Early Written Word Collection, 2046 BCE

Collection Overview

Title: Early Written Word Collection, 2046 BCE - 1837

Predominant Dates: 1200-1700

ID: MSS Word

Extent: 6.89 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: Materials are arranged chronologically within set of origin. Series 1: No set identified, 2046 B.C. - 1780; Series 2: Pages from the Past: A Collection of Original Leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts, 1400-1776; Series 3: Original Leaves from Famous Books. Nine Centuries, 1460-1753; Series 4: Original Leaves from Famous Bibles. Nine Centuries, 1220-1590; Pages from the Past Set 2 Western Literature,1200-1829; Pages from the Past, Set 4: Woodcuts and Engravings 1493-1837; and Pages from the Past, Set 6: Religions of the World 1570-1688.

Languages of Materials: Latin [lat], Persian [per], English [eng], Chinese [chi], Sumerian [sux], German [ger], Irish [gle], Italian [ita], Dutch;Flemish [dut], Balinese [ban], Geez [gez]

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

This artificial collection is primarily made up of individual leaves separated from bound manuscripts and printed texts. Some leaves were donated to Oregon State or acquired individually; some leaves were included as parts of leaf portfolios compiled by Otto Ege, Alfred W. Stites and Foliophiles, Inc., and others. Cuneiform tablets from Iraq, a Balinese palm leaf book, and an example of early Chinese block printing are also included.

The leaf portfolios present in the collection include: G. M. L. Brown / Foliophiles’ Pages from the Past: A Collection of Original Leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts (issued 1926-1927); Otto Ege's Original Leaves from Famous Books. Nine Centuries (unknown issue date); Otto Ege's Original Leaves from Famous Bibles. Nine Centuries (unknown issue date); Foliophiles, Inc.’s Pages from the Past, Set 2: Western Literature; Pages from the Past, Set 4: Woodcuts and Engravings; and Pages from the Past, Set 6: Religions of the World, all issued in 1964. All sets are incomplete, and several sets contain multiple leaves from a title.

The information physically carried with some leaves through time was often incorrect or conjectural. These original labels and handwritten notes were the starting point for research but most have been negated or expanded by the present effort. Most items from Pages from the Past retain their original black card mounts and labels, though the original housing and front matter for the sets has been lost. Original labels may include outdated language, speculation, or inaccurate information.

The Foliophiles’ Pages from the Past sets were highly variable in their makeup and have been called “vexingly inconsistent” to collate (Fred Porcheddu). It is believed that an incomplete portfolio set of Pages from the Past: A Collection of Original Leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts (1926-1927) was donated to OSU, but the date of that donation is unknown. An OSU Library catalog card indicates that Pages from the Past, Set 2: Western Literature; Set 4: Woodcuts and Engravings; and Set 6: Religions of the World were probably acquired by the library in 1964 or later and added to the McDonald Collection. Legacy descriptions for items previously in the McDonald Collection can be viewed in this archived finding aid. At some point, numerous items were adhered together in a gathering. The remains of that adhesive can be observed on the edges of the following leaves: Box-Item 4.5, Box-Item 4.16, Box-Item 4.16, Box-Item 4.20, Box-Item 4.29, Box-Item 4.46, Box-Item 4.47, Box-Item 4.48, Box-Item 4.49, Box-Item 5.3, Box-Item 5.30.

Provenance for most items in the collection is unknown. The example of Chinese block printing is a significant and notable item (if correctly identified), but it is unrecorded in McDonald Collection inventories or other sources. Dawson's Book Shop, an important rare book supplier for universities on the West Coast in the 20th century, advertises a set of six original leaves for sale in 1940, including a sample of block printing dated to 1440, a leaf from the Nuremberg Chronicle, and a leaf of "Justinian, printed in red and black by Bautista de Tortis, 1496." These leaves are present in this collection (though the block printing example has been dated by a previous evaluator to be much earlier than 1440), but the other three leaves are not present here. The precise phrasing of this advertisement was also on the original plain label attached to this item, suggesting that Dawson's Book Shop was a likely source of acquisition.

