MS in archaic Sumerian on clay, Uruk, Sumer, 31st c. BC, 1 tablet, 6,8x7,2x1,9 cm, 1 compartment of text in an expert pictographic script Uruk III.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1997, green quarter morocco gilt folding case by Aquarius.

Context: From a single archive of 77 pictographic tablets including fragments, all in the same hand, of which 25 tablets and all the 30 fragments are in Freie Universität Berlin collections, 4 tablets in British Museum, 3 in Metropolitan Museum, 4 in Louvre, and 6 in The Schøyen Collection (MSS 202, 234, 1710, 1711, 1717, 1894).

Commentary: The present tablet is a masterpiece of pictographic calligraphy. It has just been discovered that 2 hitherto undeciphered pictograms, one like a brick building with a chimney, and the other an ear of barley drawn within a jar or container, illustrates the actual brewing process. Read from right to left we have first the barley delivered, then the brick- building that might be the brewery itself (also with other meanings), and the barley within a jar is the beer. It thus is the earliest representation in history of an industrial process.

Published: John Curtis, ed.: Early Mesopotamia and Iran: Contact and Conflict 3500-1600 BC; in: Proceedings of a Seminar in memory of Vladimir G. Lukonin. British Museum Press, pp. 28, 64. Hans J. Nissen, Peter Damerow, Robert K. Englund: Archaic Bookkeeping; Early writing and techniques of Economic administratiion in the Ancient Near East. Chicago and London. University of Chicago Press, 1993., pp. 36-37. Lars Alvegård: Arkaisk babylonsk matematik: Talpjäser och lerbollar; in: Teknik & Naturvetenskap. Göteborg. 1994, no. 2, pp. 38-40.

Exhibited: 1. Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Berlin 1990, Cat. Nissen/Damerow/Englund: Frühe Schrift und Techniken der Wissenschaftsverwaltung, no. 4.29, pp. 20, 24 and 66-67. 2. Conference of European National Librarians, Oslo. Exhibition Sept. 1994. 3. "Preservation for access: Originals and copies". On the occasion of the 1st International Memory of the World Conference, organized by the Norwegian Commission for UNESCO and the National Library of Norway, at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, 3 June - 14 July 1996. 4. The Bibliophile Society of Norway's 75th anniversary. Bibliofilklubben 75 år. Jubileumsutstilling Bok og Samler, Universitetsbliblioteket 27.2 - 26.4.1997. 5. Tigris 25th anniversary exhibition. The Kon-Tiki Museum, Oslo, 30.1. - 15.9.2003.

MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Sumer, Ur III dynasty, 2080-2010 BC, 1 tablet, 5,3x3,5x1,5 cm, single column, 19 lines in cuneiform script.

MS in Neo Sumerian on clay, Sumer, Ur III dynasty, 2080-2010 BC, 1 tablet, 5,3x3,5x1,5 cm, single column, 19 lines in cuneiform script.

See also MS 2866, Wine as metaphor in poem, Babylonia, 18th c. BC; and MS 565/2, The Icarius Mirror, Italy 6th c. BC.

MS in Neo Elamite on clay, Persepolis, Iran, 521-486 BC, 1 tongue shaped tag, 3,7x3,7x1,7 cm, single column, 5 lines in Elamite cuneiform script.

Binding: Barking, Essex, 1994, black cloth gilt folding case by Aquarius.

Commentary: Neo-Elamite tablets are very rare. The British Museum has about 20 examples only in a collection of 150.000 tablets. From the reign of Darius I, the Great (521-486 BC), the king who threw Daniel into the lion pit (Dan. ch. 6), and afterwards wrote to men of all nations, peoples and languages throughout the world: "I decree: In every kingdom of my empire let all tremble with fear before the God of Daniel -".

See also MS 4575, Beer for medical treatment, Uruk, ca. 300 BC

MS in Greek on papyrus, Egypt, 2nd c., 1 papyrus, 13x6 cm, 1 column remaining, 15+6 lines in Greek cursive script.

Provenance: 1. Mohammed Sha'ar, Cairo (1920'es); 2. Issa Marogi Collection, Jerusalem (ca. 1955-ca. 1984); 3. Heirs of Marogi family, Jerusalem (1984-1993); 4. Fayez Barakat, Los Angeles, California, March 1994.

