Incunabula: The World of the Fifteenth Century
Exhibition extended through Sept. 30
Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Melba Remig Salterelli Exhibit Room of the Wilson Library
For information call: 919-962-1143
Johann Gutenberg, inventor of
moveable type
Incunabula: The World of the Fifteenth Century presents 46 rare examples of the earliest printed books drawn from UNC's library collections. The free exhibition will be on display through August 31 in the Melba Remig Salterelli Exhibit Room on the third floor of the Wilson Library.
The term incunabula, explained Roberta Engleman, assistant curator of the Rare Book Collection and curator of the exhibit, refers to those books printed after Gutenberg's invention of moveable type around 1454, through the end of the 15th century.
Richard Pfaff, professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill and a specialist in the history of medieval England and the history of the book, noted that "the chance to see much of Western civilization to about 1500 summed up in these earliest printed books is an opportunity available in only a tiny number of libraries in this country and abroad."
The books, Pfaff continued, are a "marvelous possession because of the interactions that they invite from those who look at them."
Among the treasures on exhibit will be Francesco Colonna's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, which Engleman described as "one of the most celebrated books in the world." The book, whose title translates as "The Strife of Poliphilius in a Dream," features "beautiful printing, beautiful type design, beautiful illustrations, all combined into a beautiful book," said Engleman. "It's truly a work of art."
Also on display will be a leaf from the Gutenberg bible; the first printed editions of classical writers such as Ovid and Horace; examples of the work of the first English printer, William Caxton, who printed Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; and Dame Juliana Berners's Book of Hawking, Hunting, and Heraldry, the first example of color printing by an English printer.
A number of books are on contemporary topics. One of Engleman's favorites, printed in 1499, contains practical advice for German pilgrims. "It's very basic," she said. "For example 'when you come to an inn and people serve you lavishly with food, they will expect you pay them.'"
Pfaff has found that the collection has special value for teaching. He introduces undergraduates to early books in his first-year seminars and, he says, "they revel in the fantastic illustrations." Many are surprised to learn that the banners hanging in the gallery of UNC's Davis Library replicate the printers' marks found in the books on display.
UNC's library has one of the leading incunabula collections in the Southeast, according to Engleman. The core of the collection came to the library during the 1920s as a gift from the Hanes family of Winston-Salem and was augmented in subsequent decades through purchases made by Lawrence London, curator of UNC's Rare Book Collection from 1952 to 1975.
The library has displayed its incunabula before, most recently in 1992, but, as Engleman explained, "It's a real pleasure to exhibit these volumes. Visitors love to see them."
Exhibit hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. For more information, call (919) 962-1143.
