American Libraries has a report out on the Brubaker thefts, including new information about some of the books found in his possession and more comments by Rob Lopresti, the government information librarian at WWU who broke the case. LoPresti told AL "he feels frustrated by the lack of response from colleagues to his calls at a panel presentation at the 2007 ALA Annual Conference as well as on map specialists’ discussion lists that libraries missing materials share information with law enforcement."
"Among the items recovered from Brubaker’s property are approximately 250 rare books, including a copy of Paradise Lost and one of the 300 numbered copies of Lewis and Clark’s journals, Lopresti said, noting that the libraries where those items belong are easy enough to ascertain. 'But we’ve got 20,000 pages with no identifying marks,' he emphasized, adding that he has been urging the Great Falls police to hire a retired map librarian on a temporary basis to sort the recovered pages, 'because you actually need somebody who knows the stuff.'"
I share Lopresti's frustration - if libraries know they're missing items, they have an obligation and a duty to come forward.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Record Price for Oliver Twist
Full results haven't been released yet, but today's Christie's sale of The Kenyon Starling Library of Charles Dickens has already set at least one record: the presentation copy of Oliver Twist I mentioned on Monday sold for a hammer price price including premium of $229,000, setting a new Dickens record (the previous was $160,000, paid for a first edition of A Christmas Carol in 1996). Pre-sale estimates on the Twist, inscribed to William Harrison Ainsworth, were for $200,000-300,000.
More results from the sale as they're available.
[Update: full results are available here. The total for the sale was $1.9 million, just inside the estimate range. The manuscript leaf from The Pickwick Papers failed to sell. Two lots besides the Oliver Twist made more than $100,000: a Christmas presentation copy of the first separate edition of The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) with significant provenance (estimated at $40-60K, sold for $115,000); and a presentation copy to the Count D'Orsay of The Cricket on the Hearth (1846, i.e. 1845). This was estimated at $60-80K, and fetched $145,000.]
More results from the sale as they're available.
[Update: full results are available here. The total for the sale was $1.9 million, just inside the estimate range. The manuscript leaf from The Pickwick Papers failed to sell. Two lots besides the Oliver Twist made more than $100,000: a Christmas presentation copy of the first separate edition of The Old Curiosity Shop (1841) with significant provenance (estimated at $40-60K, sold for $115,000); and a presentation copy to the Count D'Orsay of The Cricket on the Hearth (1846, i.e. 1845). This was estimated at $60-80K, and fetched $145,000.]
Arthur Schlesinger Jr.'s Library
There's an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week about the personal library of Arthur Schlesinger Jr. (this link should work for a few days; the permanent link for subscribers is here). Andrea Foster reports on the interesting journey of Schlesinger's 13,000-volume library from the historian's Manhattan apartment to a South Boston warehouse and then back to CUNY's Graduate Center in New York.
John Wronoski of Cambridge's Lame Duck Books retrieved several hundred of the books last summer to sell on consignment, and had another bunch shipped to Boston for storage until a colleague of Schlesinger's at the CUNY Graduate Institute, David Nasaw, arranged for their acquisition by the city university library system. In December the books (in 400 boxes weighing 50 pounds apiece) returned to New York City. Now the CUNY librarians are going through the collection to determine which titles they'll keep - unfortunately the books will not be kept as a discrete collection but will be used to replace existing copies ... if they're kept at all. Foster notes "The books that nobody wants will probably be offered for sale on the campus ... or given to an online book dealer who supports literacy programs worldwide."
I'm going to do some checking around just to see if some sort of inventory of the collection was created - Schlesinger's collection would make a fascinating one for LT, and it's a real shame to see it so mercilessly divvied up like this. Nonetheless, quite a neat story of a man and his books; I recommend it.
John Wronoski of Cambridge's Lame Duck Books retrieved several hundred of the books last summer to sell on consignment, and had another bunch shipped to Boston for storage until a colleague of Schlesinger's at the CUNY Graduate Institute, David Nasaw, arranged for their acquisition by the city university library system. In December the books (in 400 boxes weighing 50 pounds apiece) returned to New York City. Now the CUNY librarians are going through the collection to determine which titles they'll keep - unfortunately the books will not be kept as a discrete collection but will be used to replace existing copies ... if they're kept at all. Foster notes "The books that nobody wants will probably be offered for sale on the campus ... or given to an online book dealer who supports literacy programs worldwide."
I'm going to do some checking around just to see if some sort of inventory of the collection was created - Schlesinger's collection would make a fascinating one for LT, and it's a real shame to see it so mercilessly divvied up like this. Nonetheless, quite a neat story of a man and his books; I recommend it.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
On 1 April
I'm sure today will bring some excellent book-related April Fools fun, so I'll update this post with interesting links as they come in.
For now, here's a story from the Baruch College Ticker reporting on a major (and quite daring) theft from the college's Newman Library.
While it doesn't quite involve books, I have to pass along Google's annual prank: Gmail Custom Time (and here's a history of their past hoaxes).
More to come, perhaps ...
- Over at FoggyGates, a note on an interesting item they've got up for sale on eBay this week: a 1937 report on some Etruscan terra-cotta warriors which turned out to be, well, total fakes.
