Quote:... in the late 1990s when this rather silly 'central European' storyline was first produced ...
The "Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in The United States and Canada", by Seymour De Ricci, with the assistance of W. J. Wilson, was first published in 1937.
In vol. II, on pp.1845-1848 it describes the MSs included in "The estate of Wilfrid M. Voynich", New York.
Entry nr. 8 has:
Quote:8. Cipher ms. Vel. (date uncertain, authorities hesitate between the XIIIth and XVth c.; we suppose it to be not much older than 1500),
[...skipped...]
The country of origin seems to be some part of Central Europe.
[...skipped...]
It was later in the Collegio Romano, in Rome,
[...lots skipped...]
This description was almost certainly provided by Anne Nill. This is just 7 years after the death of Voynich, and in a way marks a break with the Roger Bacon tradition.
In the Beinecke library there is a carbon copy of a letter from Nill to De Ricci giving an earlier version of this description which is much shorter. At the time, Nill was working for W.J. Wilson, and compiling the index of this catalogue. Wilson was personally interested in this MS.
In 1937, Nill received a letter from the UK shop that was just being closed. This included the paper slips with the reference to the private library of P.Beckx, which gave away the origin of the collection of MSs that included the Voynich MS.
The above text, which includes this connection, must have been a last-minute change, made possible by the direct connection of Anne Nill with the publication.
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