Psalter – Manuscript
... 2,300 volumes during the 1920s and 1930s. Cary was director of Continental Type Founders Association, a former president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and proprietor of the private Press of the Woolly Whale. His professional and personal interests in printing led him to collect printer's manuals, as well as great books of the printer's art. In 1969, the Cary Collection was presented to Rochester Institute of Technology by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust as a memorial to Mr. Cary, together with funds to support use of the collection. Today the library houses some 20,000 volumes and a growing number of manuscripts and correspondence collections. Also included are impressive holdings on bookbinding, papermaking, type design, and calligraphy and book illustration. Illuminated Psalters occurred as early as the 8th century. In early 1200 A.D., portable manuscript volumes replaced the original huge books that were favored in the preceding century. More angular and compact script followed this change. Smaller letters were used, and writing was then done in double columns. Small Psalters of this period are relatively rare, since Psalters were used primarily in the church services and not by the layman (a person who is not a member of the clergy). Psalters contain the 150 biblical poems known as psalms. The psalms (derived from the Greek word psalmos, meaning "song") are short, lyrical passag...