The cuneiform tablets are likewise notable items, but are not mentioned in The Daily Barometer or other university sources until a Daily Barometer article on May 26, 1964, on the occasion of the opening of the McDonald Room in Kerr Library. An Oregon Stater article from September 1990 identifies McDonald as the donor, but there is no supporting evidence for that claim. One Pages from the Past set issued in 1964 contained cuneiform tablets (see Western Michigan University Library's example, or Ohio State University Library's example), but OSU lacks large portions of this set (as it is enumerated in OCLC 7625055). However, it is possible OSU purchased these tablets individually from Foliophiles at the same time the other Pages from the Past sets were purchased. While Foliophiles sets issued in 1964 and 1967 also included examples of palm leaf books, the one present in this collection was acquired before these sets were issued, and is mentioned in an article on the McDonald collection in the Daily Barometer of March 11, 1960.

Place of publication, publisher, foliation, page numbers, and/or plate numbers have been included when discernible. Measurements and line counts for manuscripts have also been included. Notable illustrations or illuminations are briefly described. Manuscript leaves are on vellum unless otherwise specified.

Items identified in Scott Gwara’s handlist Otto Ege’s Manuscripts include the matching handlist number (Gwara, Scott. Otto Ege’s Manuscripts : a Study of Ege’s Manuscript Collections, Portfolios, and Retail Trade ; with a Comprehensive Handlist of Manuscripts Collected or Sold. Cayce, SC: De Brailes Publishing, 2013.)

Biographical / Historical Notes

The removal of individual leaves from manuscripts and books for resale or distribution has a long and infamous history. As the rare books trade in the United States intensified in the 1920s, dealers and collectors were drawn to creating, distributing, and purchasing leaf books.

During the mid 1920s, George M.L. Brown of New York compiled and sold leaf books, including specimens of the written word in various forms throughout the centuries. They were mounted on paper with printed descriptive labels. Decades later, Alfred W. Stites of Washington, D.C. purchased Brown’s fragment collection and restarted the effort by creating portfolios of examples around themes. Stites marketed the folio sets to academic libraries between 1964 and 1967 as teaching tools for the history of the written word.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Cleveland educator and art dealer Otto Ege began assembling sets of leaves from books and manuscripts in his personal possession. These sets were sold to universities and private collectors. He issued 7 different portfolio sets over a decade, totalling thousands of leaves distributed across the United States.

Author: Anne Bahde

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 6 boxes, 1 oversize folder

Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.

Physical Access Note: Most materials are fragile and should be handled with care. Cuneiform tablets should remain in clear storage boxes; physical handling of these items is not allowed.

Acquisition Source: At least part of this collection is assumed to have been purchased circa 1964

Related Materials: The Special Collections and Archives Research Center holds one bound illuminated manuscript, a 13th century bible on uterine vellum produced in England, and one large 16th century illuminated gradual from Spain. Many examples of incunabula and early printed books exist in the rare book collections. The McDonald Rare Book Collection and the Parr Rare Book Collection contain facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts and other manuscript works, as well as facsimiles of Mesoamerican codices.

Preferred Citation: Early Written Word Collection (MSS Word), Oregon State University Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-racist Actions Statement online.

Please be aware that Box-Item 5.24 contains imagery that may be disturbing or activating; racist, derogatory language is used toward indigenous peoples. We acknowledge the racism represented by this imagery language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein.

[Date of acknowledgement: April 2023]

Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: No set identified, 2046 B. C. - 1780

The materials in this series have not been identified as belonging to a leaf set; however, they may have been part of an unrecorded version of one of the portfolios in other series. This series includes the most significant and rare items, including cuneiform tablets, an example of early Chinese block printing, Persian illuminated miniatures, and a Balinese palm-leaf book.

