- Rebecca Romney posts about her time at the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS) last week.
- John Nulty, formerly employed by the National Library of Ireland, received a suspended sentence for the theft of rare books worth nearly €200,000 over the course of nine years. Nulty entered a guilty plea on eight of 216 counts of theft. The judge granted the suspended sentence, he said, because nearly all of the books were recovered.
- Ellen Cloyed writes for An Acquired Taste (the blog of Swem Library's Special Collections) about a book inscribed to Horatia Nelson.
- The STCV (Short Title Catalogue Flanders) has released their cataloging manual.
- Joe Helm writes for the Washington Post about (maybe?) the beginnings of a cursive resurgence?
- Had this link saved to include here in May, but missed it at the time: Katrina Martin posts at The Devil's Tale about Duke's collection of early movable books, including some new acquisitions as part of the Lisa Unger Baskin collection.
Reviews
- Anna Keay's The Last Royal Bastard; review by Jeffrey Collins in the WSJ.
- Peter Doran's Breaking Rockefeller; review by John R. Coyne, Jr. in the Washington Times.
- Lillian Sciberras' Shadows in Penumbra; review by Paul Xuereb in the Times of Malta.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Links & Reviews
- Brenda Cronin reports for the Wall Street Journal on the renovation of the Beinecke Library, which is set to reopen this fall.
- Allan Young and Patrick Scott are working on a census of Robert Burns' first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), and they issued a public call for assistance on ExLibris this week. Please help if you can. Project background.
- The Osher Map Library's digitization of maps from its collections is highlighted in the "Future Tense" series at Slate. The piece gets at both the possibilities and shortcomings of digital presentation.
- Rebecca Romney posts about an 1872 self-promotional poster designed by Walt Whitman to drum up sales of his books.
- New to me: a YouTube video of Lisa Baskin talking about her collection, which is now at Duke.
- Heather Wolfe has a Collation post up about how another recent discovery seems to clarify some longstanding questions about several heraldic manuscripts featuring Shakespeare.
- Recent work has revealed a great deal about the provenance of a fragment of the 36-line Bible in the Scheide Library at Princeton.
- The SHARP book awards were announced this week in Paris. Congratulations to the winners!
- A call for individual paper proposals for the Society of Early Americanists' meeting next March in Tulsa is now live, and I do encourage anyone interested to submit. I've been to several of these meetings (though I missed the last one), and have enjoyed them immensely.
- Keith Houston's new book, The Book, comes out next month. On his blog, he recounts a visit to Edinburgh papermaker Chrissie Heughan.
- A Brontë family book containing an early manuscript poem by Charlotte has been purchased by the Brontë Society. More.
- The website for "Beyond Words," a cross-institutional exhibition of medieval manuscripts in Boston, is now live. Along with the exhibitions, there are an impressive number of events coming up this fall.
- There's a report in the Business Tribune that a proposed tax measure in Oregon could spell an end to the venerable Powell's Books.
- The Folger's Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama launched.
- A collection of more than 300 Dick Whittington-related items was bequeathed to London's Guildhall Library.
- Princeton has announced the books and manuscripts acquired at the Pirie sale in December.
- Rare Books Digest has an interview with Sandra Hindman of Les Enluminures.
- Sarah Werner went looking for open digital collections. Here's what she found.
- Jerry Morris has been working on the library of lexicographer Joseph E. Worcester.
- AAS intern Dylan McDonough writes about his work this summer on the AAS Printers' File.
Reviews
- William Egginton's The Man Who Invented Fiction; review by Daniel Hahn in the Guardian.
- Lucy Sussex's Blockbuster; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
- Geoffrey Cowan's Let the People Rule; review by Thomas Curwen in the LATimes.
- John Guy's Elizabeth; review by Anna Whitelock in the TLS.
- Allan Young and Patrick Scott are working on a census of Robert Burns' first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), and they issued a public call for assistance on ExLibris this week. Please help if you can. Project background.
- The Osher Map Library's digitization of maps from its collections is highlighted in the "Future Tense" series at Slate. The piece gets at both the possibilities and shortcomings of digital presentation.
- Rebecca Romney posts about an 1872 self-promotional poster designed by Walt Whitman to drum up sales of his books.
- New to me: a YouTube video of Lisa Baskin talking about her collection, which is now at Duke.
