Memorial University Libraries  |  Archives & Special Collections

Donated by the family of the late James Butrica, Professor of Classics at Memorial University, the collection comprises 143 works published between the sixteenth and twentieth century. The collection strongly reflects Professor Butrica's interest in the Roman elegiac poet Sextus Propertius, offering numerous Latin editions and English translations of the poet's work as well as scholarly works about Propertius and his poetry. There are also Latin and English translations of works by Tibullus, Catullus, Ovid, Virgil and others. Among these is the oldest print item held by Memorial University Libraries, a collection of the works of Tibullus, Catullus and Propertius from 1500.

The collection also holds two boxes of archival materials, containing photographs and microform reproductions of various Propertius manuscript as well as a number notebooks containing professor Butrica's notes on and transcriptions from various Latin texts. The boxes also contain other miscellaneous papers, including correspondence between Professor Butrica and various libraries. The archival material associated with this collection has not yet been described.

The book collection is not yet catalogued. A bibliography of the titles held in the collection may be viewed from the Digital Archives Initiative website. The collection is not open for browsing. To see physical copies of items in the collection, or to find out more about the collection, please contact Special Collections Librarian, Patrick Warner, at pwarner@mun.ca.