3874 entries. Last updated May 23, 2013.

Collecting Books, Manuscripts, Art Timeline Outline

  • Eras
  • Themes

8,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE

The Oldest Surgical Treatise
(Circa 1,600 BCE)

Papyrus Ebers (View Larger)
The Most Extensive Record of Ancient Egyptian Medicine
(Circa 1,550 BCE)

The Earliest Bookplates, or Ex-Libris
(1,391 BCE – 1,353 BCE)

1,000 BCE – 300 BCE

Knowledge as Power: The Earliest Systematically Collected Library as Distinct…
(668 BCE – 627 BCE)

(View larger)
The Tower of Babel Stele
(604 BCE – 562 BCE)

The Library of Aristotle
(384 BCE – 321 BCE)

300 BCE – 30 CE

The Oxford fragment of the Parian Marble. (View Larger)
The Earliest Surviving Example of a Greek Chronological Table
(Circa 264 BCE)

Book Trade and Libraries in the Roman Empire
(Circa 30 BCE)

The Portland Vase. Shown is the first of two scenes. (View Larger)
The Portland Vase: Classical Connoisseurship, Influence, Destruction &…
(30 BCE – 25 CE)

30 CE – 500 CE

A marble bust of Seneca preserved in the Antikensammlung Berlin. (View Larger)
Seneca Denounces Book Collectors and Even the Library of Alexandria
(Circa 49 CE)

A Door-to-Door Bookseller in Egypt, Second Century CE
(Circa 150 CE)

Fragment 75. (View Larger)
The Oldest Surviving Fragment from the Gospel of Luke
(175 CE – 225 CE)

One of the Oldest Papyrus Codices of the New Testament
(Circa 175 CE – 250 CE)

The Crosby-Schoyen Codex: One of the Earliest Extant Papyrus Codices
(Circa 250 CE)

One of the four leaves of the Vergilius Augusteus that resides in the Vatican Library.(View Larger)
Manuscript Example of Roman Square Capitals and the Earliest Large Ornamented…
(Circa 300 CE)

The Oldest Surviving Manuscript of the Comedies of Terence
(Circa 350 CE – 450 CE)

Title page from the Chronography of 354. (View Larger)
The Earliest Dated Codex with Full-Page Illustrations
(354 CE)

Page 215 of MS G.67, depicting the acts of the apostles. (View Larger)
"The Earliest Evidence for Tooling on a Leather Bookbinding"
(Circa 400 CE)

One of the Few Surviving Sources for the Administrative Structure of the Late Roman Empire
(Circa 420 CE)

Fragment 26v of the Cotton Genesis, depicting Abraham. (View Larger)
Fragments of a Fifth or Sixth Century Codex
(Circa 450 CE – 550)

Achilles sacrificing to Zeus from the Ambrosian Iliad. (View Larger)
The Only Illustrated Homer from Antiquity
(493 CE – 508)

500 CE – 600

An illustration of illustration of the species 'Akoniton napellus,' folio 67v. (View Larger)
Probably the Most Beautiful of the Earliest Surviving Scientific Codices
(Circa 512)

A page from the Codex Argenteus. (View Larger)
The Codex Argenteus, The Primary Surviving Example of the Gothic Language
(Circa 520)

How the Middle Ages Processed and Recycled Roman Culture
(Circa 524 – 1300)

Several pages from te Codex Climaci Rescriptus. (View Larger)
The Earliest Manuscript of the New Testament in Christian Palestinian Aramaic
(Circa 550)

Perhaps the First Library in Japan
(Circa 550 – 645)

A canon table from Harley 1775, from the British Library. (View Larger)
"Source Z" for the Latin New Testament
(Circa 575 – 599)

A folio from the Ashburnham Pentateuch depicting Cane and Abel. (View larger)
The Ashburnham Pentateuch
(Circa 580 – 620)

Folio 129v of the St. Augustine Gospels, depicting Luke. (View Larger)
A Volume Brought by St. Augustine to England in 597
(597)

600 – 700

Saint Columbanus (View larger)
Foundation of the Monastery and Library at Bobbio
(614)

The binding of the Stonyhurst Gospel. (View Larger)
The Earliest European Book that Survived Completely Intact in its Original…
(Circa 650)

