Given the long interest in Dante at Vassar, it’s no surprise that the Library holds many editions of the poet’s works. An author search of the online catalogue in fact brings up approximately 300 titles! Clearly Vassar students have always been able to access the Divine Comedy and other texts of Dante on campus, in Italian, English, and other languages. Of special note are editions deposited in the Archives & Special Collections Library. They comprise a substantial portion of the total and represent some of the high points in publishing Dante over the centuries. Most of them date from the 19th and 20th centuries, though there are important earlier examples too. The current Library exhibition draws on this collection, and focuses on the Divine Comedy. Many of the books have colorful histories that expand our understanding of Vassar’s interest in Dante.
Ronald Patkus
Head of Special Collections and Adjunct Associate Professor
of History on the Frederick Weyerhaeuser Chair
To view the exhibition website visit: https://vclibrary.vassarspaces.net/dante
Image: Il Codice Trivulziano 1080 Della Divina Commedia: riprodotto in eliocromia sotto gli auspici della Sezione milanese della Società dantesca italiana nel sesto centenario della morte del poeta / con cenni storici e descrittivi di Luigi Rocca. Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1921.
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