Join us on an intriguing journey into the rare book room at the Field Museum, where Emily and Christine, the museum librarian and head of library collections, delve into the fascinating world of rare books. This special room, known as the Mary W. Reynolds rare book room, houses about 7,500 volumes that capture the essence of natural history and early explorations.
Christine explains that rare books aren’t just old; they meet various criteria. A book might be rare due to its unique association, significant first owner, high market value, or limited production. Some books are rare because they are unique, like handwritten manuscripts or original pattern plates.
One standout piece in the collection is a book titled American Medicinal Plants, published in 1887. It features original pattern and proof plates by Charles Millspaugh, an early curator at the museum. These plates are unique to this collection, showcasing the meticulous work that went into creating the final published book.
Christine shares a book from 1554 by Ippolito Salviani, one of the earliest works in natural history. This book, filled with descriptions of Mediterranean fish, is notable for its copperplate engravings, a pioneering technique at the time. Although available online, seeing such works in person offers a unique experience.
Another gem is Investigations and Studies in Jade, published in 1906. This book, one of only 100 copies, features exquisite images of jade objects. Once published, the plates used to create these images were destroyed, ensuring the book’s rarity.
Among the collection is a first edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species from 1859. This edition is distinguished by a misspelling of the word “species” on page 20. With only about 1,250 copies issued, this book is part of the Darwin census project, which tracks existing copies worldwide.
One of the most impressive works is John James Audubon’s Birds of America, presented in a double elephant folio. This massive book features life-sized, hand-colored illustrations of birds. The museum’s complete set of four volumes, including all 13 composite plates, was acquired at auction in 1969.
For those interested in exploring these rare materials, the museum has partnered with the Biodiversity Heritage Library to digitize over 50 million pages of literature. This incredible resource is freely available online, allowing anyone to access these historical treasures.
Emily expresses her gratitude to Christine for the enlightening tour, highlighting the importance of preserving and sharing these rare works with the world.
Embark on a virtual tour of the Mary W. Reynolds rare book room. As you navigate through the digital space, take notes on the unique features and historical significance of the books you encounter. Reflect on how the digital experience compares to viewing these works in person.
Conduct research on what makes a book rare. Focus on criteria such as historical significance, unique associations, and market value. Prepare a presentation to share your findings with your classmates, using examples from the museum’s collection to illustrate each point.
Choose a historical book from the collection, such as Ippolito Salviani’s work on Mediterranean fish. Attempt to recreate one of its illustrations using the copperplate engraving technique. Document your process and present your reproduction alongside the original for comparison.
Analyze the significance of first editions by examining Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. Discuss the impact of first editions on the value and rarity of books. Write a short essay on how the misspelling on page 20 contributes to the book’s uniqueness.
Access the Biodiversity Heritage Library’s digital archive and explore the collection of digitized rare books. Select a book that interests you and write a review on its content and historical context. Discuss the benefits and limitations of accessing rare books online.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
**Emily:** So we are here in the rare book room with Christine. What do you do here in the library?
**Christine:** I am the museum librarian and head of library collections here at the Field Museum.
**Emily:** We are in a particular room in the library; this isn’t what the rest of the library looks like.
**Christine:** So we are in the Mary W. Reynolds rare book room, and this is about 7,500 volumes of rare materials that are most easily described as the history of natural history and early travels and voyages. It’s about natural history.
**Emily:** So these aren’t just like the oldest books that you have in the collection.
**Christine:** Exactly. People often think that rare books are all old, and they’re not necessarily. There are several different criteria that make up rare books. Something could be a particularly important association copy, have a very important first owner, could have high market value, or there could be very limited numbers of a particular work that were ever created.
**Emily:** And you pulled some of these items that we can look at today.
**Christine:** Yes, I did.
**Emily:** I’m super excited.
**Christine:** Cool.
**Emily:** Let’s go.
**Emily:** Christine, so what makes this rare book rare?
**Christine:** One of those other criteria that makes a material rare is when it’s something that is completely unique, like a handwritten manuscript. In this instance, these are actually original pattern and proof plates that were part of a book published in 1887 called *American Medicinal Plants*. This was done by Charles Millspaugh, who was an early curator in the Department of Botany here at the Field Museum. All of these went into the final work that you see here, which is a multi-part work.
**Emily:** So this is the original painting that he did by hand, and this is the plate reproduction of that.
**Christine:** Yes, and sometimes with these, there are multiple versions within this particular volume. The final version may have ended up in the book, but there may have been an earlier copy inside of here.
**Emily:** But this is the only place you could see this particular work.
**Christine:** Exactly.
**Emily:** So that’s one criterion; just how old it is can also be a criterion for being in the rare book room.
**Christine:** Right, so 1801 is often a cut-off. Anything published prior to 1801 is often considered rare and would be inside of a room like this.
