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Early Written Word Collection, 2046 BCE - 1837

By Anne Bahde

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

This collection contains leaves separated from bound manuscripts and printed texts. Some leaves were included as parts of commercially sold leaf portfolios compiled by Otto Ege and Alfred W. Stites. Cuneiform tablets from Iraq, a Balinese palm leaf book, and an example of early Chinese block printing are also included.

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]

People, Places, and Topics

Block books, Chinese -- Specimens.
Cuneiform tablets--Iraq.
Early printed books.
Ethiopian magic scrolls.
Illumination of books and manuscripts.
Islamic manuscripts.
Manuscripts, Medieval.
Music--Manuscripts.
Palm-leaf manuscripts.

Forms of Material

Leaf books


Box and Folder Listing