Micrography: The Hebrew Word as Art

The exhibit Micrography: The Hebrew Word as Art, collects examples of manuscripts exhibiting microgrpahic illustration from the collections of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. It includes a brief introduction to micrography and its history, and then presents nine examples of the technique.

1. Selection Decisions
The manuscripts were selected from the library's collection presumably (no selection criteria are detailed on the site) to illustrate fine examples of the art as well as illustrate the variance and development of the technique. In fact, given the history of micrography, the selections are fairly limited (they are mostly from the 19th and early 20th centuries).

2. Metadata
Metadata is brief and varies in detail. For the most part, where it is known, the title of the manuscript, the scribe, place of creation, and text used as illustration is given. A few more details are sometimes presented in the brief descriptions of the images.

3. Object Characteristics
The scans themselves are small, and come in only one size. They sometimes show the whole page, and sometimes just a close-up of the micrograph itself. They seem unsuitable for any real sort of study, but are large enough and of acceptable quality to casually introduce the technique.

4. Audience
The audience is certainly those who are unfamiliar with micrography, and the exhibit is meant to serve as a general introduction. As such, it could benefit from more images, culled from a much wider range of both period and place. The scope of the exhibit, given its intentions, seems limited by the library's holdings.