The Times (London) reported yesterday on an extremely unfortunate and disconcerting accident at the British Library: an eighteenth-century diary on deposit with the BL was severely damaged when someone (somehow) spilled oil on it and cut off the front cover. The diary's owner, Peter J. Tyldesley, told the paper that he "wanted to weep" when he saw the manuscript's condition. "There are sections which are completely destroyed, sections where the entire text block has disappeared into a smeary mess," he told the Times. "In some ways, it’s so bad it’s difficult to imagine it was ever a diary. It’s been a truly shocking experience."
Tyldesely's ancestor Thomas Tyldesley (1657-1715) was the diary-keeper; the book details preparations for the Jacobite Rising in 1715.
The library's reaction to the damage is really mind-boggling: collections manager Helen Shenton told the paper that Tyldesley's diary "suffered accidental damage," and called it an "isolated incident." "The book had been kept in safe storage in a protective box and it was not until the book was opened that the stains were discovered. We apologise for any distress caused to Peter Tyldesley."
Something's fishy about this. If the book was in the box, how'd the oil get in there? And who cut the cover off?
Bizarre, any way you slice it.
[h/t Shelf:Life]
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
Book Review: "The Little Book of Plagiarism"
Judge Richard Posner (of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals) has been described by Gary Rosen as a "one-man think tank" for his extensive body of writing on topics ranging from aging to the 2000 election to intelligence reform (and far, far beyond). His newest book, The Little Book of Plagiarism (Pantheon, 2007) is a short (just 109 pages) but witty and to-the-point discussion of various aspects of plagiarism as it's viewed today.
Posner spends a significant amount of time trying to develop an adequate definition of the term plagiarism, which proves tricky once he explores some of the odd little nooks and crannies of the concept. He finally settles on "nonconsensual fraudulent copying" (p. 33) though even this has certain deficiencies. The book then discusses typical punishments (best left to "informal, private sanctions, he concludes) and the fact that "the stigma of plagiarism never seems to fade completely, not because it is an especially heinous offense, but because it is embarrassingly second-rate; its practitioners are pathetic, almost ridiculous" (p. 37).
The middle portion of Posner's essay examines the confluences and divergences between plagiarism and copyright infringement (one is not necessarily the other), the issue of 'self-plagiarism' (hilariously exemplified by the fact that Laurence Sterne's love letters to his mistress contained lines taken verbatim from letters he'd written previously to his wife), and the history of plagiarism as an idea.
Finally, Posner comments on the relative ease with which modern plagiarism can be detected (including through the use of programs like Turnitin), and the fact that the potential for success should be a deterrent to plagiarism since success and the corresponding scrutiny makes discovery so much more likely (pg. 80). He takes aim at the double standard he sees between the treatment of students and professors accused of plagiarism, and bluntly states "the Left, which dominates intellectual circles in the United States, is soft on plagiarism" (p. 94).
The Little Book of Plagiarism is notable for its trenchant commentary, well-reasoned arguments, and useful examples.
Posner spends a significant amount of time trying to develop an adequate definition of the term plagiarism, which proves tricky once he explores some of the odd little nooks and crannies of the concept. He finally settles on "nonconsensual fraudulent copying" (p. 33) though even this has certain deficiencies. The book then discusses typical punishments (best left to "informal, private sanctions, he concludes) and the fact that "the stigma of plagiarism never seems to fade completely, not because it is an especially heinous offense, but because it is embarrassingly second-rate; its practitioners are pathetic, almost ridiculous" (p. 37).
The middle portion of Posner's essay examines the confluences and divergences between plagiarism and copyright infringement (one is not necessarily the other), the issue of 'self-plagiarism' (hilariously exemplified by the fact that Laurence Sterne's love letters to his mistress contained lines taken verbatim from letters he'd written previously to his wife), and the history of plagiarism as an idea.
Finally, Posner comments on the relative ease with which modern plagiarism can be detected (including through the use of programs like Turnitin), and the fact that the potential for success should be a deterrent to plagiarism since success and the corresponding scrutiny makes discovery so much more likely (pg. 80). He takes aim at the double standard he sees between the treatment of students and professors accused of plagiarism, and bluntly states "the Left, which dominates intellectual circles in the United States, is soft on plagiarism" (p. 94).
The Little Book of Plagiarism is notable for its trenchant commentary, well-reasoned arguments, and useful examples.
Mariner's Museum Archivist Sued for Thefts
The Mariner's Museum in Newport News, VA has filed a civil suit for $1.35 million against a former archivist, Lester Weber, and his wife Lori Childs. The five-count lawsuit alleges that Weber and Childs conspired to "remove an estimated $160,000 worth of property from The Mariners' Museum and then sell the goods" on eBay, according to the Daily Press.
"The couple is also accused of permanently altering historical documents belonging to the museum so that they could claim control of the property."
"The museum is seeking $250,000 in compensatory damages, $750,000 in three-fold damages and $350,000 in punitive damages." (Well, I guess if criminal charges won't result in any punishment, going after the checkbook might be a useful strategy). Under Virginia law, the paper notes, the museum "can sue Weber and Childs for three times the amount of damages it claims to have suffered by the couple's alleged conspiracy. It also can seek reimbursement of legal fees."
Weber worked at the Mariner's Museum from 2000 through last September, when he was "dismissed." Museum officials did not tell the paper what materials Weber reportedly stole or altered, but seemed to indicate that they may have been uncatalogued items.
The Newport News police department is also investigating the thefts, the Daily Press report notes. Federal authorities may also be involved.
WVEC's Mary Nelson also reported on the Weber case Friday; she spoke with both Weber and his wife, who denied the accusations leveled by the museum. Weber told Nelson "I would never have stolen, never would steal from an employer. I really enjoyed working at the place. I don't understand where this is coming from." Childs told Nelson she was included in the suit "Because I am the one who had the ebay account. It's my whole little pocket money."
Nelson adds: " We checked out eBay finding bluprints [sic] of naval ships ... not originals, but duplicates from originals. And because the lawsuit claims Weber and Childs 'permanently altered' archival items, we asked museum officials if they believe Weber and Childs duplicated museum documents and sold those on eBay, but we received no clear answer."
If the latter scenario is what this turns out to be, it could make this case a very notable one to watch. I'll keep my eye on it.
[h/t Everett Wilkie, Ex-Libris]
"The couple is also accused of permanently altering historical documents belonging to the museum so that they could claim control of the property."
"The museum is seeking $250,000 in compensatory damages, $750,000 in three-fold damages and $350,000 in punitive damages." (Well, I guess if criminal charges won't result in any punishment, going after the checkbook might be a useful strategy). Under Virginia law, the paper notes, the museum "can sue Weber and Childs for three times the amount of damages it claims to have suffered by the couple's alleged conspiracy. It also can seek reimbursement of legal fees."
Weber worked at the Mariner's Museum from 2000 through last September, when he was "dismissed." Museum officials did not tell the paper what materials Weber reportedly stole or altered, but seemed to indicate that they may have been uncatalogued items.
The Newport News police department is also investigating the thefts, the Daily Press report notes. Federal authorities may also be involved.
WVEC's Mary Nelson also reported on the Weber case Friday; she spoke with both Weber and his wife, who denied the accusations leveled by the museum. Weber told Nelson "I would never have stolen, never would steal from an employer. I really enjoyed working at the place. I don't understand where this is coming from." Childs told Nelson she was included in the suit "Because I am the one who had the ebay account. It's my whole little pocket money."
Nelson adds: " We checked out eBay finding bluprints [sic] of naval ships ... not originals, but duplicates from originals. And because the lawsuit claims Weber and Childs 'permanently altered' archival items, we asked museum officials if they believe Weber and Childs duplicated museum documents and sold those on eBay, but we received no clear answer."
If the latter scenario is what this turns out to be, it could make this case a very notable one to watch. I'll keep my eye on it.
[h/t Everett Wilkie, Ex-Libris]
Links & Reviews
- From Book Trout, Rachel recommends Sense and Nonsensibility: Lampoons of Learning and Literature, by Lawrence Douglas and Alexander George. Sounds amusing, I'll have to keep my eye out for this one.
- Joyce has some useful reference links, mostly for identifying first editions.
- Bookride offers up comments on a few of the famous billionaire book collectors, including James Goldsmith and Maundy Gregory.
- The Sunday Telegraph reports on why the Harry Potter release this summer probably won't be particularly good news for bookstores. [h/t GalleyCat]
- Another review of the new John Donne bio, this one by Thomas Mallon in the NYTimes. Might have to move this one up in the pile, or by the time I read it it'll have been reviewed to death.
- Richard J. Cox explores the new book Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson (forthcoming, Atlantic Monthly Press). Cox compares the book to Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic, but notes that Ferguson's "humor is subtler and may be sensed primarily by how the individual reader views Lincoln."
- Paul Collins has been in touch with descendants of Arthur Ostrander, who was the assistant of George Poe (he of the amazing respirator machine). Collins says the Ostrander family still has Poe's respirator machine, and that a journal article is in the works. Also from Paul, electric spiders.
- Amazon has launched a podcast network, GalleyCat reports.
- Joyce has some useful reference links, mostly for identifying first editions.
- Bookride offers up comments on a few of the famous billionaire book collectors, including James Goldsmith and Maundy Gregory.
- The Sunday Telegraph reports on why the Harry Potter release this summer probably won't be particularly good news for bookstores. [h/t GalleyCat]
- Another review of the new John Donne bio, this one by Thomas Mallon in the NYTimes. Might have to move this one up in the pile, or by the time I read it it'll have been reviewed to death.
- Richard J. Cox explores the new book Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson (forthcoming, Atlantic Monthly Press). Cox compares the book to Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic, but notes that Ferguson's "humor is subtler and may be sensed primarily by how the individual reader views Lincoln."
- Paul Collins has been in touch with descendants of Arthur Ostrander, who was the assistant of George Poe (he of the amazing respirator machine). Collins says the Ostrander family still has Poe's respirator machine, and that a journal article is in the works. Also from Paul, electric spiders.
- Amazon has launched a podcast network, GalleyCat reports.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Meet Cornelius
If you're reading this post directly on the blog site, you'll see a new addition to the top of the sidebar; if you're reading through Google Reader or another feed aggregator you might want to click through just so the rest of this post makes some semblance of sense.
Cornelius (aka "An Owl with Books") was created c. 1625 by members of the Bloemaert family, a well-established Dutch artist clan. The engraving is inscribed "H. Bloemaert pinx: C. Bloemaert sculp: et excud:", meaning that it is taken from a painting (pinx.) done by Hendrick Bloemaert (c. 1601-1672) and was engraved (sculp.) by Hendrick's younger brother Cornelius (c. 1603-1692).
The caption reads, in Dutch, "Wat baet keers off bril, als den Wl niet sienen wil" ("What good could a candle or spectacles do, if the owl doesn't want to see"). The open book to the owl's right is the Bible; the visible text is "Ghij en sult niet dootslaen, Ghij en sult niet stelen" ("Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal"), and the sheet protruding from the closed book which the owl clutches reads "T' is omt profyt" ("It is about profit").*
As noted in the exhaustive monograph Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons: Paintings and Prints by Marcel Roethlisberger and Marten Jan Bok (Davaco, 1993), pg. 444, the proverb in the caption is traditional: "Preferring night to day, the owl cannot see in daylight, hence its popular reputation for stupidity and blindness towards faith. ... Here, it ignores the lesson of the open Bible and blindly clings to the closed book which is about greed. Spectacles stand for foolishness." The owl here is symbolic of stupidity, the precise reverse of its general use as a symbol of wisdom in our own time.
I like the image, although I must admit that once I understood the caption I gained a totally different perspective on the engraving than I had initially. I briefly considered lopping off the proverb, but decided it was better left on as an important statement about how symbols evolve and change their meanings over time.
*Translations also from Roethlisberger and Bok, p. 444.
Cornelius (aka "An Owl with Books") was created c. 1625 by members of the Bloemaert family, a well-established Dutch artist clan. The engraving is inscribed "H. Bloemaert pinx: C. Bloemaert sculp: et excud:", meaning that it is taken from a painting (pinx.) done by Hendrick Bloemaert (c. 1601-1672) and was engraved (sculp.) by Hendrick's younger brother Cornelius (c. 1603-1692).
The caption reads, in Dutch, "Wat baet keers off bril, als den Wl niet sienen wil" ("What good could a candle or spectacles do, if the owl doesn't want to see"). The open book to the owl's right is the Bible; the visible text is "Ghij en sult niet dootslaen, Ghij en sult niet stelen" ("Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal"), and the sheet protruding from the closed book which the owl clutches reads "T' is omt profyt" ("It is about profit").*
As noted in the exhaustive monograph Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons: Paintings and Prints by Marcel Roethlisberger and Marten Jan Bok (Davaco, 1993), pg. 444, the proverb in the caption is traditional: "Preferring night to day, the owl cannot see in daylight, hence its popular reputation for stupidity and blindness towards faith. ... Here, it ignores the lesson of the open Bible and blindly clings to the closed book which is about greed. Spectacles stand for foolishness." The owl here is symbolic of stupidity, the precise reverse of its general use as a symbol of wisdom in our own time.
I like the image, although I must admit that once I understood the caption I gained a totally different perspective on the engraving than I had initially. I briefly considered lopping off the proverb, but decided it was better left on as an important statement about how symbols evolve and change their meanings over time.
