iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

THEY GOT TO 2000 SUPPORTERS! Now in need of 3000 more in just under a year. LETS GO! #earlymodern #bookhistory #skystorians

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

For this year's NEA Celebration of Collections, I'm excited to showcase scholars working on the Jews of Adrianople, German Kabbalah, & a "new" 16th c. imprint from somewhere in the Mediterranean (you gotta come to find out where!) 📚📜 Registration here: columbiauniversity.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Flyer for a program on December 3, 2026 at 1 PM, with images of manuscripts, a printed leaf, and an image of a woman in Turkish robes

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Adam Shear @adamshear.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Great opportunity for @pittprovost.bsky.social undergraduates to spend next summer in NYC, free housing, to do original research on any topic in #Jewishstudies using @columbiauniversity.bsky.social libraries and other collections. Use QR code to sign up info session. @mmargolis.bsky.social

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Farley P Katz @farleypkatz.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

The colophon to the Catholicon, dated 1460, but actually printed in 1470, reads: By the help of the Most High, at Whose will the tongues of infants become eloquent, and Who ofttimes reveals to the lowly that which He hides from the wise, this noble book, Catholicon, in the year of the Lord’s (1/2)

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Dr. Barry Torch @barrytorch.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

There’s a LOT of waxing about print as a divine art (sancta ars) done by the humanists and scholars in Rome, particularly to and for the Pope’s reading. Margaret Meserve’s “Papal Bull” covers this a bit, and the primary sources I can think of are Giovanni Bussi’s 20 prefaces to his books c 1468-72

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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Eisenstein’s Divine Art, Infernal Machine surveys a bunch of statements from printers’ colophons. They are not as rapturous as one might assume, and certainly reflect the prejudices of the salesman pitching his wares. But the book has what you’re looking for.

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Hey, #bookhistory people, especially those who work on incunabula: Do Christian printers wax poetic (literally) about the miracle of print? I've taken it for granted from the Hebrew printers (they have many wonderful poems on the glories of print), but this may have just been a Jewish thing..?

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Poor Gershom Soncino. He laments how he (really his family's press) printed "23 masekhtot used in yeshivot, with Rashi and Tosafot...and behold the printer from Venice [Bomberg] printed from my press..." and scooped the Talmud. David Kimhi, Mikhlol, Constantinople, 1532-4 (B893.14 K572)

Printed title page of a book with a vegetal woodcut frame and text inside

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Adam Shear @adamshear.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Do you have an idea for a case study on early Hebrew printed books that connects with the Footprints project? Apply to be part of a collaborative research and writing project. drive.google.com/file/d/1jG8h... #JewishStudies #Bookhistory

drive.google.com

CFA Footprints Collaborative Research Project.pdf

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Re-reading Elizabeth Eisenstein for a thing (more soon? maybe) and I'm pleased to see that I'm remarkably consistent my readings of general book history over the course of 20+ years.

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The first result is literally an image I had out for a class last week: Chagall's father's grave www.artic.edu/artworks/122...

Man lying on the ground next to/under a grave reading (in Hebrew) Yehezkel Chagall, with a Jewish star on the top and a bush (?) behind it.

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Stewart J. Brookes @stewartbrookes.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Thank you! A great group! And I bet you can identify at least one of the manuscripts 😎

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

What amazing art! What a great privilege to have access to this manuscript in the flesh, so to speak. f.130r digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/9e48...

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Love the detailed explanation of the Hebrew calendar (including the reforms of Hillel II and observation v. scheduled!): kalkal.online/calendars.ht...

kalkal.online

kalkal — Kalendarsistemoj

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Megan L. Cook @meganlcook.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Bittersweet to be at desk 1066 in BL manuscripts today

Brass plaque on a library desk reading “In memory of William
Noel | Crack on!”

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Okay, not much of a soccer person (I live too close to the stadium to be happy right now), but this is AWESOME.

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Martina Mampieri @martinamampieri.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Transcribing and studying these letters offered a unique window onto connections linking Italy, Philadelphia, and the broader Jewish world, while highlighting the possibilities of #DH, #AI assisted research, collaborative transcription, and archival accessibility.

