The Enquirer’s Just Askin’ series aims to answer the questions that no one seems to have an answer for, not even Google.
The Mercantile Library has been around since the 1800s and has accrued quite a collection.
The library, which is privately funded and relies on membership fees and donations, has survived two fires and has a historic 10,000-year lease.
It’s a downtown Cincinnati staple. People visit to discover rare literary works through the centuries.
Turns out, the staff is still finding undiscovered treasures themselves. That’s how they happened upon the centuries-old book that now holds the record of the oldest book in the library.
What is the oldest book in the Mercantile Library
According to Amy Hunter, head of events and marketing with the library, the oldest book in the library is 410 years old. It was a recent discovery.
The oldest book is “Hieroglyphica, Seu de Sacris Aegyptiorum, Aliarumque Gentium Literis Commentarii” by Valeriano Piero Giovanni. The edition in the Mercantile was published in 1614 and comprises of Egyptian hieroglyphics.
A few years ago, Mercantile Library collector Cedric Rose going through the nonfiction stacks while updating the online catalog. That’s when he happened upon “Hieroglyphica.” Because the library’s collection is so extensive, sometimes staff finds books they didn’t even know they had.
Staff originally thought the oldest book was “The True Prophecies or Prognostications of Michael Nostradamus,” published in 1672.
Both “Hieroglyphica” and “The True Prophecies” are now in the library’s safe due to their fragility.
Before his discovery, The True Prophecies or Prognostications of Michael Nostradamus (1672) was considered the oldest book in the collection. Both have been rebound at least once, and are kept in the safe.
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