Numbering well over 80,000 items, the early printed books and pamphlets collections make Christ Church one of the largest and richest libraries for research material in England. 

Many books are unique because Christ Church holds the only copy left, or because they have extensive early annotations by scholars, among whom are John Dee, William Wake, Robert Burton and Michel de Montaigne.

Aldrich 1.1 - The Funeral Procession of Sir Philip Sidney

Also known as 'Lant’s roll', this is a remarkable object published in 1588. The series of engravings constituting it comes to a total of over 10 metres. There are 344 figures represented in this funeral procession. In most cases, their names, rank and function are inscribed in the space above them. Apart from the complete set at Christ Church, there is an incomplete copy at the British Library and a roll is held by Society of Antiquaries of London. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

B.138/5 - The excommunication out of paradice by the Lady Eleanor Douglas

Very rare copy. Despite a similar setting of the title, the content has been substantially edited, and thus the settings of the text differs greatly. Ink annotations in the hand of Lady Eleanor Douglas on title page. Several ink annotations in margins throughout the book. Bound with 10 other items. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

D.64/2 - Ancilla calligraphiæ [...]

Calligraphy manual by Thomas Weston, probably published in 1682. Engraved throughout; with a frontispiece portrait of the author (1st leaf), engraved and signed. Paper boards sewn onto three cord supports, spine covered in parchment; no pastedowns; bound with 11 other items. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

D.124/3 - John Fell's Specimen of Type

The "Christ Church Specimen" it is the earliest known printed specimen of Bishop John Fell's types which were bequeathed to the University Press upon his death in 1686. It consists of one gathering of eight leaves followed by one gathering of four leaves, all unsigned. The one and one-half sheets were printed on one side only and gathered such that facing pages either bear specimens or are blank. It is bound with 7 other items. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

f.4.54 - Thomas Nash's Lenten stuffe [...]

Rare first edition published in 1599. The text epitomizes the idea of the “red herring” as a diversionary tactic. At first sight, Lenten Stuffe represents payment of a debt that Nash incurred at Yarmouth. In lieu of money, Nash offers “The Description [...] of the town [...] with a new Play [...] the prayse of the RED HERRING.” Here Nash follows Erasmus’s prefatory catalogue of authorities put forth in the Praise of Folly. Declaring to have modelled Lenten Stuffe on the works of Bede, Stow, Holinshed, Camden, and Vergil, Nash weaves a discursive intertextual network of chronicle, autobiography, satire, and allegory meant to complicate interpretation. Other titles: Praise of the red herring. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

MS 323 (printed bifolium) - A new-years gift for the female sex: : being a mournful sermon ...

The codex in which this pamphlet was found is an autograph manuscript by Archbishop William Wake (1657-1737). The title of the volume (in the Archbishop's handwriting) is Syllabus Authorum qui de Historia Britannia scripserunt. The printed pamphlet was disbound, and its constituent bifolia A2.3 and A1.4 placed between pages 18-19 and pages 22-23 of the codex (in the third run of pagination). The New-Years Gift has been digitized first as it is the only reported copy. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

NE.8.18(1) - G.C. Croce's Le sottilissime astutie di Bertoldo (Milan: c.1603-24).

Bertoldo is a story that had various versions in the Middle Ages taking place in the court of the king Alboin in either Verona or Pavia depending on the version. Its most popular version is that of Giulio Cesare Croce. This appears to be the only extant copy of this particular edition. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

OR.1.4 - Charles Scarborough's Archimedes

Mathematical notes in manuscript, bound in a rare 1544 edition of Archimedes' works, by the Oxford mathematician Charles Scarborough. The digitized section of the volume contains: Mathematical notes in manuscript (ff. 1r-25v). Printed Title page, Contents and Dedication (ff. [i]r-[ii]v). Mathematical notes in manuscript (ff. 26r-38v). The printed text of Archimedes' work has not been digitized. The manuscript notes were written throughout by Charles Scarborough. His script is somewhat changeable in size and style, but mostly using italic elements. The text is interspersed with diagrams, and added flaps. For a detailed description of the 1544 edition of Archimedes' works, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

Wake Arch.Sup.D7 - The Imperial Calendar of the Twenty-Fifth Year of the Yongli Emperor of the Great Ming, the year of Xinhai

Calendar of the Southern Ming dynasty made by the anti-Manchu loyalist regime led by Coxinga and his heirs. This is one of the earliest examples of printing in Taiwan. Currently bound in 18th century Western bindings, the book could have been part of the 50 copies of the same title sent by Zheng Jing as a gift to Henry Dacres, the East India Company's agent in Bantam. The calendars were objects of fascination for European intellectuals such as Elias Ashmole and Robert Boyle, who vaguely realised the books' connection to astrology. For more information, see David Helliwell (Bodleian Library Curator of Chinese Collections) on the Southern Ming calendars

Wb.5.12 - Historia regum Britanniae, by Geoffrey, of Monmouth, Bishop of St. Asaph (1100?-1154)

Edition published by I. Cavellatus and J. Badius (Paris: 1517). Extensively annotated by John Dee. Endpapers list references to related works, and to Dee's own ancestry. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

Wb.7.23 - Nektarios' De artibus quibus missionarii Latini, præcipuè in Terrâ Sanctâ degentes

This is a firm refutation of the Roman Catholic Church and papal authority written by an Orthodox Patriarch, printed in London in 1729. The volume under scrutiny is a very rare edition of the Latin translation of Nectarius' work, originally published in Greek. The only other copy of this Latin edition appears to be at Westminster Abbey. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).

Z.307/7  - A specimen of the several sorts of letter given to the University by Dr. John Fell [...]

The 1695 printed specimen of Bishop John Fell's types which were bequeathed to Oxford University Press upon his death in 1686. A reissue of the 22-leaf edition (Wing F623), with e3,4 cancelled and replaced by quire [f]⁴ ([f]1,2 bearing additional type faces and [f]3,4 bearing a revised type box contents list). For the 1686 (the earliest) version, Christ Church D.124/3, also digitized, see above. Type for the following languages: Slavonic | English, Old (ca. 450-1100) | Ge'ez | Arabic | Coptic | Danish | Latin | Icelandic | Welsh | Samaritan | Classical Syriac | English | Hebrew | Greek, Ancient (to 1453) | Turkish | Malay | Persian | Gothic; plus, specimen of musical notation. For detailed descriptions, please consult the record in SOLO (Search Oxford Libraries Online).