MS M.569 of the Pierpont Morgan Library, considered the finest surviving Coptic bookbinding. (View Larger)
The Finest Surviving Coptic Bookbinding
(Circa 650 – 750)

700 – 800

Folio 30v of the Vespasian Psalter, depicting David with musicians. (View Larger)
The Oldest English Translation of Any Portion of the Bible
(725 – 750)

Historia ecclasiastica gentis Anglorum, folio 3v of Beda Petersburgiensis, dated 746. (View Larger)
The Foundation of English History
(Circa 731)

Folio 5r of Codex Benevenatus, Jerome's letter. (View Larger)
From the Libraries of Richard Mead and Anthony Askew
(736 – 760)

The ornate cover on the Lindau Gospels, located in the Pierpont Morgan Library. (View Larger)
One of the Great Treasures of Early Carolingian Metalwork
(760)

A page fromt he 'Canones concillorum,' written in both unical and miniscule.(View Larger)
"The Oldest Western European Codex in Private Hands"
(Circa 775)

800 – 900

<p>Page from Utretch Psalter.</p>
The Utrecht Psalter
(Circa 816 – 850)

The Earliest Surviving Copy of Aristotle's Biological Works
(Circa 850)

The Fables of Phaedrus
(Circa 850)

The second page of MS. d'Orville 301. (View Larger)
The Oldest Dated Manuscript of a Classical Greek Author
(888)

The initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle, marked secondarily by the librarian of the Laud collection in the Bodelian Library. The manuscript is an autograph of the monastic scribes of Peterborough, and the opening sections were likely scribed around 1150. The section displayed is prior to the First Continuation. (View Larger)
The First Continuous History Written by Europeans in their Own Language
(890)

900 – 1000

Folio 201r of Florence, Laurentian Pluteus 74.7, depicting an orthopedic procedure involving a ladder and pulley. (View Larger)
The Earliest Surviving Illustrated Surgical Codex
(Circa 900)

Folio 114v of MS M 652, in the Pierpont Morgan Library. (View Larger)
The Morgan Dioscorides
(Circa 930 – 970)

Folio 12r of Venetus A. (View Larger)
The Most Famous Manuscript of the Iliad
(Circa 950)

The Golden Gospels of Henry VIII
(Circa 977 – 993)

1100 – 1200

Folio 7v of the Hungarian Psalter: a miniature depicting, on top, the creation of Adam, and, on bottom, the temptation of Adam by Eve. (View Larger)
The Hunterian Psalter
(Circa 1170)

Clifford's Tower. (View Larger)
Massacre of the Jewish Community of York, England Reflected in the Survival…
(March 16, 1190)

1200 – 1300

Knowledge of Greek and Greek Texts During the Middle Ages
(Circa 1200 – 1450)

Survival of the Works of Archimedes was Dependent upon Three Manuscripts, Only One of Which Survived to the Present
(1269 – 1544)

From a late 14th century copy of Richard de Fournival's 'Biblionomia.' A catalog of the section on philosophy, in which books are described by their dimensions. (View Larger)
Foundation of the Library of the Sorbonne, and "Perhaps the Earliest Specific…
(1271)

Autograph Manuscript by Ibn-al-Nafis on the Art of Medicine
(Circa 1280)

1300 – 1400

Lay Readers and Book Owners
(Circa 1300)

Four of twelve metal Chinese characters thought to be the world's oldest extant moveable type.
Perhaps the Earliest Movable Metal Type
(Circa 1300)

Folios 7v-8r of the Metz Pontifical.
The Metz Pontifical: An Unfinished Medieval Masterpiece
(Circa 1303 – 1316)

A scene from Rashid al-Din Tabib's 'Jami al-Tawarikh' in which the Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam. (View Larger)
Enormous Islamic History Containing the Earliest Notice of Chinese Printing…
(1307)

Arthur versus the Saxons as depicted in the Rochefoucauld Grail. (View Larger)
The Rochefoucauld Grail
(1315 – 1323)

Renaissance Humanists Hunt for the Manuscripts of Roman Authors
(Circa 1325 – 1450)

The seal of Richard de Bury. (View Larger)
Philobiblon
(1345)

