Tanner Talk Explores the Forgotten Popularity of Renaissance Herbals

LOGAN, Utah — Why are some of history’s most popular books the hardest to find today? Utah State University Libraries will host Sarah Neville for a Tanner Talk lecture titled “Book Use, Book Value: The Paradoxes of Renaissance Herbals” at 4 p.m. April 2. The event will take place in Merrill-Cazier library, Room 101 and is free and open to the public.

Neville, associate professor in the departments of English and theatre, film and media arts at The Ohio State University, will explore the fascinating world of 16th- and 17th-century printed plant guides known as Renaissance herbals. Though once bestsellers, these richly detailed books are now rare. Her talk will highlight how books that were frequently used, loved and passed around often became paradoxically obscure.

Neville’s research in Shakespearean performance, book history and editorial theory examines the ways that authority is negotiated in print, digital and live media. She is the author of “Early Modern Herbals and the Book Trade” (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

This event is part of USU Libraries’ Tanner Talk Series, which brings nationally recognized scholars to campus to engage students, faculty, and the community in conversations about literature, history and the enduring power of the written world.

For more information, visit library.usu.edu/news/tannertalks.