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Provided by SAS-SPACE What, How and Why: Accessing Incunabula at Senate House , University of London K.E. ATTAR

Karen Attar is the and the six- Catalogue of printed in Rare Books the fifteenth century now in the Bodleian Library at Senate House (Coates, 2005, building on work begun by L.A. Library, University Shepard in 1954), testify to long-standing British of London. In 2008 interest in incunabula. So does the conception she catalogued, ex- and development at the of the hibited and lectured newer of the two major international censuses of about its incunabula. incunabula, the Incunabula Short Title Catalogue She is Secretary of (ISTC; available at http://www.bl.uk). the UK Bibliographic Both the Bodley catalogue and the eleventh Standards Committee volume of BMC, on English incunabula, are of the CILIP Rare scholarly milestones, and honoured as such Books and Special Collections Group, and has in bibliographical journals (Edwards, 2007; published articles in bibliographical and pro- Linenthal, 2006; Needham, 2007; Sharpe, fessional journals about collectors and collections 2008; Wagner, 2008). Yet online cataloguing and about cataloguing. in Great Britain does not reflect this interest. Of the most important repositories of incunabula INTRODUCTION in the United Kingdom, in late 2007 only the British Library and the John Rylands University It is a truth universally acknowledged – at least Library of Manchester provided online access to in the bibliographical world – that incunabula their incunabula, via their own respective online have long held a status not enjoyed by post-1500 public access catalogues (http://130.8.109.188/ publications. Witnesses are the numerous printed TalalisPrism/index.jsp?interrface=webpage; hand-lists and catalogues, some extremely http://catalogue.bl.uk) and through COPAC, detailed, of institutional incunabular holdings, the union catalogue of major British university ranging from those at the University Library at and research (http://www.copac.ac.uk). Nijmegen (Laeven, 1986; 108 items) or Milltown The Bodleian Library was in the process of Park, Dublin (Grosjean and O’Connell, 1932; cataloguing its incunabula electronically, and 117 items) to incunabula at the Bayerische Cambridge University Library intended to begin Staatsbibliothek in Munich (Bayerische in the foreseeable future. Staatsbibliothek, 1988–2000; 16,785 editions plus Thus a project in early 2008 to catalogue 2,448 duplicates). The thirteen hefty volumes of in detail online the incunabula at Senate House the Catalogue of books printed in the XVth Century Library, University of London – formerly known now in the (BMC) (1908–2007) as the University of London Library – in a sense

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blazed a trail. At a time when recent major printed other printed books, for example for attribution catalogues have stimulated discussion about of and place and date of , and describing incunabula, this article examines the for standard titles. Reliance on and detail of the issues considered when cataloguing incunabula major catalogues of incunabula (BMC, ISTC, online. It summarizes scholars’ desires for the the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (GW)) content of descriptions, their transferability result in their having a great deal of authority. and relevance to the online environment, and This authority in some ways pulls against the tensions resulting from the clash of library Library of Congress authorities, a standard for conventions with those of scholars of incunabula. Anglo-American libraries. The article then describes the project at Senate Reviews of printed catalogues and House Library as a case study of one major wide consultation about ISTC during its academic library’s resolution of the issues, and implementation (Hellinga and Goldfinch, 1987) assesses the value of a labour-intensive and have led to various published expressions of what hence expensive project for the institution and users want in descriptions of incunabula. While beyond it. some wishes refer specifically to the context of printed catalogues or the union catalogue/ THE NATURE OF THE MATERIAL: THE census environment, others are transferable to ‘DIFFERENCE’ OF INCUNABULA individual library online catalogues. General requirements are for subject indexing (Murphy, Incunabula and later books differ both as 1987, p. 239), detailed contents (Reeve, 1987, material productions and in the way they are p. 200), a record of the form of punctuation treated. The editions stand out from subsequent used by the printer (Saenger, 1997, pp. 496– handpress books through frequent lack of title 497) and a note of leaf size (Needham, 1993, pages, foliation and signatures. An imprint, if p. 97, p. 104; 2001, p. 235). Desires for copy- present, is in the colophon; quite often part or all specific information are to record illumination of the imprint (place and date of printing, name and other decoration which would shed light of printer) is absent. Reliance on on where an incunabulum was prepared for additions (notably initial capitals) and decorations sale, among other questions (Armstrong, 1997, is another distinguishing feature, such that one p. 476; Needham, 1993, pp. 104–105; Saenger school of thought advocates treating incunabula and Heinlen, 1991, pp. 252–256); all bindings, as (Rouse, 1987, p. 202; Saenger contemporary or otherwise (Oyens, 1987, p. and Heinlen, 1991). Early readers, indeed, 223; Needham, 1993; p. 104; Needham, 2001, saw manuscript and print as interchangeable p. 235; to a lesser extent, Rouse, 1987, p. 204), (McKitterick, 2003, pp. 33–52). Textual post- and the manuscript waste in contemporary or publication manuscript amendment possibly near-contemporary bindings (Willison, 1981, p. occurred in printing houses, such as the manual 173). Scholars unite in clamouring for detailed correction of errata (Hulvey, 1998, p. 163; provenance information, ranging from notes McKitterick, 2003, p. 102). of marginalia to information about a library’s The descriptions of incunabula in major immediate acquisition from a bookdealer standard or catalogues are (Altmann, 1987, p. 70; Needham, 1993, p. 105; far more detailed than in the standard short- Needham, 2001, pp. 175, 235; Rouse, 1987, pp. title catalogues of various categories of later 203–204; Saenger, 1997, pp. 503–504; Willison, material (e.g. STC, Wing, Adams). Absence of 1981, p. 172). The detail of printed descriptions the identifying features which we now expect to leads to questions about the value of repeating find on title pages renders reliance on external general information (Altmann, 1987, p. 70; descriptions of incunabula heavier than for Baurmeister, 1987, p. 147).

