Warning: This Boston Globe story (or this post) may cause severe and acute depression.
The Globe reports today that Cushing Academy, a 144-year old prep school in Ashburnham, has discarded its 20,000-book library [giving the books to local schools and other libraries, thankfully] and will replace it by "spending $42,000 on three large flat-screen TVs that will project data from the Internet and $20,000 on special laptop-friendly study carrels. Where the reference desk was, they are building a $50,000 coffee shop that will include a $12,000 cappuccino machine." To "replace" (hem hem) the books, they'll spend $10,000 on Sony and Amazon e-readers.
Headmaster and "chief promoter of the bookless campus" James Tracy told the Globe "When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books ... This isn’t Fahrenheit 451 [the 1953 Ray Bradbury novel in which books are banned] [NB: those are the Globe's brackets ... the fact that they felt the title required them is disturbing in its own right]. We’re not discouraging students from reading. We see this as a natural way to shape emerging trends and optimize technology."
Not surprisingly, Cushing's librarian of 17 years, Liz Vezina, said "It makes me sad. I’m going to miss them. I love books. I’ve grown up with them, and there’s something lost when they’re virtual. There’s a sensual side to them - the smell, the feel, the physicality of a book is something really special." History department chair Alexander Coyle said "A lot us are wondering how this changes the dignity of the library, and why we can’t move to increase digital resources while keeping the books."
American Library Association executive director Keith Michael Fiels said that this decision raises several concerns, not the least of which are how the students will have access to the e-books (most of those offered by Sony and Amazon aren't free, after all) and that the loss of the ability to browse the stacks may [WILL] hamper students doing research.
Administrators say that the students weren't using the books in the library, and it's entirely possible that the collection was such that that's the case - but the answer to that isn't ditching books entirely, it's making sure you have the right books on the shelves. Such an outrageous move as the Cushing administrators are making is simply the wrong way to usher in change. Digital tools and resources complement print collections, they don't replace them. And as for that $12,000 coffee machine in the $50,000 coffee shop? ... well, that would have bought a whole heck of a lot of books!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Auction Report: Upcoming
Swann will sell Printed and Manuscript Americana on 17 September. Some of the lots are duplicates from the John Carter Brown Library, being sold to fund new acquisitions.
Among the lots are a rather extensive selection of American Revolution books and documents, Early American Imprints, and Latin Americana; a first octavo edition of McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1848-50), estimated at $10,000-15,000; a fragment of a 1709 English-Massachusett psalter with early ownership notations ($800-$1,200); a number of American Bibles from the library of Mel and Julie Meadows, including one of just a few dozen copies of the 1781 Aitken Bible, the first complete Bible in English printed in America; $40,000-60,000); the very rare c. 1682 edition of the Bay Psalm Book (also $40,000-60,000); John Cotton's The Bloudy Tenent ... of 1647 ($1,000-1,500); an extensive archive of Howard Hughes plane-crash related material ($40,000-60,000).
I have to say some of the JCB deaccessions are a little surprising: I would not have expected them to be selling a copy of Exquemelin's History of the Bucaniers (1684) with John Carter Brown's stamp ($500-750), or the 1653 Cambridge Platform with his bookplate ($3,000-4,000), or Hernando Cortes' 1524 Praeclara ... de Nova Maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio with Brown's inked stamp and bookplate ($2,000-3,000), or what Sabin called "a volume of extreme rarity," the 1574 Mexican imprint of Lagunas' Arte y Dictionario ($2,000-3,000), of which just four library copies were located by Swann.
Among the lots are a rather extensive selection of American Revolution books and documents, Early American Imprints, and Latin Americana; a first octavo edition of McKenney and Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1848-50), estimated at $10,000-15,000; a fragment of a 1709 English-Massachusett psalter with early ownership notations ($800-$1,200); a number of American Bibles from the library of Mel and Julie Meadows, including one of just a few dozen copies of the 1781 Aitken Bible, the first complete Bible in English printed in America; $40,000-60,000); the very rare c. 1682 edition of the Bay Psalm Book (also $40,000-60,000); John Cotton's The Bloudy Tenent ... of 1647 ($1,000-1,500); an extensive archive of Howard Hughes plane-crash related material ($40,000-60,000).
I have to say some of the JCB deaccessions are a little surprising: I would not have expected them to be selling a copy of Exquemelin's History of the Bucaniers (1684) with John Carter Brown's stamp ($500-750), or the 1653 Cambridge Platform with his bookplate ($3,000-4,000), or Hernando Cortes' 1524 Praeclara ... de Nova Maris Oceani Hyspania Narratio with Brown's inked stamp and bookplate ($2,000-3,000), or what Sabin called "a volume of extreme rarity," the 1574 Mexican imprint of Lagunas' Arte y Dictionario ($2,000-3,000), of which just four library copies were located by Swann.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Biblio-Newsletters for September
The September issues of Americana Exchange and Fine Books Notes are out. Both contain good pieces this month, but I should highlight "A Cautionary Tale" from AE, which notes that "The IFPDA, the International Fine Print Dealers Association, a New York based international association of print dealers, issued a letter requesting its 165 members be vigilant about inconsistencies between descriptions and copies of prints offered at Swann Galleries, the leading auction house in the prints field."
Author Bruce McKinney includes the IFPDA's letter to its members, and he contacted Swann and provides their response as well, which reads in part "Not only is Swann a reputable place to buy prints but it is ludicrous to suggest that our expansive and successful business efforts have a negative effect on the marketplace as a whole. We are saddened and perturbed that a few outspoken members of the IFPDA Board disagree with the way we have conducted our business over the past years. And while we welcome all criticism, it must be very carefully understood that Swann continues to stand behind every item we sell."
In Fine Books Notes, Nick Basbanes writes about a recent meeting with Folger librarian Stephen Enniss, among other interesting pieces.
Author Bruce McKinney includes the IFPDA's letter to its members, and he contacted Swann and provides their response as well, which reads in part "Not only is Swann a reputable place to buy prints but it is ludicrous to suggest that our expansive and successful business efforts have a negative effect on the marketplace as a whole. We are saddened and perturbed that a few outspoken members of the IFPDA Board disagree with the way we have conducted our business over the past years. And while we welcome all criticism, it must be very carefully understood that Swann continues to stand behind every item we sell."
In Fine Books Notes, Nick Basbanes writes about a recent meeting with Folger librarian Stephen Enniss, among other interesting pieces.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
More on JQA's Shipboard Reading
Over at the Beehive I've added a post to track JQA's September reading list as he continues on his way to Russia (follow on Twitter here). I also went through and expanded the August list, adding comments JQA made in his long diary entries about his reading. My favorite might be that from 11 August: "I employed much of [the day] in reading Mrs. Grant's letters, which I find more interesting than Plutarch. I return to them of choice, but Plutarch is a task, and a heavy one. I never could read him through. I find it especially hard to read him after a sleepless night; after two harder still."
Behold, the Perils of the Internet
Sometimes the Internet weirds me out: like today, when in my Google News feed is the headline "A million-dollar flea market find" from the Philadelphia Inquirer. It's about the sale of what's now known as the Lear copy of the Dunlap Declaration of Independence broadside ... and the story is from May or June 1991 (sometime prior to the 4 June sale of the Declaration for $2.42 million, since the results of the sale are not mentioned). Norman Lear and others purchased the copy in 2000 for $8.14 million.
So no, there's been no new discovery of a Dunlap Declaration behind a $4 flea market frame. The story's just getting recycled, years later. And it's causing trouble already: Artinfo notes in a piece on the story that Sotheby's "plans to sell the document for the owner next June" - noooo, that happened ... eighteen years ago!
So no, there's been no new discovery of a Dunlap Declaration behind a $4 flea market frame. The story's just getting recycled, years later. And it's causing trouble already: Artinfo notes in a piece on the story that Sotheby's "plans to sell the document for the owner next June" - noooo, that happened ... eighteen years ago!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Cobbe Portrait Debate Continues
I missed it in yesterday's Washington Post, but there was a long piece there by Sally Jenkins on the Cobbe Portrait controversy - is it, or isn't it, Shakespeare? The story is more than a bit overwrought ("The styled courtier who gazes out of the portrait is undeniably a seducer, and that much was true of William Shakespeare: He was an arch-persuader with language. But we didn't reckon he was such a looker. Frankly, we always thought he was a bald pudge. Whereas this man is bouffant and handsome, complicatedly so, with his doily of a collar and come-hither expression" are two lines from the first paragraph), and there doesn't seem to be much new in it, but the debate is interesting enough to make the eye-rolling worth it.
Book Review: "The Founding Fathers Reconsidered"
R.B. Bernstein's The Founding Fathers Reconsidered (Oxford University Press, 2009) is an accessible and useful introduction to the historiography of the "founding fathers," that nebulous group. Bernstein lays out his goals in the preface:
"I propose to take the founding fathers down from their pedestals without knocking them down. At the same time, I set their achievements and their failures within the context of their own time and place, while making clear that those achivements were not great beyond the bounds of mortal men and that those failures were not blameworthy beyond human beings' normal capacity to err. If we rework our relationship with the founding fathers so that we meet them eye to eye instead of gazing reverently upward of sneering contemptuously downward, perhaps we can form a more pragmatic sense of who they were, what they did and failed to do, and why we care" (p. xi).
Bernstein succeeds admirably in this. He examines, first, the roots of the term "founding fathers" (betcha didn't know it was Warren G. Harding in 1916 who coined the term!), and tracks the reputations of the group and several of its individual members over the course of historical memory and scholarly debate. Bernstein offers his reader a glimpse into the cultural context in America at the time of the Revolution, and how that, combined with the wide variety of background experiences held by the founding generation, shaped their minds and lives.
In the two longest chapters of the book, Bernstein discusses the achievements and challenges, as well as the legacies of the founding generation. This is the meat of the book, and these two chapters are perhaps the single best succinct synopsis of the issues I've read. Bernstein is fair-minded and writes with a clear and concise style, providing an in-depth analysis without getting bogged down in details. His lengthy and excellent footnotes will provide any interested reader with much additional reading material.
A good introductory text to the cultural context and historical memory of the men we know as founding fathers. Recommended as such.
"I propose to take the founding fathers down from their pedestals without knocking them down. At the same time, I set their achievements and their failures within the context of their own time and place, while making clear that those achivements were not great beyond the bounds of mortal men and that those failures were not blameworthy beyond human beings' normal capacity to err. If we rework our relationship with the founding fathers so that we meet them eye to eye instead of gazing reverently upward of sneering contemptuously downward, perhaps we can form a more pragmatic sense of who they were, what they did and failed to do, and why we care" (p. xi).
Bernstein succeeds admirably in this. He examines, first, the roots of the term "founding fathers" (betcha didn't know it was Warren G. Harding in 1916 who coined the term!), and tracks the reputations of the group and several of its individual members over the course of historical memory and scholarly debate. Bernstein offers his reader a glimpse into the cultural context in America at the time of the Revolution, and how that, combined with the wide variety of background experiences held by the founding generation, shaped their minds and lives.
In the two longest chapters of the book, Bernstein discusses the achievements and challenges, as well as the legacies of the founding generation. This is the meat of the book, and these two chapters are perhaps the single best succinct synopsis of the issues I've read. Bernstein is fair-minded and writes with a clear and concise style, providing an in-depth analysis without getting bogged down in details. His lengthy and excellent footnotes will provide any interested reader with much additional reading material.
A good introductory text to the cultural context and historical memory of the men we know as founding fathers. Recommended as such.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Commonwealth Books Now Open in New Location
Boston's flagship outlet of Commonwealth Books has moved, from the old location on Boylston Street to 9 Spring Lane, just off Washington Street near Downtown Crossing (just steps away from their other shop under Old South Meeting House, and very close to both the State Street and Government Center T-stops).
