John Willis Clark

Hailed as 'one of the most important contributions to the social and intellectual history of England which has ever been made by a Cambridge man', Robert Willis' monumental architectural history of the University of Cambridge is here reprinted. Its unique collection of over three hundred plans, antique and specially commissioned engravings is alone sufficient to make this an indispensable work of reference on Cambridge architecture before the onset of the modern age. This selection from the Architectural History presents in a single volume the complete text relating to St John's College and features a new introduction by David Watkin, Professor Emeritus in the History of Architecture at the Department of Art History at Cambridge University.

Hailed as 'one of the most important contributions to the social and intellectual history of England which has ever been made by a Cambridge man', Robert Willis monumental architectural history of the University of Cambridge is here reprinted. Its unique collection of over three hundred plans, antique and specially commissioned engravings is alone sufficient to make this an indispensable work of reference on Cambridge architecture before the onset of the modern age. This selection from the Architectural History presents in a single volume the complete text relating to Peterhouse and features a new introduction by David Watkin, Professor Emeritus in the History of Architecture at the Department of Art History at Cambridge University.

Robert Willis' monumental architectural history of the University of Cambridge, first published in 1886 in a revised and extended edition by his nephew J. W. Clark, was hailed as 'one of the most important contributions to the social and intellectual history of England which has ever been made by a Cambridge man.' These fully illustrated volumes are here reprinted in their entirety, with a modern introduction by Professor David Watkin. Although Willis and Clark has always been recognised by those interested generally in the conservation of buildings and in the historic development of architectural style and taste, its unique collection of over three hundred plans, antique and specially commissioned engravings is alone sufficient to make this an indispensable work of reference on Cambridge architecture before the onset of the modern age.

M. R. James (1862–1936) is probably best remembered as a writer of chilling ghost stories, but he was an outstanding scholar of medieval literature and palaeography, who served both as Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and as Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and many of his stories reflect his academic background. His detailed descriptive catalogues of manuscripts owned by colleges, cathedrals and museums are still of value to scholars today. James' catalogue of the manuscript holdings of Peterhouse, Cambridge, with an essay on the history of the college library by John Willis Clark, was first published in 1899. Now reissued, it will be welcomed by librarians and researchers alike.

First published in 1901, this is a rich repository of typefaces (including English, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew and Cyrillic), ornaments, borders and various decorative devices used in books printed at the University Press, Cambridge, until 1900. Highlights of the compilation include a wide range of historical typefaces (including Caslon, Marr, Figgins, Blake, and Miller and Richards), stylish borders, corners and head and tail pieces, university and college shields, and a detailed catalogue of Egyptian hieroglyphs. It also contains sections on accented letters and signs, 'poster founts' and ornately styled initial letters. Prefaced with a brief 'Historical Sketch' by J. W. Clark, a noted Cambridge academic and antiquarian, Specimens is a valuable archive of the craft of lettering and design before the advent of the digital age that will delight bibliophiles, typographers and collectors.

John Willis Clark, a noted academic and antiquarian, published this book in 1901 after completing his work on the architectural history of Cambridge. His carefully researched study (Clark personally visited and measured every building he described, and drew many of the illustrations), provides a wide-ranging account of the history of libraries from antiquity to the early modern period. Clark describes the buildings used to store books: churches, cloisters, and purpose-built libraries; the way collections were endowed, audited and protected; the development of library furniture, including lecterns, stalls, chaining systems and wall-cases; and the characteristics of monastic, collegiate, and private collections. The book is generously illustrated, and its approachable style means it will appeal not only to academic historians of libraries, but to a wider audience of those interested in books and reading culture, historic buildings and artefacts, and medieval, renaissance and early modern studies.