Quaderno fiorentino

The curator at Cultura Fonds just got back from a short off duty experience. We mention this for some entertaining ties to the book world.

First, our guidebook was Quaderno fiorentino, with reminiscences about Florence, Italian art mainly of the Rinascimento, as well as interviews with Italian literary figures in a bleak postwar period, written by Luc Indestege in 1951 (In Dutch, published at Davidsfonds). Despite its antiquarian state, the book effuses lively writing, pared to reliable guidelines, still today, to the art of this city.

Luc Indestege (1901-1974) counts as a Belgian specialist on bookbindings, with many studies tied to his name, e.g. on an archive of rubbings of Flemish panel bookbindings by Prosper Verheyden. Indestege is also the father of Belgian book historian Elly Cockx-Indestege, former Head of the Rare Books Department at Belgium's National Library.

The retirement of Elly Cockx-Indestege was marked with a study in three volumes, by Hendrickx F. et al., editors, E Codicibus Impressisque. Opstellen over het boek in de Lage Landen voor Elly Cockx-Indestege (Leuven, Peeters, 2004). Miscellanea Neerlandica series, 20 (ISBN 978-90-429/-1423-0, /1422-3, 1421-6). In 1951, Elly Indestege had just embarked on reading history.
Secondly, we visited the Bibliotheca Medicea Laurenziana. Luc Indestege documents his visit in 1951. But this is how the Laurenziana discloses itself as of 2007: by thematic forays into the holdings, in the shape of small, permanent exhibitions, accompanied by booklets -not exceeding one hundred pages, with color illustration, published by Mandragora, in Italian or in English, sold at 14 Euros.

We mention by way of example the three English titles so far:
Imaginary Creatures. 2007 (ISBN 978-88-7461-098-3).
The World of the Aztecs in the Florentine Codex. 2007 (ISBN 978-88-7461-102-7).
The Shape of the Book from Roll to Codex (3rd century BC-19th century AD). 2008 (ISBN 978-88-7461-116-4).
The Laurentian building, splendid design by Michelangelo, reopened April 1, 2007, after a long period of being closed to the public. Its research facilities were never in cessation. Therefore, the thematic exhibits seem to serve mainly as a permanent reminder of the function this magnificent architecture once had.

PS: The execution of the glass windows, with references to the de Medici benefactors, some dated 1568, is attributed to an Antwerp artist.

Sprak God Hebreeuws? Did God Speak Hebrew?

The Plantin-Moretus Museum is currently enjoying the presence on its premises of Dutch Professor Albert van der Heide, as visiting curator of the upcoming exhibition Hebraica veritas. Sprak God Hebreeuws? The exhibition opens Thursday, May 15, 2008 at 7.30 pm at the museum.

Albert van der Heide is professor at the University of Amsterdam, where he studied theology and Semitic languages. On February 2, 2008, he gave a talk at the yearly meeting of the Vereniging van Antwerpse Bibliofielen (Antwerp Bibliophile Society), entitled Hebraica Veritas. Christopher Plantin and the Hebrew Language. Those present got a preview of this exhibition.

Christopher Plantin's preoccupation with Hebrew, mostly Bible edition, is part of Christian Hebraic Studies, or the effort on part of Christian humanists -as well as Jewish converts to Christianism, who were few- to acquire and transmit knowledge about the Hebrew language.

With regard to Hebrew as well as in other matters, humanists wanted to go ad fontes. As Christians, they were interested in the most truthful version of Hebrew for the purpose of Bible edition. But how many were fully aware of the ramifications of rabbinic texts: the knack of producing commentary upon commentary for the sake of adding truth to truth?

Printers like Plantin had to deal with different notational systems for Hebrew, if they knew about them. Jews were still not exempt of persecution, and not likely to openly transmit their different traditions. And the Church had been known for extreme wariness of translations of the Bible.

In short, Christian Hebraic scholars found themselves having to make choices. The quest for God's truth was neither easy, nor unpolitical.

Inaugural Chair "Boek.be" at University of Antwerp (April 23, 2008)

Yesterday the Chair "Boek.be" was inaugurated at the University of Antwerp, with five speakers and a half-day conference around a chosen theme: "Publisher, bookstore and library in the digital world: partners or opponents?" Jef Maes of Boek.be signed on as organizer, and the conference was chaired by professor Pierre Delsaerdt.

Location: the renovated monastery of Grauwzusters, at Lange Sint-Annastraat, part of the university's city center campus.

The Chair is part of APUB, a course called Actuele problemen van de uitgeverij en boekhandel, that is part of the MA Informatie en Biliotheekwetenschap (IBW). The degree is undergoing a makeover to Master after Master. Book history and preservation are part of it as well.