- And a reminder of what might be the greatest April Fools prank of all time: the BBC's 1957 newscast of the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. Video and background here.
- Peter's got some fun stuff going on today at Sylvia Plath Info which is not to be missed. Plath snack packs indeed.
- Ken Karmiole, one of my favorite antiquarian booksellers, posted the following to the ABAA listserv earlier today:
"Subject: [ABAA Books] FS: A Very Special CopyMela, Pomponius. ORBIS SITUM DICERE AGGREDIOR... [i.e. Cosmographia, Sive DeSitu Orbis]. Milan: (Pamfilo Castaldi). 1471. Sm. 4to. 59 (of 61) leaves lacking the final 2 blanks. Cont. vellum, somewhat soiled. On the first leaf at top right corner is the genuine autograph "Cristoforo Colombo, Genoa, 1472." The "editio princeps" of a very rare book, one of the earliest printed geographical works, by the first Roman geographer, and the copy which was acquired by Columbus at the age of 21. Long known to bibliographers – it was first recorded in the 16th century manuscript inventory of the Orsini family library – and thought to have been lost. This amazing copy has recently come to light, in one of the California mission libraries, now being sold (on consignment to us) to raise necessary funds. $1,000,000.00 net"
For now, here's a story from the Baruch College Ticker reporting on a major (and quite daring) theft from the college's Newman Library.
While it doesn't quite involve books, I have to pass along Google's annual prank: Gmail Custom Time (and here's a history of their past hoaxes).
More to come, perhaps ...
- Over at FoggyGates, a note on an interesting item they've got up for sale on eBay this week: a 1937 report on some Etruscan terra-cotta warriors which turned out to be, well, total fakes.
- And a reminder of what might be the greatest April Fools prank of all time: the BBC's 1957 newscast of the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. Video and background here.
- Peter's got some fun stuff going on today at Sylvia Plath Info which is not to be missed. Plath snack packs indeed.
- Ken Karmiole, one of my favorite antiquarian booksellers, posted the following to the ABAA listserv earlier today:
"Subject: [ABAA Books] FS: A Very Special CopyMela, Pomponius. ORBIS SITUM DICERE AGGREDIOR... [i.e. Cosmographia, Sive DeSitu Orbis]. Milan: (Pamfilo Castaldi). 1471. Sm. 4to. 59 (of 61) leaves lacking the final 2 blanks. Cont. vellum, somewhat soiled. On the first leaf at top right corner is the genuine autograph "Cristoforo Colombo, Genoa, 1472." The "editio princeps" of a very rare book, one of the earliest printed geographical works, by the first Roman geographer, and the copy which was acquired by Columbus at the age of 21. Long known to bibliographers – it was first recorded in the 16th century manuscript inventory of the Orsini family library – and thought to have been lost. This amazing copy has recently come to light, in one of the California mission libraries, now being sold (on consignment to us) to raise necessary funds. $1,000,000.00 net"
- Oh man, here's Google's real one. Amazing, as always.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Book Review: "The Somnambulist"
It's been a long time since I've read a book quite as strange as Jonathan Barnes' debut novel The Somnambulist (recently out from William Morrow). Filled with fiendishly odd characters, a whole mess of entirely unexplained subplots, unreliable narrators, shady conspiracies and a healthy dose of the neo-Gothic, this is a bizarre, not-entirely-satisfying volume that does - I think - exactly what it intends to do.
I found The Somnambulist demanded a close read just to keep all the various lines straight (and even then I don't think I quite managed it all the time). It held my attention very well, mainly because I had no idea what was coming next or whose perspective it was going to come from (or which long-dead English poet would suddenly appear and start rampaging, Hulk-like, through downtown London).
Incredibly weird, but puzzlingly fun.
I found The Somnambulist demanded a close read just to keep all the various lines straight (and even then I don't think I quite managed it all the time). It held my attention very well, mainly because I had no idea what was coming next or whose perspective it was going to come from (or which long-dead English poet would suddenly appear and start rampaging, Hulk-like, through downtown London).
Incredibly weird, but puzzlingly fun.
Book Review: "A Letter to America"
Former senator and current University of Oklahoma president David Boren has written a timely and very much worth-reading short book, A Letter to America (Univ. of OK Press). Boren, a strong centrist, takes a close look at the shabby shape of American politics and political discourse today and offers some meaningful advice which if followed might allow us to begin emerging from the hyper-partisan morass we've become engulfed in.
Boren's policy ideas are largely uncontroversial - he makes the sort of common-sense suggestions that 90% of people could agree on immediately (and do, when asked in polls), but which don't get acted upon because the political process is too gummed up with partisan shenanigans. "Many of the solutions are obvious," he writes, "but each party is afraid to act because of the attacks they know will come from the other side to artfully press the emotional hot buttons of American voters" (p. 45). We all know we've got to come up with real ways to solve the major problems we face: entitlement solvency, energy reform, gigantic deficits, climate change and the negative global perceptions of America. But those tough issues and many more have fallen prey to the never-ending campaign cycle and the shrill-toned blather which currently passes for political debate.
At just 110 pages, Boren's book is a very accessible, very succinct, and very clear exposition of the centrist worldview. I recommend it highly, and hope it will be widely read. His is a voice of reason when more of those are sorely needed.
