About Archives and Special Collections
The mission of Archives and Special Collections is to collect, preserve, and provide access to archival and printed materials that support the research and instructional needs of students, faculty, national and international scholars, and the general public.
Related Resources
- OneSearchSearch for early printings in OneSearch.
- Digital Media Repository This link opens in a new window Discover early printings such as the Leaves From Famous Bibles and American Almanacs digital collections in the DMR.
Introduction
Illuminated manuscripts are one example of pre-printing. These manuscripts were handwritten, often religious in nature, and embellished and decorated with elaborate designs and miniature paintings. Originally the term "illuminated" denoted the text was embellished with either gold or silver, however today the meaning has generally come to refer to illustrations and decorations in preprint-era manuscripts. With the advent of the printing press, illumination was replaced by printed illustrations. Archives and Special Collections houses a variety of original illuminated manuscripts, as well as facsimiles of rarer texts such as,The Book of Kells.
Source: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. s.v. "illuminated manuscript."
Illuminated manuscripts
Leaf from a 15th Century Book of Hours