The sponsoring by Boek.be, the Federation of Booksellers in Flanders, is a novelty, and a welcome one at that for the only university degree of its kind, and one that also partly serves as a crash course for professionals into aspects of this very industry.

The first speaker was Ivo Volman, who heads the Digital Libraries and Public Sector Information Unit of the European Commission, DG Information Society and Media. He presented Europeana, the European Digital Library or the digitization of Europe's museum, library, and archival holdings. We're in it, because of Google, he implied. Still, Volman holds the physical sensation of reading paper copies of books in high regard.

Christine de Mazières of the Syndicat national de l'édition (France) approached digitization from the perspective of publishers. France has at its National Library the project Gallica2, for the digitization of French books that are free of copyright. The portal now provides the possibility for publishers to reach the reader, in an experimental phase, with books under copyright, rendered accessible by e-providers (e-distributors).

Denis Zwirn is the CEO of Numilog or one of 2 or 3 e-providers in France today. In his view the chain between publishers and readers remains pretty stable. The implementation of e-book access lengthens the tail to get books to customers. Neither publishers nor booksellers should miss the train. Books and bookstores will stick around, but with the importance of e-providers on the increase.

Trudi Noordermeer formerly headed digitization projects at the National Library of the Netherlands, and is presently Head of the University of Antwerp Library. Digitization projects in libraries have undergone an evolution and are feeling the influence of 2.0 user-generated content. Unfortunately, they are also more sensitive to the challenges that remain in connection with digitization, such as funding and backup problems.

Lastly, Geert Joris as Director of Book.be, did not mince words when he concluded with a strong plea for e-book production. Old business models should be given the glove treatment, but new ones should be firmly embraced, as e-technology is here to stay. The music industry provides one of the most exciting models around. The book trade cannot carry national digitization projects alone. Governments should create momentum and provided the necessary financial means for the digitization of the national heritage.

The challenges in connection with digitization were shared by more than one speaker. In kind, they are technological (is digitization stable enough?), juridical (what about material under copyright?), fiscal (what is more crucial under VAT, carrier or content?), financial (who pays for providing e-books, more costly still than paper publishing?), and also related to content (what gets digitized, by whom, and how do you know when it is?). Here's what worrisome - that's a plateful. The challenges remain formidable, as no speaker ventured easily past the questions. They are bound to lead to new conferences.

But who cares not to heed the call of digitization? In times when kids think that something does not exist, unless they can google it, when people wait eight months for an e-reader, the conclusion that day was: we'd better. And fasten your seatbelts, too.

Springtime is book time

Springtime is not only auction time, but also a busy period for authors and publishers, as we saw a few interesting new publications around book preservation and research arrive in rapid succession.
1. It's worth repeating that on February 1, 2008, In de ban van boeken was opened at Belgium's National Library. This exhibition highlights books from 20 book collectors from the 19th century, that went into the collection by donation or via acquisition. The catalogue (ISBN 90-6637-145-5), work of reference in provenance research, has the same title, and was edited by Marcus de Schepper, An Kelders, and Jan Pauwels.

This exhibition still runs until August 24, 2008, and in May the entire contents will be fully renewed, so that new books will be on display for each collector. On Sunday April 18, 2008, the National Library has a special Visitor Day from 1-6 p.m.

2. On February 29, 2008, volume 2 of Armarium. Publicaties voor erfgoedbibliotheken, was presented to the public. Mieke Lietaer of Stadsbibliotheek Antwerp, Flanders' largest depot library, wrote Goed gegeven! Gids voor schenkingen aan bibliotheken (ISBN 9789072679338): a manual geared to librarians, acquainting them with every aspect of book donations to libraries. The Koning Boudewijnstichting, consulted on the matter as well, put a the information on its page devoted to the preservation of artefacts.

Promotors of Erfgoedbibliotheken Vlaanderen (libraries preserving books and manuscripts in Flanders) are Antwerp professor of history and book history Pierre Delsaerdt, and Director of Stadsbibliotheek Antwerpen, An Renard. The Armarium publications are funded by the Flemish government, the City of Antwerp, and the University of Antwerp.

3. The prize for sumptuous elegance in academic publishing certainly goes to the folio produced by Luc Knapen and Leo Kenis (editors) around the use of wood in books: Hout in boeken, houten boeken en de "fraaye konst van houtdraayen", Documenta libraria series no. 35 from Peeters Publishers, Leuven (ISBN 9789042920576). This work unites contributions from historians, book historians, and woodturning lathe specialists from this country and abroad. It is truffled with color illustration.