- Heather Wolfe has a Collation post up about how another recent discovery seems to clarify some longstanding questions about several heraldic manuscripts featuring Shakespeare.
- Recent work has revealed a great deal about the provenance of a fragment of the 36-line Bible in the Scheide Library at Princeton.
- The SHARP book awards were announced this week in Paris. Congratulations to the winners!
- A call for individual paper proposals for the Society of Early Americanists' meeting next March in Tulsa is now live, and I do encourage anyone interested to submit. I've been to several of these meetings (though I missed the last one), and have enjoyed them immensely.
- Keith Houston's new book, The Book, comes out next month. On his blog, he recounts a visit to Edinburgh papermaker Chrissie Heughan.
- A Brontë family book containing an early manuscript poem by Charlotte has been purchased by the Brontë Society. More.
- The website for "Beyond Words," a cross-institutional exhibition of medieval manuscripts in Boston, is now live. Along with the exhibitions, there are an impressive number of events coming up this fall.
- There's a report in the Business Tribune that a proposed tax measure in Oregon could spell an end to the venerable Powell's Books.
- The Folger's Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama launched.
- A collection of more than 300 Dick Whittington-related items was bequeathed to London's Guildhall Library.
- Princeton has announced the books and manuscripts acquired at the Pirie sale in December.
- Rare Books Digest has an interview with Sandra Hindman of Les Enluminures.
- Sarah Werner went looking for open digital collections. Here's what she found.
- Jerry Morris has been working on the library of lexicographer Joseph E. Worcester.
- AAS intern Dylan McDonough writes about his work this summer on the AAS Printers' File.
Reviews
- William Egginton's The Man Who Invented Fiction; review by Daniel Hahn in the Guardian.
- Lucy Sussex's Blockbuster; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
- Geoffrey Cowan's Let the People Rule; review by Thomas Curwen in the LATimes.
- John Guy's Elizabeth; review by Anna Whitelock in the TLS.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Links & Reviews
- Georgianna Ziegler writes for The Collation about a recent Folger acquisition, a volume which contains what is for now the earliest known reference to a Shakespeare volume in America. I used the photo from the post to make a quick LibraryThing catalog of Edward Dale's books (there are a few still to be added once the book comes off display and we can get images of the titles written in the gutter).
- The UK government has placed a temporary export bar on a jewelled prayer-book once owned by François I of France; British institutions now have the opportunity to raise £8 million to match the price offered by an overseas buyer.
- SHARP's annual conference starts tomorrow in Paris - good luck to all the presenters, and I look forward to the tweets and recaps!
- Also coming up this week (starting tonight) is the annual Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS): Lisa Baskin will give the keynote address and Don Lindgren is this year's specialty dealer.
- Over American Book Collecting, Kurt Zimmerman listens to Bill Reese's recent Rare Book School lecture (available here, or search "Rare Book School" in your preferred podcast delivery system) and then finds a fascinating association copy on his bookshelves!
- Matthew Kirschenbaum talked to Manuel Portela about Track Changes.
- Dan Cohen has posted an updated take on why we're seeing a decline in e-book sales.
Reviews
- Geoffrey Cowan's Let the People Rule; review by Thomas Curwen in the LATimes.
- Ritchie Robertson's Goethe and The Essential Goethe (ed. Matthew Bell); review by Osman Durrani in the TLS.
- The UK government has placed a temporary export bar on a jewelled prayer-book once owned by François I of France; British institutions now have the opportunity to raise £8 million to match the price offered by an overseas buyer.
- SHARP's annual conference starts tomorrow in Paris - good luck to all the presenters, and I look forward to the tweets and recaps!
- Also coming up this week (starting tonight) is the annual Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS): Lisa Baskin will give the keynote address and Don Lindgren is this year's specialty dealer.
- Over American Book Collecting, Kurt Zimmerman listens to Bill Reese's recent Rare Book School lecture (available here, or search "Rare Book School" in your preferred podcast delivery system) and then finds a fascinating association copy on his bookshelves!
- Matthew Kirschenbaum talked to Manuel Portela about Track Changes.
- Dan Cohen has posted an updated take on why we're seeing a decline in e-book sales.
Reviews
- Geoffrey Cowan's Let the People Rule; review by Thomas Curwen in the LATimes.
