Lost in a Good Book, Pt. 1

I spoke about signs of provenance in one of my previous blogs, and in particular signs that were useful to a historian or a librarian. As I finish looking at the books in Grimes’ collection, I have noticed how many things that people leave in their books. Whether they are simple inscriptions or pieces of paper, these items show rare insights into the lives of their owners. These types of finds are never guaranteed to provide enough details to help track the ownership of the book, but sometimes you can get lucky.

Gunpowder Voucher
Lambertinis Institutionum (1750)

One of the first items that I found was hidden in the pages of Benedict XIV’s Institutionum Ecclesiasticarum (1750). Approximately 750 pages in, I discovered a small piece of paper with typewritten text, handwritten text and a stamp on it. This piece of paper was in fact a voucher for milles (1000) grams of gunpowder, issued by the Mayor’s Office in Aix-en-Provence. The gunpowder outlined here is ‘poudre de chasse’, a French phrase that is associated specifically with hunting. This voucher was given on 12Xbre 1850, which is short hand for 12 December. In the nineteenth century, this would have been an important official document, and it is interesting to find it hidden in the pages of a book about the institutions of the Church.

Inscription in
He Kaine Diatheke = Novum Testamentum

While official documents are an example of things left behind in books, simple inscriptions can offer just as much insight. He Kaine Diatheke  = Novum Testamentum (1741) is an example (a Greek and Latin title, which in English reads ‘The New Testament = The New Testament). On the back flyleaf of He Kaine Diatheke, a whole page has been filled with a dedication. The author writes that he is dedicating this booked ‘trimmed with gold’ which contains the testament and last will that God bequeathed to ‘us wretched sinners’ which will lead his sister on the path to eternal life. Unfortunately, the inscription is missing the end of the note, as the page opposite it has fallen out or been removed. But it is still a moving and thoughtful gift given to a sister, who may have been entering a new stage of her life, in marriage or travel.

Litanies for Saint Philomena

Not all hidden surprises are handwritten or as interesting as the previous two items discussed. One of the more common finds in the Grimes Collection are little pamphlets for sermons or prayers. In Chrysostom’s text Sancti Patris, Vol. 6 (1636), I found a small French prayer booklet full of litanies for Saint Philomena. Saint Philomena is believed to be a young virgin martyr who died in 304 during the rule of Roman Emperor Diocletian. The fourteen-year-old's remains were discovered in the catacomb of Saint Priscilla in Rome, Italy in the nineteenth century.

I did not expect to find such treasures within the pages of the books in Grimes’ Collection. Perhaps in my mind I expected small blank pieces of paper as bookmarks. But it has made me consider a few questions. Were these treasures left in their pages because Grimes did not read these books at all and did not come across them? Or was he aware of these items and kept them as keepsakes about his books? And are there inserts that have been lost over the years as the Bishop came across them and decided they were not useful to keep?

References

Farmer, David Hugh. "Philomena." The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. 5th ed. rev. ed. David Farmer.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. 

Institutionum Ecclesiasticarum..., 1750. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 125590 - LambertinisInstitutionum - Insert

Novum Testamentum = He Kaine Diatheke, 1741. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 493360 - NovumTestamentum - Provenance - EndPage

Sancti patris nostri Ioannis Chrystomi Archiepiscopi Constantinopolitan, 1636. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 128906 - SanctiPatris - Vol6 - Insert2

A New Zealand Book in the Grimes Collection

An Illustration of a 'Man of the
Island of Mallicolo'

When perusing the texts in the Grimes collection, I was surprised to discover a rare text about New Zealand history, considering that Bishop Grimes’ origins were British. Although I can understand why Grimes collected the texts relating to the Pacific Islands and Māori, based on the need to understand a minority of his congregation, it is a little harder to understand why he became the owner of a book written by Captain James Cook about his 1772-1775 voyage to the South Pole. On one hand, Grimes would have wanted to learn about the British colony that he would be a Bishop of, but on the other hand, a text about New Zealand specifically, not a Captain’s voyage, may have been more useful. Despite this, the book itself is a valuable text to have and seems to be one of the only exploration texts he acquired. Before we look further into the book, it is important to first examine the Captain who wrote it.

