At 08:40 PM 8/28/99 +0100, you wrote:
>I recently came across an area which does not seem to have been much
>studied which is what people did with their books of hours. Everyone
>seems to have been so busy constructing typologies and ateliers that
>little attention has been paid to the things that happened to the book
>once it left the bookseller. What about the things that people write in
>the books? There are some fascinating glimpses into life in some of the
>British Library's collection. I came across an example (albeit not in the
>BL) recently where someone had given their book of hours to a priest who
>took it to Reims and pressed it against various (named) reliquaries in the
>various churches there and put in a certificate to this effect. Does
>anyone out there know of anything similar? Is anyone actively researching it?
Columbia University's Rare Book Room had an interesting exhibit last spring
highlighting the ways owners used their books (e.g. bookplates, notations,
and the like). I'd be interesting in hearing of critical studies of book
use as a form of reception.
Tom Long
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