Category: Rare books

Work experience in the Library & Archives

Post author By Alice
Post date 16 August 2024

In July 2024 two pupils from local schools spent a week working with the Hertford Library and Archives team. The team enjoyed welcoming the pupils, introducing them to how libraries and archives work and their enthusiasm for the library’s summer stock check and the special collections digitisation projects! The placements were organised through the College’s links with local schools.

Year 10 Work Experience Week

Getting selected to work at Hertford College Library for my year 10 work experience gave me an insight into how libraries actually run. On the first day, I was given a timetable looking at what I’m doing each day, and why. I was given an induction introducing me to the workplace, along with a tour which led me to the library. Although before I didn’t have much experience of libraries, except for the one that my school has open for all students that I rarely use and go to, Hertford library taught me about things like ‘rare books’, ‘archives’ and ‘oral history’ that I quickly learnt.

Monday: I had a look at the inside of the bridge which is described as one of the most famous buildings in Oxford and attracts most of the tourists. Emilie the HR Manager gave me and the other work experience students from my school the history of the bridge and how it was built. I was shy at first when I was separated from the others, but as I was introduced to the librarians Alice and Katherine, they showed me what I’d be doing with them over the course of the five days I’m here. After having a tour of the main areas, I was introduced to ‘rare books’. I was shown features of rare books, how they were made at the time, and how they’re taken care of, by the rare books cataloguer Sophie.

View of windows and ceiling of Hertford's bridge. Curved windows with decorative leadwork and a wood panelled ceiling. — Inside of Hertford’s bridge

Hertford College's bridge over New College Lane. Historic bridge in light brown stone joining two buildings. — Inside of Hertford’s bridge

On Tuesday, since Hertford currently has a temporary library, we went to Regent’s Park College, which gave me another view of college libraries. The main thing I learned was how to stock check books. This included scanning them, organising them alphabetically, cleaning, and putting them back on the shelves. I found it a bit tiring at first but as I gradually did it for longer, I began to get into the flow and enjoyed it a bit.

Inside of Regent's Park College Library, with low shelves down the middle of the room filled with books and a large skylight. — Regent’s Park Library

Close-up of shelves in Regent's Park Library. Gold inscription n a shelf-end in the foreground, with shelves full of books in the background. — Regent’s Park Library

Wednesday: I went to the Weston, visited an exhibition on an author named Kafka, then visited another one focusing on famous writers editing their work. I saw some of the library from the ground floor, and it looked really nice with how it was showcased with the glass and shelving.

Item in the Kafka display at the Weston Library

Thursday, I met the College archivist Lucy, I learnt about her job which involves looking at old archives and records from former students and learnt how to scan and digitise them. This included documents, statements, old records and even sound recordings. On Friday, I did more work with Lucy, I listened to a tape recording of someone answering a questionnaire, and wrote notes about it. Then I had a trip to Balliol College which was really fascinating as I saw the variety of books and rooms they had.

Reading room in Balliol College Library. Wooden study table with chairs, shelving in background with books and photographs on display. — Balliol College Library

Wooden book shelves in Balliol College Library — Balliol College Library

I’m now writing to summarise and explain the highlights of my work experience here at Hertford and experience here. The highlights were definitely looking at the archives, stock checking and visiting other colleges, meeting different people who had different jobs and roles and having to get into routine of getting up for work.

Year 12 Work Experience Week

I arrived on Monday and Emilie showed me around the site then took me to see Alice and Katherine (the librarians) in the library where I started doing stock checking which is repetitive but fun. Afterwards I took some pictures of Ortus Sanitatis – it was really old and had interesting annotations I couldn’t read.

Woodcut print of an apple tree form Ortus Sanitatis, with the annotation 'Apples' next to it. — ‘Apples’ in *Ortus Sanitatis*

Initial letter 'H' from a page of Ortus Sanitatis — ‘Apples’ in *Ortus Sanitatis*

On Tuesday I came in and started with stock checking again, then we went to visit Wadham. We went down into their library and saw really old and rare books. One was the huge King James bible (Wadham’s librarians have made a video about this one). Another was an eleventh century book of gospels and not many people have seen it so I feel really lucky.

Page of Wadham's copy of the Book of Gospels, with a large letter B illuminated in Blue and Red. — Book of Gospels

The front desk of Wadham's Library, with a column and handrail for steps in the foreground. — Book of Gospels

After this we went back and took more pictures of books for the display. This one was a first edition copy of Newton’s Principia which had another edition’s corrections as annotations.

Newton’s Principia

On Wednesday I stock checked more books and have now done over 700 (1300 done total). I also went to Mansfield College and looked around their grounds. Their library has a lot of intricate decoration and some displays of books. I also made notes on a recorded interview of an alumnus talking about their time as a student in the 1940s, which was interesting. I also talked to the accountant (Judi) and discussed her job and surrounding jobs as I am interested in joining that field of work. She gave me some good advice and thought I would be a good accountant.

On Thursday I met with the archivist Lucy and looked at some of Jackson’s architectural drawings of Hertford College, University of Oxford. We then gave a tour to another work experience student from Mansfield.

