- A fourth stolen Columbus Letter has been recovered and will be returned to the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. This copy is from the Plannck I edition, and had been acquired by the Marciana in 1875. It is believed to have been stolen between 1985 and 1988, and in 2003 was sold to an American collector by an unidentified American bookseller. See the DOJ press release, or coverage in CNN, Delaware Online.
- This week's "Women in the Book Arts" symposium at the Grolier Club is available for streaming on YouTube.
- LitHub has a peek at the trailer for D.W. Young's new documentary "The Booksellers."
- From Lucy Kelsall for the Paul Mellon Centre, "Two bookbindings from the Oppé Library."
- In the Salt Lake Tribune, news that Ken Sanders' open bookshop in downtown Salt Lake City may be forced to close sometime next year due to impending redevelopment of the neighborhood.
- From Elle Hunt in the Guardian, "Dedicated followers: collectors of book inscriptions share their notes."
- An update on the "Rankin Files" over on the NLS blog.
- The collections of the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City are believed to have been destroyed in a fire this week.
- From Peter Kidd, "Unrecognised Brölemann Provenances."
- The National Archives blog has begun a series of posts on unratified constitutional amendments, starting with the very first proposed amendment (which would have changed the number of members of the House).
- David Ferriero posted on his AOTUS Blog "Accepting Responsibility, Working to Rebuild Your Trust" after last weekend's photograph controversy.
Upcoming Auctions
- Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana at Sotheby's New York on 27 January.
- Books & Works on Paper and Autographs & Memorabilia at Chiswick Auctions on 28 January.
- Printed Books, Maps, Documents, The Library of Patricia Milne-Henderson, Bookbinding Tools at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 29 January.
- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions (online) on 30 January.
- The Collection of Victor Niederhoffer, Part III and Books, Maps & Manuscripts at Freeman's on 30 January.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Links & Auctions
- Guilty pleas were filed this week in the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library thefts. Former archivist Greg Priore pleaded to theft and receiving stolen property, while bookseller John Schulman pleaded to receiving stolen property, theft by deception, and forgery. Prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining counts against both men. Sentencing is scheduled for 17 April. See Paula Reed Ward's report for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette for more. Coverage also from Smithsonian, CNN, the WaPo, and Book Patrol.
- And if you thought that was going to be the main archives/rare books-related news story of the week, it was until Friday night, when Joe Heim reported for the Washington Post that the National Archives had altered an image of the 2017 Women's March displayed at the entry to an exhibition on the centennial of women's suffrage, blurring signs that were critical of Donald Trump or which referenced women's anatomy. An entirely-justified torrent of criticism ensued nearly immediately, and by Saturday afternoon the Archives had reversed both course and the altered photograph. In a statement which began "We made a mistake," the Archives said they would "immediately start a thorough review of our exhibit policies and procedures so that this does not happen again." More from the NYTimes and a followup from the WaPo. Also worth reading is Joe Heim's Twitter thread on how he turned this story up.
- Registration is now open for CABS–Minnesota 2020, to be held 12–17 July at St. Olaf College.
- Oberlin College Libraries and the RBS SoFCB are hosting a symposium on Teaching and Learning with Objects for Colleges on 13–14 March. See the link for schedule and registration info.
- This month's Free to Use and Reuse collection of images from the Library of Congress focuses on Maps of Discovery and Exploration.
- James Raven did a Q&A for the British Academy about his career as a book historian.
- Stephen Marche writes in the NYTimes on his collecting obsession with Thomas Browne first editions. Yep, been there, done that.
- From The Collation, "Sizing Shakespeare's Sonnets," by Faith Acker.
- Randi Ragsdale writes for the HRC blog on "Seeing stars in the Blaeu World Map."
- "Swann in Profile" highlights Devon Eastland, the auction house's new senior specialist for early printed books.
- Aaron Pratt writes for the HRC on "Revealing an English Schoolmaster's Piers Plowman."
- From Ed Simon for The Millions, "Annotate This: On Marginalia."
- Christopher Tolkien died this week at the age of 95. See his obituary in the Guardian.
- Over on the NYPL blog, "Ben Franklin: The Ultimate Bibliophile."
- The UK has placed a temporary export bar on an early 16th-century manuscript guide for hermits and anchorites.
Upcoming Auctions
- Editions & Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 21 January.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 22 January.
- Fine Literature – Fine Press – Fine Bindings at PBA Galleries on 23 January.
- And if you thought that was going to be the main archives/rare books-related news story of the week, it was until Friday night, when Joe Heim reported for the Washington Post that the National Archives had altered an image of the 2017 Women's March displayed at the entry to an exhibition on the centennial of women's suffrage, blurring signs that were critical of Donald Trump or which referenced women's anatomy. An entirely-justified torrent of criticism ensued nearly immediately, and by Saturday afternoon the Archives had reversed both course and the altered photograph. In a statement which began "We made a mistake," the Archives said they would "immediately start a thorough review of our exhibit policies and procedures so that this does not happen again." More from the NYTimes and a followup from the WaPo. Also worth reading is Joe Heim's Twitter thread on how he turned this story up.
- Registration is now open for CABS–Minnesota 2020, to be held 12–17 July at St. Olaf College.
- Oberlin College Libraries and the RBS SoFCB are hosting a symposium on Teaching and Learning with Objects for Colleges on 13–14 March. See the link for schedule and registration info.
- This month's Free to Use and Reuse collection of images from the Library of Congress focuses on Maps of Discovery and Exploration.
- James Raven did a Q&A for the British Academy about his career as a book historian.
