Career
He was also employed by the School of Library Science at Case Western Reserve University as a lecturer on the History of the Book, and instructor of History and Art of the Book. Otto Ege"s greatest fame, however, came as a result of his book-breaking. Over a period of decades in the early 20th century, Ege systematically removed the pages of some 50 illuminated medieval manuscripts, and divided them into 40 unique compilation boxes, commonly referred to as "Otto Ege Portfolios".
These portfolios were in turn sold and distributed world wide.
Over the last several years, Professor Peter Stoicheff of the University of Saskatchewan has been working to locate all existing Ege Portfolios, and to foster co-operation from their respective owners in creating an "Ege Medieval Manuscript Database" with the ultimate goal being the digital reconstruction of the complete books
Ege"s personal collection, including 50 unbroken manuscript books, was in 2015 acquired by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (part of Yale University Library).
