Podcast

In this introductory episode, Elizabeth Dearnley interviews Laura Cleaver, Senior Lecturer in Manuscript Studies (Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Studies, University of London), to discover what brought her to the study of medieval manuscripts and the rationale behind the CULTIVATE MSS Project. 

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More Information

• The Chester Beatty Library

• Migrant Manuscripts: The Western Manuscripts of the Chester Beatty Collection

• Read more about Alfred Chester Beatty and Edith Beatty from the CULTIVATE MSS project

• Wilfrid Voynich's Dealings in Manuscripts (c. 1898-1930) and Why They Matter 

• The British Library's Medieval Manuscripts Blog 

• The British Library: Manuscripts and Archives Collection Guide 

• An Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts from the British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

• Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts at The Morgan Library & Museum

• Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) 

Credits: © The CULTIVATE MSS project (funded by the European Research Council, H2020, grant agreement ID: 817988) 

In this episode, Elizabeth Dearnley speaks to Laura Cleaver and Danielle Magnusson about their research on the history of the manuscript trade in Britain and America for the CULTIVATE MSS Project. From the dealers missing from previous accounts to the ways mega-rich American collectors justified acquiring Europe’s medieval books, learn more about why this history needs re-writing. 

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More information

• Danielle Magnusson and Laura Cleaver, The Trade in Rare Books and Manuscripts between Britain and America c. 1890–1929 (Cambridge University Press, 2022) 

• How Worcestershire Sauce Helped Shape our Perception of the Middle Ages 

• CULTIVATE MSS’s Cast of Characters: Charles Dyson Perrins

• CULTIVATE MSS’s Cast of Characters: James Tregaskis and Mary Lee Tregaskis

• Cotton Manuscripts, The British Library 

• Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts at The Morgan Library & Museum 

• Medieval Manuscripts at The Huntington Library  

• CULTIVATE MSS’s Cast of Characters: Henry E. Huntington 

• Manuscripts & Archives at The British Library  

Danielle's chosen manuscript:

• Oxford, Bodleian Library, Digby 133

Credits: © The CULTIVATE MSS project (funded by the European Research Council, H2020, grant agreement ID: 817988) 

Elizabeth Dearnley interviews CULTIVATE MSS PhD student Natalia Fantetti, whose thesis explores the history of women in the manuscript trade. Natalia uncovers the roles and influence of three key figures who encapsulate some of the different aspects of women’s involvement in the trade: Belle da Costa Greene, the personal librarian of J. P. Morgan and first director of the Morgan Library; Isabella Stewart Gardner, the collector; and Anne Nill, who worked for and with the dealer Wilfred Voynich.

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More Information:

• Belle da Costa Greene, the Morgan’s First Librarian and Director from the Morgan Library

• CULTIVATE MSS’s Cast of Characters: Belle da Costa Greene 

• Explore the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston 

• CULTIVATE MSS’s Cast of Characters: Ann Nill

• The Voynich Manuscript (Yale, Beinecke Library, MS 408) at the Beinecke Library

Natalia's chosen manuscript:

• The Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, Cotton MS Nero D IV) 

Credits: © The CULTIVATE MSS project (funded by the European Research Council, H2020, grant agreement ID: 817988)