SAN DIEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY MANUSCRIPTS

Joining institutions from around the world, the San Diego Public Library is lending valuable manuscripts to the San Diego Natural History Museum for the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition.

The San Diego Public Library items are on loan from the Library’s rare book room, the Wangenheim Room. The items include an original leaf from an 1121 CE Armenian Bible manuscript; a 13th century Latin Bible on thin vellum from France; a facsimile edition of the Gutenberg Bible; an exquisitely bound Geneva Bible printed in 1599, known as the “Breeches” Bible; and the Book of Esther on an 18th century wooden scroll.

The Wangenheim Room contains a collection of rare books, manuscripts, and artifacts illustrating the development of books through the ages. The collection, which was named after San Diego civic leader and bibliophile Julius Wangenheim, spans more than 4000 years, ranging from Babylonian clays tablets from 2300 BCE to a rare and exquisitely illustrated 20th century manuscript of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Installing San Diego Library manuscripts
Photos: Tim Murray

Access the Wangenheim Room’s holdings by visiting the San Diego Public Library’s online catalog.

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