Box-Item 1.1: Tablet, Third dynasty of Ur, Amar-Suen, circa 2046-2038 B.C.: Puzriš-Dagan (Drehem, Iraq). Clay. Receipt of slaughtered animals. Translation: "37 sheep and goats from 12 named Amorites from the town of BÀD and 7 sheep and goats from 3 named Sumerian officials delivered to Abbasaga who expended them for various unnamed purposes. The transaction took place on the 27th day of the month of Akitu in the 5th year of King Amar-Suen." Translator: David I. Owen, "Amorites and the Location of BAD/ki" in Immigration and Emigration within the Ancient Near East: Festschrift E. Lipinski, eds. K. van Lerberghe and A. Schoors. Peeters en Departement Oriehtalistiek, 1995. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative record.
Box-Item 2.1: Tablet, Third dynasty of Ur, Amar-Suen, circa 2046-2038 B.C.: Puzriš-Dagan (Drehem, Iraq). Clay. Receipt of slaughtered animal. Translation: "1 sheep, slaughtered, the 10th day, from Nalu, Sulgi-irigu received. Month: Festival of Mekigal. Year: The en-priestess of Nanna was installed. 1 sheep." Translation by Changyu Liu, "An Edition of Twelve Ur III Administrative Cuneiform Tablets from United States Collections." Archiv Orientalni 87 (2019), p. 33-57. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative record.
Box-Item 3.1: Tablet, Old Babylonian dynasty, Rim-Sin, circa 1763 B.C.: Larsa (Tell as-Senkereh, Iraq). Clay. Partial translation: regards barley shipments "under the reign of King Rim-Sim, thirty years after the city of Isin was conquered." Translator unknown. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative record.
Box-Item 7.1: Block printed leaf from a statesman's book, circa 960-1200: China. Paper, 23cm x 25.7cm. Previous translation note: "discusses the possibility of a concubine becoming an empress in the Han dynasty." Translator unknown.
Box-Item 4.1: Manuscript leaf from Lombardus, Petrus, Sententiarum libri IV, circa 1200-1300: England. Foliated 101. 13.9cm x 19.3cm. 50 lines, double columns. Matching leaves at Winthrop University, the Raab Collection, and Tufts University.
Box-Item 4.2: Manuscript leaf from a book of hours, circa 1300-1400: France. Foliated 27, with illuminated vignette of Mary nursing Jesus.
Box-Item 4.3: Manuscript leaf from a missal, circa 1400-1500: Italy. Foliated CCLII. 24cm x 33cm. 30 lines. Possibly Gwara HL 90 or 167; matching leaves at McGill and Tufts (recto) (verso) (misidentified).
Box-Item 4.4: Manuscript leaf from a psalter, circa 1450-1500: England. 11cm x 15cm. 5 4-line staves. One initial supplied after original was cut out.
Box-Item 4.5: Printed leaf from Berchorius, P. Liber biblia moralis, 1474: Ulm: Johann Zainer.
Box-Item 4.6: Two printed leaves from Brevarium herbipolense, 1490: Wurzburg: Georg Reyer. Removed from a binding.
Box-Item 7.2: Two manuscript leaves from a gradual, circa 1500-1600: Spain. 32cm x 44cm. 6 4-line staves. Decorated initials, red and black ink.
Box-Item 7.3: Manuscript leaf from a gradual, circa 1500-1600: Spain. 30.5cm x 44.5cm. 5 4-line staves. Decorated initials, red and black ink.
Box-Item 4.7: Printed leaf from Finit opus missar[um] specialiu[m] ad vsum diocesis Herbipolen[sis], 1509: Basel: Jacob von Pfortzheim. Removed from a binding.
Box-Item 7.4: Printed broadside, The Oxford Almanac for the Year of our Lord God MDCCXXIII, 1723: Oxford: George Vertue.
Box-Item 4.8: Printed leaf from Orbis sensualium pictus, 1780: Nuremberg: Georg Endt. p. 214, pl. CXIII, "Fortitudo."
Box-Item 4.9: Manuscript leaf from a Persian text, circa 1800-1900: Iran. 20.38cm x 17.9cm. Illuminated with scene of a couple releasing trapped birds. Text unknown.
Box-Item 4.10: Manuscript leaf from a Persian text, circa 1800-1900: Iran. 20.38cm x 17.9cm. Illumination of Sufi whirling dervishes. Text unknown.
Box-Item 6.1: Palm-leaf book, circa 1800-1900: Lontar, Bali. Text unknown.
Box-Item 6.2: Scroll, circa 1800-1900: Illuminated "magic" or healing prayer, Ethiopia. 12cm x 198 cm. Three pieces of goat vellum bound with leather thongs. Text unknown.

