Exhibit planning:
Incunables from Barnett's collection
Archives and Research Collection Center, the University of Western Ontario
Embedded Files
Initially, my task consisted of describing briefly five incunabula from J.D. Barnett’s collection, but then the work grew into a very detailed investigation.
I researched the items and wrote a monograph, Sketches on Some Incunabula, that analyzes these 15th-century volumes: their historical and artistic aspects, how/where/by whom they were produced.
It has been little known about the origins of these volumes, since the early printed books usually do not contain printer’s marks. They may be bound or restored in a location different than printing, then travelled to other parts before reaching this collection. Therefore, I examined the styles of typesetting and conducted research through the databases of major European libraries to establish where and by whom they were published.
The work was published in an Italian periodical, the series Minima Bibliographica. The monograph accompanied the exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of Barnett’s donation to the Weldon Library.
The monograph is intended for a wide audience and provides the readers with historical information on these 5 volumes in concurrence with the art of bookmaking. The reader will find my step-by-step discoveries regarding the features of typography and book bindings, the aesthetic pleasure of reading the pages designed this way, and the introductory part to Barnett’s collection and his donation of 43,000 volumes.
Sketches on Some Incunabula. A virtual exhibition. Link to the open-access monograph.
Report on the exhibition of Barnett's collection displayed at the Weldon library
Both the monograph and the exhibition were dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Barnett’s donation, who was a bibliophile, librarian, leading figure in the educational system, funder and promoter of libraries.
I selected and prepared materials and placed the public exhibition of incunabula and some other rare editions from Barnett’s collection. The analysis revealed that these 5 incunabula were published in the second half of the 15th century, and were printed in Basel by Johann Amerbach, in Mainz by Peter Schoeffer, in Cologne by Johann Guldenschaff, in Strasburg by Georg Husner, in Basel by Michael Wenzel, and reproduce, accordingly, works by such figures as Johannes Turrecremata, Henrici Harp, Goffredus de Trano, Leo Archipresbyter and Gregorii IX.
1. Johannes Turrecremata, Flostheologiae, printed at Basel in 1481
This volume contains the works of two authors, one of whom, Johannes Turrecremata, is particularly interesting for the history of printing. He was the first Abbot of the monastery of Santa Scolastica in Subiaco (in the Italian province of Lazio, close to Rome). During his rule, in 1465, the abbey was endowed with a print shop — the first one in Italy — when Turrecrematainvited two German clerics, Konrad Sweynheim and Arnold Pannartzto bring the art of typography to Italy. They printed the first books with movable type in Subiaco, and in 1467 moved their business to Rome, introducing the first printed books there.
A detailed study of the typographic features of this volume, references and catalogues of the 15th-century printers, as well as holdings of the copies of this edition in different archives — revealed the information about the place and date of printing, the name of the printer, and the authorship of one of the texts, which was wrongly attributed to Turrecremata. This volume contains two forks: Flostheologiaeby Nicolaus de Byard, and QuaestionesEvenagelicorum by Johannes Turrecremata. Both works are theological in nature.
The style of typesetting of this volume is particularly noteworthy because it represents a middle path from Textur to Rotunda: these are not yet completely round letters (which would be typical Italian provenience) as in Rotunda, but it is already not all-narrow and black text (as it was in Gutenberg’s prints). Such a style of “passage” between two types became then the most common typesetting for the printers of different European countries.
Many other features of this volume are also eye-catching, such as the signature of a rubricator that appears on different pages of the book and bears the date 1482, the comments on the margins, handwritten by different readers and in different periods, hand-drawn manicule(a sketch of a hand that draws attention to a particular part of the text), a signature of ownership.
The book binding is also a stupendous piece of art. It was created a century later than the printed pages, in 1598, and in another place, but its style imitates the style of the bindings of the 15th century. The detailed study of the monogram on the front cover, I.P., and the inscription of the front flyleaf reveals some additional information about the author, place and period of the production of this binding.
