United States Stories

HMML Stories — United States

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Preservation Projects stories
The Art of Flowers in the Tale of Genji
April 9, 2026

The Art of Flowers in the Tale of Genji

“In the woodblock print “Evening Banquet for Cherry-Blossom Viewing...”

  • Katherine Goertz
Remembering Good Deeds
August 7, 2025

Remembering Good Deeds

“Have you ever celebrated a special occasion with a homemade gift? Perhaps you made...”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh
Celebrating Shakespeare, Celebrating Friendship
June 26, 2025

Celebrating Shakespeare, Celebrating Friendship

“Pick up any modern book today and you will likely find short quotes on the front or rear cover...”

  • Dr. Audrey Thorstad
January 3, 2025

Migration of Ideas through Printmaking

“When discussing the idea of migration in European art history, attention is often focused on...”

Katherine Goertz

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Migrating Monastic Books in Minnesota
November 21, 2024

Migrating Monastic Books in Minnesota

“On September 8, 1876, four boxes of books arrived...”

  • Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
Creepy Crawlies and Little Beasts
August 15, 2024

Creepy Crawlies and Little Beasts

“Antwerp seemed, in the 16th century, to be the center of the Western world...”

  • Katherine Goertz
Metaphorical Meteorology, or: When a Sunny Day Offers More Than Sunshine
May 9, 2024

Metaphorical Meteorology, or: When a Sunny Day Offers More Than Sunshine

“In describing printed books, a cataloger looks for subjects or areas of study where...”

  • Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
Postscript — For Loving You Too Much
February 7, 2024

Postscript — For Loving You Too Much

“One of the most common uses of manuscripts over the centuries is to train children in reading and writing...”

  • Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
January 24, 2024

Arthur Vööbus: Preserving a Legacy

“Dr. Arthur Voobus was many things—a scholar, pastor, teacher, and refugee in exile...”

Dr. James Walters

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A Christmas Hymn Sing-Along
December 21, 2023

A Christmas Hymn Sing-Along

“Singing is one of those amazing things...”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh
November 9, 2023

I Know It When I See It (I Think…)

“I’m not a musicologist, but I am an avid fan of music from all times...”

Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman

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September 14, 2023

Monuments to the Dead

“Grief, loss, and death itself were very much part of...”

Katherine Goertz

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Grief on the Page
August 3, 2023

Grief on the Page

“How do you represent grief? For Marc Chagall, the Russian-born Jewish artist...”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh
The Calligrapher Clément Perret
April 13, 2023

The Calligrapher Clément Perret

“In the mid-15th century, the invention of the printing press made books relatively easier to produce and...”

  • Katherine Goertz
March 30, 2023

Learning to Write: Practical Aspects of Handwriting

“In 1492, the abbot of a Benedictine monastery in Sponheim, Germany, wrote a small paean to scribes and the act of writing...”

Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman

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Woodcut Fragments of the 16th Century
March 2, 2023

Woodcut Fragments of the 16th Century

“HMML’s Art & Photographs collection is full of fragments of the 15th and 16th century...”

  • Katherine Goertz
Hiding in the Binding — Fragments in Rare Book Collections at HMML
December 8, 2022

Hiding in the Binding — Fragments in Rare Book Collections at HMML

“Much of human history remains for us today only in the form of smaller remnants or fragments...”

  • Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
Jacques Hnizdovsky in Minnesota
December 1, 2022

Jacques Hnizdovsky in Minnesota

“Jacques Hnizdovsky had arrived in the city the year before as a...”

  • Katherine Goertz
A Book You Would Love to Read...
September 29, 2022

A Book You Would Love to Read...

“A book you would love to read is lost, altered, destroyed, buried, hidden, left unpublished, unwritten, banned.”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh and Margaret Bresnahan
Sandwiching a Forbidden Text
September 15, 2022

Sandwiching a Forbidden Text

“The advent of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century led to...”

  • Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman
The Stars of Ben-Zion
June 23, 2022

The Stars of Ben-Zion

“Born Ben-Zion Weinman in Starokostiantyniv, Ben-Zion came to New York City in...”

  • Katherine Goertz
Soup, with a Side of Reform
March 17, 2022

Soup, with a Side of Reform

“A group of women cluster together, several clutching the handles of lidded pots...”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh
The Gouda Life
February 17, 2022

The Gouda Life

“Between 1585 to 1600 Maarten de Vos designed 141 engravings depicting hermits.”

  • Katherine Goertz
The Case of the Mysterious Pie and the Amsterdam Theater
January 6, 2022

The Case of the Mysterious Pie and the Amsterdam Theater

“Pie. Today, for many, this tasty baked good with its short, flaky crust suggests associations of...”

  • Dr. Catherine Walsh
Icon Collection Finds a New Home at HMML
December 2, 2021

Icon Collection Finds a New Home at HMML

“This year, HMML received a large donation of Russian icons from the collection of Edmund Gronkiewicz...”

  • Katherine Goertz
July 22, 2021

When in Rome...

“Rome has long been a destination for travelers from around the world.”

Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman

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Protecting Travelers and Maritime Contacts in the Eighteenth-Century Mediterranean
July 8, 2021

Protecting Travelers and Maritime Contacts in the Eighteenth-Century Mediterranean

“The great Age of Sail conjures in our minds vast stretches of ocean populated by...”

  • Dr. Daniel K. Gullo
June 10, 2021

Traveling to France on Paper

“In the mid-19th century, a group of French artists began to reevaluate the art of...”

Katherine Goertz

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March 17, 2021

A Tale of Two Herbals, From Medicine to Food in the 16th Century

“Herbals—books describing the medicinal use of plants—have been important scientific sources for...”

Dr. Matthew Z. Heintzelman

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Ancient Writing Revealed During HMML Palimpsest Imaging at Stanford's SLAC Lab
February 21, 2020

Ancient Writing Revealed During HMML Palimpsest Imaging at Stanford's SLAC Lab

“HMML’s very own palimpsest fragment recently underwent high energy x-ray imaging at...”

  • Dr. Melissa Moreton
Seeing the Invisible — Multispectral Imaging of Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts
July 1, 2019

Seeing the Invisible — Multispectral Imaging of Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts

“This year marks twenty years since the first significant efforts were made to use multispectral imaging (MSI) to reveal hidden...”

  • Dr. Melissa Moreton
July 9, 2018

HMML is Gifted a Rare Copy of William Shakespeare's Second Folio

“HMML is pleased to announce the acquisition of “William Shakespeare’s Second Folio” to its...”

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