John Amos Comenius
Janua Linguarum Reserata or The Door of Languages Unlocked was a textbook written by John Amos Comenius in 1629 and it was published in 1631 in Leszno, Polad. The copy that we have in the MSU library was printed in 1649 by Amstelodami: Apud Ludovicum Elzeuirium. Janua Linguarum Reserata was a textbook used to teach language and shortly after it was published it was translated into many different languages and it became the second most widespread book in Europe right behind the Bible. John Amos Comenius was a Czech philosopher, educator, and theologian he is considered to be the father of modern education. He led schools and advised governments throughout protestant Europe throughout the 16th and 17th century. In our copy of Janua Linguarum Reserata we see Greek translation done by Theodor Simon and French translation done by Ettienne de Courcelles. The MSU library call number is XX PA2107 .C6 1649.
Physical Description
The book is bound in red leather with the front cover and back cover being left mostly blank with some slight detailing along the outer border. The spine however, is decorated with some horizontal gold filleting, as well as some design being engraved into the spine. Horizontally across the spine we also see the authors last name gold filleted. The pages of the book are in very good condition with very little tearing and fading in the type.
Provenance
Georges Montandon
On the inside of the first page there is a book plate that says “Ex-Libris Georges Montandon”. Georges Montandon was born in Cortaillod, Switzerland on April 19, 1879 and he worked as a doctor in France during World War 2. At this time he also worked for the French Vichy government as an ethnologist. Georges Montandon also wrote a few books on different cultures and ethnicities from around the world. In addition, Montandon wrote many anti-semitic books about Jewish people in France. He was an avid collector of books and for a short time he owned this copy of Janua Linguarum Reserata.
F. CAHU
On the inside of the book cover there is a sticker that says “Librairie de F. CAHU” as well as an adress from Paris. This sticker shows that this book was at one point in the book store of F. Cahu in Paris, France. However, after research I could not find any more information on F. Cahu.
Library Stamps
On the title page, along with the author and publisher information, there are two library stamps. However, both stamps are slightly faded making reading them and identifying the libraries difficult. One stamp shows that the book was once in a French library and the other stamp shows that the book was once in the possession of a Christian Jesuit library.
Significance
Written by John Amos Comenius Janua Linguarum Reserata was a very significant book for many years in Europe as it became the second most printed book on the continent behind the Bible. Being used as a textbook to teach languages, this book could be used by anyone from the social elite down to the poorest farmers as an educational text. As we see from the provenance in the book it was owned by many different types of people from a Christian library to a private book collector.
Citations
- http://catalog.lib.msu.edu/record=b1843892~S39a
- https://archive.org/details/jacomeniiianuali00come/page/n1
- https://library.villanova.edu/Find/Record/1140361#usercomments
- https://www.jeune-nation.com/culture/george-montandon-19-avril-1879-30-aout-1944.html
Written by: Ira Brown
‘History of the Book’ – Professor L. Brockey – HST 475, Michigan State University – Fall, 2018