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ONLINE CONSIDERATIONS (albeit not leaf size), and copy-specific notes on provenance, bindings, and other copy-specific Standard antiquarian online cataloguing practice information such as imperfections, rubrication in the Anglo-American world is to follow and the binding together of discrete items Descriptive cataloging of rare books (DCRB) after publication. DCRM(B) contains certain (1991) or its 2007 successor, Descriptive instructions specifically or primarily intended cataloging of rare materials (books) (DCRM(B)) for incunabula: routinely to record signatures for descriptive cataloguing and the second (‘generally desirable’ 7B9.1); ‘For incunabula, of the more general cataloguing manual Anglo- note color printing and record the number of American cataloguing rules (AACR2) (Joint columns (if more than one), the number of lines, Steering Committee for Revision of AACR, and type measurements if no account is found 1998) for headings to provide access by name in a bibliographical source and the printer is and title. Library of Congress subject headings unidentified or has been identified from this (LCSH) provide subject indexing. Most libraries information’ (7B10.2). also follow Library of Congress authority forms Another transferable concern from the printed for authors’ names and for titles. The American to the online environment is a sense that repeating Library Association has provided a number of general details unquestioningly from catalogue to thesauri which may be used to index elements catalogue is not helpful. Electronically as in print, of provenance, binding and among other abstaining from reproducing details perceived as topics (listed in DCRM(B), pp. 206–207), while unnecessary saves time and therefore money. another American initiative, the Bibliographic Space, albeit not the economic consideration in Standards Committee of the Rare Books and the electronic environment that it is in the print Manuscripts Section of the Association of one, remains relevant online: user convenience College and Research Libraries, has supplied a is best served by catalogue records fitting on a generally accepted list of Standard citation forms single screen. for published bibliographies and catalogs used In other ways requirements of the online in rare cataloging (2nd edn, VanWingen catalogue set it apart from both the printed and Urquiza, 1996). In the United Kingdom, catalogue and the stand-alone database. Whereas Guidelines for the cataloguing of rare books, the two latter categories are independent produced by the Rare Books Group of the Library entities free to develop their own conventions, Association (2nd edn, 1999), gave particular incunabula on an online catalogue are a subset attention to recording provenance and binding, of broader holdings of books, for which the rules in instructions subsequently incorporated into for description and indexing have already been DCRM(B) 7B19.2-3. Cataloguing standards prescribed. Stand-alone catalogues expect user and formats (MARC21) can accommodate all interest in incunabula as such. The same focus the details wanted by scholars: subject headings, cannot be assumed in the wider environment, in detailed contents, the height of the bound volume which users might rather be interested in a printer whose activity includes but extends beyond the incunabula period, in a specific author or former  Shortly after the Senate House project ended in owner, or in the products of a post-fifteenth- 2008, an updated version of these guidelines appeared on the Rare Books and Special Collections Group web century binder or binding style. In other words, pages of the CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and editions do not stand in isolation. For example, Information Professionals) website (http://www.cilip. the three editions of Sacrobosco’s org.uk/specialinterestgroups/bysubject/rarebooks/). Sphaera Mundi at Senate House Library are the The 2008 revisions, which took account of professional earliest of eight editions from one of its founding developments such as the transition from UKMARC to MARC21, did not affect the substance. collections, De Morgan’s library of

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works on mathematics and mathematical , three in Greek, one in Greek and , and while De Morgan’s 1482 and 1491 editions of the occasional title in Law French, German, Euclid’s Elements are the first of 38 editions of Spanish and Dutch. The country of publication Euclid which he owned. Thus it is imperative to is predominantly Italy (76; 56.7%), followed follow existing rules and standards. by Germany (38; 28.4%) and Switzerland (6; A strength of the online environment is the 4.5%); the most unexpected place of publication ease of keyword searching, encompassing notes is the monastery at Rougemont, Switzerland, for fields, for example for ‘annotat*’ (truncated, to which ISTC records only two books (Rolewinck, cover ‘annotated’ and ‘annotations’) or ‘fists’. Fasciculus temporum (1481; ISTC ir00266000)). is the predominant city of publication (63 THE SENATE HOUSE LIBRARY incunabula; 47%), followed by Nuremberg (12 OF INCUNABULA incunabula; 9%) and Strasbourg (10 incunabula; 7.5%). Four items are the sole copies in the United Kingdom, while another four, including Senate House Library contains 134 incunabula, the Muris, are unique, and only between two including four duplicate editions, a single, and five copies are extant in Great Britain of 49 mounted leaf from the English translation of Senate House incunabula (37%). the Golden Legend printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1498 or 1499 (ISTC ij00151000), two books previously thought to be incunabula THE SENATE HOUSE LIBRARY but now regarded as post-incunabula (Leyes CATALOGUES por la breuedad e orden de los pleytos, ISTC if00087000; Johannes de Sacrobosco’s Sphaera Until the online cataloguing project, there had mundi, ISTC ij00421000), and one German been no complete detailed recording of the item of uncertain status in neither ISTC nor the Senate House Library incunabula. The quickest Verzeichnis der im deutschen Sprachbereich means of identification was by a printed booklet, erschienenen Drucke des 16. Jahrhunderts (VD Incunabula in the libraries of the University of 16), John Muris’s Arithmetices compendium ex London: a hand-list, compiled by Margery Wild Boetii libris. (1964). Arranged by author, this gives numbered The incunabula were chiefly acquired entries. These comprise author, uniform title, between the founding of the University Library imprint, references to selected major catalogues, in 1871 and approximately 1970, by a mixture and imperfections affecting the text. Forty years of gift (primarily as part of wider named special later, the hand-list was outdated. Frederick R. collections, with some inherited from defunct institutional libraries in London) and purchase.  The sole items in the United Kingdom are: Basilius, They range in date from Paulus de Sancta Maria’s De legendis libris antiquorum gentilium (: Philippus Scrutinium scripturarum (Strasbourg: Johann de Lavagnia, c.1474; ISTC ib00271700); Ferdinand and Mentelin, not after 1470; ISTC ip00201000) to Isabella, Leyes por la breuedad e orden de los pleytos beyond 1500. One hundred and fourteen (85%) (Salamanca: Juan de Porras, c.1511; if00087000); are in Latin, with six in Italian, four in English, Mapheus Vegius, De educatione librorum libri VI (Milan: Leonardus Pachel, 18 Oct. 1491; iv00111000) and Petrus Paulus Vergerius, De ingenuis moribus ac liberaliis studiis  Augustus De Morgan describes the volume as (Milan: Philippus de Lavagnia, c.1474; iv00129600). ‘certainly of the very earliest part of the sixteenth century, The unique items, apart from the Muris, are: Bernard de if not of the fifteenth’ (De Morgan, 1847, p. 3). A note Granollachs, Lunarium ab anno 1491 (: Johann with the volume by Dennis (1963), confirmed by Siber, c.1491; ISTC ig00340700); Coniuratio daemonum consultation with Dr (2007), regards the (: Eucharius Silber, c.1486, ISTC ic00826950) and item more probably as a post-incunable, but possibly as an Johannes de Turrecremata, De efficacia aquae benedictae incunable. (Rome: Johann Besicken, c.1500; ISTC it00513000).

