Exemplars: Medieval Manuscripts in Montreal and the McGill University Library Collection of Books of Hours

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Exemplars: Medieval Manuscripts in Montreal and the McGill University Library Collection of Books of Hours
Abstract
The Books of Hours held by the McGill University Library were mostly acquired as exemplars of medieval books for the Library Museum begun by the university librarian, Dr. Gerhard R. Lomer (1882-1970), in 1920. The author documents their acquisitions in the context of the acquisition of other materials for the Library Museum until 1947, when Lomer retired. He examines the context in which the Library Museum was created: the precedent set by the King’s Library at the British Museum, the Book Production Gallery of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the John Rylands Library in Manchester. In particular, the parallel with the Museum at the Art Association of Montreal established by F. Cleveland Morgan is noted. The author also discusses three earlier Montreal collections that included Books of Hours: the Montreal Caxton Exhibition of 1877 and the private collections of Gerald E. Hart and J. B. Learmont. The author proposes that McGill's Library Museum should be seen as a history of the book museum, one that traces book culture across time and civilizations.
Publication
Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme
Volume
Vol. 39
Issue
no. 4
Pages
73-105
Date
2016
Language
en
Citation
Virr, Richard. “Exemplars: Medieval Manuscripts in Montreal and the McGill University Library Collection of Books of Hours.” Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme Vol. 39, no. 4 (2016): 73–105.
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