Captain James Cook is one of the most prominent historical figures in the discovery of New Zealand. Born in 1728, he rose through the ranks of the Navy to the rank of Captain. He completed three voyages to New Zealand during the last decade of his life before his death in 1779.

Captain's Log
Cape Hope to New Zealand

Captain Cook played a vital role in surveying and mapping the New Zealand coastline. Although New Zealand had already been discovered by Abel Tasman, his role in New Zealand history still remains important. The second author of this text, Captain Tobias Furneaux (1735-1781), another British naval officer, was the first to circumnavigate the world in both directions.

Cook’s Second Voyage (1772-75) was taken on two ships, the Resolution and the Adventure (in the charge of Captain Furneaux). It was in this same voyage that the two captains became the first people in history to cross the Antarctic Circle, an action that they would repeat a number of times during their voyages.

I mention the second voyage specifically because of the text that Grimes has in his collection. The official title of the text is:

A voyage towards the South Pole, and round the world. Performed in His Majesty's ships in the Resolution and Adventure, in the years 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775. Written by James Cook, Commander of the Resolution. In which is included, Captain Furneaux's narrative of his proceedings in the Adventure... illustrated with maps and charts by Mr Hodges.

Sir John Pringle's
Discourse

It was published in 1777 as a second edition, complete with maps and illustrations. Our set has two volumes, both of which contain the ink stamp of Bishop Grimes, with no other signs of provenance. It is one of seven copies in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition, it contains a discourse written by Sir John Pringles on the improvements of preserving the health of mariners.

 In his Reference Journal, Grimes has this text sorted into ‘General’ which was situated in the Fathers’ Study, with other books categorised into ‘Reviews’ and ‘Biographies’. Grimes’ copy of Captain Cook’s Voyages is only one of many texts about Captain Cook that are housed at the University of Canterbury.  The Macmillan Brown library also holds a second set of this same edition, which had belonged to John Bell Condliffe.

References

Resources of Pacific Discovery in the age of the Resolution from our Collection. University of Canterbury. 2015.

http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/voyages/resolution/resources.shtml

Captain Cook Society. Last updated October 2105.

http://www.captaincooksociety.com/

Tobias Furneaux. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2015.

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Tobias-Furneaux

A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the World... 1777. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 125519 - Voyage -Illustration47 

A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the World... 1777. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 125519 - Voyage -CaptainsLog

A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the World... 1777. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 125519 - Voyage - EndDiscourse

A Case Study of Provenance

In my previous blog, I discussed the importance of provenance and the difficulties in unveiling the journeys behind each book. When I first started looking through the books in the Bishop Grimes Collection, I was at first hesitant in my feelings towards annotations and signatures that I found in the pages because of my love for books. I have been taught from a young age to respect books and not dog tag or draw in them. However I have come to discover how valuable such annotations are.

Sometimes people leave a simple scribble in the margins. And sometimes you find a gem amongst the pages. I found my gem in Anthony Burgess’ A Treatise of Original Sin. Anthony Burgess (1600-1663) was a Protestant theologian, active in the reorganisation of the English church in 1643, whose written texts included sermons on justification and grace.  This text, written about the contentious issue of Original Sin* was published in 1658 and written in Early Modern English. It has a dark leather binding with decorative indents on the front cover. It is well worn; there are pages slipping away from the binding leaving a crooked edge, the cover is fully detached from the spine, and the leather cover is cracking and crumbling with age. But beneath this deteriorating façade, it is hiding a secret – the signatures of its past owners, dating all the way back to 1689.

