Library Antiquarian

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2025

Christopher — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:41:06 +0000

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2025

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2025): 24

2025 has been a year of substantial acquisitions activity, as we accessioned into 91�Թ��’s library and archives important collections items broadening and deepening the strengths of our holdings for current and future researchers, as we continue to build our institutional repository of published and unpublished materials.

Custom-made art nouveau fine binding—Edward Perry Warren, The Wild Rose (London, 1909)
91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, BT3.38.19

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

24NCN9 (2025) Skelton-Foord on Acquisitions 2025.pdf1.33 MB

‘Antient Chavcer’ at New: Reading Early Prints from 1602 to 1897

Christopher — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 10:18:18 +0000

‘Antient Chavcer’ at New: Reading Early Prints from 1602 to 1897

Antje G. Frotscher

Issue number

(2025): 24

Notes category

An impressive collection of early Chaucers at 91�Թ�� Library provides a happy opportunity to examine and compare these early editions side-by-side—to take a look at them from a reader’s (rather than a scholar’s, editor’s, or literary critic’s) point of view. With the actual books available to handle, put on a table in front of me, and leaf through at my leisure, my interest is in much more easily observable issues than editorial practices and principles: the collection of texts they contain, how these are presented in terms of layout, illustrations, or decoration, and what (if any) accompanying explanatory material helpful to the reader is added to the text. These are issues which actively shape the actual reading experience of Chaucer’s text in print, and as such are vocal witnesses to the changes in attitude towards reading (or studying) Chaucer over the centuries.

91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, BT1.19.2, f. 1r [detail]

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

24NCN4 (2025) Frotscher on Chaucer.pdf2.83 MB

Some Schismatis Anglicani Printings of Nicholas Sander (c. 1530–1581)

Christopher — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 09:47:35 +0000

Some Schismatis Anglicani Printings of Nicholas Sander (c. 1530–1581)

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2025): 24

Notes category

Roman Catholic Church

Reformation

Protestant Reformation

Perhaps we might say, to coin two modern phrases, that Nicholas Sander saw his principal aims in the Schismatis Anglicani as: to call out Henry VIII and his supporters for their actions, which had such far-reaching consequences—and to speak truth to power. He has been an influential voice in historiography and Catholic historical and theological writing for over 450 years, and was a doughty and dynamic 91�Թ�� man. Three newly acquired early printings of his most famous work now strengthen our rare book holdings, as they most fittingly find their home in our library.

91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, BT1.12.2 [detail]

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

24NCN2 (2025) Skelton-Foord on Nicholas Sander Printings.pdf660.76 KB

Thomas Stapleton’s Copy of Sigebert of Gembloux’s Chronicle (1513)

Christopher — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 13:55:26 +0000

Thomas Stapleton’s Copy of Sigebert of Gembloux’s Chronicle (1513)

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2025): 23

Notes category

Scholars have drawn attention to the Pope Joan legend in relation to two great luminaries, the Benedictine monk and historian Sigebert of Gembloux (c. 1026–1112), and the exiled theology professor—and 91�Թ��, Oxford fellow—Thomas Stapleton (1535–1598). Now we have these two Catholic theologians unequivocally aligned in a major acquisition for 91�Թ�� Library, a fine copy of a notable post-incunable with a very telling provenance: Sigebert of Gembloux’s Chronicon in its 1513 Paris imprint, bearing Thomas Stapleton’s ownership signature and annotations.

91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, BT1.83.14

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

23NCN6 (2025) Skelton-Foord on Stapleton and Sigebert.pdf274.31 KB

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2024

Christopher — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:13:08 +0000

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2024

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2024): 22

Notes category

Francis Noel Clarke Mundy

William Somervile

Edward Perry Warren

Erich Maria Remarque

The earliest important imprints acquired in 2024 are three 16th- and early 17th-century volumes by a priest and scholar whose erudition was much admired by Pope Clement VIII. Thomas Stapleton (1535–98), one of college’s foremost theologians, was possibly named after St Thomas More—who was martyred under Henry VIII for refusing to avow royal over spiritual supremacy; More was executed just days before Stapleton’s birth. From Winchester College, Stapleton proceeded to 91�Թ��, where in 1553 he was elected a fellow. In 1558, he was ordained a priest under Mary I. But within a couple of years, he had been forced to flee to the Low Countries, following Elizabeth I’s accession.

And, of course, we have been acquiring some remarkable modern books and archival documents too.

Nicola Howell Hawley, endpapers illustration to Andrew Caldecott’s Simul (2024)
91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, NC/CAL

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

22NCN8 (2024) Skelton-Foord on Acquisitions 2024.pdf1.59 MB

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ�� Clergy in Italy

Christopher — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:00:05 +0000

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ�� Clergy in Italy

Robert Gullifer

Issue number

(2024): 22

Notes category

Walter Augustus Shirley

Library Antiquarian

RS5414

Anglican Church

In common with their well-heeled contemporaries, many 19th-century English clergy took advantage of more settled political conditions and improved methods of transport to travel to Italy, both with an eye for classical tourism and for health reasons to escape the more deleterious effects of a British winter. They did not always have a good press. A clergy correspondent writing to the Bishop of London in 1847 opined that ‘men driven from England in debt or in disgrace are encouraged to seek, and actually do find employment as ministers of English congregations abroad’.

