Awesome bookworms

A discussion on Twitter on the topic of “bookworms” — beetle larvae that tunnel through the paper and parchment pages of old books — reminded me just how common their damage is in medieval books. Diving into my database of medieval images I was also struck by the variety of damage: some holes are tiny, others big; some are alone on the page, others are accompanied by dozens others; some holes stop after a few pages, some dig deep into the heart of the book. A hole on the page may even be used for a funny drawing, like the image of the sad face whose eye is a hole. Above all, looking at these images made me realize that a page pierced by hungry larvae can also be quite beautiful. Enjoy!

Pics: Chicago University Library, MS 102 (bookbinding, inside), Liverpool, University Library, MS F.3.13 (bookbinding, outside), Monte Cassino (big hole near heart of page), Arabic manuscript (Balamand, Lebanon), Dubrovnik archives (close-up of hole, sent to me by @EmirOFlipovic), St Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, MS 14 (hole for an eye).

This is what my information preservation professor likes to refer to as “the work of biological agents.”

What was so especially delicious about that top book?

http://uispeccoll.tumblr.com/post/61694197399/hjaxon1701-erikkwakkel-awesome-bookworms-a