Malferits

The Historical Library of the University of Valencia opens an exhibition about the fragile world of books.

Books are a source for the transmission of knowledge and wisdom, witnesses to history and to the passage of time, which leaves traces of events, scars of battles fought, memories revealed in the form of words or signs caused by multiple possible causes which, in one way or another, lead to their deterioration.

Heritage libraries preserve a legacy that is part of our history. Coinciding with the opening of the 3rd Conference on Bibliographic Heritage Management (III Jornadas de Gestión del Patrimonio Bibliográfico) organised by the REBIUN (Spanish Network of University Libraries) Bibliographic Heritage Working Group and the Universitat de València on 26 and 27 May, the Biblioteca Històrica is exhibiting a selection of "badly wounded" works in the Duc de Calàbria room, showing the traces of its historical development.

The exhibition shows us the causes of deterioration that affect heritage collections, whether due to internal agents (composition of the writing material and inks used) or external ones (biological pests, environmental factors, human causes due to inappropriate use and handling, disasters, etc.).

Malferits aims to show a selection of books and documents marked by time and circumstance. Valuable manuscripts that have been censored or mutilated, such as the 15th century codex Roman de la Rose or the manuscript dated between 1475 and 1500 that transcribes the works of Joan Roís de Corella; unique works attacked by bibliophages or printed with damp stains or covered with mud from the floods, such as the work by Juan Luis Vives Tratado del socorro de los pobres, translated from Latin into Spanish and printed in Valencia in 1781.

The exhibition is curated by the restorers of the Historical Library of the University of Valencia, Mónica Pintado and Susana González, and can be visited in the Duque de Calabria room from 19 May 2022 to 4 September 2022.