Special Collections & Rare Book Room

Waldo Library, #3016
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The Jean E. Lowrie Collection

"James a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve Tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 2 My bretheren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations..."

This is the current spelling for the lines shown from the King James Bible, (Epistle of James) in english in the, Protestant translation. This page is from The Book printed by Robert Barker in 1611 in London, England.

This handwritten sheet of music (antiphonary) was made by monks in Spain in the sixteenth century. The page measures 10-3/4" wide x 21-1/4" tall. The reason for the large size and the sharp contrast between colors is believed to be due to the poorly lit churches, especially in Barcelona and the South.

The Jean E. Lowrie Collection concentrates on books concerning the history of printing and publishing. Dr. Lowrie was the Director of the School of Librarianship from 1963 until 1981. She was the first woman president of the WMU Faculty Senate and founder of the International Association of School Librarians. She retired from the WMU faculty in 1983.

Dr. Lowrie donated several pages from medieval manuscripts including a religious service book fragment (1300-1350), a Flemish Prayer Book fragment (1475), and an Antiphonary fragment (1350-1400). She also donated a first edition of Whittier's Snow Bound . Several of the books in this collection also represent aspects of the history of paper making and early printing. There are several books on Japanese papermaking as well as facsimiles of medieval manuscripts.