Special Collections at the UIMA
The exhibition From Monks to Masters: The Medieval Manuscript and the Early Printed Book is now open at the University of Iowa Musem of Art. The exhibition is a collaboration of UI Libraries Special Collections, the Hardin Library’s Martin Rare Book Room and the UIMA. It was organized by David Schoonover and Greg Prickman of Special Collections & University Archives, and Kathleen Kamerick of the UI Department of History.The exhibition of more than 50 objects explores the transition from a time when books were hand copied by a select group of literate and often religious scribes to the era of mass-produced books created by master printers using the latest 15th-century technology — the hand-operated wooden printing press.
Among the books and manuscripts on display are beautiful illuminated manuscripts and many examples of incunabula (books printed before 1500). Together, these books illustrate a pivotal moment in history and demonstrate the relevance of historical materials to modern times.
Individual objects in the exhibition include a 15th-century “Book of Hours of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” a homily of Pope Gregory the Great from around 1450 and two copies of the Nuremberg Chronicle.
In addition, the Museum will host an extensive series of gallery talks featuring UI faculty and staff. All talks begin at 7:30 pm in the UIMA Carver Gallery. The schedule is as follows:
June 28: Kathleen C. Kamerick - Changing the Hours: Praying in Manuscript & Print
July 26: Gary Frost - Medieval Bookbinding
August 2: Raymond A. Mentzer - Medieval Religious Texts
August 9: Edwin A. Holtum - Breaking With Galen: Anatomy and Medicine in the Early Days of Printing
August 16: Cheryl D. Jacobsen - They Did That All by Hand? The Dedicated Task of the Medieval Scribe
August 23: Timothy D. Barrett - On the Invention of Imitation Parchment: Papermaking in Europe 1300-1500
August 30: Sara T. Sauers - Early Modern Typography
September 6: Elizabeth Aubrey - From Singer’s Lips to Scribe’s Pen: Music in Medieval Manuscripts
September 13: Denise Filios - Constructing Power: Illuminated Manuscripts in Medieval and Golden Age Spain
September 20: Jonathan Wilcox - Questions of Authenticity: Medieval Charters, Medieval Manuscripts, and Modern Facsimiles
September 27: Glenn Ehrstine - Medieval Studies at Iowa, the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), and the Business of Early Books
October 4: Matthew P. Brown - The Persistence of the Medieval in Early American Book Culture
The exhibition is open to the public free of charge. The UI Museum of Art, located on North Riverside Drive in Iowa City, is open noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Admission is free. Public metered parking is available in UI parking lots west and north of the museum.
