LOOSE LEAVES
Printed with the permission of the French King (Privilège du Roi) over 400 years ago, this weighty history of the recently deceased Henry IV (he was assassinated in 1610) includes some surprisingly fragile additions amongst the pages that we discovered when using this book in a French History class: pressed leaves and flowers. Books have long been used to press botanical souvenirs, and coming upon them is a delicate reminder that we are only one reader/viewer/user in a long lineage. The book, therefore, has its own secret history: who picked the leaves and decided to press them in this impressive volume, as well as when and why, remains a mystery.
Clara Drummond, Lead Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator, Special Collections Library
Pierre Matthieu
Histoire de la Mort Deplorable de Henry IIII, Roy de France et de Navarre
Paris: M. Guillemot & S. Thibovst, 1611
Eberly Family Special Collections Library
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