Image: Leaf 47: “Book of Hours: Horæ Beatae Mariæ Virginis.” Latin, 15th century. Otto F. Ege: Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts.
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“Otto F. Ege: Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts” is a digital collection published by Stony Brook University Libraries in December 2017.
An educator and book seller, Otto F. Ege (1888-1951) is perhaps best known for separating and systematically removing pages or leaves from books. A self-proclaimed biblioclast or “book-breaker,” Ege rationalized that disbinding volumes provided the masses with opportunities to study and to have tangible experiences with authentic medieval manuscripts. As a result, modestly funded libraries and smaller institutions were able to acquire manuscript specimens at a reasonable cost.
The digital collection features photographs of the Ege-compiled portfolio “Fifty Original Leaves from Medieval Manuscripts, Western Europe, XII-XVI Century.” Special Collections owns portfolio “No. 19” of the 40 unique sets created by Ege. The rectos and versos of each leaf, context cards, and housing have been photographed and fully described in accordance with Dublin Core and VRA metadata standards. The University Libraries created the collection to increase accessibility to the manuscripts and to aid efforts by students and scholars to “virtually” reconstruct the books from which the scattered leaves were taken.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Project Managers:
Kristen Nyitray, Director, Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist
Victoria Pilato, Digital Projects Librarian
Cataloging and Metadata:
Anastasia Chiu, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian
Victoria Pilato, Digital Projects Librarian
Kristen Nyitray, Director, Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist
Lynn Toscano, Asst. Head, Special Collections
Georgia Cartmill, Special Collections intern
Nicole Shaw, Special Collections volunteer
Digital Lab:
Victoria Pilato, Digital Projects Librarian
Chris Sauerwald, Multimedia Resources Specialist
John Fitzgerald, Senior Programmer/Analyst
Jenifer Holden, Student Assistant
Shinju Sasanuma, Student Assistant
Website Development:
Dana Haugh, Web Services Librarian
Site Assessment and Editing:
Kristen Nyitray, Director, Special Collections and University Archives, and University Archivist
Douglas Pfeiffer, Associate Professor of English
Joel Rosenthal, Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus
Department Associate Deans:
Shafeek Fazal, Associate Dean for Library Technology, Discovery, and Digital Services
Heath Martin, Associate Dean, Collection Strategy & Management