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Goff’s Incunabula in American libraries: a were not recorded. Like Wild’s list, the cards third census (New York, 1964) had supplanted suffered from remaining static while scholarship Margaret Bingham Stillwell’s Second census advanced. (New York, 1940), cited in the hand-list. Short-title records for six incunabula on Scholarship had advanced, leading to the redating economic topics appeared in the first volume of certain items. Thus Senate House Library’s of the Catalogue of the Goldsmiths’ Library of earliest incunabulum, Paulus de Sancta Maria Economic (Canny and Knott, 1970). (see above) had been redated from ‘not after The Sterling Library (1954), a catalogue prepared 1471’ (Wild, following BMC) to ‘not after 1470’ under Sir Louis Sterling’s guidance of the (ISTC), while Bernard of Clairvaux’s Sermones library he donated to the University of London super cantica canticorum had been redated from in 1956, described five of his six incunabula, 1497 (Wild, following BMC and Stillwell) to giving the uniform title, standardized imprint, 1490 (ISTC ib00430000) and Jerome’s Aureola, incipit and explicit, format, references, bindings, described in Wild as ‘undated; type in use imperfections, colophons, selective provenance, 1482–1493’ (following BMC) had been dated rarity, and some indication of background. They to approximately 1482–83 (ISTC ih00159000). were silent concerning rubrication, and followed Five incunabula recorded in Wild as being at New an idiosyncratic policy of stating the number of College had passed in the academic year 1976/7 leaves in the copy at hand instead of in the ideal to Senate House Library and nine incunabula on copy. permanent loan from the Francis Bacon Society No source listed all incunabula. No had been withdrawn for sale in 1978, while a few descriptions of incunabula supplied full, up-to- others had been acquired. Three incunabula, one date detail. A project to catalogue the incunabula of which had been in the Library since 1871 and was, therefore, highly desirable. one from 1931, had escaped listing. More detailed records of the incunabula at THE SENATE HOUSE PROJECT: Senate House Library were available on the PREPARATION Library’s author-title card catalogue, available digitally via the (http://cards.ull. Before the project began, the Rare Books ac.uk), and the only source of shelfmarks. The Librarian and the Conservator together examined descriptions, which varied in detail, could spread the bindings of all the incunabula to place and over three cards for a single incunabulum. date them, with additional advice from a bindings At their most lavish they recorded incipits, historian. We listed the pencilled accession explicits, colophons, physical extent, format, numbers present in purchases and single donations signatures, references to major catalogues and and noted the named special collections to which bibliographies of incunabula, general notes, incunabula belonged, in order to be able to imperfections, rubrication, fifteenth-century pursue provenance further through the University bindings, and, occasionally, provenance. By of London archives and the library archives 2008, these records suffered from general user respectively. All traceable card catalogue records reluctance to venture beyond the online public were printed out for reference while cataloguing, access catalogue and consult catalogue cards in to benefit from copy-specific research undertaken any medium. Uncertainty about name forms and by earlier curators. frequent cross-referencing could render cards We also downloaded catalogue records difficult to find: for example, Jacobus de Cessolis before the project proper began and made such was filed under ‘C’, but Jacobus de Voragine additions as indexing places of publication at under ‘J’. Thomas Aquinas’s Catena aurea was this stage. All such preparation shortened the to be found under ‘’. Some incunabula time that each volume spent in an office area at

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temperatures intended for the comfort of humans proportion of records (21%) came from CURL rather than books. and an unusually high one from OCLC, especially from Yale, Harvard and the Folger Libraries Available Online Records and from the Library of Congress (LC). During Standard procedure for antiquarian material was cataloguing, for each book we referred to the to download records from CURL (the database information in ISTC (online) and BMC (print). underlying COPAC) in the first instance, and, when records were not available on CURL, from THE PROJECT ESTC for pre-1801 British imprints or from OCLC for others. The Description: General Elements Relatively few online records were available The first challenge when describing incunabula for the incunabula project. As stated in the online was the uniform, or standard, title. Richard introduction, several major repositories have Sharpe observed in connection with the 2005 not yet catalogued their incunabula online. Bodley catalogue a clash between standard titles as Moreover, numerous incunabula in Britain found in the literature of incunabula and elsewhere are in institutions whose holdings, even when (Sharpe, 2008, pp. 217–218). The variety of catalogued electronically, are not available via ‘standard’ titles quickly became apparent in the COPAC, such as Oxford and Cambridge college online environment too: for example, Elements libraries. The rarity of the books also contributes (LC) versus Elementa geometriae (ISTC); Logica to the lack of online records. The comparative parva (LC) versus Logica (ISTC) and Summula paucity both of editions and of online records for logicae (CIBN); History of the Peloponnesian incunabula led us to activate our Z39.50 access War (LC) versus Historia belli Peloponnesiaci to CERL (Consortium of European Research (ISTC); Decades (LC) versus Historiarum ab Libraries) records with a view to downloading inclinatione Romanorum imperii decades (ISTC); ISTC records via CERL, on the basis that ISTC, Calendarium (LC) versus Kalendarium (ISTC). unlike CURL and OCLC, held a record for We followed the Library of Congress authorities every book. In the event, however, we captured for internal catalogue consistency. When titles ISTC records only as a last resort, as they varied we indexed the form given in ISTC as a required considerable amendment for standard variant title, on the grounds that incunabulists library purposes. ISTC favours the Latin form might well take the title in ISTC (based on Goff’s of authors’ names, whereas AACR2 prefers the Incunabula in American libraries of 1964, based ; ISTC standardizes titles and imprints on Hain’s Repertorium bibliographicum of whereas library practice is to transcribe them; 1826–38) as their starting point. The uniform title and ISTC provides neither the physical extent of was particularly important, since it was likelier to volumes nor subject headings. Moreover, Senate be a more natural access point than the title as it House Library wished to conform to what is appeared on the title page, when there was one, now its standard practice for pre-1701 imprints or the opening words of the text when used as a of indexing printers and places of publication, title page substitute. irrelevant for ISTC as it has its own indices. We transcribed the imprint from the colophon Using a list of rarity compiled previously when present there and derived it from ISTC, as for curatorial purposes and occasionally ISTC the most up-to-date reference source, otherwise. (to establish the location of other British copies, The source of the imprint was always recorded, and hence the probability of a record on CURL) for example ‘Imprint from colophon’; ‘Printer’s enabled us to target the likeliest database name from ISTC’. Physical description consisted for a successful match and hence expedited of the number of leaves of foliated volumes the downloading process. An atypically low or of pages in unpaginated, unfoliated books;

