Special Collections

Bible Study "I had wanted todo a Bible since the first day I learned to set type by hand," says prize-winning designer and illustrator Barry Moser. Moser, whose oeuvre includes editions of MobyDick, Alice in Wonderland and Around the World in80 Days, knows how to tackle the literary canon. But when it came time for him to research his Pennyroyal Caxton Bible, a $10,000 limited edition cited by experts as perhaps the finest printed work of the 20th century, the artist turned to Dartmouth. Moser credits special collections librarian Philip Cronenwett and curator of rare books Stanley Brown '67 (above) as his "bibliographic advisors."

The librarians selected nearly 100 Bibles housed in Rauner Library for Moser to study. Such biblical classics as the Bruce Rogers Lectern Bible and the Doves Press Bible caught the artist's attention. "I also drew sustenance from a few of the other historical Bibles in the collection, particularly a few of the manuscript Bibles," says Moser. Even though the Bible project is finished, Moser, a resident of the Berk shire region of Massachusetts, will remain a regular visitor to the College. Dartmouth is the repository for all of his papers, sketches and engraving blocks.

Bibliographic advisor Stanley Brown with Moser's masterpiece.