Certainly the most widely read, most often published,
and most influential writer in the annals of English literature is William
Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon. His 36 plays have been translated into every
major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other
playwright. Though a number of his plays were published during his lifetime - he
died in 1616 at age 52 - it was not until 1623 that a collected edition of his
plays was published, known as the First Folio. Nine years later, another edition
was called for, and in 1632 there was published the Second Folio of Mr. William
Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. It was essentially a
page-for-page reprint of the First Folio, but with a very significant addition,
John Milton’s “An Epitaph on the admirable Dramaticke Poet, W. Shakespeare” -
the first appearance in print of any work of Milton’s. There were to be two more
folio editions of Shakespeare’s Works published during the 17th
century - the third folio of 1664 and the fourth folio of 1685.
January 2010 Archives
Continue reading The Bard of Avon.
When selections from The
John Ralph Willis Collection of Rare Africana come up for public auction on
Feb. 11 & 12, as part of Heritage Auctions Galleries Beverly Hills Signature®
Rare Book Auction, it will be the first time that serious book collectors
will have a chance to acquire some of the world class rarities in the respected
educator’s collection.
Continue reading John Ralph Willis Collection.
Beginning in April 2010, Sotheby’s New York will have the privilege of
offering the James S. Copley Library, an astonishing survey in original
manuscripts of American history and worldwide literary, artistic and
scientific achievement. The core of the collection is its remarkable
range of handwritten letters, documents, and other manuscripts which
trace this history of America from the earliest incursions of Jesuit
missionaries into California through the archive of letters sent by General Eisenhower to his wife
from the battlefields of Europe. The depth and breadth of the library
is astounding, reflecting the interest and passions of an inspired collector and newspaper publisher along with a
dedicated curator who together sought the finest works available.
Continue reading James S. Copley Library.
Registration has opened for the ninth annual Book History Workshop at
Texas
A&M, scheduled for May 23-28, 2010.
A&M, scheduled for May 23-28, 2010.
Continue reading Book History Workshop.
Poster for the show president Lincoln saw Booth perform at will be offered during
Bonhmas & Butterfields February auction.
Continue reading The Marble Heart.
The Legal History and Rare
Books Section (LH&RB) of the American Association of Law Libraries, in
cooperation with Gale Cengage Learning, announces the second annual Morris L.
Cohen Student Essay Competition. The competition is named in honor of Morris L.
Cohen, Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School. Professor Cohen's scholarly
work is in the fields of legal research, rare books, and historical
bibliography. The purpose of the competition is to encourage scholarship in the
areas of legal history, rare law books, and legal archives, and to acquaint
students with the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and law
librarianship.
Continue reading Student Essay Competition.
A core of exceedingly rare and valuable math and natural science tomes - taken
together they create much of the basis for modern study of the subjects - anchor
the deep and highly diverse lineup at Heritage Auctions Beverly Hills' Feb.
11 Signature Rare Books event.
Continue reading Newton, Darwin & Galileo.
Applications are now being accepted for the 2010 American Antiquarian Society
Summer Seminar in the History of the Book in American Culture, whose topic will
be "The Global American South and Early American Print Culture."
Continue reading AAS Summer Seminar.
Martayan Lan offers new online catalogue with nearly every atlas in their inventory. On offer in this
online catalogue is nearly every atlas in our inventory, a number of
which have been newly added to our web site. There are sterling
examples of two of the great Dutch atlases - a late edition Ortelius
and Jansson's very rare 8-volume city atlas. There is an exceptionally
strong representation of American atlases - both American-printed (the
S. A. Mitchell, Finley, Colton, White/ Willard, Garcia y Cubas, and
Morse) - and non-American-printed with America as the focus: Wytlfliet;
Sayer & Bennett's "Holster Atlas" for Revolutionary War officers;
Vandermaelen; Buchon; and the set of maps from Diderot’s encyclopedia.
Continue reading The Atlas Catalogue.
