Links & Auctions

- The big news this week is the surprise return of two Charles Darwin notebooks that had been reported stolen from the Cambridge University Library. Coverage from the BBC, the Guardian, and a well-illustrated piece from the university library.

- Dartmouth College will repatriate the papers of Samson Occom to the Mohegan Tribe at a ceremony later this month.

- From the Middle Temple Library blog's Provenance Mysteries series, "Further Investigations into The Use of Passions."

- The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has placed a temporary export ban on an early seventeenth-century manuscript volume of Italian and French lute music. See also the official press statement.

- From The Bookhunter on Safari, the first part in a series on "Becoming a Cataloguer."

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Unnoticed Leaves of Ranulf Higden's Polychronicon."

- Bookseller Dennis Melhouse of First Folio Rare Books is profiled in the Paris (TN) Post-Intelligencer.

- Like the rest of the bibliosphere, I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of book collector Jerry Morris at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair last weekend. Jerry's blog posts at My Sentimental Library and his other blogs always make for fascinating reading, and I had known him through various LibraryThing projects for some years now. He was a delight to chat with at book fairs, where he enjoyed sharing his finds and hearing about those of others. I will miss him tremendously, and send my deep condolences to his family and friends. More from Rebecca Rego Barry on the Fine Books Blog.

Upcoming Auctions

- Fine Books and Manuscripts, featuring the Library of Roman Vishniac at Bonhams New York on 12 April.

- Literature, Illustrated, Graphics & Photography at New England Book Auctions on 12 April.

- History in Manuscript: Letters and Documents from a Distinguished Collection at Sotheby's ends on 13 April.

- Manuscrits Anciens & Livres Anciens et Modernes at Ader on 14 April.

- Fine Photographs at Swann Galleries on 14 April.

Links & Auctions

- The AAS has released a new suite of videos and associated resources about printing in colonial British North America.

- The British Library has published a new edition of Bernard J. Farmer's 1956 bibliomystery Death of a Bookseller.

- From Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "The 'Whitby' Psalter."

- Andrea Immel writes about a "Botched Book Curse" for the Cotsen Children's Library blog.

- Bookseller Ken Sanders is profiled in the Daily Utah Chronicle.

Upcoming Auctions

- Rare Autographs, Manuscripts, Photographs & Books at University Archives on 30 March.

- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 31 March.

- Autographs & Memorabilia at Chiswick Auctions on 31 March.

- Books in All Fields with Literature, Americana & Maps at PBA Galleries on 31 March.

Links & Auctions

- The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is coming up 1–3 April. This is always a fun event if you're able to make a visit to St. Petersburg!

- Some movement in the auction world this week, with Bonhams acquiring Skinner, Inc. The new firm will be known as Bonhams Skinner.

- From retiring AOTUS David Ferriero, "By the Numbers, 2010–2022."

 - Shakespeare & Beyond has an excerpt from Dennis Duncan's Index, a History of the.

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Otto Ege's Psalter with 'Aves' (HL116)."

- Aja Romano writes for Vox asking "When will Hollywood discover Georgette Heyer?"

- At The Collation, "A Blessing to Booksellers" by Rachel Dankert.

Upcoming Auctions

- Bibliothèque M. D.: Livres Précieux at Binoche et Giquello on 22 March.

- Rare Books, Autographs & Maps at Doyle New York on 22 March.

- Fine Books & Ephemera at New England Auctions on 22 March.

- Fine Books and Manuscripts at Bonhams London on 23 March.

- Women Through History at Bonhams London on 23 March.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 24 March.

- Printed & Manuscript African Americana at Swann Galleries on 24 March.

- Fine Literature – Beats, the Counterculture & Bukowski at PBA Galleries on 24 March.

Links & Auctions

- Todd Peak, the man charged with the theft of rare comics from FSU, entered a not guilty plea earlier this month.

- Coming up on 17 - 20 March, the conference of the Ephemera Society of America, "Creating Places and Spaces."

- The ABAA will hold the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair on 21–24 April.

- LSU has acquired the Wyatt Houston Day Collection of Poetry by African Americans.

- A new website, Mali Magic, features more than 40,000 digitized pages from the Timbuktu manuscripts. See also coverage on the BBC.

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "The Antiphonal of Berardo da Teramo in 1924."

- The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien released some previously-unpublished images of Tolkien's manuscripts and paintings.

