An engraved illustration from the 1740 book on Stonehenge.

From The Book of Hours of Englebert of Nassau, a 15th century illuminated manuscript from the Netherlands, a reproduction.

An authentic 14th century church book of early music.

A 1632 printing of Shakespeare's The Twelfth Night, from the Second Folio

View rare books in Lupton Library exhibit

The Rare Book Department of the Special Collections in Lupton Library on the UTC campus will hold "Medieval to Baroque: An Exhibit of Religious Texts, Illuminated Manuscripts, and Other Early Books and Printing, 14th Century to 1755" beginning Monday, April 7 through Friday, April 28, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. each day, and admission is free.

Many of these rare and valuable books will be displayed for the first time, including a 14th Century hand-illuminated church book of early music, which pre-dates the printing press. Other religious texts include:
-- a facsimile of the Gutenberg Bible
-- facsimiles of pages from different versions of early Bibles which chronicles the evolution of English language Bibles from 1525-1611
-- the Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, a 1657 six-volume multi-language Bible with essays
-- the Hebrew language Philologiae Sacrae, a 1694 publication including critical essays and interpretations of the Bible
-- and the Corpus Juris Canonici, a 1735 Latin work on Canon and Ecclesiastical Law. These books include beautiful illustrations, as well as steel-engravings, long abandoned as illustrative techniques in books.

Two books of illuminated manuscripts include reproductions of the Belles Heures of Jean, Duke of Barry, circa 1410 and the The Book of Hours of Englebert Nassau, by the Master of Mary of Burgundy, from 1475.

Works of literature include:
-- two plays from the Second Folio of William Shakespeare, published in 1632: Tymon of Athens and The Twelfth Night; a first edition of Samuel Johnson’s landmark Dictionary of the English Language, published in London in 1755
-- The Dunciad Variorum a satirical work by Alexander Pope (but published under a pseudonym) in 1729
-- and an early book about Stonehenge, published in 1740 that includes many steel engravings.

Many of these books have come to UTC over the years as gifts and donations.

For more information, please call Steve Cox, Special Collections Librarian, Lupton Library at 423/425-2186.