MONASH COLLECTIONS

Pre-1800s Early Print Books

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TitlePre-1800s Early Print BooksDescriptionForming the heart of the rare book collection, this gathering of pre-1800 volumes highlights early print culture and features several incunabula—books printed before 1501 during the infancy of movable type (from the Latin for "in the cradle"). Notable highlights include an 1476 Incipit vocabularius showing centuries of bookplate provenance, a 1488 Summa angelica in pigskin over wooden boards with metal clasp remnants, and a 1582 edition of Cicero’s De officiis containing historic inscriptions and manuscript waste in the gutter. Ranging from blind-stamped pigskin to vellum and Moroccan leather, these delicate items retain authentic physical traces of age, early repairs, and reader annotations.Related CollectionRare Books

A spread of pre-1800 volumes showcasing Macrobius’ In Somnium Scipionis Libri II (Lyon: Sebastianus Gryphius, 1538), open to pages 140–141. Containing Macrobius’ influential commentary on Cicero's Dream of Scipio, this 16th-century work illustrates the fine craftsmanship, woodcut diagrams, and rich provenance—including 16th-century owner marginalia—characteristic of Monash University Library's early print holdings.

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Pre-1800s Early Print Books