In 1896, Harvard Library purchased its first manuscripts via the trade from the auction of Sir Thomas Phillipps’ immense library Harvard won six classical texts at this auction.

In 1874, Charles Eliot Sumner bequeathed 26 early manuscripts. The late 19th century saw three major acquisitions. Harvard purchased its first manuscripts in 1819, when Edward Everett (later President of Harvard, 1846-49) presented to the library six Greek manuscripts acquired in Constantinople and one Latin manuscript from Florence. Before 1819, Harvard's library included only a few early manuscripts. Collection historyĪlthough Harvard Library’s collections date back hundreds of years, it was not until the late 18th century that the first medieval manuscripts entered the collection. Note that early manuscripts exist at other Harvard repositories, including Harvard Law School Library's Historical & Special Collections, Harvard Yenching Library's Special Collections (East Asian materials), and Countway Library (history of medicine), among others. Of note are about 165 Islamicate manuscripts in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, or Persian dozens of Syriac manuscripts the Riant collection that focuses on the Crusades and Near East and manuscripts in Hebrew, Sanskrit, Church Slavic, Armenian, and Coptic. Among European vernacular languages, Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish are the most represented.Īlthough collection development has centered on Western Europe, Houghton’s holdings are broad enough that they can facilitate study beyond Christian Europe. Over half of the manuscripts are in Latin. The collection is particularly strong in holdings of Italian manuscripts from the High Middle Ages through the Renaissance, as well as manuscripts produced in France and Germany. From cuttings of illuminated manuscript borders to massive choir books, from a late antique Bible fragment to early modern inventories: Houghton Library’s early (pre-1600) manuscript collections offer a window into medieval and Renaissance Europe.Īssembled through gifts and purchases over the past two centuries, Houghton’s wide-ranging collections of over 1500 codices, rolls, and fragments enable research into the literature, art, history, music, philosophy, and theology of Western Europe.

Medieval art illuminated manuscript