year ago the Wilson Folklore Archives received a gift of a beautiful coverlet that was about 100 years old. It had an interesting history. Back In the South, I believe Tennessee, a young girl wanted to start a handiwork project. She was about 14. Her father gave her some land to plant cotton …
Victorian women weren’t allowed to vote, and in fact, they were often discouraged from attending public meetings, so they had to find creative ways to influence public policy and advance social causes. One method was organizing a charity bazaar, or “fancy fair,” which sold handicrafts and other items to raise money for a popular cause …
Here in Provo, Utah, people are gearing up for the solar eclipse which will be visible in our area on August 21. To add to the festivities, we’ve pulled out a few books (both scientific and literary) about eclipses of past centuries. This small pamphlet was published by astronomer Johann Erich Müller in Greifswald, Germany, …