GEORG ZIEREIS: LECTURE AT THE KASSEL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ON THE OCCASION OF ITS FACSIMILE EXHIBITION
On the occasion of the reopening of the Murhard Library in Kassel, the Kassel University Library is exhibiting its impressive facsimile stocks. For the introductory lecture on facsimiles, the University Library, in the person of Claudia Martin-Konle, Director of the Library, reached out to Ziereis Faksimiles with the request to shed light on this exciting topic for the guests and visitors of the exhibition and to share their expertise gained through years of work in this field. Before the event began, Ms. Martin-Konle, together with the head of the Special Collections and specialist for manuscripts, Dr. Brigitte Pfeil-Amann, gave Christian and Georg Ziereis a guided tour of the newly renovated rooms of the Murhard Library, which are now accessible again for the first time.
70 Impressed Listeners: Opening Lecture by Georg Ziereis
At the beginning of the lecture, Ms. Martin-Konle welcomed the about 70 guests and listeners and expressed her delight that for the first time since the start of the renovation and conversion work, it was once again possible to host lectures and exhibitions in the historic rooms of the library. She introduced the speaker Georg Ziereis as a world-renowned expert for facsimiles, mentioned the Ziereis brothers' many years of lecturing both in Germany and abroad and put the audience in the mood for the one-hour lecture before giving the floor to Georg Ziereis.
We are honored that Georg Ziereis has accepted our invitation as a facsimile expert
From the Idea to the Final Facsimile in 60 Minutes
In the following 60 minutes, Georg Ziereis traced the entire process of creating a new facsimile edition. First of all, the organizational and selective criteria were examined in detail. The requirements of digitization and the precise selection of paper were explained, as well as the complex pre-printing and printing processes, which make a significant contribution to the costs, but also to the success of a facsimile production. He then went on to demonstrate refinement techniques such as gold application and page trimming, before the bookbinding process formed the physical conclusion of facsimile production. Georg Ziereis illustrated all these steps with a variety of materials he had brought along from a previous facsimile project, which the audience could hold in their own hands and examine closely. At the end of the lecture, there was room for questions from the impressed listeners, which demonstrated the great interest and fascination in this special area of book art.
The University of Kassel and its Famous Murhard Library
Founded in 1971, the University of Kassel is a comparatively young university that nevertheless looks back on a long tradition of academic teaching. The first predecessor institution of the city, the Old University of Kassel, was founded in 1633. Today, the university is known for its interdisciplinary orientation and innovative research.
A particular gem of the university is the Murhard Library, which is rooted in a donation by the brothers Friedrich and Karl Murhard in 1863. It took up the holdings of the landgrave's library founded in 1580 and was originally conceived as a municipal library for the citizens of Kassel, but later became part of the university's sponsorship.
The library is not only a place of education and research, but also a cultural center with an outstanding collection of historical documents. Its collection of manuscripts is particularly important, comprising over 1300 medieval manuscripts. These include exceptional treasures and rarities such as the Old German Hildebrandslieddating from the 9th century, a 6th century copy of De bello Iudaico by Flavius Josephus, the Abdinghof Gospels from the end of the 11th century, which has been preserved together with a precious luxury binding, and the Prayer Book of Duke John Albert I of Mecklenburg, which was facsimiled by Coron Verlag in 2006.
