This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

“Antiquities of Mexico: Comprising Fac-similies of Ancient Mexican Paintings and Hieroglyphics”

“De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body)”

Portrait of author and poet Geoffrey Chaucer

Statue of Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 56-120) in front of Parliament, Vienna, Austria. He is widely considered the greatest Roman historian to write in the Latin language.

If you’re looking for rare manuscripts and historic books, you expect to find them in at places like the British Museum or the Library of Congress. But smaller libraries around the world often hold a variety of such treasures squirreled away beyond the stacks.

We checked with several San Antonio libraries to see what rarities they had and found several notable books. One has an anatomically correct — and for its time shocking — depiction of human anatomy and physiology, another reproductions of Mexican paintings and hieroglyphics collected from around the world and one has a book described as the most beautiful one in existence.

While most of these books are literally priceless — in other words, they can’t be priced because a market doesn’t really exist for them — the good news is, you don’t always have to be a scholar to see them. Unless otherwise noted, the books below can be seen by anyone with an appointment.

Where: Central Library, 600 Soledad St., 210-207-2559

This is one of the first “people’s Bibles” printed after England’s King James authorized a new translation in 1603. The Central Library’s copy is also one of fewer than 200 existing so-called “Great He Bibles” because of an error in Chapter 3, verse 15 of the Book of Ruth, which reads, “He went into the citie.” The text is referring to Ruth and should read, “She went ... .” The error was corrected in later editions.

This copy found its way to the United States during World War II when a London book dealer, fearing more air raids following the London Blitz, sold it and other items to San Antonio dealer Frank Rosengren in 1942. Three years later, Rosengren sold it to the San Antonio Public Library.

While the library’s copy is in very good condition, it’s missing a title page and a final leaf, so it cannot be considered complete.

Where: Sueltenfuss Library, Our Lady of the Lake University, 411 SW 24th St., 210-528-7138

This illuminated manuscript — meaning it’s all hand-drawn and mostly in gold leaf — contains psalms and devotionals that priests and literate believers such as nobles would have used during daily prayers. It has several full-color illustrations and is believed to have been produced in the northern French city of Rouen and then brought to the United States prior to 1937.

It was donated to the school in 1950, and the book is in good condition, with only minor scuff marks on the bound leather cover.

“Antiquities of Mexico: Comprising Facsimilies of Ancient Mexican Paintings and Hieroglyphics”

Where: Mabee Library, University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway, 210-829-3837

Known as the Kingsborough Collection, this nine-volume set of Mexican art was written by Edward King Kingsborough, the Viscount of Mexico who undertook the massive task of visiting museums around the world to collect reproductions of Mexican art.

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio area’s independent bookstores get a lifeline from new online retailer Bookshop

Once owned by philanthropist George Brackenridge, the set is one of only 49 Kingsboroughs in libraries worldwide. Few are as distinctive as UIW’s, in which all of the color illustrations are hand tinted. In 1991, the San Antonio Museum of Art included several volumes in its ground-breaking exhibition, “Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries.”

It was last appraised at $130,000.

The book is available only to scholars, but it has been digitized by the Smithsonian Library at this web address.

De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Structure of the Human Body)

Where: P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., 210-450-8260

Published by Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564), this was the first anatomical description of the human body based on actual autopsies which, with the church’s permission, were performed on executed criminals. The book helped revolutionize the practice of medicine by disproving many of the prevailing beliefs about human anatomy and physiology.

This edition contains hand-written notations and has been censored in several spots, including such sensitive topics for the time as the connection between the soul and the brain.

The book was donated to the Bexar County Medical Library, which gave it to UT’s Medical Historical Library in 1970. The book is in very good condition, other than some holes on several pages caused by the acid in the ink that the censors used.

Where: St. Louis Hall, St. Mary’s University, 1 Camino Santa Maria, 210-842-4092

The newest title in this group, the St. John’s Bible was hand-written and drawn by a team of artists led by renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson, a senior scribe to the Queen of England.

On ExpressNews.com: New book celebrates the most overlooked, everyday buildings in and around San Antonio

The original seven-volume set has 1,160-pages and took 11 years to complete. This copy is one of only 299 full-size reproductions that were produced.

When it was donated to St. Mary’s University in 2013, the full set cost $150,000.

Individual volumes are displayed on a rotating basis in the lobby of St. Louis Hall.

Where: John Peace Library, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, 210-458-5505

This 1,296-page version of the King James Bible is commonly referred to as the Vinegar Bible because of the chapter heading in Luke 20 that erroneously reads “The parable of the vinegar” rather than “vineyard.”

It is one of only two copies of this flawed edition in U.S. libraries; the other is at Yale. The edition includes apocrypha, or noncannon works not usually contained in the Hebrew Bible, including the books of Judith, Esther and Tobit.

Donated to the school in 1975 by a collector of biblical history, the book’s binding is in good condition, although the 300-year-old leather cover flakes when handled.

“The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer”

Where: Coates Library, Trinity University, 1 Trinity Place, 210-999-7355

Often called the most beautiful book in existence, only about 400 copies were printed of this compilation, which includes “The Canterbury Tales” and other works by the writer known as the “father of English literature.”

Also known as the Kelmscott Chaucer, for the name of the press where it was printed, the 556-page volume is a magnificent work of art, with 87 wood-cut illustrations and exquisitely detailed borders. It was printed on handmade linen paper using ink specially obtained from Germany.

Donated to the library in 1983, this edition was re-bound in the 1960s or ’70s and is in excellent condition.

Where: National Archive of the Marianist Province of the United States, 3141 Culebra Road, St. Mary’s University, 210-436-3329

Published in Venice, the book is a collection of the works of Publius Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 56-120), widely considered the greatest Roman historian to write in the Latin language.

Measuring only 6 inches tall, 3 inches wide and almost 900 pages in length, including notes and an index, the handmade book has a vellum cover and shows signs of damage from worms, although the handsewn binding is in good shape and the printing remains clear.

The book was donated to the archive several years ago, but its provenance before that is unknown.

rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini

Richard A. Marini is a features reporter for the San Antonio Express-News where he's previously been an editor and columnist. The Association of Food Journalists once awarded him Best Food Columnist. He has freelanced for American Archaeology, Cooking Light and many other publications. Reader's Digest once sent him to Alaska for a week. He came back.