The new shop is now open for business, and if you're in the area, I strongly encourage a visit. The space is absolutely beautiful, with plenty of room for browsing (this space is about the same square footage on one floor as the old shop had on two), a really elegant layout, and the usual fine stock of good books.
Stop by and say hello!
Links & Reviews
- In today's New York Daily News, a piece on David Gary's excellent research into the library of Rufus King, now at the N-YHS (a hopefully soon to be included on LT as a Library of Early America). I am quoted in the article as a "skeptic" of Gary's thesis, which I'm certainly not; I think his efforts will be much appreciated among the scholarly community and that we will be able to learn much from the research that he's doing about King in particular and the founding generation in particular.
- From McSweeney's, Hamlet through a Facebook news feed.
- Over at Frognall Dibdin's Shelves, a list of the author's favorite books about books, and at The Private Library, a rundown of histories of the book to include on one's shelves.
- Dominick Donne, prolific author and journalist, has died at age 83.
- In The Scotsman, a short piece on Jonathan Bate's decision to write a Shakespeare biography.
- In the NYTimes today, news that the EU will propose loosening rules on "orphan works" and a broad range of other copyright changes to govern European books.
Reviews
- At the NYPL blog, Emma Carbone reviews The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.
- Apropos of this week, several new Samuel Johnson biographies and monographs are reviewed by H.J. Jackson in the TLS.
- In the Financial Times, John Sutherland reviews several new books about books.
Book acquisitions to follow; I haven't cataloged them yet.
- From McSweeney's, Hamlet through a Facebook news feed.
- Over at Frognall Dibdin's Shelves, a list of the author's favorite books about books, and at The Private Library, a rundown of histories of the book to include on one's shelves.
- Dominick Donne, prolific author and journalist, has died at age 83.
- In The Scotsman, a short piece on Jonathan Bate's decision to write a Shakespeare biography.
- In the NYTimes today, news that the EU will propose loosening rules on "orphan works" and a broad range of other copyright changes to govern European books.
Reviews
- At the NYPL blog, Emma Carbone reviews The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.
- Apropos of this week, several new Samuel Johnson biographies and monographs are reviewed by H.J. Jackson in the TLS.
- In the Financial Times, John Sutherland reviews several new books about books.
Book acquisitions to follow; I haven't cataloged them yet.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Johnson Conference: Recap
Although I was a wuss today and let some rain deter me from trekking out to Cambridge for the third and final day of the Samuel Johnson symposium at Harvard, the two days that I made it to were perfectly delightful. On Thursday morning Nicholas Hudson delivered a plenary address on "Johnson and Revolution" (particularly focusing on Johnson's views of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the changing uses of the word "revolution" over time, and a discussion of Johnson's views of the American and other revolutions).
Also on Thursday morning I attended a really fascinating panel on Johnson and America. As part of that, Thomas Curley (whose books I really must read, and he's got a recent one out on Johnson and the Ossian controversy which is going to move to the top of the list) discussed Johnson's views of Americans (they were not positive) and of colonialism and imperialism in general. Helen Deutsch then discussed a theory that Hawthorne may have been influenced by Johnson's story of doing penance of Uttoxeter Market and drawn on the motif for his portrayal of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter. Finally, the very engaging and amusing William Dowling discussed Oliver Wendell Holmes' longstanding fascination with Johnson (Holmes' bicentennial birthday is today, by the way), and his conscious modeling of Boston's Saturday Club on Johnson's London Club of a century prior. This paper, delightfully delivered and incredibly well written, might have been my favorite of the conference.
On Thursday afternoon the panel I attended was "Johnson, Boswell, and the Circle." John Radner (who is now writing a book on the Johnson-Boswell friendship) discussed Johnson's early correspondence with three friends (Robert Chambers, Bennet Langton, and Boswell); James Caudle discussed a parallel visit of Samuel Johnson and the poet Ben Jonson to the same manor house in Scotland; and Matthew Rusnak took us into the seamy underworld of London crime with a talk on Johnson's role as character witness in the Baretti murder trial (fascinating stuff, that). Gordon Turnbull gave a lively and incredibly funny response to the papers, which had everyone in the room laughing.
Following the panels on Thursday we repaired to Houghton Library for a look at the new exhibition of highlights from the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection (online version here). It's an amazing show, so do make sure you get there to see it if you can. We were also allowed to purchase sneak advance copies of the exhibit catalog, which is positively gorgeous (and will be available from Harvard University Press later in the fall).
Yesterday morning's panels were given over to the Dictionary: first a plenary discussion and then another follow-up panel of responses and additional comments. Anne McDermott gave a very intriguing paper suggesting that Johnson actually completed a full first draft of the Dictionary around late 1750, but then found himself dissatisfied with the work and just about started over again approximately a year later, taking another "break" after his wife's death and then finishing the work at a breakneck pace in the last eighteen months before it was published. This hypothesis sparked a few tough questions, but all agreed that the evidence is worth examining in greater detail.
Jack Lynch then discussed Johnson's modes of definition, using a numerical analysis of those methods and comparing them to other dictionaries before or since. Many of the funniest parts of this centered on "Johnson's misfires," i.e. where he admitted to not knowing the meaning of a word, or defining it utterly circularly or uselessly ("defluxion" as "a defluxion"), but Lynch's useful beginnings of a method for classifying Johnson's definitions should be very welcome indeed. We also learned Lynch's favorite word from the Dictionary: anatiferous (producing ducks). I like it too. Finally, Allen Reddick examined Johnson's use of John Milton in his illustrative quotations and elsewhere, arguing that Johnson selectively used Milton's language in order to put down the author and "exact revenge" on Milton for his anti-monarchical views.
Friday afternoon's panel was perhaps the most bookish of the lot, featuring some of the biggest names in book history scholarship. Terry Belanger discussed the penchant among English printers and publishers for the folio format (for certain genres of works, at least) as a symptom of the innate conservative nature of the English book trade. He examined the words per page, relative costs and survival rates among book formats, and noted that this talk might be, for him, the first toe "back into the waters of book trade history." James Raven, who could not attend due to a bout of the chickenpox, sent his paper (which Pat Rogers delivered in his stead), which examined the book trade community around Fleet Street during Johnson's time, drawing on his research into the London land tax records. Finally, Paul Baines discussed Johnson's relationship with Thomas Osborne, the bookseller who was supposedly beaten by Johnson (whether with a "great folio volume" or not). Baines' paper mostly centered on the game of "telephone" which morphed the story into various forms over the course of history.
All in all, a tremendously interesting and very well-organized conference (kudos to John Overholt and Tom Horrocks and everyone else at Houghton for doing such a tremendous job!). Dr. Johnson would be proud.
Also on Thursday morning I attended a really fascinating panel on Johnson and America. As part of that, Thomas Curley (whose books I really must read, and he's got a recent one out on Johnson and the Ossian controversy which is going to move to the top of the list) discussed Johnson's views of Americans (they were not positive) and of colonialism and imperialism in general. Helen Deutsch then discussed a theory that Hawthorne may have been influenced by Johnson's story of doing penance of Uttoxeter Market and drawn on the motif for his portrayal of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter. Finally, the very engaging and amusing William Dowling discussed Oliver Wendell Holmes' longstanding fascination with Johnson (Holmes' bicentennial birthday is today, by the way), and his conscious modeling of Boston's Saturday Club on Johnson's London Club of a century prior. This paper, delightfully delivered and incredibly well written, might have been my favorite of the conference.
On Thursday afternoon the panel I attended was "Johnson, Boswell, and the Circle." John Radner (who is now writing a book on the Johnson-Boswell friendship) discussed Johnson's early correspondence with three friends (Robert Chambers, Bennet Langton, and Boswell); James Caudle discussed a parallel visit of Samuel Johnson and the poet Ben Jonson to the same manor house in Scotland; and Matthew Rusnak took us into the seamy underworld of London crime with a talk on Johnson's role as character witness in the Baretti murder trial (fascinating stuff, that). Gordon Turnbull gave a lively and incredibly funny response to the papers, which had everyone in the room laughing.
Following the panels on Thursday we repaired to Houghton Library for a look at the new exhibition of highlights from the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection (online version here). It's an amazing show, so do make sure you get there to see it if you can. We were also allowed to purchase sneak advance copies of the exhibit catalog, which is positively gorgeous (and will be available from Harvard University Press later in the fall).
Yesterday morning's panels were given over to the Dictionary: first a plenary discussion and then another follow-up panel of responses and additional comments. Anne McDermott gave a very intriguing paper suggesting that Johnson actually completed a full first draft of the Dictionary around late 1750, but then found himself dissatisfied with the work and just about started over again approximately a year later, taking another "break" after his wife's death and then finishing the work at a breakneck pace in the last eighteen months before it was published. This hypothesis sparked a few tough questions, but all agreed that the evidence is worth examining in greater detail.
Jack Lynch then discussed Johnson's modes of definition, using a numerical analysis of those methods and comparing them to other dictionaries before or since. Many of the funniest parts of this centered on "Johnson's misfires," i.e. where he admitted to not knowing the meaning of a word, or defining it utterly circularly or uselessly ("defluxion" as "a defluxion"), but Lynch's useful beginnings of a method for classifying Johnson's definitions should be very welcome indeed. We also learned Lynch's favorite word from the Dictionary: anatiferous (producing ducks). I like it too. Finally, Allen Reddick examined Johnson's use of John Milton in his illustrative quotations and elsewhere, arguing that Johnson selectively used Milton's language in order to put down the author and "exact revenge" on Milton for his anti-monarchical views.
Friday afternoon's panel was perhaps the most bookish of the lot, featuring some of the biggest names in book history scholarship. Terry Belanger discussed the penchant among English printers and publishers for the folio format (for certain genres of works, at least) as a symptom of the innate conservative nature of the English book trade. He examined the words per page, relative costs and survival rates among book formats, and noted that this talk might be, for him, the first toe "back into the waters of book trade history." James Raven, who could not attend due to a bout of the chickenpox, sent his paper (which Pat Rogers delivered in his stead), which examined the book trade community around Fleet Street during Johnson's time, drawing on his research into the London land tax records. Finally, Paul Baines discussed Johnson's relationship with Thomas Osborne, the bookseller who was supposedly beaten by Johnson (whether with a "great folio volume" or not). Baines' paper mostly centered on the game of "telephone" which morphed the story into various forms over the course of history.
All in all, a tremendously interesting and very well-organized conference (kudos to John Overholt and Tom Horrocks and everyone else at Houghton for doing such a tremendous job!). Dr. Johnson would be proud.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
A Few Days with Doctor Johnson
I'll be out at Harvard for the next three days at the Johnson at 300 conference, which promises to be great fun. I'll try to check in either here or via Twitter, so stay tuned for updates from the meetings.
John Overholt notes today that the online version of the Houghton Library exhibition to accompany the conference and highlight the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection is now up and running, so do be sure to visit that (as well as the physical show, of course!).
John Overholt notes today that the online version of the Houghton Library exhibition to accompany the conference and highlight the Donald and Mary Hyde Collection is now up and running, so do be sure to visit that (as well as the physical show, of course!).
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Books with Provenance, from PRB&M
One of the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts catalogs out today is Provenance, in which some previous owner is known for each of the books offered. Great fun, and some really fascinating titles and owners. Thanks!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Summer Reading with JQA
We've gotten lots of questions about all the books John Quincy Adams is reading as he travels to Russia (via Twitter here). This morning I made up a list of what he's read so far in August, including links to scanned copies of the books in case anyone feels inclined to follow along (fascinating that I was able to find suitable editions of all the titles thus far on either Google Books or the Internet Archive).
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Links & Reviews
- Tony Campbell notes news out of the Czech Republic that a 47-year old Polish man, Piotr Stanislaw Peron, has been sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of a 1520 world map from the Scientific Library in Olomouc and the attempted theft of a 1599 map of northern North America. The court expelled Peron from the country for eight years and ordered him to pay 1.2 million crowns to the library as restitution. Peron has appealed the verdict.
