- The seventeenth-century manuscript of Donne's poetry identified last year at Melford Hall in Suffolk has been placed under a temporary export ban to allow a UK buyer to match the £466,000 price.
- Two excellent posts on the Grolier Club blog recently: Scott Ellwood's "One dynasty, three names" and Meghan Constantinou's "Aristocratic Identity Erasure in the Private Library Catalogue of Madame la duchesse de La Vallière, ca. 1787."
- Collector Farley Katz has donated a fourteenth-century manuscript fragment in medieval Dutch to the University of Antwerp.
- In the Atlantic, Dan Cohen writes "The Books of College Libraries are Turning Into Wallpaper."
- From Colin Harris for Listology, "A List-maker in the Stacks: Photographically illustrated books in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1844–1900."
- The ABAA passed along reports of the theft of a copy of The Maltese Falcon.
- Don't miss Cait Coker's post at Sammelband on "Building a Letterpress Reference Library."
- Simon Beattie's turned up an Italian manuscript from the library of Edmund Burke, which Annie Rowlenson highlights.
- In the TLS, Hazel Wilkinson on "The water American," about Benjamin Franklin and Richard Castelman.
- Reporter and historian Tony Horwitz died suddenly this week while on tour for his new book. Jill Lepore has a nice remembrance post for the New Yorker.
- The David Library of the American Revolution is going to close its Washingtons Crossing, PA facility and relocate operations to the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.
Reviews
- Edward Wilson-Lee's The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books; review by Irina Dumitrescu in the NYTimes.
- Karen Russell's Orange World; review by Bethanne Patrick in the WaPo.
- Robert Morrison's The Regency Years; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
Upcoming Auctions
- Illustration Art at Swann Galleries on 4 June.
- Beyond the Horizon: The Mopelia Collection of Fine Atlases and Travel Books at Christie's London on 5 June.
- Important Judaica at Sotheby's New York on 5 June.
- Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books at Swann Galleries on 6 June.
- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions (online) on 6 June.
- Lettres et Manuscrits Autographes at ALDE on 7 June.
- June Auction at Arader Galleries on 8 June.
