New book by Dr Mara Kalnins

The Parker Library was turned into a party space last week when we held a book launch.  Dr Mara Kalnins, Life Fellow of the College, and formerly University Reader in Modern English Literature, is the author of The Ancient Amber Routes: Travels from Riga to Byzantium. It is part tourist guide, part travelogue, but mainly...

New Book: The Friars in Ireland 1224-1540

We recently received a copy of this book just published by Four Courts Press covering the history of the mendicant orders in Ireland from their arrival to the dissolution, including the art and architecture of the many mendicant houses across Ireland. The cover design features an image from MS 180 in the Parker Library, a...

Corpus Drinking Horn

As well as being responsible for supplying images of books and manuscripts for research and publication, we also take care of image requests for some of the college's other special collections, including the college portraits and the college silver collection. We recently fulfilled a request for an image of the oldest and most famous item...

Illuminated Manuscripts in Cambridge, part 2

We're really pleased to have receive our copy of the next instalment of the catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts in Cambridge which covers the collections of the Fitzwilliam Museum and the college libraries. The first part surveyed Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Low Countries; part 2 (in 2 volumes) includes manuscripts produced in Italy and the...

Facsimile of the Anglo-Norman Apocalypse

The facsimile publishing company Quaternio Verlag Luzern (website http://www.quaternio.ch/en) will publish a complete facsimile of CCC MS 20, the Anglo-Norman Apocalypse. It is expected to be published in 2012. Two photographer from their printing company worked in the Library for three days last week to take the images for the facsimile. It is particularly specialised...

Western Illuminated Manuscripts Launch

Last week the Parker Library hosted the launch party for Western Illuminated Manuscripts: A Catalogue of the Collection in Cambridge University Library since one of the two editors, Dr Patrick Zutshi, is a Fellow of Corpus Christi. The catalogue is an impressive work of scholarship, 14 years in the making. It contains entries for 472...

The Medieval Book

As I mentioned, last week we went to Sotheby's for the launch of The Medieval Book, a festschrift presented to Dr de Hamel on the occasion of his 60th birthday. I've now had a chance to take a proper look at the book which is a substantial work - 468 pages, over 150 colour illustrations...

Gilding the Lilly

We've just received a copy of Dr de Hamel's latest book: Gilding the Lilly: A Hundred Medieval and Illuminated Manuscripts in the Lilly Library. The Lilly Library is the rare books, special collections and manuscripts library of Indiana University at Bloomington. To celebrate their 'golden' 50th anniversary, they asked Dr de Hamel to curate an...