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<\/figure>The University Library received a valuable addition in April 2009: a unique collection of approximately 1,400 bibliophile books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Ulfert Ricklefs, a longtime university employee, collected these treasures over the course of several decades. To make them permanently available for interdisciplinary research, he donated his collection to the university.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The collection focuses on the early modern period (the 16th to 18th centuries). It covers nearly all areas of the humanities. Dr. Ricklefs was particularly interested in collecting books on theology and literary history.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Most of the works are extremely rare illustrated books whose copperplate engravings or woodcuts were created by leading artists of their time. The collection includes famous illustrated Bibles from the 16th to 18th centuries; significant illustration cycles of Ovid’s Metamorphoses; and important works of European fable poetry ranging from Aesop and Phaedrus to Jean de La Fontaine and John Gay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The core of the collection includes works on the Dance of Death, emblems, and 19th-century English caricatures. Several outstanding examples from the fields of botany, zoology, and geography complete the collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FAU University Press<\/a> published a catalog for the exhibition, priced at \u20ac24.95. An online version is available on OPEN FAU<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPhoto gallery for the exhibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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