Each side of the cover contains arabesque ornaments stamped on the skin in a very thin relief. The blind-tooled frames of fillets with crossed corners are placed one inside another and enriched with ornaments and small portraits or figures between the frames. This was a widely used composition method at the time in many European countries. Between two frames, embossed on our bookbinding, the 12 portraits of 1.3 cm in height are incorporated into botanical motifs. Their close study discloses the figures of some ecclesiastics. One of these portraits is attributed to John Hus, whose doctrine our author John Turrecrematavigorously attacked at the Council of Basel, and who was burned at the stake as a heretic.
2. Henrici Harp, Speculum aureumdecempraeceptorum Die, printed at Mainz in 1474
This theological text was in great demand in the XV century. Henrici Harp was a mystic author and preacher. He entered the Order of St. Francis in 1450 and died in 1478.
The printer’s mark is printed along with the colophon and is identical to the mark printed in Schoeffer’s Bible of 1462, which was the first printer’s mark ever used in books. Schoeffer also printed, on 11th September 1474, the fourth edition of Turrecremata’s Expositio super totopsalterio. The main feature of this Turrecremata’s edition is Schoeffer’s innovation which consisted of using printed initials, instead of hand-rubrication for numbering folios, which he, however, does not use in Harp’s edition printed 17 days later and in which the headers and page numbers are handwritten in elegant calligraphy.
The rubrication, headers and page numbers in Barnet’s volume were written by Schoeffer himself, as he was educated in Paris as a calligrapher and manuscript copyist, before launching the art of typography. He therefore had expertise in handwriting and would have hardly entrusted such a task to someone else. Hand finishing of the incunabula was often done at the printing house by decorators or printers, as for example in Venetian book ateliers or in Mainz by Schoeffer.
The date of the bookbinding of this volume is unknown. It is quite simple in design and materials used: cardboard covers are dressed with paper, on which a simple geometrical ornament is embossed. By its whole appearance, this binding is solid, simple, functional and comfortable to use. This can be seen from its sewing type, cords of good quality and simplified but functional endbands and spine, as well as how the pages open. Under such a simple and unattractive cover of Barnett’s volume, we find artistic harmony and clarity of pages. As soon as the book is opened, the reader enters into another world where everything changes: from the general aesthetics of the book to the pleasure of being immersed in such beautiful letters. S. Palmer describes Schoeffer’s editions as “valued by the curious, as well for their antiquity, as for their elegance, correctness, and those ornaments, which he still caused the illuminators to bestow on them to the last”.
3. Gaufridus de Trano, Summa super titulus Decretalium, printed at Cologne in 1480
The Decretals were letters sent by the early Popes, to Bishops and Chief dignitaries of the church. For their guidance in deciding points of doctrine, and discipline calling for settlement from time to time. Over time, these Decretals became the basis of Canon Law.
Goffredus of Trano (1200-1245) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church and a jurist. He studied at the University of Bologna where in 1227 he already was nominated as a magister and later became a professor of canonical law.
Summa super titulus Decretalium is considered Trano’s most important work. It was created in the period between 1241 and 1243, and this book is a part of “decretali” (juridical provisions) commissioned by Pope Gregorio IX, known as DecretalesGregorii IX, printed in another Barnett’s volume as below.
A detailed study of the typography of this edition, and its comparison with the copies held in the other archives, discloses that this volume of Trano’s work was printed in Cologne by Johann Guldenschaff in 1480 (not after 1481). It was originally bound with blind-tooled calfskin, used to cover the book spine and one-third of the wooden plates of the cover.
The bookbinding was restored; the date and place of its creation are unknown. It is covered with white skin, without embossed ornaments. Judging by many features, this is the late 19th or early 20th-century binding. It is simple in design, similar to typographic editions of the period. The marbling paper is used for endpapers — a technique that came to Europe from Japan in the 16th century but became popular among bookbinders only in the mid-19th century. This kind of pattern, used for Barnett’s binding, was created at the end of the 19th century.