A page from the Jackson drawings, showing a close-up detail of an altar cloth in blue red and gold. — Altar cloth detail

A page from the Jackson drawings, showing a plan for the chapel portico. — Altar cloth detail

On Friday with Lucy we digitalised some old portraits and letters from the 1800s and some alumni questionnaires from the survey in 1985. I then stock checked more books, with 1500 done in total.

I didn’t really know what to expect coming into a library but I learnt that you need to be confident in your hands, you need to be able to carry multiple books easily but also be able to gently handle old and rare books.

Tags Archives, Digitisation, Library, Rare books

Rare books

Astronomy and Alchemy in Hertford’s Manuscript Collection

Post author By Alice
Post date 27 May 2024

While the rare books are stored off site during Hertford’s major library re-development, rare books expert Sophie Floate takes a further look into our manuscript collection, most of which are currently housed at the Bodleian Library. Several of the items there are on broadly astrological or alchemical themes, some of which are quite strange. Ranging in date from the 15^th to the 18^th centuries, and given by various alumni, they cover an eclectic mix of subjects!

MS 3: 15th century Arabic texts in translation

MS 3 is a collection of Latin translations of mainly Arabic texts; the manuscript was probably written in the second half of the 15^th century but is of uncertain origin. The texts themselves are mainly those of the polymath Thābit ibn Qurra, born in Mesopotamia in approximately 826 or 836 CE. He wrote extensively on mathematics, medicine and astronomy, though only a few of his works have survived. The texts in this manuscript are some of his own work and some based on Ptolemy and al-Farghani’s theories relating to astronomy, including discussion of celestial lines, the distances and sizes of the heavenly bodies. Some of the texts (for example De motu octavae spharae on the now-obsolete theory of the oscillation of the equinoxes) may in fact have been written by others, including his own grandson Ibrahim ibn Sinan. The other texts are on similar subjects, including tables used for computing the position of the sun, moon and planets relative to the fixed stars.

Hertford MS3 f19r: part of ‘Regulae astrologicae de motibus caelestibus’

The manuscript is written on parchment and seems to consist of several different hands, so perhaps were collected together at a later date. The manuscript has an inscription at head and foot of the first folio:

“Liber Aulæ Magd: Oxon: 1673. Ex dono Nath: Freind de Westerly in agro Glocestrensi”.

Hertford MS 3 f1r: donation note in the standard early modern Magdalen Hall style

Hertford MS 3 record in Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries catalogue

Nathaniell Freind is probably the same man who was schoolmaster of Westerleigh Endowed School in Gloucestershire from 1662-1687.¹ He doesn’t appear to have matriculated at Oxford, though he is listed as subscriber to the publication of Anthony Wood’s Athenae Oxoniensis, printed in 1692. He wrote a brief life of his brother John, detailing how he and John had fought for the Parliamentarians at Cirencester and were taken prisoner and held at Oxford. He also wrote some touching memorials to his son (also John) and one of his daughters, Sarah. The words he wrote about Sarah are particularly moving since she died aged only 5 years old. His son John had matriculated at St Edmund Hall in 1672 and Freind has pasted into this book cut-out signatures from John’s letters to him, which he has reproduced in manuscript, as John also died young. The volume is now in the Bodleian Library (MS. Top. Oxon. f.31).² A few books from Freind’s library are now in other institutions, for example, a copy of Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (“On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres”) in John Ryland’s library.

Hertford MS 4: astrology and urine

MS 4 is another collection of texts, in different hands, and all probably copied in the 15^th century. They are broadly astrological in content, including Johannes de Sacrobosco’s De sphaera mundi (On the sphere of the world), William Rede’s Canones tabularum and a catalogue of constellations by Bernard of Parma. The third work is by William of Marseille – De urina non visa (On unseen urine). William was a physician at a time when a popular way to diagnose illness was to examine urine. However, William’s treatise suggests checking the configuration of the sky at the time of the consultation instead. It proved to be a popular work and much copied.

Hertford MS 4 f44v: William of Marseille’s De urina non visa

This volume is unusual for its quire guards, also know as sewing guards. 14 leaves of parchment have been palimpsested in order to be used as quire guards to protect the paper manuscripts, as discussed by Hannah Ryley in her article ‘Constructive Parchment Destruction in Medieval Manuscripts’.³ This is a process of re-using parchment by removing the text written on it – usually by scraping the ink off with a knife. Sometimes parchment treated in this way would be used again for writing, but in this case, the now-blank leaves were used as guards to protect the manuscript texts (which are written on paper) within the volume.

Hertford MS 4 f42v: palimpsested parchment

Hertford College MS 4 record in Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford’s Libraries catalogue

Hertford MS 7: 18^th century alchemy

MS 7 is a curious item. Written much later than the two previous manuscripts, possibly in a juvenile hand, this work entitled Coronatio Naturae (Crowning of Nature) is an alchemical work probably compiled in the 18^th century.