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the presence of illustrations; the height of the printed and online catalogues, with Proctor, bound volume and the format, as for any other BMC, ISTC, Pellechet and the Bayerische early printed book. Then came notes, followed Staatsbibliothek Inkunabelkatalog sometimes by the indexing of printers and others concerned being named (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek with the work’s production, and of the place of Inkunabelkatalog, vol. 1 (1988), p. xxxi; publication. Needham, 1993, p. 104; Saenger, 1997, p. Only in one instance did we need to 502; Schroeder, 2006, p. 118; Rozsondai and provide information about type and layout as Rozsondai, 2007, p. 21). recommended by DCRM(B) 7B10.2, since in Senate House Library referred in the first all other cases either BMC or GW contained instance to ISTC, as the most up-to-date catalogue the relevant information. Supplying signatures and the one with the fullest list of references and was time-consuming, requiring coding for locations. An assumption that the simplest way superscript characters (which did not transfer to proceed after that would be to copy and paste in imported catalogue records), and we thought the list of references from ISTC records proved seriously about their necessity, bearing in mind to be erroneous. Some abbreviated forms of that they were recorded in the main reference references in ISTC, clear in the stand-alone sources. We did not supply collation statements context (especially as expansions were only a for volumes without signatures. We did record click away), were either elliptical in a general signatures for unfoliated volumes, as this was library catalogue, such as H, Pell, Pr for Ludwig the only way to show how the number of pages Hain’s Repertorium bibliographicum (1826– had been deduced and the only way to locate 38), Marie Pellechet’s Catalogue générale and define missing leaves (except for initial des des bibliothèques publiques or final ones) and to give a mental picture of de (1970) and Robert Proctor’s An the volume when referring to a specific page, index to the early printed books in the British for example to note an ornamental initial. Museum (1898–1903), or ambiguous. ‘BMC’ We amended the form of signatures adopted in a general catalogue commonly refers to in BMC to conform with that recommended the multi-volume general British Museum in Philip Gaskell’s A new introduction to catalogue of its complete holdings found in the (1972), for example replacing an reference rooms of numerous libraries. asterisk used in BMC to indicate preliminary We adopted the fuller abbreviations used in unsigned gatherings by pi; the Gaskell the Standard citation forms for ... rare book formula was advocated by DCRM(B) and used cataloging (in these instances, Hain, Pellechet, elsewhere in our catalogue. Proctor, BM 15th cent.) for clarity. We always supplied a general note concerning The impracticality of importing the ISTC initials, such as ‘ initials’, or ‘Capital string of references unaltered led us to think spaces, with guide letters’; this was important to through our requirements. We cited Hain and make sense of a copy-specific note in the instance its supplements for continuity with previous of capital spaces as to whether the initials had Senate House Library catalogues; Goff as the or had not been supplied in the Senate House major American source and a likely American Library copy, or, where there were woodcut starting point; the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek initials, to indicate that a copy-specific note was Inkunabelkatalog (‘BSB-Ink’), for the bulk unnecessary. of its holdings; GW and the BMC as the most What references to cite for incunabula detailed descriptions, providing collations even has exercised various and scholars. Hain/Hain-Copinger-Reichling, GW and Goff  The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Inkunabelkatalog also cites ‘IGI and other national bibliographies’ (vol. 1, are mentioned consistently in discussion of both p. xxxi).

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of unsigned books and full type information; They referred to provenance, binding, and the Bodleian catalogue of incunabula (‘Bod- ‘other’, such as imperfections and manuscript Inc’) for its detail of contents; and other major additions. The pattern for recording copy- British catalogues – Proctor, Dennis Rhodes’s specific information was well established. The A catalogue of incunabula in all the libraries extent to which we recorded it differed from of Oxford University outside the Bodleian practice for other antiquarian books. (1982) and J.C.T. Oates’s A catalogue of the Standard Senate House Library practice fifteenth-century printed books in the University was to record provenance on the basis of what Library, Cambridge (1954) – for parochial could be ascertained from notes, inscriptions, user convenience (both Oxford and Cambridge bookplates or stamps in the books, but not are just an hour away by train from London). to pursue additional information from such For English incunabula, we cited STC. We also external sources as archives or annotated sale cited ESTC (not quoted by ISTC), as a readily catalogues. For the incunabula, however, we available online resource with detailed records; used invoices and accession registers in the several of our other English books contained library archives to discover when, from whom the ESTC reference, and, from a management and how much the generators of named special perspective, its inclusion is helpful when collections accompanied by archival material reporting records in batches to ESTC. We had acquired their incunabula. With the help cited other catalogues or bibliographies only if of accession numbers pencilled at the time of they contributed to an element of the catalogue acquisition in incunabula bought by the library, record, such as dating. we did the same for purchases: information We included references to Senate House which, once incorporated in the descriptions, Library’s own catalogues, including a catalogue would provide an insight into the twentieth- of bindings for the three incunabula featured century antiquarian book trade (cf. Oyens, there (Rye and Quinn, 1937). A note ‘Not in 1987, p. 226). Wild, M.F. Incunabula in the Libraries of the A few incunabula had notes about lot University of London’ was included for books numbers or sales, or a former owner who could where applicable, to indicate that the Wild easily be traced through sale catalogues, such reference had not merely been forgotten. Absence as the German collector Georg Franz Burkhard from Wild in itself contributed to awareness of the Kloss, which enabled us to work backwards history of the Senate House Library incunabula – admittedly not always fruitfully – at least one by suggesting a late acquisition date. stage to annotated sale catalogues in the British We diverged from standard practice by having Library. As the online record supplied enough all our references in a single string, to prevent information for researchers to conduct this work, already lengthy catalogue records from extending we felt that the time needed to pursue provenance beyond more than one screen. We thereby research outside the institutional boundaries was sacrificed the potential to index by reference. not justified for cataloguing purposes. However, This, we trusted, would not be a hardship, as the when we conducted such research for curatorial option to search by reference term was neither purposes, we added the information to the set up on the OPAC nor expected to be set up. catalogue records. We were philosophical about References to specific sources could be retrieved not pursuing provenance information to the nth via a keyword search. degree, secure in the awareness that, whereas the printed catalogue remains static, we could update The Description: Copy-specific Elements our records when new information became Copy-specific elements of the description formed available. The most exciting discovery was of a significant part of each catalogue record. the inscription: ‘J. Ker, ...oughthorpe, Herts’ on