- Stephen Marche writes in the NYTimes on his collecting obsession with Thomas Browne first editions. Yep, been there, done that.
- From The Collation, "Sizing Shakespeare's Sonnets," by Faith Acker.
- Randi Ragsdale writes for the HRC blog on "Seeing stars in the Blaeu World Map."
- "Swann in Profile" highlights Devon Eastland, the auction house's new senior specialist for early printed books.
- Aaron Pratt writes for the HRC on "Revealing an English Schoolmaster's Piers Plowman."
- From Ed Simon for The Millions, "Annotate This: On Marginalia."
- Christopher Tolkien died this week at the age of 95. See his obituary in the Guardian.
- Over on the NYPL blog, "Ben Franklin: The Ultimate Bibliophile."
- The UK has placed a temporary export bar on an early 16th-century manuscript guide for hermits and anchorites.
Upcoming Auctions
- Editions & Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 21 January.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 22 January.
- Fine Literature – Fine Press – Fine Bindings at PBA Galleries on 23 January.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Links & Auctions
- Will Noel has been appointed AUL for Special Collections at Princeton University. Congratulations to Will and to Princeton!
- In the Atlantic, Cullen Murphy: "Before Zuckerberg, Gutenberg." (This is really about the importance of Elizabeth Eisenstein.)
- Betty Schellenberg writes for The Collation on "The Eighteenth-Century Manuscript Verse Miscellany."
- For the HRC blog, a Q&A with Bruce Hunt about the background of the Blaeu World Map.
- The American Museum of Natural History has begun a three-year initiative to make the museum's archives and memorabilia collections more accessible.
- Robert Caro's papers have been acquired by the New-York Historical Society.
- From Listology, "Eadweard Muybridge's Animal Locomotion."
- Over on the Fine Books Blog, "The Legacy of Joseph Rubinfine, Historical Manuscripts Dealer."
- Liz Adams writes for the Devil's Tale on "The Satirist and Tinkerer, Hogarth."
Book Review
- Bruce Licher and Karen Nielson Licher's Savage Impressions; review by Paul Moxon on the APHA Blog.
Upcoming Auctions
- Fine Books, Maps, and Manuscripts at Revere Auctions (online) on 13 January.
- Autographs, Books, Declaration Signers, FDR & More at University Archives on 16 January.
- Hebrew & Judaic Printed Books at Kestenbaum & Company (online) on 16 January.
Sunday, January 05, 2020
Links & Auctions
- The ABAA posts a theft alert from a break-in at Passages Bookshop in Portland, Oregon, where more than 100 books were stolen from display cases.
- In the January Rare Book Monthly, Michael Stillman runs down the top 500 book and paper sales of 2019, Bruce McKinney provides some statistics on recent auction sales and reports on the recent Audubon sale. Here's the full batch of new articles.
- Get the rundown of Public Domain Day 2020 from the Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
- Princeton opened its collection of T.S. Eliot letters this month, after a long embargo. Per Eliot's wishes, Houghton Library released a 1960 letter from Eliot at the same time.
- Lisa Baskin was interviewed for the AbeBooks podcast about her collection and the current exhibition at the Grolier Club.
- The Graphic Arts Collection at Princeton has recently acquired an early-20th-century sample book from the Suffolk Engraving & Electrotyping Company of Boston.
- From Peter Kidd, "A Draft List of the Brölemann Manuscripts."
- Rebecca Romney posted her list of favorite books and objects that passed through her hands in 2019.
- From the Internet Archive blog, "Preserving the legacy of a library when a college closes."
- Karin Wulf had an op/ed in the WaPo in December about the importance of keeping historical records public and accessible.
- A man purchased several original engraving blocks for Alice in Wonderland from a clearance sale for £50, according to media reports.
- Also from Karin Wulf, at The Geyser, "How Style Informed the US Constitution."
- David Levy posted a reflection on his year in collecting.
- From Mary Sarah Bilder, "Madison's Notes Don't Mean What Everyone Says They Mean."
Upcoming Auctions
- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions (online) on 9 January.
- Art & Illustration – Occult & Hermeticism at PBA Galleries on 9 January.
- In the January Rare Book Monthly, Michael Stillman runs down the top 500 book and paper sales of 2019, Bruce McKinney provides some statistics on recent auction sales and reports on the recent Audubon sale. Here's the full batch of new articles.
- Get the rundown of Public Domain Day 2020 from the Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
- Princeton opened its collection of T.S. Eliot letters this month, after a long embargo. Per Eliot's wishes, Houghton Library released a 1960 letter from Eliot at the same time.
- Lisa Baskin was interviewed for the AbeBooks podcast about her collection and the current exhibition at the Grolier Club.
- The Graphic Arts Collection at Princeton has recently acquired an early-20th-century sample book from the Suffolk Engraving & Electrotyping Company of Boston.
- From Peter Kidd, "A Draft List of the Brölemann Manuscripts."
- Rebecca Romney posted her list of favorite books and objects that passed through her hands in 2019.
- From the Internet Archive blog, "Preserving the legacy of a library when a college closes."
- Karin Wulf had an op/ed in the WaPo in December about the importance of keeping historical records public and accessible.
- A man purchased several original engraving blocks for Alice in Wonderland from a clearance sale for £50, according to media reports.
- Also from Karin Wulf, at The Geyser, "How Style Informed the US Constitution."
- David Levy posted a reflection on his year in collecting.
- From Mary Sarah Bilder, "Madison's Notes Don't Mean What Everyone Says They Mean."
Upcoming Auctions
- Books and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions (online) on 9 January.
- Art & Illustration – Occult & Hermeticism at PBA Galleries on 9 January.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)