- Over at Houghton, John Overholt reports the arrival of the published catalog for his upcoming exhibit, "A Monument More Durable Than Brass: The Donald & Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson." I'll probably spring for a copy at this week's Johnson Symposium, which I'm really looking forward to!
- Laura needs a job. Can you help her out?
- In the NYTimes today, an article on the division among European publishers/libraries/&c. over the Google Books Settlement. Among the news here (to me at least) is that the judge overseeing the settlement plans to rule on it by 7 October.
- Rare Book Review reports that a rare Popple map of North America (1734) will sell at auction next month. I'll keep an eye on it.
- In Slate, Mike Steinberger takes a look at the fascinating Thomas Jefferson wine hoax, tossing in the juicy bits about the Rodenstock lawsuits, Michael Broadbent's attempt to sue Random House, &c. Great read.
- J.L. Bell points out some great new online exhibits of interest: a Brown University Library sampling of Revolutionary War soldier art, and the National Portrait Gallery's exhibit of Thomas Paine.
Reviews
- Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter is reviewed by Laurence Phelan in The Independent.
- Dennis Drabelle reviews Peter Mancall's Fatal Journey in the WaPo.
- In the WSJ, Aram Bakshian Jr. reviews Thomas Fleming's The Ascent of George Washington.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel is reviewed by Ben Cosgrove for the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Over at Houghton, John Overholt reports the arrival of the published catalog for his upcoming exhibit, "A Monument More Durable Than Brass: The Donald & Mary Hyde Collection of Dr. Samuel Johnson." I'll probably spring for a copy at this week's Johnson Symposium, which I'm really looking forward to!
- Laura needs a job. Can you help her out?
- In the NYTimes today, an article on the division among European publishers/libraries/&c. over the Google Books Settlement. Among the news here (to me at least) is that the judge overseeing the settlement plans to rule on it by 7 October.
- Rare Book Review reports that a rare Popple map of North America (1734) will sell at auction next month. I'll keep an eye on it.
- In Slate, Mike Steinberger takes a look at the fascinating Thomas Jefferson wine hoax, tossing in the juicy bits about the Rodenstock lawsuits, Michael Broadbent's attempt to sue Random House, &c. Great read.
- J.L. Bell points out some great new online exhibits of interest: a Brown University Library sampling of Revolutionary War soldier art, and the National Portrait Gallery's exhibit of Thomas Paine.
Reviews
- Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter is reviewed by Laurence Phelan in The Independent.
- Dennis Drabelle reviews Peter Mancall's Fatal Journey in the WaPo.
- In the WSJ, Aram Bakshian Jr. reviews Thomas Fleming's The Ascent of George Washington.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel is reviewed by Ben Cosgrove for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
This Week's Acquisitions
Here's what's new this week, thanks to visits to Brookline Booksmith and Brookline Book Annex last weekend:
- McSweeney's Issue 19; edited by Dave Eggers (2006). Brookline Booksmith.
- Among My Books by James Russell Lowell (Boston: Fields, Osgood, & Co., 1871). Brookline Book Annex.
- Catalogue of the Library and Collection of Autograph Letters, Papers, and Documents Bequeathed to the Massachusetts Historical Society by The Rev. Robert C. Waterston (MHS, 1906). Brookline Book Annex.
- Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-Communication for Literary Men, General Readers, etc. (Third Series, Volume Ninth, January-June 1866). Brookline Book Annex.
- McSweeney's Issue 19; edited by Dave Eggers (2006). Brookline Booksmith.
- Among My Books by James Russell Lowell (Boston: Fields, Osgood, & Co., 1871). Brookline Book Annex.
- Catalogue of the Library and Collection of Autograph Letters, Papers, and Documents Bequeathed to the Massachusetts Historical Society by The Rev. Robert C. Waterston (MHS, 1906). Brookline Book Annex.
- Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-Communication for Literary Men, General Readers, etc. (Third Series, Volume Ninth, January-June 1866). Brookline Book Annex.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Scott Charged, Trial Delayed
Raymond Scott was formally charged today - for theft and for with an alternative charge of handling stolen goods in relation to the Durham First Folio case. The hearing in Durham Crown Court lasted just fifteen minutes, and no date was set for his next court appearance (media reports say the case won't go to trial until next summer, however).
Scott maintains that he was given the book by a Cuban acquaintance of his girlfriend, and that it is not the Folio stolen from Durham University in 1998. The Northumberland Gazette adds that Scott answered "Aye, that I am" in response to queries from the judge. "He then gazed, with his head tipped back, at the ceiling lights as his lawyer discussed a date to fix his trial."
In Scott-fashion news, the AP reports that the suspect arrived at court "riding a horse-drawn carriage led by a Scots piper. He wore a kilt, and swigged from a bottle of malt whisky outside the court." The Gazette gets specific: their piece says Scott "faced a judge at Durham Crown Court dressed in a kilt of Royal Stewart tartan, a Harris tweed jacket, cravat and a pair of limited edition £1,000 Fendi sunglasses." And the piper played "Scotland the Brave." Naturally.
Scott maintains that he was given the book by a Cuban acquaintance of his girlfriend, and that it is not the Folio stolen from Durham University in 1998. The Northumberland Gazette adds that Scott answered "Aye, that I am" in response to queries from the judge. "He then gazed, with his head tipped back, at the ceiling lights as his lawyer discussed a date to fix his trial."
In Scott-fashion news, the AP reports that the suspect arrived at court "riding a horse-drawn carriage led by a Scots piper. He wore a kilt, and swigged from a bottle of malt whisky outside the court." The Gazette gets specific: their piece says Scott "faced a judge at Durham Crown Court dressed in a kilt of Royal Stewart tartan, a Harris tweed jacket, cravat and a pair of limited edition £1,000 Fendi sunglasses." And the piper played "Scotland the Brave." Naturally.
Google Rivals Gang Up
The NYTimes reports today that Amazon, Yahoo, and Microsoft have joined the Open Content Alliance and other groups in opposing the Google Books Settlement. The new coalition, which the Times says is tentatively named the Open Book Alliance, "plans to make a case to the Justice Department that the arrangement is anticompetitive. Members of the alliance will most likely file objections with the court independently."
The DoJ is already examining the proposed settlement.
The DoJ is already examining the proposed settlement.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Book Review: "Errands Into the Metropolis"
Errands into the Metropolis: New England Dissidents in Revolutionary London by Jonathan Beecher Field (Dartmouth University Press, 2009) is a fascinating and tightly-focused study of a particular culture of print: that of New England dissidents (specifically those connected with the Rhode Island settlements) publishing works in London in the mid-17th century. Field argues that these dissidents (including Rogers Williams, Samuel Gorton and others) "availed themselves of specific discursive opportunities produced by a historically distinct combination of political, cultural and technological circumstances" (p. 5).
Field argues that the Rhode Island dissidents were as successful as they were partly because the distance required for the mediation of disputes (between them and their counterparts in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies) allowed them to level the playing field: "to a degree, rhetorical ability in print could outweigh overmatched political power" (p. 5). Persuasive written accounts of feuds could win out, Field suggests, and did in a remarkable number of Rhode-Island-related cases. While some of this might have been a case of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' I think Field's onto something, and his argument worked for me.
Through close readings of certain dissident texts, including Williams' Key Into the Language of America, John Clarke's Ill Newes from New England and others, Field argues that the dissidents did more to shape their appeals to the ears and minds of their British readers, and deployed the goal of toleration as a pragmatic tactic, rather than some idealistic goal.
A very succinct and finely-honed work, which is interesting from first page to last, both for its depictions of mid-17th century publishing practices and techniques, and for its intriguing argument. Recommended.
Field argues that the Rhode Island dissidents were as successful as they were partly because the distance required for the mediation of disputes (between them and their counterparts in the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies) allowed them to level the playing field: "to a degree, rhetorical ability in print could outweigh overmatched political power" (p. 5). Persuasive written accounts of feuds could win out, Field suggests, and did in a remarkable number of Rhode-Island-related cases. While some of this might have been a case of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' I think Field's onto something, and his argument worked for me.
Through close readings of certain dissident texts, including Williams' Key Into the Language of America, John Clarke's Ill Newes from New England and others, Field argues that the dissidents did more to shape their appeals to the ears and minds of their British readers, and deployed the goal of toleration as a pragmatic tactic, rather than some idealistic goal.
A very succinct and finely-honed work, which is interesting from first page to last, both for its depictions of mid-17th century publishing practices and techniques, and for its intriguing argument. Recommended.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
More Google Books News
- Via Publishers Weekly and the NYT's Bits blog, news that a group of University of California professors have raised concerns about the proposed Google Books Settlement from the standpoint of academic authors (their 9-page letter to the court charged with approving the settlement is here in PDF). UC faculty and administration reps have already endorsed the settlement. Many of the same concerns we've seen raised by others, and all good questions worthy of discussion. The professors also take the Authors Guild (one of the parties to the settlement) to task for not adequately considering academic authors in their negotiations.
- The Bibliothèque Nationale de France has ended its feud with Google and will join the Google Book Project, French and international media reported yesterday (the front-page headline in La Tribune translated to "Google Has Won"). Denis Bruckman, director of collections at the library, said the decision to join Google was purely financial: "We will not stop our own digitising programme, but if Google can enable us to go faster and farther, then why not?"
- The Bibliothèque Nationale de France has ended its feud with Google and will join the Google Book Project, French and international media reported yesterday (the front-page headline in La Tribune translated to "Google Has Won"). Denis Bruckman, director of collections at the library, said the decision to join Google was purely financial: "We will not stop our own digitising programme, but if Google can enable us to go faster and farther, then why not?"
Gerry Letter Found in Marblehead
The Globe reports today on a neat find: a 19 September 1775 letter from Elbridge Gerry to the selectmen of Marblehead, accepting his selection as a delegate to the Continental Congress. "Historical Commissioners Wayne Butler and P. Chris Johnston stumbled upon the letter about two weeks ago, as they cleaned out a small room in the basement of Abbot Hall in preparation for the historic, red brick building’s restoration, Butler said. It was packed into one of the five metal cabinets in the room, which hold receipts, lists of stockholders, and other town documents that date back to the 1800s."
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Book Review: "The Painter of Battles"
Arturo Perez-Reverte's The Painter of Battles is quite a different book from his others. It reminded me very much of Iain Pears' The Portrait (my review), in that it's told from rather a strange perspective and deals with the whole issue of an artist's relationship with their subjects.
War photographer-turned-painter Faulques just wishes to be left alone, but when the man from one of his most famous photographs shows up unannounced and declares he's there to kill, things take a meditative turn. There is much discussion of war and death, art and responsibility, power and the impact of events on those involved with them.
What there is not, for the most part, is much of anything happening. If you're looking for a rollicking read, don't look here. But this is a fascinating examination of some heady issues. It is not my favorite Perez-Reverte (I'm a Club Dumas partisan), but the writing is lovely and the book will certainly make you think.
War photographer-turned-painter Faulques just wishes to be left alone, but when the man from one of his most famous photographs shows up unannounced and declares he's there to kill, things take a meditative turn. There is much discussion of war and death, art and responsibility, power and the impact of events on those involved with them.
What there is not, for the most part, is much of anything happening. If you're looking for a rollicking read, don't look here. But this is a fascinating examination of some heady issues. It is not my favorite Perez-Reverte (I'm a Club Dumas partisan), but the writing is lovely and the book will certainly make you think.
Book Review: "The Mauritius Command"
Patrick O'Brian's fourth Aubrey-Maturin novel, The Mauritius Command, may be my favorite so far. He's retold in exacting detail the 1810 British campaign against Mauritius and Réunion, with the added bonuses of his excellent characters (Aubrey replacing the actual fleet commander, Sir Josias Rowley).
