WilliamThrockmorton Warren of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has donated a rare 1526 edition of St. Thomas Aquinas' lectures on the Epistles of Paul. The gift, in honor of Mr. Warren's daughter and grandson, Anne Guiher Warren Gaynor and Powell Warren Gaynor, was donated to Marquette following a search to identify a home to preserve and treasure the volume.  This early edition is extremely rare--only two other copies are cataloged in WorldCat, one at the Biblioteca Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, and one at Georgetown University.

An Italian Domican theologian, Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) is considered one of the most important and influential  scholastics of the Catholic Church.   Published in Paris by Joannis Petit, the book found its way into the collection of Sir Robert Throckmorton, 1st Baronet of Coughton, Warwickshire in the 17th century.  The book was purchased in England prior to World War II by a family friend for the Warren family, which is descended from Throckmorton.  The book is lacking its cover, but it has its original binding, marginalia, and traces of bookworms.  Sewn to the textblock by the bookbinder, vellum cover pages are part of an original manuscript dating to the 13th century, on the topic of angels, according to Marquette theology professor and rare book scholar Dr. Wanda Zemler-Cizewski (pictured left, with Mr. Warren).

Gift of William Throckmorton Warren and Constance Warren

Alums Dr. Patrick A. Roe (A&S '60, MD '64) and Joan Roe (A&S '60) recently presented one of the rarest of all Irish books to the Marquette Libraries:  The Triad of Miracle-Workers: St. Patrick, St. Columba, and St. Brigid of Ireland. 

In the 1640s the Rev. John Colgan, an Irish Franciscan, transcribed original manuscripts and prepared the book for publication at Irish College in Louvain, Belgium. One of 34 Irish colleges across Europe in the 17th century, Irish College set the standard for Irish printing in the 17th century, developing the font for Gaelic.  Parts of the folio-size Triadis Thaumaturgae are printed in both Latin and Gaelic.

The Roes donated the volume to support the continued development of Irish studies at Marquette, and to commemorate the opening of the new John P. Raynor, S.J., Library.

Gift of Dr. Patrick Roe and Mrs. Joan (Stout) Roe 

This well-preserved volume, bound in white velum with metal clasps, was widely read when published in 1694. Its topic, moral theology, was the subject of considerable intellectual debate during the era. That author Fr. Tirso Gonzáles, S.J., was the general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) made it even more important.

The purpose of the work was to state the Jesuits' official position on the doctrine of probabilism. The basic premise of probabilism is that when one doubts the validity of a law he or she is not obliged to obey it (lex dubia non obligat). Jansenists maintained that probabilism was the cause of lax morals and faulted the Jesuit order for promoting it. In the work, Gonzáles clarified the Jesuit position on probabilism. He wrote that a moral agent should not go against the law unless it is highly probable that by breaking it a greater good is achieved.

Most volumes of this edition printed in Germania Superiori were destroyed by religious leaders who resented the work's arguments, making this 1694 edition exceedingly rare (Bandgert, William V., A History of the Society of Jesus. The Institute for Jesuit Sources (St. Louis: 1972) p. 277). Two other editions of this work are preserved in the Marquette Libraries Rare Book Collection.

Gift of Ms. Irene Bialas

This is a two volume set in large folio. These exquisite books contain over 81 lithographic plates, 3 of which are in color, illustrating the architectural plans, and the exterior and interior views of many of the primary churches in Italy during the early 19th century.

Gift of Mrs. Richard H. Lillie

This edition of Corpus of Anatomical Studies consists of three volumes fully bound in Nigerian goatskin leather dyed royal blue. The two text volumes transliterations of the Da Vinci's notes own notes into English, as well as commentaries by the editors, Dr. Carlo Pedretti and Dr. Kenneth Keele. 

Our copy of The Codice Atlantico, Facsimile Edition is one of only 998 sets made after the extensive restoration work done by the monks of Grottaferrata during the 1960's. The set consists of twelve folio size volumes, 360 pages each, handbound in full, polished calf-skin leather with raised bands and gold stamping on the spines. Each of the 2,136 plates found in this set is a true-color facsimile of the original, restored work of Da Vinci.

Gift of Dr. Emmet J. Doerr, Jr.

The members of the Society of Jesus of the United States tell their fascinating story in the pages of The Woodstock Letters, a journal published from 1872 to 1969 at the Jesuits' Woodstock, Maryland, scholasticate. Restricted for many years to "circulation among ours only," the 98 volume set in Marquette's special collections candidly reveals Jesuit activities and influence.

The Woodstock Letters is one of the most extensive and literate sources for Jesuit information in existence, providing access to scholarly historical and biographical essays related to Catholic history; contemporary reports from Rome and from parishes, schools, and universities in the United States; and obituaries, book reviews, and more.

Gift of The Midwest Jesuit Archives

This 20 volume set is signed and numbered 754 from an edition of 1,000 sets. It has 3/4 brown leather binding with raised-end bands and gold stamping on the spine. The printing was done by the Roycroft Shop.

The Roycroft Shop was established by Hubbard in 1895 in East Aurora, New York as a center for the production of arts and crafts of the highest quality. For inspiration, Hubbard drew from the elegant books and everyday objects produced by William Morris, a 19th century English painter, designer, poet, and writer who influenced many artists.

Gift of Carrie L. West and Mildred (Ruffin) West.   The set was presented to Carrie West's (late) father, Leonard R. West, a noted piano-architect, by the (late) William Steinway.