Digital Collection: LMU Historical Manuscripts Collection

The Digital Library is pleased to announce another digital collection highlighting the historic manuscripts held in the Department of Archives & Special Collections. This digital collection currently features two Otto Ege Portfolios and the Liturgical Text Collection.

A Cleveland collector named Otto Ege separated leaves from medieval manuscripts and books and sold portfolios of these leaves across the world. Aristotle, Ethics, 1365Some of the leaves have been identified in collections at cultural institutions and collectors across North America but several others are missing. The two Ege portfolios in the LMU Library’s collections are comprised of examples of early manuscripts on scientific works, poems, laws, fiction, Bible leaves, writings by Aristotle, Dante, Erasmus, and Hippocrates to name a few, dating from the 13th to the 20th centuries.

The Liturgical Text collection contains illuminated manuscript leaves dating from the 13th to 16th centuries. Items in this collection include examples of incunabula (early printed books), music manuscripts, bibles, poems, and books of hours. Book leaves in this collection illustrate a wide range of types of calligraphy, regional styles of manuscript decoration, book design and production. The original manuscripts were created in various geographic locations in Europe. Some of the original manuscripts are vellum.

For research consultations about and access to the primary source material please contact the Department of Archives and Special Collections at 310.338.5710 or Special.Collections@lmu.edu.