The Digital Loeb Classical Library has now been officially released! It is available for individual and institutional subscriptions (see intro video here). Individual subscriptions are $195 for the first year and $65 for subsequent consecutive years. This is a bit steep, I know, but I feel it is worth it. How many times have you been in the middle of research and needed a critical Greek or Latin text of a classical author? I have been there many, many times and it is a frustrating experience. We need our Loebs! Now, we have them at the tips of our fingers. It is great to see that the LCL has now gone digital. I hope to post here in future a review of the platform and overall user experience. In the meantime, you can subscribe here. 

Only recently did I become aware of a nice hardback facsimile edition of P.Bodmer II (P66; Gospel of John) titled L'évangile selon Jean: Introduction et traduction de Jean Zumstein (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 2008). 

This is an interesting publication for several reasons. First, the title is misleading. It is not merely a book on the Gospel of John. It is really, in fact, a full, colored photographic facsimile of P.Bodmer II, with a general introduction to the Gospel of John at the beginning (pp. 9-48) and a French translation of P.Bodmer II at the back (pp. 205-257). Second, it would appear that the photographs are digitally manipulated scans of the 1962 plates published by Victor Martin (Cologny-Genève, Bibliothèque Bodmer). Thus, the 1962 black and white images are slightly clearer, so hang onto those. (I have really, really high-res scans of these which have come in handy over the last couple years!) Nonetheless, the quality of this book is really nice. It has a red cloth spine, the binding is really solid, and the pages are quite thick and durable. Each codex page takes up an entire page of the book, and there is no additional text to the page. It would have been nice to have the pagination and content of each page listed at the top or bottom (cf. the 1962 plates), but at least the pagination can easily be read on the papyrus itself (where it is present). The introductory essay on the Fourth Gospel by Zumstein is also very good reading, although I feel that an introductory essay on P.Bodmer II would have been more appropriate given that this is a photographic facsimile. Anyway, be sure to check out this facsimile. It is a must-have for anyone working on ancient manuscripts. And the price is very reasonable (€28). Here are a few images:

Here is a fascinating video of Ludwig Koenen, one of the giants in the field of papyrology. He talks about his own training, his training of his own graduate students and the method thereof, his work on the Cologne Mani codex, and the future of papyrology. The video offers an excellent insight into the history of papyrology through the words of one of its doyens. 

Thanks to Michigan for producing this. The Michigan collection and the faculty and staff there are simply the best. If I could move to Ann Arbor, I would!