Boren's policy ideas are largely uncontroversial - he makes the sort of common-sense suggestions that 90% of people could agree on immediately (and do, when asked in polls), but which don't get acted upon because the political process is too gummed up with partisan shenanigans. "Many of the solutions are obvious," he writes, "but each party is afraid to act because of the attacks they know will come from the other side to artfully press the emotional hot buttons of American voters" (p. 45). We all know we've got to come up with real ways to solve the major problems we face: entitlement solvency, energy reform, gigantic deficits, climate change and the negative global perceptions of America. But those tough issues and many more have fallen prey to the never-ending campaign cycle and the shrill-toned blather which currently passes for political debate.
At just 110 pages, Boren's book is a very accessible, very succinct, and very clear exposition of the centrist worldview. I recommend it highly, and hope it will be widely read. His is a voice of reason when more of those are sorely needed.
Upcoming Auctions
Quite a few big, exciting auctions coming up soon. A sampling:
- On Wednesday (2 April), Christies New York will sell the Kenyon Starling Library of Charles Dickens, an absolutely remarkable collection of some two hundred lots of Dickensiana. Notable highlights include a manuscript leaf from The Pickwick Papers in Dickens' hand ($150,000-200,000); and a presentation copy of Oliver Twist, in exquisite binding and inscribed to William Harrison Ainsworth ($200,000-300,000). The total sale is estimated to bring in $1.8-2.8 million.
- Sotheby's will hold a sale of Presidential and Other American Manuscripts on 3 April; the highlights here are a whole slew of Lincoln manuscripts, including a letter written from the White House in April 1864 in response to a petition from 195 children calling on Lincoln to free the slaves. That letter alone is estimated to sell for $3-5 million).
- Bloomsbury New York has two major sales this week: on 5 April they'll auction Important Printed Books and Manuscripts, and on 9 April they've got an American Civil War sale. The first will include a composite manuscript, "consisting of a compendium of discretely produced manuscripts, originally from more than one codex, that were assembled in the 13th century to provide the entire corpus of works that make up the Aristotelian Organon ('The Instrument') ($200,000-250,000), several important incunabula, an Isaac Newton manuscript page ($35,000-40,000), a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects ($20,000-30,000), and some very nice sets.
The Civil War sale will include some very notable broadsides, an official facsimile printing of South Carolina's act of secession ($20,000-30,000), a convention delegate's copy of the final Confederate constitution ($50,000-70,000) and a lovely copy of Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, containing 100 original silver albumen photographs ($130,000-150,000).
I'll keep an eye on these and report on any interesting results.
- On Wednesday (2 April), Christies New York will sell the Kenyon Starling Library of Charles Dickens, an absolutely remarkable collection of some two hundred lots of Dickensiana. Notable highlights include a manuscript leaf from The Pickwick Papers in Dickens' hand ($150,000-200,000); and a presentation copy of Oliver Twist, in exquisite binding and inscribed to William Harrison Ainsworth ($200,000-300,000). The total sale is estimated to bring in $1.8-2.8 million.
- Sotheby's will hold a sale of Presidential and Other American Manuscripts on 3 April; the highlights here are a whole slew of Lincoln manuscripts, including a letter written from the White House in April 1864 in response to a petition from 195 children calling on Lincoln to free the slaves. That letter alone is estimated to sell for $3-5 million).
- Bloomsbury New York has two major sales this week: on 5 April they'll auction Important Printed Books and Manuscripts, and on 9 April they've got an American Civil War sale. The first will include a composite manuscript, "consisting of a compendium of discretely produced manuscripts, originally from more than one codex, that were assembled in the 13th century to provide the entire corpus of works that make up the Aristotelian Organon ('The Instrument') ($200,000-250,000), several important incunabula, an Isaac Newton manuscript page ($35,000-40,000), a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects ($20,000-30,000), and some very nice sets.
The Civil War sale will include some very notable broadsides, an official facsimile printing of South Carolina's act of secession ($20,000-30,000), a convention delegate's copy of the final Confederate constitution ($50,000-70,000) and a lovely copy of Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketch Book of the War, containing 100 original silver albumen photographs ($130,000-150,000).
I'll keep an eye on these and report on any interesting results.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Links & Reviews
- The Legacy Libraries got some cool blog-mentions this week: Deeplinking points out some of the interesting holdings from a few of the libraries, and Craig Burrell at All Manner of Thing notes the completion of the Walker Percy library.
- Lee Hadden at LIS News recommends an article in the 22 March New Scientist (not available online), "When the Internet Was Made of Paper." It discusses the pre-computer, index card-based information systems that were all the rage a few decades ago. [Update: I should have known, this article's by Paul Collins, who comments on it here].
- On 20 March, Rachel at Liminal Librarian wrote about a library-world phenomenon that's always bothered me: the self-righteous and defensive attitudes which (some!) MLS-holding librarians seem to take toward their colleagues who haven't taken the degree. Rachel's post attracted a huge number of comments and prompted much discussion (see her follow-up post for a synopsis). I think her take on this issue is entirely spot-on, and can't agree more with her concluding comments: "When MLS vs. non-MLS condescension drives people away from wanting to earn the degree, we have a problem. When we fail to credit valuable input because of its source, we have a problem. Librarianship is inherently an interdisciplinary profession — we overlap with so many other fields, and our strength lies in our ability to assimilate the best of each. Let’s extend that ability to the people that work in our libraries, as well." Well said (I might even go a step further, since I think we're all got a great deal to learn from people who don't necessarily work in libraries as well).