*Translations also from Roethlisberger and Bok, p. 444.
Book Review: "Stephen Decatur"
In Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero, 1779-1820, (UMass Press, 2007), Robert Allison (history professor at Suffolk University in Boston) provides an excellent updated biography of one of America's first great naval champions. Decatur, who holds the distinctions of being the youngest man ever to serve as captain in the Navy and the last captain killed in a duel, managed to have an almost unbelievably successful naval career back when the American navy barely existed at all.
From the Barbary Wars (during which Decatur led a swashbuckling raid on Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American ship Philadelphia) to the War of 1812 (when he defeated the British frigate Macedonian and hauled it back to the U.S. as his prize) and the Algerian wars in the aftermath of the Treaty of Ghent, Decatur sailed his way into the great esteem of his fellow citizens. Even when defeated in the closing days of the War of 1812, he was honored by his victorious opponent, who refused to take "the sword of an officer, who had defended his ship so nobly."
Allison's biography draws on vast contemporary sources (well noted, although a full bibliography would have been a good addition) to provide additional and very useful context to Decatur's life and the times in which he and the country lived and labored. His battle accounts are excellent, and he's captured well the naval culture as it began to form during the period. The opening and closing vignettes of the duel which killed Decatur are also marvelous; it surprised me that even more than fifteen years after Hamilton's death at Weehawken duels were still so common.
A balanced, well-written and attention-holding treatment of Decatur and the early republic. Highly recommended.
From the Barbary Wars (during which Decatur led a swashbuckling raid on Tripoli harbor to destroy the captured American ship Philadelphia) to the War of 1812 (when he defeated the British frigate Macedonian and hauled it back to the U.S. as his prize) and the Algerian wars in the aftermath of the Treaty of Ghent, Decatur sailed his way into the great esteem of his fellow citizens. Even when defeated in the closing days of the War of 1812, he was honored by his victorious opponent, who refused to take "the sword of an officer, who had defended his ship so nobly."
Allison's biography draws on vast contemporary sources (well noted, although a full bibliography would have been a good addition) to provide additional and very useful context to Decatur's life and the times in which he and the country lived and labored. His battle accounts are excellent, and he's captured well the naval culture as it began to form during the period. The opening and closing vignettes of the duel which killed Decatur are also marvelous; it surprised me that even more than fifteen years after Hamilton's death at Weehawken duels were still so common.
A balanced, well-written and attention-holding treatment of Decatur and the early republic. Highly recommended.
Book Review: "Scholarium"
Translated from German, Claudia Gross' Scholarium (Toby Press, 2004) is a dark mystery set in the turbulent times of early fifteenth-century Cologne. As scholars debate complex philosophical matters, one of their own is found brutally murdered, and the killer - who seems also to hail from the educated community - has left a trail of troubling clues behind.
This book reminded me slightly of The Name of the Rose, and even in a good way. Deeply philosophical and suspenseful, it's an interesting examination of medieval education and scholarship - and the difficult conclusions that were being reached about how the world works. Gross also incorporates the important question of the role of women in academia during the period, as well as some bizarre heretical practices and an alchemical explosion or two.
Aside from a few inconsistencies and what may have been rough patches in the translation here and there, this book was a fascinating read.
This book reminded me slightly of The Name of the Rose, and even in a good way. Deeply philosophical and suspenseful, it's an interesting examination of medieval education and scholarship - and the difficult conclusions that were being reached about how the world works. Gross also incorporates the important question of the role of women in academia during the period, as well as some bizarre heretical practices and an alchemical explosion or two.
Aside from a few inconsistencies and what may have been rough patches in the translation here and there, this book was a fascinating read.
Scurvy Treatise at Christies
The Daily Record reports that a first edition of Scottish physician James Lind's A Treatise on the Scurvy (Edinburgh: Sands, Murray and Cochran for A. Kincaid and A. Donaldson, 1753) will sell at Christie's on London on 6 June as Lot 155 of a sale of Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts.
Lind's book was the first to recommended citrus fruits/juices and green vegetables be added to sailors' diets to combat scurvy. Lind served as a Royal Navy surgeon for ten years before attaining the post of physician in charge at Haslar Royal Naval Hospital. This copy of his book, with the early Edinburgh imprint, was presented to John Clevland, secretary to the Admiralty in 1753, according to Christie's lot description.
The presale estimate: £10,000-15,000.
Other interesting lots from this sale:
- Autograph manuscript fair copy of T.F. Dibdin's book An Introduction to the Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics (1802), his first bibliographic work. £3,000-4,000. Lot 65.
- Four Samuel Johnson letters to his stepdaughter, Lucy Porter; 1761-1780. £5,000-8,000 each. Lots 89-92.
- First edition, first issue of Isaac Newton's Opticks (London: 1704). £15,000-25,000. Lot 160.
Lind's book was the first to recommended citrus fruits/juices and green vegetables be added to sailors' diets to combat scurvy. Lind served as a Royal Navy surgeon for ten years before attaining the post of physician in charge at Haslar Royal Naval Hospital. This copy of his book, with the early Edinburgh imprint, was presented to John Clevland, secretary to the Admiralty in 1753, according to Christie's lot description.
The presale estimate: £10,000-15,000.
Other interesting lots from this sale:
- Autograph manuscript fair copy of T.F. Dibdin's book An Introduction to the Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics (1802), his first bibliographic work. £3,000-4,000. Lot 65.
- Four Samuel Johnson letters to his stepdaughter, Lucy Porter; 1761-1780. £5,000-8,000 each. Lots 89-92.
- First edition, first issue of Isaac Newton's Opticks (London: 1704). £15,000-25,000. Lot 160.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Thieving Librarian Appeals Sentence
Former Massey University librarian and confessed book thief Karen Dale Churton appealed her 11-month prison sentence yesterday; her lawyer called the term "manifestly excessive" and asked that it be reduced or replaced with community service. He said that Churton is "genuinely remorseful," but "She is still not entirely able to understand what led her to the temptation to steal these books."
Maybe eleven months in prison will help her figure that out.
The judge who heard the appeal, Alan Mackenzie, will announce his decision next week.
Maybe eleven months in prison will help her figure that out.
The judge who heard the appeal, Alan Mackenzie, will announce his decision next week.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Links & Reviews
Much news this morning:
- Chicago's Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies have purchased a copy of Postilla Litteralis super totam Bibliam, a Bible commentary by Nicolaus de Lyra printed in the 15th century, according to Chicago Public Radio. This copy is the third known in the U.S.
-The Herald reports that three key Gaelic documents may go on tour through the Highlands and Scottish islands. The Fernaig Manuscript (a collection of early Gaelic verse dating from the late seventeenth century), the Islay Charter of 1408 ("the only Gaelic language land charter in existence and the earliest complete example of the public use of Gaelic in the 15th century") and the 1609 Statutes of Iona (signed by the clan chiefs and designed to "civilize" the Highlands) have never been displayed together. If the current plan goes forward, the three may be exhibited at Iona, Islay, Inverness, Skye, Uist and Stornoway. [h/t Shelf:Life]
- fade theory's got the video of Salman Rushdie on "The Colbert Report" discussing literary criticism and book review sections.
- In the Christian Science Monitor, Gregory Lamb reviews a few of the recent Jamestown books, focusing on Benjamin Woolley's Savage Kingdom.
- Joyce's police tape has reappeared: a copy of John Banim's The Ghost-Hunter and His Family (London: 1852) has gone missing from Motte & Bailey Booksellers in Ann Arbor. Full description here.
- Also from Bibliophile Bullpen, books as commodes.
- BibliOdyssey's most recent compilation of images comes from Remarkable Persons, a collection of sensational illustrations and text by James Caulfield (1819-20).
- Reading Copy notes that AbeBooks has opened a Religion and Spirituality room.
- Over at the LATimes, Janice Nimura reviews Rebecca Stott's Ghostwalk ... hmm, might have to add this one to the list.
- Chicago's Newberry Library and Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies have purchased a copy of Postilla Litteralis super totam Bibliam, a Bible commentary by Nicolaus de Lyra printed in the 15th century, according to Chicago Public Radio. This copy is the third known in the U.S.
-The Herald reports that three key Gaelic documents may go on tour through the Highlands and Scottish islands. The Fernaig Manuscript (a collection of early Gaelic verse dating from the late seventeenth century), the Islay Charter of 1408 ("the only Gaelic language land charter in existence and the earliest complete example of the public use of Gaelic in the 15th century") and the 1609 Statutes of Iona (signed by the clan chiefs and designed to "civilize" the Highlands) have never been displayed together. If the current plan goes forward, the three may be exhibited at Iona, Islay, Inverness, Skye, Uist and Stornoway. [h/t Shelf:Life]
- fade theory's got the video of Salman Rushdie on "The Colbert Report" discussing literary criticism and book review sections.
- In the Christian Science Monitor, Gregory Lamb reviews a few of the recent Jamestown books, focusing on Benjamin Woolley's Savage Kingdom.
- Joyce's police tape has reappeared: a copy of John Banim's The Ghost-Hunter and His Family (London: 1852) has gone missing from Motte & Bailey Booksellers in Ann Arbor. Full description here.
- Also from Bibliophile Bullpen, books as commodes.
- BibliOdyssey's most recent compilation of images comes from Remarkable Persons, a collection of sensational illustrations and text by James Caulfield (1819-20).
- Reading Copy notes that AbeBooks has opened a Religion and Spirituality room.
- Over at the LATimes, Janice Nimura reviews Rebecca Stott's Ghostwalk ... hmm, might have to add this one to the list.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Book Review: "Empire of Blue Water"
Journalist Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe that Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign (2007, Crown), aside from having a fairly self-explanatory subtitle, is one among many books on pirates being published this spring to take full advantage of the upcoming release of the third "Pirates of the Caribbean" film (I'm trying to decide if I want to read all of them that I've got in sequence or spread them out over the next couple months).
Captain Henry Morgan - the man himself - was a Welshman transplanted to Jamaica who found himself through a combination of hard work and pure unadultered good luck one of the most successful pirates the world has ever known. The leader of four profitable raids on Spanish cities in central and South America, Morgan became a useful proxy in the wars between European powers for control of the Caribbean, as well as a feared leader of men. Hauled under arrest to England after peace is made with Spain, Morgan works his way into the good graces of Charles II and ends up returning to Jamaica as a knight with a commission as the lieutenant governor, charged - ironically - with stamping out Caribbean piracy. And then of course he drinks himself to death.
Morgan's story is, for the most part, well told by Talty. He has captured the man and the times nicely, and his descriptions of the glory days of Port Royal (and of its destruction by a massive earthquake soon after Morgan's death) are vivid.
There are some important style points, however, on which I must give Talty lower marks. I did not think necessary his introduction of a "prototypical pirate" (named Roderick) whose trajectory we follow along with Morgan's through the battles and their aftermath. Talty ought to have relied on archival sources and real people where possible. Also, some of the comparisons Talty drew seemed both awkward and silly: for example, his likening the piratical custom of making improvements to captured ships to better suit their own purposes to "grease monkeys cackling as they dropped a supercharged V-12 into their father's vintage Olds" (p. 53) left me shaking my head.
More fundamentally, Talty's treatment of the pirates' system of 'profit-sharing' was overly simplistic. "Pirates were democrats," he declares at one point (p. 52). While it's true that there were communitarian and quasi-democratic elements at play in pirate culture, it's significantly more complicated than Talty's bold generalizations indicate. The hierarchy of pirate command structures were often in danger of collapse at any moment, it's true, but this does not mean democracy; a better descriptor might be 'barely controlled anarchy.' And egalitarian socialism certainly wasn't the rule - as Talty's own discussion of incentive-based-pay (p. 203) makes clear, taking risk in battle was rewarded with extra loot; it doesn't get much more capitalist than that.
The narrative is accompanied by useful maps, a semi-comprehensive bibliography, and notes (unindicated in the text) which leave something to be desired.
It's hard to separate myth from reality when it comes to telling pirate tales. In Empire of Blue Water, Stephan Talty's done an admirable - if not a perfect - job. Recommended.
Captain Henry Morgan - the man himself - was a Welshman transplanted to Jamaica who found himself through a combination of hard work and pure unadultered good luck one of the most successful pirates the world has ever known. The leader of four profitable raids on Spanish cities in central and South America, Morgan became a useful proxy in the wars between European powers for control of the Caribbean, as well as a feared leader of men. Hauled under arrest to England after peace is made with Spain, Morgan works his way into the good graces of Charles II and ends up returning to Jamaica as a knight with a commission as the lieutenant governor, charged - ironically - with stamping out Caribbean piracy. And then of course he drinks himself to death.
Morgan's story is, for the most part, well told by Talty. He has captured the man and the times nicely, and his descriptions of the glory days of Port Royal (and of its destruction by a massive earthquake soon after Morgan's death) are vivid.
There are some important style points, however, on which I must give Talty lower marks. I did not think necessary his introduction of a "prototypical pirate" (named Roderick) whose trajectory we follow along with Morgan's through the battles and their aftermath. Talty ought to have relied on archival sources and real people where possible. Also, some of the comparisons Talty drew seemed both awkward and silly: for example, his likening the piratical custom of making improvements to captured ships to better suit their own purposes to "grease monkeys cackling as they dropped a supercharged V-12 into their father's vintage Olds" (p. 53) left me shaking my head.
