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The Bodleian Library Incunable Cataloguing Project The library's holdings of pre-1500 printed books The Bodleian Library has about 7000 incunabula representing approximately 5500 different editions, the second largest collection of incunabula in the British Isles, after that of the British Library in London. Link to a history of the Bodleian Library's collections of incunabula Cataloguing incunabula at the Bodleian Library Brief catalogue entries for the majority of the library's incunabula can be found in the Library's Pre-1920 catalogue, available on CD-ROM, and on the Internet as part of OLIS, Oxford University's online university library catalogue. An excellent draft catalogue on cards was prepared between 1954 and 1971, by the late L. A. Sheppard (1890-1985), formerly Deputy Keeper in the Department of Printed Books, at the British Museum, following his retirement from therein 1954. This information, coupled with material from the Incunable Short-Title Catalogue has formed an excellent foundation on which to build in the creation of the new catalogue, the planning of which was begun in 1989 by Dr Kristian Jensen, and is funded from external sources. The new catalogue will provide descriptions of all of the Bodleian's incunables, and these will be of the same standard now expected for medieval manuscripts. In particular there will be amore detailed analysis of the contents of each book, which will identify (where possible) all the works in that volume, and give references to modern editions; there will also be detailed descriptions of bindings, decoration, and provenances. It is not the aim of the project to replicate typographical information which is already available in one of the other detailed incunable catalogues, such as GW, BMC or Polain. The work of the cataloguing team is supported by assistance from a board of academic advisers, distinguished scholars in a wide range of fields, from classics to scientific texts, renaissance philosophy to medieval liturgy, Italian bookbindings to medieval German school texts. The advisers not only provide expert help within their areas of study, but have also been able to offer advice on the form and presentation of the catalogue in order that it might be of most assistance to those wishing to use it. Work on the catalogue (which is based within the Rare Books & Printed Ephemera Section of the Bodleian's Department of Special Collections & Western Manuscripts) commenced formally in January 1992. Since then, the cataloguing team has included the following: Dr Kristian Jensen, Dr Alan Coates, Ms Helen Dixon, Dr Cristina Dondi, and Dr Bettina Wagner. The intention is that the main work of cataloguing should be completed by the summer of 2002, and that, after one year's editorial work, the catalogue should be ready for publication by Oxford University Press during 2003. For further information about the project, the catalogue, and the Bodleian's incunables, please contact incunabula@bodley.ox.ac.uk Back to Rare Books page

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The Bodleian Library Incunable Cataloguing Project

The library's holdings of pre-1500 printed books

The Bodleian Library has about 7000 incunabula representing approximately 5500 different editions, the second largest collection of incunabula in the British Isles, after that of the British Library in London.

Link to a history of the Bodleian Library's collections of incunabula

Cataloguing incunabula at the Bodleian Library

Brief catalogue entries for the majority of the library's incunabula can be found in the Library's Pre-1920 catalogue, available on CD-ROM, and on the Internet as part of OLIS, Oxford University's online university library catalogue. An excellent draft catalogue on cards was prepared between 1954 and 1971, by the late L. A. Sheppard (1890-1985), formerly Deputy Keeper in the Department of Printed Books, at the British Museum, following his retirement from therein 1954. This information, coupled with material from the Incunable Short-Title Catalogue has formed an excellent foundation on which to build in the creation of the new catalogue, the planning of which was begun in 1989 by Dr Kristian Jensen, and is funded from external sources.

The new catalogue will provide descriptions of all of the Bodleian's incunables, and these will be of the same standard now expected for medieval manuscripts. In particular there will be amore detailed analysis of the contents of each book, which will identify (where possible) all the works in that volume, and give references to modern editions; there will also be detailed descriptions of bindings, decoration, and provenances. It is not the aim of the project to replicate typographical information which is already available in one of the other detailed incunable catalogues, such as GW, BMC or Polain. The work of the cataloguing team is supported by assistance from a board of academic advisers, distinguished scholars in a wide range of fields, from classics to scientific texts, renaissance philosophy to medieval liturgy, Italian bookbindings to medieval German school texts. The advisers not only provide expert help within their areas of study, but have also been able to offer advice on the form and presentation of the catalogue in order that it might be of most assistance to those wishing to use it.

Work on the catalogue (which is based within the Rare Books & Printed Ephemera Section of the Bodleian's Department of Special Collections & Western Manuscripts) commenced formally in January 1992. Since then, the cataloguing team has included the following: Dr Kristian Jensen, Dr Alan Coates, Ms Helen Dixon, Dr Cristina Dondi, and Dr Bettina Wagner. The intention is that the main work of cataloguing should be completed by the summer of 2002, and that, after one year's editorial work, the catalogue should be ready for publication by Oxford University Press during 2003.

For further information about the project, the catalogue, and the Bodleian's incunables, please contact incunabula@bodley.ox.ac.uk

Back to Rare Books page