Jill Fankhauser's Class Hosts
the UC Department of Archives and Rare Books

©David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.,
Professor of Biology and Chemistry
and Jill M. Fankhauser, M.M.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of History
University of Cincinnati Clermont College
Batavia OH 45103
Islamic pattern in a
leather-bound book
This page has been accessed Counter times since 10 October 2003. 
Decorative capital
in a hand caligraphed Bible
These pictures were taken during a visit to Jill Fankhauser's History of Science class on 9 October 2003 by Kevin Grace of UC's Department of Archives and Rare Books.  He brought samples from the University's collection to demonstrate the history of the book.
 

Click on the thumbnail to see the full sized image:

Kevin Grace comes to discuss  the history of books and show examples using rare books.
 
Byzantine from the Arabic-Fayum Coptic on Egyptian papyrus
 
Papyrus
Fragments of ancient inscriptions Coptic from the Fayum
Papyrus
XIX Dynasty from Thebes
 
 

 CUNEIFORM TABLETS:
     
Babylonian cuneiform,
available light gives more accurate picture of the fired clay piece.
 
Babylonian cuneiform,
Flash shows more resolution
 
 
Babylonian cuneiform:
These were supposedly used to keep track of inventory in a warehouse.
Babylonian cuneiform
Same as at left but with flash.
 
 
       
Egyptian papyrus
 

 

Papyrus from the Fayum-Arabic Coptic.  Note the crossed fibers from the preparation of the paper. Kevin Grace demonstrating a text by Decartes
 
 
Kevin Grace and 
Jill Fankhauser show a fold out from a 1613 book about Galileo

ISLAMIC BOOKS:

 
DECARTES AND TREATISE ON GALILEO:
 
Islam teaches the west about book-making: decorated leather covers, gold leaf, illustrations. Turkish miniature painting illustrating a book. These are often stolen and sold as art Decartes' Epistolae, published in Amsterdam, 1682 Discourse about Galileo by M. Vincenzio, published in Florence, 1613
 
EARLY BIBLES:
     
Manuscript Bible, front page
 
 
 
Manuscript Bible, tiny caligraphy, hand drawn
 
 
Decorated capital letter, Manuscript Bible, tiny caligraphy, hand drawn.
 
A devil blows on the neck of a woman.
Early moveable type with woodcut.
       

Another image of the hand caligraphed bible:

Calendarium (a type of almanac)
eclipses between 1487 and 1497: