“Technically, a true book-man, a genuine book-collector, is one who gathers unto himself the old and rare examples, the historic specimens, the ancient manuscripts…But may not one presume to call himself a lover of books even if he does not confine his affections to the royal family of books? One may be permitted to regard himself as a bookish person even if, like Burton’s Fitzpatrick Smart, he is ‘not a black-letter man, or a tall copyist, or an uncut man, or a rough-edge man, or an early English dramatist, or an Elzevirian, or a broadsider, or a pasquinander, or an old-brown-calf man, or a Grangerite, or a tawny-moroccoite, or a gilt-topper, or a marbled-insider, or an editio princeps man.’ This is a conspicuous example of something called ‘the slang of the library.”
Adrian Joline, The Diversions of a Book-Lover
Welcome to Barnard 1: From Siena to New York City. In this project, we follow the manuscript as it journeys from its place of origin at one of the Franciscan houses of Siena, on to the library of Adrian and Mary E. Larkin Joline, and ultimately to the collections of Barnard College.
By digging into the archives and paying close attention to the paleographical material and specifics of liturgical content, we uncover the traces of Barnard 1’s tumultuous history. Following in the footsteps of one manuscript, we shine a light on the many twists and turns that manuscripts take before they become our objects of study.
