Print Treasures of the Alba Family

Yesterday in class we discussed books in the 15th and 16th centuries and how rare it was in those times to possess an item of such value. In the middle ages, books and manuscripts were not only considered valuable because of the time it took to produce such works, or for the knowledge contained within them, but also for their artistic value. To collect documents, manuscripts, and books was considered a sign of great wealth and prominence in a time when a vast majority of Europe's population was still illiterate. 

A European family which has long fascinated me is the Alba family of Spain. (I always loved to read about a woman known as Cayetana who died last year; she was the last Duchess of Alba, the most titled aristocrat in the world, eccentric, mysterious, and she was a pistol). The family has a long history in Europe which spans several centuries, and is well known for its vast collection of priceless art.

Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes, Grandee of Spain

Last night, I was surprised to see the Albas pop up in the news in this Star-Telegram article after our discussion in class. An exhibit showcasing the family's vast collection of art is now in the Metroplex at the Dallas Meadows Museum. It, unsurprisingly, contains treasures such as paintings, sculptures, and furniture. But, I was also interested to read a few of the most prized possessions within the collection are (you guessed it!) manuscripts.

Probably the most amazing manuscript housed within the family's collection is known as the Alba Bible and is the first known translation of the Bible from Hebrew to Castilian (Spanish). The project began in 1422 and was finished in 1430, meaning it missed Gutenberg's movable type by a decade or so. This beautiful version of the Bible was translated and transcribed by hand thanks to the work of a rabbi who was commissioned by a wealthy Spaniard for the purpose of healing the relationship between Catholics and Jews.

After completion, the manuscript passed through the hands of some Franciscan censors, spent some time at a university, caused a little controversy, disappeared for a while, and then ended up in the great library belonging to the Grand Duke of Alba. Today, the Alba Bible is worth about $50,000. More in-depth information about the work can be found here. 

Other manuscripts and documents belonging to the Alba family include a 1568 atlas which is considered "one of the most important early atlases in the world," and even some documents which were written by Christopher Columbus himself during his voyage to the "New World" (the family owns 21 of the existing 41 hand-written Columbus documents). 

It's hard to imagine how much wealth, both of monetary and intellectual means, is contained within the vast collection of written and printed works of the Alba family. That a book could possibly be worth $50,000 is a difficult concept for me to grasp; even more difficult to visualize are the years, decades, centuries to which these works have borne witness. If only they could speak.

More information about the exhibit and the museum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, are here.

Synopsis on Reader Surveys

For the reader surveys I conducted, I chose a 20-year-old undergraduate student, a 25-year-old graduate student, a 29-year-old medical professional, and a 34-year-old engineering professional. While I wanted a variety of ages, I also wanted to focus solely on those considered to be from Generation Y because new-age reading habits are more apparent in that age group. 

While the ages of the respondents cover a range of about 15 years, one of the first things I noticed is that there isn’t much difference among the four of them. While each of them consider themselves to be a person who enjoys reading, none of them have read a book from cover-to-cover within the past year. When they do find a book in which they’re interested, they will usually only read for an hour or two at a time. With the exception of the graduate student, it seems that the majority of the books they keep in their homes aren’t actually literary. 

On the other hand, each respondent spends at least an hour on social media each day; the medical professional said she spends so much time on social media, she “can’t even quantify it.” Each of them spend at least four hours total on their cell phones each day, but two of the respondents couldn’t give an actual amount of time – they simply said their cell phone usage was “too much”.

All of them work between 6 and 8 hours each day and most work-related reading is either email or research. Outside of work, the undergraduate student says she spends about 85% of her study-time reading, while the graduate student says she only reads while studying when it is absolutely necessary. All of these people use the internet between 2 and 6 hours each day and, while much of it is for work-related reasons, they also will use the internet for entertainment.

The inability to disconnect from technology is also a common factor among these four. The only time any of them are able to completely go off the grid is either when they are working at a place where cell phones and internet are not allowed, or while they are sleeping. Three out of the four repeatedly state knowing they spend too much time connected to technology (the oldest of the four is the only one who never made a comment like that).

When asked to complete the sentence, “Reading is…,” a few of them made simple statements like, “reading is important,” and “reading is imperative.” One said reading is something she enjoyed and another agreed it was enjoyable, but only with the “right” book. 

Favorite books named include The Dark Tower series, The Emperor of All Maladies: The Biography of Cancer, and The Staircase by Ann Rinaldi. The graduate student didn’t name anything specific and said her favorite book was “something humorous” to which she could relate. All of the interviewees agreed that literary refers to pretty much anything written, but two of them felt as though the word literary should be used for important or valuable works. Two of the respondents seemed to enjoy poetry, while the engineering professional and graduate student are not fans. 

While all of them claim to enjoy reading, none of them really do. They instead prefer to spend their free time on social media or their phones, so much so that the only time spent away from these technological mediums is when they’re sleeping. This aversion to time spent reading anything of worth seems to be a sign of the changing times – Generation Y wants the instant gratification that reading a novel from cover-to-cover just can’t seem to satisfy.

On Censorship

"Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too." 

-Voltaire

In class Wednesday, after stuffing our faces with copious amounts of chocolate (prof, you're killin' my diet), we watched the 1986 film The Name of the Rose. One of the major themes in this film is the idea that knowledge is dangerous, heretical, and must be prohibited. Eventually we learn that a group of librarians managing the scriptorium are keeping a vast amount of valuable and rare books hidden away under lock and key. They believe that the knowledge contained in those books would lead the world into blasphemy.

The idea of banning books isn't new to us. We know about the restriction of free thought during the Crusades, the times of Puritan New England, and even during the American Civil Rights Movement. We were all taught about the book-burnings committed by the Nazis, McCarthy, and Stalin.

 Book Burning Memorial on Bebelplatz in Berlin, commemorating the infamous book burning that took place on May 10th, 1933 in which the Nazis burnt 20,000 books.

But it made me wonder - how prevalent is book-banning today?

All it takes is a quick glance at the American Library Association's website to see that book-banning is still an issue and continues to occur even now, during a time we largely consider to be of free-thought.

Some of the most banned books within the last several years include The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, To Kill a Mockingbird, and even a children's book called And Tango Makes Three, which is about a same-sex couple raising a baby.

Why are we still doing this?

At quick glance, most of the entities banning these books seem to be school districts and individual schools. Many of the banned books are young adult novels encompassing coming-of-age themes like sexuality, drugs, and depression. Some other books, like Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, find themselves banned by school libraries for having "characters who show contempt for religion, marriage, and the family."

Churches are also guilty of these new-age book-bannings (big surprise, there). The past 15 years have seen quite a few religious organizations banning the Harry Potter series on grounds that it promotes witchcraft and dark magic. Whether by schools or by churches, it's the age-old cry, "Save the children!" Save them from what?

Eliminating the censorship of books has been a struggle for thousands of years and continues to be. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom presses on in the fight for literary freedom each year by promoting Banned Books Week. This year, Banned Books Week will be held September 27 through October 3 and "highlights the value of free and open access to information." Libraries all across the country celebrate the week as a time to educate readers (especially young readers) on the danger of censorship.

A simple way to get involved during Banned Books Week is to read a banned or challenged book to a child, or visit and donate to a library during their event. It's easy for us to take books and the ability to read what we want for granted. The next time a professor assigns to us one of these great works, let's remember how fortunate we are.

"Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors." 

-John F. Kennedy