Otto Ege

Otto F. Ege (1888–1951)^[1] was a teacher, lecturer, bookseller, and well-known book-breaker. He worked for many years at the Cleveland Institute of Art where he served as Chair of the Department of Teacher Training,^[2] instructor of Lettering, Layout, and Typography,^[2] and Dean.^[1] He was also employed by the School of Library Science at Case Western Reserve University as a lecturer on the History of the Book,^[1] and instructor of History and Art of the Book.^[2]

Otto Ege's greatest fame, however, came as a result of his book-breaking. Over a period of decades in the early 20th century, Ege systematically removed the pages of some 50 illuminated medieval manuscripts,^[1] and divided them into 40 unique compilation boxes,^[3] commonly referred to as "Otto Ege Portfolios". These portfolios were in turn sold and distributed world wide.^[3] Although strong profits were made from each sale, Ege defended his actions by stating, "Surely to allow a thousand people 'to have and to hold' an original manuscript leaf, and to get a thrill and understanding that comes only from actual and frequent contact with these art heritages, is justification enough for the scattering of fragments".^[4]

Over the last several years, Peter Stoicheff has been working to locate all existing Ege Portfolios, and to foster co-operation from their respective owners in creating an "Ege Medieval Manuscript Database" with the ultimate goal being the digital reconstruction of the complete books.^[5] In 2013, Scott Gwara published a comprehensive handlist of all known manuscripts broken by Ege with an indication of the leaves' current locations in libraries worldwide.^[6]

In 2015, Ege's personal collection, including 50 unbroken manuscript books, was acquired by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (part of Yale University Library).^[7]