Sunday, September 03, 2006

1896 Bradford Facsimile on eBay

One of 150 copies of an 1896 facsimile manuscript edition of William Bradford's History of Plimouth Plantation is for sale on eBay. Bradford's original manuscript was lost during the Revolution, only resurfacing in the Bishop of London's library in 1855. It was returned to Boston years later, and now resides at the State House. This photographic facsimile was published by Ward & Downey (London) and Houghton Mifflin (Boston), and if the seller's pictures are any indication, is quite lovely.

The reserve on the eBay auction is $5,000, but at the midpoint of the sale on Sunday the bidding was, shall we say, tepid (the high bid was $26). The Plymouth Patriot Ledger has a short piece on the auction, titled "Hawking Plymouth's History," and Rare Book News also pointed out the auction.

[Update: As of Tuesday a.m., with a day and a half left to go, bidding's still at $26, well below the reserve].