RCB Library Notes
Early Printed Books in the RCB Library
The popular blog Archive of the Month normally focuses on the archive collections in the RCB Library. However, the Library also has a significant collection of rare and early printed books that is less well known about. This includes many of the earliest editions of the Book of Common Prayer and many other texts in a variety of languages including English, Irish, Latin, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Greek. Several volumes were originally printed using manual printing presses, and some have the bonus and joy–inducing addition of containing illustrations.
All of these rare books make up the Special Reserve Collection (prefixed ‘SR’ in the catalogue) which are housed in a dedicated strongroom within the stacks area. Having recently successfully completed post–graduate studies on rare books and special collections at Aberystwyth University, the Assistant Librarian, Helen Crawford Walsh has put together a beautifully–illustrated piece on the treasures and wonders in the RCB Library’s printed collection, including printed illustrations, woodcuts and wood engravings.
We hope this will be of particular interest to the wider Church as well as those who visit the Library for archival interests, and who may be surprised by the depth of our book holdings and understanding about the complex and skilled processes by which such resources were created. The full article can now be viewed here