Series 2: Pages from the Past: Original Leaves from Rare Books and Manuscripts, 1400-1776

This set was issued by Foliophiles, Inc. in 1926 and 1927. It is the most complete of the sets. This series includes manuscript and printed leaves produced across Europe, including some from famous presses and rare editions, such as the Koberger Bible, the Nuremberg Bible, the King James Bible, and the Fourth Folio of Shakespeare. The set was meant as an educational aid to show the development of manuscript into print.

Box-Item 4.11: Manuscript leaves from a hymnal, circa 1400-1500: Italy. 24.4cm x 33cm. Foliated 117 and 32. 6 5-line staves. Matching leaf at University of South Carolina.
Box-Item 4.12: Manuscript leaf from a book of hours, circa 1400-1500: Netherlands. 8.5cm x 11.1cm.16 lines. Gwara HL 127. Matching leaves at Denison University and (likely) Washington State University; matching leaf in lot sold at Christies in 2013.
Box-Item 4.13: Manuscript leaf containing selections from the Sermones of Simon de Cremona, 1434: Germany. Paper.
Box-Item 4.14: Printed leaf from In psalterium expositio, 1491: Basel: Johann Amerbach. Psalms XXXVI.
Box-Item 4.15: Printed leaf from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493: Nuremberg: Anton Koberger. p. CCXV.
Box-Item 4.16: Printed leaf from Justinianus, Informatium, 1496: Venice: Baptista de Tortis. p. 81.
Box-Item 4.17: Printed leaf from a Bible, 1497: Venice: Heironymous de Paganini. From Matthew.
Box-Item 7.5: Manuscript leaves from an antiphonal, circa 1500: Spain. 38cm x 49.5cm. Foliated 94 and 81 in same hand. 6 5-line staves.
Box-Item 4.18: Printed leaf from Table eclypsium by Georg Purbach and Johann Regiomontanus, 1514: Vienna: Johannes Winterburger.
Box-Item 4.19: Printed leaf from Nova legenda Angliae, 1516: London: Wynken de Worde. Folio CCCXXII.
Box-Item 4.20: Printed leaf from Postillia super epistolas et evangelia, 1517: Basel: Adam Petri. Fol XIII with woodcut by Urs Graf.
Box-Item 4.21: Printed leaf from a bible, 1520: Lyon: Johannes Marion. From Maccabees.
Box-Item 4.22: Two printed leaves from a breviary, 1570: Unknown printer. Southern France.
Box-Item 4.23: Printed leaf from Postille majores cu questionibus, 1525: Lyons: Pierre Balli. Fol. CXLVIII.
Box-Item 4.24: Printed leaf from Biblia picturis illustrata, 1540: Paris: Pierre Regnault.
Box-Item 4.25: Printed leaf from a bible in Hebrew, 1544: Paris: Robert Estienne.
Box-Item 4.26: Printed leaf from a "Matthew" Bible, 1551: London: Nicholas Hyll. Fol. IV.
Box-Item 4.27: Printed leaf from a Latin version of the Bible, 1558: Paris: Guillard. p. 15.
Box-Item 4.28: Two printed leaves from Martin Luther's German translation of the bible, 1584: Wittenberg: Hans Krafft. p. 149 and p. 334.
Box-Item 4.29: Printed leaf from the Workes of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1598: London: Adam Islip. Fol. 308.
Box-Item 4.30: Printed leaf from a New Testament in English, 1600: Antwerp: Daniel Van Vliet. p. 370.
Box-Item 4.31: Two printed leaves from the King James Bible, 1611: London: Robert Barker. Genesis Chapter XL: I Samuel Chapter IIJ.
Box-Item 4.32: Printed leaf from quarto edition of King James Bible, 1612: London: Robert Barker. Apocrypha Chapter ij.
Box-Item 4.33: Printed leaf from Dutch translation of Life of Jesus Christ, 1618: Antwerp: Peter van Gehelen.
Box-Item 4.34: Printed leaf from Hieroglyphica, 1622: Edinburgh: Thomas Finalson. p. 56.
Box-Item 4.35: Printed leaf from a vulgate edition of the Bible, 1628: Antwerp: Christophe Plantin. p. 314.
Box-Item 4.36: Printed leaf from Anatomy of Melancholy, 1632: Oxford: John Lichfield.
Box-Item 4.37: Printed leaf from the first printed translation of the Bible in Irish, 1685: London: Moxon.
Box-Item 4.38: Printed leaf from the Fourth Folio of Shakespeare, 1685: London: H. Herringman. p. 278, Tragedy of Coriolanus
Box-Item 4.39: Printed leaf from the Book of Common Prayer, 1762: Cambridge: John Baskerville.
Box-Item 4.40: Printed leaf from a bible in German, 1776: Pennsylvania: Christopher Saur.

