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January 31, 2008
Dying Speeches and Bloody Murders
Dying Speeches and Bloody Murders: Crime Broadsides Collected by the Harvard Law School Library
http://broadsides.law.harvard.edu/
Just as programs are sold at sporting events today, broadsides -- styled at the time as "Last Dying Speeches" or "Bloody Murders" -- were sold to the audiences that gathered to witness public executions in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. These ephemeral publications were intended for the middle or lower classes, and most sold for a penny or less. Published in British towns and cities by printers who specialized in this type of street literature, a typical example features an illustration (usually of the criminal, the crime scene, or the execution); an account of the crime and (sometimes) the trial; and the purported confession of the criminal, often cautioning the reader in doggerel verse to avoid the fate awaiting the perpetrator.
The Library's collection of more than 500 broadsides is one of the largest recorded and the first to be digitized in its entirety. The examples digitized here span the years 1707 to 1891 and include accounts of executions for such crimes as arson, assault, counterfeiting, horse stealing, murder, rape, robbery, and treason. Many of the broadsides vividly describe the results of sentences handed down at London's central criminal court, the Old Bailey, the proceedings of which are now available online at http://www.oldbaileyonline.org.
Conservation and digitization of the broadsides was made possible by a generous grant from the Peck Stacpoole Foundation, a charitable endowment for the support of genealogical, local history, and other museum and library collections.
Posted by jgreen at 04:57 PM
January 07, 2008
Featured Book
Registrum hujus operis libri cronicarum cū figuris et ijmagibus ab inicio mūdi…, is commonly known as the Nuremberg Chronicle. This book was written by Hartmann Schedel and stands as an encyclopedic history of the western world and its cities. The Nuremberg Chronicle begins with the creation story and ends with Ptolemy’s map of the known world at the close of the fifteenth century. Sebald Schreyer and Sebald Schreyer, both wealthy businessmen provided the financial support to publish the book, and in June 1493, Anton Koberger printed between 1400 – 1500 copies of the Latin edition, of which only 400 have survived. The woodblock prints were carved by the artists, Wilhelm Pleydenwurf and Michael Wohlgemut, the latter’s whose apprentice was Albrecht Durer at the time of publication.
The Nuremberg Chronicle is part of the Howard Collection which was donated to the library by Archibald Howard, a lawyer with the Binghamton law firm Hinman, Howard and Kattell, and an accomplished bibliophile. Howard’s personal library contained 3,000 volumes, and included Late Renaissance books, classic first editions, books with fine bindings, limited editions and collectors' printings. The collection is concentrated in the areas of nineteenth century English and American literature, history and scientific exploration.
To learn more about the publishing history of University Libraries’ copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, please visit this website: http://www.beloit.edu/~nurember/inside/about/index.htm
Posted by jgreen at 04:32 PM
January 03, 2008
Print Collection of Göttweig Monastery Brought Online
The print collection of Göttweig Monastery is Austria’s largest private collection of historical graphic art. The digitization of the collection is a project developed by the Department of Image Science at Danube University under the direction of Prof. Dr. Oliver Grau and conducted in cooperation with the Göttweig Monastery. On November 7, 2008, the state-of-the-art, entirely web-based database was made accessible to the public, and the first segment is now available at www.gssg.at
The collection of prints at Göttweig Monastery, which itself was founded in 1083, is based on acquisitions made by various monks since the 15th century. The first report of graphic art kept in the monastery dates back to 1621, with an archive record that mentions a number of “tablets of copper engraving” (“Täfelein von Kupferstich”). The actual act of founding the collection is attributed to Abbot Gottfried Bessel whose systematic purchases in Austria and from abroad added a total of 20,000 pieces to the collection. Reaching to the present day, the print collection at Göttweig Monastery has grown to be the largest private collection of historical graphic art in Austria with more than 30,000 examples.
The curator and Benedictine monk, Prof. Dr. Martin Lechner continues to expand the collection with additions of historical prints. In summer 2002, the collection was made available to the Department of Image Science at Danube University for research and study purposes. Simultaneously, the digitization project was launched which culminated in the opening of the online database. This latest supplement to the department’s online content and services offers a representative selection of the collection’s examples, showcasing a variety of craftsmen, genres and techniques and thus opening up new research opportunities. For academic purposes, all of the database’s assets may be used free of charge and are also employed in the department’s teaching. A fee is requested only for commercial uses of high-resolution images as well as for reproduction licenses.
The Department of Image Science’s digitization center at the Göttweig Monastery uses the latest technology to scan paintings and prints from the collection (up to 72 million pixels). Newly digitized material is continually added to the database, which can be searched using an innovative interface, and search results can be forwarded directly to researchers via email. Past exhibitions of the Monastery’s print collection are gradually integrated into the database and can be accessed as a virtual exhibition online. The first exhibition “Under Your Shelter” was dedicated to representations of the Virgin Mary from the Monastery’s collection.