- Ritchie Robertson's Goethe and The Essential Goethe (ed. Matthew Bell); review by Osman Durrani in the TLS.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Links & Reviews
- Stephen Tabor writes for Verso, the Huntington's blog, about a tremendously interesting and exciting new acquisition.
- Rachel Beattie writes for the National Library of Scotland blog about sleuthing out correspondent names in the James Murray Archive.
- James Dawson covers "Mistaikes in Books" over at Rare Books Digest.
- Toronto bookseller David Mason is profiled in the Toronto Star, with a focus on his efforts (thus far unsuccessful) to solve a 1993 theft from his shop. Among the material stolen was a small archive relating to a 1929 boxing match between Ernest Hemingway and Morley Callaghan (for which F. Scott Fitzgerald acted as timekeeper).
- Steven Overly reports for the WaPo about the Vatican's digitization of one of the earliest manuscript versions of Virgil's Georgics and Aeneid, known as the "Virgilius Vaticanus."
- Keith Houston has posted a new miscellany of punctuation-related news at Shady Characters.
- The Boston Globe covered worries about the fate of Boston University's Editorial Institute this week.
- Over at Inciting Sparks, Tess Goodman has a new post, "Pics or It Didn't Happen: On the Objectivity of Photographs."
- Rabia Barkatulla writes for The Bookseller about the challenges inherent in digitizing Arabic books and manuscripts.
- A Thomas Jefferson letter discovered in a family's attic is being offered for $325,000 by the Raab Collection.
- Registration for this fall's APHA conference at the Huntington Library is now open. The theme is "The Black Art & Printers' Devils: The Magic, Mysticism, and Wonders of Printing History."
- More on Heather Wolfe's recent Shakespeare discoveries at Beyond Shakespeare.
- Melbourne's Rare Book Week is coming up from 14–24 July. Check out the full schedule - lots of great events going on!
- Nick Basbanes talked to novelist Matthew Pearl for Fine Books & Collections.
- London's Feminist Library faces eviction after a rent hike.
- Some excellent news from Portland, Maine, where a new independent bookshop will open in the fall.
- Excavation work for the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia has turned up a bunch of printing type.
- A Bible given by Charlotte Brontë to her friend Ellen Nussey will be sold at Sotheby's London this week.
- The London Library was profiled in Londonist.
- Tokyo's Jinbocho, which houses some 160 used and rare bookshops, sounds like a browser's dream!
- Several drawings by Beatrix Potter were found at Melford Hall in Suffolk during conservation works on books from the house library.
Reviews
- Ben H. Winters' Underground Airlines; review by Jennifer Forbus in the CSM.
- Pamela Haag's The Gunning of America; review by Stephen Wertheim in the TLS.
- Stephen Orgel's The Reader in the Book; review by Dustin Illingworth in the LARB.
- Rachel Beattie writes for the National Library of Scotland blog about sleuthing out correspondent names in the James Murray Archive.
- James Dawson covers "Mistaikes in Books" over at Rare Books Digest.
- Toronto bookseller David Mason is profiled in the Toronto Star, with a focus on his efforts (thus far unsuccessful) to solve a 1993 theft from his shop. Among the material stolen was a small archive relating to a 1929 boxing match between Ernest Hemingway and Morley Callaghan (for which F. Scott Fitzgerald acted as timekeeper).
- Steven Overly reports for the WaPo about the Vatican's digitization of one of the earliest manuscript versions of Virgil's Georgics and Aeneid, known as the "Virgilius Vaticanus."
- Keith Houston has posted a new miscellany of punctuation-related news at Shady Characters.
- The Boston Globe covered worries about the fate of Boston University's Editorial Institute this week.
- Over at Inciting Sparks, Tess Goodman has a new post, "Pics or It Didn't Happen: On the Objectivity of Photographs."
- Rabia Barkatulla writes for The Bookseller about the challenges inherent in digitizing Arabic books and manuscripts.
- A Thomas Jefferson letter discovered in a family's attic is being offered for $325,000 by the Raab Collection.
- Registration for this fall's APHA conference at the Huntington Library is now open. The theme is "The Black Art & Printers' Devils: The Magic, Mysticism, and Wonders of Printing History."
- More on Heather Wolfe's recent Shakespeare discoveries at Beyond Shakespeare.
- Melbourne's Rare Book Week is coming up from 14–24 July. Check out the full schedule - lots of great events going on!
- Nick Basbanes talked to novelist Matthew Pearl for Fine Books & Collections.
