HISTORICAL REFERENCE
The narrow one-window room, located next to Faust's Study, was decorated in 1857 and complemented the medieval Gothic Hall. It housed Aldine editions and Elzevier volumes printed by the leading seventeenth-century European publishing firms.
The Library's Aldus Manutius collection consists of over 900 volumes that have the high level of artistry and craftsmanship. The Aldine Press was established in Venice in the late 15th century and existed intermittently until 1598. It was the first specialized publishing firm to print humanist scholarly works. The Aldine Press printed mostly the Greek and Latin classics.
The Rare Books stocks comprises more than 6 000 volumes published by the famous Dutch printing house of Elzevier. The Elsevier publishing house produced not luxurious editions but small-format books intended for daily reading or scholarly work. The Elseviers published high-quality books by contemporary authors as well as many classics of ancient Greek and Latin literature.
The majority of the Elsevier volumes have come in our library from the collections of bibliophiles. The most part of them are well-preserved books in outstanding condition. Their sumptuous bindings also have survived.
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The video shows the most interesting venues of our library. You will see chained books in the Faust's Study — the special depository for incunabula, one of the first printed books — the Astrolabium Planum in Tabulis by Johann Engel, published in 1488 and the Voltaire Library.