Library Exhibition Celebrates Books
During the Thirtieth Oxford Conference for the Book, Archives and Special Collections in the J. D. Williams Library will exhibit More Than Words: The Book as Object. This exhibition celebrates the concept of the book for itself, not necessarily for its specific content. Displays of early material range from selections of medieval fragments to the first printed description of double-entry bookkeeping in Luca Pacioli’s Summa de arithmetica (1494) to a copy of William Shakespeare’s Second Folio (1632), owned by famous nineteenth-century actor Edwin Booth. Other displays showcase various paper marbling techniques, examine aspects of a book’s publication journey, and feature various points of book collecting by examining different editions, their conditions, associations, and more.
Visitors can also see selections from Faulkner’s personal library on loan from Rowan Oak. In addition to rare and fascinating books like William Faulkner’s handmade Marionettes or Mark Catesby’s Natural History, examples of pulp fiction and other popular works are on display. From ultra-microminiature books of less than a quarter-inch tall to royal folios exceeding twenty inches, this exhibit is sure to fascinate any bibliophile.
As part of the Oxford Conference for the Book, on Thursday, April 4, the Friends of the Library will host a welcome lunch at 11:00 a.m. in Archives and Special Collections. Lunch is free, but registration appreciated. Following lunch, at 11:30 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, José Olivarez, and Melissa Ginsburg will present the National Book Awards–sponsored panel discussion “Myth Making and Breaking.” “The Oxford Conference for the Book always appreciates this partnership with Archives and Special Collections and the Friends of the Library,” said Jimmy Thomas, Oxford Conference for the Book director. “The welcome lunch and the recent partnership with the National Book Foundation have become anchors of this conference, something people from on campus and off anticipate with great excitement.”
During the Thirtieth Oxford Conference for the Book, Archives and Special Collections in the J. D. Williams Library will exhibit More Than Words: The Book as Object. This exhibition celebrates the concept of the book for itself, not necessarily for its specific content. Displays of early material range from selections of medieval fragments to the first printed description of double-entry bookkeeping in Luca Pacioli’s Summa de arithmetica (1494) to a copy of William Shakespeare’s Second Folio (1632), owned by famous nineteenth-century actor Edwin Booth. Other displays showcase various paper marbling techniques, examine aspects of a book’s publication journey, and feature various points of book collecting by examining different editions, their conditions, associations, and more.
Visitors can also see selections from Faulkner’s personal library on loan from Rowan Oak. In addition to rare and fascinating books like William Faulkner’s handmade Marionettes or Mark Catesby’s Natural History, examples of pulp fiction and other popular works are on display. From ultra-microminiature books of less than a quarter-inch tall to royal folios exceeding twenty inches, this exhibit is sure to fascinate any bibliophile.
As part of the Oxford Conference for the Book, on Thursday, April 4, the Friends of the Library will host a welcome lunch at 11:00 a.m. in Archives and Special Collections. Lunch is free, but registration appreciated. Following lunch, at 11:30 Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, José Olivarez, and Melissa Ginsburg will present the National Book Awards–sponsored panel discussion “Myth Making and Breaking.” “The Oxford Conference for the Book always appreciates this partnership with Archives and Special Collections and the Friends of the Library,” said Jimmy Thomas, Oxford Conference for the Book director. “The welcome lunch and the recent partnership with the National Book Foundation have become anchors of this conference, something people from on campus and off anticipate with great excitement.”