- London's Feminist Library faces eviction after a rent hike.
- Some excellent news from Portland, Maine, where a new independent bookshop will open in the fall.
- Excavation work for the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia has turned up a bunch of printing type.
- A Bible given by Charlotte Brontë to her friend Ellen Nussey will be sold at Sotheby's London this week.
- The London Library was profiled in Londonist.
- Tokyo's Jinbocho, which houses some 160 used and rare bookshops, sounds like a browser's dream!
- Several drawings by Beatrix Potter were found at Melford Hall in Suffolk during conservation works on books from the house library.
Reviews
- Ben H. Winters' Underground Airlines; review by Jennifer Forbus in the CSM.
- Pamela Haag's The Gunning of America; review by Stephen Wertheim in the TLS.
- Stephen Orgel's The Reader in the Book; review by Dustin Illingworth in the LARB.
Sunday, July 03, 2016
Links & Reviews
- Jennifer Schuessler reports for the New York Times on some excellent new discoveries about Shakespeare and heraldry by Heather Wolfe, curator of manuscripts at the Folger Shakespeare Library. See the documents at Shakespeare Documented.
- On the NYPL blog, Mark Boonshoft highlights Mary Katherine Goddard's January 1777 printing of the Declaration of Independence.
- Video from the Grolier Club symposium "Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren't" is now available via Vimeo.
- There's a binding-related "Crocodile mystery" up at The Collation.
- Paul Heller writes for the Times Argus about the process of debunking the myth that the wooden hand-press at the Vermont Historical Society was the first press in Massachusetts.
- Kathy Major writes at Past is Present about finding a small but important collection of unpublished Richard Henry Lee letters at AAS.
- A first edition Principia will be sold at Christie's on 12 July as part of the excellent Giancarlo Beltrame Library of Scientific Books auction.
- Over at 6sqft, "Life Behind the Stacks: The Secret Apartments of New York Libraries." [Warning: I noticed a couple glaring errors in this piece, so take it with a generous helping of salt].
- Matt Kirschenbaum talked to Robinson Meyer about Track Changes for The Atlantic.
- HathiTrust and the National Federation for the Blind will collaborate to make some 14 million e-books available to blind and print-disabled users.
- Michael Danaher has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Oxford book dealer Adrian Greenwood.
- The 15CBOOKTRADE project has released a video introducing some of the various visualization tools available as 15cV, drawing on the MEI database ("Material Evidence in Incunabula").
Reviews
- Matt Kirschenbaum's Track Changes; review by Brian Dillon in the Guardian.
- Wendy Warren's New England Bound; review by Christopher L. Brown in the NYTimes.
- Ben H. Winters' Underground Airlines; review by Jon Michaud in the WaPo.
- On the NYPL blog, Mark Boonshoft highlights Mary Katherine Goddard's January 1777 printing of the Declaration of Independence.
- Video from the Grolier Club symposium "Blooks: The Art of Books That Aren't" is now available via Vimeo.
- There's a binding-related "Crocodile mystery" up at The Collation.
- Paul Heller writes for the Times Argus about the process of debunking the myth that the wooden hand-press at the Vermont Historical Society was the first press in Massachusetts.
- Kathy Major writes at Past is Present about finding a small but important collection of unpublished Richard Henry Lee letters at AAS.
- A first edition Principia will be sold at Christie's on 12 July as part of the excellent Giancarlo Beltrame Library of Scientific Books auction.
- Over at 6sqft, "Life Behind the Stacks: The Secret Apartments of New York Libraries." [Warning: I noticed a couple glaring errors in this piece, so take it with a generous helping of salt].
- Matt Kirschenbaum talked to Robinson Meyer about Track Changes for The Atlantic.
- HathiTrust and the National Federation for the Blind will collaborate to make some 14 million e-books available to blind and print-disabled users.
- Michael Danaher has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Oxford book dealer Adrian Greenwood.
- The 15CBOOKTRADE project has released a video introducing some of the various visualization tools available as 15cV, drawing on the MEI database ("Material Evidence in Incunabula").
Reviews
- Matt Kirschenbaum's Track Changes; review by Brian Dillon in the Guardian.
- Wendy Warren's New England Bound; review by Christopher L. Brown in the NYTimes.
- Ben H. Winters' Underground Airlines; review by Jon Michaud in the WaPo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)