- Michael Durrant writes for Early Modern Female Book Ownership about Bangor University's copy of the 1540 Great Bible.

- Over on the NLS blog, "Sir Walter Scott and the historical novel."

- For The Millions, Lenny Picker talked to Dennis Duncan about his new book Index, A History of the.

- The University of Liverpool blog notes a new acquisition of an 1878 travel diary.

- From Christine Jacobson for the Fine Books Blog, "At Risk: Ukraine's Museum of the Book and Printing."

- Susan Martin writes for the Beehive on "Behind the Scenes: Challenges in Processing."

Upcoming Auctions

- Livres de Photographies at Ader on 14 March.

- Livres anciens du XVe au XIXe siècle, Voyages, Sciences & Médecine at ALDE on 16 March.

- Two Day Book Sale at Keys Auctioneers on 16–17 March.

Links & Auctions

- Rebecca Romney has an essay in Uncanny Magazine, "Resisting the Monolith: Collecting as Counter Narrative."

- There's a new provenance mystery for us from the Middle Temple Library.

- Over on the Cotsen Children's Library blog, "A Rare Print Makes a Poor Fan But a Great Find!" [With many thanks to John Overholt for pointing out the inclusion of a book I collect in the image!]

- From The Bookhunter on Safari, "Becoming a Book-Hunter."

- Erin Blake writes for The Collation on "18th-century watchpapers."

- Alison Flood reports for the Guardian on Susan Jaffe Tane's recent donations of Poe items to the Poe Museum in Richmond, VA.

- From Jerry Morris, "About William Strunk, Jr. and his Other Books."

Upcoming Auctions

- Books & Manuscripts including the Monsieur X Collection at Artcurial on 8 March.

- American Historical Ephemera & Photography at Hindman on 8 March.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 10 March.

- Decorative and Graphic Arts with Illustrated & Antiquarian Books, Fine Press & Fine Bindings at PBA Galleries on 10 March.

- Rare Books & Ephemera at Addison & Sarova on 12 March.

- Bookworm Sale at Addison & Sarova on 13 March.

Links & Auctions

- Rare Books Pasadena continues through today, and the California International Antiquarian Book Fair begins on 11 February.

- Sandra Hindman has a new post on the AbeBooks blog, "Explaining Books of Hours."

- From Keith Houston, "a fistful of manicules."

 - Catalogers, take note: DCRM (RDA Edition) is now available.

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "A Spanish Choirbook Dated 1522."

- James Joyce's grandson has donated a large collection of Joyceana to the University of Reading.

- From Books & Borrowing, "Forgotten Best-Sellers: John Moore's Zeluco (1789)."

- There's a new crowdsourced transcription project: Corresponding with Quakers.

- Rare Book Monthly articles for February include Michael Stillman's update on auction sales, Susan Halas' interview with Glen Miranker,

Upcoming Auctions

- Original Film Posters at Sotheby's London ends on 8 February.

- Fine Books & Ephemera at New England Book Auctions ends on 8 February.

- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 10 February.

- Fine Photographs at Swann Galleries on 10 February.

- PBA Platinum: Rare Books and Manuscripts at PBA Galleries on 10 February.

Links & Auctions

- Congratulations to the new officers and board members of the BSA and APHA, elected this week.

- Taylor Dafoe writes for Artnet about the results of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg library sale at Bonhams this week.

- From Peter Kidd, "Another Unrecognized Budé Manuscript?"

- New from Lambeth Palace Library, a project to identify and document the provenance marks found in books from the Sion College Library collections.

- Over at Early Modern Female Book Ownership, "Lady Dorothy Long's Library."

- Adam Smyth's latest TEXT! installment is "Waste."

- Gerard McKeever writes for Books & Borrowing, "Anatomy of a Holding: Robert Burns at the Wigtown Subscription Library."

Upcoming Auctions

- Photographs at Hindman on 1 February.

- Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs featuring the Library of the Late William St Clair at Lyon & Turnbull on 2 February.

- The World of Anime at Bonhams New York ends on 2 February.

- 19th and 20th Century Vintage Posters at Bonhams London ends on 3 February.

- Comic Books at PBA Galleries on 3 February.

Links & Auctions

- The Ephemera Society of America's Virtual Ephemera Fair is open today and tomorrow (22–23 January) over on Getman's Virtual.

- The Bibliography Week schedule is up. The ABAA's Bibliography Week Showcase will be live on 26–27 January.