Commentary: Keramia are large pottery jars.

See also MS 2866, Babylonia, 18th c. BC and MS 565/2,, Italy, 6th c. BC

MS in Middle German on vellum, Ingelheim-on-Rhein, Franconia, Germany, 20 April 1387, 1 f.,10x28 cm, 13 long lines in German documentary script, part of large green wax seal with a splayed eagle.

Provenance: 1. Mayor and council of Ingelheim-on-Rhein, Franconia (1387);  2. Hroar Dege gastronomic library, Oslo (-2005);  3. Sotheby's 9.6.2005:509;  4. Sotheby's 6.7.2006:38.

Commentary: The late Hroar Dege, friend of Martin Schøyen, collected on a grand scale, either it was houses, iron stoves, music or books. His Gastronomic Library, on food, beer, wine and the arts of the table, consisted of more than 2000 MSS and printed items.
Ingelheim in Franconia remains an important wine-growing area, known especially for its red wines.

MS in Italian on paper, Chianti, Toscana, Italy, 1417-1418, 44 ff. including 20 blanks(-ca. 4 ff.), 29x21 cm, several columns, up to 23x16 cm), up to 40 lines in notarial script by several scribes.

Binding: Chianti, Toscana, Italy, 1417, limp vellum with fold-over flap with toggle and catch, sewn on 3 thongs, decorative M below a cross on both covers.

Provenance: 1. Antonio Giacomo, Ospedale di Chianti (1417-); 2. Hroar Dege gastronomic library, Oslo (-2005); 3. Sotheby's 9.6.2005:511; 4. Sotheby's 6.7.2006:39.

Commentary: The late Hroar Dege, friend of Martin Schøyen, collected on a grand scale, either it was houses, iron stoves, music or books. His Gastronomic Library, on food, beer, wine and the arts of the table, consisted of more than 2000 MSS and printed items.

MS in Sumerian on clay, Babylonia, 20th-17th c. BC, 1 tablet, 21x17x4 cm, 3 columns, 16+16+16+4 lines in cuneiform script by a teacher of a scribal school in column 1, with 2 students repeating the hymn in columns 2 and 3.

Commentary: Enhedu’anna was daughter of King Sargon of Akkad (2334-2279 BC), founder of the first documented empire in Asia. Enhedu’anna emerges as a genuine creative talent, a poetess as well as a princess, a priestess and a prophetess. She is, in fact, the first named and non-legendary author in history. As such she has found her way into contemporary anthologies, especially of women's literature.

See also MS 2085, Abélarde et Héloise; epistolae, Abélard's autobiography and the letters between Abélard and Heloise. France, ca. 1350; and MS 586, text 2: Sappho: Ille mi par esse deo videtur. Italy, ca. 1475.

MS in English and Irish Gaelic (text 1) on paper, Ballynatray, Waterford, Ireland, ca. 1680-1740 with additions up to 1855, 79 ff., 9x15 cm, single column, (8x14 cm), 10-18 lines in English cursive, by Susanna Gore, Christ. Adamson and several others.

Binding: Cork, Ireland, 1956, brown morocco, gilt title on spine, sewn on 2 cords, by Roger Powell.

Context: Texts 20 and 32 are the same recipe.

Provenance: 1. Susanna Gore, Ballynatray, County Waterford (ca. 1680-1740); 2. Christopher Adamson, Ballinalach (1839); 3. The Adamson-Tuthill-Kingsley family (19th c.); 4. Brigadier H. B. Kingsley (1956); 5. De Búrca rare books, Dublin Cat. 30(1993):124.

Commentary: Susanna was the daughter of John Gore of Clonrone, Co. Clare. She was married firstly to John King, son of Sir Wiliam King, and secondly to Richard Smyth of Ballynatray Co. Waterford, the 4th son of Sir Percy Smyth and great nephew of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Nearly all the poetry and prose texts are original, hitherto unknown and unpublished. Autographs of female literature are extremely rare before 1750 in most countries. In Ireland no other female poets are known in her period, 1680-1740.

MS in Japanese on paper, Japan, ca. 1800, 20 ff. (complete), 26x18 cm, 12 columns, (24x15 cm) with 18-20 characters in Shodo (calligraphic cursive script) per column, commentary in 24 columns at top of page in Shodo and Kanji (Chinese characters) with 10-15 characters per column.

