Josh O’Driscoll

‘Book of Marvels’ at the Morgan, Oddities From Cannibals to Giant Snails

5 more days to see the Marvels exhibition at the Morgan, brilliantly curated by @jodriscoll.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/a...

Looks fabulous. Just to clarify, those are later copies of the Visconti-Sforza cards.

This is so incredibly important to learn and a great way to start a manuscripts class!

An amazing book. The specific position of the planets in this diagram also dates the manuscript to 16 April, 816 (according to Elly Dekker and others)

Belle da Costa Greene and Columbia (Story of a library theft is in there too). 📜
blogs.library.columbia.edu/rbml/2025/01...

An unknown leaf from the Poor Clares of Cologne The involvement of nuns in creating beautiful medieval manuscripts is often underappreciated. It is very exciting, then, to discover a new example of their work. While searching for items to include i...

There's an interesting new blogpost by Ellie Jackson at the BL:
blogs.bl.uk/digitisedman...
#fragmentology #mssprovenance

The shelfmark is in the alt text. I don’t think it’s available online (the BL website hasn’t fully recovered as far as I know).

Just had an idea

Yeah, not sure exactly what she’s doing but the marginal scenes often feature pets, hunting, mermaids, etc

A marginal owl in the corner of a book of hours from Besançon, ca. 1470 (Morgan MS M.28)

Silver and blue skies in the background of a miniature from the same book of hours.

Monkeys playing in the margins of the same book of hours

Checking this manuscript for work and was delighted to find a surprise owl, silver skies, and silly monkeys (Besançon, ca. 1470; MS M.28)

They are very confusing! Can’t promise to change that, but I’m writing an article (due end of December) that’s in part about Isabella’s patronage. I’m arguing that she also commissioned our recently acquired cutting (MS M.1232).

Yes that’s why I said “to specialists on the topic.” Despite these earlier references, no one who works on this material has been aware of this leaf, which is surprising considering how important it is for understanding the scriptorium’s production ca. 1360.

What’s astonishing is the inscription linking it to Isabella of Guelders, the convent’s most important patron. She left 20 marks for the “splendid book” which I believe was completed after her death in 1354.

14th-century choir book leaf from the scriptorium of the Poor Clares in Cologne (London, BL, Add MS 35069, fol. 11).

Detail of choir book leaf featuring a depiction of Isabella of Guelders

A big surprise (for me) of the Medieval Women show at the BL was this 14th-c. leaf from the scriptorium of the Poor Clares of Cologne. It’s completely unknown to specialists on the topic. Thankfully curator Ellie Jackson recognized its importance 👏👏.

A marginal scene of a pig taking charge of an old man

Another marginal scene of a pig taking charge of an old man

Boss Pigs from a French book of hours (Morgan Library, MS M.358)

Our two cats Chester and Jynx

Chester and Jynx would like to attend.

Imagine coming home late and this little guy gets out of bed, half asleep, and makes a noise that expresses both his disapproval of you and his desire for treats.

A personification of fortune as a blind woman turns her wheel. From a Roman de la Rose manuscript made in Paris, circa 1340.

Blind Fortune turns her wheel. Painted by the widow artist/entrepreneur Jeanne de Montbaston (Morgan, MS M.503)

WeTransfer links should be six months, minimum.

“Bachelor Girl” Belle Greene battling it out at auction (1911)

A miniature showing an artist painting a fool, and a fool painting an artist from Pierre Sala’s Little Book of Love (British Library Stowe MS 955)

Love this scene from the Fool show at the Louvre. Jean Perréal showing us an artist being foolish and a fool being an artist.

Yes do it!

King of Beasts, engraving by the Master of the Playing Cards (ca. 1430-50s)

The fabulous King of Beasts by the Master of the Playing Cards at the BnF

Chester

Page of Swords from a Renaissance tarot deck (ca. 1460-80)

Ornamental design on the back of the Page of Swords card

Page of Coins from a Renaissance tarot deck (ca. 1460-80)

It feels strange to be gaining followers while not actually doing anything for it, so here’s a) our cat Chester and b) some Renaissance tarot cards (now in Hannover). I could talk about either of these topics for hours.

Thanks for putting this together

Looks lovely, how was it dated? There’s a similar runic calendar in ivory or bone at the Morgan (MS M.1099).