**Emily:** And you have a book that’s older than 1801.
**Christine:** Yes, I do. This is actually from 1554. It was created by a man named Ippolito Salviani and is one of the earliest books in natural history, filled with species descriptions of fish from the Mediterranean region. What’s interesting about this is it’s one of the first books where the illustrations were done by copperplate engraving, which makes these images stand out.
**Emily:** Is this something that someone could see online?
**Christine:** Yes, you can actually see this online, but what we’ve discovered over the years is that seeing them online often sparks people’s interest to see them in person.
**Emily:** So they might not necessarily be ichthyologists studying fish but might want to know about the artist who did the engraving.
**Christine:** Exactly. This is a book called *Investigations and Studies in Jade*. It is filled with lovely images of jade objects, ornaments, jewelry, and this is number 96 of only 100 that were ever created. This was published in 1906. The jade collection itself is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but they created two volumes. This is only one of the volumes that has all these lovely images in it. Once they published these books, they destroyed the plates used to make them so they could never make any more.
**Emily:** Wow, that’s amazing.
**Christine:** It is.
**Emily:** Is there a functional reason it has to be this big, or was it just for impact?
**Christine:** It could be for showing the objects in their original size, which makes them stand out.
**Emily:** That’s a cool book.
**Christine:** This is Charles Darwin’s *Origin of Species*. This is arguably one of the most important texts in the history of natural history.
**Emily:** So what makes this copy more rare than a later edition?
**Christine:** This is a first edition from 1859. A good way to tell that you have a first edition is that if you go to page 20 of the book, you’ll see that the word “species” is misspelled, which is one of the indicators.
**Emily:** Do you know how many copies were issued in the first edition?
**Christine:** About 1,250 were originally issued. This has been documented as part of the Darwin census project, and we actually have two copies of this work, both documented in this census.
**Emily:** That’s amazing. I didn’t know they did a census on books like they did on people.
**Christine:** Yes, they do.
**Emily:** The final book we’re going to talk about is special in several ways.
**Christine:** Yes, it’s special in several different ways. One is its size. This is a double elephant folio of John James Audubon’s *Birds of America*. This is our volume two. The other aspect is that it is filled with hand-colored illustrations and has a high market value. This was a 12-year publishing enterprise that started in 1826. People would subscribe to receive five plates at a time, and when they had a complete volume, they would take it to a bookbinder to put together. A complete set is four volumes. We have all four volumes, and our set is even more special because it has all 13 composite plates.
**Emily:** So how did we end up with one of the most unique complete copies of *Birds of America*?
**Christine:** It was actually purchased at auction on our behalf in 1969 and then donated to the institution. That’s how the room is now named the Mary W. Reynolds rare book room, thanks to her generosity.
**Emily:** Why does this book need to be as big as it is?
**Christine:** Because Audubon wanted to have these illustrations in life size.
**Emily:** So if you had a scarlet tanager, it would match.
**Christine:** Yes.
**Emily:** So now that we’ve seen some of the books you pulled, if someone were interested in looking at some of those materials, where could they go?
**Christine:** We have been working very hard over the last ten years through our partnership with the Biodiversity Heritage Library to digitize the contents of this room. We have over 50 million pages of digitized literature that we are making freely available on the web.
**Emily:** I love it. I use the Biodiversity Heritage Library all the time when I’m looking up old museum bulletins or beautiful illustrations for videos we’ve made.
**Christine:** It’s an awesome resource.
**Emily:** Thank you so much for taking the time today.
**Christine:** You’re welcome.
Rare – Not found in large numbers and consequently of interest or value – The library’s special collection includes rare first editions of 19th-century novels that are invaluable to literary scholars.
Books – Written or printed works consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers – The professor assigned several books on Renaissance literature to provide a comprehensive understanding of the period.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs – Her thesis explored the history of the printing press and its impact on the dissemination of literature in the 16th century.
Literature – Written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit – The course on American literature examines the evolution of narrative forms from the colonial period to the present.
Editions – Particular forms or versions of a published text – The annotated editions of Shakespeare’s plays provide valuable insights into the historical context and language of the time.
Manuscripts – Handwritten texts, especially those of historical or literary significance – The discovery of ancient manuscripts in the monastery shed new light on medieval literary practices.
Illustrations – Pictures or diagrams that accompany and enhance a text – The illustrations in the medieval manuscript were as important as the text itself, offering visual insights into the era’s culture.
Treasures – Valuable or precious items, often of historical or cultural significance – The museum’s exhibition of literary treasures included original letters by famous authors and rare book editions.
Collections – Groups of accumulated items, especially of artistic, literary, or historical interest – The university’s library boasts one of the largest collections of 20th-century poetry in the country.
Exploration – The action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it – The exploration of postcolonial themes in contemporary literature reveals the complexities of identity and power.
