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Our copy of A description of the Island of Jamaica with the Other Isles and Territories in America to which the English are Related (1678) was very well loved. Almost every blank page or half-blank page is filled with writings from prior owners. #handwriting #marginalia #WriteInBooksYouOwn #WeAdmireTheDoodles300YearsLaterLovely inscription in a copy of Graham Green’s Our Man in Havana which was read in outer space, given to Greene by Soviet cosmonaut Georgy GrechkoSpotted on our hold shelves: Philosophia magnetica in qua magnetis natura (QC751 .C32 1629 Jesuitica) which includes this early map of the world #maps #EarlyMapsOfEarth #AustraliaMeetsAntarticaBreaking out our beloved Book of Kells facsimile for Nancy Netzer’s Early Medieval Art in Ireland and Britain seminar today. The students take an intensive dive through our Irish manuscript facsimiles over multiple class sessions. #bookofkells #irishmanuscript #arthistory #facsimilesFollow us on Twitter!
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Category Archives: Rare books
History of the Azores, or Western Islands
You don’t see many books on the Azores in Burns Library, so having traveled to the volcanic islands myself, once in 1995 and once in 2010, this particular book immediately caught my eye. I found it was a fascinating look … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged Azores, British Empire, caldera, Great Britain, History, maps, portugal, st. michael, travel
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Thomas J. Shamon’s mystery recommendations
While we’re most well-known for our our major collecting areas in Irish history, Jesuitica, and Catholicism, Burns Library also has a strong mystery collection. With over 5,000 volumes, our mystery collection ranges in date from 1827 to 2018, and in … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged book recommendations, mystery, recommendations, Thomas J. Shamon
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New Acquisition: Ioannis Petraloysii Praenestini Missarum Liber Tertius
Among the most eye-catching books acquired recently by Burns Library is this collection of masses by the prolific and influential Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Printed in 1570, in Rome, this is the first edition of the third collection … Continue reading
Posted in Acquisitions, Rare books
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The Young Ladies Instructor
What does it mean to be educated? How much knowledge, in what areas, are you required to have? The question changes drastically depending on time period, geographic location, gender and class. With such variable answers, books that are meant to … Continue reading
A Rare Vellum Printing
A book may be interesting on the basis of its physical features, its intellectual content, or its history of ownership. Here we have the trifecta: a book of unusual, even beautiful, material construction, containing a text of scholarly interest, and … Continue reading
Posted in Acquisitions, Irish Studies, Jesuitica, Rare books
Tagged Ireland, provenance, vellum
1 Comment
Swift, Satire, and BC Students
Does Swift’s searing satire lose its keen edge as the story is re-represented over time, country and culture? This was a question that arose last spring as students in Colleen Taylor’s English Literature class, Satire and Society, explored editions of … Continue reading