- Rebecca Rego Barry reviews the new Grolier Club exhibition of Glen Miranker's Sherlock Holmes collection for CrimeReads.

- Jerry Morris has a new post about his collection of early editions of Strunk & White.

- From Alan Krieger for the Notre Dame RBSC blog, "Seventeenth Century Dominicans Supporting the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception."

- Over at Books & Borrowing, "William MacGregor Stirling: Minister, Historian, and Antiquarian."

- Kurt Zimmerman has a new post about some recent wonderful association copies he's acquired, in "Every Book Its Story."

- From Clive Thompson, "A Search Engine That Finds You Weird Old Books."

Upcoming Auctions

- Manuscrits & Lettres Autographes at Aguttes on 25 January.

- Fine Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana at Sotheby's New York ends on 25 January.

- Printed Books & Maps, The Sinclair Hood Library of Archaeology, The Charles Tomlinson Poetry Library at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 26 January.

- Histoire des Idées Politiques et Sociales – Économie Politique – Finances at ALDE on 27 January.

- Books & Works on Paper including Contents from the Estate of Paul Gallego at Chiswick Auctions on 27 January.

- The Library of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Bonhams New York ends on 27 January.

- January 2022 Auction at Arader Galleries on 29 January.

Links & Auctions

- Getman's Rare Book & PaperPalooza continues through Sunday 9 January.

- Don't forget to register for upcoming Bibliography Week events sponsored by the Bibliographical Society of America. Some really excellent programming to choose from.

- A long-running publishing industry mystery may finally have come to a conclusion this week with the arrest of a man for wire fraud and identity theft.

- The BL's Medieval Manuscripts blog has an annual update on their digitization efforts.

- Over at Early Modern Female Book Ownership, a copy of John Suckling's Fragmenta Aurea from the library of Anne Coote Boyle, Viscountess Blessington.

- From Peter Kidd at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Arthur Haddaway's Price-Code."

Upcoming Auctions

- Fine Books & Ephemera at New England Book Auctions ends on 11 January.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 13 January.

- Fine Literature – With the Beats, Bukowski & Counterculture at PBA Galleries on 13 January.

Links & Auctions

This'll likely be the last post for 2021 - my very best wishes to each and every one of you for a restful and healthy holiday season. May 2022 be better for us all.

- The biggest biblio-news of the week is the acquisition of the Honresfield Library en bloc for a consortium of British libraries. The £15 million purchase price was funded by grants and donations, with half the cost given by Sir Leonard Blavatnik. More from Charlotte Higgins for the Guardian and from the BBC.

- There was far less coverage of it, but a $7 million default judgment against Dirk Obbink in federal court is also a very important story. Obbink failed to respond to allegations he had defrauded Hobby Lobby by selling $7 million worth of stolen papyrus fragments.

- From Karin Wulf at Scholarly Kitchen, "Reading About Libraries and Librarians."

- The Middle Temple Library has one last provenance mystery for us this year.

- The National Archives announced its plans for the release of the 1950 census, coming in April 2022.

- The Books and Borrowing team had a tour of Edinburgh's Signet Library.

Reviews

- David Pearson's Book Ownership in Stuart England; review by Adam Smyth in the LRB.

- Gary Goodman's The Last Bookseller; review by Timothy Francis Barry at the arts fuse.

Upcoming Auctions

- De Chateaubriand à Cioran – Raymond Queneau at Aguttes (Aristophil 45) on 20 December.

- Holy Family College Rare Book Collection (Part 1) at Eaton Hudson ends on 21 December.

- Fine Books and Ephemera at New England Book Auctions ends on 21 December.

Links & Auctions

- At The Collation, Heather Wolfe has a wonderful post on a 1602 book theft and its aftermath.

- Jennifer Schuessler writes for the NYTimes on the recent donation of the production archive, props, costumes, &c. used in the Apple TV+ series "Dickinson" to Harvard's Houghton Library.

- Over on the Ransom Center blog, Aaron Pratt on a recent donation of rare books from the Vaughn Foundation Fund, including a first edition of Newton's Principia with an early presentation inscription and early annotations.

- Ken Sanders Rare Books will reopen in 2022 in The Leonardo, a Salt Lake City science and technology museum.

Upcoming Auctions

- Books and Manuscripts: 19th and 20th Century at Sotheby's London ends on 14 December.

