Lighting the Past completes the Donaldson Collection

speccoll
Friday 19 February 2016
Some of the Philosophical books of the Donaldson Collection. Note the book towards the right with the spine damage showing musical notation from a text used in the binding.
Some of the Philosophical books of the Donaldson Collection. Note the book towards the right with the spine damage showing musical notation from a text used in the binding.

It took us thirteen months, but at last we’ve done it! The Donaldson Collection of printed books is finished, and its records are now online via SAULCAT. In total, the Lighting the Past team has completed 8521 bibliographic records and 9060 item records since November 2014, bringing us to a cold and dark mid-December day, full of exultation, after the realisation that this stunningly beautiful collection had been catalogued in its entirety. This is the largest collection that the Lighting the Past team has tackled to date.

Sir James Donaldson, 1905. Oil on canvas painted by George Reid. University of St Andrews Museum Collections.
Sir James Donaldson, 1905. Oil on canvas painted by George Reid. University of St Andrews Museum Collections.

Sir James Donaldson (1831-1915) was Principal of the United College in St Andrews from 1886, becoming the first Principal of the whole University from 1890, the office he held until his death, when he bequeathed his library to the University.

A Beautiful Cover showing Andrews Castle from the Scores (Don QL690.S3B8). The collection includes important books of local interest.
A Beautiful Cover showing Andrews Castle from the Scores (Don QL690.S3B8). The collection includes important books of local interest.
Donaldson liked Classics from a very young age. The Adelphi of Terence, with English Notes, bears a note by young Donaldson. I played Pokemon at the same age that he was reading Terence. (Don PA6755.A5E63).
Donaldson liked Classics from a very young age. The Adelphi of Terence, with English Notes, bears a note by young Donaldson. I played Pokemon at the same age that he was reading Terence. (Don PA6755.A5E63).

Donaldson was an eminent scholar in classical, biblical and theological subjects and a respected educationalist. It is enthralling to know that Special Collections also holds 12 linear metres of papers of Sir James Donaldson in the manuscript collection, which include important photography, as well as 4 metres of administrative records from his principalship. Furthermore, during our cataloguing, we have also discovered a number of unique books and two incunabula in his library. Donaldson’s passion for collecting (and also presumably reading) books is clear from books from his early youth, which still bear his youthful notes. This was a life-long passion which began early.

Having to choose examples of Classics texts from this collection has been challenging. My first choice was an enchanting two volume set full of illustrations and published in 1692 in Amsterdam: Diogenis Laertii De Vitis, Dogmatibus et Apophtegmatibus Clarorum Philosophorum).

A Beardless Aristotle. Notice the decorated initials in both the Ancient Greek and Latin texts in the page on the left. (Don PA3965.D6C92).
A Beardless Aristotle. Notice the decorated initials in both the Ancient Greek and Latin texts in the page on the left. (Don PA3965.D6C92).

After giving it a lot of thought I decided next on Die Hesiodische Theogonie, one of the many editions of Hesiod’s Theogony present in this collection. I love this work and wanted to avoid featuring the obvious editions of Homer, Aristophanes, Virgil or Tacitus, all of which are present, in favour of this German edition. While working on the Donaldson Collection, the Lighting the Past team has had to work on an immense number of German editions of Greek and Latin works.

Donaldson did not only own books on Classics. His collection includes theology, history, geography, education, languages and philosophy. I found the section dealing with philosophy of particular interest. Iusti Lipsi Physiologiæ Stoicorum  is a wonderful Latin overview of Stoic philosophy. This edition was published in Antwerp in 1604, making this one of the oldest books in the collection. Donaldson also seems to have had an interest in the occult, owning a handful of books on magic and mysticism such as Ioannis Macarii Canonici Ariensis Abraxas, Sev Apistopistus, published in 1657, with some superb illustrations.

Arcane symbols from old mystic texts. One does wonder whether Donaldson dabbled in wizardry. (Don BF1561.M2C57).
Arcane symbols from old mystic texts. One does wonder whether Donaldson dabbled in wizardry. (Don BF1561.M2C57).

