Journal

Rare Book Insights, Features and News

Welcome to the Journal. Here you’ll find articles, features and commentary from the world of rare books, manuscripts and early printing.

We share research and reflections on notable figures, palaeography, book history and the art of collecting. You’ll also find news from catalogues, book fairs and exhibitions we attend.

Our aim is to provide collectors, institutions and bibliophiles with thoughtful perspectives on the rare book trade, from market insights to close studies of remarkable works.

The beauty of Books of Hours; arriving soon.
January 6, 2025

We are pleased to announce the recent arrival of a number of Books of Hours, exquisite manuscripts that served as both devotional tools and extraordinary works of art in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. These books [...]

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The Pioneering Impact of Sweynheym and Pannartz
October 17, 2024

  Sweynheym and Pannartz were groundbreaking figures in the history of printing, credited with establishing one of the first printing presses in Italy. Active in the 1460s, these two German printers, Johann Sweynheym and Wolfgang Pannartz, [...]

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A recent discovery: Czech recipe for kidney stones from C15th
October 16, 2024

A recipe from the C15th was recently discovered in an incunable edition of Simon de Cassia. The recipe, written in early Czech references a fascinating recipe for treating kidney stones that includes ingredients like burnet-saxifrage, rose [...]

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Exploring the Life of Richard Hamersley: Barber Surgeon of Walsall
October 16, 2024

Richard Hamersley was a notable figure in Walsall, Staffordshire, during the early 18th century, serving as both a barber and a surgeon. This dual profession was common at the time, as barber surgeons were responsible not [...]

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Journal Stephen Butler Rare Books & Manuscripts
Gerard of Cremona: Pioneering the Latin Translation of Hippocrates

Intro The translation of ancient texts has long been a pivotal process in the transmission of knowledge from one culture to another, often serving as a bridge that allows for the exchange of scientific, philosophical, and [...]

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20
Mar
Journal Stephen Butler Rare Books & Manuscripts
Aldus Manutius, a recent reassessment by Oren Margolis

A recent biography of Aldus Manutius by Oren Margolis was written to co-oincide with the 500th anniversary of Aldus’ death.  Aldus Manutius: The Invention of the Publisher  by  Oren Margolis. Reaktion, 206 pp., £13.85, October 2023, 978 1 78914 779 7 [...]

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14
Mar
Journal Stephen Butler Rare Books & Manuscripts
Carolingian Minuscule: The Key to Medieval Literacy

Carolingian minuscule, also known as Caroline minuscule, emerged in medieval Europe as a standardised script to ensure easy recognition of Latin texts, particularly Jerome’s Vulgate Bible, across different regions. Originating around 778 in the scriptorium of [...]

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14
Mar
Journal Stephen Butler Rare Books & Manuscripts
1577 Geneva Bible contemporary binding and annotations

Next week our latest Catalogue Devotion, is published, keep a look out for it. One of the star attractions is a completely original 1577 Geneva Bible with a fully blind-stamped Elizabethan binding including all of the [...]

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13
Sep