Provenance Evidence in Early Printed Books
Provenance evidence helps identify the history of ownership of a book from its creation to the shelves of USC Libraries' Special Collections.This evidence can take the form of bookplates, annotations, and bindings as shown below.
Left: Fiue bookes of philosophicall comfort, by Boethius (London, 1609); Bookplates of Herbert Wildon & Geraldine Carr, and Ralph Tyler Flewelling
B659.C2 E52 1609
Right:Expositio magistri Petri Tatereti in summulas Petri hyspani (Lyon, 1509); Armorial binding of
William George Spencer Cavendish,
6th Duke of Devonshire
BC60.J56 T35 1509
Provenance Terms & Definitions
There are several types of provenance terms to describe the evidence of ownership in early printed books. Special Collections uses vocabulary from the Rare Books & Manuscripts Provenance Evidence Terms list.
Term types include:
- Class of owners - such as Library copies and Booksellers' copies
- Occasions of provenance - Such as prize books
- Physical amendments - Such as Bookplates and Annotations
Search terms within each type used at USC can be found in the box to the left.
Provenance Evidence search terms at USC
Follow the links to find books using the terms below. Click on the "Examples" link to see visual examples of each term.
Class of owners
Occasions of provenance
Physical amendments
- Annotations - Examples
- Armorial bookplates - Examples
- Armorial stamps - Examples
- Autographs - Examples
- Bookplates - Examples
- Booksellers' labels - Examples
- Donors' bookplates
- Embossed stamps - Examples
- Expurgated copies - Examples
- Initials
- Ink stamps - Examples
- Inscriptions - Examples
- Insertions
- Labels
- Manicules - Examples
- Marginalia - Examples
- Markings - Examples
- Monogrammed bindings
- Perforation stamps - Examples
- Provenance labels
- Stamps
- Underscoring - Examples