"Otherwise Perfect": An Inquiry into a Sophisticated 16th-C. English Bible

The Kim-Park Program for the Study of the Book is pleased to present "Otherwise Perfect": An Inquiry into a Sophisticated 16th-C. English Bible with Melina Avery (Interim Head of Conservation, University of Chicago Library), Rebecca Flore (Special Collections Metadata Librarian, University of Chicago Library), & Ann Lindsey (Director of Preservation, University of Chicago Library)

Presentation Abstract:

In the English book trade of the late 19th century, it was fashionable for collectors to obtain “perfect” copies of antiquarian books. Given that these books had survived centuries of use and wear, booksellers, collectors, and binders would “make up” imperfect copies by culling leaves from other copies and editions or by supplying missing parts in facsimile. Skilled restorers could repair badly damaged leaves so elegantly that an untrained eye would perceive them as perfect. Such sophisticated copies pose a problem for later bibliographers because while they might look complete, they may not accurately reflect the content of the edition as printed.

This talk will examine one such sophisticated copy of the 1574 third edition Bishops’ Bible in the University of Chicago Library’s collection. We will analyze both the provenance history and the physical makeup of this particular copy: who owned it, how the changing taste of book owners contributed to changes in content over its nearly 450-year lifetime, and efforts to correct and obscure its incompleteness. By close reading of the physical traits of one copy of one book, we will also look more broadly at the later lives of old books and shifting approaches to book restoration and conservation.

This event is open to all with registration and will be held in The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center in Regenstein Library.

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