Happy Manuscript Monday! This week's offering is a letter from the papal chancery of Pope Leo X, written in Rome on March 27, 1517, to Ottaviano Fregoso, Doge of Genoa. The letter is signed Jacopo Sadoleto as papal secretary and was written by the papal scribe, Ludovico degli Arrighi. In addition to being a papal scribe, Arrighi was a type designer and author. His typefaces, based on his own elegant script, have influenced the design of fonts and letter forms from the Renaissance to the present.
Resources and Services
An address, delivered before the members of the Franklin Debating Club, on the morning of the 5th July, 1824
Pamphlets – literature published in an unbound, ephemeral format – are one of the strengths of Special Collections. The collections contain thousands of sermons, speeches, tracts, and political writings from the seventeenth through the nineteenth century, many of which are very scarce. We'll share a pamphlet each week to highlight these holdings.
This week's selection comes from the Fourth of July Orations Collection. It's one of eight known copies, all in the United States, and contains exactly what it says it does – the text of a Fourth of July address given in 1824.
The Fourth of July Orations collection is a great source for studying the development of American identity and politics. Many speeches, including this one, comment on contemporary world events and urge leaders to stick with the values and policies espoused by the country's founders.
Newburyport, [Mass.] : Printed at the Herald office [by Ephraim W. Allen], 1824. Find it in the MERLIN catalog.
A ninth-century fragment of De orthographia by Bede
This semester, we're kicking off a new series. Every Monday, we'll share a page or two from the department's manuscript holdings – just enough to give you a glimpse into the collections.
First up: the oldest manuscript in the collections, a fragment of De orthographia by Bede from the 9th century (Fragmenta Manuscripta #002). Fragmenta Manuscripta is a collection of leaves, clippings, and binder's waste assembled by bookseller John Bagford in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. It's fully digitized – find out more about it at Digital Scriptorium.
Stay tuned next Monday for another manuscript from the collections.
DVDs Moved to Reference Stacks
The DVDs previously located in 114 Ellis Library (Current Periodicals Reading Room) have been moved to the south end of the reference stacks, to the east of Information Commons 2. Don't know where that is? Ask at the Circulation Desk or the Reference Desk.
These materials were moved out of room 114 to make room for staff from Jesse Hall who will be moving temporarily into Ellis Library in the spring while Jesse Hall is being renovated.
Student PrintSmart printer now available on the main floor
In response to student requests, DoIT has added a new printer which has been placed in the Photocopy Room, just to the right of the main entrance on the second floor of the library.
Choose “HSL Copy Room Printer” from the PrintSmart menu to route to this printer instead of the east and west printers on the first floor.
Here are instructions for setting up your laptop to print to printers on either floor: http://library.muhealth.org/services/computers/printing
New EndNote guide and class schedule
Visit the MU Libraries new EndNote guide with video tutorials, troubleshooting help, and contact information for MU EndNote librarians: https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/endnote
You can also sign up for an EndNote class at Ellis Library.
Pietra del paragone politico
This is Pietra del paragone politico by Trajano Boccalini (1556-1613), an Italian political satirist whose writings were influential during the late Renaissance. Boccalini died before the publication of this work, which is a scathing attach on the Spanish for the treatment of their subjects during their occupation of the Kingdom of Naples.
Like many works that challenged authority, this one was issued with a false imprint for the protection of its printer. It has a beautiful engraved title page featuring a king talking with a courtier. It's small – just the right size to be concealed in a pocket. And, interesting for us (or for this librarian, at least), the endleaves are covered with pen trials. Find it in the MERLIN catalog, and come by to see it in person.
Welcome Back Students!
Stop by the front desk to learn about our resources and services!
Germania Kalender and the Academic Hall Fire of 1892
Academic Hall burned 122 years ago today, leaving the Columns to become a Mizzou icon. Before the fire, the building housed classrooms, offices, libraries, and museums – almost the entire university. Although parts of the Law Library were salvaged, the main library was a total loss. Almost.
Germania Kalender survived because it was checked out during the fire. However, it wasn't returned to the University until 1937, forty-five years later. After it came back, it was placed in the Rare Book Room. It's in rough condition – who knows what it went through over at least 45 years of being checked out? – but it's been here ever since.
The book was returned by Henry Gerling of St. Louis. The date, September 24, 1884, and the library stamp for Missouri State University (which was one of the names used by the University of Missouri at the time) alerted him to the book's history.
When the book was returned, the story made the news. These are clippings from the Kansas City Star (left) and the Columbia Missourian (right) from April 14, 1937.
Germania Kalender has calendars and an almanac, as you'd expect from the title, but it also contains pictures and readings on various subjects for the entire family.
It even includes some early comics!
2013 Tax Information Is Now Available
2013 Tax Information is now available at https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/tax. The deadline for filing is April 15, 2014.