The Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts

Le site web de The Penn Library de l’Université de Pennsylvania abrite désormais la base de données de Lawrence J. Schoenberg, véritable trésor bibliographique. Elle donne ainsi accès à plusieurs milliers d’entrées, manuscrits écrits avant 1600, passés en ventes publiques ou par des libraires spécialisés.

« The Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts encompasses more than 60,000 searchable entries of manuscripts written before 1600 and consisting of five or more leaves. This database is intended to be a powerful tool in :
– Locating and identifying information about particular manuscripts.
– Establishing the history and provenance of manuscripts.
– Aggregating descriptive information about specific classes or types of manuscripts.
It includes bibliographic information culled from approximately 4,000 catalogues issued by 400 dealers and auction houses since the early nineteenth century. This data is supplemented by entries from inventories and catalogues of private and institutional libraries. With twenty-nine searchable fields, it provides broad access to manuscripts through a range of discrete descriptive (i.e., vendor, catalogue name or number, item number, price, etc.) and physical (leaves, size, illuminations, etc.) properties. Multiple references to the same manuscript are cross-referenced to facilitate the tracking of individual manuscripts. The database is updated and augmented periodically on an ongoing basis. »

Source :
Michael T. Ryan, Director
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Van Pelt-Dietrich Library
University of Pennsylvania

Site : The Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts