An exhibit of these early editions was on display in 1994 at Notre Dame and then at the Newberry Library in Chicago. It portrayed primary sources essential to both the history of Dante's reception during the Renaissance and to the early history of the printed book. For more links to Dante-related programs at Notre Dame please visit The William and Katherine Devers Program in Dante Studies . A collection of nearly 1,000 items by or about Descartes was purchased from Rev. Elias Denisoff in 1966. Placing the modern books in circulation left about 100 early titles by Descartes and 30 titles about him in the Rare Book collection.
Languages are primarily French and Latin.
Places of publication include Paris, Amsterdam and Leiden, Frankfurt, and London among others. Publishers include some of the great names such as Elsevier and Blaeu. The books about Descartes include those by contemporaries such as Spinoza and Malebranche among others. For a longer description of this collection please click here and for a checklist of titles click here . Over 500 volumes published in the sixteenth century cover a variety of subjects ranging from architecture and religion to language and literature.