Early Milton Edition in Widener Displays Vengeance Wreaked by Bard on Poor Engraver--Rare Bibles Shown

Widener Library Treasure Room has on exhibit a number of interesting historical objects, including a water-color drawing of Harvard College, done in 1794 by Jonathan Fisher, and showing Holden Chapel, and Hollis, Harvard, and Massachusetts Halls. A feature of this drawing is that the window panes, instead of being painted in black, are pricked with a pin, so that the back ground shows through and gives the impression of depth.

An amusing as well as valuable first edition of the Poems of John Milton, dated 1645, is also on display in the Memorial Room. Under the engraving of Milton in the frontispiece is an inscription in Greek. It is evident that the engraver could not read the ancient tongue of the Hellenes, and that Milton had a quiet little joke at his expense. The inscription reads, "When you compare this with the form Nature herself fashioned, you will say that the picture has been engraved by an unskilled hand. Friends of mine not recognizing this portrait will please laugh at the poor copy of a poor painting."

A copy of the Book of Ruth from the first dated edition of the Bible, printed at Mainz in 1462, is in the Treasure Room, and is from the third edition of the Bible ever printed. With this book is a volume of the Catholicon, printed at Mainz in 1640, and generally thought to be the work of Gutenberg. This book, a very fine copy of the fourth book ever printed with a date, is part of the fifteen the century collection of J. M. Hunnewell '01. The colophon, or final paragraph of the book, usually containing the place and date of publication, printer's name and so forth, gives a history of the origin of printing. It is this colophon which points to Gutenberg as the printer. The book came from a press believed to have been started by Gutenberg in opposition to the printers Fust and Schoeffer, who got Gutenbergs' original press.