The makers of Hebrew books in Italy : being chapters in the history of the Hebrew printing press

by David Werner Amram

The Persian Jews : their books and ritual

by Elkan Nathan Adler [[Elektronische Ressource]]

Some notes on the use of Hebrew type in Non-Hebrew books, 1475 - 1520

by Alexander Marx

Printed Narrative: The Festival Books for Archduke Ernest of Austria from Brussels and Antwerp 1594

Workshop „The Narrative in Eastern and Western Art“, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto, 2-5 December 2013 Abstract by Ivo Raband, University of Berne Printed Narrative: The Festival Books for Ernest of Austria from Brussels and Antwerp 1594 During the early modern period the medium of the festival book became increasingly more important as an object of ‘political narration’ throughout Europe. Focusing on Netherlandish examples from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, my talk will focus on the festival books printed for the Joyous Entries of Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595). Ernest was appointed Governor General of the Netherlands by King Philipp II in 1593, being the first Habsburg Prince to reside in Brussels since 30 years. In Brussels and Antwerp, the Archduke was greeted with the traditional Blijde Imkomst, Joyous Entry, which dates back to the fourteenth century and was a necessity to actually become the sovereign of Brabant and Antwerp and to uphold the privileges of the cities. Decorated with ephemeral triumphal arches, stages, and tableaux vivants, both cities welcomed Ernest and, at the same time, demonstrated their civic self-assurance and negotiated their statuses. In honor of these events of civic power, the city magistrates commissioned festival books. These books combine a Latin text with a description of the events and the ephemeral structures, including circa 30 engravings and etchings. Being the only visual manifestation of the Joyous Entries, the books became important representational objects. The prints featured in festival books will be my point of departure for discussing the importance of narrative political prints and the concept of the early modern festival book as a ‘political object’. By comparing the prints from Ernest’s entries with others from the period between 1549 and 1635, I will show how the prints became as important as the event itself. Thus, I want to pose the question of whether it would have been possible to substitute a printed version of the event for the actual ceremony.

A Forgotten Original or an Original Copy? On MS. Douce 387 in the Bodleian Library: Collecting Early Modern Festival Books

Focusing on one manuscript, today in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, this chapter deals with the question how early modern objects became collectable items. The manuscript is categorized as MS. Douce 387 and its name indicates that it came from the collection of Francis Douce (1757–1834), who was keeper of manuscripts in the British Museum from 1799 until 1811. MS. Douce 387 is described in the catalogue of the Douce’ian collection as the “presentation copy with coloured designs by Marten de Vos and others” of the 1595 printed festival book Descriptio publicae gratulationis … in adventu … Ernesti archiducis Austriae. This festival book, printed in Antwerp’s Plantin-Moretus press, was commissioned by the magistrate of the city of Antwerp to commemorate the Joyous Entry of Archduke Ernest of Austria from June 1594; that an “archducal copy” bound in red velvet was commissioned as well and was owned by the Archduke is know as well. However, first research showed that Oxford copy cannot be this “archducal copy” or Marten de Vos’s artist’s copy even though it is the only know version with a handwritten text and hand-drawn illustrations. It rather should be examined as something totally different altogether. The main question remains why someone then commissioned a hand made version of this festival book, something unknown for other books of this genre? Why would someone between 1600 and 1800 sit down and copy texts and prints from a collectable book? Why was there such an on-going interest in early modern festival books? Could this manuscript be the only later made copy of the “archducal volume” or is it rather a forgery made for the European collectors’ market?

Coherence and Historical understanding in children's Biography and Historical Nonfiction Literature: A Content Analysis of Selected Orbis Pictus Books

The purpose of this study was to investigate a selection of children's historical nonfiction literature for evidence of coherence. Although research has been conducted on coherence of textbook material and its influences on comprehension there has been limited study on coherence in children's nonfiction literature. Generally, textual coherence has been seen as critical in the comprehensibility of content area textbooks because it concerns the unity of connections among ideas and information. Disciplinary coherence concerns the extent to which authors of historical text show readers how historians think and write. Since young readers are apprentices in learning historical content and conventions of historical thinking, evidence of disciplinary coherence is significant in nonfiction literature for young readers. The sample of the study contained 32 books published between 1989 and 2000 ranging in length from less than 90 pages to more than 150 pages. Content analysis was the quantitative research technique used to measure 84 variables of textual and disciplinary coherence in three passages of each book, as proportions of the total number of words for each book. Reliability analyses and an examination of 750 correlations showed the extent to which variables were related in the books. Three important findings emerged from the study that should be considered in the selection and use of children's historical nonfiction literature in classrooms. First, characteristics of coherence are significantly related together in high quality nonfiction literature. Second, shorter books have a higher proportion of textual coherence than longer books as measured in three passages. Third, presence of the author is related to characteristics of coherence throughout the books. The findings show that nonfiction literature offers students content that researchers have found textbooks lack. Both younger and older students have the opportunity to learn the conventions of historical thinking as they learn content through nonfiction literature. Further, the children's literature, represented in the Orbis Pictus list, shows students that authors select, interpret, and question information, and give other interpretations. The implications of the study for teaching history, teacher preparation in content and literacy, school practices, children's librarians, and publishers of children's nonfiction are discussed.

From Books to the Web: A Comparative Analysis of Holocaust Denial in the Internet Age

An analysis of print Holocaust denial literature as it compares to internet Holocaust denial, with a focus on how the transition from print literature to the internet has affected Holocaust denial.