erikkwakkel:Shooting at books Books and wars do not mix well. Riddled with bullets, the lovel
erikkwakkel: Shooting at books Books and wars do not mix well. Riddled with bullets, the lovely brown volume you see here was nearly fatally shot. It is a survivor of the siege of Monte Cassino abbey, which took place in 1944. The abbey’s strategic location, on top of a mountain near Rome, made it of vital importance for both the German and allied forces. The battle that ensued levelled the monastery and parts of the town beneath it (more about it here). While the oldest books were rushed out of the abbey’s ancient library right before the battle began, all those from after 1800 had to remain behind. When you look at the post-battle images of the abbey, like the one above, it will be no surprise to hear that many of the ones left behind were damaged or lost (70,000 books were destroyed). Over fifty years later, some of them are still patiently waiting to be repaired, including this shell-shocked brown volume with the gaping bullet hole. Pic: taken from this article about the restoration of the books from Monte Cassino, Check out this blog I wrote about my visit to the abbey. -- source link
#rare books#reblog