'Thomas' signature (1689)

On the main title page of the text, there are a series of signatures inked. The first of these names is ‘Thomas’. All that we know about Thomas is that he was from Birmingham, or that he bought this book in Birmingham on 10 June 1689 and that he inscribed his name on the top of the very first page, in small neat handwriting.

Unfortunately, the damage to the page means that we may never know his last name.

Mrs Swain's signature (1742)

The next known step that our book made in its journey to New Zealand was into the hands of Mrs Swain in 1742. She leaves a neat signature with a flourish that leads down to the date of when she received this copy.

The third signature marked with a date is that of Samuel Godwin. Not only does it tell us that he received it on the 31 March 1755, but he has also given us another vital

Samuel Godwin's signature (1755) and the cost (15s 3p)

clue about this book; the cost of the book at 15 shilling and 3 pence. It would have cost a modern day buyer, in 2015  around £143. While this shows us the cost of the book at the time that Samuel obtained it, it also tells us that sometime between Mrs Swain’s ownership and his ownership, the book may have fallen into the hands of a bookseller for it Mr Godwin to have written down how much it cost him.

Bishop Grimes' inkstamp (from 1887)

The next sign of provenance that we have is Bishop Grimes’ ink stamp which specifically states his status as a bishop. This tells us that this text must have come into his hands after he started his office as the Bishop of Canterbury in 1887.

Although these owners placed their mark in the text, it is safe to say that there were certainly more than four owners of the text since it was published in 1658. As I have stated in my previous blog, these are things that we may never be able to discover and therefore our knowledge of a text will never be complete, no matter how many times we may look at it. But at least we can try to put together this puzzle, despite all the missing pieces.

*Original Sin

A theological idea developed by Augustine of Hippo, a medieval theologian. The medieval church suggested that all human beings were born with sin, because Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit in the Garden of Eden. The medieval Church believed that baptism washed away the sin. During the Reformation from the fifteenth century, this doctrine come under scrutiny by a number of theologians who would later be identified as Protestants.

References

McGrath, A.E. Reformation Thought: An Introduction. 2^nd. Ed. (Blackwell Publishers: Oxford, 1993)

Morley, Stephen. Historical  UK Inflation and Price Conversion. Web.
http://inflation.stephenmorley.org/

A Treatise of Original Sin, 1658. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 123742 - Treatise -  Provenance-Thomas

A Treatise of Original Sin, 1658. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 123742 - Treatise -  Provenance-Swain

A Treatise of Original Sin, 1658. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 123742 - Treatise -  Provenance-Goodwin

A Treatise of Original Sin, 1658. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 123742 - Treatise -  Inkstamp - Grimes

Provenance

There are a number of things that I keep coming across in the Grimes collection: the different styles of binding, the marbling patterns on the covers and the gold detailing on the spines. But one thing that intrigues me when I first open a text is the provenance of the book. After learning how to determine provenance and the importance it holds, I decided that this unique feature of old books should be shared.

Provenance is an important aspect when it comes to studying books. The provenance of a book is the chronology of ownership or custody from its publication date. Sometimes books have no signs of their journey. But sometimes people leave a mark within the pages to show their ownership.

There are a number of indicators of provenance that can aid the reader in tracking the previous owners. An owner’s name and the date and place of purchase is always ideal but often not present. Signatures of owners may stand alone with no sign of the date of purchase or cost. Annotations within the pages of the book can often give a glimpse of the thoughts and personality behind a previous owner.

An example of an armorial from
La Sainte Bible, Vol.13 (1748)

While handwritten notes are one example of signs of provenance, there are other forms that can be investigated. Book plates and ink stamps, like those that Bishop Grimes used are equally as useful. They stand as a permanent mark of ownership, like signatures, and can often extend to armorials and bookbinders’ tickets. Armorials (coats of arms) represents the ownership of a person of gentility or nobility. Bookbinders tickets, although they may not give any signs of who owned the book, allow the texts to be tracked to particular binders and sometimes establish the date of contact.

