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A heads up about an intriguing exhibition coming to the British Library (11 November 2011 – 13 March 2012.)

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination is the British Library’s first major exhibition to bring together the Library’s Royal collection, a treasure trove of illuminated manuscripts collected by the kings and queens of England between the 9th and 16th centuries. These dazzling artistic artefacts will debunk the myth that these were ‘the Dark Ages’. Read more here.

However, if you are lucky enough to be in Los Angeles, you can visit the Getty Museum and see their fantastic collection of illuminated manuscripts. The current exhibition is In the Beginning Was the Word: Medieval Gospel Illumination
(August 30–November 27, 2011.) Read more about the collection here.

Having just returned from my own library tour of Europe, I found this article timely and spot on.

By GERALDINE FABRIKANT in the New York Times.

EUROPEAN cities are feet-on-the-pavement destinations, where many of us find ourselves trudging along familiar routes with hordes of tourists just like us. To take a break, we are likely to stop at the cafes and museum gardens already overcrowded with fellow travelers. But relief could be at hand, in the guise of cities’ libraries, which are often ignored by visitors. Here are some of my favorites. Read the rest here…

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries is hosting an exhibition entitled Renaissance City Views from Above and Afar.

About the exhibition:
Between 1572 and 1617, Georg Braun, editor, and Franz Hogenberg, engraver, produced the Civitates Orbis Terrarum, a multi-volume collection of views of cities of the world published to complement the first modern atlas, Abraham Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, a map collection first published in 1570. Collector Jack Sosiak’s large group of Braun and Hogenberg’s city views are exhibited, together with related city views from Penn’s own collections.

On view until August 13, 2011

Also available is a podcast of a talk given by Dr. Daniel Traister, Curator for Research Services at Penn’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and map collector Jack Sosiak in conjunction with the exhibition. They explore what 16th- and 17th-century maps of European cities offer that Mapquest cannot. Download the podcast here.

“Atlanta artist Brian Dettmer creates memorable works of art by slicing, whittling and tearing into books. Mark Strassmann reports on Dettmer’s vision for a vanishing form of art.”

I guess the above is referring to books as the “vanishing form of art.”    Regardless of how you feel about that statement, the reality is that not all books are keepers and this is better than them ending up in the trash bin or recycle box.    This is some of the most interesting repurposing of books that I have seen.

Check out the video here.

Books of the Republic of Venice
May 3-June 19, 2011
at the Elizabeth Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA

La Serenissima, or the Most Serene Republic of Venice, existed for over a millennium from the late seventh century to 1797. At the height of its power in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it was the center of an empire extending from mainland Italy to the eastern Mediterranean. The head of state was a Doge who was elected for life by the nobility.

Books, called commissioni, are presentation copies of contracts of Venetian noblemen elected to oversee the Serenissima’s provinces for usually sixteen months, or to be lifelong administrators of the city of Venice. From the mid-1400s until the fall of the Republic, office-holders had their commissioni elaborately written, illuminated and bound by hand. Commemorating service to the state, personal achievement, and taste, these manuscripts were objects of privilege, power, and beauty.

More info here

No one is allowed to borrow from the Vatican Library, except the pope. And no wonder: the archive holds some of the oldest and most precious works of art and treasure known to man. Morley Safer gets to see the best of the best.

Probably the closest most of us will ever get to this incredible collection.

Watch it here:  Vatican Library

On Monday, March 28th former FBI agent Robert Wittman will be at the Doylestown branch of the Bucks County Free Library telling tales from his 20 year career with the FBI tracking down stolen paintings and missing manuscripts.   Featured in his talk on Monday will be his role in the recovery of Pearl S. Buck’s “The Good Earth” manuscript.

The event is hosted by the Pearl Buck Volunteer Association in the Pearl S. Buck room of the Doylestown Library at 150 S. Pine Street in Doylestown.

The program begins at 1pm and is free and open to the public.

The Lafayette College 11th biennial Roethke Humanities Festival will explore the theme of “The Renaissance Spirit” through art exhibits, musical performances, and discussions on various topics in early modern studies.

Lafayette College is located in Easton, PA. More info about the festival is here.

Cute video on the Historyteachers channel on YouTube. The history of illuminated manuscripts set to the Beatle’s song “nowhere man.” You have to see/hear it.