The text of the Coronatio Naturae had been circulating since the 16^th century, usually accompanied by illustrations depicting an alchemical vessel, various symbolic figures (lions, toads, birds, angels, trees, moon and star) shown dissolving, evaporating and in various ways transforming into different substances.⁴

Handwritten title page in black ink beginning 'Coronation naturae / sive / doctrina de suma medicina / 67. Hieroglyphicis expliocator per / anonymum.' — Hertford MS 7 (click each image to expand)

Book opening showing a hand drawn image of 7 circles surrounding a yellow star. At the centre of the start are two concentric grey and white circles. The surrounding 7 circles each contain a red circle and yellow stars with many zodiac symbols and notes in Latin. At the top of the page is a banner with Cha[x?]s Veterum written in black ink. To the left of the image is a book weight running from top to bottom. — Hertford MS 7 (click each image to expand)

Frustratingly, we do not know at present how this manuscript came to Hertford, but further work into the history of the library collections may throw up clues.

Footnotes

1. For another example of a book owned by Nathaniel Freind see: Hartshorne, Steven. “A Revolution in Print” Rylands Blog (blog). 19 February 2023, https://rylandscollections.com/2023/02/19/a-revolution-in-print/.

2. Record for MS. Top. Oxon. f.31 in Manuscripts and Archives at Oxford University: https://marco.ox.ac.uk/ark:29072/x02r36tz006q

3. Ryley, Hannah. “Constructive Parchment Destruction in Medieval Manuscripts”, Book 2.0, 7(1) (2017): 9–19, https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:89b3c490-c489-4952-82c1-18d162fd25bf.

4. For another example of a ‘Crowning of Nature’ at Cambridge see: Type & Forme. “Alchemy at Cambridge University Library: The Crowning of Nature.” Accessed 27 May 2024. https://www.typeandforme.com/index.php/2021/05/03/alchemy-at-cambridge-university-library-the-crowning-of-nature/.

Library Treasure

Post author By Alice
Post date 23 January 2024

Hertford College Library’s Michaelmas Term 2023 rare books display included a selection of items that have recently been worked on by the library team. Over the past year the team have also been preparing the collection for the library’s renovation project, packing up material for specialist storage.

The display was curated by Sophie Floate (Rare Books Cataloguer), Alice Roques (Librarian) and Katherine Knight (Assistant Librarian).

Guard book of 15th century fragments, Hertford College MS 41

Two page opening of MS41 showing part of Versor's commentary on Aristotle. Two columns of manuscript text per page with an illuminated letter on each. Additional marginalia surrounds the columns.

Examples of different sized items attached via guards to the guard book

This is a guard book – a book with ‘guards’ or stubs that various loose sheets are attached to. Bound in 1954, this guard book contains various manuscript (i.e. handwritten) fragments from works made in the 15^th century. Some of these pieces were treated as scrap material and recycled, probably in Oxford, into later bindings for other books. Finally, at a later date, they were rescued from these bindings and preserved in this guard book.

Thanks to the work of Sophie Floate, Hertford’s rare book cataloguer, and the Bodleian Special Collections team, information about this guard book is now available in the free public website that lists manuscripts in Oxford. This means it will be easier for researchers from all over the world to discover.

The volume includes a beautiful section of Johannes Versor’s 15th century Commentary on Aristotle and other works in Latin, German and Italian. There are a number of illuminated initials at the beginnings of columns in Versor’s work, showing very finely detailed and colourful patterns with gold.

View the record for this manuscript in the online Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries catalogue

Cyrano de Bergerac, The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Worlds of the Moon and Sun, trans. Archibald Lovell, (London, 1687)

Book open to show printed title page and engraved title image of the Comical History.

Close up of page showing text and music score

Hertford’s rare books cataloguer, Sophie, has also been working on the college’s early printed book collections to create online records that meet modern standards. This means that information is being added to the SOLO website about each book, including descriptions of bindings, additional handwritten notes (marginalia) and details of previous owners (provenance). The data is publicly available and searchable, making it easier for our collections to be discovered by researchers.

This book is an English translation of a set of works first published by Cyrano de Bergerac in French. They are recognised as some of the earliest works of science fiction and an influence on authors like Hertford alumnus Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver’s Travels).

The book was owned by Katherine Blount, who has recorded her name, a date and the price at the front of the book. Sophie’s cataloguing uncovered this previously unrecorded information and she shared her findings further in a blog post for the Early Modern Female Book Ownership project. Subsequent work by other researchers has uncovered further books owned by Blount in other collections, including a manuscript collection of sermons by John Donne (a Hertford alumnus) now housed in the St Paul’s Cathedral Library.

View the record for this book in the online SOLO library catalogue

Set of Astrological Works, 17-18th century

Handwritten contents list of 11 items in bound volume.

Title page of 'Magick & Astrology Vindicated' (1651)

Hertford’s early printed book collections contain a very wide array of subjects. Along with standard theological and classical works, there are also many scientific, geographic and popular texts. Many of the books were owned by other people before they became part of Hertford’s collections. It was common for multiple short works to be gathered together and bound into a single book. Sometime booksellers intentionally sold sets of works bound together but many others were bought individually and bound in an entirely unique combination by their owner. This item is a collection of books about astrology. Each item has its own individual description on the SOLO library catalogue.