- From BibliOdyssey, images from the first volume of Martin Frobenius Ledermüller's Amusement Microscopique tant pour l'Esprit, que pour les Yeux; Contenant Cinquante Estampes [..] Dessinées d'après Nature et Enluminées, avec leurs Explications (1766-1768, with engravings by Winterschmidt).
Reviews
- Mary Roach's new book Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex is reviewed by Pamela Paul for the NYTimes. Paul writes that Roach "takes an entertaining topic and showcases its creepier side. And then she makes the creepy funny" (as in her previous two books, Stiffs and Spook).
- James Morrow's latest, The Philosopher's Apprentice, is reviewed in The Telegraph by Ed Lake. He did not enjoy the book.
- Richard Cox discusses Gordon Wood's The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History (just out from Penguin Press). The book is a collection of Wood's review essays from the last quarter-century or so.
- Lee Hadden at LIS News recommends an article in the 22 March New Scientist (not available online), "When the Internet Was Made of Paper." It discusses the pre-computer, index card-based information systems that were all the rage a few decades ago. [Update: I should have known, this article's by Paul Collins, who comments on it here].
- On 20 March, Rachel at Liminal Librarian wrote about a library-world phenomenon that's always bothered me: the self-righteous and defensive attitudes which (some!) MLS-holding librarians seem to take toward their colleagues who haven't taken the degree. Rachel's post attracted a huge number of comments and prompted much discussion (see her follow-up post for a synopsis). I think her take on this issue is entirely spot-on, and can't agree more with her concluding comments: "When MLS vs. non-MLS condescension drives people away from wanting to earn the degree, we have a problem. When we fail to credit valuable input because of its source, we have a problem. Librarianship is inherently an interdisciplinary profession — we overlap with so many other fields, and our strength lies in our ability to assimilate the best of each. Let’s extend that ability to the people that work in our libraries, as well." Well said (I might even go a step further, since I think we're all got a great deal to learn from people who don't necessarily work in libraries as well).
- From BibliOdyssey, images from the first volume of Martin Frobenius Ledermüller's Amusement Microscopique tant pour l'Esprit, que pour les Yeux; Contenant Cinquante Estampes [..] Dessinées d'après Nature et Enluminées, avec leurs Explications (1766-1768, with engravings by Winterschmidt).
Reviews
- Mary Roach's new book Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex is reviewed by Pamela Paul for the NYTimes. Paul writes that Roach "takes an entertaining topic and showcases its creepier side. And then she makes the creepy funny" (as in her previous two books, Stiffs and Spook).
- James Morrow's latest, The Philosopher's Apprentice, is reviewed in The Telegraph by Ed Lake. He did not enjoy the book.
- Richard Cox discusses Gordon Wood's The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History (just out from Penguin Press). The book is a collection of Wood's review essays from the last quarter-century or so.
The Latest on Brubaker
Here's the FBI press release announcing Brubaker's arrest, and here's Travis' first take on the indictment. He reports at UD that Brubaker was known to be hanging around with John Hellson, now 76, who was sentenced to two years in prison for stealing items from the University of California's Lowie Museum back in 1981.
There are so many more shoes left to drop in this case.
There are so many more shoes left to drop in this case.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Book Review: "The Mobile Library: Mr. Dixon Disappears"
Apparently I've been on a sequels kick this week, having also finished the second book in Ian Sansom's Mobile Library series, Mr. Dixon Disappears. Israel Armstrong's chaotic adventures in Tumdrum continue when he accidentally (but entirely predictably) gets caught up in an investigation into the disappearance of department-store magnate (and amateur magician) Mr. Dixon.
This book had less to do with the mobile library than The Case of the Missing Books did (although here we see that dilapidated old book-van put to more, eh, extra-curricular uses, including kitchen, press room, and canine maternity ward), and the mystery itself ends up being a bit of a snoozer, but Sansom's knack for telling a strange story well continues to shine here.
This book had less to do with the mobile library than The Case of the Missing Books did (although here we see that dilapidated old book-van put to more, eh, extra-curricular uses, including kitchen, press room, and canine maternity ward), and the mystery itself ends up being a bit of a snoozer, but Sansom's knack for telling a strange story well continues to shine here.
Book Review: "More Letters from a Nut"
As soon as I discovered there were sequels to Letters from a Nut (review) I knew I'd have to pick them up before long, and did (for less than $1 apiece, by the way - behold, the magic of the Internet). Ted L. Nancy's zany correspondence continues in More Letters from a Nut, in which our faithful nut requests information about 'upcoming' nude baboon races, asks permission to open 1,032 Hungry Mosquito Restaurants in Las Cruces, and gets Dick Butkus to sign a spatula. As amusing as the first book, particularly for the number of responses in this volume which seem completely unphased by Nancy's completely outlandish comments.