For an example, I found a seller’s ticker in Benjamin Calamy’s Sermons Preached Upon Several Occasions (1700).  On the board paper of the text the sticker reads ‘Thomas Baker, 1 Soho Square, London 1’. 

Bookseller ticket of Thomas Baker, 1 Soho Square, London 1,
& Book plate of Bishop J.J. Grimes

After some research, I managed to track down the antiquarian bookseller Thomas Baker at that address and discover the time period that his store was active (1884-1903). Although this date is not as specific as other examples of provenance, this tells us that the book managed to come into the hands of Thomas Baker during the time that he was operating (for this sticker to be placed on the board paper). From Baker’s shop, it is possible that Bishop Grimes acquired it.

Signs of provenance can sometimes be difficult to determine. Old books suffer from deterioration and age, and marks of provenance may have faded or suffered some foxing (aging spots). Some books may not show any sign of provenance at all, which could suggest great care or little use. The most common places to look for provenance are within the first few pages, or the last few pages of the text.

However, even when a book has visible provenance markings, there is never any way of being certain that the text never fell into anyone else’s hands. Some owners do not mark their ownership in books, and although there may be multiple owner marks in a book, we should never assume that the person who owned the book in 1643, for an example, was the only owner before the next signatory 50 years later. And so although provenance offers a great insight into the journey of texts, the full ownership of a book will always remain a mystery.

References

'Soho Square Area: Portland Estate, No. 1 Soho Square.' Survey of London: Volumes 33 and 34, St Anne Soho. Ed. F H W Sheppard. London: London County Council, 1966. 55. British History Online. Web. 4 September 2015. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols33-4/p55.

La sainte Bible en latin et en françois..., 1748. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 493224 - La Sainte Bible - vol13 - Board Paper.

Sermons Preached Upon Several Occasions by Benjamin Calamy, 1700. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 123774 - Sermons - Board Paper.

The Old and the Young

Since beginning my study of the books in the Grimes Collection, I have discovered that the collection is diverse in a number of areas: in topics, languages, sizes, binding styles, and place of publication. One aspect that has intrigued me more than others is the wide range in ages. If we consider a book to be as old as its publication date, irrelevant of whether it is a 4^th edition or a 1^st, then the range between my oldest book and youngest book is 373 years, which is quite a considerable length of time.

And so this post is dedicated to the oldest and youngest books in the Grimes collection: Lucam Evangelion, a commentary written by a medieval theologian Bonaventure (1539) and the Roman Catholic prayer book, Paroissien Romain Très Complet (1912).

A Historiated Initial in Lucam Evangelion

Lucam Evangelion is a Latin text which was published in London in 1539. The title translates as ‘The Gospel of Luke’, one of Jesus’ Apostles. The purpose behind Bonaventure’s commentary was aimed at explaining and interpreting Luke’s Gospel in a more simplified version for either the laity or the preachers, which was similar to his other exegetic works. The text shows signs of its previous ownership in the form of signatures at the beginning and pen marks underlining certain selections or the addition of words in the margins throughout the book. Another feature of the simple book includes historiated initials and despite being published 476 years ago, there is little damage to its spine and cover, which makes me think that it was a well-cared for and prized book to have.

Interior of Paroissien Romain Très Complet

In comparison, Paroissien Romain Très Complet is a French text, published in Tours, France. It is a small book designed for a parishioner and focuses on a certain period of the Catholic calendar, between Trinity Sunday (the first Sunday after Pentecost) and the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost. It is bound simply and I can only assume, was made to fit into someone’s pocket.  Despite its small size, it still contains beautiful illustrations and page headings. Other details of the text include the use of red ink and the detailed illustrations on the page headings, and like Lucam Evangelion, Paroissien Romain Très Complet it is in a good condition. In regards to the collection, this is a book that may have been bought directly by Bishop Grimes, or by one of the following Bishops. This text was aimed at educating or aiding the laity in prayer. A letter in the 12^th February 1876 edition of Tablet suggests the use of a ‘Liturgical Prayer Book’ for the laity, particularly one in English (oddly enough, one much like the French Paroissien Romain). A book like this, the writer says, should contain the masses and vespers for every day as well as including a number of other rites and prayers. Grimes’ copy of the Paroissien Romain shows us that although he may not have needed it for himself, it could have been used for loaning out to parishioners or as an educational text.

