Incunabula Collection

Every physical item in the collection is listed in the BPL's online catalogs. Most of these electronically cataloged items have been fully described according to a local modification of the rules set forth in the Descriptive Cataloging of Rare Materials (Books) standard (DCRM(B)).

Researchers interested in exploring the collections more thoroughly might benefit from reading the full BPL incunabula cataloging guidelines. These guidelines provide an inside look at how we describe the collections and optimize our catalog records for discoverability.

As of March, 2023, copies of approximately 490 of the 588 editions in the collection, including every edition printed through 1480, have been fully cataloged. Those items that are not yet fully cataloged are represented via less detailed stub records. These "minimally cataloged" items are still easily findable in the online catalogs.

Image: BPL Q.405.36: Sermones de timore divinorum iudiciorum et sermo de morte. Venice: Johannes de Colonia and Johannes Manthen, 1475. From the medieval library of the Buxheim Charterhouse, with the bookplate of Hilprand Brandenburg von Biberach.

Records for fully cataloged incunabula contain full provenance tracings, indexing of all associated names (authors, printers, binders, former owners, etc.), complete copy-specific description, collation or signature statements, and descriptions of paper size and bibliographic formats. Important material characteristics have been indexed in the form of genre headings. Genre headings, which appear in catalog records as clickable links, facilitate both searching and browsing across groups of books that share certain characteristics. Examples include books that are bound in wooden covers (indexed as wooden boards), incorporate manuscript waste fragments (indexed as manuscript waste), contain marginalia or inscriptions, are illuminated, etc. See the searching and browsing page for further information. For more information about searching, consult the Searching and browsing tab on the left side of this guide.

Fully cataloged incunabula can be browsed by searching:

TITLE: Incunabula Collection of Distinction AND GENRE: incunabula NOT ANY FIELD: automatically.

Records for incunabula that have not yet been fully cataloged typically contain detailed descriptions of their edition, including full titles, imprints, and extent, along with a detailed note on bibliographic format and typographical features. Minimally cataloged incunabula usually lack full, copy-specific descriptions of provenance, binding, and other physical characteristics.

It is easy to recognize records for items that have not been fully cataloged, because they all contain a note with the following text: This bibliographic record has been automatically generated and may not accurately reflect the item described. Please contact BPL Rare Books and Manuscripts Department for further information.

Minimally cataloged incunabula can be browsed by searching for:

TITLE: Incunabula Collection of Distinction AND GENRE: incunabula AND ANY FIELD: automatically.