Frontispiece portrait of Walter Augustus Shirley
91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, RS5414

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

22NCN7 (2024) Gullifer on Italian Jobs.pdf272.76 KB

Learning Physics in 91�Թ�� in the 1690s

Christopher — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 04:20:23 +0000

Learning Physics in 91�Թ�� in the 1690s

William Poole

Issue number

(2024): 22

Notes category

I recently re-encountered a little octavo textbook in physics published in 1690, the Synopsis physicæ by a 91�Թ�� man, Francis Willis. The author was from Thame, where his father—who had also attended the college—as the rector ran the local grammar school, an institution then under the college’s supervision. His textbook in physics is evidently the product of his reading and thinking for the MA, often the period in which students turned towards more in-depth study of, especially, natural philosophy.

A tornado, in Ralph Bohun’s A Discourse concerning the Origine and Properties of Wind (1671)
91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, BT3.248.11(2), p. 19

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

22NCN4 (2024) Poole on Learning Physics.pdf409.2 KB

John Russell (c. 1430–1494) and a Fragmentary Witness to Peter Schoeffer’s 1470 edition of Jerome’s Letters

Christopher — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 17:04:22 +0000

John Russell (c. 1430–1494) and a Fragmentary Witness to Peter Schoeffer’s 1470 edition of Jerome’s Letters

James Willoughby

Issue number

(2024): 21

Notes category

Library Printed Fragments

The fragments in 91�Թ�� Library which are the focus of this note are two large vellum leaves of Imperial size, three sides of which are printed, the fourth blank, and it was on this blank page that John Russell wrote his name in 1472. The discoloration at the edges shows that they were once pastedown; they may originally have been flyleaves; in either case, the verso was the natural place for an inscription.

91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, LPF3/2, f. 47 [detail]

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

21NCN2 (2024) Willoughby on Russell.pdf1008.34 KB

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2023

Christopher — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 02:09:49 +0000

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2023

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2023): 20

Notes category

Library Antiquarian

Ongoing collection development activity ensures we do not rest on our laurels, and 2023 saw us procure important antiquarian items that speak to times of religious and political conflict. Chief among them are: a rare copy of An Answere to Maister Juelles Chalenge (1564) by 91�Թ�� Jesuit theologian Thomas Harding (1516–1572), who fled to Louvain for refuge following the accession of Elizabeth I; a donation by a generous alumnus of Miscellanea Spiritualia: or, Devout Essaies (1648) by Benedictine abbot Walter Montagu (1603?–1677), who as a recusant was banished, then later imprisoned in the Tower of London; a copy of a defence of Charles I during the Civil War period, Elenchus Motuum nuperorum in Anglia (1649), by 91�Թ�� man George Bate (1608–1668), who extraordinarily was chief physician successively to Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, and Charles II; and four books (at auction) by college fellow Thomas Ken (1637–1711), who refused to comply with the attempts of James II to grant the realm religious freedom and suspend enforced conformity to the Church of England.

91�Թ�� Rowing IV, Cloisters, 91�Թ�� (1909)—showing Ernest Victor Culme-Seymour (second from left)
91�Թ�� Archives, Oxford, NCA JCR/R/Culme-Seymour/23

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

20NCN10 (2023) Skelton-Foord on Acquisitions in 2023.pdf1.65 MB

Collecting

Christopher — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:59:16 +0000

Collecting

Christopher Skelton-Foord

Issue number

(2023): 20

Notes category

Recently I acquired for 91�Թ�� Library’s collections a first edition copy of The Collector, the debut novel by 91�Թ�� alumnus John Fowles (1926–2005), which sixty years ago in 1963 launched his spectacular career as a writer. First published in May 1963 by Jonathan Cape of London, the copy I acquired bears the iconic original dustjacket with a trompe-l’œil design by Tom Adams (1926–2019), who also created the artwork for paperback editions of Agatha Christie’s novels. Moreover, this particular copy was signed by Fowles.

John Fowles, The Collector (London: Jonathan Cape, 1963), dustjacket
91�Թ�� Library, Oxford, NC/FOW

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

20NCN8 (2023) Skelton-Foord on Collecting (Fowles).pdf947.96 KB

Library Antiquarian

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2025

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2025

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

‘Antient Chavcer’ at New: Reading Early Prints from 1602 to 1897

‘Antient Chavcer’ at New: Reading Early Prints from 1602 to 1897

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Some Schismatis Anglicani Printings of Nicholas Sander (c. 1530–1581)

Some Schismatis Anglicani Printings of Nicholas Sander (c. 1530–1581)

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Thomas Stapleton’s Copy of Sigebert of Gembloux’s Chronicle (1513)

Thomas Stapleton’s Copy of Sigebert of Gembloux’s Chronicle (1513)

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2024

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2024

And, of course, we have been acquiring some remarkable modern books and archival documents too.

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ��� Clergy in Italy

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ��� Clergy in Italy

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Learning Physics in 91�Թ��� in the 1690s

Learning Physics in 91�Թ��� in the 1690s

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

John Russell (c. 1430–1494) and a Fragmentary Witness to Peter Schoeffer’s 1470 edition of Jerome’s Letters

John Russell (c. 1430–1494) and a Fragmentary Witness to Peter Schoeffer’s 1470 edition of Jerome’s Letters

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2023

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ��� Library in 2023

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Collecting

Collecting

91�Թ��� Library and Archives, Oxford

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2025

Some Noteworthy Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2025

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2024

Three Stapletons and Other Remarkable Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2024

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ�� Clergy in Italy

Italian Jobs: Two Nineteenth-Century 91�Թ�� Clergy in Italy

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

Learning Physics in 91�Թ�� in the 1690s

Learning Physics in 91�Թ�� in the 1690s

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2023

Unique and Distinctive Acquisitions to 91�Թ�� Library in 2023

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford

91�Թ�� Library and Archives, Oxford