Early Printed and Manuscript Leaf collection
Collection
0539-LIT
The Early Printed and Manuscript Leaf collection consists of printed and illuminated manuscript leaves from Europe dated from the 12th -16th centuries. The collection includes 83 whole and partial leaves, representing a variety of styles and techniques that serve as a sampling of early print and manuscript book history.
This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.
Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under... federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the special collections reading room staff.
83 Items
English
Latin
German
French
Czech
The Early Printed and Manuscript Leaf Collection consists of printed and illuminated manuscript leaves dated from the 12th-16th centuries, with a large portion of leaves dated in the 1400s. “Leaves” refers to a single sheet that was once part of a bound book. Manuscript books were entirely hand-produced, representing the earliest form of bookmaking across Europe. With the emergence of the printing press and moveable type in Europe in the 1400s, printers utilized mechanical techniques to produce books more quickly than their manuscript counterparts.
The leaves in the collection were originally part of a variety of texts including several books of hours, Bibles, missals, and the Cologne Chronicle. The leaves come from a variety of countries in Europe, particularly Italy, France, and Germany. Folios 1-36 have been digitized.
The most recent accessions were purchased by the Curator of Literature and Rare Books, from Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts in 2018, 2019, and 2025. The source of the other folios is unknown.
Select folios have been digitized and are available in the University of Maryland Libraries Digital Collections.
The collection came to the Libraries in no particular order and is not arranged chronologically or by format. The materials were placed in sheet protectors and labeled folders. Some folders contain multiple items.
The materials came with names and captions devised by the seller. The Libraries followed this naming system which includes brackets and question marks to denote uncertainty.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives