Four incunabula added to Special Collections

Grand Valley State University recently was the recipient of four books printed in the late 1400s. They were transferred from the Clarke Historical Library, at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, to the University Libraries’ Special Collections at Grand Valley and will remain on permanent loan, joining other examples of 15th century printing.

The transfer was the latest in an ongoing collaboration between the two libraries. “Rather than competing and duplicating efforts, we find that it makes better sense to help each other with our respective collecting areas,” said Robert Beasecker, Grand Valley’s director of the University Libraries’ Special Collections. “In the past we’ve sent a few items that were not being used here to the Clarke, adding to their collection specialties.”

The Clarke’s four incunabula — a term used for books printed before 1501 — relate to several areas of academic interest at Grand Valley. “We see potential use of these books by the Classics, History, Philosophy, and Art & Design Departments, as well as the new Religion Studies program,” said Beasecker. “As with all of our collections, we also welcome use by scholars from other institutions as well as members of the community.”

Each of the four books, in Latin, concerns religious subjects. The earliest is a Psalter (the Book of Psalms together with other devotional works) printed about 1474 in Strasbourg; a 1475 Basel edition of Summa de Vitiis by Guilelmus Peraldus, which is a treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins; an encyclopedia of Biblical interpretation, the Catholicon, compiled by Johannes Balbus and printed in Nuremberg in 1483; and a 1498 edition of Paradisus Animae, an examination of false virtues, attributed to Albertus Magnus printed in Strasbourg.

For information on the 15th century books and printing in the Grand Valley University Libraries visit  http://www.gvsu.edu/library/specialcollections/incunabula-and-early-printing-20.htm to view a description and scope of the collection, and links to digital images.