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Eusebius’s Historia ecclesiastica (1479; ISTC of the way through), and from then on roughly ie00127000). The binding – late-eighteenth- alternately in red and blue, a fact we recorded, century red morocco with a gilt border – suggested and which suggested that the two sections of the a wealthy gentleman who cared about his books. book had been sent to different , whose The sale catalogue of the Duke of Roxburghe’s instructions did not tally. Paragraph marks, library (1812) proved the copy to be that of underlinings of headings, and initial the eminent collector John Ker, third Duke of strokes were often present. Another feature to Roxburghe (1740–1804), the sale of whose be noted was where manuscript substituted for Valdarfer Boccaccio had caused a sensation by print: for example, where guide letters had been fetching a record price at auction (£2,260). The supplied in manuscript, as in one of our copies Eusebius, auctioned eight days later, sold for two of Institoris and Sprenger’s Malleus maleficarum shillings and sixpence. (ISTC ii00166000), or corrections made by General Senate House Library cataloguing hand. practice was to note bindings only if they were striking, or if a binding note differentiated TIMING between two or more copies at a single shelfmark. For the incunabula, following Needham’s advice, Senate House Library waited for the appearance we noted all bindings, reasoning that stating of the Bodleian catalogue before commencing its that an incunable was in a nineteenth/twentieth- project, aware that this publication would be a century designer – as most were – at major reference resource which we should want least told binding historians that it was not worth to cite and to which we should probably wish a trip to London to examine that particular copy. to refer. The wait proved beneficial. We made Rowan Watson had identified four incunabula as use of the much-praised Bodleian provenance containing manuscript waste in his Descriptive index (Edwards, 2007, p. 186; Linenthal, 2006, list of fragments of medieval manuscripts in the p. 22; Needham, 2007, p. 370; Sharpe, 2008, pp. University of London Library (1976). We noted 214–215). Institutional religious provenances the date, place and content of the waste, with the in Senate House incunabula were reflected in reference to Watson. Bodleian ones, and the Bodley provenance index There was more call to describe other copy- provided a speedy key to making sense of them. specific information regularly for the incunabula For example, one of our Koberger was than for any other printed book. Imperfections inscribed: ‘Bibliothecae R.C.C. beggardorum were especially prevalent, partly because even at conventus Traiectensis’ and ‘Bibliothecae p. the heyday of the University’s buying power, it p. Beggard. Traiect.’ Beguine houses existed purchased predominantly flawed copies; partly at both Maastricht and Utrecht, and a Bodleian because some of the editions existed almost provenance confirmed the view of an earlier exclusively in imperfect copies (for example London cataloguer that the house at Maastricht Pynson’s Canterbury Tales, ISTC ic00433000). was the relevant one. The Senate House Library Manuscript intervention or the lack of it also copy of the edition of Bartholomaeus Sibylla’s required notes. The frequency with which spaces Speculum peregrinarum quaestionum published were left for initials demanded a note on whether in Strasbourg in 1499 (ISTC is00492000) is they were supplied and, if so, the details, such inscribed: ‘H[e]nrij Aspacensis’ and ‘In usum as the colour and the presence of ornament, such F.F. Aspacensium.’ The Bodley catalogue helped as strapwork or spraywork. One particularly us to identify the provenance as the Benedictine striking incunable was a Hochfeder Bible (ISTC monastery at Asbach an der Rott in Bavaria, ib00585000). Here the initials had been supplied founded in approximately 1090 and dissolved in mainly in red until quire M (about three-quarters 1803.