The book includes a fold out item showing a hand-coloured, illustrated timeline of the world that goes back to biblical times and into the future. This is a particularly rare item. One other copy is known to exist in the British Library according to the English Short Title Catalogue website.

As well as cataloguing items on SOLO, relevant information about Hertford books is also added to the internationally shared English Short Title Catalogue, which includes works from over 2,000 libraries around the world.

See all items in this volume in the online SOLO library catalogue

Thomas Hyde, De Ludis Orientalibus Libri Duo, (Oxford, 1694)

This history of chess and other games was written by Thomas Hyde (1636-1703), who was a scholar and translator of Asian and Middle Eastern languages and the Bodleian’s Librarian. It has engraved and woodcut pictures and diagrams and is written primarily in Latin but includes excerpts in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Sanskrit and Chinese. The book was made in Oxford, on printing presses in the basement of the Sheldonian Theatre.

This copy of the book was loaned to the Oxford University Press Library by Hertford College, along with many other books printed in Oxford. As a result, these books were missed out of the previous printed catalogue of the Hertford collections that was made in the mid-20^th century. These books were catalogued as a priority in the library’s current cataloguing project and records for them are now available in Oxford’s online catalogue, SOLO.

View the record for this item in the SOLO library catalogue

Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, (London, 1613)

Illustrated frontispiece to Poly-Olbion showing a seated woman decorated in a map of England and with sea in the background.

Page of Poly-Olbion with a poetic description of the illustrated frontispiece.

Poet Michael Drayton (1563-1631) collaborated with engraver William Hole and historian John Selden on this 15,000-line poem. The poem tells the story of England and Wales in a series of songs dedicated to counties. The history, legends and geography of the counties are described by transforming natural topological features into characters in a story. Hole contributed engraved maps and Selden provided notes to explain the verses.

Selden (1584-1654) was a student at Hart Hall (a forerunner to Hertford College) and was in his twenties when he wrote the Poly-Olbion’s annotations. He went on to have a career as a lawyer, MP, linguist and historian. Selden was a major collector of books and bequeathed 8,000 books to the Bodleian Library.

View the record for the Poly-Olbion in the online SOLO library catalogue

What has happened to Hertford’s rare books?

Hertford’s rare book collections (and most archives) are temporarily being stored offsite in specialist conservation storage as part of the library building project. Every book sent offsite over the past 12 months has gone through a special process to prepare it for storage. This work has been done by the library staff, with additional support from a brilliant team of trained student employees and volunteers.

Items have been:

Graded for condition and categorised by size.
Gently cleaned using a brush to remove surface dust and dirt.
Details recorded in a temporary database.
Title pages and other unusual features photographed.
Tied using cotton tape (ribbon made out of cotton, not sticky tape!) if parts were damaged.
Wrapped in archival tissue paper.
Placed in a suitable acid-free archival box. Larger books had custom-made boxes that fit them individually.
Securely transported to the specialist storage.

Whilst in offsite storage the use of these resources will be minimised to reduce the risk of damage during transport. Cataloguing and a small number of research consultations and displays will continue.

The Secretum Secretorum of Louis the Great

Post author By
Post date 14 December 2023

Hertford’s rare books cataloguer, Sophie Floate, writes about one of the library’s oldest items: Hertford MS 2. This beautifully illuminated 14th century manuscript was commissioned by King Louis the Great of Hungary.

Hertford College Library has a small number of medieval manuscripts, currently housed at the Bodleian. Hertford College MS 2 is a copy of the ‘Secretum Secretorum’, a pseudo-Aristotelian work with an uncertain background. It purports to be, in part, a series of letters from Aristotle to Alexander the Great, advising him on matters of leadership, statecraft along with a miscellany of medical, health and astrological information. Though early translations claim to be from a lost Greek original, it is now thought more likely to be an Arabic work composed during the 10^th century, known as ‘Sirr al-asrā’. Though it purports to be translated by Yahya ibn al-Bitriq, this is also doubtful. The text of the copy at Hertford was certainly translated from the Arabic by Philip of Tripoli in the 12^th century. By the 14^th century, when this manuscript was produced, the work was very widely read in medieval scholarly circles and there are believed to be over 300 extant medieval copies today.

Hertford College MS 2 was commissioned by Louis the Great, King of Hungary and Croatia (and later Poland) from 1342-1382. Louis succeeded his father as King when he was only 16 and launched many military campaigns during his reign. He evidently showed some interest in cultural affairs too, as after his occupation of Naples he had King Robert’s library brought to him. He commissioned this manuscript and another, the ‘Illuminated Chronicle’ (now in the National Széchényi Library in Budapest), which were both produced in a Hungarian workshop. Miklόs Meggyesi, son of Hertul the court painter of Louis, has traditionally been identified as the illuminator, though there is no real evidence for this.

Many manuscripts copies of ‘Secretum Secretorum’ have illuminations depicting either Aristotle or Alexander, or both, but the Hertford manuscript depicts King Louis instead, on the first folio. It is a ¾ length portrait within an illuminated letter ‘H’; Louis is shown holding a sword and sceptre while his shield has the ostrich-headed crest associated with his reign.

