Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Update from FB&C

I have a confession to make: I'm behind on the last couple issues of Fine Books & Collections. I've finally cracked open the November/December copy, and found an update to a story I posted about, as well as another item of note:

- Back in September we discussed the sale of the Bishop Phillpotts Library by the Diocese of Truro; among the items sold from the collection was Rev. Franke Parker's Macklin Bible, a 63-volume extra-illustrated behemoth. Auctioneer Dominic Winter sold the Bible to a dealer who cut out 300 of the illustrations and then left the rest of the set behind; the story then was that the remaining material went to an American university library. However, Ian McKay reports in FB&C "While the auctioneer initially said that the carcass, which included more than 8,000 remaining illustrations, went to an unnamed American university, the Bible dealer David Lachman actually purchased it on behalf of a very wealthy client who is having it repaired and rebound."

- The extended version of an interview with Sandie Tropper of the American Society of Appraisers is available on the FB&C website: Tropper discusses a recent law which tightens the rules governing appraisals of books and other property.

[Later: I'm now entirely caught up (whew!), and should note that the January/February issue is full of delightful pieces. It's worth reading just for Ronald Ravenburg's fascinating article on a printer's copy of Hawkesworth's Voyages alone.]