This collection was donated to Lehigh Libraries Special Collections by John C. Hirsh, a lifelong collector of medieval manuscripts. Hirsh received his PhD from Lehigh in 1970 before joining the faculty of Georgetown University as an English professor. While studying at Lehigh for his PhD, he also helped curate an exhibition of the 27 medieval manuscripts already in Lehigh's collection. Lehigh's existing medieval manuscripts were previously digitized as part of the Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis (Bibliophilly) grant project.
