The Philobiblon
The Philobiblon

Author: Richard De Bury

Publisher: Courier Dover Publications

Published: 2019-06-12

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 0486832465

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"Will always hold an honorable place for bibliophiles." — The University of Chicago Press One of the earliest treatises on the value of preserving neglected manuscripts, building a library, and book collecting, Richard De Bury's The Philobiblon was written in 1345 and circulated widely in manuscript form for over a century. The first printed edition appeared in Cologne in 1473, and several others soon followed as the invention of the printing press spread throughout the late Medieval world. The chapter titles of this legendary work reflect its nature, combining the author's love for and commitment to the importance of books and the knowledge they contain with thoughts on collecting them, lending them, teaching with them, and simply enjoying them: "That the Treasure of Wisdom is chiefly contained in books," "What we are to think of the price in the buying of books," "Who ought to be special lovers of books," and "Of the manner of lending all our books to students." The Prologue ends with the following thought: "And this treatise (divided into twenty chapters) will clear the love we have had for books from the charge of excess, will expound the purpose of our intense devotion, and will narrate more clearly than light all the circumstances of our undertaking. And because it principally treats of the love of books, we have chose after the fashion of the ancient Romans fondly to name it by a Greek word, Philobiblon." This volume offers modern bibliophiles a splendid edition of one of the first books ever to study, define, and, above all, praise their passion: the all-encompassing love of books.

Natural Histories
Natural Histories

Author: American Museum of Natural History

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781454912149

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Highlights 40 masterworks of illustrated scientific art from the Rare Book Collection of the American Museum of Natural History.

The Compleat Housewife
The Compleat Housewife

Author: Eliza Smith

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing

Published: 2012-10-16

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1449428258

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First published in England, this kitchen reference became available to colonial American housewives when it was printed in Williamsburg, Virginia is 1742. Originally published in London in 1727, The Compleat Housewife was the first cookbook printed in the United States. William Parks, a Virginia printer, printed and sold the cookbook believing there would be a strong market for it among Virginia housewives who wanted to keep up with the latest London fashions—the book was a best-seller there. Parks did make some attempt to Americanize it, deleting certain recipes “the ingredients or material for which are not to be had in this country,” but for the most part, the book was not adjusted to American kitchens. Even so, it became the first cookery best seller in the New World, and Parks’s major book publication. Author Eliza Smith described her book on the title page as “Being a collection of several hundred approved receipts, in cookery, pastry, confectionery, preserving, pickles, cakes, creams, jellies, made wines, cordials. And also bills of fare for every month of the year. To which is added, a collection of nearly two hundred family receipts of medicines; viz. drinks, syrups, salves, ointments, and many other things of sovereign and approved efficacy in most distempers, pains, aches, wounds, sores, etc. never before made publick in these parts; fit either for private families, or such public-spirited gentlewomen as would be beneficent to their poor neighbours.” The recipes are easy to understand and cover everything from 50 recipes for pickling everything from nasturtium buds to pigeons to “lifting a swan, breaking a deer, and splating a pike,” indicating the importance of understanding how to prepare English game. The book also includes diagrams for positioning serving dishes to create an attractive table display.

The Declaration in Script and Print
The Declaration in Script and Print

Author: John Bidwell

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2024-07-04

Total Pages: 359

ISBN-13: 0271098678

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Perhaps the single most important founding document of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence became both a work of art and a mass-market commodity during the nineteenth century. In this book, graphic arts historian John Bidwell traces the fascinating history of Declaration prints and broadsides and reveals the American public’s changing attitudes toward this iconic text. The new and improved intaglio, letterpress, and lithographic printing technologies of the nineteenth century led to increasingly elaborate reproductions of the Declaration. Some were touted as precious relics; others were aimed at the bottom of the market. Rival publishers claimed to have produced the definitive visualization of the document, attacking the character and patriotism of other firms even as they promoted their own artistic abilities and attention to detail. Meanwhile, painter John Trumbull attempted to sell subscriptions for an engraved version of his Declaration painting, and John Quincy Adams—then secretary of state—commissioned an official 1823 edition in response to the feuding facsimilists seeking government patronage. Bidwell unravels the intricate web of rivalries surrounding these competing publications. Featuring a comprehensive checklist of nearly two hundred prints and broadsides drawn from various collections, this engrossing history highlights the proliferation and widespread influence of the Declaration of Independence on American popular culture. It will be equally esteemed by general readers interested in American history, print and autograph collectors, and art and book historians.