We are pleased to announce the recent arrival of a number of Books of Hours, exquisite manuscripts that served as both devotional tools and extraordinary works of art in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. These books intricately reflect the canonical hours of the day, a structured schedule of prayers and readings that punctuated monastic life […]

  Sweynheym and Pannartz were groundbreaking figures in the history of printing, credited with establishing one of the first printing presses in Italy. Active in the 1460s, these two German printers, Johann Sweynheym and Wolfgang Pannartz, moved to Subiaco, near Rome, where they laid the foundations for the Italian printing industry. Their innovative work marked […]

A recipe from the C15th was recently discovered in an incunable edition of Simon de Cassia. The recipe, written in early Czech references a fascinating recipe for treating kidney stones that includes ingredients like burnet-saxifrage, rose hips, and wild carrots. These plants, known for their diuretic properties, were commonly used to aid in flushing out […]

Richard Hamersley was a notable figure in Walsall, Staffordshire, during the early 18th century, serving as both a barber and a surgeon. This dual profession was common at the time, as barber surgeons were responsible not only for haircuts and shaves but also for a range of medical procedures, from bloodletting to surgical operations. Hamersley’s […]