#11 Book owned by John Donne

While we’re used to thinking of archive items as being about people, books too aren’t just holders of text, they’re physical objects with a history of their own. This item sems to have been purchased after the death of the owner, who has left his mark on the book.

1. This book’s full title is “Missal SS. Patrum Latinorum, sive liturici Latini, iuxta veterem Ecclesiae Catholica ritum”. A Missal is a book of texts used for Roman Catholic masses through the year.

2. This one was printed in Cologne in 1609. The printer’s name is given as ‘Arnoldum Quentelium’

3. It is a two volume work, and each volume measures 210 by 170mm

4. Each volume has its short title and volume number written on the text block as well as the spine. Books used to be shelved with the pages facing outwards, enabling them to be chained to their cases.

5. This Missal is by Jacob Pamelius, a scholar and clergyman from the sixteenth century, who devoted much of his time to preparing rare texts for print.

6. These volumes once belonged to John Donne, the poet, scholar and later cleric. His signature is at the bottom of each title page, which was where he usually signed his books.

7. At the top of the page is Donne’s motto, ‘Per Rachel ho servitor & no per Lea’. This is a quote from Petrarch, translating a verse from Genesis and the story of Jacob.

8. Donne died in 1631, and his books were dispersed, both to friends and through booksellers. Around 200 of his books have been identified, but it is likely there are more we are unaware of.

9. Our copy was owned by John Hall, Master of the College in the seventeenth century. He was an avid book collector, who we will hear about again through the course of 400 Things.

10. Although the binding is original calfskin, the book was repaired at some point in the past. During this, some fragments of an earlier printed book were found within the binding.