One of the most amusing exchanges (of many) from these letters comes toward the end of the book, when Nancy writes to the Turkish Department of Tourism requesting information on how to bring his camel, Andrew, to Turkey to participate in one of the annual Camel Wrestling Festivals. Nancy writes "Please tell me when is the best time to come to Turkey and watch camel wrestling? I would like to travel with Andrew but I will come alone if my camel can not get a good rate from the airlines. The bus company lets him travel as a senior. He looks out the window. I have disguised him as a hairy older women named Margaret."
Hulya Ulgun (Directoress of the Izmir Directorate of Tourism) writes back in part "We searched the ways bring Andrew here. None of the airlines can accept Andrew. Yo should look for the ways of bringing Andrew by a ship. You'll probably have to disguise him again as a 'hairy older woman named Margaret.'"
One of the most amusing exchanges (of many) from these letters comes toward the end of the book, when Nancy writes to the Turkish Department of Tourism requesting information on how to bring his camel, Andrew, to Turkey to participate in one of the annual Camel Wrestling Festivals. Nancy writes "Please tell me when is the best time to come to Turkey and watch camel wrestling? I would like to travel with Andrew but I will come alone if my camel can not get a good rate from the airlines. The bus company lets him travel as a senior. He looks out the window. I have disguised him as a hairy older women named Margaret."
Hulya Ulgun (Directoress of the Izmir Directorate of Tourism) writes back in part "We searched the ways bring Andrew here. None of the airlines can accept Andrew. Yo should look for the ways of bringing Andrew by a ship. You'll probably have to disguise him again as a 'hairy older woman named Margaret.'"
Friday, March 28, 2008
Declaration Broadside Offer Clarified
In late January I reported on an email solicitation sent to several libraries offering a Dunlap broadside of the Declaration of Independence for sale. The firm responsible for the solicitation, Atam Sahmanian, Inc., has released a statement today clarifying the email and noting that the broadside was mistakenly identified as a Dunlap when it is in fact a copy of the 1825 Stone facsimile broadside.
The press release notes that the company "would like to acknowledge that between January 21 and January 25 of this year a sales associate contacted prospective collectors of a copy of the Declaration of Independence via e-mail and incorrectly identified the attached image as a Dunlap Broadside edition. The image attached to the e-mail was, in fact, a Stone copy which the company owns."
Director Michael Atadika adds "The incorrect representation of our Stone version was limited to this one set of e-mails sent out by our sales associate. This was clearly a substantive, though completely unintentional, error. The image attached to the e-mails in question was an actual photo of the Stone version that we possess. We believe the clear differences in appearance of the two versions would likely have been immediately recognized by the institutions contacted due to their familiarity with the subject matter.
As background, we began marketing our Stone version in anticipation of renewed interest in such a document during an election year. We wanted to present our clients with a truly rare buying opportunity. Atam Sahmanian, Inc. accepts full responsibility for incorrectly identifying the copy of The Declaration of Independence in its possession and regrets the undue alarm it caused certain recipients of its correspondence. The company's principals have formally apologized to those individuals who received the erroneous information. As further assurance of our integrity, the Stone copy has been submitted to the Smithsonian Institute for authoritative confirmation of its authenticity. Upon receipt, the Smithsonian report will be immediately communicated to all interested parties, including those recipients of the original e-mail.."
The full press release is here. I'm happy this has been straightened out.
The press release notes that the company "would like to acknowledge that between January 21 and January 25 of this year a sales associate contacted prospective collectors of a copy of the Declaration of Independence via e-mail and incorrectly identified the attached image as a Dunlap Broadside edition. The image attached to the e-mail was, in fact, a Stone copy which the company owns."
Director Michael Atadika adds "The incorrect representation of our Stone version was limited to this one set of e-mails sent out by our sales associate. This was clearly a substantive, though completely unintentional, error. The image attached to the e-mails in question was an actual photo of the Stone version that we possess. We believe the clear differences in appearance of the two versions would likely have been immediately recognized by the institutions contacted due to their familiarity with the subject matter.
As background, we began marketing our Stone version in anticipation of renewed interest in such a document during an election year. We wanted to present our clients with a truly rare buying opportunity. Atam Sahmanian, Inc. accepts full responsibility for incorrectly identifying the copy of The Declaration of Independence in its possession and regrets the undue alarm it caused certain recipients of its correspondence. The company's principals have formally apologized to those individuals who received the erroneous information. As further assurance of our integrity, the Stone copy has been submitted to the Smithsonian Institute for authoritative confirmation of its authenticity. Upon receipt, the Smithsonian report will be immediately communicated to all interested parties, including those recipients of the original e-mail.."
The full press release is here. I'm happy this has been straightened out.
More Brubaker News
The Seattle Times and Great Falls Tribune have more complete stories this morning on yesterday's news that James Brubaker has been arrested and charged with interstate transportation of stolen property worth more than $5,000. So far, Brubaker has only been charged for the theft of four maps from Western Washington University, although police recovered items believed to have come from more than 100 libraries across the country.
A detention hearing for Brubaker is scheduled for 1 April, and he's in custody until then, the papers report. Court documents reveal that during their search of Brubaker's home, police discovered "magnets they believe Brubaker used to deactivate alarms used by libraries to prevent theft, and materials that could be used to remove library identification markings from books."
