This substantial volume of over 1200 pages was published in Amsterdam in 1693. It is a description and history of that city, replete with engraved views and plans. Though it has been at Harvard for over a century, its notable provenance, evident in a series of inscriptions, has only recently received proper cataloging. An autograph Read More
John Overholt
A gift, regifted, now returned
One of my jobs as Curator is to acquire new books for the collection. This is one of the worst books I’ve ever bought. It’s a broken set, missing one of its four volumes. Some of the pages are damaged, and we already have three copies of this edition. So why did I buy it? Read More
New on OASIS in July
Two finding aids for newly cataloged collections have been added to the OASIS database this month: the sermons of a Connecticut clergyman at the turn of the 19th century and a collection of portrait prints of theatrical, literary, and historical personalities. Processed by Ashley M. Nary: Portrait Prints of Notable 16th – 19th-Century Personalities, 1720-1914 Read More
Proof plates printed on satin … and on vellum, India, large, and ordinary paper
Since the days of the Silk Road, silk fiber has been woven into satin, a luxurious fabric that characteristically has a lustrous and a dull side. Satin has a long history, notably in Great Britain, as a printing support: maps, theatre programs, broadsides, bookplates, and menus are just a few of the objects that have Read More
New on OASIS in June
Finding aids for five newly cataloged collections have been added to the OASIS finding aid database this month, including the diaries of a railroad construction engineer, and a poetry notebook belonging to Sarah Orne Jewett. Processed by Bonnie B. Salt: Sarah Orne Jewett Verse Notebook and Family Autograph Album, 1870-1880 (MS Am 2831) Ernest Lewis Read More