In the lower margins of the page are diamond-shaped heraldic coat of arms – the Hungarian coat of arms on the left, those of Arpad and Angevin in the middle, with those of Poland of the right. Stylistic analysis and comparison with the ‘Illuminated Chronicle’ date this manuscript to the 1360s.

The manuscript has some marginal annotations in a contemporary hand and it has been suggested by Laura Fabian (in her article ‘L’image du roi sage en Occident au XIVe siècle et un exemple concernant la Hongrie à l’époque angevine : le Secretum secretorum de Louis le Grand de Hongrie’, 2018) that these might have been by Louis’ official biographer, John of Küküllő, since he quotes several passages from the ‘Secretum Secretorum’ in his work ‘Chronica Hungarorum’ and some of the passages marked ‘NB’ with a manicule in the manuscript match the sections quoted.

How it came to leave Louis I’s library is unclear; in fact, its journey is completely unknown until it came into the possession of Edmund Hall, a priest who had matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1636. Hall left Oxford before finishing his degree in order to fight with the Parliamentarians, returning to Oxford in 1647 after the army became too radicalized for his Presbyterian views. He was the author of several pamphlets and was once imprisoned for his criticism of the government. It’s not clear why he gave this manuscript to Magdalen Hall in 1658 but he is listed in the Benefactors Book as giving the manuscript along with several printed books. The manuscript has marginal notes in a 17^th century hand, presumably that of Hall.

Example page with marginalia in 17th century hand at bottom

Now that this item has been added to the Medieval Manuscripts in Oxford Libraries catalogue, it can be more easily found by researchers. We hope that this will lead to further research into the item and its history.

Treasured donations

Post author By Katherine
Post date 1 February 2023

Our special collections contain several main items donated by college members, families of alumni, and college tutors and staff. Here we look at two examples of donors and their gifts. Our library rebuild plans include a new bespoke rare books and archives store and consultation space. These will allow us to preserve the collections and share them with many future generations.

A rare gift from the Obsonator

Hundreds of books were donated to the libraries of Magdalen Hall and Hart Hall in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Our best sources of information for these are the Benefactors’ Books from Magdalen Hall. This edition of Lombard’s Sentences is one of the earliest printed items still in the collection. This copy was given to Magdalen Hall by Roger Fry in 1657. The inscription in the book (and in the Benefactors’ book) describes him as “obsonator”, i.e. manciple or caterer for the Hall.

Provenance note on inner leaf of book in reddish pen — Provenance note on inner leaf of book

Entry of 'Rogerus Frye' in ink pen with details of donation in Latin written below — Provenance note on inner leaf of book

Early modern printed text with early modern pen annotations in margins — Text with early modern annotations in margins

Front cover of book, with rough holes for chain marks near page edge — Text with early modern annotations in margins

Cale’s legacy

Hertford College’s collections received a large bequest from Hart Hall alumnus John Cale in 1777. His will records the donation of books, money to pay for the transfer and cataloguing of the books, and shares in the East India Company to fund a librarian. Cale’s donations are currently part of the College’s rare books cataloguing project. We are gradually learning about the wide variety of material in his collection and his distinctive bindings and markings on the books.

This set of brief works is an example of the wide variety of material collected by Cale. The items were published from 1718 to 1754 and cover topics including currency and finances, controlling infectious diseases, political debate, growing hops, and the criticism of the Moravian Church.

Mottled front cover of a book — Distinctive mottled calf binding of a Cale book

Inside pages of book with text and diagram of hops farming — Distinctive mottled calf binding of a Cale book

First page of pamphlet inside book detailing economic policy debate — Economic policy debate

First page of pamphlet inside book detailing pestilential contagion, with a printed seal — Economic policy debate

The Early Modern Library

A Very Serviceable Library

Resources and Links

More about H ertford’s Cale collection

Information about our upcoming library renovation project

Rare Books and Archives at Hertford

Search for Hertford rare books on the SOLO library catalogue

Tags 17th century, 18th century, Benefactors Book, Cale, Donation

Archives Rare books

A Very Serviceable Library

Post author By Katherine
Post date 1 February 2023
No Comments on A Very Serviceable Library

Hertford’s Library has gradually grown over the past two centuries. As the college prepares for a major library rebuild project to create a library fit for the 21^stcentury we look back over some of the key developments in its history.

1820: Magdalen Hall’s dreadful fire

Magdalen Hall was based in a site adjacent to Magdalen College on Oxford’s High Street from its foundation in the late 15^th century to the early 19^th century. A fire in their buildings on the High Street proved the catalyst for its move to Catte Street.

Newspaper cutting entitled 'Destruction of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, by Fire'.

‘I have just time to inform you, that a dreadful fire broke out in Magdalen Hall…this morning, about three o’clock, which totally consumed the whole range of buildings, consisting of about eighteen sets of rooms, in three hours… No lives were lost. All the furniture, books, &c. destroyed. It is supposed to have originated in the room of a young man over the common rooms…’
Source: Morning Chronicle, 11 Jan 1820

Following this fire, which was caused by a student who left a candle burning and fell asleep, Magdalen Hall moved onto the crumbling Catte Street site of Hertford College (previously Hart Hall). In 1874 Magdalen Hall legally became a college of Oxford University and revived the name Hertford College. In the subsequent 200 years the library collections have moved around the sites as storage requirements and members’ needs have changed. The library has never had a purpose built space on the Catte Street site.