I'm trying to get a copy of the indictment, and if I can do that I'll certainly share its contents. Travis promises to weigh in today as well.
A detention hearing for Brubaker is scheduled for 1 April, and he's in custody until then, the papers report. Court documents reveal that during their search of Brubaker's home, police discovered "magnets they believe Brubaker used to deactivate alarms used by libraries to prevent theft, and materials that could be used to remove library identification markings from books."
I'm trying to get a copy of the indictment, and if I can do that I'll certainly share its contents. Travis promises to weigh in today as well.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Brubaker Case Hits the News
Back in January I noted reports that a major book/map theft case was about to hit the news. Smithsonian Magazine has a piece on the story now, reporting that the December search of Brubaker's house revealed "roughly 1,000 books from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries that had been taken from at least 100 university and local libraries across the country," plus "some 20,000 individual pages of maps and other documents, each apparently ripped from a book."
The Smithsonian article does not name the suspect [James Brubaker, if the earlier reports hold] but notes that an indictment is (still) expected. More if I can get it.
[Update: Thanks to MTHistory for adding a comment. Yes, the Great Falls Tribune is reporting this afternoon that James Brubaker,74 73, has been arrested and made an initial court appearance today. This is a follow-up to their story in today's newspaper which provides some further background on the case. There will almost certainly be more in tomorrow's newspapers about this, so I'll keep updating as events warrant.]
[Further update: Television reports say Brubaker was charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, and add "Authorities say hundreds of maps and lithographs found during the search were in envelopes ready for sale on the Internet."]
The Smithsonian article does not name the suspect [James Brubaker, if the earlier reports hold] but notes that an indictment is (still) expected. More if I can get it.
[Update: Thanks to MTHistory for adding a comment. Yes, the Great Falls Tribune is reporting this afternoon that James Brubaker,
[Further update: Television reports say Brubaker was charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, and add "Authorities say hundreds of maps and lithographs found during the search were in envelopes ready for sale on the Internet."]
Extra Links
I've gotten myself a bit swamped this week, so here are a hodgepodge of things I've love to post individually but haven't got quite enough time for.
- A bunch of elementary school students from Pittsfield, MA (and a few other interested parties) are trying to get the legislature to pass a law declaring Moby-Dick the "official book" of Massachusetts. Setting aside the ridiculousness of the stunt (does anyone seriously think the elementary school students have actually read Moby-Dick and evaluated its importance?), I disagree strongly that Melville's book - important as it is - ought to be accorded "official" status. Thoreau? Emerson? Hawthorne? Not to mention the 'current' official book, William Bradford's Of Plimouth Plantation (so designated in 1897), which retains its importance as an early chronicle of the settlement of Massachusetts.
- J.L. Bell's got some more excellent fact-checks for the most recent "John Adams" episode: here's his quiz about Episode 3, and here are the answers. John also rated a positive mention in yesterday's Globe column by Alex Beam about historically accurate t.v. (Beam's a bit too melodramatic for me, but his underlying point is quite fair).
- John Overholt's got an update on the digitization of Houghton's Samuel Johnson correspondence; he notes that 232 letters from Johnson to Hester Thrale Piozzi are now available, among many other things.
- From BibliOdyssey, a compilation of images from the Othmer Library of Chemical History.
- At PaperCuts, Bob Harris reveals his "Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing." Quite a fair list.
- A bunch of elementary school students from Pittsfield, MA (and a few other interested parties) are trying to get the legislature to pass a law declaring Moby-Dick the "official book" of Massachusetts. Setting aside the ridiculousness of the stunt (does anyone seriously think the elementary school students have actually read Moby-Dick and evaluated its importance?), I disagree strongly that Melville's book - important as it is - ought to be accorded "official" status. Thoreau? Emerson? Hawthorne? Not to mention the 'current' official book, William Bradford's Of Plimouth Plantation (so designated in 1897), which retains its importance as an early chronicle of the settlement of Massachusetts.
- J.L. Bell's got some more excellent fact-checks for the most recent "John Adams" episode: here's his quiz about Episode 3, and here are the answers. John also rated a positive mention in yesterday's Globe column by Alex Beam about historically accurate t.v. (Beam's a bit too melodramatic for me, but his underlying point is quite fair).
- John Overholt's got an update on the digitization of Houghton's Samuel Johnson correspondence; he notes that 232 letters from Johnson to Hester Thrale Piozzi are now available, among many other things.
- From BibliOdyssey, a compilation of images from the Othmer Library of Chemical History.
- At PaperCuts, Bob Harris reveals his "Seven Deadly Words of Book Reviewing." Quite a fair list.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Book Review: "Four Queens"
Quadruple-biographies are difficult to pull off, but Nancy Goldstone's done a worthy job with Four Queens: The Provençal Sisters Who Ruled Europe (just out in paperback from Penguin). Goldstone's subjects are Marguerite, Eleanor, Sanchia and Beatrice, the four daughters of Count Raymond V of Provence who became the queens of France, England, Sicily and Germany.
In the tradition of Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, Goldstone has written a richly-narrated popular history focused squarely on the influences of the women she views as being at the heart of medieval Europe's political, religious and social culture. Some of her divergences are just as interesting as the main narrative (which alternates between the sisters in a smooth and effective way).