More fundamentally, Talty's treatment of the pirates' system of 'profit-sharing' was overly simplistic. "Pirates were democrats," he declares at one point (p. 52). While it's true that there were communitarian and quasi-democratic elements at play in pirate culture, it's significantly more complicated than Talty's bold generalizations indicate. The hierarchy of pirate command structures were often in danger of collapse at any moment, it's true, but this does not mean democracy; a better descriptor might be 'barely controlled anarchy.' And egalitarian socialism certainly wasn't the rule - as Talty's own discussion of incentive-based-pay (p. 203) makes clear, taking risk in battle was rewarded with extra loot; it doesn't get much more capitalist than that.
The narrative is accompanied by useful maps, a semi-comprehensive bibliography, and notes (unindicated in the text) which leave something to be desired.
It's hard to separate myth from reality when it comes to telling pirate tales. In Empire of Blue Water, Stephan Talty's done an admirable - if not a perfect - job. Recommended.
Bookbinder Exhibit in Portland
The bookbinding work of Philip Smith will be on display at the Collins Gallery of the Portland Central Library (Portland, Oregon) from 19 May through 11 July. There will be opening remarks by curator Jim Carmin and an 'illustrated lecture' by Smith on 19 May; events will begin at 2 p.m. Contact information, locations, &c. are here.
From the announcement: "Philip Smith is one of today's most unusual and extraordinary bookbinders. Born in 1928, he combines unorthodox materials and approaches, sometimes creating sculptural assemblages using multiple copies and volumes of books. His influence is far and wide. He has served as Past President of Designer Bookbinders (UK), written books and articles on bookbinding, and lectured extensively around the world on bookbinding as an art form."
Some of Smith's work - which looks quite extraordinary indeed - is shown here.
[h/t Jim Carmin, Ex-Libris]
From the announcement: "Philip Smith is one of today's most unusual and extraordinary bookbinders. Born in 1928, he combines unorthodox materials and approaches, sometimes creating sculptural assemblages using multiple copies and volumes of books. His influence is far and wide. He has served as Past President of Designer Bookbinders (UK), written books and articles on bookbinding, and lectured extensively around the world on bookbinding as an art form."
Some of Smith's work - which looks quite extraordinary indeed - is shown here.
[h/t Jim Carmin, Ex-Libris]
Bible Theft Outbreak in England
The Independent reports that at least eight rural churches in Hampshire, England have experienced thefts of rare Bibles in recent weeks: St. John's Church in Farley Chamberlyne lost seven volumes of the Old and New Testaments around the end of last month, and at St. Mary the Virgin Chuch in Church Lane, Twyford, thieves removed a rare Bible "from a locked display case and put a different book in its place."
The pilfered Twyford Bible, a large folio published in 1717 by John Baskett, is known as a "Vinegar Bible" for a distinctive printer's error: in a headline above Luke XX, "The Parable of the Vineyard" was printed as "The Parable of the Vinegar."
Another Vinegar Bible has been reported stolen from Clyst St. Lawrence Church in Devon, where it was snatched "from the lectern ... some time between 15 April and 6 May."
These cases are far too similar to be unconnected.
[Update: This is London notes that the theft from St. Mary the Virgin was captured on closed-circuit t.v., and the culprit is described as "a white middle-aged male who was wearing a panama hat."]
The pilfered Twyford Bible, a large folio published in 1717 by John Baskett, is known as a "Vinegar Bible" for a distinctive printer's error: in a headline above Luke XX, "The Parable of the Vineyard" was printed as "The Parable of the Vinegar."
Another Vinegar Bible has been reported stolen from Clyst St. Lawrence Church in Devon, where it was snatched "from the lectern ... some time between 15 April and 6 May."
These cases are far too similar to be unconnected.
[Update: This is London notes that the theft from St. Mary the Virgin was captured on closed-circuit t.v., and the culprit is described as "a white middle-aged male who was wearing a panama hat."]
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Writing in Miniature
As a neat complement to the miniature books exhibit at the BPL I wanted to pass along an article from the most recent issue of Cabinet Magazine, "A Minor History of Miniature Writing" by Joshua Foer.
[h/t Bibliophile Bullpen via BoingBoing]
[h/t Bibliophile Bullpen via BoingBoing]
On Google Books
Several posts in the last few weeks on the subject of Google Books (as well as some personal experiences with the site) have prompted this post, in which I will consider what I see as the major pros and cons of the Books Project as it's currently manifested and/or as it may manifest itself in the future.
Michael Lieberman wrote recently at Book Patrol that the buzz at the London Book Fair was all about two future Google initiatives (more on both here): "a book rental program that will let you rent the content of a book on a weekly basis" and a "book retail program that will allow users lifetime access to the texts they purchase." These potential programs (which apparently may appear before the end of 2007) will apply to books still in copyright; those out of copyright will remain freely downloadable and accessible to the extent that they already are/will be.
Michael's very concerned about the impact of these projects, and as a bookseller I suspect he's right to be; in many cases, people will be more likely to 'rent' a book (practically the equivalent of borrowing it from a library, but with what I presume would be full-text searchability - always handy) than go out and buy it from a bookseller. Putting on my researcher hat, I might be tempted in some limited circumstances to do that myself (but since I'm afflicted with the rather odd, antiquated notion that prompts me to buy any of the books I'm using for research it probably wouldn't have a tremendous impact on me).
By making some sort of revenue-sharing deal with with publishers that will allow copyrighted titles to be part of the "rent or buy" program, Google will probably quiet much if not all of the publisher hubbub surrounding the project (that whole "what's in it for me?" question being resolved to the publisher's advantage, at least partially). True, these programs are not 'altruistic' in that they'd ask searchers to pay for content, but on copyrighted materials, paid access would - in a pinch - be better than the non-access some people have at present. Not altruistic, but still a useful service all the same. Michael's right, however, that the impact on booksellers may be unpleasant.
Another critique of Google Books in its current form comes from Robert Townsend at the AHA Today blog: "Google Books: What's Not to Like?" He's got several major criticisms, all of which are quite valid: poor scanning quality, faulty metadata, and truncated public domain.
It's quite common to find several pages within a scanned item which are either wholly or partially unreadable. Common, and annoying. It remains to be seen how Google is responding to reports of unreadable text, duplicate or missing pages; I have not seen any reports of 'repairs' being made yet (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Faulty metadata is another reasonably common and very frustrating problem. Particularly for publications which comprise parts of a series or were issued periodically, the metadata on the particular copy scanned and available is often just plain wrong. We've seen this very often with copies of the Proceedings and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, where just one metadata record was created for the many different volumes that have been scanned (entirely unsystematically of course). This is, theoretically, a fairly simple matter of connecting correct metadata records to each title, but it will still be a huge project and would be better done from the front end rather than retroactively.
As Townsend notes, this often bleeds into the third problem - faulty metadata often means that items which are in the public domain aren't being made fully available because the date attached to the record is incorrect (again I can use the Proceedings example - though the vast majority of those volumes scanned are in the public domain, they are only available in snippet view at present because the date in the single metadata record is from a copyright-protected year). So when researchers have found the snippet, it's a matter of having to reverse-engineer the search and then try to determine from the snippet what actual issue the text is from so that we can get the information to the researcher.
In his post, Townsend points out the difficulties of going back and fixing things once they've been done, and he's quite correct to ask "what's the rush?" Isn't it better to take more time and do it right than to tromp ahead willy-nilly and then have to either go back and fix things on a huge scale or leave incorrect and useless materials in place?
Commenters to Townsend's post have also noted the annoying nature of the current "snippet" view, which often doesn't even show you the search terms it says are there (I've found it tends to display the next sentence, or an adjacent line).
All these criticisms made, however, I think Google Books is fast becoming one of the most useful tools on the internet, both in terms of preservation and access. I see it as a sort of ever-expanding character-string index, and have used it myself to great effect on several research projects ... finding instances where my subjects were mentioned that don't appear in indexes, OCLC subject headings or other traditional sources. Sometimes they weren't full text, and sometimes they weren't even visible in snippet view and prompted a trip to the library or an ILL request - but in all cases they were leads to things I might not have found otherwise.
For reference, I've found in several cases that I'm able to answer an off-site researcher's question by pointing them to a scanned Google Books page or full-text source when they aren't able to come into the library and use our copies of the material (many of our research requests at MHS are from non-local researchers). And for preservation, I have in at least three cases recently been able to save photocopying fragile materials by pointing the researcher to Google Books (first making sure, of course, that the entire text they needed was readable).
On the whole, I think Google Books is and will continue to be an invaluable resource. No, it's not perfect, and yes, clearly they've made some serious and regrettable mistakes along the way (which hopefully can be mended). All concerned should certainly continue to push for improved quality control, enhanced metadata and better responsiveness from the Google folks, and as Michael notes we should beware of future actions which may sacrifice usefulness to profit-making. But as far as I'm concerned, the benefits far outweigh the deficiencies and, with any luck at all, things can only improve from here.
Michael Lieberman wrote recently at Book Patrol that the buzz at the London Book Fair was all about two future Google initiatives (more on both here): "a book rental program that will let you rent the content of a book on a weekly basis" and a "book retail program that will allow users lifetime access to the texts they purchase." These potential programs (which apparently may appear before the end of 2007) will apply to books still in copyright; those out of copyright will remain freely downloadable and accessible to the extent that they already are/will be.
Michael's very concerned about the impact of these projects, and as a bookseller I suspect he's right to be; in many cases, people will be more likely to 'rent' a book (practically the equivalent of borrowing it from a library, but with what I presume would be full-text searchability - always handy) than go out and buy it from a bookseller. Putting on my researcher hat, I might be tempted in some limited circumstances to do that myself (but since I'm afflicted with the rather odd, antiquated notion that prompts me to buy any of the books I'm using for research it probably wouldn't have a tremendous impact on me).
By making some sort of revenue-sharing deal with with publishers that will allow copyrighted titles to be part of the "rent or buy" program, Google will probably quiet much if not all of the publisher hubbub surrounding the project (that whole "what's in it for me?" question being resolved to the publisher's advantage, at least partially). True, these programs are not 'altruistic' in that they'd ask searchers to pay for content, but on copyrighted materials, paid access would - in a pinch - be better than the non-access some people have at present. Not altruistic, but still a useful service all the same. Michael's right, however, that the impact on booksellers may be unpleasant.
Another critique of Google Books in its current form comes from Robert Townsend at the AHA Today blog: "Google Books: What's Not to Like?" He's got several major criticisms, all of which are quite valid: poor scanning quality, faulty metadata, and truncated public domain.
It's quite common to find several pages within a scanned item which are either wholly or partially unreadable. Common, and annoying. It remains to be seen how Google is responding to reports of unreadable text, duplicate or missing pages; I have not seen any reports of 'repairs' being made yet (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Faulty metadata is another reasonably common and very frustrating problem. Particularly for publications which comprise parts of a series or were issued periodically, the metadata on the particular copy scanned and available is often just plain wrong. We've seen this very often with copies of the Proceedings and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, where just one metadata record was created for the many different volumes that have been scanned (entirely unsystematically of course). This is, theoretically, a fairly simple matter of connecting correct metadata records to each title, but it will still be a huge project and would be better done from the front end rather than retroactively.
As Townsend notes, this often bleeds into the third problem - faulty metadata often means that items which are in the public domain aren't being made fully available because the date attached to the record is incorrect (again I can use the Proceedings example - though the vast majority of those volumes scanned are in the public domain, they are only available in snippet view at present because the date in the single metadata record is from a copyright-protected year). So when researchers have found the snippet, it's a matter of having to reverse-engineer the search and then try to determine from the snippet what actual issue the text is from so that we can get the information to the researcher.
In his post, Townsend points out the difficulties of going back and fixing things once they've been done, and he's quite correct to ask "what's the rush?" Isn't it better to take more time and do it right than to tromp ahead willy-nilly and then have to either go back and fix things on a huge scale or leave incorrect and useless materials in place?
Commenters to Townsend's post have also noted the annoying nature of the current "snippet" view, which often doesn't even show you the search terms it says are there (I've found it tends to display the next sentence, or an adjacent line).
All these criticisms made, however, I think Google Books is fast becoming one of the most useful tools on the internet, both in terms of preservation and access. I see it as a sort of ever-expanding character-string index, and have used it myself to great effect on several research projects ... finding instances where my subjects were mentioned that don't appear in indexes, OCLC subject headings or other traditional sources. Sometimes they weren't full text, and sometimes they weren't even visible in snippet view and prompted a trip to the library or an ILL request - but in all cases they were leads to things I might not have found otherwise.
For reference, I've found in several cases that I'm able to answer an off-site researcher's question by pointing them to a scanned Google Books page or full-text source when they aren't able to come into the library and use our copies of the material (many of our research requests at MHS are from non-local researchers). And for preservation, I have in at least three cases recently been able to save photocopying fragile materials by pointing the researcher to Google Books (first making sure, of course, that the entire text they needed was readable).
On the whole, I think Google Books is and will continue to be an invaluable resource. No, it's not perfect, and yes, clearly they've made some serious and regrettable mistakes along the way (which hopefully can be mended). All concerned should certainly continue to push for improved quality control, enhanced metadata and better responsiveness from the Google folks, and as Michael notes we should beware of future actions which may sacrifice usefulness to profit-making. But as far as I'm concerned, the benefits far outweigh the deficiencies and, with any luck at all, things can only improve from here.
