Houghton Library and the Standing Committee on Medieval Studies present “An Introduction to Provenance Research on Early Manuscripts and Books,” a hands-on workshop by Bill Stoneman, former college lecturer, a private librarian, and Librarian of Houghton Library. 

This workshop will introduce basic resources and principles of provenance research.  It will develop some examples using Harvard manuscripts and early printed books themselves and supporting documentation. Examples from the collections of George Dunn and William King Richardson will be used as well as manuscripts from less well-known English collectors such as C. S. Ascherson, C. H. St. John Hornby, and American collectors such as Edward Duff Balken, Acton Griscom, and Charles Walker Clark. 

"An Introduction to Provenance Research on Early Manuscripts and Books" will be offered once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and space is limited. Please register for one session only. This is the listing for the afternoon session. Follow this link to register for the morning session: Morning Session.

Workshop attendees are encouraged to attend Stoneman’s public lecture, “For Purposes of Investigation or Instruction:” The History of Collecting Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at Harvard, February 10, 5:30 PM, at Houghton Library.

Image: Detail of Priscian (active approximately 500–530). Ars gramatici caesariensis: manuscript [between 1125 and 1150]. Purchased with the Charles Minot Bequest, 1897.