Source: Skelton, Oxonia Antiqua Restaurata (1843)

1908: A new chapel

Architect T.G. Jackson designed the new chapel, bridge, dining hall and spiral staircase at Hertford in the early 20^thcentury.

On these plans you can see the new chapel design on the right and the small old chapel on the left, which is now the library. Behind the original chapel is a toilet block (now the site of the library staff office)! Initially the old chapel remained as a single large library room, which would have been a very well lit space.

Building plans for the college in the 20th century, with the chapel pictured. — T.G. Jackson’s architectural drawing for the new Chapel.

‘…Chapel is becoming so famous that the local guides, who used to dismiss Hertford in a single sentence, have found it necessary to add a new speech to their repertoire and to extend their itinerary. This is a mixed blessing, but we may set against it the great though very secular advantages which have resulted from the evacuation of the Old Chapel, which, by the abolition of the ‘horse box’ and the addition of a gallery, has been converted into a very serviceable Library. There is room in it for a surprisingly large number of books, and tables have been provided for the accommodation of readers, who are now admitted at most hours of the day.’
Hertford College Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1 (1910)

Architectural plan of the original chapel before conversion into the library — Jackson plan of the original chapel before conversion into the library

Black and white picture of interior of original Hertford Chapel, looking towards the altar with choir benches on either side — Interior of original Hertford Chapel before it became the library building

Black and white picture of 19th century view of Old Buildings Quad, with rounded top of Radcliffe Camera visible behind stone buildings of quad. — Interior of original Hertford Chapel before it became the library building

The Library keeps on growing

Demand for study space and bookshelves continued right through the 20^th century (and still does today). In the 1960s a library extension was built onto the old building. The space, including the old building, was split into two floors, creating a light-filled first floor and a very dark ground floor. Further extensions were added in the basement levels in the nineties and noughties to meet the continued demand for more space.

Hertford is planning a library rebuild to support many future generations in their academic studies. This project will create additional accessible individual and group study areas, space for the modern book collections, and specialist storage and consultation space for the special collections.

The Early Modern Library

Treasured Donations

Resources and links

Information about our upcoming library renovation project

Rare Books and Archives at Hertford

Hertford Archives’ guide to the history and records of Hart Hall, Magdalen Hall and Hertford College

Tags 19th century, 20th century, Chapel, Library, Magdalen Hall

Rare books

The Early Modern Library

Post author By Katherine
Post date 1 February 2023

Many of the books in this early library are still part of our collection today. Our current plans to rebuild the library include a purpose-built store and consultation room for our special collections.

Representation of Magdalen Hall’s key figures, with Henry Wilkinson holding his plans for the library and Josiah Pullen on his left.
Source: Skelton, Oxonia Antiqua Restaurata (1843)

Henry Wilkinson – Principal and Librarian

Principal Henry Wilkinson (1648-1662) funded the first purpose-built library for Magdalen Hall in 1656. The library was a single book-lined room in the Hall’s original site next to Magdalen College on Oxford’s High Street. As well as donating many volumes, he also published the first printed catalogue of any Oxford college or hall library in 1661. One aim of the catalogue was to highlight what was not in the collection to encourage donations to fill these gaps.

Source: Madan, Oxford Books vol. 3 (Clarendon Press, 1931), p.146

The original library was a simple room will bookshelves around the walls. Early catalogues have been used to reconstruct the arrangement of the library using the shelfmarks. They were not ordered by subject, and larger books were chained.

Chain marks on the front cover of an early modern book.

Josiah Pullen

Vice-Principal Josiah Pullen (1657-1714) continued the expansion of the library. He persuaded Hobbes to donate a copy of his works to his old hall in 1673. Pullen acted as Librarian and maintained the Benefactors’ Book – which we can see evidenced by his doodles on the end covers!

Josiah Pullen’s doodles in the back of the rough copy of the Benefactors’ Book.

Benefactors’ Books

The Benefactors’ Books are some of the most important archival resources from Magdalen Hall. They record donations from the 1650s to 1740s of books, coins, globes, and money to the library. Both the rough (working) and fair copy are part of Hertford’s archival collections. They are regularly used to trace the provenance of books held in the collection and to trace old members of the Hall.

Rules and regulations

Both copies of the Benefactors’ Books include a set of rules for reader behaviour in the Library. There were fees for students to use the library but also strict fines or bans for failing to follow rules.

The rules in the fair copy of the Benefactor’s book. Handwritten ink on paper.

The most costly fines were for writing in or damaging books, which attracted a 5 shilling fine plus the cost of repairing damage. Similarly, bringing in candles, drinks or tobacco would result in a six month ban.

