There are a variety of ways to search for “per nozze” holdings in the William R. Perkins Library or in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. These are outlined below. For further assistance, please ask the Rubenstein Library reference librarians.
Monographs
Virtually all the “per nozze” holdings in the Guido Mazzoni book collection were transferred to the Rubenstein Library along with all the “per nozze” in the Pamphlet Collection. There would be very few “per nozze” monographs in any case — the majority are located in the Pamphlet Collection.
There are no entries for “per nozze” holdings in the Perkins card catalog under “Epithalamia” or “Nozze, per.” However, there are many records for “per nozze” (located chiefly in the Rubenstein Library) in the Duke Libraries On-line Catalog. One may easily search for all of these by using the keywords “epithalamia” and “nozze.”
Among the Mazzoni Collection monographs transferred to the Rubenstein Library are “per nozze” publications dating from the early 19th to the early 20th centuries. They are located in the Rubenstein Library stacks, including a few in the A3 pamphlets cabinet in the Mary Duke Biddle Room and several monographs in the “E” section of the fifth level stacks (E#6424, for example). These holdings have not been added to the Mazzoni database, but they may be located easily using the Duke Libraries on-line catalog.
Pamphlets
Each of the 2,883 “per nozze” items residing in the Mazzoni Pamphlet Collection can be located by means of a special “per nozze” field marker in each item-level record in the electronic database.
Customized searches can be created using combinations of the “per nozze” field, subject headings, names, and even dates of publication. A Dante scholar, for example, could search for all the “per nozze” items linked to Dante studies; or, a scholar interested in the Ricasoli family could search for all the “per nozze” pieces dedicated to members of that family. One could even search for the “per nozze” published in honor of Mazzoni’s own wedding by using the name “Mazzoni” and the “per nozze” field marker as combined search terms.
During the 1980s, a group of approximately 1200 “per nozze” pamphlets received full cataloging; virtually all these records can now be found in the Duke Libraries on-line catalog. Eventually each “per nozze” given individual full cataloging will be found in the on-line catalog. Some 900 pieces also received partial manual cataloging; these can be found on yellow cards in the Perkins Library card catalog, but locating the cards is quite difficult. These same pamphlets can be found more easily by searching the electronic database for the “per nozze” items with call numbers in the “D” and “E” sections.
Mazzoni’s Original Index
The ease with which “per nozze” items can be electronically retrieved is remarkable, and is a great improvement on Mazzoni’s original hand-written paper slips, now photocopied and bound in a 24-volume set. As there are no entries in this manual index under “Per Nozze,” one is constrained to search for “per nozze” under specific titles, subjects, or authors. Despite the difficulties of searching and interpreting the hand-written index, it can be a valuable resource. Researchers who wish to consult the Mazzoni index should inquire with the Rubenstein Library reference staff.
Other “per nozze” holdings in the Rubenstein Library:
Other “per nozze” pieces may be found by searching the Duke Libraries on-line catalog under the subject keywords “nozze” and “epithalamia.” Some German pieces are located in the Jantz Collection. One Italian publication dates from the 16th century, and concerns the wedding of a Medici family member.