LoC Blog Wants to Know
Matt Raymond, who's been doing a great job with the new Library of Congress blog, has a question for you: "What are you reading?" Feel free to submit your current reading to Matt via the comments feature on his post.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Book Review: "Possession"
A.S. Byatt's novel Possession (which won the Booker Prize in 1990) finally made it off the "to be read" pile recently ... and as usual with books that have languished there for a long time, I regret not having read it sooner. This is a brilliantly-crafted story, filled to the brim with literary allusions, poetical mysteries, trenchant critiques of academic culture, and a long-ago romance - an all-too-human romance - which finds an unlikely parallel in the present day.
Notwithstanding the fact that Possession is bookended by two acts which are morally reprehensible to say the least (my views on library theft are fairly well known, and while I won't mention the other act and spoil the plot for anyone, suffice it to see it's not very pleasant), I enjoyed this book and had much trouble putting it down. Highly recommended.
Notwithstanding the fact that Possession is bookended by two acts which are morally reprehensible to say the least (my views on library theft are fairly well known, and while I won't mention the other act and spoil the plot for anyone, suffice it to see it's not very pleasant), I enjoyed this book and had much trouble putting it down. Highly recommended.
Links & Reviews
- Via fade theory, the second Literature Compass cluster on "Print Culture & Book History" has been released, and there are some interesting articles with limited-time free access on their homepage. I've saved a couple of them to read.
- Travis McDade reports further on book thief Paul William Powell and the bizarre "willingness of people to believe that these thieves are actually just caught up in some big misunderstanding."
- Paul Collins had some goodies for us over the weekend, highlighting Powell's epigram contest for the nonexistent Jim Crace book Useless America (hilarious background here and here). He also comments on 1903 New York City automobile speed limits.
- In the Independent, Christopher Hawtree reviews Emily Cockayne's Hubbub: Filth, Noise and Stench in England 1660-1770. Another one I'm passing along without reading since I've got the book to read very soon.
- From Book Trout, Rachel asks about the creeping obsolescence of the paper dictionary. She writes (beautifully) "I've tried the Internet dictionary route and it just isn't satisfying. Where's the serendipitous pleasure of having your eye stray to neighboring words and archaic phrases? Where are the interesting engraved illustrations? What will happen to the ennobling profession of lexicography? Will our language be dumbed down to a few thousand words of vocabulary and text message-style spelling? And am I the only one who really needs to have more than one dictionary in my house?"
No, Rachel, I don't suspect you are (although I confess the only paper dictionaries I have in my apartment at present are a facsimile of Websters first from 1828 and a couple editions of selections from Johnson's). I often use the online dictionary when I can (having access to the online OED makes that a one-stopper for most things), but indeed, the paper version does tend to be infinitely more satisfying.
- Travis McDade reports further on book thief Paul William Powell and the bizarre "willingness of people to believe that these thieves are actually just caught up in some big misunderstanding."
- Paul Collins had some goodies for us over the weekend, highlighting Powell's epigram contest for the nonexistent Jim Crace book Useless America (hilarious background here and here). He also comments on 1903 New York City automobile speed limits.
- In the Independent, Christopher Hawtree reviews Emily Cockayne's Hubbub: Filth, Noise and Stench in England 1660-1770. Another one I'm passing along without reading since I've got the book to read very soon.
- From Book Trout, Rachel asks about the creeping obsolescence of the paper dictionary. She writes (beautifully) "I've tried the Internet dictionary route and it just isn't satisfying. Where's the serendipitous pleasure of having your eye stray to neighboring words and archaic phrases? Where are the interesting engraved illustrations? What will happen to the ennobling profession of lexicography? Will our language be dumbed down to a few thousand words of vocabulary and text message-style spelling? And am I the only one who really needs to have more than one dictionary in my house?"
No, Rachel, I don't suspect you are (although I confess the only paper dictionaries I have in my apartment at present are a facsimile of Websters first from 1828 and a couple editions of selections from Johnson's). I often use the online dictionary when I can (having access to the online OED makes that a one-stopper for most things), but indeed, the paper version does tend to be infinitely more satisfying.
NYPL's Best of Reference List
The New York Public Library has released its "Best of Reference 2007" list, which includes a few surprises among the more expected titles (and proves that there really is/will be a reference book/site for just about anything. Here's a sampling:
- Encylopedia of Feminist Literature. Mary Ellen Snodgrass; Facts on File, 2006.
- Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods, and Techniques. William Tilstone, Kathleen Savage and Leigh Clark; ABC-Clio, 2006. For the "CSI" wannabees out there.
- America's Historical Newspapers. Selected full-text newspaper images (very handy, actually).
- The eBay Price Guide. Julia Wilkinson; No Starch Press, 2006. The "going-rate" for various eBayable items (and what isn't, these days?).
- An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English-Speaking World. Geoffrey Hughes; M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. Origins, usages, and even illustrations, notes the NYPL.
- Encylopedia of Feminist Literature. Mary Ellen Snodgrass; Facts on File, 2006.
- Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods, and Techniques. William Tilstone, Kathleen Savage and Leigh Clark; ABC-Clio, 2006. For the "CSI" wannabees out there.
- America's Historical Newspapers. Selected full-text newspaper images (very handy, actually).
- The eBay Price Guide. Julia Wilkinson; No Starch Press, 2006. The "going-rate" for various eBayable items (and what isn't, these days?).
- An Encyclopedia of Swearing: The Social History of Oaths, Profanity, Foul Language, and Ethnic Slurs in the English-Speaking World. Geoffrey Hughes; M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2006. Origins, usages, and even illustrations, notes the NYPL.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Book Review: "The Summer of 1787"
The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution (2007, Simon & Schuster) is an updated narrative account of the Constitutional Convention and its participants. Like Catherine Drinker Bowen's classic Miracle at Philadelphia and Clinton Rossiter's The Grand Convention (both 1966 originally), David Stewart's book breaks little new ground, but is a useful introduction to the Convention for the general reader.
I didn't find myself in agreement with every characterization Stewart makes: I don't believe that Hamilton's famed "monarchy speech" was much more than a foil to make the Virginia plan more palatable, and I think his treatment of the Convention's construction of the executive branch is far too conclusion-driven (he doesn't like the electoral college). Nonetheless, I think on the whole Stewart's captured the people, mood and importance of that summer quite well.
Recommended as an adequate starting point. As usual with Simon & Schuster I must comment on the non-optimal citation style (though the notes are fairly good) and the unfortunate lack of a bibliography.
I didn't find myself in agreement with every characterization Stewart makes: I don't believe that Hamilton's famed "monarchy speech" was much more than a foil to make the Virginia plan more palatable, and I think his treatment of the Convention's construction of the executive branch is far too conclusion-driven (he doesn't like the electoral college). Nonetheless, I think on the whole Stewart's captured the people, mood and importance of that summer quite well.
Recommended as an adequate starting point. As usual with Simon & Schuster I must comment on the non-optimal citation style (though the notes are fairly good) and the unfortunate lack of a bibliography.
Now That's a Strange Bookmark
The Scotsman reports today on the upcoming sale of artist Robert Lenkiewicz's library. Lenkiewicz, who died in 2002, was a prodigious collector of books on "philosophy, witchcraft, superstition and the occult." The major witchcraft books were sold back in 2003, but some 12,000 additional texts will be sold on 9-10 May at Edinburgh's Lyon & Turnbull auction house.
In cataloging the collection for Lyon & Trumbull, their books department discovered a few, eh, oddities among the books. The Scotsman article leads this way: "When Alex Dove opened the 16th-century book on witchcraft, something black and scaly fell out into her hands. Dove, who works in the books department at auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, was horrified when she realised it was the body of a frog, wizened by time and pressed flat between the pages." [Note: If that line doesn't become the premise of a new 'literary thriller' novel within five years I'll be very surprised].
But the reptiles didn't end there: "By the time the Lyon & Turnbull team had finished cataloguing the books, they had unearthed a frog, two toads and a lizard." The library, described by one cataloguer as a "rabbit warren," had also at one point contained the embalmed body of one of the collector's friends and at least one other human skeleton.
The collection is estimated at £150,000-200,000, but perhaps the collector's own wishes would have been more appropriate: he desired that "his library, artefacts and unsold paintings would be kept together and made into a museum and research resource." Unfortunately the £40 "legacy" he left behind "(in a saucepan)", says the paper, wasn't enough to cover the £2 million debt he had amassed along with the book collection.
By the way, having just finished my preservation class, I should note that frogs - even dried ones - should not in any circumstances be used as bookmarks. Bad for the paper.
In cataloging the collection for Lyon & Trumbull, their books department discovered a few, eh, oddities among the books. The Scotsman article leads this way: "When Alex Dove opened the 16th-century book on witchcraft, something black and scaly fell out into her hands. Dove, who works in the books department at auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, was horrified when she realised it was the body of a frog, wizened by time and pressed flat between the pages." [Note: If that line doesn't become the premise of a new 'literary thriller' novel within five years I'll be very surprised].
But the reptiles didn't end there: "By the time the Lyon & Turnbull team had finished cataloguing the books, they had unearthed a frog, two toads and a lizard." The library, described by one cataloguer as a "rabbit warren," had also at one point contained the embalmed body of one of the collector's friends and at least one other human skeleton.
The collection is estimated at £150,000-200,000, but perhaps the collector's own wishes would have been more appropriate: he desired that "his library, artefacts and unsold paintings would be kept together and made into a museum and research resource." Unfortunately the £40 "legacy" he left behind "(in a saucepan)", says the paper, wasn't enough to cover the £2 million debt he had amassed along with the book collection.
By the way, having just finished my preservation class, I should note that frogs - even dried ones - should not in any circumstances be used as bookmarks. Bad for the paper.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Book Review: "Alexis de Tocqueville"
Hugh Brogan's masterful new biography Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life (Yale University Press, 2007) earned many plaudits across the Pond last year, and after completing my read of it I can only conclude that they were justified indeed. Brogan's research was exhaustive, and his richly detailed account of Tocqueville's life, works and thoughts proves it.
Many of us in America know Tocqueville - if at all - as the chronicler of 'our' culture in Democracy in America. But that book, researched when the author was just 26 and written just a few years thereafter, formed only a small portion of Tocqueville's intellectual life (though I suspect the observations he made in America stuck with him for the duration). Tocqueville's life in France, during one of the most turbulent and unsettled periods in that nation's long history, must of necessity claim pride of place in any complete biography (of course whole books have been written just about Tocqueville's trip to America).
I learned much from Brogan about AT's role in the various French governments up to the establishment of the Second Empire, and even more about the troubled family dynamics and near-constant health problems which clearly had a tremendous impact on the man's works throughout his career (the ultimate chapters covering his final illness and death, it must be said, are grippingly vivid). Here was a man who truly didn't know what place he was to hold in a society which seemed to be changing around him with shocking frequency - it's a great wonder that he ever got any work done at all.
Brogan's book is a hefty volume, and its 644 pages of narrative are densely packed (the notes are excellent too, but then I'm a sucker for those). This is not a book to read over a weekend (even a long weekend), but one which I enjoyed in short bursts of about one chapter at a time. If you read it, take your time with it as well; like Tocqueville's own writings, I think this book rewards the careful reader. It's no breezy biography - it's more, and it's better for being so.
Many of us in America know Tocqueville - if at all - as the chronicler of 'our' culture in Democracy in America. But that book, researched when the author was just 26 and written just a few years thereafter, formed only a small portion of Tocqueville's intellectual life (though I suspect the observations he made in America stuck with him for the duration). Tocqueville's life in France, during one of the most turbulent and unsettled periods in that nation's long history, must of necessity claim pride of place in any complete biography (of course whole books have been written just about Tocqueville's trip to America).
I learned much from Brogan about AT's role in the various French governments up to the establishment of the Second Empire, and even more about the troubled family dynamics and near-constant health problems which clearly had a tremendous impact on the man's works throughout his career (the ultimate chapters covering his final illness and death, it must be said, are grippingly vivid). Here was a man who truly didn't know what place he was to hold in a society which seemed to be changing around him with shocking frequency - it's a great wonder that he ever got any work done at all.
Brogan's book is a hefty volume, and its 644 pages of narrative are densely packed (the notes are excellent too, but then I'm a sucker for those). This is not a book to read over a weekend (even a long weekend), but one which I enjoyed in short bursts of about one chapter at a time. If you read it, take your time with it as well; like Tocqueville's own writings, I think this book rewards the careful reader. It's no breezy biography - it's more, and it's better for being so.
Book Review: "The Children of Húrin"
Elements of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Children of Húrin (Houghton Mifflin, 2007) have appeared in shorter form before, in The Silmarillion and later in The Book of Lost Tales. For this edition, however, Tolkien's son Christopher has diligently reworked the disparate threads of his father's narratives of Túrin Turambar into a coherent whole for the first time. The text is accompanied by a marginally useful introduction placing the story into context with the better-known tales of Middle Earth (it occurs more than six thousand years before the events in The Lord of the Rings), and by an enlightening appendix after the text in which Christopher delineates the process by which he came to create this version of the work.
