- In the NYTimes, Mark Leibovich offers "Rights vs. Rights: An Improbable Collision Course." He comments on the Obama and Clinton campaigns, discussing them in the historical context of the civil rights and women's rights movements over the last century and a half.
- Ian has a dispatch from the Armory book fair in New York; sounds like the first day went well. [Update: second dispatch].
- On Ex-Libris, Terry Belanger notes the 10 January death of printmaking historian Gavin Bridson, author of American Botanical Prints of Two Centuries and co-author of Printmaking in the Service of Botany, among other works.
- The NYTimes noted this week that the Morgan Library has acquired the only known copy of the first dated Book of Hours printed in France (1485). "This volume is the first known book to have been produced by the French publisher Antoine Vérard, and it helped establish Paris as a leading publishing center." The Morgan purchased the book at Sotheby's in a November auction, for $471,304. The volume will be on display at the library for three months beginning in April. The Times story, which calls the book the first Book of Hours printed in France, prompted Falk Eisermann of the Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke (Union Catalogue of Incunabula) to note that details of a Book of Hours printed in Rouen around 1480 were published in their catalogue in September (the Ex-Libris archives are being spotty, so I'll add a link to his note when I can).
- Hanover College has received a major collection of about 50 classic rare books on North American and Pacific exploration from alumnus Ronald Kloepfer. Titles include Richard Hakluyt's Principall Navigations, George Vancouver's Voyage of Discovery, &c.
- Paul Collins notes a Guardian column in which Nicholas Lezard claims to have found a diamond in the rough of on-demand publishing: Jennie Walker's novel 24 for 3.
- Michael Lieberman comments on our Jefferson's Library project, making some good suggestions for the addition of images and links to digital texts where available. He writes "This is the technology shining. It adds a whole new dimension to social networking, a more intellectually stimulating and, in some ways, a more intimate experience." We hope so!
- On NPR, Fritjof Capra spoke recently about his new book The Science of Leonardo.
- The Figge Art Museum in Davenport, IA will host "Birds of America: John James Audubon" from 3 February through 11 May. The exhibit features nearly 100 prints from the Birds of America.
Reviews
- In the Telegraph, Diane Purkiss reviews a new biography, Anna Beer's John Milton: Poet, Pamphleteer and Patriot.
- In the NYTimes, D.T. Max reviews Bill Hayes' The Anatomist, a necessarily unconventional treatment of Henry Gray (he of Gray's Anatomy) and H.V. Carter, Gray's artist.
- Also in the NYTimes, Owen Gingerich reviews Jack Repcheck's Copernicus' Secret, which he says "at last brings the astronomer to life in a way that past efforts have not quite achieved." However, he adds, Repcheck doesn't really get into the deep questions of Copernicus' life and impact on science.
- Another one from the Telegraph: Jim Endersby reviews Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey, calling it an "engaging wander behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum."
- And in the TLS, Fortey takes up the pen to review A Natural History of Time by Pascal Richet.
