Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-16
PRESENTS
PAPAL BULLS TO
CONGRESS LIBRARY
Gift Made in Recognition of
Aid in Reorganizing vati-
can Challenging.
DOCUMENTS GATHERED
AFTER EXTENSIVE SEARCH
Manuscripts Are All in Latin and
Have Been Restored on.
Finest Parchment.

Pope Plus XII has presented to the
Library of Congress elaborate repro
auctions of 80 papal bulls issued before
1000 A.D all that could be secured
in Spain, Germany and Italy, in recog-
milton of aid given in recognizing the
cataloguing system of the Vatican
library
The bulls, many of them in a very
tattered condition, were gathered after
an extensive search and restored on
the finest parchment at the Vatican
library by method involving very
delicate workmanship. The method
consisted of covering new sheet of
parchment with q thin gelatin coat
ing and then rolling down upon 1t a
sheet of the ancient manuscript often
falling to pieces, so carefully that each
letter fell in its proper place.
Pope Directs Search.
The search for the bulls was carried
on under the instructions of Pope Plus,
himself formerly a librarian, who has
taken deep interest in such researches.
Many of the bulls of the earlier popes
no longer can be found. The manu-
scripts are all in Latin, with medieval
variations in spelling and phraseology,
making them difficult to translate.
The collection sent to the Library
Of Congress contains bulls of Paschal
First, Leo the Fourth, Stephen the
Benedict the Seventh, Gregory the
Fifth, Silvestre the Second, John the
Eighteenth and Benedict the Eighth.
They are expected to throw much light
on certain phases of medieval history.
BY the gift the Vatican shows It's APP
probation of the services of Charles
Martel, chief cataloger of the Library
OF Congress, and three associates, who
went to Rome in 1923 to aid in INSTALL
ing In the Vatican Library the Library
OF Congress cataloging system, and also
OF the assistance rendered here to
Mgr. Eugene Tisserant, Mgr. Enrico
Benedict and Prof. Don Camelo Scarlia
of the Vatican Library staff, who came
to Washington to study the methods
used.
Relations Established.
In this way, 1t Is pointed out, most
cordial relations have been established
between two of the worlds greatest Ii.
braries, each containing great masses
Of historical and cultural material
which Is available nowhere else and
each interested in the restoration OF
ancient historical papers.
Much OF the priceless material In the
Vatican Library, while available to stu
dents, in the past has not been easily
accessible because of the lack of a mod
ern cataloging system, such as has been
devised by the Library of Congress and
Is serving as a model for some of the
worlds largest collections of books and
manuscripts.
The cordial relations between the Ii
brary of Congress and the Vatican Lii
brary already are bearing fruit in the
recent here nf a c0nsidora hla y,ooec ~
Photographic reproductions of papal
papers bearing on the early history OF
the New World. one in particular being
photograph of portions of the treaty
OF Tordesillas between Spain and Por-
tugal to enforce the decree of Pope
Alexander VI dividing the newly dis
covered lands between these powers.