- The December Fine Books Notes is up, with lots of good things as usual.
- Paul Collins writes in Slate about what happened to the Mary Celeste even after she was discovered floating around without her crew.
- Knute Young, wanted in a string of book thefts in the Oakland/Berkeley area, was arrested this week.
- The mysterious Copiale Cipher has been cracked; computer analysis earlier this year revealed it to be a "detailed description of a ritual from a secret society that apparently had a fascination with eye surgery and ophthalmology."
- Don't miss Steve Ferguson's great post about an 18th-century librarian's "Collat. & perfect." inscriptions.
- At the Collation, more on Impos[i]tor, the Folger's very cool digital imposition tool, and, more to the point, some excellent advice for developers of digital humanities projects.
- One of the editors alerted me to In the Words of Women, a new blog highlighting American women writing between 1765 and 1799.
- From Jordan Goffin at Notes for Bibliophiles, "What's a special collections library for?"
- At Anchora, Adam Hooks continues his "Faking Shakespeare" series with a look at William Henry Ireland's draft play about Louis XVI.
- I'm not sure whether this is new or not, but the BL's bookbindings database makes for a good browse.
- Jane Austen biographer Paula Byrne says she's found a new portrait of Austen, the Telegraph reports.
Reviews
- The New-York Historical Society's exhibit Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn; review by Alan Singer at HNN. [h/t Boston 1775]
- Michael Popek's Forgotten Bookmarks; review by Rebecca Rego Barry in Fine Books Notes.
- Colin Woodard's American Nations; review/discussion by J.L. Bell at Boston 1775.