The Oldest Surviving Road Map of Great Britain and the First Map to Depict a Recognizably Accurate Picture of Britain's Coastline
(Circa 1360)

The Earliest Surviving Book Printed from Movable Metal Type
(1377)

1400 – 1450

The De Virga world map. (View Larger
Medieval Mappa Mundi, Stolen during an Auction
(1411 – 1419)

Folio 64v of Les Très Riches Heures, for the month of June. (View Larger)
The Most Famous Late Medieval Illuminated Manuscript
(Circa 1413 – 1416)

The Largest and Finest Collection of Greek Texts before Bessarion's
(December 15, 1423)

The library at the Dominican Convent of San Marco, designed by Michelozzo. (View Larger)
The First "Public" Library in Renaissance Europe
(1444)

1450 – 1500

The Göttingen Model Book, dating to the mid-15th century, contains instructions for the ornamentation of books and the creation of pigments. These methods can be seen in practice in several early Gutenberg Bibles. (View Larger)
Model Book for Manuscript and Printed Book Illumination
(Circa 1450)

A hall of the Vatican Library. (View Larger)
Establishment of the Vatican Library
(April 30, 1451)

Johannes Gutenberg printed the only surviving copy of the Bulla Thurcorum, which instituted special prayers for Christians during the Turkish encroachment in the Balkans as part of an effort to galvanize European unity in preparation for another Crusade. (View Larger)
The Bulla Turcorum of Calixtus III, of Which One Copy Survives
(June 29, 1456)

The 36-line Bible, the second printed edition, was most likely published in Bamberg, Germany, around 1458-1460. No printers name appears in the book, but Johannes Gutenberg may have been involved in its publication. (View Larger)
The 36-Line Bible
(Circa 1459 – 1461)

<p>The Latin Bible printed by Johannes Mentelin in Strassbourg before 27 June 1466. ISTC No.: ib00624000.</p> <p> </p>
The Second Printed Edition of the Bible
(1460)

<p>A portrait of Peter Schoffer.</p>
The Earliest Surviving Book List Issued by a Printer
(June 1469 – September 1470)

This edition of Roberto Valturio's 'De re militari' contains the first woodcuts on a scientific subject, used not for artistic embellishment but for diagraming and explanation. (View Larger)
The First Printed Book on Technology with the First Woodcuts on a Scientific…
(1472)

First Printed Edition of Philobiblon
(1473)

Possibly the Earliest Physician's Library Preserved Intact
(1474)

The First Dated Printed Book on Arithmetic and the Operation of the Abacus
(December 10, 1478)

Discovery of a Lost Painting by Michelangelo?
(1487 – 1488)

The Most Complete Pattern Book from Medieval Britain
(Circa 1490)

The "Book Fool"
(February 11, 1494)

The First English Book Printed on Paper Made in England
(1495 – 1496)

1500 – 1550

Tomb relief of Johannes Trithemius
Partially a Reflection of the Increased Availability of Information after the Development of Printing
(1505)

A portion of the last surviving copy of the Waldseemüller map, made by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507, was the first published map to include the name 'America.' (View Larger)
The First Map to Name America: The Waldseemuller Wall Map and the Waldseemuller…
(April 1507)

Collecting Books and Prints in the Early Sixteenth Century
(Circa 1510 – 1539)

Alessandro Minuziano was effectively the first to challenge a 'copyright' by reprinting an edition with exclusive rights; the Pope who issued the right was angered, but later allowed the publication after a detailed apology from Minuziano. (View Larger)
The First Documented Legal Case Concerning Copyright
(1517)

In 1536, King Henry VIII formally disbands all monasteries in his realm and seizes their property, including thousands of books and manuscripts, most of which were subsequently lost or destroyed. (View Larger)
Dissolution of the Monasteries Brings Destruction and Dispersal of Libraries
(1536 – 1541)

The first page of the 'Codex Mendoza,' which was printed in Mexico in 1540 and depicted the daily life and conquests of the Aztec empire, with traditional Aztec pictograms and explanations in Spanish. (View Larger)
The Codex Mendoza
(Circa 1540)

Masterpiece of High Renaissance Manuscript Illumination
(1546)

