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𝗥𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗵 𝗪. 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲. Women’s book collections appear in a wide range of forms: as catalogued libraries; as groups of surviving books linked by inscription and family use; or as volumes dispersed but still traceable through the historical record. In some cases, a woman’s library may never have existed as a traditional collection. Women’s commonplace books record reading lives—and can produce something like a library in manuscript form. Considered together, these collections are not always bounded or stable. Some are large and well-documented; others survive only in small clusters or scattered traces.
Drawing on examples ranging from the seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century, this lecture examines how these different modes of creation and survival complicate familiar ideas about what a library can be. Looking for such associations—and for the ways book collections are formed, dispersed, and remade—offers insight into how women and girls lived with books, and into the limits and possibilities of collecting these materials.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟯𝟬 𝗽.𝗺. 𝗘𝗧 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗩𝗔’𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗭𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺. 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹.𝗼𝗿𝗴/𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲/𝟬𝟲/𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗵-𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿:
Elizabeth Canning is a collector of early modern books and manuscripts, with a focus on how women used books to shape their intellectual, social, and professional lives. Her collection brings together printed and manuscript materials that document women as authors, readers, and participants in the book trade, with particular attention to evidence of ownership and use.
Canning has studied book history at Rare Book School, London Rare Book School, and the Harvard Extension School, and holds a BA in English from Reed College. She serves on the board of the Book Club of Washington, where she helped launch a scholarship program supporting Washington students at Rare Book School. Her writing has appeared in the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 of the Book Club of Washington and the 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, and she has presented on book collecting at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair and early midwifery books at Bastyr University.
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Event Venue
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, UVA, 114 Alderman Library, Charlottesville, VA 22903-2444, United States
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