A Pop-up Plate of the Holy Ka’ba in Mecca A 60-year-old pop-up plate of the Grand Mosque of Mecca by Czech artist Vojtěch Kubašta evokes feelings of acute nostalgia. Arnoud Vrolijk • March 20, 2018
Shrunken pages A manuscript written partly on paper and partly on parchment suffered heavily from water damage. The effect is remarkable: it caused severe shrinkage of the parchment leaves only. Karin Scheper • March 08, 2018
The making of Voyage of Discovery Alexander Reeuwijk on Voyage of Discovery: Exploring the Collections of the Asian Library at Leiden University Guest author • February 26, 2018
A closed book? The physical features of a book offer insight into economic practices and the social or historical context of the object. What is the value of the materiality when a book has not been read? Karin Scheper • January 29, 2018
A disastrous fortification Walls of the settlement at Bimilipatnam collapsed due to disastrous construction. VOC authorities were furious. Guest author • January 23, 2018
Sailing to Asia The Western manuscripts collection contains valuable treasures leading their readers to the Asian continent. Eleven historical travel journals are now digitized. Mart van Duijn • December 21, 2017
A Frisket Sheet for Printing Text in Red Ink A beautiful parchment manuscript was cut up and used for its strength, twice. Guest author • November 14, 2017
Arthurian Hero Meets Cistercian Monks in Bonn Installing the Wigalois manuscript in the Rheinisches Museum. A courier reports. André Bouwman • November 07, 2017