1550 – 1600

<p>A woodcut from the <em>Nuremburg Chronicle,</em> showing Erfurt, 1493.</p>
One of the Largest Libraries Formed by an Individual in the 15th Century
(1552)

<p>A page of the <em>Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis</em>, an Aztec herbal composed in 1552 by Martin de la Cruz and translated into Latin by Juan Badianus, illustrating the <em>tlahcolteocacatl</em>, <em>tlayapaloni, axocotl</em>, and <em>chicomacatl</em> plants, which were used to make a " />
Aztec Medical Botany and Psychoactive Plants
(1552)

<p>Portrait of Prince-elector Otto Henry by Georg Pencz, 1530-1545. The painting now resides in St. Petersburg. </p>
Establishment of the Bibliotheca Palatina
(Circa 1555)

<p>A portrait of Albreccht V, Duke of Bavaria by Hans Mielich, 16th century.</p>
Origins of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
(1558)

Construction of the Ufizzi
(1560 – 1581)

The First Treatise on Museums
(1565)

The First Major Antiquarian Collection Assembled in England
(1568)

The First Medical Book Printed in the Western Hemisphere with the Earliest Illustrations of Plants Printed in the Western Hemisphere
(1570)

Possibly the First Printed Catalogue of Any Library
(1572)

Book Collector Matthew Parker Donates his Library
(1574)

Historia general del Piru
(Circa 1585 – 1616)

Perhaps the Most Important Private Collection of Manuscripts Ever Collected in England
(1588 – 1631)

1600 – 1650

The First European-Style World Map in Chinese and the First Chinese Map to Show the Americas
(1602)

Probably the First "Public" Library in England
(November 8, 1602)

Foundation of the Accademia dei Lincei, the First Scientific Society
(August 17, 1603)

The Second Public Library in Europe
(December 8, 1609)

At Attempt to Record All Human Knowledge in Visual Form
(Circa 1625 – 1665)

One of the Earliest Works on Librarianship
(1627)

A Decree of the Star Chamber Concerning Printing July 11, 1637
(July 11, 1637)

1650 – 1700

<p>A painting of Samuel Pepys by John Hayls, 1666.</p>
One of the Most Significant Private Libraries Preserved Intact from Seventeenth Century England, in its Original Bookcases
(Circa 1650 – 1703)

The First Published Illustrated Catalogue of an Art Collection
(1660)

The First Work in English on the Technique of Engraving and Etching
(1662)

The First Book on Print Collecting
(1666)

Construction of Samuel Pepys's Bookshelves -- Among the Earliest Extant
(August 17, 1667)

The Foundation of Obstetrics as a Science
(1668)

De bibliothecae incendio
(1670)

The World's Oldest Auction House
(1674)

The First Bibliography of Rare Books
(1676)

The First Country-Wide Printed Union Catalogue of Manuscripts
(1697)

1700 – 1750

Popol Vuh, The Book of the People, Known from a Single Manuscript
(1701 – 2012)

The First Book Auction Conducted in Paris for Which a Catalogue was Printed
(July – December 1706)

The First Bibliography of Americana
(1713)

Founding the Library Company of Philadelphia
(July 1, 1731)

The First Periodical Published in English on Rare Books & Manuscripts
(1738)

Foundation of the Greatest Museums of Florence
(February 18, 1743)

1750 – 1800

The First Significant Catalogue Raisonne in Western Art History
(1751)

The British Museum is Founded
(January 11, 1753)

George II Donates the "Old Royal Library"
(1757)

The British Museum Opens
(1759)

The First Contemporary Art Exhibition
(April 21, 1760)

The Beginning of "Modern" Rare Book Cataloguing
(1763 – 1769)

Inspiration for "Grangerizing," A Mania for Extra-Illustration
(1769 – 1774)

The First Map of the United States Printed in the United States
(1784)

The Bill of Rights
(September 25, 1789 – December 15, 1791)

Bibliographical Guide to Antiquarian Bookselling and Collecting, With Pioneering Exposition on Rarity
(1790 – 1802)

The First U.S. Census
(August 2, 1790)

The First Papermaking Machine
(1798 – 1801)

1800 – 1850

The Meter (Metre) is Calculated Scientifically
(1806 – 1821)