VIRTUAL EXHIBITION
“Under Your Shelter - The Image of Mary in Göttweig” was curated by Prof. Dr. Martin Lechner and Mag. Michael Grünwald. It offers a comprehensive view of the history and background of the worship and adoration of the Virgin Mary. In four chapters, the exhibition introduces the visitor to the tradition of images of Marian Grace and its typology, drawing on numerous examples from Austria, Bavaria and other countries formerly belonging to the Austrian empire. The genre
“Marian life” is explained and illustrated by both single prints and print series. Finally, the close relationship between Mary and the saints of various convents is elaborated and explored.
Further inquiries:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Oliver Grau (project director)
Head of the Department for Image Science
Danube University
Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Strasse 30
3500 Krems, AUSTRIA
oliver.grau@donau-uni.ac.at
www.donau-uni.ac.at/dbw
Mag. Christian Berndt (project coordinator)
Department for Image Science
Graphik.Online@donau-uni.ac.at
Posted by jgreen at 02:57 PM
Getty Conservation Institute Publications Online
Web editions of current and back issues of the Getty Conservation Institute newsletter can be found at http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/newsletters/
Free electronic publications of the Getty Conservation Institute can be found here http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications/pdf_publications/
The Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) works internationally to advance the field of conservation through scientific research, field projects, education and training, and the dissemination of information in various media.
In its programs, the GCI focuses on the creation and delivery of knowledge that will benefit the professionals and organizations responsible for the conservation of the visual arts.
Advancing conservation practice is the organizing principle for all of the Institute's work—which includes identifying activities that improve the way conservation treatments are carried out, pursuing research that expands conservation knowledge, and increasing access to information on conservation subjects.
Read more about the Getty Conservation Institute at http://www.getty.edu/conservation/institute/
Posted by jgreen at 01:49 PM
Civil War Manuscripts Archives Now Searchable.
The Civil War Manuscripts Archives collection includes approximately 30 linear feet of personal letters, mainly from soldiers serving in Union regiments from Central Upstate New York. It also includes photographs, diaries and other papers from the period. A database has been created that allows researchers, using keyword searching, to identify the location of content among the more than 16 individual collections.
The materials are a rich source of information on a turbulent period in U.S. history.
For example, letters from Ten Eyck Fonda, great-grandfather of Henry Fonda, shed light on the importance for war communications of telegraphers, a job that was often more dangerous than that of the regular army.
Materials from the Maurice Leyden Collection includes diaries. And one entry indicates that a number of women in Rochester, NY, Leyden's wife Margaret and Susan B. Anthony, actually registered to vote and did so in 1872, almost 50 years before the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. Maurice and Margaret attended Miss Anthony's subsequent trials and he has short entries about the trials in his 1872 and 1873 diaries.
Leyden also coordindated post-War reunions of his regiment, and the collection includes many letters from wives, or other relatives, of veterans explaining why the former soldiers would not be able to attend. They afford a telling glimpse into the challenges that faced men returning from the fighting.
Posted by cspiese at 01:44 PM
January 02, 2008
Rarebooks trial
BU Libraries will be hosting a trial of www.rarebooks.info, which runs until January 14, 2008.
Rarebooks.info provides 101 electronic bibliographies online. Subjects cover early printing, world literature, natural history, science, medicine, theology, cultural and area studies, Judaica, music, theology, art and architecture, among others. Key bibliographies include standard reference works by Goff (Incunabula), Brunet (Manuel), Sabin (Americana), Fairfax Murray (French and German books), and many more hard-to-find works.
Subscribers gain instant access to full digital facsimiles of all electronic bibliographies. With full-text search capabilities across more than 600,000 pages, this resource provides research opportunities in many disciplines. Subscribers can search individual bibliographies, as well as the entire database, by keyword(s). Advanced search options make possible retrieval of information by topic searches. Bibliographies can also be browsed, and results are easily saved and printed.
Please send any comments to jgreen@binghamton.edu
Posted by jgreen at 03:44 PM
Undergraduate Preservation Assistant Needed!
Preservation Student Assistant (undergraduate position)
The Binghamton University Preservation Department bases its training and practices on the Cornell University model, and is part of a state-wide University Library Preservation and Conservation program.
Duties:
Examine and sort damaged and brittle books in adherence to Preservation Department guidelines and training
checking in books
Perform book searches as requested by Circulation or Reserves
Perform minor repair, partial repair, and full repair work on books, in keeping with Preservation training
Assist in environmental monitoring, including instrument collecting, file transfer and data entry
Work together with staff to maintain quality and consistency of work performed
Requirements:
Dependability and punctuality
Advanced organizational skills
Ability to perform neat, detailed, hands-on work to a high degree of quality
Ability to work carefully with cutting tools, adhesives and other materials
Experience with Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, or other Windows 95/98 programs
Familiarity with Bearcat and other internet search engine
Hours: Scheduled between Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm.
To apply, go to http://library.lib.binghamton.edu/webdocs/studentemploy.html#preservationugrad
Posted by jgreen at 10:36 AM