1. Desiderius Erasmus, of Rotterdam (c. 1466–1536). In Novum Testamentum annotationes. Basel: Hieronymus Froben and Nicolaus Episcopius, 1555.       

Ecclesiastical authorities not only controlled what could and could not be printed or read, they often left physical traces of their oversight within books deemed controversial. The volume on display here, a commentary on the New Testament by the Catholic theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam, contains numerous passages that were inked out or excised by a censor because they were considered inconsistent with traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The book’s title page also bears an inscription in Spanish stating that the volume was “Visto e corregido” (“inspected and corrected”) in 1587 according to an official catalogue of expurgations published by the Inquisition.