The Oldest Society of Bibliophiles
(June 16, 1812)

Thomas Jefferson's Library Becomes the Core of the New Library of Congress
(Circa September 1814)

The Star Spangled Banner
(September – November 1814)

The First Working Electric Telegraph
(1816)

The Distribution of Wealth, Including How it Applies to the Value of Rare Books
(1817)

The First Illustrated Antiquarian Bookseller's Catalogue
(1829)

The First Great American Contribution to Physiology
(1833)

The First Commercially Viable Method of Color Printing
(1835)

The Greatest Private Collector of Manuscripts in the Nineteenth Century
(1837 – 1871)

Probably the World's Oldest Picture Postcard
(1840)

The First Annotated Bibliography of the History of Economics
(1845)

The First Separately Published Bibliography on the History of Science
(1847)

1850 – 1875

Physiological Optics, Published Over 11 Years
(1856 – 1867)

On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection
(November 24, 1859)

The Emancipation Proclamation
(January 1, 1863 – 1864)

The Role of Women as Typesetters in the French Printing Industry
(1865 – 1867)

The First Catalogue of a Library on Computing and its History
(1872)

1875 – 1900

The First American Bibliography on the History of Printing
(1877)

Richard Owen Calls Darwin the "Copernicus of Biology"
(November 5, 1882)

The World's Oldest Running Automobile
(1884)

Foundation of The Grolier Club
(January 23, 1884)

The Invention of "Basket Ball" (Basketball)
(December 1891)

1900 – 1910

A New Standard for Descriptive Bibliography in the History of Science
(1906)

The First Library of Rare Science Books Formed by an American
(1908)

The Wheeler Gift Catalogue of the History of Electricity and Telegraphy
(1909)

1910 – 1920

The Armory Show Introduces "Modern Art" to the United States
(February 17 – March 15, 1913)

Napoleon's Penis, and Other Napoleon Memorabilia
(1916 – 1924)

The Proclamation of the Irish Republic
(April 23, 1916)

6,292 Different Incunabula in North American Libraries
(1919)

1920 – 1930

Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamum
(November 4, 1922)

The Enigma Machine is Introduced
(1923)

A Portion of a 15th Century Medical Library for Sale in 1929
(1929)

Bruce Rogers' Monotype Centaur
(August 1929)

1940 – 1950

Cybernetics: The First Widely Distributed Book on Electronic Computing
(1948)

1960 – 1970

Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin' "
(1963)

The Printing and the Mind of Man Exhibition
(July 16 – July 27, 1963)

1970 – 1980

UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970
(November 14, 1970)

Foundation of Apple Computer and the Origin of the Name
(April 1, 1976 – December 13, 2011)

1980 – 1990

The 1970 UNESCO Convention is Implemented in U.S. Law
(January 1983)

2000 – 2005

Origins of Cyberspace
(2002)

2005 – 2010

From the Sixth Century to the Twenty-First
(2005)

LibraryThing is Founded
(August 29, 2005)

Previously Unknown Speeches by Hyperides
(November 2006)

Still Another Major Discovery in the Archimedes Palimpsest
(April 26, 2007)

Rare Books Magazine Moves from Print to the Web
(January 1, 2009)

The Finest Roman Cameo Glass Vase Discovered
(October 13, 2009)

2010 – 2011

The First Superman Comic Book sells for $1,000,000.
(February 22, 2010)

The Holy Grail of Holy Grails, Comicbook-wise
(March 29, 2010)

An Apple 1 Computer Sells for $210,000 in 2010 and for $640,000 in 2012
(November 23, 2010 – November 1, 2012)

2011 – 2013

A Program for Signing and Inscribing Ebooks
(April 2011)

Leonardo's Lost Painting, Salvator Mundi, Discovered
(July 10, 2011)

What Would an Infinite Digital Bookcase Look Like?
(October 18, 2011)

Action Comics #1 Superman sells for $2.16 Million
(November 11 – November 30, 2011)

Sheikh Sultan Dr. Al-Qasimi Pledges to Restore the Library of l'Institut de l'Egypte
(December 20, 2011)

The ILAB Launches a Mobil App
(March 2012)

"How the antiquarian book market has evolved for life on the web"
(December 19, 2012)