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Martina Mampieri @martinamampieri.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

As part of my internship at @katzcenterupenn.bsky.social through the JTS/AJL Certificate Program in Hebraica and Judaica Librarianship, I worked on the Italian correspondence of Sabato Morais (1823–1897), the Italian-born rabbi, educator, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in NY.

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Martina Mampieri @martinamampieri.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

What can 19th-century letters reveal about migration, identity, and Jewish networks? Last year at @upenn.edu, I worked on the Italian letters of Sabato Morais, tracing connections between Italy, Philadelphia, and the wider Jewish world. Read more here: www.library.upenn.edu/kislak/judai...

library.upenn.edu

Letters without Borders: Exploring the Italian Correspondence of Sabato Morais

Martina Mampieri reflects on her internship as part of the AJL/JTS Librarian Certificate program. Her internship focused on transcribing the writings and correspondence of Rabbi Sabato Morais and lear...

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Someone at a session today said that my 2012 exhibition ("The People in the Books": exhibitions.library.columbia.edu/exhibits/sho...) made him want to become a librarian (all those languages! Who knew Judeo-Tatar was a thing?!) and I'm not crying you're crying #AJLCon26

exhibitions.library.columbia.edu

Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | The People in the Books: Hebraica and Judaica Manuscripts from Columbia University Libraries

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I mean, doesn't everyone produce poetry and theatre for their synagogue dedications? PJ5051.T57 S5 1793 This was for the Tempio israelitico di Firenze. @perurealfonso.bsky.social :)

Red and black text of a play in Hebrew and Italian

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Mateusz Fafinski @calthalas.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Here is me, pleading with museum shops. We do not want yet another bookmark and eraser with your logo for 11 euros. We. Want. Replicas. Of. Your. Nerdy. Stuff.

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

HIGHLY recommend Yakov Mayer's talk proving that the Soncino Talmuds were printed explicitly for the zemanim in the Padua yeshiva - and thus shaped Talmud study everywhere based on the Ashkenazic method. Book production is so local: youtu.be/K3efnWomUrc?... H/t @hgot.bsky.social 📚📜#bookhistory

youtu.be

The Soncino Talmud and Late Medieval Hebrew Book Culture

YouTube video by Library of Congress

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Francois Soyer @fsoyer.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Another woman, this time from 1542, with strong feelings about the Inquisition. Denounced in Lisbon for having said: "f*ck the Inquisition, f*ck those in charge of it and f*ck those who brought it [to Portugal] " (respondeu: merda pera a inquisicao e pera quem a manda e pera quem a tras).

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David Stifter 🍵📄🦊 @davidstifter.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

The Fine Script Comparative approaches to legal marginalia circulating in Europe and the Middle East between 1100 and 1700 Where: Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris or online When: 31.8.-1.9.2026 Online registration: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-fine-s...

eventbrite.com

The Fine Script

Conference exploring comparative approaches to legal marginalia circulating in Europe and the Middle East between 1100 and 1700

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

The CU Archives always does a fabulous display for Reunion. I was chuffed to see Isaac Abrahams (first Jewish CU grad, class of 1774), and the map of NYC with "(N) College" outlined in red (King's was the only option) as well as "(&) Jews Synagogue" and "Jews Cemetery." @lauraleibman.bsky.social

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

More on historical Jewish women scribing here: www.imj.org.il/sites/defaul...

imj.org.il

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Aaron T. Pratt @aarontpratt.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Gearing up to teach Evidence in Handpress-Era Books, 1450–1830, @ransomcenter.bsky.social for @rarebookschool.bsky.social next week. It’s gonna be hardcore, as all good bibliography is.

Group of ten syllabuses for Evidence in Handpress-Era Books, 1450–1830. All in stab-stitched “pamphlet” form.

Group of seven full library carts in front of glass-door fronted built-in bookcases.

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Jay Moschella @jaymoschella.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Delighted by this new acquisition. A copy of a haggadah published in Amsterdam in 1695. Known simply as the Amsterdam haggadah, it's the first haggadah to incorporate copperplate engravings and contains one of the earliest maps of the Holy Land printed in Hebrew 1/7

An added engraved title page, with the title and publication info flanked by depictions of Moses and Aaron

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I love that our library has a pick up option, and also it feels like we're going back to closed stacks when I do it.