The tale of Túrin, deeply rooted in the Norse myths and largely a product of Tolkien's early writing years, will seem vastly different to those who know Tolkien from The Hobbit and LotR. The writing style is more formalized, but I think Christopher has done an admirable job of teasing out the narrative elements here and shaping the tale into readable form. This is a very different animal than what many casual Tolkien readers (like me; although I've slogged through Silmarillion and some of the histories I have rarely found it particularly enjoyable)
might be expecting, but I recommend giving it a chance. I won't spoil the ending, but I warn you not to be prepared for any happy homecomings.
Alan Lee's beautiful illustrations (both black/white and color) complement the text nicely, and are a welcome addition.
The tale of Túrin, deeply rooted in the Norse myths and largely a product of Tolkien's early writing years, will seem vastly different to those who know Tolkien from The Hobbit and LotR. The writing style is more formalized, but I think Christopher has done an admirable job of teasing out the narrative elements here and shaping the tale into readable form. This is a very different animal than what many casual Tolkien readers (like me; although I've slogged through Silmarillion and some of the histories I have rarely found it particularly enjoyable)
might be expecting, but I recommend giving it a chance. I won't spoil the ending, but I warn you not to be prepared for any happy homecomings.
Alan Lee's beautiful illustrations (both black/white and color) complement the text nicely, and are a welcome addition.
Anne Bradstreet Manuscript on Display
The Boston Globe reports that the only known manuscript by early Massachusetts poet Anne Bradstreet will go on display at the Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School in North Andover. The exhibit will run from 8 May through 18 May.
Bradstreet's manuscript is a 41-page collection of meditations and poems dedicated to her son Simon in 1644. North Andover's public library, Stevens Memorial, purchased the document in the 1950s and it has been deposited at Harvard since 1972. This is believed to be the first time the manuscript has been publicly displayed; trustees of the library have opted to do so in honor of the library's 100th anniversary.
As would be expected, elaborate preservation and security procedures are in place at the Art Center to protect the manuscript during the exhibit period.
Bradstreet's poetry is a fascinating window into the mind of an upper-class Puritan women during the first decades of English settlement in Massachusetts. Unexpectedly personal and poignant (her poems on the deaths of several grandchildren would move a stone to tears), her works have deservedly stood the test of time. If you have the opportunity to get out to North Andover for this important exhibit, jump at it.
Bradstreet's manuscript is a 41-page collection of meditations and poems dedicated to her son Simon in 1644. North Andover's public library, Stevens Memorial, purchased the document in the 1950s and it has been deposited at Harvard since 1972. This is believed to be the first time the manuscript has been publicly displayed; trustees of the library have opted to do so in honor of the library's 100th anniversary.
As would be expected, elaborate preservation and security procedures are in place at the Art Center to protect the manuscript during the exhibit period.
Bradstreet's poetry is a fascinating window into the mind of an upper-class Puritan women during the first decades of English settlement in Massachusetts. Unexpectedly personal and poignant (her poems on the deaths of several grandchildren would move a stone to tears), her works have deservedly stood the test of time. If you have the opportunity to get out to North Andover for this important exhibit, jump at it.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
1823 Tanner Atlas Stolen
The following announcement appeared on Ex-Libris this afternoon:
"Atlas description: Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1823. Folio (22 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches). Letterpress half-title, 1p. index and 18pp. text. Engraved title with vignette of the "First Landing of Columbus in the New World", 22 fine hand-coloured double-page engraved maps. Contemporary red half morocco, the flat spine divided into six compartments by double fillets, lettered in the second, the other compartments with repeat decoration of a single centrally-placed square arabesque tool, modern cloth box with morocco lettering-piece on its spine.
The atlas was stolen between April 20 and April 22, 2007. Unfortunately, our institution had yet to agree on what to do with the atlas (keep or deaccession/sell at an auction), so it does not have any markings on it. It does have a library catalog sticker with a number (we did not have a chance to record this number) on its binding a quarter of the way from the top. There are specific condition notes to this atlas: a majority of the pages have some sort of water-like stains both large and small throughout, which are mostly contained along the edges of the 18 pages of text. All of the maps are in good condition with a few water stains, with the exception of the large map on the last pages. This fold-out map has binding tape holding it together, when folded open the pages are crisp along the creases. The exterior has general wear throughout both red leather coverings. The binding has some damage and a library catalog sticker. As expected with a piece this old, there are the usual fading and yellowing marks throughout.
We are working with the Clarkstown Police Department of Rockland County, NY. Their general line is (845) 639.5800. This incident has been reported to the FBI, who will report it to Interpol among other international forces they work with. We highly suspect it is still in the downstate NY region and if sold, among the same region."
"Atlas description: Philadelphia: H.S. Tanner, 1823. Folio (22 5/8 x 15 3/4 inches). Letterpress half-title, 1p. index and 18pp. text. Engraved title with vignette of the "First Landing of Columbus in the New World", 22 fine hand-coloured double-page engraved maps. Contemporary red half morocco, the flat spine divided into six compartments by double fillets, lettered in the second, the other compartments with repeat decoration of a single centrally-placed square arabesque tool, modern cloth box with morocco lettering-piece on its spine.
The atlas was stolen between April 20 and April 22, 2007. Unfortunately, our institution had yet to agree on what to do with the atlas (keep or deaccession/sell at an auction), so it does not have any markings on it. It does have a library catalog sticker with a number (we did not have a chance to record this number) on its binding a quarter of the way from the top. There are specific condition notes to this atlas: a majority of the pages have some sort of water-like stains both large and small throughout, which are mostly contained along the edges of the 18 pages of text. All of the maps are in good condition with a few water stains, with the exception of the large map on the last pages. This fold-out map has binding tape holding it together, when folded open the pages are crisp along the creases. The exterior has general wear throughout both red leather coverings. The binding has some damage and a library catalog sticker. As expected with a piece this old, there are the usual fading and yellowing marks throughout.
We are working with the Clarkstown Police Department of Rockland County, NY. Their general line is (845) 639.5800. This incident has been reported to the FBI, who will report it to Interpol among other international forces they work with. We highly suspect it is still in the downstate NY region and if sold, among the same region."
More on the Alnwick Theft
Yesterday I briefly mentioned the theft and ultimate return of a stolen book to a shop in Alnwick, England; Travis McDade has much more backstory on the case here.
Friday, May 04, 2007
Links & Reviews
- Joyce points us to the "Mini-Bookshop," a kind of bestseller vending machine. Not sure how I feel about this one.
- Via fade theory, I give you Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly, which bills itself as "the lively quarterly book review for non-conformists – people who don’t want to read only what the big publishers are hyping and the newspapers are reviewing." Good name, as ft notes, and a good idea too.
- In the London Review of Books, Michael Dobson has a fascinating essay on the new Royal Shakespeare Company edition of the Bard's complete works.
- Reading Copy notes a Northumberland Today report about a stolen book which made its way home after more than two years missing. An alert Alabama bookseller thought the guy trying to sell it to him was a little suspicious, and thankfully the original owner had thought to post a description on the ABA site. The thief, who was caught, received a year of probation for his crime, since we all know how seriously book theft is taken by the courts.
- The LA Daily News reports that a missing John Steinbeck draft of "Sweet Thursday" was discovered - along with a draft of "The Bear Flag Cafe," an "unperformed musical comedy collaboration," an unpublished short story, and some additional Steinbeckiana - among the possessions of the late producer Ernest H. Martin. The materials will be auctioned on 24 May in San Francisco, in what a PBA official says "might well be the Steinbeck sale of the century." [h/t Rare Book News].
- In the Telegraph, Malcolm Gaskill reviews The Noble Revolt: The Overthrow of Charles I by John Adamson, which he seems to have liked quite well; also in the Telegraph, Noel Malcolm reviews Heather Ewing's The Lost World of James Smithson.
- Hugh Hollowell wants to know: anyone out there blogging about their search for particular titles? I wrote briefly about one such hunt (here), but if you've got other stories, do pass them along to Hugh.
- GalleyCat notes that the new Tolkien title is selling like hotcakes, and points out that we shouldn't be all that surprised. I think it helps that the book's not bad at all (I'm nearly through, and will have a review up soon).
- Almost forgot, Smithsonian this month has a piece by David Damrosch about the Epic of Gilgamesh which is very much worth reading. His book, The Buried Book, is - ironically - buried somewhere amongst the piles waiting for me to read it.
- Via fade theory, I give you Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly, which bills itself as "the lively quarterly book review for non-conformists – people who don’t want to read only what the big publishers are hyping and the newspapers are reviewing." Good name, as ft notes, and a good idea too.
- In the London Review of Books, Michael Dobson has a fascinating essay on the new Royal Shakespeare Company edition of the Bard's complete works.
- Reading Copy notes a Northumberland Today report about a stolen book which made its way home after more than two years missing. An alert Alabama bookseller thought the guy trying to sell it to him was a little suspicious, and thankfully the original owner had thought to post a description on the ABA site. The thief, who was caught, received a year of probation for his crime, since we all know how seriously book theft is taken by the courts.
- The LA Daily News reports that a missing John Steinbeck draft of "Sweet Thursday" was discovered - along with a draft of "The Bear Flag Cafe," an "unperformed musical comedy collaboration," an unpublished short story, and some additional Steinbeckiana - among the possessions of the late producer Ernest H. Martin. The materials will be auctioned on 24 May in San Francisco, in what a PBA official says "might well be the Steinbeck sale of the century." [h/t Rare Book News].
- In the Telegraph, Malcolm Gaskill reviews The Noble Revolt: The Overthrow of Charles I by John Adamson, which he seems to have liked quite well; also in the Telegraph, Noel Malcolm reviews Heather Ewing's The Lost World of James Smithson.
- Hugh Hollowell wants to know: anyone out there blogging about their search for particular titles? I wrote briefly about one such hunt (here), but if you've got other stories, do pass them along to Hugh.
- GalleyCat notes that the new Tolkien title is selling like hotcakes, and points out that we shouldn't be all that surprised. I think it helps that the book's not bad at all (I'm nearly through, and will have a review up soon).
- Almost forgot, Smithsonian this month has a piece by David Damrosch about the Epic of Gilgamesh which is very much worth reading. His book, The Buried Book, is - ironically - buried somewhere amongst the piles waiting for me to read it.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Vatican Library To Close Until 2010
The BBC is reporting that the Vatican Library will close for its annual summer break in mid-July, and then not reopen until September of 2010. The announcement was entirely unexpected. Renovation plans include the installation of air conditioning and dust protection units.
Readers will "still be able to obtain digital copies of ancient manuscripts in the Vatican library that they can study at home," according to the BBC report, but it's unclear how that process will work.
Expect much scholarly outrage.
[h/t Germaine Warkentin, Ex-Libris]
Readers will "still be able to obtain digital copies of ancient manuscripts in the Vatican library that they can study at home," according to the BBC report, but it's unclear how that process will work.
Expect much scholarly outrage.
[h/t Germaine Warkentin, Ex-Libris]
Georgetown Library Update
The Washington Post has an update for us today on the status of the Georgetown Public Library, which contains some good news along with the bad. While rebuilding costs are estimated at $15-20 million, Georgetown's mayor has pledged to make those funds available quickly and get the library open again "as quickly as possible."
Even better news about the library's irreplaceable Peabody Room collections of materials related to the history of Georgetown; "Perhaps 80 percent of the collection, housed on the library's east side, suffered far less harm than initially feared. The ceiling there held, and the archives escaped smoke and flames." Chief librarian Ginny Cooper told the Post "The material is wet but not burned. We can deal with wet."
The case of the conflagration remains undetermined but the Post report says that officials believe it to have been accidental, probably something electrical.
Damaged materials are headed for places where they can be carefully restored: rare items have gone to the Smithsonian, while a freezer truck has taken other items to the Belfor Property Restoration complex in Fort Worth, Texas for "freeze-drying."
It could have been worse, I guess. Still an awful thing any way you slice it, but at least many of the items thought lost forever managed to escape the flames after all.
Even better news about the library's irreplaceable Peabody Room collections of materials related to the history of Georgetown; "Perhaps 80 percent of the collection, housed on the library's east side, suffered far less harm than initially feared. The ceiling there held, and the archives escaped smoke and flames." Chief librarian Ginny Cooper told the Post "The material is wet but not burned. We can deal with wet."
The case of the conflagration remains undetermined but the Post report says that officials believe it to have been accidental, probably something electrical.
Damaged materials are headed for places where they can be carefully restored: rare items have gone to the Smithsonian, while a freezer truck has taken other items to the Belfor Property Restoration complex in Fort Worth, Texas for "freeze-drying."
It could have been worse, I guess. Still an awful thing any way you slice it, but at least many of the items thought lost forever managed to escape the flames after all.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Jack the Ripper ID'd?
South African historian Charles van Onselen claims to have made a circumstantial stance for the identity of Jack the Ripper in his book The Fox and The Flies: The World of Joseph Silver, Racketeer and Psychopath (published in April by Random House). van Onselen has come to believe that Joseph Silver, a notorious Johannesburg pimp who was in London at the time of the Ripper killings, may be the long-sought culprit.
"Ripperologists" call the identification far too tenuous, to which van Onselen replies "How many coincidences do you want to mount up in your mind simultaneously until you start saying this is a real possibility?"