Binding: Japan, ca. 1800, light brown paper covers, stitched on 4 stations (Xian Zhuang).

Context: Vol. 20 from a set of 54 vols., corresponding to the 54 chapters of the Genji.

Provenance: 1. Kimio Koketsu, Ohya-Shobo Ltd, Tokyo.

Commentary: The Tale of Genji is considered to be the supreme masterpiece of Japanese prose, one of the world’s greatest novels, and the greatest work ever of a female author. Murasaki Shikibu finished her work, also considered to be the world’s first novel after the ancient period, in 1021. Her real name remains unknown. She is named after the beloved wife of Genji, Murasaki. The work recounts the life of Genji, the second son of the Japanese Emperor and comprises some 400 dramatis personae.

MS in Norwegian on paper, Norway, ca. 1860-1869, 14 pp., 28x21 cm, single column, (27x20 cm), 24 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed.

Binding: Oslo, ca. 1950, quarter leather gilt.

Provenance: 1. Hanna Winsnes (ca. 1860); 2. Bjørn Hansson, Oslo (-1995); 3. Arild and Morten Hansson, Oppegård and Hop, Norway.

Commentary: Hanna Winsnes (1789-1872), Norwegian author; still famous for her cookbook.

Published: "Folkevennen" (1869), and in the booklet, "Til Juul", To småstykker av Hanna Winsnes (1869).

MS n Danish on paper, København, Denmark, ca. 1903, 7 pp., 28x18 cm, single column, (26x17 cm), 40 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed.

Provenance: 1. Thit Jensen, Denmark (ca. 1903); 2. Lynge & Søn, København.

Commentary: Thit (Maria Kirstine Dorothea) Jensen (1876-1957), Danish author and feminist. The present short story was her debut story.

MS in Norwegian on paper, London, October 1912, 16 ff., 26x20 cm, single column (20x16 cm), 23 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed.

Provenance: 1. Sigrid Undset, London (1912); 2. Samtiden, Oslo (1912-13); 3. Reidar Myhre, Oslo, 4. Norli's Antikvariat, Oslo.

Commentary: Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) Norwegian author. She received the Nobel prize in 1928.

Published: Essay in the periodical "Samtiden", 1912.

See also MS 2115/1, Sigrid Undset: Fattige skjæbner. Norway, 1912

MS n Norwegian on paper, Oslo, Norway, ca. 1925-1938, 4 pp., 28x20 cm, single column, (23x16 cm), 26 lines in cursive script, autograph, signed.

Provenance: 1. Nini Roll Anker; 2. Publisher, Oslo; 3. Cappelens Antikvariat, Oslo.

Commentary: Nini Roll Anker (1873-1942), Norwegian author.

See also MS 5213, Joan de Hamel: Take the long path. New Zealand, 1975-1978

MS in Babylonian on clay, Babylonia, 2000-1600 BC, ca. 1/3 of a tablet, 7,7 x6,1x2,0 cm ( originally ca. 7,7x17,0x2,0 cm), with the larger part of the main part of the gaming board with 9 out of 12 squares, one of which is divided into 4 triangles by crossing lines, the architect's plan with all doors and windows indicated by double wedges, 3/4 of the palace is shown; pierced twice laterally to strengthen the original long tablet with a narrow section in the middle.

Context: A complete inlaid board with seven white and seven black round gaming pieces with 5 dots on each and two pyramid dice from ca. 2400 BC, found in a royal tomb in Ur, now in British Museum. A cuneiform tablet with the rules, from 177 BC, is also in British Museum.

Commentary: The Royal Game of Ur was a race game for 2 players based on the same principles as Ludo with the goal to move all playing tokens safely round the board and off the end. The tablet from 177 BC attests to a more advanced goal, to score the most points by winning the most counters after playing 3 rounds of the game.

MS in Aramaic on clay, Palmyra, Syria, ca. 100 BC, 1 tessera, 2,0x2,4 cm, 1+1 line in Aramaic square script.

Context: The same texts are published in Ingholt-Seyrigh-Starcky: Recueil des Tessères de Palmyre, Paris 1955, nos. 274-7 (text 1) and 272 (text 2).