Series 3: Original Leaves from Famous Books. Nine Centuries, 1460-1753

This portfolio was issued in many forms by Otto Ege in the 1930s and 1940s. OSU's incomplete set contains several leaves from the same French book of hours, and examples of the King James Bible, an early Chaucer edition, and a set of leaves from the press of Benjamin Franklin.

Box-Item 4.41: Three manuscript leaves from a book of hours, 1460: Three leaves. Northern France. 13.9 cm x 19cm. 17 lines. Gwara HL 55. 1 leaf framed.
Box-Item 4.42: Printed leaf from the Workes of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1598: London: Adam Islip. Fol. 72.
Box-Item 4.43: Printed leaf from the King James Bible, 1611: London: Robert Barker. From Paul Chapter I.
Box-Item 4.44: Printed leaves from Votes and Proceedings in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, 1753: Philadelphia: Benjamin Franklin. p. 385 - 411.

Series 4: Original Leaves from Famous Bibles. Nine Centuries, 1220-1590

This portfolio was issued in many forms by Otto Ege in the 1930s and 1940s. This incomplete set includes a manuscript leaf from a bible produced in Cambridge as well as leaf examples from other famous editions, including a Coverdale Bible and a Breeches Bible.

Box-Item 4.45: Manuscript leaf from a Cambridge Bible, circa 1200-1240: England. 19.5cm x 25.5cm. 60 lines, double columns. Gwara HL 6. Also issued in Ege's portfolio Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts.
Box-Item 4.46: Printed leaf from a Koberger Bible, 1483: Nuremberg: Anton Koberger. From Second Epistles.
Box-Item 4.47: Printed leaf from a "Great Bible", 1539: Paris: Myles Coverdale. From Deuteronomy.
Box-Item 4.48: Printed leaf from a "Matthew" Bible, 1549: London: John Daye. Folio lvi, from Mark Chapter 12.
Box-Item 4.49: Printed leaf from a Geneva or "Breeches" Bible, 1590: London: Christopher Barker. p. 539, Lazarus raised from the dead.

Series 5: Pages from the Past Set 2: Western Literature, 1200-1829

This set was issued by Foliophiles in 1964. It contains manuscript leaves from Germany, France, Italy, and modern Iran, as well as printed leaves from a variety of bibles, dictionaries, travel narratives, and other genres.