We first meet poor Aubrey stewing at home, but good Maturin soon arrives and provides a good opportunity for escaping the confines of Ashgrove Cottage. Aubrey is put in charge of a small fleet destined for the Indian Ocean, to harass French shipping and take several of their island outposts. O'Brian, using almost all the actual names of ships and captains (with the exception of poor Rowley), weaves his tale expertly around the historical campaign, to great effect.
A good addition to the series.
We first meet poor Aubrey stewing at home, but good Maturin soon arrives and provides a good opportunity for escaping the confines of Ashgrove Cottage. Aubrey is put in charge of a small fleet destined for the Indian Ocean, to harass French shipping and take several of their island outposts. O'Brian, using almost all the actual names of ships and captains (with the exception of poor Rowley), weaves his tale expertly around the historical campaign, to great effect.
A good addition to the series.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Map Thief Captured in Spain
Details on this are a little sketchy, but it appears that a 47-year old Hungarian man (currently identified only as "Z.V.") has been arrested in Spain after stealing nearly 70 maps from Spanish libraries and planning a major crime spree to hit other collections in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. Police reportedly found that the man had "marked all the libraries he planned to 'visit' on a road map," and so far reports suggest that he wasn't interested in selling the maps, just keeping them for his own collection.
Here's a nasty bit: "The man was prompted to steal historic documents after learning that ten Ptolemaic maps had been stolen from the National Library in Spain in August 2007, believing that if someone else had done it, he could too." In case you're following along, that's the César Gómez Rivero case.
All of the stolen maps were recovered on Friday when the man was arrested, according to media reports.
More as I get it.
Here's a nasty bit: "The man was prompted to steal historic documents after learning that ten Ptolemaic maps had been stolen from the National Library in Spain in August 2007, believing that if someone else had done it, he could too." In case you're following along, that's the César Gómez Rivero case.
All of the stolen maps were recovered on Friday when the man was arrested, according to media reports.
More as I get it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Links & Reviews
It's amazing how many things accumulate over the course of a week away. I've been spending the weekend playing catch-up, and still have lots to do. But here are a few links and reviews that came across the transom. I'll have more tomorrow on what may be a new case of map theft, our first in a few months.
- Over at Book Hunter's Holiday, Chris asks "What is an antiquarian bookseller, anyway?"
- In the LATimes, Allison Hoover Bartlett has an essay on the market for counterfeit dust jackets.
Reviews:
- Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter is reviewed by Noel Malcolm in The Telegraph.
- In the Christian Science Monitor, Marjorie Kehe reviews Paul Collins' The Book of William.
- David Reynolds reviews Sally Jenkins and John Stauffer's The State of Jones for the NYTimes.
- In the TLS, Alastair Fowler reviews several new books on theatre companies which rivaled Shakespeare's.
- Also in the TLS, Jim Endersby reviews two new volumes of the correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Links & Reviews
I'm off for a few days beginning this morning, headed home for some family time. Apologies for the slow posting week: playing John Quincy Adams' social secretary-slash-publicist took up a surprising amount of time! (I've posted a roundup of all that madness here).
Also, apologies for the short links & reviews roundup this week. I was pretty well swamped most of the time, so I'm sure I've missed many good links and things. Please feel free to add them in comments if you wish.
- Rick Ring has a possible Franklin book from the PPL collections; I've added a comment to his post about some sources. Rick also posted some thoughts on the Nicholson Baker Kindle article this week.
- Chris has posted some wonderful thoughts (and pictures) about her time at RBS this summer.
- Via LISNews, some children's books that will never (and should never) exist.
- The August Fine Books Notes is out.
Reviews
- Douglas Brinkley's Wilderness Warrior is reviewed by Jonathan Rosen in the NYTimes.
Also, apologies for the short links & reviews roundup this week. I was pretty well swamped most of the time, so I'm sure I've missed many good links and things. Please feel free to add them in comments if you wish.
- Rick Ring has a possible Franklin book from the PPL collections; I've added a comment to his post about some sources. Rick also posted some thoughts on the Nicholson Baker Kindle article this week.
- Chris has posted some wonderful thoughts (and pictures) about her time at RBS this summer.
- Via LISNews, some children's books that will never (and should never) exist.
- The August Fine Books Notes is out.
Reviews
- Douglas Brinkley's Wilderness Warrior is reviewed by Jonathan Rosen in the NYTimes.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
A Pile of Updates
Well. What a week it's been, and it's only halfway done! A few notes and updates seem to be in order:
First, I'm honored that PhiloBiblos has been included in two new lists of blogs today : L.D. Mitchell's Top 10 Book Blogs (Mitchell blogs at The Private Library), and in the Online School's 100 Best Book Blogs for History Buffs. Thanks for the honor!
Second, some of you may have seen the impressive coverage we've gotten for the John Quincy Adams Twitter project (background here, follow JQA here). The AP picked up the story yesterday (sample article here - it's been, apparently, in several hundred papers around the world), and since then things have been a little intense. I was interviewed for that in the morning, then by the local CBS station in the afternoon (warning: video of me). Our librarian interviewed for the local Fox station. Today I spoke with Robin Young of WBUR's "Here and Now" program (here; warning: audio of me), and with the New York Times (that story should be in tomorrow's paper [update: it's here]). All that's been quite a time - interesting, but utterly exhausting - but it's been really something to see the reaction to JQA's project amongst the Twitterati (and the number of followers: as I type, it's getting close to 5,000!).
Third, (and perhaps more importantly) if you're near Boston, make sure to go and see this year's Shakespeare on the Common production of "The Comedy of Errors." Great fun! It runs through 16 August this year, so don't delay. We went last night, and it proved a brilliant distraction from media-saturation madness. Highly recommended.
First, I'm honored that PhiloBiblos has been included in two new lists of blogs today : L.D. Mitchell's Top 10 Book Blogs (Mitchell blogs at The Private Library), and in the Online School's 100 Best Book Blogs for History Buffs. Thanks for the honor!
Second, some of you may have seen the impressive coverage we've gotten for the John Quincy Adams Twitter project (background here, follow JQA here). The AP picked up the story yesterday (sample article here - it's been, apparently, in several hundred papers around the world), and since then things have been a little intense. I was interviewed for that in the morning, then by the local CBS station in the afternoon (warning: video of me). Our librarian interviewed for the local Fox station. Today I spoke with Robin Young of WBUR's "Here and Now" program (here; warning: audio of me), and with the New York Times (that story should be in tomorrow's paper [update: it's here]). All that's been quite a time - interesting, but utterly exhausting - but it's been really something to see the reaction to JQA's project amongst the Twitterati (and the number of followers: as I type, it's getting close to 5,000!).
Third, (and perhaps more importantly) if you're near Boston, make sure to go and see this year's Shakespeare on the Common production of "The Comedy of Errors." Great fun! It runs through 16 August this year, so don't delay. We went last night, and it proved a brilliant distraction from media-saturation madness. Highly recommended.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Links & Reviews
- As the annual Shakespeare on the Common festivities kick off, Sam Allis uses his Globe column today to take a look at the strange phenomenon that is summer Shakespeare festivals. Which reminds me that I need to read "The Comedy of Errors" before we go see it Tuesday evening.
- Don't forget to follow John Quincy Adams on Twitter: his trip to Russia begins this coming Wednesday, 5 August. Some attention to the project this week from the Globe's Brainiac blog, Bostonist, and Universal Hub (thanks all!).
- News this week that former Christie's director Michael Broadbent is suing Random House over his portrayal in Benjamin Wallace's The Billionaire's Vinegar (which I reviewed here). The suit will be filed under UK libel laws.
- The August AE Monthly is up, with pieces on the deaccessioning at USF, David Slade's thefts, and the Dunlap Discovery (the latter ends on a rather strange note).
- Ian's been doing a great job blogging his experiences at Rare Book School this week, and today he adds some great quotes from the incomparable Terry Belanger (my favorite might be "If you can't figure it out, the trolls did it") and the wonderful remarks of Michael Suarez, Belanger's successor as head of RBS, delivered at RBMS in June.
- Nicholson Baker writes in the New Yorker about ordering a Kindle and his early experiences with it.
- In the LATimes, Roy Hoffman takes a look at the subtle art of inscribing books.
- Much discussion in recent days about 91-year old Louise Brown, who joined her local library in 1946 and has taken out more than 25,000 books since then (and never once turned one in late). Impressive!
- Writing in the NYT, Ed Park discusses the "invisible library," books that exist only between the covers of other books — as descriptions, occasionally as brief excerpts, often simply as titles."
- Over at Liminal Librarian, Rachel posts on one of the most recent authorial dust-ups.
- Paul Collins highlights the Awful Library Books blog, which is always very entertaining.
Reviews
- Michael Dirda reviews Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder in the WaPo.
- Peter Marshall reviews four recent biographies of Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary").
- In the NYTimes, Brenda Wineapple reviews Caroline Moorehead's Dancing to the Precipice.
- Over in TNR, a long exchange of views on Lincoln historiography, beginning with Sean Wilentz's "Who Lincoln Was" and extending through several responses.
- Don't forget to follow John Quincy Adams on Twitter: his trip to Russia begins this coming Wednesday, 5 August. Some attention to the project this week from the Globe's Brainiac blog, Bostonist, and Universal Hub (thanks all!).
- News this week that former Christie's director Michael Broadbent is suing Random House over his portrayal in Benjamin Wallace's The Billionaire's Vinegar (which I reviewed here). The suit will be filed under UK libel laws.
- The August AE Monthly is up, with pieces on the deaccessioning at USF, David Slade's thefts, and the Dunlap Discovery (the latter ends on a rather strange note).
- Ian's been doing a great job blogging his experiences at Rare Book School this week, and today he adds some great quotes from the incomparable Terry Belanger (my favorite might be "If you can't figure it out, the trolls did it") and the wonderful remarks of Michael Suarez, Belanger's successor as head of RBS, delivered at RBMS in June.
- Nicholson Baker writes in the New Yorker about ordering a Kindle and his early experiences with it.
- In the LATimes, Roy Hoffman takes a look at the subtle art of inscribing books.
- Much discussion in recent days about 91-year old Louise Brown, who joined her local library in 1946 and has taken out more than 25,000 books since then (and never once turned one in late). Impressive!
- Writing in the NYT, Ed Park discusses the "invisible library," books that exist only between the covers of other books — as descriptions, occasionally as brief excerpts, often simply as titles."
- Over at Liminal Librarian, Rachel posts on one of the most recent authorial dust-ups.
- Paul Collins highlights the Awful Library Books blog, which is always very entertaining.
Reviews
- Michael Dirda reviews Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder in the WaPo.
- Peter Marshall reviews four recent biographies of Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary").
- In the NYTimes, Brenda Wineapple reviews Caroline Moorehead's Dancing to the Precipice.
- Over in TNR, a long exchange of views on Lincoln historiography, beginning with Sean Wilentz's "Who Lincoln Was" and extending through several responses.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
This Week's Acquisitions
Here's what came this week, mostly the products of last weekend's bookshop circuit (the last for a while, thanks to the new sales tax hike), plus some review copies.
- The King's Gold by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Plume, 2009). Publisher.
- The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley (Harper, 2009). Publisher.
- The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Random House, 2009). Harvard Bookstore.
- The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (OUP, 1998). Raven.
- The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story by Horace Walpole (OUP, 1998). Raven.
- Mary and The Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (OUP, 2007). Raven.
- American Transcendentalism: A History by Philip F. Gura (Hill and Wang, 2007). Raven.
- Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything by Paula Findlen (Routledge, 2004). Commonwealth.
- Declaration of Independence: A Checklist of Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals, Printing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776-1825. With an appendix checklist of American Newspapers printing the Declaration of Independence by Stephen M. Matyas, Jr. (Privately Published, 2009). Commonwealth.
- The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1733 to 1773 by Robert E. Schofield (Penn State University Press, 1997). Brattle.