"Ripperologists" call the identification far too tenuous, to which van Onselen replies "How many coincidences do you want to mount up in your mind simultaneously until you start saying this is a real possibility?"
Calvin Buys Calvin
Calvin College's H. Meeter Center for Calvin Studies has acquired a copy of John Calvin's Congrégation faite en l'église de Geneue (Geneva: Vincent Bres, 1562), a true rarity (there are five copies known in Europe and just this one in the U.S.).
The college was recently contacted by a retired theology professor who asked if they'd be interested in the book, which "presents Calvin’s teaching on election, particularly the issue of universal salvation against particular election (Calvin came down on the side of particular election)."
More background on the book and the acquisition here.
The college was recently contacted by a retired theology professor who asked if they'd be interested in the book, which "presents Calvin’s teaching on election, particularly the issue of universal salvation against particular election (Calvin came down on the side of particular election)."
More background on the book and the acquisition here.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
From the Department of Unlikely Lexicography
I couldn't resist passing along this Slate column about the book Street Talk (2005, now in a new edition by Barricade Books), a dictionary of prison slang compiled by Randy Kearse during eight years of his thirteen-year prison term (for conspiracy to distribute narcotics, in case you're curious).
Bryan Curtis talked to Kearse about the writing process: "The hardest thing about assembling a slang dictionary in prison in the late 1990s, he said, was that the facilities Kearse was confined to did not offer inmates access to computers or the Internet. Every afternoon, Kearse wrote on an electric typewriter and carried his rapidly growing manuscript, which measured about 8 inches high, back and forth from the prison library to his cell. When his fellow inmates saw him with papers under his arm, they would say, 'He's going to the office.' Whenever Kearse completed a few pages he was happy with, he mailed them to a friend in Brooklyn for safekeeping."
Street Talk includes "more than 10,000 words and phrases, counting variants." Curtis took a copy to OED editor Jesse Sheidlower, who deemed it "pretty good," adding "One of the typical things about self-edited books of this sort is that they'll include everything that is not standard English - slang terms, unusual pronunciations, a colloquial phrase that's not slang. But these are mostly real lexical phrases. The terms in here have a particular meaning, and they're used that way."
The whole column is interesting, so read it over if you have a chance.
Bryan Curtis talked to Kearse about the writing process: "The hardest thing about assembling a slang dictionary in prison in the late 1990s, he said, was that the facilities Kearse was confined to did not offer inmates access to computers or the Internet. Every afternoon, Kearse wrote on an electric typewriter and carried his rapidly growing manuscript, which measured about 8 inches high, back and forth from the prison library to his cell. When his fellow inmates saw him with papers under his arm, they would say, 'He's going to the office.' Whenever Kearse completed a few pages he was happy with, he mailed them to a friend in Brooklyn for safekeeping."
Street Talk includes "more than 10,000 words and phrases, counting variants." Curtis took a copy to OED editor Jesse Sheidlower, who deemed it "pretty good," adding "One of the typical things about self-edited books of this sort is that they'll include everything that is not standard English - slang terms, unusual pronunciations, a colloquial phrase that's not slang. But these are mostly real lexical phrases. The terms in here have a particular meaning, and they're used that way."
The whole column is interesting, so read it over if you have a chance.
Presidential Candidates and Their Books
Last night's thoughts about presidential candidates and their bookshelves (sparked by Michael's post at Book Patrol) have sparked some action; a friend forwarded me this post from the NYTimes blog "The Caucus." Mitt Romney, asked this week to name his favorite novel, cited L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth.
Well that certainly says something about the man, doesn't it?
Well that certainly says something about the man, doesn't it?
Update on the Georgetown Fire
By way of followup to yesterday's post on the fire at the Georgetown branch of the D.C. Public Library: ABC 7 News in D.C. reports today that archivists are "sorting through the historic artifacts that were stored at the Georgetown branch, trying to determine what can be salvaged."
The latest AP report notes that some artwork was removed from the building by firefighters, including a painting by Yaro Mamout which may be salvageable. The Washington Post adds that the second-floor Peabody Room which housed the library's Georgetown history collection seems to have been largely destroyed by the blaze; branch manager Mary Hernandez is quoted as saying "The second floor is gone."
The cause of the fire remains undetermined. It took more than two hundred firefighters to get the fire under control yesterday afternoon, and much of the building remains inaccessible.
The latest AP report notes that some artwork was removed from the building by firefighters, including a painting by Yaro Mamout which may be salvageable. The Washington Post adds that the second-floor Peabody Room which housed the library's Georgetown history collection seems to have been largely destroyed by the blaze; branch manager Mary Hernandez is quoted as saying "The second floor is gone."
The cause of the fire remains undetermined. It took more than two hundred firefighters to get the fire under control yesterday afternoon, and much of the building remains inaccessible.
Miniature Book Exhibit at BPL
The Boston Globe features an article about the newest Boston Public Library exhibit: Miniature Books: 4,000 Years of Tiny Treasures. The exhibit opens tomorrow and will run through 2 September. Tonight at 6 p.m., curator and bookseller Anne Bromer will speak about miniature books and the exhibit.
David Mehegan writes "The range of objects in the show, most of them a couple of inches head to foot, is eclectic, including an illuminated manuscript of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a set of the complete works of Shakespeare (2 inches high and said to be perfectly readable), a book illustrated by Picasso, the smallest Bible in the world (chained to a minuscule lectern), and the world's tiniest world atlas."
A sister exhibit is being mounted at the Grolier Club; that one was curated by Julian Edison, a collector of miniature books and the co-author, with Bromer, of an accompanying book.
Once I've had a chance to see the exhibit I'll probably post some more about it.
David Mehegan writes "The range of objects in the show, most of them a couple of inches head to foot, is eclectic, including an illuminated manuscript of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a set of the complete works of Shakespeare (2 inches high and said to be perfectly readable), a book illustrated by Picasso, the smallest Bible in the world (chained to a minuscule lectern), and the world's tiniest world atlas."
A sister exhibit is being mounted at the Grolier Club; that one was curated by Julian Edison, a collector of miniature books and the co-author, with Bromer, of an accompanying book.
Once I've had a chance to see the exhibit I'll probably post some more about it.
Monday, April 30, 2007
So Many Goodies, So Little Time
I've discovered a downside to Google Reader - I find far too many things that I want to write posts about. Here are a few from today:
- A new issue of Bonefolder is out, and is available here (pdf). Designed for bookbinders and book artists, this journal always has some very neat articles.
- From the Independent, news that the Archimedes Palimpsest (previously discussed here) has yielded yet another layer: "an essay on Aristotle written approximately 1,800 years ago." The newly-discovered piece is a critique of Aristotle's Categories, believed to have been written by Alexander of Aphriodisias. The article has extensive background on the Palimpsest as well.
- That new Library of Congress blog is going strong: Matt Ryan points out LC's 'Today in History' highlight (Washington's first inaugural address, 1789) and also has some updates from an important ceremony this afternoon in which German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a 1507 Waldseemüller Map to the American people. This, the only known original copy of the map was purchased for $10 million from a German prince [updated: the webcast is now available here].
- From Book Patrol, comments on the John Adams and Thomas Jefferson libraries and their contrast to the presidential libraries of today. Michael adds "It would be great if they were indeed libraries and did house the books that were in our President's personal library. It would tell us so much about our leaders though leaving it to one's imagination to wonder what books might be in a particular president's library is half the fun. I propose that every candidate have a Shelfari page so we can see what books are in their library. I know it would help me decide who to vote for." My vote would be for LibraryThing, of course, but in principle I agree with Michael's idea. All the candidates are on Facebook, so why not show off their books?
- And a very interesting profile over at ephemera: spirit photograph collectors.
- A new issue of Bonefolder is out, and is available here (pdf). Designed for bookbinders and book artists, this journal always has some very neat articles.
- From the Independent, news that the Archimedes Palimpsest (previously discussed here) has yielded yet another layer: "an essay on Aristotle written approximately 1,800 years ago." The newly-discovered piece is a critique of Aristotle's Categories, believed to have been written by Alexander of Aphriodisias. The article has extensive background on the Palimpsest as well.
- That new Library of Congress blog is going strong: Matt Ryan points out LC's 'Today in History' highlight (Washington's first inaugural address, 1789) and also has some updates from an important ceremony this afternoon in which German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a 1507 Waldseemüller Map to the American people. This, the only known original copy of the map was purchased for $10 million from a German prince [updated: the webcast is now available here].
- From Book Patrol, comments on the John Adams and Thomas Jefferson libraries and their contrast to the presidential libraries of today. Michael adds "It would be great if they were indeed libraries and did house the books that were in our President's personal library. It would tell us so much about our leaders though leaving it to one's imagination to wonder what books might be in a particular president's library is half the fun. I propose that every candidate have a Shelfari page so we can see what books are in their library. I know it would help me decide who to vote for." My vote would be for LibraryThing, of course, but in principle I agree with Michael's idea. All the candidates are on Facebook, so why not show off their books?
- And a very interesting profile over at ephemera: spirit photograph collectors.
Link Added
I've added a sidebar link to brookline blogsmith, a new blog-effort by one of the new-book buyers at Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner. Booksmith's one of the best bookstores for remainders in Boston, and also has excellent new and used selections. It's always good to see another local biblioblog, and I look forward to the insights Lori will have for us. And today she's even giving away a couple ARCs, so stop on by.
Fire at Georgetown Library
The Georgetown branch of the D.C. Public Library is on fire, according to media reports.
"News 4's Darcy Spencer reported that firefighters are trying to save paintings and historic items from the building. Fire department spokesman Alan Etter said the building's entire roof is on fire and parts of the structure are collapsing. There are no reports of injuries. The building is under renovation. The cause of the fire is unknown. The Georgetown branch was opened in 1935. Its Peabody Room contains a special collection of items pertaining to the history of Georgetown. The fire chief told Spencer that they are aware of the location of the room and will try their best to prevent fire and water damage."
I will update as necessary.
[Update 1: Fire personnel have apparently been ordered out of the building.]
[Update 2: Some folks at Wikipedia are posting updates on this event; they originally reported - incorrectly, this being Wikipedia and all - that the fire was at the Georgetown University Law Library. Most recent updates indicate that the fire is now a three-alarm blaze.]
[Update 3: The Washington Post has a new report as of 3:12 p.m. They quote archivist Gerry McCoy, who told the paper "it appeared important documents on the neighborhood [Georgetown] were burning." "This has always been my worst nightmare. I've always feared this would happen. I've always thought if there was a fire, what would I grab first." A fire department spokesman told the paper "The building is in various stages of collapse. From the top of the ladder you can see sections of the roof the size of a [Ford] Crown Vic dropping into the second floor."
Among the materials feared lost are "files on every address in the neighborhood compiled from over '20 years worth of research.' The collection also includes copies of the Maryland Gazette newspaper from 1775 and 1776, which reported the Declaration of Independence as a news story, according to McCoy. Other items include Civil War maps."
Georgetown mayor Adrian Fenty called the building "our historic flagship library."]
"News 4's Darcy Spencer reported that firefighters are trying to save paintings and historic items from the building. Fire department spokesman Alan Etter said the building's entire roof is on fire and parts of the structure are collapsing. There are no reports of injuries. The building is under renovation. The cause of the fire is unknown. The Georgetown branch was opened in 1935. Its Peabody Room contains a special collection of items pertaining to the history of Georgetown. The fire chief told Spencer that they are aware of the location of the room and will try their best to prevent fire and water damage."
I will update as necessary.
[Update 1: Fire personnel have apparently been ordered out of the building.]
[Update 2: Some folks at Wikipedia are posting updates on this event; they originally reported - incorrectly, this being Wikipedia and all - that the fire was at the Georgetown University Law Library. Most recent updates indicate that the fire is now a three-alarm blaze.]
[Update 3: The Washington Post has a new report as of 3:12 p.m. They quote archivist Gerry McCoy, who told the paper "it appeared important documents on the neighborhood [Georgetown] were burning." "This has always been my worst nightmare. I've always feared this would happen. I've always thought if there was a fire, what would I grab first." A fire department spokesman told the paper "The building is in various stages of collapse. From the top of the ladder you can see sections of the roof the size of a [Ford] Crown Vic dropping into the second floor."
Among the materials feared lost are "files on every address in the neighborhood compiled from over '20 years worth of research.' The collection also includes copies of the Maryland Gazette newspaper from 1775 and 1776, which reported the Declaration of Independence as a news story, according to McCoy. Other items include Civil War maps."
Georgetown mayor Adrian Fenty called the building "our historic flagship library."]
Washington Letter Found
The New York Times reported recently that a letter written by George Washington in May, 1787 has been discovered in a scrapbook compiled by a 10-year-old Julia Kean in 1826. The scrapbook, along with many other documents (and a house) was recently bequeathed to Kean University by members of the Kean family.
Washington's letter, written at Philadelphia and sent to Kean's grandfather Jacob Morris, is short but significant; it includes a reference to the Constitutional Convention which got underway late in May: "The happiness of this Country depend much upon the deliberations of the federal Convention which is now sitting. It, however, can only lay the foundation - the community at large must raise the edifice."
Washington also mentions sending along several "enclosures" for General Horatio Gates, which has scholars drooling about what those might have been (the two men were not on the best of terms after Gates had tried to oust GW as commander late in the Revolution).
