Rarities From The

schoenberg
COLLECTION

Book of Hours, circa 1475-1500. Utrecht.

Parchment. 129 folios. 111 x 76 mm. Latin. Gothic script. Notes in Dutch.

LAURA KEATTS AVERY, GUEST SPEAKER

Interim Director, Galleries & Exhibitions. Ringling College of Art & Design. Sarasota, Florida
A Legacy Inscribed: The Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection of Manuscripts
A Special Loan Exhibition (65 rare items) from the University of Pennsylvania to
the Ringling College of Art & Design, Selby Gallery, Sarasota, Florida. January-February, 2015
Ms Averys Presentation: Sunday, April 19, 2015. 1:30 PM
University of Tampa, Macdonald-Kelce Library. 401 W. Kennedy Blvd
SPONSORED BY THE FLORIDA BIBLIOPHILE SOCIETY

LAWRENCE J. SCHOENBERG (1932-2014) was always a Big Data visionary. Originally from the Bronx,
with degrees from Penn and the Wharton School (1953, 1957), Larry Schoenberg got the collectors itch early.
As a teenager in the 40s, I visited the New York Public Library to examine the Bull Moose election handbills.
It was the connection, the smell, the physical engagement: history and time captured in real things. Throughout
his life and career, Mr Schoenberg collected mostly pre-modern manuscripts, from Babylonian clay tablets to
regulations for 15th-century bread-making. The recent Sarasota show on the Schoenberg Collection displayed
rarities from across the disciplines (astronomy, engineering & mathematics, medical science, religion &
philosophy) and in several languages (Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin, et al.). With his considerable wealth (AGS
Computers, Inc.), Mr Schoenberg did something extraordinary in 2011: He gave his collection (some 300 items;
estimated value, $20M) to his alma mater. Digital facsimiles may be viewed online at Penn in Hand (Penn
Libraries website). With his gift, Penn Libraries established the Schoenberg Institute of Manuscript Studies
(SIMS), celebrating Mr Schoenbergs legacy and promoting manuscript studies at Penn and globally. Among
SIMSs initiatives is Mr Schoenbergs signature project: the NEH-funded Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts,
an internationally respected resource and model for provenance study of world manuscripts. Recently, SIMS
announced the Schoenberg Visiting Research Fellowships. In a roundtable format, Laura Avery (BFA, Ringling
83), with student associates Sarah Tew & Matthew Andersen, will discuss the specialness of this installation
and its uses to Ringling Colleges exhibition program and Letterpress & Books Arts Center. Ms Avery will be
introduced by Dr Maureen E. Mulvihill (Princeton Research Forum, NJ; VP, Florida Bibliophile Society), who

initiated this event & constructed this webpage with content from Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg (Sarasota) and
Lynn Ransom (Curator, SIMS Programs, UPenn Libraries). All welcome, bring friends & family. Refreshments.