A small collection of largely unpublished papyri owned by Fordham
University (Bronx, New York City) is currently on display. Below is a
description of the exhibit by the university librarian. (One can get to
Fordham by subway [= metro] or Metro North, the commuter rail line
leaving Grand Central Station.)
David Sider
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EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS
In 1983, Ann Hanson, a professor of Classics at Fordham, joined with
Princeton University in the purchase of a collection of ancient Egyptian
papyrus from a dealer in Vienna. The collection was divided between
Princeton and Fordham with Princeton getting the larger share because
they had paid more of the purchase price than Fordham. For the past 28
years the collection has mostly sat in Fordham’s vault unseen by anyone.
Recently, however, thanks to Rodney Ast, a faculty member from Columbia,
we have begun a project which includes digitizing each piece, placing
them in glass enclosures and describing and translating them.
Eventually, the images of the collection will be displayed in the APIS
(Advanced Papyrological Information System) Website. This site is
maintained at Columbia University and presently contains images owned by
22 institutions from around the world.
Fordham’s collection contains some 50 pieces. This semester we are
exhibiting about 30 of them in our Exhibit Hall next to the Reserve Room
on the first floor of the Walsh Library. Many of the pieces are
excellent examples of Egyptian calligraphy. This exhibit compliments
the collection of ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman art in the museum
across the atrium from the exhibition hall.
James P. McCabe,
University Librarian