- Early Printing, Americana & Rare Books at New England Book Auctions ends on 14 December.

- Printing & Bookbinding Equipment and Supplies at New England Book Auctions ends on 14 December.

- Valuable Books and Manuscripts at Christie's London on 15 December.

- Printed Books, Maps, Historical Documents & Ephemera, Bookbinding Tools & Materials, Vinyl Records at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 15 December.

- Fine Books and Manuscripts at Bonhams New York on 15 December.

- Children's Books & Illustrations, Playing Cards, Modern First Editions & Autographs at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 16 December.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 16 December.

- Books and Manuscripts Online at Bonhams New York ends on 16 December.

- Americana – Travel & Exploration – Maps & Views at PBA Galleries on 16 December.

Links & Auctions

- A new collection edited by Michelle Levy and Betty Schellenberg, "How and Why to Do Things with Eighteenth-Century Manuscripts," is currently open-access from Cambridge University Press.

- Public Domain Review is doing an advent-calendar style countdown to highlight various pieces of culture which will enter the public domain in 2022.

- Video of the 18 November Archival Silence Working Group event "Language In/Of the Archive" is now available.

- From Peter Kidd, part the second of "Celotti or Ottley? The Source of the Lomax-Wade Collection."

- The Clements Library has acquired a 1761 manuscript plan of the fort at Detroit, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs.

Upcoming Auctions

- The History of Western Script: A further selection from The Schøyen Collection at Bloomsbury on 7 December.

- Livres d'Heures – Manuscrits – Archives followed by Collection d'un Amateur at Binoche et Giquello on 7 December.

- Livres et Manuscrits at Sotheby's Paris ends on 8 December.

- Printed Books, Manuscripts and Maps at Bellmans on 9 December.

- Rare Books, Autographs & Maps at Doyle on 9 December.

- Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books at Bonhams on 9 December.

- December Auction at Arader Galleries on 11 December.

Links & Auctions

- The (virtual) Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair will be held 18–20 November.

- The Library of Congress has acquired the M.C. Migel Rare Book Collection from the American Foundation for the Blind.

- From the Bodleian blog, "Congratulations, have a fish."

- Over at Books and Borrowing, "COP26 – Part 1: Glasgow, Birthplace of the Anthropocene."

- Abbie Weinberg writes for The Collation on "Small Latin and Less Greek," explaining this month's Crocodile mystery.

- From the Mudd Manuscript Library blog, Iliyah Coles on "Secret Societies at Princeton in the 19th Century."

- The BL Medieval Manuscripts blog highlights the new exhibition on Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots in "'Not lawful nor tolerable.'"

- Peter Kidd has the second installment of his series on the Lombard Cutting.

- From The Conveyor, "Printing matters: Inspiration at the Bodleian Bibliographical Press."

- Carson Koepke writes for the Beinecke blog on "Digitally Reconstructing the Acts of Appian Papyrus."

Upcoming Auctions

- Fine Books & Works on Paper and Autographs & Memorabilia at Chiswick Auctions on 9 November.

- Contemporary Artists' Books: The Property of a Texas Collector at Swann Galleries on 9 November.

- Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on 9–10 November.

- Books, Maps & Prints at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 10 November.

- Rare Autographs, Photographs & Books at University Archives on 10 November.

- Modern Firsts at Skinner ends on 10 November.

- Shelf Sale: Literature, Early Printing, Books on Books at New England Auctions on 11 November.

- Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinic Letters, Ceremonial & Graphic Art at Kestenbaum & Company on 11 November.

- The Civil War Collection of James C. Frasca at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on 12 November.

Links & Auctions

- Oak Knoll's sitewide sale is happening now, until 6 November (everything 20–50% off).

- Much of the material in the New England Book Auctions sale of Printing & Bookbinding Equipment and Supplies (ending 14 December) comes from the collection of our friend Vince Golden - there's some really excellent wood type and border material in this sale.

- Emory University has acquired Irish bibliophile John Moore's impressive collection of Bram Stoker material.

- The ABAA blog has an update on some stolen books recently returned to the National Library of Sweden.

- A copy of Shakespeare's Henry IV Part One extracted from the First Folio sold this week for $35,000.

- Over on The Conveyor, "Medieval Cookbooks: A Student Collection," and "Copper Plates in the Bodleian Libraries."

- The Middle Temple Libraries blog has posted a new provenance mystery for us this month.