4. And just this week we saw the arrival of a monograph on 16th-century book illustration in the Low Countries: Christopher Plantin and Engraved Book Illustrations in Sixtieenth-Century Europe, by Karen L. Bowen and Dirk Imhof (Cambridge UP, ISBN 978052185276-0). Bowen is a specialist on book illustration and Imhof is curator of rare books and archives at the Plantin-Moretus Museum. Their research relies heavily on the rich archives of the Plantinian Press. As a study, it takes a contextual approach to document how Plantin's choice for etchings influenced a change in taste with regard to book illustration at the time.

Exhibition "Hout in boeken" (Wood in Books) at Leuven (1-31 March 2008)

The Theology Department of the University of Leuven houses an interesting Rare books and manuscripts collection, better known as the Maurits Sabbebibliotheek (MSB). One of their subcollections is the Jesuitica collection. The Maurits Sabbe Library is also known for its charismatic librarians, who once in a while set up exhibitions on their premises.

Most fastidious and prolific among them is Luc Knapen, organizer of the current exhibition Hout in boeken, houten boeken (1-31 March, 2008, to travel to Hasselt in May and possibly in part on to London), a full day of conferences around this theme (29 February, 2008), and the executive editor of a scientific study, forthcoming from Peeters Publishers. Here is Luc Knapen at the opening, receiving the first copy of the study.
As we can see, it promises to be richly documented.
Apart from numerous artefacts, xylaria, and the results of wood turners' work, the pièce the résistance in the exhibition is the reconstruction of a lathe, or a wood turners instrument, based on a Jesuit emblem from 1627. Photo: Luc Knapen, Maurits Sabbebibliotheek.
Cultura Fonds is proud to have an Antiphonary/Responsory on loan in the exhibition. This manuscript (grand in-folio) is dated 1503 (Princedom of Liège, Meuse region), and has a binding and rich illumination pointing to use by Crosiers. This copy is currently under further examination.Another interesting artefact is this revolving book stand or bookwheel, on loan from the University of Ghent Library. A restoration of this piece of furniture was possible specifically for this exhibition.

Provenances: 16th C (starting with Aldrovandi)

Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage. The 16th C naturalist Ulissi Aldrovandi (1522-1605), from Bologna, can be linked to item LC 379 (in our first catalogue Labore et Constantia).

This is a work devoted to archeology and Roman artefacts: Stephanus Winandus Pighius, Themis Dea, sev de lege divina. Antverpiae, Ex officina Christophori Plantini, 1568. 8°. With several woodcuts, among them of a Roman vase found in the city of Arras, linked to Cardinal Granvelle.

Aldrovandi's name can be found first on the title page. Three further entries, a few lines each, can be found on pages K3 r°( p.149), [O3] r° (wrong pagination) and P4 v°. The last two are given here (cf supra, cf infra). There's a date: 21 June 1593.Bart Op de Beeck of the Rare Books Department of the Royal Library of Belgium recently has held in his hands 24,000 copies pertaining to Jesuit collections and Louvain. The results of this study will be presented in his PhD thesis (forthcoming).

Our scope is much more modest, but soon we'll know how many of our printed books and manuscripts sport early provenances.
Here is another provenance marking (vdb, pastedown) in the same Pighius.

Provenance research in Belgium today

The Royal Library of Belgium currently has a noteworthy exhibition on show: In de ban van boeken. Grote verzamelaars uit de 19e eeuw in de Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België - Les seigneurs du livre. Les grands collectionneurs du XIXème siècle à la Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (February 1, 2008-August 24, 2008, Nassaukapel).

The opening was preceded by a half day of lectures about Private Collections in Belgium (1750-1850). Some of our finest book historians delivered talks: Pierre Delsaerdt (Antwerp), Carmélia Opsomer (Liège), Bart Op de Beeck (Brussels), Ludo Vandamme (Bruges), Claude Sorgeloos (Brussels), and Jan Pauwels (Brussels). Talks were moderated by Stijn Van Rossem (Antwerp), who's preparing a PhD on the Verdussen printers.

The exhibition highlights twenty 19th-century collectors, from abroad (e.g. Richard Heber) and from the young nation state that Belgium was or was going to become. The period was marked by four regimes in a time spanning two generations.

The collections of these twenty collectors captured a fraction of collections changing hands or at peril of calamity, following the abolition of monasteries and their libraries at the end of the Ancien Régime (around 1797). Either these collectors donated directly (too few of them), or their books and manuscripts were acquired in auctions, not without a degree of vicissitude, for the newly inaugurated national library (from 1837 onwards).

Provenance research is increasingly becoming a focus in several public institutions in this country. The lecturers stressed the importance of noting the markings in copies, for a better understanding of how collections developed. The online catalogue of our National Library for instance gives extensive provenance data for each copy, and the Short Title Catalogus Vlaanderen may soon follow suit.