December 2024 Decalcomania

By Adrienne Rusinko

December is time for gathering with loved ones, cozying up by the fireplace, and of course, new stickers! A limited run of stickers are now available at Special Collections in Firestone Library, Mudd Library, and the Princeton University Library (PUL) Makerspace.

Devises Heroïqves, N7710 .P23 1557, Rare Books

Emblem books, popular in Europe in the 1500s and 1600s, were pictorial-literary works that allowed the author to communicate often complex musings on subjects such as morality, religion, or folklore in compact forms. 

The contents of an emblem book have three primary elements: an image, a motto, and text that explains the link between the two. The image depicted here is of a jug watering flowers. The motto, “Poco à poco,” translates to “Little by little.” The text translates to “Just as one can see herbs come, but not see them grow: so one can see virtues come, but not grow: nor discern their slow growth.”

Diary [manuscript] by Jonathan King, 6042444 ManuscriptsQ unprocessed, Cotsen Children’s Library

This child’s diary, kept from January 18, 1875, to April or May 1875, was the property of Jonathan King. The diary itself was made and sold in Bethania, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and given the Pennsylvania Dutch folk art illustrations throughout, it’s likely that it is where King lived, as well. Pennsylvania Dutch, a distinctive art style transplanted by European immigrants to Southeastern Pennsylvania, is traditionally defined by its bold use of color and motifs of natural elements, frequently birds, flowers, and the celestial.

This house, taking up most of the page for the entry dated Friday, February 5 in the year 1875, doesn’t seem to have much to do with the text on the page, which reads:

morning i milked 3 cows i was at school all day evning i milked 3 cows then i was skating

The Blessed Damozel, C0199 no. 923, Manuscripts

Dante Gabriel Rossetti originally published one of his most famous poems, The Blessed Damozel, in 1850, with later revisions being republished throughout the latter half of the 19th century. This edition of the text was designed, written out, and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski. Alberto was the older brother of Francis Sangorski, who, along with George Sutcliffe, established the renowned bookbinding firm Sangorski & Sutcliffe in 1901. Alberto joined the firm in 1910 as a calligrapher and illuminator.

Rossetti’s The Blessed Damozel is written from the perspective of a woman, trapped in “the gold bars of heaven,” yearning for her lost love who remains on earth. This celestial illustration depicted here is the “terrace of God’s house” from which she mourns.

Details of Special Clocks, Drawing no. 205, Office of Physical Planning Records (AC154), University Archives

Visitors to Firestone Library may recognize this clock, which currently hangs above the circulation desk. According to an article from the special 1949 Firestone Library edition of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, printed to celebrate the completion of Firestone, the clock was patterned after four common watermarks of Renaissance papermakers.

At twelve o’clock sits a hand with a heart in the palm and a star above, signifying the motto “laborare est orare” or “to work is to pray.” At three o’clock, the unicorn symbolizes “purity and strength.” Six o’clock depicts the Bright and Morning Star. Sitting at nine o’clock is greyhound with a bell around its neck, the hound represents the pursuit of knowledge, while the bell represents “acute preaching.” 

The blueprint of this, as well as other “special” clocks, is from the Office of Physical Planning Records (AC154), in the University Archives.

Sweetheart Bible, Garrett MS. 27, Manuscripts

Created in the 1260s, likely in Northern France, this Bible gets its title not from the adorable illustration of a canine fluttering up a trumpet, but from the Sweetheart Abbey, a Cistercian monastery that was located in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. This inscription is both an ownership mark and a book curse, and translates to “The Book of Saint Mary of Sweet Heart. He who shall remove it may he be anathema.”

This jazzy pup sits at the bottom of an illuminated letter “A”, which itself is a miniature of Judith beheading Holofernes.

Decalcomania is a limited monthly release of stickers made available at Special Collections in Firestone Library, Mudd Library, and the PUL Makerspace. All images are selected from materials held by Special Collections. Check out the Special Collections website for information about visiting our reading rooms.

Did we run out of your favorite sticker? Do you want to make your own? Head over to the PUL Makerspace! Design your own or reprint a Decalcomania sticker using the cutting machines. 

Digital images of some of the materials in Special Collections can be found in the catalog and finding aids. Our blogs and Digital PUL have collection highlights.