One thing that interested me when I was looking at these two books is the differences in printing techniques. When comparing the two, it is evident that there have been a number of improvements over the year, specifically in the detail of illustrations. Obviously the style and ability to print books has developed over the years and has improved in terms of productivity. Books no longer have to undergo the laborious task of having every page carved onto a wooden or copper block for individual stamping. It is easy to read about these changes but it is only when you can actually see the differences for yourself that you can understand how much of an art printing was 500 years ago, and how important it has been ever since.

References

Pereira, Matthew J. ‘Bonaventure’. Ed. Henrik Lagerlund. Encyclopedia of Medieval Philosophy: Philosophy Between 500 and 1500. Vol. 1. New York: Springer Science+ Business Media B.V., 2011. 182-187.

‘Prayer-Book for the Laity – “The Paroissien Romain.”,’ Tablet. 12 February 1876. http://archive.thetablet.co.uk/

D. Bonaventurae secundum Lucam Evangelion, commentarium pars altera, 1539. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collections - 119241 - Lucam Evangelion - p. 414

Paroissien romain très complet, 1912. University of Canterbury Rare Books Collection - 109651 - Paroissien - Interior

Bishop Grimes Himself

The University of Canterbury holds a number of book collections within the libraries on campus. One particular collection, the Bishop Grimes Collection has 4,600 books in its catalogue. The University Chronicle claimed that 195 of these were classed as a rare book at the time of the donation, and today could include a great number more. This collection was donated to the University in 1980 by Reverend Bishop P. Ashby, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Christchurch. The collection covers a wide and diverse range of subjects, as collected by the Bishops of Christchurch, ranging from Catholic theology and Church History to books on Natural History, Travel and Literature.

Before I start discussing certain items in the Bishop Grimes Collection, it’s important to understand why it is so diverse. In order to begin to understand this, we must look at the life and influences of its main collector – Bishop Grimes.

John Joseph Grimes was born 11 February 1842 in London, England. His education was influenced by the Marist Brothers in England and France. His studies towards priesthood took him to Ireland and by 1869 he was ordained a Priest. He taught in Ireland before his teaching position took him overseas to the United States of America in 1874 where he eventually became the college president of St Mary’s Jefferson College. He returned to Ireland soon after, sick with yellow fever.

Grimes then moved to a position in England as a priest in Paignton, Devon. It was in this district, which had been strongly Protestant since the revolution in the fifteenth century, that he baptised the first Catholic child in the district 300 years after the Reformation. This key role was only a precursor to his future position.

On 13 May 1887 he was offered the new Catholic See of Christchurch, New Zealand. He was ordained a Bishop on 26 July and remained the Bishop of Christchurch for almost 28 years until he died on 11 March, 1915 in Sydney, Australia.

During his time as the Bishop of Christchurch, he oversaw a number of social and religious projects. He provided pastoral care to the Catholic Maori population and was key in improving relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church. In 1888 he opened the Magdalen Asylum (a women’s home), in 1911 he opened Nazareth House (an orphanage and home for the elderly), and finally in 1914, the Lewisham hospital (later renamed Calvary). Most importantly, he instigated the building of the Catholic cathedral, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, one of the finest cathedrals in Australasia, which began its building 1901 and was completed in 1905.

