Illuminated Manuscripts
I have searched for artwork to add charcter and charm to your libraries and will be providing these works of art on a new page which can be located at the very top of the page in the black banner are of this site. The page is called Book Art. I hope you enjoy it. I am currently working on an article about Illuminated Manuscripts after reading about the untimely deaths of monks from using the "ink" mercury (which gives a lovely bright red color to the page). I should caution you when handling illuminated manuscropts to be cautious about rubbing any pages and to wash your hands carefully after touching any manuscripts. In any case - I hope you enjoy the artwork I have supplied for you!
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Antiquarian Books Featured In Visions of the Cosmos Exhibit
New Scientist reports: Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to the Evolving Universe is on exhibit through 10 May 2010 at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011.
"In the Grilandus Inventum, a beautifully-preserved handwritten Italian book from 1506-07 currently on display at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, there is a figure of a man surrounded by zodiacal signs. In his left hand, he holds an armillary sphere, a celestial sphere with the Earth at the center of the universe, in accord with pre-Copernican astronomy. Lines from the zodiacal signs connect to Zodiac Man's body parts. The lesson is clear: man is governed by the cosmos.
The medieval manuscript depicting Zodiac Man is part of the Visions of the Cosmos exhibit, the Rubin's examination of the ways in which humans have conceived of their place in the universe over the centuries."...
"For the student of science and its history, one of the exhibition's high points will surely be the Renaissance books on display in the section that traces the evolution of modern cosmology from medieval times. There is an edition of Galileo's Siderius Nuncius (The Starry Messenger), published in Venice exactly 400 years ago this year. Galileo had turned his telescope to the heavens in the fall of 1609. What he would see - and document first in Siderius Nuncius - would turn medieval astronomy on its head and anger the Catholic Church."
"There are also editions of Nicolas Copernicus's 1543 work on heliocentrism, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), which inspired Galileo and Kepler, and, for contrast, French theologian Pierre d'Ailly's work on geocentrism and theology (Concordantia Astronomiae cum Theologia) from the previous century.
And in a nice reminder of how long it takes sometimes takes for our technology to catch up and prove by observation what some have imagined, there is an edition of Thomas Wright's An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe, published in London in 1750. It contains Wright's assertion "that round every star then we may justly conjecture a similar System of Bodies, governed by the same Laws and Principles with this our solar one, though to us at the Earth for very good Reasons invisible"."
This is an exhibit many collectors of antiquarian books will want to include in their schedules. READ MORE HERE
[Top]Children’s Book Illustration of 19th-Century Britain
There is a new exhibit at The Huntington Library in the Los Angeles area. It should be of interest to book collectors, especially collectors who focus on children's books or 19th century books, artist books (like those of Arthur Rackham) or on early British books. This is an exhibit not to be missed. It is a great excuse to visit the Los Angeles area and a lovely time of year for a visit. Enjoy!
In the 19th century—with the work of Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, and others—children’s fairy tales and nursery rhymes began to be widely published, documenting what was originally a rich oral tradition across western cultures. In Britain, such publications were enlivened by the work of some of the most talented artists and illustrators of the period, including Walter Crane (1845–1915), Arthur Rackham (1867–1939), and Kate Greenaway (1846–1901). Drawing on the collections of The Huntington’s art and literary collections, “Child’s Play?” includes a selection of rare drawings as well as the books themselves. Although beguiling, some of the stories and their illustrations represent the often complicated layering of the joys and fears related to childhood and child rearing.
Where: The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens
Date(s): April 3, 2010 - July 26, 2010
Address: 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, U.S.A.
Ceramics Art Show - Great Book Themes by Richard Shaw
I found this work of ceramic art by artist Richard Shaw to be quite interesting. It has a book theme and it shows the cavelear way that many folks treat books. It is just the thing for a book collector's home. Don't you think?
Richard Shaw's ceramic trompe l'oeil exhibition is a continuum of themes that he has explored for years: the personal remnants that individuals leave behind and their universal stories.
These still life porcelain tableaus consist of everyday objects arranged in compositions that extend our illusion of reality and raise an awareness of the beauty and value in the mundane.
Characteristic of all of Shaw's work is a technical expertise in the use of cast porcelain that goes beyond mere realism. His intricately crafted pieces are both humorous and intellectual in its art historical dialogue with some of the patterns found in 18th century Chinese export ceramic ware. Shaw has been a leading figure in redefining contemporary trompe l'oeil ceramics in the United States and beyond.
Where: Braunstein/Quay Gallery
Date(s): March 18, 2010 - April 17, 2010
Address: 430 Clementina Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Phone: 415-278-9850
