The prevailing strengths of the Collection are in Greece (all periods), the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, and the Balkans,
particularly the former Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The part of the Collection pertaining to Greece covers the period
from Neolithic times to the present in most every discipline of the social sciences and humanities, with a rich
representation of primary source materials from all eras. The Ottoman and Modern Turkish section of the Collection
also has extensive primary sources from the fifteenth through the twentieth centuries. The Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian
materials in the Collection, which focus primarily on early modern and modern history, literature, and socio-cultural
history, include materials collected by Dr. Vryonis especially in the 1980s and books donated by the first non-Communist
leader of Bulgaria, renowned historian Nikolai Todorov.
Some highlights of the collection include:
- The manuscript collection of Dr. Basil Vlavianos, publisher of the Greek-American newspaper Ethnikos Keryx (National Herald)
- An extensive collection of Modern Greek authors, including signed editions by major literary figures
- The complete set of Adamantios Korais' translations of Ancient Greek authors into modern intellectual Greek (Katharevousa) dating between 1800 and 1820
- One of the earliest commentaries on Homer by the 12th century bishop Eustathius, published by Froben in 1559-1560; other rare books on Homer
- A variety of scarce nineteenth-century books and pamphlets published in Greece
- The complete set of Corpus Vasorum Graecorum
- Various editions of the Thousand and One Nights Tales
- Ottoman Turkish chronicles published in the 19th century
- 17th to 19th century travel accounts
Additionally, the Collection includes a nearly full run of the
Greek-American newspaper Ethnikos Keryx from 1916-1944;
the Greek literary dictionary of Demetrakou; the 52-volume Persian
literary dictionary of Dihkhuda; the Encyclopedia Iranica;
and the Pauly-Wissowa Real-Encyclopädie Der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft.
Spring 2008: Art 105 (Turrill): Byzantine Art Resources
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