"Tresure this Booke": Marks of Adoration and Annotations

"Tresure this Booke": Marks of Adoration and Annotations

 

August 30th-December 20th

 

Drew University Special Collections' newest exhibit, "Tresure this Booke": Marks of Adoration and Annotations, investigates the secrets kept within books and prompts viewers to question what they've left hidden in their personal book collections. 

 

Curated by Candace Reilly, the Manager of Special Collections and Curator of Rare Books & Manuscripts, the exhibit was inspired by her daily interactions with the books within Drew's Special Collections and the recent rediscoveries she's made. "I wanted to share the stories of those who wrote in their books, left secrets in the margins, declared their new and lost loves, and marked their books with curses and symbols. Most of the items in the exhibit have never been on display, so this is the first time the public has seen them."

 

One notable item in the exhibit has been displayed before: Drew's copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle (Liber Chronicarum), printed in 1493. This remarkable incunabulum tells the history of the world through both text and hand-colored woodcuts. The book currently opens to the edited page featuring Pope Joan, where her image and the accompanying text have been defaced.  This book is one of the treasures of Special Collections, and it is rare for a 15th-century book to be on display. Visitors are encouraged to see the exhibit before it closes on December 20th.