- The Clements Library has digitized the William Howe Orderly Book, covering the period 1776 to 1778.

- From the BL's Medieval Manuscripts blogs, "Afterlives and Otherworlds: Three Ghost Stories from Medieval Ireland."

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "The Provenance of a Lombard Cutting [I]."

Upcoming Auctions

- History of Science and Technology at Bonhams Los Angeles on 3 November 2021.

- Livres Anciens du XVe au XIXe Siècle (Part I, Part II) at ALDE ends on 4 November.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 4 November.

- Art, Illustration & Dr. Seuss – British Prime Ministers – Antiquarian Books at PBA Galleries on 4 November.

- Historical Manuscripts at Heritage Auctions on 6 November.

Links & Auctions

- The Lilly Library has acquired the marvelous dictionary collection of Madeline Kripke.

- Paul Needham's Lyell Lectures continue, and are viewable here as they are delivered.

- The ABAA's Diversity Initiative is hosting a panel, "Everyone is Welcome Here: Building Better Relationships in Book Communities" on 26 October. 

- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Otto Ege's Armenian Lectionary Dated '1121.'"

- Heather Wolfe will be the Munby Fellow at Cambridge University Libraries for 2021–22, working on a project titled "Decoding early modern writing paper."

- On the Swann Galleries blog, Devon Eastland writes about Harvard librarian George Parker Winship.

- Carla Cevasco writes for the Collation on "Picturing Children's Food in Early Modern Europe."

- There is still time to register for the APHA conference on 22–23 October, "Impresos: Printing Across Latin American and Caribbean Cultures."

- The bat signal has gone out for a number of Mark Twain legal documents which are believed to have been acquired by the Detroit Public Library in 1966 but were not found when a researcher looked for them in 2010. Barbara Schmidt has a feature on this over on Twain Quotes.

- A First Circuit panel has ruled that a 1780 Alexander Hamilton letter to Lafayette is the clear property of the Massachusetts Archives, and the letter has now been returned. It was stolen by employee Harold Perry sometime between 1938 and 1946 and later sold. Read the full decision here.

Upcoming Auctions

- The Luzzatto High Holidays Mahzor: A Magnificent Ashkenazic Prayer Book at Sotheby's New York on 19 October.

- Travel including a single owner collection of books on mountaineering at Bloomsbury Auctions (Dreweatts) ends on 20 October.

- A third selection of 16th and 17th English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library at Forum Auctions on 21 October.

- Fine Literature – Bukowski, Beats & the Counterculture at PBA Galleries on 21 October.

- Literature, Social Activism, Counterculture at Second Story Books on 23 October.

Links & Auctions

- Rare Books Santa Monica continues through 3 October over on Getman's Virtual.

- A number of stolen manuscripts have been returned to the National Archives of Mexico.

- Over on Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Manuscripts Written at Rome in 1465, now at the V&A and Houghton."

- October's Rare Book Monthly articles include Joe Fay's "The Luckiest Bookseller Alive."

- The Modern Endangered Archives Program now includes "Independence and Beyond: Ephemera from the Barbados Department of Archives."

- In the Guardian, Stephen Fry writes on the enduring appeal of Georgette Heyer.

Upcoming Auctions

- Illustration Art Signature Auction at Heritage Auctions on 4 October.

- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 6 October.

- Americana – Travel & Exploration – World History – Cartography at PBA Galleries on 7 October.

Links & Auctions

- Another missing books alert from the ABAA, of some volumes currently missing in transit. See their post for a list and some images.

- Some new material from SHARP: a Special Topics Bibliography on Africa, Shef Rogers on "SHARP, BSA, BSANZ and the Place of Book History," and a new tranche of posts in the "SHARP in the Classroom" series.

- Over on the Clements Library blog, "A nesting doll of copies."

- A really fascinating provenance mystery post from the Middle Temple Library blog, featuring a 1485 volume of Arabic astronomy with what appears to be something like a bookseller's inventory bound in as front endpapers.

- The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was formally handed back to Iraq on Thursday. And there is an update on the Dirk Obbink story in the NYTimes.

- From TEXT!, "Books annotations and loose papers."

- Registration for this year's Schoenberg Symposium, focused on "Loss," is now open; it will be held from 17–19 November.

Upcoming Auctions

- Poètes & Écrivains des XIXe–XXe Siècles at Aguttes (Aristophil 44) at Aguttes on 27 September.

