In this post, you will see an auction sale catalogue from 1781 with handwritten notes and detailed illustrations. There are 21 contemporary ink sketches of objects offered for sale. There are also handwritten notes on a page facing the title-page, which is an informative manuscript biography of Le Blanc written sometime in the 19th century.
Also featured is one of many facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts held by the Fine Arts Library. Facsimiles allow students to handle the objects and study a version of a manuscript very close to that found in the original repository.
Die Wiener Genesis : bildgewaltiges Erbe der frühen Christenheit is a full-size color reproduction of the entire Vienna Genesis, held by the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna. The facsimile replicates the manuscript’s look-and-feel and minute physical features, including laser-cut holes. The Vienna Genesis dates from the early Byzantine empire, and is among the oldest known illustrated biblical manuscripts. It is only one of two illuminated Greek Old Testament works to survive from before the period of imperially sanctioned iconoclasm in the eighth century. (Summarized from www.facsimilefinder.com.)
Facsimiles and auction sales catalogues can be requested to view in our Special Collections Study Room.
