Original Leaves from Famous Books: From the Otto F. Ege Collection

Otto F. Ege (1888-1951) was the Dean of Education at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Lecturer on the History of the Book at the School of Library Science, Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve University. During his early teaching years he learned of the art of fine printing and became passionate about its history and that of early manuscripts. His collection of manuscript leaves, some of which are available in the Special Collections Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, became well known all over the country. This site includes leaves from famous books written between 1122 A.D. - 1923 A.D. Among the examples are Mohammad's The Koran Manuscript, Livy's The History of Rome, and Erasmus' Adages. This web version of the collection is presented with written permission of the Elizabeth Ege Freudenheim Estate.

1.   Mohammed, The Koran - Manuscript, written in Cairo, 1122

2.   St. Jerome, The Vulgate Bible - Dominican Manuscript, written in Paris, circa 1240

3.   Aristotle, Ethics - Manuscript, written in Erfurt, 1365

4.   Livy, History of Rome - Manuscript, written in Italy, 1436

5.   Book of Hours - Illuminated Manuscript, written in France, circa 1460 

6.   Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Sentences - Humanistic Manuscript, written in Italy, 1470

7.   Cicero, On Duty - Incunabulum, printed by Wendelin de Spire, Venice, 1472

8.   Laertius, Lives of the Philosophers - Incunabulum, printed by Nicolas Jenson, Italy, 1475

9.   Voragine, The Golden Legend - Incunabulum, printed by Antonio de Strata, Venice, 1480

10. Dante, Divine Comedy - Incunabulum, printed by Petrus de Piasio, Venice, 1491

11. Schedel, The Nuremberg Chronicle - Incunabulum, printed by Anton Koberger, Nuremberg, 1493

12. Herodotus, History - printed by Aldus Manutius, Venice, 1502

13. The Justinian Code - printed by Thielman Kerver, Paris, 1512

14. Chronicles of England - printed by Julian Notary, London, 1515

15. Pliny, Natural History - printed by Johann Froben, Basle, 1525

16. Ovid, Metamorphoses - printed by Helizabeth de Resconibus, Venice, 1527

17. Erasmus, Adages - printed by Jerome Froben, Basle, 1528

18. Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars - printed by Robert Estienne, Paris, 1540

19. Aeschylus, Six Tragedies - printed by Adrian Turnebus, Paris, 1552

20. Vesalius, Anatomy - printed by Johannes Oporinus, Basle, 1555

21. Petrarch, Sonnets and Canzoni - printed by Gabriel Giolito, Venice, 1559

22. Barclay, Ship of Fools - printed by John Cawood, London, 1570

23. Jovius, Lives of Illustrious Men - printed by H. Petri, Basle, 1577

24. The Writings of Hippocrates - printed by Lucantonio Giunta, Venice, 1585

25. Gerard, History of Plants - printed by John Norton, London, 1597

26. Hakluyt, Voyages - printed by George Bishop, Rolfe Newberrie, and Robert Barker, London, 1598-1600

27. The Works of Chaucer - printed by Adam Islip, London, 1602

28. Cervantes, Don Quixote - printed by Juan de la Cuesta, Madrid, 1608

29. King James Authorized Version - printed by Robert Barker, London, 1611

30. Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, The New Atlantis, On the Wisdom of the Ancients - printed by John Haviland, London, 1638

31. Shakespeare, The Fourth Folio - printed by H. Herringman, E. Brewster, and R. Bentley, London, 1685

32. Johnson, Noetica and Ethica - printed by B. Franklin and D. Hall, Philadelphia, 1752

33. Johnson, Dictionary - printed by W. Strahan, London, 1755

34. Virgil, Poems - printed by John Baskerville, Birmingham, 1757

35. Thomson, The Seasons - printed by Giambattista Bodoni, Parma, 1794

36. Beowulf - printed by Kelmscott Press, London, 1895

37. Montaigne, Essays - printed by Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1902-1904

38. Milton, Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes and Other Poems - printed by the Doves Press, London, 1905

39. Boccaccio, The Decameron - printed by the Ashendene Press, Chelsea, 1920

40. Homer, The Iliad and Odyssey - printed by Bremer Press, Munich, 1923