The Voynich manuscript / edited by Raymond Clemens ; with an introduction by Deborah Harkness.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New Haven ; London : Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, in association with Yale University Press, [2016]Copyright date: 2016Description: xvii, 240 unnumbered pages (some folded), 66 pages : colour illustrations, colour facsimiles, colour portraits ; 31 cmContent type: - text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780300217230
- 0300217234
- 741.092 VOY 23
- Z105.5.V65 V69 2016
- 091.09024
| Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Loan | LSAD Library Main Collection | 741.092 VOY (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 39002100635177 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The first authorized copy of this mysterious, much-speculated-upon, one-of-a-kind, centuries-old puzzle
"For the first time, a complete reproduction [of] The Voynich Manuscript , has been published, featuring essays exploring what is known about the book and extra-wide margins so readers can record their responses to its beguiling, beautiful strangeness."--Nina Maclaughlin, Boston Globe
"For people who like a good historical mystery, this . . . fifteenth- or sixteenth-century Voynich Manuscript will fascinate."--Rebecca Onion, Slate
Many call the fifteenth-century codex, commonly known as the "Voynich Manuscript," the world's most mysterious book. Written in an unknown script by an unknown author, the manuscript has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich. The manuscript appears and disappears throughout history, from the library of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome. The book's language has eluded deciphering, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile, complete with elaborate folding sections, allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, from its one-of-a-kind "Voynichese" text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths.
The essays that accompany the manuscript explain what we have learned about this work--from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives--but they provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book "invites the reader to join us at the heart of the mystery."
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction / Deborah Harkness -- Preface / Raymond Clemens -- The Voynich manuscript : [facsimile reproduction] -- Earliest owners / Rene Zandbergen -- Voynich the buyer / Arnold Hunt -- Physical findings / Paula Zyats, Erin Mysak, Jens Stenger, Marie-France Lemay, Aniko Bezur, and David D. Driscoll -- Cryptographic attempts / William Sherman -- Alchemical traditions / Jennifer M. Rampling -- The world's most mysterious manuscript / Raymond Clemens -- Chronology.
"The fifteenth-century work commonly known as the Voynich Manuscript is often called the world's most mysterious book. Written in an unknown script by an unknown author, the manuscript has no clearer purpose now than when it was rediscovered in 1912 by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich. The manuscript appears and disappears throughout history, from the library of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome. The book's language has eluded decipherment, and its elaborate illustrations remain as baffling as they are beautiful. For the first time, this facsimile, complete with reproductions of elaborate folding sections, allows readers to explore this enigma in all its stunning detail, from its one-of-a-kind 'Voynichese' text to its illustrations of otherworldly plants, unfamiliar constellations, and naked women swimming though fantastical tubes and green baths. The essays that accompany the manuscript explain what we have learned about this work--from alchemical, cryptographic, forensic, and historical perspectives--but they provide few definitive answers. Instead, as New York Times best-selling author Deborah Harkness says in her introduction, the book's essays 'invite the reader to join us at the heart of the mystery.'"-- Provided by publisher.