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The Bodley catalogue was also a valuable Results of the project to digitize corrective. The Senate House Library copy of the nineteenth-century books were becoming 1478 Koberger edition of Jacobus de Voragine’s available as our cataloguing project took place Legenda aurea (ISTC ij00090000) begins with and helped with provenance research. Standard two contents leaves not recorded in BMC; the Google searches helped in the deciphering of presence in the Bodley catalogue, reinforced by hard-to-read but formulaic Latin inscriptions; CIBN, confirmed that they belonged. A note in typing in a couple of words would normally bring our catalogue record reads: ‘First two leaves are up an inscription including the elusive term. table of contents, noted in Bod-inc but not in BM We catalogued our incunabula shortly after the 15th cent.’ appearance of DCRM(B). Thereby we benefited The Bodleian catalogue afforded further from its new Appendix G: Early Letter Forms and assistance with vocabulary for describing Symbols (pp. 187–93). Slight awkwardness arose manuscript initials. Manuscript catalogues from a change of rule from DCRB to DCRM(B) consulted for terminology described initials which concerning the Tironian sign, an abbreviation for were not historiated, illuminated or pictorial ‘and’ resembling the number 7. Whereas DCRB merely as ‘ornamental’ or ‘decorated’ – too had instructed to transcribe this as [et]; DCRM(B) general to be helpful if trying via the catalogue prescribed using the ampersand, on the basis that record to assist scholars using decoration to both are abbreviations for ‘and’ and that they are research the production and early movement of mutually exclusive within texts. Yet ‘7’ is not incunabula. The Bodley catalogue of incunabula ‘&’, and could cause confusion if comparing our provided precise descriptions which we scanned description with one in a printed catalogue. We for vocabulary: for example, ‘initial ... supplied transcribed the Tironian sign as an ampersand in blue within a square green ground, with the and noted that the symbol appearing in the book area defined by the letter supplied in red with a was the Tironian sign. Derived catalogue records chequered design’ (J-075); ‘Principal four- to followed DCRB, which instructed changing six-line initials are supplied in blue with reserved roman numerals appearing in Gregorian or white decoration, with the body of the letter Julian years to arabic numerals unless they are decorated with red pen-work showing flowers erroneous or misprinted (DCRB 4D2). DCRM(B) in reserved white, and all within a border of red 4D2.1 overturned this rule, instructing: ‘If the pen-work, some extending into the margins; other date appears in roman numerals, transcribe the one- to four-line initials, some with extensions date as it appears.’ Following the new rule was into the margins, are supplied in red or blue; beneficial for fidelity to the source but added time paragraph marks and capital strokes are supplied to the cataloguing process. in red’ (J-066). Another advantage of the project’s timing RESULTS was the digitization of some of the books. Two leaves were missing in the middle of our copy The project resulted in descriptions of Senate of Johannes de Tambaco’s De consolatione House Library’s 134 incunabula or parts theologicae (ISTC ij00436000), acquired in of incunabula on the online catalogue and 1964 but recorded neither in Wild nor in our subsequently on the COPAC (British) and card catalogue, with the missing text supplied in CERL (European) union catalogues. Errors manuscript. The edition is unsigned and unfoliated. were corrected; information hitherto unrecorded A digital version of the copy at Cologne, linked in any source added. For Senate House Library, from ISTC, enabled us to identify which leaves it was the first time that all its incunabula were were wanting and whether the entirety of all the recorded, and in full detail, and provided the missing text had been supplied. opportunity for the first time to retrieve records

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quickly, by a choice of access points (for also reveal to an extent the Library’s treatment example author, title, printer, keyword), with of incunabula. For example, several incunabula their shelfmarks. Also available for the first time from various sources were bound in the twentieth was full information about provenance, which century by Zaehnsdorf in antique quarter pigskin links incunabula at Senate House Library with and wooden boards, with two metal clasps and those in other libraries with similar provenances several raised bands on the spines: a style used and contributes to the history of past libraries, in the Library almost exclusively for incunabula. such as the Franciscan house in Fremersberg Enhanced access enabled easy grouping of these. and the Jesuit house at Gorheim in Germany The immediate result of greater knowledge of (the Senate House Library copy of Bernard the incunabula, their acquisition and their former de Clairvaux’s Sermones super Canticum owners was new complementary research in canticorum, ISTC ib00430000) or the cathedral library history, with a lecture and an article on church at Aberdeen, to which one canon and the growth of the collection. prebendary gave Duranti’s 1486 Rationale Readily accessible information about each divinorum officiorum (ISTC id00430000) in book helps the Library to help others, for 1488. Description of manuscript intervention in displays put on to illustrate specific points, and the books adds detail to a wide general picture for teaching purposes. In July 2008, for example, of fifteenth-century printed book production. the Institute of English Studies at the University The project deepened knowledge about of London hosted a three-day international our major donors and amended our views of conference on the evidence of reading, and a them. The EMI magnate Sir Louis Sterling keyword search limited by date made it easy to (1879–1958), for example, had as his collecting pinpoint incunabula with early annotations to aim to gather first and fine editions of English display to support the conference. The Institute literature (Sterling Library, 1954, p. vii): it is of English Studies had also inaugurated a an irony of his collection, a reflection of the London Rare Books School along the lines of scarcity of Caxtons and Pynsons, that every one those offered at Lyons and in Virginia to attract of his English incunabula is severely imperfect. librarians, conservators and scholars worldwide. Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence (1837–1914), Different tutors had used incunabula for a prominent exponent of the theory that Sir teaching purposes, to show binding structures Francis Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare, and to illustrate the transition from manuscript had on various occasions described his library to print. For the latter, texts had been requested as ‘Baconian’ and his wife had declared his aim which did and which did not show scribal with every volume there to demonstrate Francis intervention, and which did and did not have a Bacon’s authorship of all important Elizabethan title page; locating precise requirements is now and Jacobean literature (Gordon, 1915, p. much speedier, and enables items to be located [ii]): a note in his Koberger Bible admiring it with the minimum of investigative handling, a as an example of fine printing presented him benefit for preservation. less one-sidedly. The project enabled an easy A frustration which arose when describing overview of institutional buying practice and both bindings and initials was a lack of uniform hence an element of institutional history. An vocabulary, a feature especially relevant in initial impression gleaned from cataloguing was the online environment with the potential for that most of the incunabula purchased by the keyword searching. With hindsight, even for such Library were imperfect. A keyword search on a relatively small collection it would have been ‘purchased’ and ‘imperfect’, limited by date of beneficial while planning to consider the recurrent publication, speedily enables one to verify the features and compile an in-house thesaurus impression, with figures. Keyword searches could for uniformity of description. Vocabulary was

