|
|
| Preservation | Research | About HMML | Happenings | Friends | Saint John's Bible | Visit & Shop | Home | |
| Ordering Copies | Study Opportunities | Collection Status | CSB/SJU Library |
| HMML Collection Status | ||
|
Collections Manuscripts HMML houses the world's largest collection of images
of manuscripts from Europe, Ethiopia, and the Middle East. HMML's
teams have been photographing manuscripts since 1965, and the
collection now consists of more than 90,000 manuscripts preserved on
microfilm and in digital format. These holdings can be searched
through the Electronic Manuscript Catalogue.
HMML owns several Books of Hours and other European manuscripts of the medieval period, a number of Greek, Ethiopian and
Arabic manuscript books, an important collection of Spanish archival materials (the
Steiner Collection, various rolls and charters, and a collection of letters
and autographs of Popes, Monarchs, and American Presidents (the Kritzeck Collection). HMML is also the home of The Saint
John's Bible, a handwritten, illuminated Bible in modern English. Some of HMML's own manuscripts can be seen on Vivarium.
Most of these holdings are not yet included in the electronic catalogue but will be added in the near future.
Printed Books
HMML has a reference collection of approximately 50,000 volumes on topics related to manuscripts,
printed books, art, liturgy, and monasticism. These volumes are catalogued in the
MnPALS system used by the Alcuin
Library of Saint John's University.
HMML's rare books are in several major collections: the historic Saint John's Abbey and Saint John's University collection,
and the Arca Artium Collection. These works are catalogued but not yet included in
MnPALS. While that work is underway,
inquiries can be directed to the Curator of Rare Books.
The Saint John's rare book collection began in the late nineteenth century through donations from the German monasteries
supporting the American Benedictine missions. By 1877--twenty years after arriving in Minnesota--the monks had built up a
library of almost 1200 books, mostly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In that year two windfalls from Germany
doubled the size of the collection. In September the monastery of Ottobeuren sent 1062 books, ranging from incunabula
(books printed before 1501) to more current publications. In December the monks of Metten, the grandmother abbey of Saint
John's, sent another 179 books covering a similar chronological span. In the following years the collection of old and rare
books continued to grow. Abbots bought books while on visits to Europe, monks sent off to studies acquired books and manuscripts,
and benefactors began to see Saint John's as a place to bequeath their own bibliographic treasures. Meanwhile, visionary
librarians invested in the research tools essential to a major theological research library. Today the holdings include the core
collection of mostly theological works acquired during the past 150 years, supplemented by acquisitions related to the liberal
arts mission of Saint John's University and donations by generous friends. Especially notable among the gifts are significant
examples of the art of printing from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries donated by the late Alfred G. ("Al") Muellerleile,
founder of the North Central Printing Company of Saint Paul.
The Arca Artium Collection, donated to Saint John's University in 1995 by Frank Kacmarcik, Obl. OSB (+2004), contains 4500
rare books, including several manuscripts, outstanding incunabula, a fine collection of printed Bibles, examples of work by the
major printers of every era, and works related particularly to liturgy, monasticism, typography, architecture, and art.
Art
HMML's art collection consists primarily of the Arca Artium Collection, donated to Saint John's University
in 1995 by Frank Kacmarcik, Obl. OSB (+2004). Most of the works are prints, ranging from the 15th century to the present,
providing a study collection for the history of printmaking in the west. The prints complement the rare book collection and
typically are devoted to religious themes. Many are significant examples of 20th century religious art. Arca Artium also
includes significant carvings, icons, furniture, metalwork, and fiber arts. Many items are included in Vivarium. For further
information on the collection, contact the Curator of Art.
The Saint John's Bible
is a handwritten and illuminated Bible in modern English
sponsored by Saint John's University and created by Donald
Jackson and his team of scribes and artists.
|
|
Current Manuscript Catalogue Status
Below is a listing of HMML's purchased microfilms and their current on-line catalogue status. they are listed alphabetically by the country of the library that provided the films. Armenia Australia Austria Belgium Canada Czech and Slovak Republics Denmark Egypt England Ethiopia France Germany Ghana Greece Holland Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Luxemburg Malta Poland Portugal Russia Scotland Senegal South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United States of America Vatican City |
|
|
|
|