"The Greatest Sport": Histories of Collecting Medieval Manuscripts
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts Project, Univ. of Pennsylvania
Organizer Name
Alexander Devine
Organizer Affiliation
Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts/Univ. of Pennsylvania
Presider Name
Lynn Ransom
Presider Affiliation
Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts
Paper Title 1
The Schoenberg Database and the Dark Secrets of the Book Trade: Uncovering the Sources of Manuscript Fragments
Presenter 1 Name
Scott Gwara
Presenter 1 Affiliation
Univ. of South Carolina-Columbia
Paper Title 2
Manuscripts Lost, Manuscripts Found: Using the Schoenberg Database to Track the Movement of Manuscripts in North America
Presenter 2 Name
Lisa Fagin Davis, Melissa Conway
Presenter 2 Affiliation
Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Univ. of California-Riverside
Paper Title 3
Bibles for Sale: Thirteenth-Century Bibles and the Antiquarian Book Trade of the "Long" Eighteenth Century
Presenter 3 Name
Alexander Devine
Start Date
11-5-2013 10:00 AM
Session Location
Schneider 1130
Description
This session will focus on the collectors and collecting of medieval manuscripts and documents and the mapping of those networks of sale and purchase through which they have been pursued across the centuries. At the heart of this session lies the belief that studying provenance can have dynamic and profound effects not only on our understanding of these materials as objects to be bought and sold but also on the histories of production, circulation and reception of their texts. We particularly welcome proposals that explore diverse topics from the role of digital technologies such as the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts in conducting provenance research, the relationship between institutional and private ownership of manuscripts, specific case studies of collecting practices, the transatlantic travels of medieval materials, collectors’ roles in the dispersal of libraries and the fragmentation of manuscripts, collectors and manuscript conservation and preservation, how a manuscript’s provenance history can effect its value and collectability on the rare books market, to how collectors and the act of collecting can shape and influence interpretations of manuscript evidence.
Mr. Alexander L. Devine
"The Greatest Sport": Histories of Collecting Medieval Manuscripts
Schneider 1130
This session will focus on the collectors and collecting of medieval manuscripts and documents and the mapping of those networks of sale and purchase through which they have been pursued across the centuries. At the heart of this session lies the belief that studying provenance can have dynamic and profound effects not only on our understanding of these materials as objects to be bought and sold but also on the histories of production, circulation and reception of their texts. We particularly welcome proposals that explore diverse topics from the role of digital technologies such as the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts in conducting provenance research, the relationship between institutional and private ownership of manuscripts, specific case studies of collecting practices, the transatlantic travels of medieval materials, collectors’ roles in the dispersal of libraries and the fragmentation of manuscripts, collectors and manuscript conservation and preservation, how a manuscript’s provenance history can effect its value and collectability on the rare books market, to how collectors and the act of collecting can shape and influence interpretations of manuscript evidence.
Mr. Alexander L. Devine