Thomas More's Utopia
What can the notes left in a book tell us about its past? That was the question I asked myself as I worked on a class assignment in Rare Books Librarianship in the summer of 2007. My project partner and I did a physical analysis and description of a 1597 edition of Thomas More's Utopia from the Rare Books and Manuscripts collection at The Ohio State University Libraries. While examining the book, I was drawn again and again to the additions and notations made by its previous readers, including 21 pages of handwritten notes on leaves inserted when the book was rebound sometime in the 18th century.
Two irresistible mysteries inspired my curiosity. The first was the bookplate: Michael Faraday. Anyone who has had a high school physics class knows Michael Faraday, who discovered the principles of electromagnetic force and the theoretical basis for the electric motor. But had this book been owned by the Michael Faraday, or someone else by that name?
The second mystery was those long pages of handwritten material. It appeared to be a family history, but whose? This fascinating phrase caught my eye: "William Baron of Strouan married / a Creighton, murder'd by the Earl / of Athol whose Castle of Blair he had / just burnt down."
I was intrigued. The final push came from a good friend who has done considerable family research in Scotland. I told her about the notes in an e-mail and mentioned the castle-burning incident. I had a return e-mail the next morning: My friend not only knew who William was, but directed me to a book, James Robertson's Chiefs of Clan Donnachaidh 1275-1749 and the Highlanders at Bannockburn, that outlined his family tree back to the time of Robert the Bruce.
These people were real. But who were they? Who wrote their family history in this book?
After the book analysis project was finished, I approached Dr. Geoffrey Smith, my instructor and Head of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Ohio State, and asked him if he would be interested in having someone transcribe the notes and do some provenance research on the book. He graciously provided me with digital images of the pages in question, and this project was born.
The work presented here is by no means finished. Feedback is both welcome and hoped for. To contact the author, click here.