Donaldson owned books in a large number of languages. One would expect English, German, Latin and Ancient Greek but there are books in Italian, French, Spanish, Modern Greek, Dutch, Sanskrit, Hindi, Syrian, Persian, Icelandic and Ethiopic too. Of these, the Book of Ezra from the Ethiopic Bible is a stunning example of a work written in an alphabet extremely different to what any of us in the Lighting the Past team are used to. Classicists and Mediævalists will be grateful that the editor, Richard Laurence, has included a facing Latin edition of the text.

Pict 7_2
The Ethiopic Bible (Don BS1711.E20L3).

Exceedingly interesting was, for me, the first edition of An Icelandic to English Dictionary by Cleasby and Vigfússon from 1874, the revised edition of which is still the best dictionary used by scholars of Old Icelandic (and ever present on my desk). Speaking of unusual languages, Επιστολιμαία Περί Ιερογυφικών Γραμμάτων, is possibly the most peculiar book in the collection. It was written by a Greek author, Constantine Simonides, published in Greek in London and Liverpool, and is a dissertation about Hieroglyphics.

A primer of Hieroglyphics. It is all Greek to me! (Don PJ1095.S5).
A primer of Hieroglyphics. It is all Greek to me! (Don PJ1095.S5).

The folio collection of Donaldson includes a ‘bound-with’, the sixth part of which is W. Spielberg’s Der Papyrus Libbey Ein Ägyptischer Heiratsvertrag , which includes three stupendous facsimile pictures of papyrus manuscripts. It also contains hieroglyphics, making it a nice companion to the aforementioned book by Simonides. My favourite large volume is the magnificent Του Εν Αγίοις Πατρός Ημών Ιουστίνου, Φιλοσόφου Και Μάρτυρος, Σωζόμενα. It has a ravishing illustration of Justin Martyr. This book includes both Ancient Greek and a facing translation in Latin, reminding us of Donaldson the classicist, but it is also about a theologian and philosopher, reminiscent of Donaldson’s other interests. To my mind, this volume encompasses a great deal of all that makes up the Donaldson Collection.

This beautiful folio is full of decorations, and the portrait of Justin Martyr evokes strong feelings because of its realism. (Don f BR65.J8A1C86).
This beautiful folio is full of decorations, and the portrait of Justin Martyr evokes strong feelings because of its realism. (Don f BR65.J8A1C86).

Looking at all those books, one is bound to ask – could Sir James read all those languages? Did he actually read almost ten thousand books? For my part, I wouldn’t bet that he knew Ethiopian! Maybe he did not end up reading each of the more than thirty different editions of Cicero (this would be a challenge that Cicero himself would find discouraging), but after having worked on his collection I can perceive the passion Donaldson felt in collecting these books and his dedication to his research.

Caption: A Great Number of Cicero editions.
Caption: A Great Number of Cicero editions.

It took us more than a year to complete this collection, and having worked on almost ten thousand works sounds daunting. We are proud to have brought these works back from their previously uncatalogued  state. However, the end of this task is also marked by sorrow, the sorrow of knowing that the days of working on such a lovely collection of Ancient Greek and Latin works are over.

A superb edition of Ptolemy's work with this image of Ptolemy that reminds one of Biblical Prophets. (Don QA31.P8W2).
A superb edition of Ptolemy’s work with this image of Ptolemy that reminds one of Biblical Prophets. (Don QA31.P8W2).

The Donaldson Collection, because of its magnificent number of works on the Classics, best represents the University’s motto: Αἰὲν Ἀριστεύειν, (Ever to Excel) since that is exactly what Donaldson did in his passion for collecting books. Now it is time to move to the Low Collection, a mere 750 volumes, dwarfed by the grandeur of Sir James Donaldson’s, but with new and different challenges.

 

Vittorio Mattioli

Lighting the Past Cataloguer

 

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2 thoughts on "Lighting the Past completes the Donaldson Collection"

  • Karen McAulay
    Karen McAulay
    Friday 19 February 2016, 5.26pm

    How can you tease me like this? Do you know what the music is? (I could have a look for you next time I visit Martyrs' Kirk?)

    Reply
  • The Lighting the Past project comes to an end | Echoes from the Vault
    Tuesday 9 July 2019, 10.01am

    […] and Twitter. Some blog posts focused upon a specific collection, such as those on the Crombie and Donaldson Collections – although as it turns out, at the time a large part of the Donaldson Collection was […]

    Reply

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