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We have just installed a #SpineTingling exhibit: Golden Spiders & Black Orchids: a “Satisfactory” Look into the Life & Mysteries of Rex Stout. Stout, best known for his Nero Wolfe Detective novels, was an author, activist, chef, gardener, and devotee of the beard. Using the 5 Burns collections related to Rex Stout, this exhibit explores Stout’s fiction and its adaptations, his politics activism, and his hobbies. Drop by to see it onsite, or online at bit.ly/33ia6kS #LibrariesOfInstagram #ArchivesOfInstagram #RexStout #NeroWolfe #ArchieGoodwin #LibraryExhibitMondays...right? An illustration, probably from The Capuchin Annual, found in the Richard J. King Collection (MS2006-04) #ArchivesOfInstagram #RatherBeReading #ShakingOffTheIntroversion #RichardKingA student asked me what the most interesting thing I’ve found here was, and while I was debating my answer, an amazing colleague showed me this #peepshow (TF73 .G47 1835 General) of an early German #train as one of her favorite items! #artistbooks #illustrations #thetrainisnamedevil #newfavoritebook #alwaysaskacolleagueforcoolthings #thisishardtoohotograph #trustmeitiscoolGetting an early start today to set up examples of symbols to investigate in art with @jane.cassidy ‘s @bostoncollegeartdepartment Intro class! They’re doing research before designing their own #tarotcards #artistsoninstagram #engravings #libraryinstruction #9amclassesFollow us on Twitter!
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Category Archives: Rare books
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
1 Comment
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
Internal Context: A Look Into the Inclusion Files
One of the most rewarding aspects of rare book cataloging is seeing and decoding the various markers of history that make their way into the pages. Most of these markers are permanent – bookplates, sellers’ and binders’ tickets, annotations, and … Continue reading
Posted in Rare books
Tagged evidence, inclusion files, materials in books, provenance, rare books
1 Comment
The many business endeavors of Pamela Colman Smith
You’ve probably encountered the artwork of Pamela Colman Smith before, even if you didn’t realize. Colman Smith drew the images for the most well-known tarot deck, and these popular images are still commonly reprinted and used on tarot decks today. … Continue reading