Library users were also expected to be considerate of the library as a space. They were not permitted to leave ‘strangers’ in the library, although they were allowed to bring guests if they accompanied them. They were also required to study quietly in the library and not disturb other readers.

The Benefactors’ Books are a really useful tool for understanding how the library worked in the 17^th and early 18^th centuries. The library relied on direct funding by students and donations of money and books from old members and colleges friends to create the collection. And yet this library has a very familiar shape which we still recognise today, with libraries continuing continue to provide a vital quiet study space and access to academic resources.

Treasured Donations

A Very Serviceable Library

Resources and links

Information about our upcoming library renovation project

Rare Books and Archives at Hertford

Hertford Archives’ guide to the history and records of Hart Hall, Magdalen Hall and Hertford College

Search for Hertford’s rare books on the SOLO library catalogue

Madan’s Oxford Books vol. 3 entry on Henry Wilkinson

Tags 17th century, 18th century, Benefactors Book, Henry Wilkinson, Josiah Pullen

Rare books

Cataloguing at Hertford College Library

Post author By Alice
Post date 27 October 2021
1 Comment on Cataloguing at Hertford College Library

A page from Hertford's typed catalogue listing dozens of books per page, with handwritten additions. — A page from Hertford’s typed catalogue listing dozens of books per page, with handwritten additions.

When the current project to catalogue Hertford’s books started in 2018 only a small proportion of the books had been added to the University’s online library catalogue, SOLO. For the past few decades the main source of information about the collection had been an unpublished typewritten list with minimal information and little detail of provenance or physical condition. The few existing records already in the SOLO online catalogue had been added as part of larger Oxford projects, but this current project aims to add detailed records for all books in Hertford’s rare books collection to the online catalogue.

The first books to be catalogued were around 200 volumes that had previously been on loan to Oxford University Press as part of their “Printer’s Library”. These were mainly books printed in England during the 17th and 18th centuries covering a wide range of subjects from sermons to chess playing.

The Printer's Library bookplate on the inside of a Hertford book. — Left: The Printer’s Library bookplate on the inside of a Hertford book. Centre: a selection of the books on the shelves, with distinctive added publication date in gold at the base of their spines. Right: Title page of a book once in the Printer’s Library, printed in just a few minutes away from Hertford in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre in 1714.

A selection of the books on the shelves, with distinctive added publication date in gold at the base of their spines. — Left: The Printer’s Library bookplate on the inside of a Hertford book. Centre: a selection of the books on the shelves, with distinctive added publication date in gold at the base of their spines. Right: Title page of a book once in the Printer’s Library, printed in just a few minutes away from Hertford in Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre in 1714.

Shelved alongside these was one particularly large and fascinating volume which was given to Hertford by F.D.S. Darwin (matriculated Queen’s, 1883) in 1934. This collection of broadsides contains 43 items, spanning 200 years. They are mostly proclamations, declarations and narratives relating to events from the reign of Charles I to Queen Anne, nearly half of which relate to the English Civil War and Interregnum.

Single printed page of text with royal symbol at top — Left: Proclamation by Charles I (1633). Centre: Proclamation by Oliver Cromwell (1654). Right: Napoleonic bulletin (1812)

Single printed page of text with Protectorate symbol at top — Left: Proclamation by Charles I (1633). Centre: Proclamation by Oliver Cromwell (1654). Right: Napoleonic bulletin (1812)

There are also several very rare sheets; for example, the 28th bulletin of Napoleon’s “grande armée” issued in November 1812 when he arrived at Smolensk, relating various successes (and omitting losses), concluding with the sentence: “La santé de l’Empereur n’a jamais été meilleure” [translation: the health of the Emperor has never been better]. The volume also contains the only recorded surviving copy of the “The St. Lucia gazette, or, General intelligencer” printed on St Lucia on October 21, 1780 and gives a variety of information from items for sale to information relating to the American Revolution. Each item within the collection has been individually catalogued in the online catalogue.

Section of leather book spine with 'Broadsides 1633-1812' embossed in gold — Left: The spine label of the broadsides volume, the book is so large that it is stored flat. Right: St Lucia Gazette (1780)

Close up of title and top three columns of printed sheet of text — Left: The spine label of the broadsides volume, the book is so large that it is stored flat. Right: St Lucia Gazette (1780)

Tall, narrow book held open by book snakes. Book open to show hand drawn red and black in title page. — The title page of Hertford’s Benefactors Book.

Cataloguing an early printed book involves looking at three areas: the bibliographic text, the materials used to construct the book and the provenance. The resulting record which appears on the library catalogue therefore holds a great deal of information which will enable researchers and academics to locate books and texts which fall into their sphere of interest more easily. With the increase in the numbers of texts which have been digitised, often the scholarly interest will lie in textual differences, manuscript annotations and ownership, all of which will be evident from the catalogue record in a way which was not previously available.