A very interesting and tantalizing find, to be sure. I wonder what else they'll come across in going through this collection? (one possible indication: "an icehouse is full of documents yet to be read").
[h/t fade theory]
Washington's letter, written at Philadelphia and sent to Kean's grandfather Jacob Morris, is short but significant; it includes a reference to the Constitutional Convention which got underway late in May: "The happiness of this Country depend much upon the deliberations of the federal Convention which is now sitting. It, however, can only lay the foundation - the community at large must raise the edifice."
Washington also mentions sending along several "enclosures" for General Horatio Gates, which has scholars drooling about what those might have been (the two men were not on the best of terms after Gates had tried to oust GW as commander late in the Revolution).
A very interesting and tantalizing find, to be sure. I wonder what else they'll come across in going through this collection? (one possible indication: "an icehouse is full of documents yet to be read").
[h/t fade theory]
Grafton on Cambridge
In today's Daily Princetonian, professor of history Anthony Grafton checks in from Cambridge University, where he's spending the year. Read the whole column, but here are a few highlights:
- "I'm working hard again, on what I hope will be described in much the same way as Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, legendarily said to the historian of the Roman Empire, 'Another damned thick book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh, Mr. Gibbon?' Every day I spend long hours in the Rare Book Room of the Cambridge University Library, reading books so obscure that even Firestone doesn't have them."
- "Faculty, not professional deans, handle admissions. They then work with their students they let in, one on one, sometimes following them from admissions to the Ph.D. Hearing them talk about they way they prepare students for the all-important exams is like listening to the trainers at the Kentucky Derby. They are professionals, and the task engages them deeply."
Some worthwhile insights into the way things work across the Pond.
- "I'm working hard again, on what I hope will be described in much the same way as Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, legendarily said to the historian of the Roman Empire, 'Another damned thick book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh, Mr. Gibbon?' Every day I spend long hours in the Rare Book Room of the Cambridge University Library, reading books so obscure that even Firestone doesn't have them."
- "Faculty, not professional deans, handle admissions. They then work with their students they let in, one on one, sometimes following them from admissions to the Ph.D. Hearing them talk about they way they prepare students for the all-important exams is like listening to the trainers at the Kentucky Derby. They are professionals, and the task engages them deeply."
Some worthwhile insights into the way things work across the Pond.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
A Few More Goodies
- In today's Washington Post, Michael Dirda reviews a new biography of John Donne; I'm passing this along without reading it, however, since I've got the book to review and don't want to contaminate my own judgement of it.
- Ed's review of The Friendship appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer; he's got a preview here.
- From NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, a neat interview with Colin Woodard, whose new book The Republic of Pirates is another one on my "to read" pile.
- And Paul Collins beats me to the punch about the story in today's Times outlining the potential rejection of Darwin's Origin of Species after an adviser to the publisher urged Murray to reject the book (he wanted Darwin to expand on some earlier work about pigeons, because, well, "everybody is interested in pigeons"). Collins puts the Cambridge Darwin Correspondence database to good use, quoting from Darwin's letter to Murray regarding the adviser's thoughts: "I have done my best. Others might, I have no doubt, done the job better, if they had my materials; but that is no help."
- Ed's review of The Friendship appeared in today's Philadelphia Inquirer; he's got a preview here.
- From NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, a neat interview with Colin Woodard, whose new book The Republic of Pirates is another one on my "to read" pile.
- And Paul Collins beats me to the punch about the story in today's Times outlining the potential rejection of Darwin's Origin of Species after an adviser to the publisher urged Murray to reject the book (he wanted Darwin to expand on some earlier work about pigeons, because, well, "everybody is interested in pigeons"). Collins puts the Cambridge Darwin Correspondence database to good use, quoting from Darwin's letter to Murray regarding the adviser's thoughts: "I have done my best. Others might, I have no doubt, done the job better, if they had my materials; but that is no help."
Links & Reviews
- In the NYTimes, William Grimes has an essay on some of the many new Shakespeare-related books that have made their appearance recently (designed to coincide with the author's birthday, 23 April). Over in the Guardian, A.S. Byatt reviews one of these titles, A.D. Nuttall's Shakespeare the Thinker.
- The new Tolkien title, The Children of Húrin, is reviewed in the Telegraph by Philip Hensher (unfavorably: "There are almost too many reasons to detest this new Tolkien confection") and by Ethan Gilsdorf in the Christian Science Monitor. Gilsdorf says this book's for "hard-core devotees," adding "readers may not identify with the characters ... or tolerate the bygone diction, even if they're wowed by the heroic exploits." Gilsdorf also gets the review in the Boston Globe, where he notes "In the final analysis, Tolkien was what he was. He didn't want to write a modern novel like his contemporaries. So one hesitates to criticize the obsolete diction and days-of-yore storytelling voice found in Húrin. Oddly, in anticipating the cultural need for myth and fantasy, Tolkien was ahead of his time. But he was also centuries behind it."
- Christopher Buckley's Boomsday (my review here) gets some ink in the Boston Globe: "Buckley's dyspeptic caricature of politicians and their enablers isn't particularly subtle, but then Washington isn't a particularly subtle place" ... yes, that's the point, actually ...
Judy Budnitz reviews Boomsday in the Washington Post; she writes "[Buckley] has a well-honed talent for quippy dialogue and an insider's familiarity with the way spin doctors manipulate language. It's queasily enjoyable to watch his characters concocting doublespeak to combat every turn of events." But she didn't much like the book either, and also missed the point. Her final paragraph: "Though I was willing for the most part to sit back and enjoy the rollicking ride, one incident in particular strained my credulity to the breaking point: Cassandra advises Sen. Jepperson to use profanity in a televised debate as a way of wooing under-30 voters, and the tactic is a smashing success. If dropping an f-bomb were all it took to win over the young folks, Vice President Cheney would be a rock star by now." What worked about Jepperson's gimmick in the book was the forceful "telling of truth to power" - I think a better analogy than Cheney's "f-bomb" might Stephen Colbert's White House Correspondents' Dinner speech, which fell flat with the "in crowd" but resonated with everyone else.
- Bookride's got some good profiles for us this week: Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet and Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy.
- The new Tolkien title, The Children of Húrin, is reviewed in the Telegraph by Philip Hensher (unfavorably: "There are almost too many reasons to detest this new Tolkien confection") and by Ethan Gilsdorf in the Christian Science Monitor. Gilsdorf says this book's for "hard-core devotees," adding "readers may not identify with the characters ... or tolerate the bygone diction, even if they're wowed by the heroic exploits." Gilsdorf also gets the review in the Boston Globe, where he notes "In the final analysis, Tolkien was what he was. He didn't want to write a modern novel like his contemporaries. So one hesitates to criticize the obsolete diction and days-of-yore storytelling voice found in Húrin. Oddly, in anticipating the cultural need for myth and fantasy, Tolkien was ahead of his time. But he was also centuries behind it."
- Christopher Buckley's Boomsday (my review here) gets some ink in the Boston Globe: "Buckley's dyspeptic caricature of politicians and their enablers isn't particularly subtle, but then Washington isn't a particularly subtle place" ... yes, that's the point, actually ...
Judy Budnitz reviews Boomsday in the Washington Post; she writes "[Buckley] has a well-honed talent for quippy dialogue and an insider's familiarity with the way spin doctors manipulate language. It's queasily enjoyable to watch his characters concocting doublespeak to combat every turn of events." But she didn't much like the book either, and also missed the point. Her final paragraph: "Though I was willing for the most part to sit back and enjoy the rollicking ride, one incident in particular strained my credulity to the breaking point: Cassandra advises Sen. Jepperson to use profanity in a televised debate as a way of wooing under-30 voters, and the tactic is a smashing success. If dropping an f-bomb were all it took to win over the young folks, Vice President Cheney would be a rock star by now." What worked about Jepperson's gimmick in the book was the forceful "telling of truth to power" - I think a better analogy than Cheney's "f-bomb" might Stephen Colbert's White House Correspondents' Dinner speech, which fell flat with the "in crowd" but resonated with everyone else.
- Bookride's got some good profiles for us this week: Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet and Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Link Added
I've added a sidebar link to a blog I just discovered (via Paul Collins, who is excellent for such things), Steamboats Are Ruining Everything. Literature, history, politics ... this one's got a little of everything, and I like it. Beyond the blog there are some links to pieces the author (Caleb Crain) has written elsewhere, including a fascinating piece from American Literary History which features a Union alum, the very odd Henry Wikoff.
Financial History Collection on the Market
The Times reports that Christopher Dennistoun, "a stock speculator and general bookseller" is going to sell his collection of "more than 750 first-edition books and pamphlets ... that spans the history of the stock and commodity markets in London, Europe and Wall Street between the 17th and 20th centuries." The books will be sold en bloc for £395,000 (just under $800,000) through London dealer Bernard J. Shapero; from 15-28 May the collection will be on display in Shapero's shop, part of a show titled "Bubbles, Busts and Booms."
Dennistoun's collection includes what is believed to be the earliest broker's sheet, "issued by John Castaing 'at his Office at Jonathan’s Coffeehouse' on May 3, 1698. Castaing’s publication was the first in an unbroken chain of published share prices and the earliest evidence of organised trading in marketable securities in London." Other notable items include Daniel Defoe's 1719 The Anatomy of Exchange-Alley and Charles Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841).
Any who've read David Liss' excellent A Conspiracy of Paper will understand the important role of pamphlet literature and printed matter during the nascent years of the 'financial sector.' This sounds like a very carefully-constructed collection, so if you're in London in the next few weeks, consider stopping in to take a look.
Dennistoun's collection includes what is believed to be the earliest broker's sheet, "issued by John Castaing 'at his Office at Jonathan’s Coffeehouse' on May 3, 1698. Castaing’s publication was the first in an unbroken chain of published share prices and the earliest evidence of organised trading in marketable securities in London." Other notable items include Daniel Defoe's 1719 The Anatomy of Exchange-Alley and Charles Mackay's Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841).
Any who've read David Liss' excellent A Conspiracy of Paper will understand the important role of pamphlet literature and printed matter during the nascent years of the 'financial sector.' This sounds like a very carefully-constructed collection, so if you're in London in the next few weeks, consider stopping in to take a look.
Book Review: "The Book of Air and Shadows"
The latest "literary thriller" I've read is Michael Gruber's The Book of Air and Shadows, (2007, William Morrow). This one's about a lost Shakespeare manuscript, which can only be discovered by deciphering a series of letters written by a contemporary of Shakespeare's and found hidden within the bindings of set of travel volumes.
Peopled by interesting and decently complex characters and a good number of suitable plot twists, The Book of Air and Shadows managed to keep me guessing right to the end (something I always appreciate when reading a book like this). Gruber's narrative mechanism, which alternates for most of the book between three distinct voices, is useful and serves to add to the suspense. While a few of the plot devices are a little silly, the book manages to hold its own, and was worth reading.
Peopled by interesting and decently complex characters and a good number of suitable plot twists, The Book of Air and Shadows managed to keep me guessing right to the end (something I always appreciate when reading a book like this). Gruber's narrative mechanism, which alternates for most of the book between three distinct voices, is useful and serves to add to the suspense. While a few of the plot devices are a little silly, the book manages to hold its own, and was worth reading.
Friday, April 27, 2007
1834 Barbados Slave Registry Online
Ancestry.co.uk has announced the release of the Barbados Slave Registry for 1834, CNN reports. "In 1819 the Office for the Registry of Colonial Slaves was established in London and copies of the slave registers kept by the colonies were sent to this office. Registration generally occurred once every three years. The registers continue through to 1834 when slavery was officially abolished."
The database includes information on nearly 100,000 slaves, including their names, place of origin, gender, age, place of residence, and owner. "Over the course of the next 12 months Ancestry.co.uk will publish records from a total of 23 of the UK's dependencies and colonies, which will give details of approximately 3 million slaves from across the British Empire."
Digitization has totally revolutionized the genealogical research field in the past few years, and it's particularly exciting to see materials like this come online which can help people research their slave ancestry. As an Ancestry.co.uk spokesman told CNN, "With few relevant collections online, it has not been easy for those with ancestors from former British colonies or territories to research their black family history."
The database includes information on nearly 100,000 slaves, including their names, place of origin, gender, age, place of residence, and owner. "Over the course of the next 12 months Ancestry.co.uk will publish records from a total of 23 of the UK's dependencies and colonies, which will give details of approximately 3 million slaves from across the British Empire."
Digitization has totally revolutionized the genealogical research field in the past few years, and it's particularly exciting to see materials like this come online which can help people research their slave ancestry. As an Ancestry.co.uk spokesman told CNN, "With few relevant collections online, it has not been easy for those with ancestors from former British colonies or territories to research their black family history."
Protecting Potter
From The Scotsman: "Strict security measures are being put in place by Bloomsbury to ensure that the secrets of" Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows "are not leaked." Copies "will be delivered to shops just one day before it is due to go on sale on July 21 and will be carried in crates bound with steel chains. Security guards will also been deployed in printing plants and online bookshop Amazon has agreed to store its copies in warehouses at secret locations."
I'll still be shocked if the surprises of this book stay under wraps until the release (crates and steel chains notwithstanding); thankfully I'll be on vacation the week before and am hoping to avoid hearing the news until I can read the book.
