Gresham Incunabula Pages, 1482/1502

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Richmond
Rare Books and Special Collections
Boatwright Library
University of Richmond
28 Westhampton Way
Richmond, VA 23173
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lynda Kachurek
Phone: (804) 289-8458
Fax: (804) 287-1840
Terms of access:

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

Box 1, [Folder Number], MS-11, Gresham Incunabula Leaves Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
17 Leaves and .5 Linear Feet
Creator:
Dew Gresham, William, 1925-1986
Abstract:
This collection contains 17 individual incunabulum book leaves printed in Italy and Germany from 1482 to circa 1502.
Language:
Latin
Preferred citation:

Box 1, [Folder Number], MS-11, Gresham Incunabula Leaves Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains 17 individual incunabulum book leaves printed in Italy and Germany from 1482 to circa 1502. The incunabula leaves printed in Venice are by Scotto, Bertochus or Pagnini[?],Benalius, Arrivabene, Faelli, and Pinzi. There is one leaf from Rome by Silber and one leaf from Florence by Miscomini. In Germany, Koberger printed one leaf in Nuremburg, Grüninger printed one leaf in Strassburg, and Otmar printed one leaf in Tübingen.

The majority of the leaves are from incunabula with religious subject matter, but a small amount relate to ancient Rome. The collection is arranged chronologically with bibliographic information for the incunabulum the leaf is from. Additionally, an Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) number has been listed for each incunabulum represented.

Many of the leaves in the collection contain marginalia, rubrication, as well as woodblock printing. Some of the leaves also contain hand-drawn maniculum, or hands used to point to relevant passages. One of the more interesting examples of marginalia is found in File 4, which contains a leaf from Cassian's De institutis coenobiorum. In addition to handwritten Latin notes and maniuculum, four doodles of men's heads are found on both the recto and verso of the leaf. Woodblock printing is found throughout the collection in the form of illustration and rubrication. A small woodblock illustration of a man being attacked in his bed is found on the verso of a leaf from Livy's Historiae Romanae decades in File 8. This leaf also has woodblock rubricated capital letters, as do the leaves in Files 7, 9, and 12. Files 11 and 14 contain leaves with hand-rubricated capital letters in red that reflect a tradition taken directly from illuminated manuscripts. All files contain one leaf, with the exception of File 6 which has two. These unique features are also noted in the Collection Inventory.

The collection was originally purchased from a dealer by William Dew Gresham (1925-1986), a University of Richmond alumnus and former assistant librarian as well as book collector. They were donated to the University of Richmond in 1987.

Biographical / historical:

In Latin, the term incunabulum (plural: incunabula) refers to a cradle, source, or birthplace. The earliest examples of metal-type printed books prior to approximately 1501 are commonly known as incunabula. The earliest incunabula date from the 1450s, when Johann Gutenberg of Mainz is generally credited as first introducing metal-type printing to the world. By the 1460s, printing had entered Italy and by the 1470s had spread throughout the rest of Europe.

Early incunabula clearly reflect the transition from illuminated manuscripts to metal-type printing. One example of this is the use of guide letters, or small letters located within surrounding white space. Guide letters provided the option for a book to be hand-rubricated (or embellished) using red or blue ink. In later incunabula, rubrication also took the form of decorative woodcut capital letters. Columns and printed marginalia (margin notes) were also adapted by printers from medieval manuscripts. Latin contractions and abbreviations were frequently utilized by medieval scribes in order to save both space and time. Incunabula printers continued their usage and created typefaces that also included contractions and abbreviations.

For further information on the history of incunabula, Haebler's The Study of Incunabula offers an in-depth analysis and overview. Haebler was an early twentieth-century incunabula typographic expert from Germany. In addition to an overview of incunabula, the National Diet Library of Japan's "Incunabula – Dawn of Western Printing" website also features invaluable lists and images of incunabula typefaces.

Acquisition information:
The incunabulum leaves were donated as part of the William Dew Gresham Collection to the University of Richmond in 1987.
Custodial history:

The original incunabula collection was purchased from a dealer by Mr. Gresham before being donated to University of Richmond in 1987.

Processing information:

Attempts have been made to reconcile information given by the original dealer with the ISTC. Incunabula title names have been derived from the ISTC while Library of Congress Name Authority Headings has been used for author and printer names.

Processed by Erica L. Johnson.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Physical facet:
17 books leaves
Material specific details:
An Incunabula Short Title Catalogue (ISTC) number has been provided in the collection inventory for each leaf. It may be used in the British Museum's ISTC for further information about the incunabula such as additional incunabula references from Hain and Goff.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard