The Exhibitions
For 600 years, the University of Leipzig has been actively producing and reproducing knowledge. In three exhibitions to commemorate this achievement, the holdings of Leipzig University Library are used to illustrate a world of research and study, stimulated by documents we still find intriguing or puzzling.
The three exhibitions are different, due to requirements of conservation. In Leipzig, there were some 50 items on display. In New York, a choice of 30 most valuable manuscripts and prints are shown to the visitor of the distinguished Grolier Club. In Houston, a multimedia exhibition in the entry hall of the newly modernized Public Library allow the public to learn about a 600 year old institution like Leipzig University. This show also includes specially made facsimiles of some texts.
Leipzig University Library has itself a very old tradition. Founded in 1543, it houses today some of the most valuable treasures of what we may call the world literary heritage: Papyrus Ebers (the longest and oldest surviving medical manuscript from ancient Egypt, around 1600 BC), the world's oldest bible (Codex Sinaiticus, 4th century AD), Machsor Lipsiae, a splendidly adorned Hebrew manuscript from the 14th century AD, and a giant Mongolian Koran, lavishly produced in Bagdad in 1306.
Many other unique handwritten or printed documents are included in the shows. You get the most comprehensive view of the objects and the way they represent the 'pursuit of knowledge' through the printed catalog.