- Early Printed Book Labels: A Catalogue of Dated Personal Labels and Gift Labels Printed in Britain to the Year 1760 by Brian North Lee (Private Library Association, 1976). Brattle.
- The Untilled Garden: Natural History and the Spirit of Conservation in America, 1740-1840 by Richard W. Judd (Cambridge University Press, 2009). Brattle.
- The King's Gold by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Plume, 2009). Publisher.
- The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America by Douglas Brinkley (Harper, 2009). Publisher.
- The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte (Random House, 2009). Harvard Bookstore.
- The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (OUP, 1998). Raven.
- The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story by Horace Walpole (OUP, 1998). Raven.
- Mary and The Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft (OUP, 2007). Raven.
- American Transcendentalism: A History by Philip F. Gura (Hill and Wang, 2007). Raven.
- Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything by Paula Findlen (Routledge, 2004). Commonwealth.
- Declaration of Independence: A Checklist of Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals, Printing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776-1825. With an appendix checklist of American Newspapers printing the Declaration of Independence by Stephen M. Matyas, Jr. (Privately Published, 2009). Commonwealth.
- The Enlightenment of Joseph Priestley: A Study of His Life and Work from 1733 to 1773 by Robert E. Schofield (Penn State University Press, 1997). Brattle.
- Early Printed Book Labels: A Catalogue of Dated Personal Labels and Gift Labels Printed in Britain to the Year 1760 by Brian North Lee (Private Library Association, 1976). Brattle.
- The Untilled Garden: Natural History and the Spirit of Conservation in America, 1740-1840 by Richard W. Judd (Cambridge University Press, 2009). Brattle.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday Fun: Literary Ice Cream
What could be better than a library-themed Ben & Jerrys ice cream flavor, right? Well, if a certain Facebook group has its way, that flavor could be coming soon. Lots of suggestions for what to call the flavor have been tossed around this week, so in case you've missed the posts, I wanted to round them up and spread the word (my colleagues and I have been having great fun thinking up additional names - testing the library/literary punning skills is always enjoyable!).
- Stephen Gertz at Book Patrol got the ball rolling, posting about the Facebook group and urging readers to submit flavor suggestions and to support funding for their local libraries (always a good idea).
- Menachem Kaiser at The Book Bench weighed in from The New Yorker, throwing out some additional suggestions.
- Alison Flood of The Guardian joined the fracas, reporting that Ben & Jerrys officials aren't at all opposed to the idea. Flavor guru Andy Carbone told her "From Cherry Garcia to Bohemian Raspberry, some of our best-loved flavours have been fan suggestions. We've honoured rock'n'roll icons, so why not librarians?"
- And Elizabeth from Reading Copy posted yesterday with some more good flavor names (more literary than library, but no matter).
I think Gooey Decimal System seems to have the edge at the moment, and as a friend pointed out to me, the possibilities for playing that up on the packaging, &c. are endless! (yes, Dewey has its limitations, &c., but you gotta love the pun). Anyway, join the fun - suggest away!
- Stephen Gertz at Book Patrol got the ball rolling, posting about the Facebook group and urging readers to submit flavor suggestions and to support funding for their local libraries (always a good idea).
- Menachem Kaiser at The Book Bench weighed in from The New Yorker, throwing out some additional suggestions.
- Alison Flood of The Guardian joined the fracas, reporting that Ben & Jerrys officials aren't at all opposed to the idea. Flavor guru Andy Carbone told her "From Cherry Garcia to Bohemian Raspberry, some of our best-loved flavours have been fan suggestions. We've honoured rock'n'roll icons, so why not librarians?"
- And Elizabeth from Reading Copy posted yesterday with some more good flavor names (more literary than library, but no matter).
I think Gooey Decimal System seems to have the edge at the moment, and as a friend pointed out to me, the possibilities for playing that up on the packaging, &c. are endless! (yes, Dewey has its limitations, &c., but you gotta love the pun). Anyway, join the fun - suggest away!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Macclesfield Alphabet Book Stays in UK
The British Library has been successful in raising the £600,000 that will keep the Macclesfield Alphabet Book - a lovely little "font sample" manuscript from c. 1500 - in the British Isles.
The Guardian reports: "The 46 leaves of parchment may have been a demonstration of a luxury book workshop's skill, ready to show off to a potential customer, or a complete pattern manual for a craftsman to copy. It contains gold embellished borders, title pages, and 14 alphabets wreathed in flowers and foliage, made up of humans or serpents, fish, dragons and other animal figures." A BL curator described the manuscript as "the most complete set of designs for manuscript decoration known to have survived from late-medieval Britain."
Unknown until it was discovered in the Macclesfield Library (presumably during preparations for one of the recent sales), the manuscript was purchased after a lengthy public appeal for funds, and with the support of the Art Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Beginning today, the Alphabet Book will be on display in the BL's Ritblat Gallery.
More from The Guardian, Rare Book Review. There's a picture here [via Laura]
The Guardian reports: "The 46 leaves of parchment may have been a demonstration of a luxury book workshop's skill, ready to show off to a potential customer, or a complete pattern manual for a craftsman to copy. It contains gold embellished borders, title pages, and 14 alphabets wreathed in flowers and foliage, made up of humans or serpents, fish, dragons and other animal figures." A BL curator described the manuscript as "the most complete set of designs for manuscript decoration known to have survived from late-medieval Britain."
Unknown until it was discovered in the Macclesfield Library (presumably during preparations for one of the recent sales), the manuscript was purchased after a lengthy public appeal for funds, and with the support of the Art Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Beginning today, the Alphabet Book will be on display in the BL's Ritblat Gallery.
More from The Guardian, Rare Book Review. There's a picture here [via Laura]
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Simmons Alum Nominated as U.S. Archivist
President Obama has nominated my fellow Simmons library science alumnus David Ferriero, currently the Andrew W. Mellon Director and Chief Executive of The Research Libraries at The New York Public Library, to be the Archivist of the United States (i.e. head of the National Archives). Ferriero previously was the library director at Duke and worked at the MIT libraries for thirty-one years prior to that.
Neat! And good luck!
Neat! And good luck!
New Hope for Filling the "Watergate Gap"
David Corn reports in Mother Jones on a fascinating new project that might - just might - shed some light on the infamous 18 1/2-minute gap in the Watergate tapes. Corporate security analyst Phil Mellinger thinks that a CSI-like technique - electrostatic detection analysis - might be able to reconstruct notes taken by Nixon chief of staff H.R. Haldeman during the 20 June 1972 meeting.
Two pages of Haldeman's notes from the 79-minute meeting are in the National Archives, and Mellinger thinks that a middle page may have been removed (corresponding with the gap in the tapes, interestingly enough). Mellinger proposed that the archives give electrostatic detection analysis a try, and NARA Watergate records archivist David Paynter says he's currently awaiting permission from his superiors to do just that. He told Corn "Here's another avenue to shed light on an important episode in history. It's very exciting."
As Corn notes, even if this procedure works, it might tell us nothing. "It's possible Haldeman didn't take any more notes corresponding to the gap. The impressions on the second page, Paynter points out, could have come from the writing on the first page. There's also no telling if any recovered notes would alter the basic tale of Watergate—or further incriminate Nixon." But there's a chance it could greatly enhance our understanding of those minutes. Cool!
Two pages of Haldeman's notes from the 79-minute meeting are in the National Archives, and Mellinger thinks that a middle page may have been removed (corresponding with the gap in the tapes, interestingly enough). Mellinger proposed that the archives give electrostatic detection analysis a try, and NARA Watergate records archivist David Paynter says he's currently awaiting permission from his superiors to do just that. He told Corn "Here's another avenue to shed light on an important episode in history. It's very exciting."
As Corn notes, even if this procedure works, it might tell us nothing. "It's possible Haldeman didn't take any more notes corresponding to the gap. The impressions on the second page, Paynter points out, could have come from the writing on the first page. There's also no telling if any recovered notes would alter the basic tale of Watergate—or further incriminate Nixon." But there's a chance it could greatly enhance our understanding of those minutes. Cool!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Book Review: "The Mapmakers"
The revised edition of John Noble Wilford's The Mapmakers (Vintage, 2001) updates the original edition of 1981, bringing the history of cartography and cartographers into the twenty-first century (of course given the current pace of technological changes, it's certain that it won't take twenty years before more revisions are warranted). This is probably the best single-volume history of cartographic endeavor, and most specifically the best treatment of those Wilford calls "the great pioneers of mapmaking."
From the earliest period of human history, we've been making maps: some good, some bad, some grossly inaccurate. Wilford surveys the historical trends in cartography and profiles those responsible for the greatest breakthroughs (and the greatest blunders). Eratosthenes and Ptolemy, Columbus and the Cassinis, Frémont and John Wesley Powell, all get their due here. Wilford tracks the involvement of governments in cartographic pursuits, and offers in-depth examinations of how changing technology (from aerial photography to laser imaging to GPS) has shaped the field.
While the majority of Wilford's text focuses on historical mapmaking and its difficulties, he also covers more recent efforts to map the still-hidden parts of our own planet (including the deep seas). In the final chapters, Wilford turns his gaze to the skies, focusing on the efforts to create useful maps of the moon, the local planets, the solar system, and even the universe.
Entirely readable and very nicely paced, this is an excellent introduction to the field, and the extensive list of references at the back will be very useful for anyone seeking further information (my one quibble is that there aren't footnotes referencing specific sources; I would have appreciated those).
From the earliest period of human history, we've been making maps: some good, some bad, some grossly inaccurate. Wilford surveys the historical trends in cartography and profiles those responsible for the greatest breakthroughs (and the greatest blunders). Eratosthenes and Ptolemy, Columbus and the Cassinis, Frémont and John Wesley Powell, all get their due here. Wilford tracks the involvement of governments in cartographic pursuits, and offers in-depth examinations of how changing technology (from aerial photography to laser imaging to GPS) has shaped the field.
While the majority of Wilford's text focuses on historical mapmaking and its difficulties, he also covers more recent efforts to map the still-hidden parts of our own planet (including the deep seas). In the final chapters, Wilford turns his gaze to the skies, focusing on the efforts to create useful maps of the moon, the local planets, the solar system, and even the universe.
Entirely readable and very nicely paced, this is an excellent introduction to the field, and the extensive list of references at the back will be very useful for anyone seeking further information (my one quibble is that there aren't footnotes referencing specific sources; I would have appreciated those).
Book Review: "Fakes & Forgeries"
Brian Innes' Fakes & Forgeries (Reader's Digest, 2005) is a very basic introduction to the subject, taking a wide-angle view which encompasses everything from counterfeit money to identity theft to forged antiquities, art, and books. Unfortunately that breadth means that nothing gets covered in any great depth, and Innes' text is strangely disjointed: the narrative bounces around rather rapidly, and characters/topics blip in and out, sometimes without any introduction whatever. Occasionally the only mention of a given topic was in a picture caption, which also seemed slightly bizarre.
The best use of this book might be as an entry point into more research on a given area of the subject, although without any source notes, even that might be a stretch. Perhaps for the very casual reader, this would be a sufficient overview, but overall, I think there are better books out there.
The best use of this book might be as an entry point into more research on a given area of the subject, although without any source notes, even that might be a stretch. Perhaps for the very casual reader, this would be a sufficient overview, but overall, I think there are better books out there.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Two New Early American Libraries
I've added two new fairly small but very interesting collections to the Libraries of Early America project this weekend:
- Hannah Lee Corbin (1728-1782): one of the "Virginia Lees," the sister of Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee (among the bunch of other Revolutionary-generation Lees). Hannah was well educated at her family's plantation Stratford Hall, and would become a strong advocate of increased rights for women. Like Lady Jean Skipwith, Hannah had a long widowhood (she was married to Gawin Corbin from 1748 through 1759/60, and cohabited with Dr. Richard Lingan Hall until his death in 1774), and significant amounts of money, enabling her to purchase many books for pleasure reading (a large portion of her collection is novels). Her LT library is drawn from several invoices and inventories, for which many thanks to her descendent Dr. William McCarty for bringing them to my attention.
