Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
Item
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Country
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US
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Language of name of institution
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eng
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Contact information: postal address
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1700 University Blvd, 3rd Floor, 35233 Birmingham, AL
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Contact information: phone number
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001 205 934 4475
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Contact information: email
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pbalch@uab.edu
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Title (official language of the state)
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Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
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Language of title
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eng
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Creator / accumulator
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Lawrence Reynolds
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Date note
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mid-14th century/16th century
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Language(s)
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heb
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lat
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Extent
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7 storage units
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Scope and content
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This collection comprises manuscripts from the mid-14th to the 16th centuries, primarily medical and scientific tracts, with the exception of a two-volume Book of Christian Prayers in Syriac, dated 1589.
One of the highlights of this collection is a copy of the Ninth Book of the Al' Mansuri by Rhazes, expounded and commented upon by Gerard de Solo and translated from Latin into Hebrew by Tobiel ben Samuel de Leiria, a Jewish physician. Tobiel translated this work in Coimbra, in 1388, under the sponsorship of Moisés de Leiria, "rabi-mor" and physician of King João I. The title page, headings of chapters, and other parts of the manuscript are illuminated with intertwined arabesques and forms in various colours. The manuscript also contains later illuminations in an Italian hand. There are two other copies in the Jewish Theological Seminary Library and in the Dresden University Library, but this is the only one with a title page.
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See more information on this manuscript here
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Archival history
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The seven manuscripts that compose this collection were given as part of the original donation of over 5,000 books from Lawrence Reynolds to found the library in 1958. The Hebrew translation of the Ninth Book of Al-Mansuri had been purchased by Reynolds from Henry Schuman, a New York bookseller, in 1954.
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Administrative / Biographical history
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Lawrence Reynolds (1889-1961) was a reputable radiologist and bibliophile. He attended the University of Alabama, from which he graduated in 1912. Later, he entered Johns Hopkins Medical School and was awarded a degree in Medicine in 1916. Then, he became a resident of the Department of Radiology of the university hospital. During World War I, he served as a captain in the Medical Corps of the United States Army, with overseas service in France. After returning to the USA, he began his teaching career by serving as an instructor in Roentgenology at Johns Hopkins and Harvard. In 1922, Reynolds went into private practice in the Harper Hospital in Detroit, where he became Chief of Staff in 1948. He also continued his teaching career at Wayne University College of Medicine. In 1930, he became editor of the American Journal of Roentgenology. Reynolds's reputation grew over the years. He was a member of some 20 professional and learned societies, President of the American College of Radiology and received many awards throughout his career.
Reynolds's love for books was awakened shortly after his return from France when he met Dr Harvey Cushing during an interview at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Cushing stimulated his interest in books. His first acquisition was a copy of the first edition of Vesalius's book on anatomy. After that, his book collection, particularly focused on Medicine matters, grew year after year. The result was the invaluable collection of about 5,000 volumes that he donated to his first alma mater, the University of Alabama, on February 2, 1958. This donation determined the establishment of the Reynolds Historical Library. Since then, the library collection has more than quadrupled in size.
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Sources:
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Reynolds-Finley Historical Library website
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Schuman, Henry. 1959. “A Dream Come True: The Lawrence Reynolds Collection.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 47 (3): 235–52.
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Author of the description
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Carla Vieira, 2022
Linked resources
Items with "Existence and location of originals: Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts"
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