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To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moody Memorial Library, we are counting down 50 unique items from the special collections housed in the half-century-old building.

This month is our final month wrapping up a year-long celebration of our collections. We are highlighting four Bibles from the rich and expansive collection of religious texts. The Central Libraries Special Collections hold hundreds of Bibles (facsimiles and originals) dating from the 4th century through the 20th. Since we can't show you all in one blog entry, the librarians voted to highlight some of the earliest bibles. Each bible in the collection holds a significant place in religious and political history as religious text and as cultural object.

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#4 : Codex Vaticanus B (Facsimile: Rome, 1999, original dated from 4th century)

 

#3 : Aleppo Codex (Facsimile: Jerusalem, 1976, original dated from 10th century )
 

#2 : A smaller Biblia pauperum... (London, 1884, content dated from 1450)

 

#1 : Biblia Sacra polyglotta (London, 1963, content dated from 1657)

 


We hope you've enjoyed these past 12 months of special collections highlights! You can access these materials by arranging a visit with our special collections staff! To make an appointment, please visit our web page:

https://www.baylor.edu/lib/CentralLib/centralspecialcollections/

This post is part of the 50 for 50 series highlighting 50 unique and fascinating items found in the Central Libraries' special collections. The series is being held as part of the ongoing celebration of Moody Memorial Library's 50th anniversary.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moody Memorial Library, we are counting down 50 unique items from the special collections housed in the half-century-old building.

This month we are highlighting the Crouch Fine Arts Library, including examples from the Jennings Collection, the Book Arts Collection, the Spencer Collection, and the Baylor School of Music Performance Recordings.  Enjoy these selections, provided by Music Librarian Clayton Crenshaw.

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#8: Parts of the Holy Mass for a Confessor and a Bishop and Parts of the Holy Mass for a Virgin Not a Martyr.

At the time this music was created, printing was a relatively new technology and music notation was still developing.  The combination of those two things makes these two 500-year-old leaves very special indeed.  The individual pieces of type that made the impressions were carved from wood; tiny gaps in the staff lines show the imperfections of the process. The printer is believed to be Luca Antonio Giunta of Venice, whose family established printing businesses throughout Italy and eventually in many other parts of Europe.


 

#7 : The Tower Book designed by Beth Thielen (2007).

This is one of approximately 1,000 items in the Baylor Libraries Book Arts Collection.  Designed by artist and educator Beth Thielen, who has worked with inmates in the justice system throughout her career, it consists of linoleum prints and four volumes of original writings by inmates at the San Quentin State Prison and the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, California. The four books form the sides of a prison guard tower and are held together by a removable roof.

 

 

#6 : The Star- Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

In Baltimore in September 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that would become the text of our national anthem.  Days later, it was published in the Baltimore newspapers, and shortly thereafter in other cities.  It was set to a popular English tune of the day, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” as had other patriotic poems.  The first sheet music edition was published (with errors) by Baltimore music store owner Thomas Carr.  The second was published in Philadelphia, by A. Bacon & Co., sometime between 1814 and 1816.  In the Frances G. Spencer Collection of American Popular Sheet Music, we have a facsimile of the Carr edition.  But our copy of the Bacon edition is the genuine article, and available for viewing online as part of the Baylor Digital Collections website (http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/ref/collection/fa-spnc/id/16051).

 

 

#5 : Baylor Recording of Verdi’s Requiem Mass

Throughout its history, the Crouch Fine Arts Library has served as the repository for recordings produced by the Baylor School of Music. Most of these are archival recordings that are available to the Baylor community, but not distributed.  But over the years a small number of recordings, like this one, were professionally recorded and produced to be shared widely.  The two-record set was produced from a concert given in Waco Hall on December 10, 1963.  The performance honored the 150th anniversary of Verdi’s birth, and was also dedicated to the memory of President John F. Kennedy, who had been assassinated only weeks before.  Daniel Sternberg, the long-time Dean of the School of Music, conducted the Oratorio Chorus and the Baylor Symphony Orchestra.  The soloists were Sarah Harvey Wilkinson and David Ford, both graduates of the School of Music; Baylor faculty member Henry Bannon; and Catherine Akos, a faculty member at Southern Methodist University.