- John Fitzpatrick (~1737-1791): a British merchant who settled at Manchac, a small trading outpost north of New Orleans in the late 1760s and lived there until his death. His library, inventoried at his death (the first I've entered where the values are given in pesos and reales), contained twenty-five books, a selection of literature, history and commercial works.
The two share four titles: Rollin's Ancient history, Smollet's Peregrine Pickle, The spectator, and Pope's Works.
- Hannah Lee Corbin (1728-1782): one of the "Virginia Lees," the sister of Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee (among the bunch of other Revolutionary-generation Lees). Hannah was well educated at her family's plantation Stratford Hall, and would become a strong advocate of increased rights for women. Like Lady Jean Skipwith, Hannah had a long widowhood (she was married to Gawin Corbin from 1748 through 1759/60, and cohabited with Dr. Richard Lingan Hall until his death in 1774), and significant amounts of money, enabling her to purchase many books for pleasure reading (a large portion of her collection is novels). Her LT library is drawn from several invoices and inventories, for which many thanks to her descendent Dr. William McCarty for bringing them to my attention.
- John Fitzpatrick (~1737-1791): a British merchant who settled at Manchac, a small trading outpost north of New Orleans in the late 1760s and lived there until his death. His library, inventoried at his death (the first I've entered where the values are given in pesos and reales), contained twenty-five books, a selection of literature, history and commercial works.
The two share four titles: Rollin's Ancient history, Smollet's Peregrine Pickle, The spectator, and Pope's Works.
Links & Reviews
First, some bad news: yesterday in my circuit of Boston/Cambridge bookstores I found out the hard way that the Harvard University Press display room/shop had closed since my last visit. A real shame, that.
[After I put it together, I found that this week's selection of links is weirdly skewed toward the Boston Globe, but I will say they've had a pretty good run of book coverage lately, so I've let it slide].
- In the Boston Globe, Hobson Woodward talks to Anna Mundow about his research for A Brave Vessel.
- Also from the Globe, a writeup of the Google Books discussion I discussed here. The reporter interviewed Google's Dan Clancy and others the day after the talk, and includes some comments about what they're calling the "uber book platform," to make their digital copies available (see their recent deals with Sony and Barnes & Noble, for example).
- I'm awfully glad J.L. Bell picked this up: he takes on an absolutely ridiculous op/ed [read: puff piece] that was printed in the Globe last week, by a proponent of so-called "intelligent design." The piece claimed the support of Thomas Jefferson for the pseudo-scientific claptrap these folks peddle (why the Globe stooped to printing it is quite beyond me), which Bell rebuts elegantly.
I particularly like this paragraph, where Bell notes that TJ didn't have the works of Darwin and Wallace to inform his thinking: "Thus, Jefferson never had a chance to consider the most fundamental ideas of modern biology or the best evidence for it. For Meyer to cast Jefferson as a creationist like himself is therefore akin to claiming that the third President would support only organic farming—after all, that’s the only type of agriculture he had his enslaved laborers practice. Or that Jefferson would oppose nuclear power, genetic engineering, and the mumps vaccine—he undoubtedly never wrote a word in favor of any of those things!"
- Ian noted the arrival of a new reference work, Stephen Matyas' Declaration of Independence: A Checklist of Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals, Printing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776-1825. With an appendix checklist of American newspapers printing the Declaration of Independence. You can download the book for free at the author's website.
Reviews
- Richard Eder reviews Richard Holmes' Age of Wonder in the Boston Globe.
- Laurie Scheck's A Monster's Notes is reviewed by Ed Siegel, also in the Globe.
- In the LATimes, Nick Basbanes reviews Paul Collins' The Book of William.
- Michael Dirda reviews Keith Thomas' The Ends of Life in the WaPo.
- James MacGregor Burns' Packing the Court is reviewed by Adams Liptak in the NYTimes.
- Also in the Times, Janet Maslin reviews Douglas Brinkley's The Wilderness Warrior.
[After I put it together, I found that this week's selection of links is weirdly skewed toward the Boston Globe, but I will say they've had a pretty good run of book coverage lately, so I've let it slide].
- In the Boston Globe, Hobson Woodward talks to Anna Mundow about his research for A Brave Vessel.
- Also from the Globe, a writeup of the Google Books discussion I discussed here. The reporter interviewed Google's Dan Clancy and others the day after the talk, and includes some comments about what they're calling the "uber book platform," to make their digital copies available (see their recent deals with Sony and Barnes & Noble, for example).
- I'm awfully glad J.L. Bell picked this up: he takes on an absolutely ridiculous op/ed [read: puff piece] that was printed in the Globe last week, by a proponent of so-called "intelligent design." The piece claimed the support of Thomas Jefferson for the pseudo-scientific claptrap these folks peddle (why the Globe stooped to printing it is quite beyond me), which Bell rebuts elegantly.
I particularly like this paragraph, where Bell notes that TJ didn't have the works of Darwin and Wallace to inform his thinking: "Thus, Jefferson never had a chance to consider the most fundamental ideas of modern biology or the best evidence for it. For Meyer to cast Jefferson as a creationist like himself is therefore akin to claiming that the third President would support only organic farming—after all, that’s the only type of agriculture he had his enslaved laborers practice. Or that Jefferson would oppose nuclear power, genetic engineering, and the mumps vaccine—he undoubtedly never wrote a word in favor of any of those things!"
- Ian noted the arrival of a new reference work, Stephen Matyas' Declaration of Independence: A Checklist of Books, Pamphlets, and Periodicals, Printing the U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776-1825. With an appendix checklist of American newspapers printing the Declaration of Independence. You can download the book for free at the author's website.
Reviews
- Richard Eder reviews Richard Holmes' Age of Wonder in the Boston Globe.
- Laurie Scheck's A Monster's Notes is reviewed by Ed Siegel, also in the Globe.
- In the LATimes, Nick Basbanes reviews Paul Collins' The Book of William.
- Michael Dirda reviews Keith Thomas' The Ends of Life in the WaPo.
- James MacGregor Burns' Packing the Court is reviewed by Adams Liptak in the NYTimes.
- Also in the Times, Janet Maslin reviews Douglas Brinkley's The Wilderness Warrior.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
This Week's Acquisitions
Just one arrival through today:
- Errands into the Metropolis: New England Dissidents in Revolutionary London by Jonathan Beecher Field (Dartmouth University Press, 2009). Publisher. I've been looking forward to this one, and will probably read it fairly soon.
- Errands into the Metropolis: New England Dissidents in Revolutionary London by Jonathan Beecher Field (Dartmouth University Press, 2009). Publisher. I've been looking forward to this one, and will probably read it fairly soon.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Book Review: "Edgar Huntly"
Charles Brockden Brown's 1799 gothic novel Edgar Huntly, or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker is another of those works that's rather difficult to review. Like Brown's other works, it contains fascinatingly complex motifs (concealed or mistaken identities, sleep-walking, unrequited guilt, revenge) and intensely complicated problems (tangled financial matters, inter-racial warfare, and the persistent dilemmas associated with growing up).
In his prefatory note, "To the Public," Brown notes that his unconventional uses of particularly American gothic motifs is entirely intentional: "One merit the writer may at least claim; that of calling forth the passions and engaging the sympathy of the reader, by means hitherto unemployed by preceding authors. Puerile superstition and exploded manners; Gothic castles and chimeras, are the materials usually employed for this end. The incidents of Indian hostility, and the perils of the western wilderness, are far more suitable; and, for a native of America to overlook these, would admit of no apology. These, therefore, are, in part, the ingredients of this tale, and these he [the author] has been ambitious of depicting in vivid and faithful colours." He certainly succeeds there.
It's impossible to evaluate 18th-century novels in the same ways I would a novel published today: the styles are utterly different, as are the motives (of both writer and reader). But that's alright. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the narrative, and even after all these years, Brown's ability to creep out his reader remains as powerful as it ever was. Well worth a read.
In his prefatory note, "To the Public," Brown notes that his unconventional uses of particularly American gothic motifs is entirely intentional: "One merit the writer may at least claim; that of calling forth the passions and engaging the sympathy of the reader, by means hitherto unemployed by preceding authors. Puerile superstition and exploded manners; Gothic castles and chimeras, are the materials usually employed for this end. The incidents of Indian hostility, and the perils of the western wilderness, are far more suitable; and, for a native of America to overlook these, would admit of no apology. These, therefore, are, in part, the ingredients of this tale, and these he [the author] has been ambitious of depicting in vivid and faithful colours." He certainly succeeds there.
It's impossible to evaluate 18th-century novels in the same ways I would a novel published today: the styles are utterly different, as are the motives (of both writer and reader). But that's alright. I enjoyed the twists and turns of the narrative, and even after all these years, Brown's ability to creep out his reader remains as powerful as it ever was. Well worth a read.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Google Books Settlement Discussion @ BPL
After work tonight I went down to the BPL for their panel discussion on the Google Books Search Settlement, featuring project engineer Daniel Clancy, MIT Libraries Director Ann Wolpert and professors John Palfrey of Harvard Law School and Hal Abelson of MIT. The discussion was moderated by Maura Marx of the Open Knowledge Commons. The Rabb lecture hall was packed to the gills with librarians, authors, publishers and other interested folks, and the very energetic discussion ended up running much longer than the planners had intended.
While there were entire elements of the Google Book Search program and the settlement which didn't get touched on at all, the exchange ended up being fairly wide-ranging (probably as wide-ranging as it could possibly be in a couple hours). Clancy provided a very succinct overview of the program and the settlement (his bottom line: "ultimately, people want access"). The three other panelists then responded briefly to various aspects of the program, and the key word quickly became "queasy". Each of them confessed what I think many of us feel about Google Books: it's a great thing in principle, but the devil's in the details.
Questions of access models, privacy, copyright and future actions by Google and/or its partners in the settlement all came up, as well as the fundamental question of whether we as a cultural community/society want to allow a single company to effectively commercialize the corpus of digitized out-of-print books. Another major point of contention was the perceived lack of input by librarians and "public-interest" folks in the settlement; Clancy argued that in fact much of the settlement debates centered around how best to make the knowledge base available to the greatest number of people.
John Palfrey made several of the best points of the evening. He praised Google for having the "chutzpah" to make the effort in pursuit of this settlement (by challenging the authors and publishers), and pointed out that "we" (the library/cultural institution community) should have done it ourselves five years ago and left the commercial interests out of it (but we missed the boat). Now, he argued, we must "get in front of the mob and call it a parade," and he urged librarians to make noise and get active in shaping the new digital world, not being shaped by it. I think if those in the audience took one thing away from this evening's discussion it should be that: the world is changing, and if we're not riding the wave, we're getting swept under it.
I confess I haven't made up my own mind about the Google settlement (as proposed). Yes, I wish that the whole digital debate had been different, but that ship sailed a long time ago. And I still don't think we know enough about the pricing structure that Google will offer for institutional subscriptions to the corpus of materials covered by the settlement to say whether or not that's a workable option. I know that librarians need to be even more involved than they have been thus far, and I certainly hope that they will be.
Overall, tonight's debate raised quite a few good questions and provided some really useful details to those in attendance. And we'll have to wait and see what ends up happening with the settlement in court before we really know whether we will need to work to shape its provisions to our advantage, or whether we're back to square one.
While there were entire elements of the Google Book Search program and the settlement which didn't get touched on at all, the exchange ended up being fairly wide-ranging (probably as wide-ranging as it could possibly be in a couple hours). Clancy provided a very succinct overview of the program and the settlement (his bottom line: "ultimately, people want access"). The three other panelists then responded briefly to various aspects of the program, and the key word quickly became "queasy". Each of them confessed what I think many of us feel about Google Books: it's a great thing in principle, but the devil's in the details.