Box-Item 5.1: Manuscript leaves from a breviary, circa 1200-1300: Southern France. 10.7cm x 13.6cm. 30 lines, double columns. Matching leaf at Stanford.
Box-Item 5.2: Printed leaf from Chronicarum supplementum, 1486: Venice: Benalis. p. 254.
Box-Item 5.3: Printed leaf from Horace's Opera, 1498: Strasburg: Johann Gruniger. p. LIIII. First illustrated edition of Horace.
Box-Item 5.4: Printed leaf from the Commentaries on Boethius, 1512: Milan. Zanotus de Castelliono.
Box-Item 5.5: Printed leaf from Cornucopia of Nicholas Perottus, 1513: Venice: Aldus Manutius.
Box-Item 5.6: Printed leaf from Saturnalia of Macrobius, 1513: Venice: Agostino de Zanni de Portesio. p. IX.
Box-Item 5.7: Printed leaves from a work containing De Vita Sana by Marsilio Ficino, 1516: Venice: Aldus Manutius and Andrea Torresano.
Box-Item 5.8: Printed leaf from Hortus Sanitatus, 1517: Strassburg: Reinhard Beck. Woodcut depicting camels.
Box-Item 5.9: Two printed leaves from Divinia Commedia of Dante, 1529: Venice: Jacob de Burgofranco. p. LXXIX and CCL.
Box-Item 5.10: Manuscript leaf from an anti-Catholic text, 1551: Germany. Paper.
Box-Item 5.11: Printed leaf from Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romanes, 1579: London: Thomas Vautrollier. p. 59.
Box-Item 5.12: Printed leaf from the Four Bookes of Husbandrie, 1596: London: Thomas Wight. p. 190, "the entreating of Bees."
Box-Item 5.13: Manuscript leaf of The Shahnameh of Firdawsi, circa 1600-1700: Iran. 32.4cm x 20.3cm.
Box-Item 5.14: Manuscript leaf from Il Malmantile racquistato by Lorenzo Lippi, circa 1600-1700: Italy. Paper.
Box-Item 5.15: Printed leaf from a New Testament in English, 1600: Antwerp: Daniel Vervliet. p. 760.
Box-Item 5.16: Two printed leaves from the King James Bible, 1613: London: Robert Barker. Exodus Chapter XIII and II Samuel Chapter XV.
Box-Item 5.17: Printed leaves from three famous miniature books, 1634, 1828, 1828: One from History of Savoy, Leyden: Elsevir, 1634, p. 201. One from Diamond Classics, London: William Pickering 1828, p. 203. One from an edition of Horace, Paris: A. Mesnier, 1828, p. 223.
Box-Item 5.18: Printed leaf from the Workes of Benjamin Johnson, 1616: London: Richard Bishop. p. 258.
Box-Item 5.19: Printed leaf from New World of Words, 1678: London: Edward Phillips. p. CY.
Box-Item 5.20: Printed leaf from Works of Clement of Alexandria, 1688: Cologne: Heinrich Johann Meyer. p. 46.
Box-Item 5.21: Printed leaf from Dryden's translation of Virgil, 1697: London: Jacob Tonson.
Box-Item 5.22: Printed leaves from Phaedri Aug. Liberti Fabularum Aesopiarum Libri V, 1701: Amsterdam: Francis Halma. p. 34 and p. 106.
Box-Item 5.23: Printed leaf from Sonnets of Antonmaria Salvini, 1728: Florence: printer not identified.
Box-Item 5.24: Printed leaf from A New Collection of Voyages and Travels, 1745: London: Thomas Astley. Pl. 51, vol. II, p. 527.
Box-Item 5.25: Printed leaf from Johnson's Dictionary, 1755: London: W. Strahan. p. WRA/WRE.
Box-Item 5.26: Printed leaf from the Pharsalia of Lucan, 1760: London: Horace Walpole. p. 64.
Box-Item 5.27: Printed leaf from the Works of Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 1788: Parma: Ex Regio Typographeo. p. 45.
Box-Item 5.28: Printed leaf from the Works of Shakespeare, 1796: Philadelphia: Bioren and Madan. p. 217.
Box-Item 5.29: Printed leaf from The New York Mirror and Ladies Literary Gazette, 1829: New York: George P. Morris. Saturday, October 9, 1830.