Unpicking the provenance trails of early printed books can shed so much light on the history of a collection, especially where written records may no longer exist. The pattern of ownership in college libraries in Oxford is typically a mix of bequest, donation and purchase, with the emphasis on bequest and donation, and this is particularly so at Hertford. Hertford’s early printed books have a somewhat complicated provenance trail. The collection combines the earlier libraries of Hart Hall and Magdalen Hall, which were the predecessors of the current Hertford College (for more on this see our history of the college). We are lucky to still have the Benefactors Book from Magdalen Hall, which records donations from the 1650s to 1730s and often provides useful information. Books can be matched with entries in the Benefactors Book which has proved invaluable in identifying previous owners and their roles in the college.

Close up of hand written entry in red and black ink reads 'Richard: Day Tonsor Aulae Magd: dedit Greenhamio opera.' — Left: Entry in the Benefactors Book for Richard Daye’s donation. He is listed as Magdalen Hall’s barber. Centre: Close up of the handwritten donation note on the title page of the book. Right: Detailed notes about Hertford’s copy in catalogue record

Close up of printed title page of book with handwritten 'ex dono Richard Daye tonsoris Aulae Magd:' — Left: Entry in the Benefactors Book for Richard Daye’s donation. He is listed as Magdalen Hall’s barber. Centre: Close up of the handwritten donation note on the title page of the book. Right: Detailed notes about Hertford’s copy in catalogue record

As the cataloguing continues, the college’s understanding of the connections alumni and other donors have had to the libraries of Magdalen Hall, Hart Hall and Hertford College over the centuries is growing. This helps us learn about life at the halls and college in the past and answer archival queries about old members and staff too. The new catalogue records are making it easier for researchers from around the world to learn about Hertford’s collections. This detailed information is helpful for researchers unable to visit the collections in person, and those tentatively planning potential trips to Oxford. We also hope that, by making the books easier to discover, this will lead to more enquiries and requests to visit the collection in future.

Resources and links

Oxford’s library catalogue, SOLO

Hertford College’s Archives catalogue

Treasures from Hertford’s rare books collection

17th century, 18th century, Benefactors Book, Cale, Donation

Tags 17th century, 18th century, Benefactors Book, Cale, Donation

Rare books

The Library of John Cale (1722–1777)

Post author By Alice
Post date 3 September 2021

Most of the early printed book collection at Hertford is shelved broadly in subject order. This means any discrete collections given by individuals have been separated. Not an issue if their provenance is marked in the books, but this is not always the case.

Books containing a pencilled note “Cale” began to come to light and further research found this to be John Cale, born in Abbot’s Langley in 1722. Cale matriculated at Hart Hall, predecessor of Hertford, in 1739 and three years later was admitted to the Inner Temple where he presumably trained as a barrister. He spent most of his life as a barrister in Barming, Kent.

As I progressed along the shelves, I began to recognise particular bindings as being typical of Cale books. He seems to have favoured a type of calf marbling, and often had gold tooling applied to the board edges. Not all these books have been noted as previously belonging to Cale, and yet they match what I am learning to be his taste in bindings and subject matter. His books, in terms of subject, seem to cover quite a range of topics, from the usual theology and law you might expect in a provincial gentleman’s collection but with a definite interest in the practical, particularly gardening and horticulture.

Another interesting aspect to Cale’s library is that it contains a several books which belonged to a Phebe Cale. This is probably his aunt, who married mathematician Charles Hayes in 1713; the books have her maiden name so must have been owned before she married. There are also several books by Hayes himself in the collection, for example his Treatise of fluxions published in 1704, the first work printed in English to explain Newton’s method of fluxions, and his Of the moon: a philosophical dialogue.

Pasted in handwritten contents list at front of a Cale book, signed ‘P Cale’

In his will of 1777, Cale bequeathed his books and manuscripts to the college and left detailed instructions for the delivery of the books to Hertford, for the appointment of a librarian, and for a catalogue to be made, as well as provision for their general care and upkeep. Unfortunately, records of the college (and certainly for the library) have not survived in any significant amount for this period so we don’t know whether these plans were ever put in place. As the cataloguing of Hertford’s rare books progresses, we are gradually discovering more of Cale’s books. Each new volume brings more insight into Cale’s varied interests and makes his collections, which include some rare items, visible for researchers to locate in SOLO.

Resources and links

18th century, Cale, Donation

Tags 18th century, Cale, Donation

Year 10 Work Experience Week

Year 12 Work Experience Week

MS 3: 15th century Arabic texts in translation

Hertford MS 4: astrology and urine

Hertford MS 7: 18th century alchemy

Footnotes

Links

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Guard book of 15th century fragments, Hertford College MS 41

Cyrano de Bergerac, The Comical History of the States and Empires of the Worlds of the Moon and Sun, trans. Archibald Lovell, (London, 1687)

Set of Astrological Works, 17-18th century

Thomas Hyde, De Ludis Orientalibus Libri Duo, (Oxford, 1694)

Michael Drayton, Poly-Olbion, (London, 1613)

What has happened to Hertford’s rare books?

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Further reading

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A rare gift from the Obsonator

Cale’s legacy

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1820: Magdalen Hall’s dreadful fire

1908: A new chapel

The Library keeps on growing

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Henry Wilkinson – Principal and Librarian

Josiah Pullen

Benefactors’ Books

Rules and regulations

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Resources and links

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Hertford MS 7: 18^th century alchemy