Questions of access models, privacy, copyright and future actions by Google and/or its partners in the settlement all came up, as well as the fundamental question of whether we as a cultural community/society want to allow a single company to effectively commercialize the corpus of digitized out-of-print books. Another major point of contention was the perceived lack of input by librarians and "public-interest" folks in the settlement; Clancy argued that in fact much of the settlement debates centered around how best to make the knowledge base available to the greatest number of people.
John Palfrey made several of the best points of the evening. He praised Google for having the "chutzpah" to make the effort in pursuit of this settlement (by challenging the authors and publishers), and pointed out that "we" (the library/cultural institution community) should have done it ourselves five years ago and left the commercial interests out of it (but we missed the boat). Now, he argued, we must "get in front of the mob and call it a parade," and he urged librarians to make noise and get active in shaping the new digital world, not being shaped by it. I think if those in the audience took one thing away from this evening's discussion it should be that: the world is changing, and if we're not riding the wave, we're getting swept under it.
I confess I haven't made up my own mind about the Google settlement (as proposed). Yes, I wish that the whole digital debate had been different, but that ship sailed a long time ago. And I still don't think we know enough about the pricing structure that Google will offer for institutional subscriptions to the corpus of materials covered by the settlement to say whether or not that's a workable option. I know that librarians need to be even more involved than they have been thus far, and I certainly hope that they will be.
Overall, tonight's debate raised quite a few good questions and provided some really useful details to those in attendance. And we'll have to wait and see what ends up happening with the settlement in court before we really know whether we will need to work to shape its provisions to our advantage, or whether we're back to square one.
Calling All Libraries: Do You Have Any Washington Books?
Since I am fairly confident this blog gets read by at least a few librarians out there, a plea: if your institution holds any books which once belonged to George Washington, would you be so kind as to let me know? Why, you ask?
I've been working for several months on the Washington library, which is now entirely entered into LT to the best of my knowledge. The most extensive bibliography of the Washington collection was published in 1897 (Appleton P.C. Griffin, , William Coolidge Lane, and Franklin Osborne Poole. A catalogue of the Washington collection in the Boston Athenæum. Boston: Boston Athenæum, 1897 - digital version here) - and while it's a great starting point, quite a few books have moved around in the intervening 110 years or so.
The locations as I know them are listed at the top of this page, and in each bibliographic record within the LT-catalog. The good folks at Mount Vernon tell me they have received many more original Washington books, and are preparing a list for me to update their holdings. But I'm sure there are hundreds more Washington titles now in institutional collections, and there's no easy way to find them (Google's come up with a few, but not many).
Additionally, and this is a quest for anybody - I'd like to know of any auction records for Washington books that are not already reflected in the LT-records (i.e. all those through 1897, plus a few more that I've found after that). Any leads, lot numbers, prices, buyers, &c. are always appreciated.
Feel free to shoot me an email (philobiblos at gmail dot com) or post a comment here, and thanks in advance for anything you can provide!
I've been working for several months on the Washington library, which is now entirely entered into LT to the best of my knowledge. The most extensive bibliography of the Washington collection was published in 1897 (Appleton P.C. Griffin, , William Coolidge Lane, and Franklin Osborne Poole. A catalogue of the Washington collection in the Boston Athenæum. Boston: Boston Athenæum, 1897 - digital version here) - and while it's a great starting point, quite a few books have moved around in the intervening 110 years or so.
The locations as I know them are listed at the top of this page, and in each bibliographic record within the LT-catalog. The good folks at Mount Vernon tell me they have received many more original Washington books, and are preparing a list for me to update their holdings. But I'm sure there are hundreds more Washington titles now in institutional collections, and there's no easy way to find them (Google's come up with a few, but not many).
Additionally, and this is a quest for anybody - I'd like to know of any auction records for Washington books that are not already reflected in the LT-records (i.e. all those through 1897, plus a few more that I've found after that). Any leads, lot numbers, prices, buyers, &c. are always appreciated.
Feel free to shoot me an email (philobiblos at gmail dot com) or post a comment here, and thanks in advance for anything you can provide!
Rare Books & Financial Shenanigans
Dow Jones reports that a former chief compliance officer at broker WG Trading Co. "pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal charges in connection with more than $100 million in loans allegedly made to her bosses." Deborah Duffy told the court "I assisted in the unlawful transfer to my bosses of more than ($100 million) to my bosses' benefit as loans." Duffy is cooperating with authorities, who have also charged her bosses - Paul Greenwood and Stephen Walsh - in connection with the misuse of funds. Duffy faces up to 20 years in prison.
"Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan have alleged Greenwood and Walsh, both former owners of the New York Islanders professional hockey team, misappropriated $550 million of funds invested by charities, university foundations and pension plans and used that money to finance their luxurious lifestyles." Some of the $160 million misused by the duo was spent on rare books purchased at several auctions, the report concludes.
"Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan have alleged Greenwood and Walsh, both former owners of the New York Islanders professional hockey team, misappropriated $550 million of funds invested by charities, university foundations and pension plans and used that money to finance their luxurious lifestyles." Some of the $160 million misused by the duo was spent on rare books purchased at several auctions, the report concludes.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Links & Reviews
Apologies for the delay in getting this out this week:
- At the Boston Public Library's Rare Books Room, an exhibit sponsored by the BPL and UMASS Boston has opened: "Sermons, Slavery and Scandal: The Printed Words of Early Boston, 1660-1830." The show will run through 30 September, during the regular hours of the rare books room (M-F, 9-5).
- Also at the BPL tomorrow (Tuesday), a panel discussion on the Google Books Settlement (6 p.m., Rabb Lecture Hall). Google Books Engineering Director Daniel Clancy, MIT Libraries Director Ann Wolpert and professors John Palfrey of Harvard Law School and Hal Abelson of MIT will explain and discuss the proposed settlement, and will take questions from the audience.
- From Vridar, an overview of the motives for forgery. [h/t Literary Fraud & Folly]
- Over at AuntieQuarian, the Rellas: a selection of 2008-09 Research Library awards. I'm pretty pleased that MHS won the "Best Pencils" award. We all decided we very much like the "Best Lunchtime Ritual" award as well ...
- In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Katie Haegele offers a list of summer reading for young adults.
- The semi-annual post about anthropodermic (human skin) bindings has arrived, courtesy of Carolyn Kellogg at Jacket Copy.
- Paul Collins notes his new Believer article on William Gardiner's 1832 pamphlet The Music of Nature.
Reviews
- Adam Kirsch reviews Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder for Slate.
- Kathryn Hughes reviews Anna Letitia Barbauld: Voice of the Enlightenment in the Guardian.
- In the CSM, Marjorie Kehe reviews The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel is reviewed by Jonathan Yardley in the WaPo.
- Also in the Post, Michael Grunwald reviews Lynn Hudson Parsons' The Birth of Modern Politics.
- A fascinating review essay in the TLS, "Google Books or Great Books?" by Peter Green.
- At the Boston Public Library's Rare Books Room, an exhibit sponsored by the BPL and UMASS Boston has opened: "Sermons, Slavery and Scandal: The Printed Words of Early Boston, 1660-1830." The show will run through 30 September, during the regular hours of the rare books room (M-F, 9-5).
- Also at the BPL tomorrow (Tuesday), a panel discussion on the Google Books Settlement (6 p.m., Rabb Lecture Hall). Google Books Engineering Director Daniel Clancy, MIT Libraries Director Ann Wolpert and professors John Palfrey of Harvard Law School and Hal Abelson of MIT will explain and discuss the proposed settlement, and will take questions from the audience.
- From Vridar, an overview of the motives for forgery. [h/t Literary Fraud & Folly]
- Over at AuntieQuarian, the Rellas: a selection of 2008-09 Research Library awards. I'm pretty pleased that MHS won the "Best Pencils" award. We all decided we very much like the "Best Lunchtime Ritual" award as well ...
- In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Katie Haegele offers a list of summer reading for young adults.
- The semi-annual post about anthropodermic (human skin) bindings has arrived, courtesy of Carolyn Kellogg at Jacket Copy.
- Paul Collins notes his new Believer article on William Gardiner's 1832 pamphlet The Music of Nature.
Reviews
- Adam Kirsch reviews Richard Holmes' The Age of Wonder for Slate.
- Kathryn Hughes reviews Anna Letitia Barbauld: Voice of the Enlightenment in the Guardian.
- In the CSM, Marjorie Kehe reviews The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel is reviewed by Jonathan Yardley in the WaPo.
- Also in the Post, Michael Grunwald reviews Lynn Hudson Parsons' The Birth of Modern Politics.
- A fascinating review essay in the TLS, "Google Books or Great Books?" by Peter Green.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
This Week's Acquisitions
Catching up from the mini-vacation. Here's what arrived recently:
- U. S. Sharpshooters: Berdan's Civil War Elite by Roy M. Marcot (Stackpole Books, 2007). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Thomas Jefferson: Architect: The Interactive Portfolio by Chuck Wills (Running Press, 2008). Edward R. Hamilton.
- The Geese of Beaver Bog by Bernd Heinrich (Ecco, 2004). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea (Perigree, 2008). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Faking Literature by K. K. Ruthven (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Fakes & Forgeries: The True Crime stories of History's Greatest Deceptions by Brian Innes (Reader's Digest, 2005). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Schott's Miscellany 2009: An Almanac by Ben Schott (Bloomsbury, 2008). Brookline Booksmith.
- Edgar Huntly, Or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown (Penguin, 1988). Brookline Booksmith.
- Disquiet, Please! More Humor Writing from The New Yorker; edited by David Remnick and Henry Finder (Random House, 2008). New Yorker.
- U. S. Sharpshooters: Berdan's Civil War Elite by Roy M. Marcot (Stackpole Books, 2007). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Thomas Jefferson: Architect: The Interactive Portfolio by Chuck Wills (Running Press, 2008). Edward R. Hamilton.
- The Geese of Beaver Bog by Bernd Heinrich (Ecco, 2004). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea (Perigree, 2008). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Faking Literature by K. K. Ruthven (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Fakes & Forgeries: The True Crime stories of History's Greatest Deceptions by Brian Innes (Reader's Digest, 2005). Edward R. Hamilton.
- Schott's Miscellany 2009: An Almanac by Ben Schott (Bloomsbury, 2008). Brookline Booksmith.
- Edgar Huntly, Or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown (Penguin, 1988). Brookline Booksmith.
- Disquiet, Please! More Humor Writing from The New Yorker; edited by David Remnick and Henry Finder (Random House, 2008). New Yorker.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
To the Coast!
I'm off tonight for the usual trip to the Maine coast (much abbreviated this year, alas). Posts will resume on Sunday.
The books which are coming along:
- Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly
- Patrick O'Brian, The Mauritius Command
- John Noble Wilford, The Mapmakers
The books which are coming along:
- Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Huntly
- Patrick O'Brian, The Mauritius Command
- John Noble Wilford, The Mapmakers
Book Review: "Curiosities of Literature"
Modeled on Isaac D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature, John Sutherland's Literary Curiosities (Skyhorse, 2009) is a loose compendium of short pieces about literature and its characters. Sutherland writes in the introduction "Some of the pieces may be considered too unserious for even unserious readers; some boring; some already stale; some codswallop. Most, I hope, will divert. Driving the enterprise is less the intention to instruct, or inform, then to communicate the random pleasures which may be found in reading literature, and reading about literature."
Fair enough. If one takes Sutherland at his word, and sees this book as a bit of brain candy, to be amused (and possibly intrigued) by, it does the job. The essays are generally interesting, and there are some intriguing questions examined. There are no references cited, which of course always bothers me (at least a bibliography would be helpful, in case anyone is struck by the need to delve further into a topic).
Overall - fine for the occasional browse, or an afternoon's diversion.
