News - Harvard College Library

Petrarch and Bridging Gaps, Two New Exhibitions, Open at Houghton

Illustration from Carl Christian Schramm's Historischer Schauplatz, the first general history of bridge building [1735].

April 7, 2004 - The exhibition, Bridging Gaps in Houghton Library Collections, features rare books, manuscripts, and prints purchased by Roger Stoddard, Curator of Rare Books, and funded by David A. Goldberg, '54. The exhibition includes Battle of frogs and mice [Wittenberg, 1513] the first continuous Greek text to be printed in Germany and the first book purchased in the twenty year collaboration between Stoddard and Goldberg. Other items featured include Pope Innocent VIII's canonization of Saint Leopold, ca.1485, the first edition of Adrienne Rich's first book Ariadne: a play in three acts, and poems, and the final page proofs of Emile Zola's L'Assommoir. The exhibition runs through June 25 in the Edison and Newman Room of Houghton Library. For details call Roger Stoddard at 617.495.2442.

Portrait of Francesco Petrarch

Also opening this week is the exhibition Petrarch at 700, staged in honor of the 700th anniversary of the birth of the Italian humanist and poet Francesco Petrarch. The exhibition, held in the Amy Lowell Room at Houghton Library through May 31, will feature early books, first editions, and illustrations highlighting the life and work of Petrarch. For details, contact Peter Accardo at 617.495.2442.