I must fault the book for its total lack of footnotes, especially since - as Goldstone notes - several of her characters have not been the subject of recent biographies. The illustrations which accompany the text are somewhat useful, although I found the maps too stylized to be of much use. I had minor issues with some anachronistic thinking that crept into the text, and a few of Goldstone's glib generalizations bothered me, but on the whole this was an engaging casual read.
In the tradition of Alison Weir and Antonia Fraser, Goldstone has written a richly-narrated popular history focused squarely on the influences of the women she views as being at the heart of medieval Europe's political, religious and social culture. Some of her divergences are just as interesting as the main narrative (which alternates between the sisters in a smooth and effective way).
I must fault the book for its total lack of footnotes, especially since - as Goldstone notes - several of her characters have not been the subject of recent biographies. The illustrations which accompany the text are somewhat useful, although I found the maps too stylized to be of much use. I had minor issues with some anachronistic thinking that crept into the text, and a few of Goldstone's glib generalizations bothered me, but on the whole this was an engaging casual read.
Book-APB
A prize to the first person who can find me an available-for-purchase copy of Justin Winsor, Scholar-Librarian (edited by Wayne Cutler and Michael H. Harris). It was published by Libraries Unlimited in 1980 (ISBN 0872872009).
Significance will be explained soon, but I'm anxious to find a copy of this title.
Significance will be explained soon, but I'm anxious to find a copy of this title.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
NC Wins its Bill of Rights
A five-year legal battle over North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights ended yesterday when a judge ruled that the document officially belongs to the state.
Manuscript copies of the Bill of Rights were dispatched to each state during the ratification process in 1789. North Carolina's was snatched by a Union soldier during the Civil War and made its way to Ohio, then to Indiana before disappearing for years. In 2000, Connecticut antiques dealer Wayne Pratt and real estate broker Robert Matthews bought the document; they tried to sell it to the National Constitution Center in 2003; a federal judge ordered the Bill of Rights seized instead. In 2005 the document was returned to North Carolina, but legal chaos continued until it was brought to a halt yesterday by Superior Court Judge Henry Hight's ruling.
News reports from the Asheville Citizen-Times, WRAL, and the News & Observer.
For background on the case, see this article from the 8 August 2005 Christian Science Monitor, and their earlier piece on the 2003 sting operation.
Manuscript copies of the Bill of Rights were dispatched to each state during the ratification process in 1789. North Carolina's was snatched by a Union soldier during the Civil War and made its way to Ohio, then to Indiana before disappearing for years. In 2000, Connecticut antiques dealer Wayne Pratt and real estate broker Robert Matthews bought the document; they tried to sell it to the National Constitution Center in 2003; a federal judge ordered the Bill of Rights seized instead. In 2005 the document was returned to North Carolina, but legal chaos continued until it was brought to a halt yesterday by Superior Court Judge Henry Hight's ruling.
News reports from the Asheville Citizen-Times, WRAL, and the News & Observer.
For background on the case, see this article from the 8 August 2005 Christian Science Monitor, and their earlier piece on the 2003 sting operation.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Links & Reviews
- LT has added some new stats for each user, including a wonderful page showing overlap with the legacy libraries. We're up to 13 completed legacies now, having this week added the libraries of Walker Percy, Ezra Pound and W.H. Auden. My overlap page is here ... or you can check out John Adams' here (yes, he did share a book with Susan B. Anthony). The work continues, with newly-begun efforts to add the libraries of James Smithson, John Muir, Rembrandt and the Finnish poet Eeva-Liisa Manner. LT was also discussed this week on NPR's "All Things Considered" (and the story is still one of the most-emailed).
- Over at bookn3rd, Laura writes brilliantly about the difficulty of explaining "book history" as a field of study, suggesting that an opening section from Robert Darnton's The Business of Enlightenment could serve as a useful handout. I heartily agree.
- Jennifer Schuessler's post at Paper Cuts about bookshelf etiquette has attracted many interesting comments, which are recommended reading.
- J.L. Bell has been doing a spectacular fact-checking job on HBO's "John Adams," and continues that this week with an excellent post outlining the differences between the screen version of the Boston Massacre trial(s) and the actual events, and another one discussing what's missing from the t.v. version of the Adams household (I was gleeful to note that one of the things he mentions is Adams' books, but of course am sad to know that the film version omits them).
- Paul Collins notes his Slate piece on the history and future of phone books, and his Tin House essay on the 1958 book How To Do Nothing With Nobody All Alone By Yourself (basically, he writes, "a step-by-step guide to grinding oyster shells against the front stoop for no damn reason, to turning buttons and string into buzzsaws that won't cut anything, and to making paper boomerangs that don't come back, Nothing is about what you do when you're nine years old and have neither money nor anyone paying much attention to you, and where your one guiding principle is that you avoid grown-ups and don't ask for help").
- Rick Ring comments on Charles W. Janson's 1807 book The Stranger in America, an Englishman's snarky account of life in the southern states during the early national period.
- In the Guardian's book blog, Belinda Webb writes about Mary Wollstonecraft's fictional writings. Webb suggests Wollstonecraft wrote literature "as intelligent protest."