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not consistent between sources; we referred to undergraduate and postgraduate learning in a ‘capital spaces’ and ‘initial strokes’, copying research environment’ (Senate House Library, the terminology in the earlier volumes of BMC n.d.) (http://www.shl.lon.ac.uk). to which we were constantly referring, but both More broadly, the unusually rich interaction the Bodley catalogue and volume 11 of the between user and librarian provided by the British Library incunabula catalogue used ‘initial wealth of literature about describing incunabula, spaces’. Our project pointed to the desirability combined with the expense of labour-intensive of compiling a glossary/thesaurus, as a reference cataloguing, made us think through the principles resource. and rationale of what is necessary and beneficial when describing fifteenth-century books online. CONCLUSION Implications might be drawn for cataloguing later books for which detailed bibliographies exist, to weigh up the relationship between the printed A perception with cataloguing books is that one and online catalogue, and between catalogues copies a catalogue record from another institution, and bibliographies; to re-assess why we do what tinkers slightly, and progresses quickly. Not so we do and invest our time where it will be most for incunabula! A paucity of derived catalogue useful. records, research required, the individuality of Re-examining books was a corrective and copies and heavy reliance on sources beyond questioning activity. Old errors could be rectified. the incunabula themselves meant that it took on Assumptions based on printed descriptions could average an hour to catalogue each edition, despite be tested and a contribution made to the make- having looked up ISTC numbers, procured up of the ideal copy, as happened concerning the acquisition information and made notes on the contents leaf in the Senate House Library copy of bindings in advance. The hour did not take into the 1478 Legenda Aurea. The example is perhaps account subsequent forays into sale catalogues, small; the warning note while benefiting from and it depended on easy incunabula – that is ones past research to test assumptions, significant. for which full records could be downloaded and Enhanced user access to the books, improved copy-specific additions were straightforward – to use that could be made of them, and knowledge subsidize the more difficult ones. Taking these about them were all positive features. Resource into account, ninety minutes per book is a more discovery had wider ramifications for the realistic assessment. Was it worth it? corpus of information about the creation, trade, The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. From ownership and use of some of the world’s an institutional viewpoint, it was essential for oldest printed books. As John Goldfinch has enabling users to identify and locate incunabula. pointed out with respect to current locations Greater knowledge about specific collections (Goldfinch, 2003, pp. 5–6) and Kristian Jensen and the minds of their collectors and about the with emphasis on copy-specific features (Jensen, history of Senate House Library as a whole 2007, pp. 76–9), the wide travel of incunabula could be utilized in multiple ways to raise the from their countries of origin to their current Library’s profile: through publications and talks, locations gives them international dimensions. exhibitions and web pages. The time taken was Whatever facilitates scholarship of interest to valuable in demonstrating the Library’s care of its several nations and in multiple disciplines must treasures and hence its worthiness as a repository be thoroughly worthwhile. for future gifts. Improved ability to support University teaching strengthened the Library’s adherence to its mission, declared on its website,  I should like to thank Christine Wise and John Feather for reading and commenting on drafts of this article. It has ‘to [provide] resources to support research, to the benefited from their suggestions; remaining faults are my highest international standards, and to support own.

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ABBREVIATIONS VD 16 Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in München and Herzog August Adams Adams, H.M. (1967) Catalogue of Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel (ed.) books printed on the continent of (1983–) Verzeichnis der im deutschen Europe 1501–1600 in Cambridge Sprachbereich erschienenen Drucke libraries. Cambridge: Cambridge des 16. Jahrhunderts. Stuttgart: University Press, 1967. Hiersemann, 1983– and http:// BMC British Museum/Library (1908– gateway-bayern.bib-bvb.de 2007) Catalogue of books printed in Wing Wing, Donald (1982–98) A short-title the XVth century now in the British catalogue of books printed in England, Museum, London. London: British Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British Museum, 1908–2007. America and of English books printed CIBN Bibliothèque Nationale (1981–) in other countries 1641–1700. 2nd Catalogue des incunables. Paris: edn. New York: Modern Language Bibliothèque Nationale, 1981–. Association of America, 1982–98. CURL Consortium of University Research Libraries [subsequently renamed REFERENCES Research Libraries UK]. ESTC English Short Title Catalogue (http:// Altmann, Ursula (1987) ‘Bibliography, books and estc.bl.uk). readers’, in: Hellinga, Lotte and Goldfinch, GW Kommission für den Gesamtkatalog der John (eds). Bibliography and the study of Wiegendrucke (1925–) Gesamtkatalog 15th-century civilisation: papers presented der Wiegendrucke. Leipzig: at a colloquium at the British Library 26–28 Hiersemann, 1925– and http://www. September 1984. London: British Library, gesamtkatalogderwiegendrucke.de. 1987, pp. 68–82. Goff Goff, Frederick (1964) Incunabula Armstrong, Lilian (1997) ‘Problems of decoration in American libraries: a third census and provenance of incunables illuminated of fifteenth-century books recorded by north Italian miniaturists’. Papers of the in North American collections. New of America, 91, 1997, York: Bibliographical Society of pp. 467–476. America, 1964. Association of College and Research Libraries Hain Hain, Ludwig (1826–38) Repertorium (2007) Descriptive cataloging of rare bibliographicum. Stuttgart: J. Cottal, materials (books). Washington: Library of 1826–38. Congress, 2007. ISTC Incunabula Short Title Catalogue Baurmeister, Ursula (1987) ‘Cataloguing the (http://www.bl.uk). incunabula of the Bibliothèque Nationale: LC Library of Congress problems of text identification’, in: OCLC Online Computer Library Center Hellinga, Lotte and Goldfinch, John (eds). STC Pollard, A.W. and Redgrave, G.R. Bibliography and the study of 15th-century (1976–91) A short-title catalogue of civilisation: papers presented at a colloquium books printed in England, Scotland at the British Library 26–28 September & Ireland and of English books 1984. London: British Library, 1987, printed abroad 1475–1640. 2nd edn, pp. 147–153. rev. by W.A. Jackson, F.S. Ferguson Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (1988–2000) and Katharine F. Pantzer. London: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Inkunabelkatalog. Bibliographical Society, 1976–91. 5 vols. Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1988–2000.