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BuffaloResearch.com @buffaloresearch.com · 30/04/2026

Yep. When you digitize old stuff, you now have to look after the original artifact *and* it's digital surrogate. "Just put everything online" is not the labor-saving flex laypeople think it is.

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Okay, I'm not the best photographer, but stumbling across a 1909 set model (for "Herod") in the Brander Matthews collection while looking for a shortcut through the rare stacks was kind of awesome.

Image of the interior of a palace, with hangings, lamps, gold stairs, etc.

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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

no one likes historians because every time someone says “oh this is unheard of” historians are all like “well actually” and fundamentally it just doesn’t sound as impressive if you have to say “in these slightly precedented times”

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I'm a big fan of Mark Podwal's work, which so often nods to historic bookmaking and art. On the right, Podwal's "Omer Calendar," on the left, a page from a Sefer 'Evronot ("Book of Calculations," MS X893 Se36) from 17th century Germany showing hand calculations.

Manuscript illustration of a hand with letters and text on it

Painted blue hands with words and diagrams on it, with a Torah scroll in the background

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Liesbeth Corens @onslies.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Pop Leo asked if he should put on gloves to turn pages in the gorgeous Renaissance Bible and the librarian explained why it’s better to do so with bare hands. Glorious reaction. Every rare books librarian & archivist feeling very seen, I gather. www.instagram.com/reel/DUcpEBY... #BookHistory

Screenshot of an Instagram video capturing pope Leo with his mouth open in astonishment

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Went to pull Pieter van der Cun's De republyk der Hebreen (Amsterdam, 1701-4) for our class next week on Christian Hebraism and was once again stunned by the gorgeous colored and gilded pages. Here are a few for your enjoyment. B893.11 C911

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

It's taken far too long, but I'm so glad that I finally sat down to read @theodunkelgrun.bsky.social's incredible book on the Plantin Polyglot. It's on so much more than that - a whole chapter on Bomberg (those matrices 😍) lots on the burning of the Talmud/beginning of expurgation, & so much more!

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Sonia Gollance @sgollance.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Here's my new blog post about Jewish dance cards and a recent UCL bicentennial event where we learned Edwardian ballroom dances from a Jewish dance card in @uclhjslibrary.bsky.social to the same tunes that were performed in 1909. #UCL200 In partnership with @uclhjs.bsky.social and the UCL IJS.

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Ennius @enniusredloeb.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

An initial-word panel with a head, and a hare marking the beginning of Torah portion Bo (בֹּא) #ParashahPictures BL Add MS 15423; Torah; Italy (Florence); 1441-1467 CE; f.41v

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Sure looks like Hebrew characters on that binding label..

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Michelle Margolis @mmargolis.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

NBD, just pulling some ancient (actually ancient, for those who know how I feel about that word!) objects for the Jewish Books class that starts in a few weeks :) 📚📜😍 Not shown: the Aramaic Ostracon that probably dates to the 5th century BCE.

Ivdaea Capta coins, minted after the fall of Jerusalem

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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 12/01/2026

Big Monday energy 😅 #MedievalMonday Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. 264

Illustration from a medieval manuscript showing a figure in armor operating a large crossbow, with a humorous modern caption "when you've been invited to a meeting that could have been an email." The background includes detailed floral designs.

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Association of Jewish Libraries @jewishlibraries.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

The AJL Jewish Fiction Award Committee is seeking two new members. Immerse yourself in the vibrant field of contemporary Jewish fiction, connect with and learn from a group of wise and committed colleagues, and honor outstanding writers. Details at jewishlibraries.org/....

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Lara 'Challah Black Girl' M @blewishand.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

I can only ask, "Why are hearts so hardened?" Beth Israel Congregation, Mississippi’s largest synagogue was firebombed. The Ku Klux Klan bombed it in 1967 because the rabbi supported civil rights. It was a stop on the Freedom Trail.

mississippi.org

Beth Israel Congregation Honored With Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker | Mississippi Development Authority

Jackson, Mississippi — April 13, 2018 — A new historical marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail honors the role Beth Israel Congregation played […]

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