Reviews
- In the Boston Globe, William Martin reviews the new Revolutionary War novel, Jerome Charyn's Johnny One-Eye. Martin writes "If you think that Charyn owes historical figures their truth, even in fiction, you might want to stay away. If you believe that he owes less to history than to the fiction he fashions from it, read on." Wendy Smith also reviews Johnny One-Eye, for the Washington Post.
- At The Little Professor, Miriam Burstein reviews Michael Cox's The Meaning of Night, which I reviewed almost exactly a year ago.
- Over at bookn3rd, Laura writes brilliantly about the difficulty of explaining "book history" as a field of study, suggesting that an opening section from Robert Darnton's The Business of Enlightenment could serve as a useful handout. I heartily agree.
- Jennifer Schuessler's post at Paper Cuts about bookshelf etiquette has attracted many interesting comments, which are recommended reading.
- J.L. Bell has been doing a spectacular fact-checking job on HBO's "John Adams," and continues that this week with an excellent post outlining the differences between the screen version of the Boston Massacre trial(s) and the actual events, and another one discussing what's missing from the t.v. version of the Adams household (I was gleeful to note that one of the things he mentions is Adams' books, but of course am sad to know that the film version omits them).
- Paul Collins notes his Slate piece on the history and future of phone books, and his Tin House essay on the 1958 book How To Do Nothing With Nobody All Alone By Yourself (basically, he writes, "a step-by-step guide to grinding oyster shells against the front stoop for no damn reason, to turning buttons and string into buzzsaws that won't cut anything, and to making paper boomerangs that don't come back, Nothing is about what you do when you're nine years old and have neither money nor anyone paying much attention to you, and where your one guiding principle is that you avoid grown-ups and don't ask for help").
- Rick Ring comments on Charles W. Janson's 1807 book The Stranger in America, an Englishman's snarky account of life in the southern states during the early national period.
- In the Guardian's book blog, Belinda Webb writes about Mary Wollstonecraft's fictional writings. Webb suggests Wollstonecraft wrote literature "as intelligent protest."
Reviews
- In the Boston Globe, William Martin reviews the new Revolutionary War novel, Jerome Charyn's Johnny One-Eye. Martin writes "If you think that Charyn owes historical figures their truth, even in fiction, you might want to stay away. If you believe that he owes less to history than to the fiction he fashions from it, read on." Wendy Smith also reviews Johnny One-Eye, for the Washington Post.
- At The Little Professor, Miriam Burstein reviews Michael Cox's The Meaning of Night, which I reviewed almost exactly a year ago.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Manuscript Diaries Stolen
Everett Wilkie posted the following at ExLibris this afternoon, and I pass it along since it is of both local interest and obvious importance:
"On March 7, 2008, 10:05pm, a black courier bag containing four diaries of the noted John Deere engineer Theo Brown was stolen at the bus terminal, South Station, Boston, Massachusetts. The volumes lost were 1916, 1922, 1939, and 1943. All volumes were enclosed in gray boxes (phase boxes) labeled in black letter with "MS 2 Theo Brown Diaries". The diaries contain notes, black and white photographs, and color illustrations of John Deere tractors and agricultural equipment. They also contain personal writings, photographs, clippings, and color illustrations relating to Theo Brown, his family, and events of his time. All volumes are bound in leather, consist of 365+ pages, and are labeled and/or inscribed with the date of the volume and "Theo Brown". The 1916 volume measures roughly 4"x8"x1", bound brown leather with a detached front cover. The 1922 volume measures roughly 6"x8"x1", bound in black leather with "1926" prominently displayed on the front cover. The 1939 volume measures roughly 6"x9"x2", bound in brown leather, labeled "1939 Theo Brown" in gold letters on front cover. The 1943 volume measures roughly 6"x9"x3", bound in brown leather, labeled "1943 Theo Brown" in gold letters on front cover.
Please contact the Archives & Special Collections, Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 508-831-6612 or archives@wpi.edu if you have any information on these missing diaries."
"On March 7, 2008, 10:05pm, a black courier bag containing four diaries of the noted John Deere engineer Theo Brown was stolen at the bus terminal, South Station, Boston, Massachusetts. The volumes lost were 1916, 1922, 1939, and 1943. All volumes were enclosed in gray boxes (phase boxes) labeled in black letter with "MS 2 Theo Brown Diaries". The diaries contain notes, black and white photographs, and color illustrations of John Deere tractors and agricultural equipment. They also contain personal writings, photographs, clippings, and color illustrations relating to Theo Brown, his family, and events of his time. All volumes are bound in leather, consist of 365+ pages, and are labeled and/or inscribed with the date of the volume and "Theo Brown". The 1916 volume measures roughly 4"x8"x1", bound brown leather with a detached front cover. The 1922 volume measures roughly 6"x8"x1", bound in black leather with "1926" prominently displayed on the front cover. The 1939 volume measures roughly 6"x9"x2", bound in brown leather, labeled "1939 Theo Brown" in gold letters on front cover. The 1943 volume measures roughly 6"x9"x3", bound in brown leather, labeled "1943 Theo Brown" in gold letters on front cover.
Please contact the Archives & Special Collections, Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 508-831-6612 or archives@wpi.edu if you have any information on these missing diaries."
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