The Raab Collection, historic document dealers located in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, has just published a new catalogue titled Great Collections: The 19th Century. Fully accessible online, the new guide includes chapters on how to build a collection, tips on preserving, displaying, loaning, or donating items, and highlights from their 19th-century holdings. "Our goal is ... to demonstrate the scope and nature of a great collection and to arm the reader with the tools to create one." For collectors, history buffs, or genealogists who are just beginning to build a collection and need advice on things like archival framing, acid-free binders, and insurance riders, this handy and well-illustrated guide is perfect. The images and descriptions of several noteworthy autographs and historic documents make for enjoyable perusing, and, as an added bonus, they have reprinted an article on facsimiles that Raab recently wrote for Forbes. For a longer treatment of historical autographs and document collecting, Raab published a more elaborate guide last year, In the Presence of History, which is available for purchase from their site. With 178 pages and hundreds of illustrations, it is much more comprehensive and appeals to serious collectors.