Provenance: 1. Palmyra, Syria (ca. 100 BC-); 2. Jeremy Griffiths, Oxford.

Commentary: The latest scholarship suggests that the tesserae were used "associated with cultic meals". They are traditionally believed to be theatre tickets for the arena in Palmyra.

MS in Latin and Middle high German (text 14) on paper, Monastery Zwettl, Waldviertel, Austria, 1380-1430, 254 ff. (complete), 29x22 cm, single column, (19-23x15 cm), 28-54 lines in a regular lettre bâtarde, by Jeorius de Cistastorff and other scribes, many large initials decorated in a pattern similar to the chain of the binding, some with penwork, 3 full-page diagrams of arbores consanguineitatis.

Binding: Monastery Zwettl, Waldviertel, Austria, ca. 1430, blindtooled leather over stout beech boards, sewn on 4 thongs, with a chain of twisted iron loops and a ring, 92 cm, fastened at the top of lower cover. Vellum sewing guards from a medieval MS in Hebrew.

Context: From the same scriptorium, with the same provenance, and in the same type of chained binding as MS 690.

Provenance: 1. Benedictine Monastery Zwettl, Waldviertel, Austria (ca. 1380-17th c.); 2. Johann Jamaigne, Alt-Pöllach, Waldviertel, Austria (17th c.); 3. Piaristen-Kloster, Wien (18th c.); 4. Graf Wilczek, Schloss Kreuzenstein, Austria, No. 5668 (from 19th c.); 5. H. Tenschert cat. 22(1990):19.

Commentary: Text 12 is probably unique.

Exhibited: Conference of European National Librarians, Oslo. Sept. 1994.

MS in Latin and German on vellum, Cistercian convent of Haldensleben, Althaldensleben, Germany, ca. 1490, 102 ff. (complete), 30x20 cm, single column, (22x13 cm), 14 and 28 lines in a rotunda Gothic book script of medium quality, additions in cursive script.

Binding: Haldensleben, Germany, ca. 1490, blind-stamped leather over oak boards, sewn on 4 double cords, clasp-fittings, paper label on spine.

Provenance: 1. Cistercian convent of Haldensleben, Althaldensleben, Germany (1490); 2. Sotheby's 19.6.2001:33.

Commentary: Cartularies are one of the rarest type of medieval MSS, and an important source for medieval local history. They are registers of title-deeds (carte), charters of privilege and other documents which are kept by landowners as evidence for their rights. Althaldensleben is 3 km south of the present Haldensleben, and about 25 km north-west of Regensburg.

MS on paper, Burma, 18th c., 22 ff., folding book, 14x37 cm, (14x37 cm), no text, 58 illustrations in full colours.

Binding: Burma, 18th c., paper cover.

Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg cat. 19(1998):121.

Commentary: A Reference manual like this is extremely rare. The twofold purpose was both as a cartoon or design for painting temple murals or illustrating books, and secondly as a catalogue to show to donors commissioning a work of art.

MS in Newari (text 1) and Sanskrit (text 2) on paper, Nepal, 18th c., 32 ff. concertina-folded, 9x22 cm, single column, (6x16 cm and 8x10 cm), 5-12 lines in Newari script, 49 fine painted miniatures of horses.

Binding: London, 1996, black cloth gilt folding case.

Provenance: 1. Sam Fogg cat. 17(1996):26.

MS in Futuna on jaw bone of wild boar, Ekasup village, Efaté Island, Republic of Vanuatu, 31 January 2003, 1 jaw with teeth and the 2 tusks, 14x26x15 cm, single column, (10x8 cm), 7+3 lines in capitals slanting to the right by Sifo Seimo..

Provenance: 1. The jawbone: The Community of Ekasup village (-2003); 2. gift from Sifo Seimo, Ekasup village, Jan. 2003.

Commentary: The wild boar jawbone has been at the sacred site for offerings and magical rituals together with human bones from the time the Vanatuans were canibals. The power of the bones from both humans and wild boars would be transferred to the owner during magical rituals.

Being a Christian, Sifo Seimo, had no objections in writing down the fist part of John 3:16 in his own dialect, one of the 115 dialects of the 82 islands of Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides.