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A Sneak Peek at the Marian Library’s Upcoming Exhibit

By Olivia Gillingham, Library Specialist in the Marian Library

#MarianLibrary75, the Library’s anniversary exhibit, opens next month and will feature displays of the history of the Marian Library and highlights of Marian Library collections. Visitors will see how the Library was founded and evolved over 75 years, and view highlights from many Marian Library collections including art, rare books, travel and tourism ephemera, statues and more. As a sneak peek of the exhibit, here are four cool items from our collections.

Our Lady of the Pillar statue

This statue of Our Lady of the Pillar was gifted to the University of Dayton in 1950 on the occasion its 100th anniversary by José María García Belanguer, the mayor of Zaragoza. Our Lady of the Pillar is an important title to Marianists because Blessed Father William Joseph Chaminade arrived in Zaragoza on the vigil of her feast on October 11, 1797 after fleeing France following the Coup of 18 Fructidor by the French Directory. It was at the shrine to Our Lady of the Pillar where Blessed Father Chaminade received the inspiration to start the Marianist family.

Notre Dame de la Garde banner

Souvenirs like this banner, which commemorates a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, France, allow pilgrims to look back months or years afterward to reflect on the thoughts, feelings and experiences they had on their journey. Alternatively, they are a way of bringing a bit of the holy site or shrine home, and may be used as a personal tool of devotion. The Marian Library has several of these banners in its collection of flat files commemorating pilgrimages to churches and shrines throughout Europe.

The Glorification of the Virgin by Albrecht Dürer

This early 16th century print by Albrecht Dürer, a German Old Master, comes from a series of 20 engravings called Life of the Virgin. The crowded scene centers on Mary who holds the infant Christ on her lap. While one angel shows a book to them, another strums a harp in the foreground. Various saints including Saint Jerome, John the Baptist, Saint Catherine and Saint Joseph, gather around to worship the Virgin and Christ child. This piece of Dürer’s in particular shows his interest in architecture and perspective, both of which he discussed in his writing Four Books on Measurement.

Sermones aurei de sanctis by Leonardus de Utino

Though we may have manuscripts that are older, this is the oldest printed book in our collection. It is a book of Latin sermons with some Italian poetry, printed in Venice in 1473. The book’s binding is made from Hebrew manuscript waste.

#MarianLibrary75 opens August 13 and runs through October 5. Exhibits will be in the 1st and 7th floor galleries of Roesch Library. Click here to stay up-to-date with our other anniversary events and information, and visit eCommons to explore more of our collections online!


go.udayton.edu/marianlibrary75

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