A scholar himself, Grimes involved himself in the development of Catholic schools. In 1911, he opened a Marist College which still operates to this day. The college was named after Saint Bede who had been involved in teaching and education during his life. St Bede’s College is only one example of the nine schools Grimes helped construct during his time.

With the events of his life in mind, it becomes a lot easier to understand why the Grimes Collection is so diverse. The pastoral care he gave to the Catholic Maoris explains why his collection of Maori and Pacific Island texts is so large. Other rarer texts that cannot be found in New Zealand could be attributed to the travels that Grimes undertook during his bishopric. He travelled to Rome, Italy, North America, France, England, Ireland and other European countries and had the opportunity to collect books during these periods. 

An example of a text that was published in Europe that has found its way into the Grimes collection is a 1562 copy of Henry VIII's Defence of the Seven Sacraments, which bears the book stamp of the Grimes Collection. It is possible that this text was bought in Europe and brought over to New Zealand in an earlier century or during Grimes' travels, but at this point it is impossible to determine. Discovering how texts like this came to be in the collection is part of my investigation and internship.

Note: Although the Grimes collection is named after the first Catholic Bishop of Christchurch, the collection was not solely collected by the Bishop. The successors to the Bishopric, up until 1980, also continued adding texts to the collection.

References

Catholic Church. 'Bishop Grimes' from Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. Updated 2015.
http://www.chch.catholic.org.nz/?sid=2096

Michael O'Meeghan. 'Grimes, John Joseph', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 2-Oct-2013. 
http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/2g21/grimes-john-joseph

St Bede’s College Website – 'History'.
http://www.stbedes.school.nz/welcome/history/. 

University of Canterbury. ‘Henry VIII & the Reformation’. From 'University of Canterbury – Library'.
http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/kjb/bible_in_english/Reformation.shtml

University of Canterbury, Chronicle Vol 15. No. 22 (22 November 1980). Article.

Image of Bishop Grimes

http://mp.natlib.govt.nz/image/?imageId=images-8124&profile=access

The Bishop Grimes Collection - An Introduction

The Bishop Grimes Collection was donated to the University of Canterbury in 1980. Collated together across almost 100 years, it is a diverse set of texts that covers a range of subjects. This blog, as hinted at by the title, is aimed at discussing items from that collection. My name is Jennifer Dorsey and I am completing the final year of my Arts Degree at the University of Canterbury and this year I have decided to undertake an internship in the Rare Books Department. As part of my 300-level internship programme, which introduces students to the workforce and encourages them to use the skills that they have learnt, I will blog any interesting discoveries that I come across in my project. I decided to focus my internship on the Macmillan Brown Library, and specifically on the Rare Books from the Bishop Grimes’ collection.

At first it may be difficult to understand why we scholars should examine a collection that is 35 years old and has already had some system of cataloguing applied to it. However, despite the 35 years that have passed since it was donated to the University, there is still a question about what texts we actually have and, more to the point, what we know about the collection itself. Even after three decades, there is still a lot to be discovered about this collection that has been sitting in storage.

My job is to catalogue the details of each book by examining a number of sources of information. These include card catalogues, a Reference Catalogue that was made by the Bishops of Christchurch, an electronic catalogue, and finally the book itself. The purpose of the cataloguing activity is to determine the correct publication details of a text and to uncover details about how it came to be in the Grimes Collection. Ultimately, I hope to produce a catalogue of compiled information that is accurate and can used by historians and librarians. It will hopefully uncover books that we did not know we had and will make the collection more accessible to others who wish to study the collection in depth.

My internship consists of practical and academic components. The practical component takes place in the Macmillan Brown Library, where the rare books from the Grimes Collection are housed. I will be advised by Damian Cairns, the Special Collections Librarian, and supervised by Dr Chris Jones, History Department, College of Arts at University of Canterbury. The academic part of my course will also be supervised by Dr Chris Jones. The Director of Interns, Dr Stephen Hardman will be an additional general supervisor as I complete both the academic and practical aspects of my internship.