I'll still be shocked if the surprises of this book stay under wraps until the release (crates and steel chains notwithstanding); thankfully I'll be on vacation the week before and am hoping to avoid hearing the news until I can read the book.
Book Review: "Orchid Fever"
Eric Hansen's Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and Lunacy is comprised mainly of a series of profiles of some real orchid oddities - book people may be weird, but these guys would give us a run for our money for sure.
Like Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, Hansen's book takes us deep into orchid culture, offering glimpses of well-known orchid growers, competition judges, perfumers, smugglers, scientists, and conservationists (in fact, more than a few of his subjects fall into two or even three or four of those categories at once, which makes them all the more interesting). Over the course of the book, Hansen's own fascination with orchids grows, as does his impatience with what he sees as overly-bureaucratic rules governing orchid export, propagation and trade.
A good read, with some fascinating anecdotes and episodes. Hansen's prose lacks the surreal qualities of Orlean's, but his subjects are almost as mind-bogglingly offbeat.
Like Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief, Hansen's book takes us deep into orchid culture, offering glimpses of well-known orchid growers, competition judges, perfumers, smugglers, scientists, and conservationists (in fact, more than a few of his subjects fall into two or even three or four of those categories at once, which makes them all the more interesting). Over the course of the book, Hansen's own fascination with orchids grows, as does his impatience with what he sees as overly-bureaucratic rules governing orchid export, propagation and trade.
A good read, with some fascinating anecdotes and episodes. Hansen's prose lacks the surreal qualities of Orlean's, but his subjects are almost as mind-bogglingly offbeat.
Bancroft Winners Announced
The 2007 Bancroft Prize winners have been announced: they are Robert D. Richardson for William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism (Houghton Mifflin) and Jack Temple Kirby for Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South (University of North Carolina Press).
Columbia University administers the Bancroft Prize, one of the top honors for American books on history, biography and diplomacy. University Librarian James Neal said of this year's crop of nominated titles (more than 200 total) "Once again, we were very impressed by the number of excellent submissions covering a broad range of themes and are proud to honor this year’s winners. The Bancroft Prize is a celebration and affirmation of historical scholarship, the library, the book, the academic press and the reportedly threatened scholarly monograph."
Also announced yesterday was the winner of the Bancroft Dissertation Award: Columbia's own Kim Phillips-Fein took that honor for her work Top-Down Revolution: Businessmen, Intellectuals and Politicians Against the New Deal.
[h/t AHA Today]
Columbia University administers the Bancroft Prize, one of the top honors for American books on history, biography and diplomacy. University Librarian James Neal said of this year's crop of nominated titles (more than 200 total) "Once again, we were very impressed by the number of excellent submissions covering a broad range of themes and are proud to honor this year’s winners. The Bancroft Prize is a celebration and affirmation of historical scholarship, the library, the book, the academic press and the reportedly threatened scholarly monograph."
Also announced yesterday was the winner of the Bancroft Dissertation Award: Columbia's own Kim Phillips-Fein took that honor for her work Top-Down Revolution: Businessmen, Intellectuals and Politicians Against the New Deal.
[h/t AHA Today]
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Welcome LoC to the Blogosphere
The Library of Congress announced the creation of a new blog this week, to which I've added a link on the sidebar. AHA Today notes "Matt Raymond, the director of communications at the LOC, will be the main writer on the blog, but some posts will come from James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, along with other curators at the institution."
So far, the posts are quite interesting and relevant, and I look forward to many more.
So far, the posts are quite interesting and relevant, and I look forward to many more.
Ah, Bliss!
I have finally joined the 21st century and set up my Google Reader page to keep track of the blogs and other sites I read often (yes, until now I've been clicking through more than forty different sites a day just for the information I use for this blog). Needless to say, Reader will make it much, much easier to keep up with new posts and get links and content out in a more timely fashion. It's one of those things, I suspect, that now I've got it I'll wonder how I ever got by without it.
Some Mid-Week Must-Sees
Over at Fine Books Blog, Scott's had a number of good posts this week that I wanted to pass along lest they get lost in the shuffle:
- False Issues looks at the question of "faux-points" - aspects of first printings which some dealers play up as variants or different states when in fact they appeared in the entire print run. Scott says he's going to be collecting these, so if you come across any, pass them along.
- In the Real World concerns "a few things that you can't find online," including the new issue of McSweeney's (there are magnets involved), an illustration in the May issue of Harper's, and a reprinted Vonnegut essay in the May Atlantic (which is online for subscribers; let me know if you'd like the e-version [update: actually it's online for everyone, here]).
- Poets House is a short profile written for the magazine that didn't quite make it, but it's nice that Scott's posted it for us all the same. It's about a free "poetry spa" (library, really) in New York, which sounds like a very intriguing place indeed.
Also, Ed at Bibliothecary has added a(nother, he's getting prolific!) section (Author! Author!) to his wonderful site. He'll be posting author interviews there, and if the first of these (with Cordelia Frances Biddle) is any indication, this will be a great addition to the Bibliothecary universe.
- False Issues looks at the question of "faux-points" - aspects of first printings which some dealers play up as variants or different states when in fact they appeared in the entire print run. Scott says he's going to be collecting these, so if you come across any, pass them along.
- In the Real World concerns "a few things that you can't find online," including the new issue of McSweeney's (there are magnets involved), an illustration in the May issue of Harper's, and a reprinted Vonnegut essay in the May Atlantic (which is online for subscribers; let me know if you'd like the e-version [update: actually it's online for everyone, here]).
- Poets House is a short profile written for the magazine that didn't quite make it, but it's nice that Scott's posted it for us all the same. It's about a free "poetry spa" (library, really) in New York, which sounds like a very intriguing place indeed.
Also, Ed at Bibliothecary has added a(nother, he's getting prolific!) section (Author! Author!) to his wonderful site. He'll be posting author interviews there, and if the first of these (with Cordelia Frances Biddle) is any indication, this will be a great addition to the Bibliothecary universe.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Auction Catalog Descriptions, Copyright, and Good Sense
There's quite a good discussion going on today over on the Ex-Libris mailing list about some issues raised by David Hewett's article "Who Owns the Descriptions in Auction Catalogs? Copyright Lawsuit Looms" in the March issue of Maine Antiques Digest. Hewett's piece discusses a lawsuit currently in the works between Heritage Auction Galleries and Superior Galleries Inc. regarding what certainly seem to be examples of blatant plagiarism in several Superior catalogs of coins (Hewett provides a number of the cited examples so I'll refrain). Through its attorneys, Superior claims that the descriptions are not protected by copyright, but even if they could be, "fair use" would apply and allow Superior to use the descriptions as they please (they also offer nineteen other 'defenses').
I can't claim to be versed well enough on the intricacies of copyright law to know whether the descriptions are eligible for protection or not (although I tend to think they would be, given the broad protections that currently exist, for good or ill), but it seems to me just common courtesy that if you're going to use someone else's catalog description, the decent and ethical thing to do would be to cite it as such. Sure, there are going to be times when a prior description is most appropriate (whether it's the same item appearing at a later auction, or simply an identical piece). It really isn't that onerous a burden to provide a citation to another description from which a section is being quoted, is it? Granted, coming from a history background and being inordinately fond of footnotes maybe that's easy for me to say, but I don't see the difficulty there.
Outright use of someone else's work without credit is, if not illegal, certainly unethical and not particularly pleasant. It shouldn't require a lawsuit to teach us that.
I can't claim to be versed well enough on the intricacies of copyright law to know whether the descriptions are eligible for protection or not (although I tend to think they would be, given the broad protections that currently exist, for good or ill), but it seems to me just common courtesy that if you're going to use someone else's catalog description, the decent and ethical thing to do would be to cite it as such. Sure, there are going to be times when a prior description is most appropriate (whether it's the same item appearing at a later auction, or simply an identical piece). It really isn't that onerous a burden to provide a citation to another description from which a section is being quoted, is it? Granted, coming from a history background and being inordinately fond of footnotes maybe that's easy for me to say, but I don't see the difficulty there.
Outright use of someone else's work without credit is, if not illegal, certainly unethical and not particularly pleasant. It shouldn't require a lawsuit to teach us that.
Campbell-White Collection on the Block
Annette Campbell-White, the head of a medical venture capital firm, is selling her rare book collection through Sotheby's, Bloomberg reports. The sale, "The Modern Movement: The Annette Campbell-White Collection" will be held in London on 7 June; Bloomberg notes there will be a preview of the highlights in New York before the books go across the pond.
The collection, of modern first editions, has been valued at approximately $3.6 million.
"A New Zealander, Campbell-White studied engineering at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, then worked in London as a researcher for British Oxygen Co. She spent half a month's salary on her first book at a dealer near Kensington High Street. She founded MedVen in 1986 to fund "early stage medical technology" companies.
Asked why she was selling much of her collection, Campbell-White said "They had become quite valuable and I didn't want to be afraid of leaving them at home and I didn't want to put my books in bank vaults. I offered them to a New Zealand university but they didn't seem to understand the value."
I very much doubt that the university didn't "understand" the value; it's much more likely that they simply didn't have the funds to pay whatever astronomical sum Ms. Campbell-White was asking. If she wanted to keep the collection together, why not donate the books to the university? It certainly doesn't sound like she's lacking for funds.
[Update: In comments, Ms. Campbell-White writes "in fact, I offered to DONATE them to three different NZ institutions, none of whom could guarantee to look after the condition of the books over time, nor that they would not just disappear into the bookstacks." Fair conditions both, and I apologize for the speculation indulged in above.]
The collection, of modern first editions, has been valued at approximately $3.6 million.
"A New Zealander, Campbell-White studied engineering at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, then worked in London as a researcher for British Oxygen Co. She spent half a month's salary on her first book at a dealer near Kensington High Street. She founded MedVen in 1986 to fund "early stage medical technology" companies.
Asked why she was selling much of her collection, Campbell-White said "They had become quite valuable and I didn't want to be afraid of leaving them at home and I didn't want to put my books in bank vaults. I offered them to a New Zealand university but they didn't seem to understand the value."
I very much doubt that the university didn't "understand" the value; it's much more likely that they simply didn't have the funds to pay whatever astronomical sum Ms. Campbell-White was asking. If she wanted to keep the collection together, why not donate the books to the university? It certainly doesn't sound like she's lacking for funds.
[Update: In comments, Ms. Campbell-White writes "in fact, I offered to DONATE them to three different NZ institutions, none of whom could guarantee to look after the condition of the books over time, nor that they would not just disappear into the bookstacks." Fair conditions both, and I apologize for the speculation indulged in above.]
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Book Review: "1607: Jamestown and the New World"
Drawn from the pages of Colonial Williamsburg magazine, the essays that make up 1607: Jamestown and the New World (2007, Rowman & Littlefield) focus on many aspects of the early years at Jamestown and on that colony's precedence as the "first" permanent English settlement in America. There are short biographical sketches here of John Smith, Pocahontas, the first Jamestown minister, James I, and several others, well-known and otherwise. The economic plans and structures of early Jamestown are analyzed, as are widespread reports of cannibalism during the "Starving Time." Other essays examine relations between the colonists and the native peoples, the government of the colony, and the recent archaeological work that has done much to improve our knowledge of the early years.
Extensively illustrated with both contemporary images and photographs of modern reenactments, this is a nice book for browsing while offering some interesting insights into Jamestown's nascent years. It could have been improved by a list of further readings for each topic, but it remains useful and attractive that omission notwithstanding.
Extensively illustrated with both contemporary images and photographs of modern reenactments, this is a nice book for browsing while offering some interesting insights into Jamestown's nascent years. It could have been improved by a list of further readings for each topic, but it remains useful and attractive that omission notwithstanding.
Dowse Library Exhibit at MHS
To mark the 150th anniversary of Thomas Dowse's gift of his library to the Massachusetts Historical Society, some of the 'gems' from the collection are currently on display in the Dowse Library room at the Society (1154 Boylston Street, Boston). Dowse's library is also the subject of MHS' "Object of the Month" web highlight, which discusses the life of Mr. Dowse, his library, and how it came to the Historical Society.
The Dowse Library (which I got to spend some time with as we prepared for this exhibit) is a really spectacular collection of books, which range widely in subject, age and rarity. Edward Everett once called it "the most excellent library of English books, for its size, with which I am acquainted." I think that's probably still pretty close to accurate today. Between the astoundingly beautiful natural history books, the early travel accounts (Hakluyt, Martyr, de Bry), the books on books (Dibdin, de Bury) and the vast concentration of Shakespeare titles and criticism (even including the famed forgeries of William Henry Ireland) Dowse collected with an eye toward not just good literature, but also scarce and noteworthy items.
A remarkable collection, and one I'm glad I've gotten the opportunity to know.
The Dowse Library (which I got to spend some time with as we prepared for this exhibit) is a really spectacular collection of books, which range widely in subject, age and rarity. Edward Everett once called it "the most excellent library of English books, for its size, with which I am acquainted." I think that's probably still pretty close to accurate today. Between the astoundingly beautiful natural history books, the early travel accounts (Hakluyt, Martyr, de Bry), the books on books (Dibdin, de Bury) and the vast concentration of Shakespeare titles and criticism (even including the famed forgeries of William Henry Ireland) Dowse collected with an eye toward not just good literature, but also scarce and noteworthy items.
A remarkable collection, and one I'm glad I've gotten the opportunity to know.
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