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British Library (no date) ‘Incunabula short Europe. London: Consortium of European title catalogue: about the ISTC’, http:// Research Libraries, 2007, pp. 67–82. 138.253.81.72/~cheshire/istc/about.html Joint Steering Committee for Revision of AACR, (visited 1.2.08). Anglo-American cataloguing rules, 2nd edn, Canny, Margaret and Knott, David (eds) (1970) 1998 revision (1998). Ottawa: Canadian Catalogue of the Goldsmiths’ Library Library Association; London: Library of Economic Literature, vol. 1. London: Association ; Chicago: American Athlone, 1970. Library Association, 1998. Coates, Alan et al. (2005) Catalogue of Books Laeven, A.H. (1986) Incunabelen in de printed in the fifteenth century now in the Universiteitsbibliotheek Nijmegen 1823– Bodleian Library, 6 vols. Oxford: Oxford 1984. Nijmegen/Grave: Alfa, 1986. University Press, 2005. Library Association Rare Books Group (1999) De Morgan, Augustus (1847) Arithmetical books Guidelines for the cataloguing of rare books, from the invention of printing to the present 2nd edn. London: Library Association Rare time. London: Taylor and Walton, 1847. Books Group, 1999. Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Books, 2nd edn. Linenthal, Richard (2006) ‘Catalogue of books Washington: Library of Congress, 1991. printed in the fifteenth century’. Bodleian Edwards, A.S.G. (2007) ‘Incunabula in England’. Library Record, 19, 2006, pp. 21–27. Book Collector, 56, 2007, pp. 179–189. McKitterick, David (2003) Print, manuscript and Goldfinch, John (2003) ‘The international the search for order, 1450–1830. Cambridge: context of national bibliography’, in: Shaw, Cambridge University Press, 2003. David (ed.). Books beyond frontiers: the Murphy, James J. (1987) ‘The computer need for international collaboration in search as a guide to subject cataloguing national retrospective bibliography. London: of incunabula’, in: Hellinga, Lotte and Consortium of European Research Libraries, Goldfinch, John (eds). Bibliography and the 2003, pp. 1–7. study of 15th-century civilisation: papers Gordon, Alexander (1915) Family history of presented at a colloquium at the British the Lawrences of Cornwall. West Norwood, Library 26–28 September 1984. London: 1915. British Library, 1987, pp. 238–242. Grosjean, Paul and O’Connell, Daniel (1932) Needham, Paul (1993) ‘Incunable catalogues’. A catalogue of incunabula in the library at Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Milltown Park, Dublin. Dublin: Sign of the America, 87, 1993, pp. 93–105. Three Candles, 1932. Needham, Paul (2001) ‘Copy description Hellinga, Lotte and Goldfinch, John (eds) (1987) in incunable catalogues’. Papers of the Bibliography and the study of 15th-century Bibliographical Society of America, 95, 2001, civilisation: papers presented at a colloquium pp. 173–239. at the British Library 26–28 September 1984. Needham, Paul (2007) ‘The Bodleian Library London: British Library, 1987. incunables’. Papers of the Bibliographical Hulvey, Monique (1998) ‘Not so marginal: Society of America, 101, 2007, pp. 359–409. manuscript annotations in the Folger Oyens, Felix B. de Marez (1987) ‘ISTC and incunabula’. Papers of the Bibliographical provenance’, in: Hellinga, Lotte and Society of America, 92, 1998, pp. 159–176. Goldfinch, John (eds). Bibliography and the Jensen, Kristian (2007) ‘Old books in new study of 15th-century civilisation: papers libraries: democratisation of access or a digital presented at a colloquium at the British divide’, in: Shaw, David (ed.). Imprints and Library 26–28 September 1984. London: owners: recording the cultural of British Library, 1987, pp. 216–227.

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Reeve, Michael (1987) ‘If cows had ’, Schroeder, Edwin (2006) ‘Helping researchers in: Hellinga, Lotte and Goldfinch, John find what they don’t know they are looking (eds). Bibliography and the study of 15th- for: access points in catalogue records at century civilisation: papers presented at Yale University’s Beinecke Rare Book and a colloquium at the British Library 26–28 Manuscript Library’, in: Shaw, David (ed.). September 1984. London: British Library, Many into one: problems and opportunities 1987, pp. 197–201. in creating shared catalogues of older books. Rouse, Richard (1987) ‘Copy-specific features London: Consortium of European Research of the printed book: what to record and Libraries, 2006, pp. 111–124. why’, in: Hellinga, Lotte and Goldfinch, Senate House Library (no date). Senate House John (eds). Bibliography and the study of Library, http://www.shl.lon.ac.uk (visited 15th-century civilisation: papers presented 15.9.08). at a colloquium at the British Library 26–28 Sharpe, Richard (2008) ‘The present and future September 1984. London: British Library, of incunable cataloguing, II’. The Library, 1987, pp. 202–215. 7th ser. 9, 2008, pp. 210–224. Rozsondai, Marianne and Rozsondai, Béla (2007) The Sterling Library: a catalogue of the printed ‘Cataloguing rare books in the Library of the books and literary manuscripts collected by Hungarian Academy of Sciences: problems of Sir Louis Sterling and presented by him to incunabula and copy-specific data’, in: Shaw, the University of London. London: privately David (ed.). Imprints and owners: recording printed, 1954. the cultural geography of Europe. London: VanWingen, Peter M. and Urquiza, Belinda D. Consortium of European Research Libraries, (1996) Standard citation forms for published 2007, pp. 15–30. bibliographies and catalogs used in rare Rye, Reginald and Quinn, Muriel (1937) Historical book cataloging, 2nd edn. Washington: and armorial exhibited in the Cataloging Distribution Service, Library of University Library: descriptive catalogue. Congress, 1996. London: University of London, 1937. Wagner, Bettina (2008) ‘The present and future Saenger, Paul (1997) ‘The implications of of incunable cataloguing, I’. The Library, 7th incunable description for the history of reading ser. 9, 2008, pp. 197–209. revisited’. Papers of the Bibliographical Willison, Ian (1981) ‘The treatment of notes of Society of America, 91, 1997, pp. 495–504. provenance and marginalia in the Catalogue Saenger, Paul and Heinlen, Michael (1991) of books printed in the XVth century now in ‘Incunable description and its implication the British Museum (BMC)’, in: Hellinga, for the analysis of fifteenth-century reading Lotte and Härtel, Helmar (eds). Buch und habits’, in: Hindman, Sandra (ed.). Printing Text im 15. Jahrhundert = Books and text in the written word: the of books the fifteenth century: Arbeitsgespräch in der circa 1450–1520. Ithaca and London: Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel vom Cornell University Press, 1991, pp. 225– 1. bis 3. März 1978. Hamburg: Hauswedell, 258. 1981, pp. 169–177.

ABSTRACT

This article is based on a project undertaken in 2008 to catalogue the incunabula (fifteenth- century printed books) at Senate House Library, University of London (previously known as the University of London Library). The project was unusual because it dealt with books which

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resembled manuscripts, and which have a long history of printed description which sometimes jars with modern online conventions for resource discovery. The article summarizes the desires which Anglo-American scholars have expressed for the content of descriptions of incunabula in the contexts of printed and union catalogues, and assesses the extent to which these are relevant to the online catalogues of specific libraries. It describes the challenges, including the tensions between scholarly printed incunabula literature and library conventions, and the approach taken at Senate House Library to resolve them. It further evaluates the timing for the project and assesses the project’s results, which ranged from institutional to international in scope.

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