Free to Use and Reuse: Art of the Book

Books are deceivingly complicated objects. From cover to cover, the design of a book reflects the prevailing desires and demands of a particular time and place. To provide a rich overview of the Art of the Book, the following selections are examples of illustration, binding, and typography from a variety of locations and historical moments. Some are manuscripts (hand drawn and illustrated books) while others are printed. All represent a complex, often global, network of artists, craftspeople, and book lovers. Unless otherwise noted, the selected images are all from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.

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  Encyclopedic manuscript containing allegorical and medical drawings. Southern Germany, ca. 1410. (manuscript)

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  Roberto Valturio. De re militari. Italy. ca. 1400. (manuscript)

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  Book of Hours. Paris, 1524. (manuscript)

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  Historia de Mexico with Tovar calendar. Nineteenth century transcript of Juan de Tovar's "Historia de la benida de los yndios apoblar a Mexico" (the Códice Tovar), 16th century. (manuscript)

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  Sketchbook on military art, including geometry, fortifications, artillery, mechanics, and pyrotechnics. Italy, 17th century. (manuscript)

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  "Biblia Latina." Printed by Johannes Gutenberg. Mainz, 1455.

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  Guillaume Durand. "Rationale Divinorum Officiorum." Printed by Johannes Fust and Peter Schöffer. Mainz, 1459. Large initial printed in red and blue.

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  Shi shi yuan liu ying hua shi ji : si juan. China, between 1465 and 1487. Asian Division

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  "Ars memorandi per figuras Evangelistarum." Germany, ca. 1470.

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  "Das Buch genannt der Seuse." Augsburg, 1482.

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  Albertus, De Orlamünde. "Opus Philosophie Naturalis." Brescia, 1490.

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  Virgil. "Opera." Strasbourg. 1502.

• Ambrogio Leone. "De Nola opusculum, distinctum, plenum, clarum, doctum, pulcrum, verum, graue, varium & vtile." Venice, 1514.

• Willem Vorsterman. Der Scaepherders Kalengier. Antwerp, 1516.

• Latin translation of Hernan Cortes' second "Carta de relación" to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Nuremberg, 1524.

• ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt. Iran or Turkey, 1565. (manuscript). African and Middle Eastern Division.

• First edition of the Gospels printed in Arabic. Rome, Typographia Medicea, 1590-1591.

• René Descartes. "Principia philosophiae." Amsterdam, 1644.

• Jean Baptiste Alais de Beaulieu. "L'art d'écrire par Alais." Paris, 1680.

• Galileo Galilei. "Dialogo di Galileo Galilei Linceo." Florence, 1632.

• Taiwan fan she feng su. China, between 1747 and 1800. Asian Division.

• Abraham Swan. "A collection of designs in architecture." [London, 1758].

• Pādishāhnāmah. India, late 17th or early 18th century. (manuscript)

• William Blake. "Milton, a poem in 12 books." London, 1804.

• Pierre Joseph Redouté. "Les Roses." Paris, 1817.

• Contemporary stamped calf over wooden boards, with brass corner and center bosses and clasps. Germany, ca. 1470.

• Vellum manuscript music waste binding. Venice, 1498.

• Printer's mark of Antonio Miscomini, active in Florence from 1476-1494.

• Eighteenth-century oriental leather binding.

• Mosaic binding by Trautz-Bauzonnet, dated 1854, with monogram of the Comte de Lurde.

• Book plates of Syston Park and C.W. Dyson Perrins.

• Book plate of Lessing and Edith Rosenwald.