Tagged: printing

New Acquisition: Leaf Printed by William Caxton, 1482

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of an incunabula leaf from the Polychronicon printed by William Caxton (c. 1422-1491), the English printer who notably brought the first printing press to England in 1476.

Printed leaf in Gothic face with initials and paragraphs added by hand in red ink.
[D17 .H6 1482, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.]
The Polychronicon was a popular work written by Ranulf Higden (c. 1280-1364), a Benedictine monk of Chester, which chronicled the history of the world and was primarily adapted from the Bible. This newly acquired leaf is from the first edition of this work printed by Caxton at his press in Westminster after July 2, 1482. John of Trevisa (1342-1402) first translated the Polychronicon from the original Latin into English in the late fourteenth century, a text that has been useful in the study of the English language and medieval access to Biblical ideas through the vernacular. Caxton printed Trevisa’s English translation, but he also updated the text and “somewhat changed the rude and old English” to account for linguistic changes that had occurred over the century.

This leaf contains text from chapter 12 of book 4 of the Polychronicon, which recounts history during the life of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The leaf measures 11 x 8.25” and the text is composed of 40 lines in Gothic type with red rubrics and paragraph flourishes. The leaf also includes marginal annotations in a contemporary hand. Caxton’s printed leaf supports research in the material history of the book and printing in the West and joins other examples of early printing available in the rare book collection.

New Finding Aid | Gordon Gilkey portfolio of etchings

Special Collections and University Archives is pleased to announce a new finding aid published for a portfolio of etchings made by Gordon Gilkey titled “A Series of Etchings Showing the Construction Progress of the University of Oregon Library” (Coll 242). The finding aid is now available on Archives West.

Etching of the University of Oregon Knight Library during construction
[Gordon Gilkey, U of O Library Facade, 1936, Gordon Gilkey portfolio “A Series of Etchings Showing the Construction Progress of the University of Oregon Library”, Coll 242, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.]
This portfolio contains 15 line etchings detailing the progress of the 1936 construction of what is now the Knight Library at the University of Oregon. Gilkey completed this portfolio as his thesis for a Master of Fine Arts degree in etching at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts in 1936.

Gordon W. Gilkey (1912-2000) earned the first Masters in Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Oregon in 1936. Early in his career he was an official etcher during the New York World’s Fair, 1937-1939. Later he became an art professor and dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University, positions he held for 30 years. During World War II he founded an international program for the protection of art and later helped recover art stolen by the Nazis. Gilkey was also instrumental in establishing the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the Oregon Arts Commission.