For now, here's a story from the Baruch College Ticker reporting on a major (and quite daring) theft from the college's Newman Library.
While it doesn't quite involve books, I have to pass along Google's annual prank: Gmail Custom Time (and here's a history of their past hoaxes).
More to come, perhaps ...
- Over at FoggyGates, a note on an interesting item they've got up for sale on eBay this week: a 1937 report on some Etruscan terra-cotta warriors which turned out to be, well, total fakes.
- And a reminder of what might be the greatest April Fools prank of all time: the BBC's 1957 newscast of the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. Video and background here.
- Peter's got some fun stuff going on today at Sylvia Plath Info which is not to be missed. Plath snack packs indeed.
- Ken Karmiole, one of my favorite antiquarian booksellers, posted the following to the ABAA listserv earlier today:
"Subject: [ABAA Books] FS: A Very Special CopyMela, Pomponius. ORBIS SITUM DICERE AGGREDIOR... [i.e. Cosmographia, Sive DeSitu Orbis]. Milan: (Pamfilo Castaldi). 1471. Sm. 4to. 59 (of 61) leaves lacking the final 2 blanks. Cont. vellum, somewhat soiled. On the first leaf at top right corner is the genuine autograph "Cristoforo Colombo, Genoa, 1472." The "editio princeps" of a very rare book, one of the earliest printed geographical works, by the first Roman geographer, and the copy which was acquired by Columbus at the age of 21. Long known to bibliographers – it was first recorded in the 16th century manuscript inventory of the Orsini family library – and thought to have been lost. This amazing copy has recently come to light, in one of the California mission libraries, now being sold (on consignment to us) to raise necessary funds. $1,000,000.00 net"
- Oh man, here's Google's real one. Amazing, as always.