- Autographs & Art, from Van Gogh to Hendrix at University Archives on 29 September.

- Fine Gold Books, Clubs & Memorabilia at PBA Galleries on 29 September.

- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 30 September.

- Printed & Manuscript Americana at Swann Galleries on 30 September.

- Miniature Books with Books to Benefit the Miniature Book Society on 30 September.

Links & Auctions

- Continuing through 12 September, the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: New York Edition.

- The Virtual Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair is next on Getman's Virtual, 23–26 September.

- Thanks to Anthony Tedeschi for sending along a fascinating story from Stuff about the peregrinations of the typescript of Janet Frame's Owls Do Cry.

- Over on Early Modern Female Book Ownership, V.M. Braganza looks at a copy of the Shakespeare Fourth Folio bearing the signature of Charlotte Rowe, daughter of editor Nicholas Rowe.

- From Adam Smyth at TEXT!, "Inventories."

- John Levy writes on the LC's blog, "Of Pemmican and Polariscopes: the 1860 Eclipse Expeditions."

- At The Collation, "Paper Trades," by Caroline Duroselle-Melish, and "Unsung Travelers: A History of Global Mobility from Below" by Ananya Chakravarti.

- Eric Ensley is in the "Bright Young Librarians" spotlight this week.

Upcoming Auctions

- The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum: Part One at Christie's New York on 14 September.

- Travel & Exploration at Bonhams London on 14 September.

- Early Music: Rare Music Manuscripts, Printed Music and Books from the Library of Arnold Dolmetsch (1858–1940) at Sotheby's London ends on 14 September.

- Fine Books & Ephemera at New England Book Auctions ends on 14 September.

- Fine Books and Manuscripts at Bonhams London on 15 September.

- Fine Books – Fine Press – Fine Bindings – With a Taste of Golf at PBA Galleries on 16 September.

- The Exceptional Literature Collection of Theodore B. Baum: Part Two at Christie's New York ends on 17 September.

Links & Auctions

- The Cotsen Children's Library has acquired a large cache of woodblocks used to illustrate books published by John Newbery and several successors. An online searchable database of the blocks is planned.

- From Keith Houston, "Interrobang Archaeology."

- Over on the Morgan Library blog, John Bidwell on "A Fine Binding for the Prince of Books."

- Adam Smyth's excellent TEXT! dispatch this week is "Paper, wasps, dandelion roots."

- Bodleian Library Publishing has made nearly 550 publications, exhibit catalogs, &c. available through HathiTrust.

- Salt Lake City bookseller Curt Bench, who some readers may recognize from the Netflix documentary "Murder Among the Mormons," has died aged 68.

- In Smithsonian, V.M. Braganza on the cipher monogram of Lady Mary Wroth.

- Steven Lubar sent along a post about a course he taught this summer at Brown, "Books, Material & Digital," which looks like it worked very well!

Upcoming Auctions

- Summer Historical Auction at Alexander Historical Auctions on 24–26 August.

- Rare Autographs, Manuscripts & Books at University Archives on 25 August.

- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 26 August.

- 100 Items of Judaica, Rare Autographs at University Archives on 26 August.

- Books in All Fields with Fine Press Books, Americana & Maps at PBA Galleries on 26 August.

- Fine Books & Manuscripts at Potter & Potter Auctions on 28 August.

Links & Auctions

- The Virtual Ephemera Fair (summer edition) will be held on 14–15 August over on Getman's Virtual.

- Karin Wulf has been appointed the new Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library. Congratulations!

- Cambridge University Library has acquired a new book from Gabriel Harvey's library for their collections.

- From the BL Medieval Manuscripts blog, "A mariner's handbook from the library of Sir Walter Raleigh."

- Over on the Peter Harrington blog, "Why do we use catalogues in the rare book world?"

- From Adam Smyth at TEXT!, "Book ownership, Paul McCartney and Napoleon Bonaparte."

- On the Morgan Library's blog, "Collecting Bibiena."

- From the N-YHS, "Art in Early Republic New York City."

- Over at Books and Borrowing, "Labouring-Class Borrowing at Innerpeffray Library, 1815–1833."

- On the St Andrews special collections blog, summer intern Megan Briers reports on her efforts to identify some items from the library sales of Rev. John Lee.

Upcoming Auction

- Printed Books, Maps & Documents, Vinyl Records & CDs at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 11 August.