Series 6: Pages from the Past Set 4: Woodcuts and Engravings, 1493-1837

This set was issued by Foliophiles in 1964. Leaves in this set show different printing methods over time, including examples from famous engravers such as Thomas Bewick.

Box-Item 5.30: Printed leaf from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493: Nuremberg: Anton Koberger. p. CCLI.
Box-Item 5.31: Printed leaf from Stutifera navis, 1498: Basel: Bergman von Olpe.
Box-Item 5.32: Printed leaf from Hortus Sanitatus, 1517: Strassburg: Reinhard Beck. Woodcuts depicting thyme.
Box-Item 5.33: Two printed leaves from Las quatorze decadas de Tito Livio, 1520: Saragossa: George Cosi, IIII Libri IX and Fo. CCCXXV.
Box-Item 5.34: Printed leaf from the Twelve books of the orations of Quintilian, 1527: Paris: Jean Petit.
Box-Item 5.35: Two printed leaves from Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus, 1555: Rome: Johannes Maria de Viottis. p. 152 and 265.
Box-Item 5.36: Printed leaf from Sebastian Munster, Cosmographia, 1559: Basel: Henri Petri. p. 483.
Box-Item 5.37: Printed leaf from Ovid's Metamorphoses, 1565: Venice: Johann Gryphius. p. 64.
Box-Item 5.38: Printed leaf from Nuova seconda selva, 1616: Venice: Bartolomeo and Ambrosio Dei. p. 10.
Box-Item 5.39: Printed leaf from Gerard's Herball, 1633: London: Thomas Johnson. p. 1615.
Box-Item 5.40: Printed leaf from Display of Heraldrie, 1638: London: Thomas Cotes. p. 297.
Box-Item 5.41: Two printed leaves from the Iconologia of Cesare Ripa, 1669: Venice: Niccolo Pazzana. p. 85 and 632.
Box-Item 5.42: Printed leaf from La Sicilia di Philipo Partuta, 1697: Lyons: Marco Maier.
Box-Item 5.43: Printed leaf from Dryden's translation of Virgil, 1697: London: Jacob Tonson. p. 434.
Box-Item 5.44: Printed leaf from Les august representations de tous les roys, 1714: Paris: F. Hurand.
Box-Item 5.45: Printed leaf from Fenelon's Telemachus, 1792: London: J. Davis. Stipple engraving by C. Taylor: Philocles discovered by Hegesippus.
Box-Item 5.46: Printed leaves from Bewick's Fables of Aesop, 1823: Newcastle-on-Tyne: E. Walker. p. 209 Jupiter and the Herdsman; p. 119 The Bear and the Bee-hives.
Box-Item 5.47: Two printed leaves from Icones veteris testamenti, 1830: London: Chiswick Press. p. VIII and XXIII.
Box-Item 5.48: Printed leaf from Book of Gems, 1837: London: Davenant. Plate from Spenser's Fairie Queene.

Series 7: Pages from the Past Set 6: Religions of the World, 1570-1688

This set was also issued by Foliophiles in 1964. It includes a notable example of printed music and an early edition of John Calvin's works.

Box-Item 5.49: Printed leaf from Book of Services for Christmas, 1570: Salamanca: Matthias Gastius.
Box-Item 5.50: Printed leaf from Liber sextus of Pope Boniface VIII, 1572: Venice: printer not identified. p. 145.
Box-Item 5.51: Printed leaf from the Sermons of John Calvin, 1572: London: Henry Bynemann. p. 145.
Box-Item 5.52: Printed leaf from the Works of Clement of Alexandria, 1688: Cologne: Heinrich Johann Meyer. p. 4.

Early Written Word Collection, 2046 BCE - 1837