The Dog's Tooth is the blog of the Special Collections unit of Memorial University Libraries. It will be updated regularly with news about acquisitions, donations, exhibits, lectures and other happenings in Special Collections, as well as interesting pickings and choosing from literature about special collections, book history and bibliography. The blog title refers to the medieval practice of burnishing gold leaf illumination with a dog’s tooth.
The Roger and Marlene Peattie Collection
Jones, Owen. The Preacher. London: Longman & Co. 1849.
Wilde, Oscar. Salome. London: John Lane, the Bodley Head, 1907.
Jones, Owen (illuminator). Gray’s Elegy (Thomas Gray). London: Longman & Co., 1846.
Humphreys, Henry Noel (illuminator). Sentiments and Similes of William Shakespeare. London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, and Roberts, 1857
Ruskin John. The Seven Lamps of Architecture. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1849.
Such sad news, painter and book artist Tara Bryan has passed away. Tara was a vibrant presence in the art world, both in Newfoundland, her adopted home, and around the world. I learned a great deal from her. Not only did she teach me how to set type and print a page, she also introduced me to the wild world of artists’ books. She was unfailingly generous and supportive of my activities around building an artists’ book collection for Memorial University Libraries. The holdings of the Queen Elizabeth II Library are that much richer for her input. Thank you Tara. You will be missed. Tara Bryan’s obituary can be found here.
Veritable Bijoux: a tale of scale. Miniature Books at Memorial University Libraries.
Playwright Joel Orton and his lover Kenneth Halliwell “were jailed in 1962 after spending years doctoring books from Islington libraries, the jackets of which they would alter with surreal collaged additions, before returning them to the shelves.” They were sentenced to six months in jail. Today some of these same book jackets are “framed and proudly put on show by the same Islington libraries that once retained them as evidence of wrong doing.” Gill Partington. “Dust Jackets.” in Book Parts (eds. Duncan and Smyth): Oxford University Press, 2019.
RALEIGH, Sir Walter. Judicious and select essayes and observations. By that renowned and learned Knight. Sir Walter Raleigh. Upon The first invention of shipping. The misery of invasive warre. The Navy Royall and sea-service. With his Apologie for his voyage to Guiana. Published by London. Printed by T. W.[arren] For Humphrey Moseley [dropped y in imprint], 1650. Collation: Engraved frontispiece, A4 + dedication leaf (inserted between title and A2), A-G8 (G8 blank); A[4], B-C8, D4, A-D8 (A3 labelled A2), E4. 4 separate title pages. Separate pagination with some pages unnumbered.
UTOPIA: written in Latin by Sir Thomas Moe, Chancellor of England. Translated into English. Publisher: Richard Chiswell at The Rose and Crown in St. Pauls Churchyard, 1684. Collation A2-A8, B-Q8, P3 [A1 and P4 blanks, lacking]. Pagination: [22], 206p.
Milton, John. A Defence of the People of England. Publisher Np, Np. 1692. Collation: [A1-A2], A3-A8, a-a8 [a8 blank], B-Q8, R4 Final leaf R4 “An advertisement to the reader.”
The following works were added to the Anne & Kevin Major Collection in December of 2019.
1. Hiddeness – Richard Tuttle / Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge
2. Annie, Gwen, Lily, Pam and Tulip – Eric Fischl / Jamaica Kincaid
3. Circhi e cene / Circuses and Suppers – Joe Tilson / Andrea Zanzotto
4. Opera of the Worms – Judy Rifka / Rene Richard
5. Snow Country – Tadaaki Kuwayama / Yasunari Kawabata
6. Dream Work – Bruce McLean / Mel Gooding
7. A Tremor in the Morning – Alex Katz / Vincent Katz
As well, there is a separate 5-unit group called “Penguin Designer Classics”. For Penguin Books’ 60th anniversary in 2006, five hardcover books were crafted by five internationally known artists, most with no previous experience in book design. Each volume was released in an edition of 1000 copies, with a transparent Plexiglas (Perspex) box serving as the book’s slipcase, which also supplies protection for the curious designs. Each is complete, with book, plexiglas case, and publisher’s storage box.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover (Lawrence) designed by Paul Smith
Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) designed by Fuel
The Idiot (Dostoevsky) designed by Ron Arad
Madame Bovary (Flaubert) designed by Manuel Blahnik
Tender is the Night (Fitzgerald) designed by Sam Taylor-Wood
Here is a link with a Guardian article dealing with the five books in more detail:
“What stories do objects tell? Through the study of folklore, we looked at the role of things in everyday life, from the mundane to the extraordinary. Each of us conducted ethnographic research focussed on materials in landscapes and communities; within one’s home and in public ritual; through music and performance. In this exhibit, we present the objects from our research. Each object communicates multiple experiences, from a variety of perspectives. We understand people, places and traditions—our material worlds—through these things.”
Exhibition statement from Dr. Kelley Totten’s Folk6400, graduate students in Material Culture. November 26 to December 17, 2019.
See Erik Kwakkel’s excellent blog entry about the breaking up of this bible: BREAKING BAD: THE INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ST ALBANS BIBLE https://medievalbooks.nl/2019/11/01/breaking-bad/
The Artists’ Books Collection at Memorial University Libraries is now fully cataloged and searchable. For more information about how to search and locate items, please visit the following page.
The Dog's Tooth 