Fair enough. If one takes Sutherland at his word, and sees this book as a bit of brain candy, to be amused (and possibly intrigued) by, it does the job. The essays are generally interesting, and there are some intriguing questions examined. There are no references cited, which of course always bothers me (at least a bibliography would be helpful, in case anyone is struck by the need to delve further into a topic).
Overall - fine for the occasional browse, or an afternoon's diversion.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Auction Report: Sotheby's
Sotheby's London sold English Literature, History, Children's Books & Illustrations today (full results here). Highlights:
- An archive of the personal and official papers of Sir Harford Jones, East India Company factor at Basra, resident at Baghdad, and minister to Persia (1783-1811). More than 3,100 items. Sold for £217,250.
- A first edition of Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) made £67,250.
- A presentation copy of Plath's Colossus (1960) fetched £17,500.
The sale total was £904,775.
- An archive of the personal and official papers of Sir Harford Jones, East India Company factor at Basra, resident at Baghdad, and minister to Persia (1783-1811). More than 3,100 items. Sold for £217,250.
- A first edition of Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) made £67,250.
- A presentation copy of Plath's Colossus (1960) fetched £17,500.
The sale total was £904,775.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Book Review: "Newton and the Counterfeiter"
Thomas Levenson's Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009) highlights a little-known entry on Isaac Newton's C.V., his time as Warden of the Royal Mint in the late 1690s. Levenson contrasts Newton with one William Chaloner, a big-time counterfeiter whose downfall Newton eventually secured, but not until Chaloner had managed to tweak the strings of justice a few times.
The book works. Levenson provides capsule histories of Newton's scientific and alchemical careers, plus the English financial, political and criminal justice systems (particularly as relevent to counterfeiting). He puts the existing sources to good use in trying to suss out details about Chaloner's life and activities (plus those of other forgers, coiners and rogues). The way he manages to bring the two together was effective, and carried off very well. It's the kind of story that would make a good novel, but which written by the right person works even better as history.
I'll quibble, as usual, that the notes (which are very good) are not indicated in the text. The bibliography is extensive, and useful. Overall, a fine read, and one I'll happily recommend.
The book works. Levenson provides capsule histories of Newton's scientific and alchemical careers, plus the English financial, political and criminal justice systems (particularly as relevent to counterfeiting). He puts the existing sources to good use in trying to suss out details about Chaloner's life and activities (plus those of other forgers, coiners and rogues). The way he manages to bring the two together was effective, and carried off very well. It's the kind of story that would make a good novel, but which written by the right person works even better as history.
I'll quibble, as usual, that the notes (which are very good) are not indicated in the text. The bibliography is extensive, and useful. Overall, a fine read, and one I'll happily recommend.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Links & Reviews
- Police say that the investigation into the murder of book collector Rolland Comstock (July, 2007) is continuing. Green County, Missouri sheriff Jim Arnott said that authorities are still awaiting lab results and re-analysis of certain evidence related to the case. One detective is devoted solely to solving Comstock's murder, Arnott said. More via KSPR.
- In Slate, Paul Collins examines the life and legacy of Wycliffe A. Hill, "the man who invented
the Hollywood schlock machine."
- A British bookselling newsletters, Sheppard's Confidential, solicited suggestions this week for a collective noun for a group of booksellers. The Bookfinder.com blog passes along the list. This is a bit of a spin-off from the group of librarians list posted here back in 2008.
- The obscure Jefferson reference of the week goes to Jeff Pasley's correspondent at Publick Occurrences, for this.
- Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of John Quincy Adams' 42d birthday. In a post at The Beehive, I highlight his diary entry from that day, and offer a sneak peek to JQA's next adventure.
Reviews
- In the WaPo, Ron Charles reviews Laurie Scheck's A Monster's Notes.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel gets top billing in the Boston Globe "Shelf Life" column today, and is reviewed by Patricia Hagen in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
- In Slate, Paul Collins examines the life and legacy of Wycliffe A. Hill, "the man who invented
the Hollywood schlock machine."
- A British bookselling newsletters, Sheppard's Confidential, solicited suggestions this week for a collective noun for a group of booksellers. The Bookfinder.com blog passes along the list. This is a bit of a spin-off from the group of librarians list posted here back in 2008.
- The obscure Jefferson reference of the week goes to Jeff Pasley's correspondent at Publick Occurrences, for this.
- Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of John Quincy Adams' 42d birthday. In a post at The Beehive, I highlight his diary entry from that day, and offer a sneak peek to JQA's next adventure.
Reviews
- In the WaPo, Ron Charles reviews Laurie Scheck's A Monster's Notes.
- Hobson Woodward's A Brave Vessel gets top billing in the Boston Globe "Shelf Life" column today, and is reviewed by Patricia Hagen in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
This Week's Acquisitions
Sorry for the lack of posts this week, it was a busy one. Here's what arrived:
- The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book. Volume I: An Account of the First Folio Based on its Sales and Prices, 1623-2000 by Anthony James West (OUP, 2001). Amazon (used).
- The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book. Volume II: A New World Census of First Folios by Anthony James West (OUP, 2003). Amazon (used).
- The Founding Fathers Reconsidered by R.B. Bernstein (OUP, 2009). Amazon.
- The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein (Cambridge University Press, 1980). Colophon.
- The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book. Volume I: An Account of the First Folio Based on its Sales and Prices, 1623-2000 by Anthony James West (OUP, 2001). Amazon (used).
- The Shakespeare First Folio: The History of the Book. Volume II: A New World Census of First Folios by Anthony James West (OUP, 2003). Amazon (used).
- The Founding Fathers Reconsidered by R.B. Bernstein (OUP, 2009). Amazon.
- The Printing Press as an Agent of Change by Elizabeth L. Eisenstein (Cambridge University Press, 1980). Colophon.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Book Review: "The Angel's Game"
Carlos Ruiz Zafón's followup to the much-acclaimed The Shadows of the Wind is The Angel's Game, out this month in English from Doubleday. Since I was disappointed with the former (mainly because of the ending) I picked this one up with relatively low expectations. I think that mindset improved the experience for me - I enjoyed this one for the most part, although once again the ending seemed both rushed and contrived.
This book occurs before the events in Shadows, although the setting and some of the characters are similar. David MartÃn, a struggling writer, enters into what seems to be some sort of unwitting Faustian bargain with a mysterious publisher, who charges him with creating a new religion. David soon discovers he's not the first to attempt this assignment, but once he learns what happened to his predecessor, the bloom rapidly falls off the rose.
I loved the first half or two-thirds of the book. David's early career, his triumphs and failures, and his tempestuous acquaintance with a very funny young assistant, Isabella, make for delightful reading. His dealings with Sempere & Sons booksellers, and his visit to the Cemetery of Forbidden Books (perhaps Zafón's best creation, although I wish he would lavish a bit more attention on it) are well written and captivating. The main plot seems fascinating. But as the story draws on, Zafón's tangled web begins to unravel. The ultimate resolution left me wanting something different.
Worth reading for its humor and its creepiness, and for its occasional lavish paean to the book. The design is lovely (the cover image alone is enough to make a bibliophile drool), which certainly helps. Maybe you'll even like the ending. I wish I had.
This book occurs before the events in Shadows, although the setting and some of the characters are similar. David MartÃn, a struggling writer, enters into what seems to be some sort of unwitting Faustian bargain with a mysterious publisher, who charges him with creating a new religion. David soon discovers he's not the first to attempt this assignment, but once he learns what happened to his predecessor, the bloom rapidly falls off the rose.
I loved the first half or two-thirds of the book. David's early career, his triumphs and failures, and his tempestuous acquaintance with a very funny young assistant, Isabella, make for delightful reading. His dealings with Sempere & Sons booksellers, and his visit to the Cemetery of Forbidden Books (perhaps Zafón's best creation, although I wish he would lavish a bit more attention on it) are well written and captivating. The main plot seems fascinating. But as the story draws on, Zafón's tangled web begins to unravel. The ultimate resolution left me wanting something different.
Worth reading for its humor and its creepiness, and for its occasional lavish paean to the book. The design is lovely (the cover image alone is enough to make a bibliophile drool), which certainly helps. Maybe you'll even like the ending. I wish I had.
A Very Cool Find
Laura's got a great post at bookn3rd about an incredibly awesome find she made at an antiques shop in York during a recent visit. Check it out (and if you don't already read her blog regularly, you should definitely start).
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Bibles at the BL
Many have blogged this already, but in case you've missed it, the grand and reunited digital edition of the Codex Sinaiticus is now online via the British Library, here. The website is very detailed about the manuscript and the digitization project, and the images are quite well done. You can also listen to a 10-minute podcast about the project, and Laura noted on Twitter another short podcast about a current free exhibition at the BL, of misprinted Bibles.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Book Recommendation: "A Brave Vessel"
Since I work with Hobson Woodward, the author of A Brave Vessel: The True Tale of the Castaways Who Rescued Jamestown and Inspired Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' (Viking, 2009), it certainly wouldn't be fair of me to review it in the same way I would review any other book. But I will say that I have read A Brave Vessel, and enjoyed it greatly. Hobson's done a great job of recreating the Sea Venture voyage and its aftermath, and argues persuasively that William Strachey's narrative of the events was known to Shakespeare and utilized by him in the composition of The Tempest. He puts the notes to good use by adding further details there, and offers an excellent and lengthy bibliography.
Links & Reviews
- The AP reports on some of the items known to be missing from the National Archives. Senator Charles Grassley has demanded "an accounting" of all missing items.
- Sarah Vowell weighs in on the controversy over Rhode Island's official name in the NYTimes, making the case that "of Providence Plantations" shouldn't be dropped. I quite agree. Teach people that "plantations" in this case doesn't refer to slaveowners' farms, but just means settlements.
- As Ian noted on Twitter this week, the new ABAA website is now live, and looks great.
- Nick Basbanes posted his summer reading list on his blog this week.
- Via The Bunburyist, an online exhibit from the Westminster Libraries, "Arthur Conan Doyle: The Prolific Writer." There's even a quiz (weirdly, I did better on the advanced one than the simple one).
- Over at Pazzo Blog, a recap of the 30 June book auction in Northampton.
- Britannica Blog profiles E.O. Wilson (one of my perennial favorites).
- Also in the Times op/eds, Nicholas Kristof offers up his list of the best children's books ever. Mine would be a different list, but that's okay. Still worth reading.
- As I noted yesterday, the new Common-place is up.
- From BibliOdyssey, satirical maps of Europe.
- In the Globe today, a survey of some Boston neighborhoods mentioned in literature.
Reviews
- In the WaPo, Marie Arana reviews John Ferling's The Ascent of George Washington.
- Nick Owchar reviews Zafon's The Angel's Game in the LATimes.
- Sarah Vowell weighs in on the controversy over Rhode Island's official name in the NYTimes, making the case that "of Providence Plantations" shouldn't be dropped. I quite agree. Teach people that "plantations" in this case doesn't refer to slaveowners' farms, but just means settlements.
- As Ian noted on Twitter this week, the new ABAA website is now live, and looks great.
- Nick Basbanes posted his summer reading list on his blog this week.
- Via The Bunburyist, an online exhibit from the Westminster Libraries, "Arthur Conan Doyle: The Prolific Writer." There's even a quiz (weirdly, I did better on the advanced one than the simple one).
- Over at Pazzo Blog, a recap of the 30 June book auction in Northampton.
- Britannica Blog profiles E.O. Wilson (one of my perennial favorites).
- Also in the Times op/eds, Nicholas Kristof offers up his list of the best children's books ever. Mine would be a different list, but that's okay. Still worth reading.
- As I noted yesterday, the new Common-place is up.
- From BibliOdyssey, satirical maps of Europe.
- In the Globe today, a survey of some Boston neighborhoods mentioned in literature.
Reviews
- In the WaPo, Marie Arana reviews John Ferling's The Ascent of George Washington.
- Nick Owchar reviews Zafon's The Angel's Game in the LATimes.
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