Listen to a sample of the recording here:


You can access these materials by arranging a visit with our special collections staff! To make an appointment, please visit our web page:

https://www.baylor.edu/lib/CentralLib/centralspecialcollections/

This post is part of the 50 for 50 series highlighting 50 unique and fascinating items found in the Central Libraries' special collections. The series is being held as part of the ongoing celebration of Moody Memorial Library's 50th anniversary.

 

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moody Memorial Library, we are counting down 50 unique items from the special collections housed in the half-century-old building.

This month we are highlighting four sermons. The Central Libraries Special Collections hold around 300 sermons dating from the 17th century through the 20th that cover a broad range of topics.  In addition to the message of the sermon, researchers can find different perspectives on historical events and periods.

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#12 : The glorious rest of heaven by Mather Byles.  (Boston, 1744)

 

#11 : A sermon, occasioned by the death of General George Washington by Peter Thatcher (Boston, 1800).

 

#10 : Earthquakes: a token of the righteous anger of God by Charles Chauncy (Boston, 1755).

 

#9 : The Godly Man's Ark  by Edmund Calamy (London, 1661).

 


You can access these materials by arranging a visit with our special collections staff! To make an appointment, please visit our web page:

https://www.baylor.edu/lib/CentralLib/centralspecialcollections/

This post is part of the 50 for 50 series highlighting 50 unique and fascinating items found in the Central Libraries' special collections. The series is being held as part of the ongoing celebration of Moody Memorial Library's 50th anniversary.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moody Memorial Library, we are counting down 50 unique items from the special collections housed in the half-century-old building.
This month we are highlighting four books also considered to be works of art. The Baylor Libraries' Book Arts Collection, which began in 2007, contains over 1200 items, most of which are known as “artist’s books.” In the broadest definition, artist’s books are the creations of artists working in the medium of the book or with the “idea of the book.” Enjoy these treasures chosen by this collection's curator, Sha Towers.

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#16 : Panorama by book artist Julie Chen (2008). Limited edition of 100 copies.

 

#15 : Sometimes I Pretend: A Poem by poet Naomi Nye and book artists Peter and Donna Thomas (2014). Limited edition of 35 copies.

 

#14 : Smoke by book artist Amy Pirkle (2013). Limited edition of 30 copies.

 

#13 : Wide White Holes by book artist Katya Reka (2013). One-of-a-kind artist’s book.

 

 


You can access these materials by arranging a visit with our special collections staff! To make an appointment, please visit our web page:

https://www.baylor.edu/lib/CentralLib/centralspecialcollections/

This post is part of the 50 for 50 series highlighting 50 unique and fascinating items found in the Central Libraries' special collections. The series is being held as part of the ongoing celebration of Moody Memorial Library's 50th anniversary.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Moody Memorial Library, we are counting down 50 unique items from the special collections housed in the half-century-old building. This month we are investigating a handful of our early medical books.

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#20 : Clinical notes on uterine surgery with special reference to the management of the sterile condition by J. Marion Sims (New York, 1866).

 

#19 : De homine figuris, et Latinitate donatus a Florentio Schuyl by Rene Descartes (Lugduni Batavorum, 1662).

 

#18 : The medical and surgical history of the War of the Rebellion (1861-65) / prepared, in accordance with acts of Congress, under the direction of Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes, United States Army (Washington).

 

#17 : Primitive physic: or an easy natural method of curing most diseases by John Wesley (Philadelphia, 1791).

 

 


You can access these materials by arranging a visit with our special collections staff! To make an appointment, please visit our web page:

https://www.baylor.edu/lib/CentralLib/centralspecialcollections/

This post is part of the 50 for 50 series highlighting 50 unique and fascinating items found in the Central Libraries' special collections. The series is being held as part of the ongoing celebration of Moody Memorial Library's 50th anniversary.