4. Leo Archipresbyter, HistoriaAlexandri magni regis macedonie de prelijs, printed at Strasburg in 1494
The authorship of such a semi-historic novel about Alexander the Great referred to different figures in the hope of discovering the true author. One of the studies reveals some details as to the title of this story.
The Latin version of Historia Alexandri was attributed to an archpriest named Leo Archipresbyter, who was an archbishop in Turin (Italy). He brought from the Byzantine capital to Naples a Greek codex about Alexander the Great, known as Historia de Preliis —and translated it into Latin. He mistakenly took the author’s name de Preliis for the book title. Besides, such a translation in Latin abbreviates some parts of the original text, as well as implants and rewrites the others. This practically new text that was never written in Greek became the primary source of all further copies and translations that circulated in European countries.
Both the printed copies and the manuscripts of the same text are so different from each other that it becomes impossible to determine what the Greek original looks like.
This volume from Barnett’s collection was printed in 1494 at Strasbourg by Jordanus de Quedlinburg. The rubricator drew refined ornaments around each capital letter, the main corpus of which repeats the printed capitals. Most of these handwritten letters are faded and barely visible, but on the first few pages, someone drew them again, repeating the same outline with ink of the same colour. Further studies and catalogues provide us with information about the style and typesetting of the printed text.
The date and place of the bookbinding is unknown. Evidently, it was restored: the block of pages was re-bound according to the old-time style. The spine was replaced with a new piece of skin, similar in colour to that of the covers, and neatly attached to the original pieces that remained preserved (a typical method of restoration). Thus, it can be considered as almost original binding.
5. DecretalisGregorii IX, printed at Basel in 1478
DecretaliumGregoriipapae is a collection of medieval canon law that determines the canonical law of the Church. It was written by Pope Gregory IX in 1230, who built the relationships between Church and Empire and even promoted the Crusades.
The comments in small type that we can see on each page of the book are placed around the main text and embody the glosses. One of the first glosses, written in 1241-3 for Decretalium, is printed in another one of Barnett’s volumes that has already been described above — Goffredus of Trano’s Summa super titulus Decretalium. Glosses for Decretalium in this volume, printed in 1478, are attributed to Bernardus of Parma (d. 1263).
This volume was printed at Basel by MihaelWenszler, in 1478. The colophon sounds odd in the original language. It is with exclamations and praises directed to Pope Sixto IV after whom was named the famous Sistine Chapel and who confirmed the nomination of the first Grand Inquisitor in Spain, Tomas de Torquemada. The latter was the nephew of the theologian Johannes Torquemada, the author of QuaestionesEvenagelicorumfrom Barnett’s collection.
From the visual point of view, the glosses represent an interesting phenomenon of book design that emerged in manuscripts when the comments — their placement in relation to the main text, their style of writing and alternation of black and red colours — were designed in several levels and scales to ensure the visual harmony of each page. Such a practice passed to the early printed books — an example of such a project is Decretalium— and later entered the principles of modern design where the combination of different fonts yields a visual and logical composition on a sheet of paper. We see examples of this trend every day in different media: from book design to advertising posters.
The initials that are painted in different colours, or sometimes even illuminated, and the portrait of Gregory that is painted and gilded on the first page — make this book a unique copy.
The bookbinding does not contain any signature, sign, mark or inscription which could elucidate the date or place of provenience of this piece. However, considering the features of the materials, style of binding and how the sheets are sewn together, this binding is contemporary with the publication, i.e. created at the end of the 15th century.
The most interesting part of this binding is, however, not the cover but the strips of a Hebraic manuscript on parchment, inserted between the paper pages. The strips of the manuscript are about 500 years older than this printed book. It was used by the bookbinder to reinforce the paper block.
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