- Penn has acquired the only known copy of "Elegy on the Death of Aquila Rose," printed by Benjamin Franklin shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in 1723. See coverage in Philly.com, the WaPo, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. The broadside was included in a scrapbook of material collected by Samuel Hazard in the 19th century and later purchased by manuscripts dealer Carmen Valentino. Both the broadside and the scrapbook are currently on display at Penn's Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center.
- The strong showing for Hamilton manuscripts at Sotheby's this week made the NYTimes, Bloomberg, and even SNL's "Weekend Update."
- The EMMO beta site is now live. See the Collation post for more info.
- Roberta Kwok writes about the Folger's Shakespeare's World crowdsourced transcription project for the New Yorker.
- Rare Book Week West 2017 is coming up soon!
- Heather Wolfe and Michael Witmore have a joint Collation post, "William Shakespeare, Scholar and Gentleman."
- The Jay I. Kislak Foundation has made a major gift of some 2,300 rare books and manuscripts to the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.
- Kathleen Lynch takes a deep dive into Folger First Folio number 54.
- Ana Marie Cox interviewed Carla Hayden for the NYTimes.
- Leo Cadogan is profiled in the "Bright Young Booksellers" series.
- The National Library of Israel has acquired the remainder of the Valmadonna Trust Library.
- Bookseller Ed Smith interviewed Kurt Brokaw about selling books on the sidewalks of New York.
- Michael J. Barsanti has been named director of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
- Nate D. Sanders Auctions will sell a copy of the 1494 Basel edition of the Columbus letter on 30 January.
- Several photographs from the 1911 Scott expedition will be sold at Bonhams next month.
Reviews
- Randall Fuller's The Book That Changed America; review by Eric Foner in the NYTimes.
- Robert Gottlieb's Avid Reader: A Life; review by J. Michael Lennon in the TLS.
Upcoming Auctions
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, 25 January.
- Fine Literature and Modern First Editions at PBA Galleries, 26 January.
- Travel & Exploration at Bonhams London, 1 February.