Massachusetts & Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers had a busy & productive finish to 2009:
In September, we held our quarterly meeting at the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum. Ann C. Pingree Director Sidney E. Berger offered a lively show & tell of some library treasures. After lunch, members toured the museum.
In September, we held our quarterly meeting at the Phillips Library of the Peabody Essex Museum. Ann C. Pingree Director Sidney E. Berger offered a lively show & tell of some library treasures. After lunch, members toured the museum.
Continue reading News from MARIAB.
LOS ANGELES - An emotional and pointed farewell given by controversial Civil War Colonel John S. Mosby,
believed to be one of only two contemporary copies known to be written
by him, will be auctioned off as part of Heritage Auctions Los Angeles
Signature® Historical Manuscripts & Autographs Auction, Feb. 12. It is estimated at $70,000-$90,000.
Continue reading The Grey Ghost.
Yale University Library is pleased to announce the publication of the
first volume of Yale Library Studies, a new annual series that succeeds
the Yale University Library Gazette, which was published from 1926 to
2008. Taking Library Architecture at Yale as its theme and subtitle,
the first volume features drawings, designs, and photographs of Yale
libraries by James Gamble Rogers, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Paul
Rudolph, Gordon Bunshaft, and many other distinguished architects.
Continue reading Library Architecture at Yale.
Museum-quality works from notable collections to be offered at Swann
Galleries’ February 23 auction of African-American Fine Art.
New
York—On February 23, Swann Galleries will offer an exceptional auction
of African-American Fine Art that ranges from rare early 20th century
paintings and sculptures through desirable contemporary works. The sale
contains approximately 160 lots from many notable collections and
estates, and includes many museum-quality works.
Continue reading African-American Fine Art.
Exceptional Frank Lloyd Wright archive to highlight Valentine's Day auction. Included
within the 400-lot Bonhams & Butterfields Fine Books &
Manuscripts auction on February 14, 2010 is a massive archive of
photographs, correspondence and select building plans related to
groundbreaking architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. Assembled by
Professor Henry Russell Hitchcock for the landmark 1942 treatise In the
Nature of Materials, which he co-authored with Wright, the archive
offers an exceptionally rich documentation of the architect's work
including notes for images of many buildings that no longer survive
(est. $20,000-30,000).
Continue reading The Wright Stuff.
On February 23, Swann Galleries will offer an exceptional auction
of African-American Fine Art that ranges from rare early 20th century
paintings and sculptures through desirable contemporary works. The sale
contains approximately 160 lots from many notable collections and
estates, and includes many museum-quality works.
Continue reading African-American Fine Art.
When the Tampa Bay Hotel opened in 1891, Hotel guests were reading
Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, and George Eliot and talking
about the latest paintings by James McNeill Whistler and John Singer
Sargent. They congregated on the veranda and in the Grand Salon to
recite the poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson and chuckled with amusement at
Oscar Wilde’s witticisms. These celebrities and their works were part
of their lives. Today, Museum guests will laugh and gossip as they
explore the world made relevant by these famous artists and writers.
Continue reading Facing the Late Victorians.
A trio of intriguing lots related to the father of modern physics,
Albert Einstein, from three distinct and important periods of his life,
will provide a fascinating survey of one of the great geniuses of
all-time when they come up for public auction as part of Heritage
Galleries Beverly Hills' Feb. 11-12 Rare Books and Historical
Manuscripts & Autographs Auctions.
Continue reading Einstein Trove at Heritage.
The National Park Service, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential
Library and Museum and the Roosevelt Institute will host a series of
afternoon events to commemorate Franklin D. Roosevelt's Birthday on
Saturday, January 30, 2010. The programs begin at 1:30 p.m. in the
Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home with a
book talk and signing by Richard D. Heffner and Alexander Heffner about
their book, A Documentary History of the United States. Following the
talk, the National Park Service will hold a 3:00 p.m. ceremony at
President Roosevelt's grave in the Rose Garden. Refreshments will be
served in the Wallace Center after the ceremony. These events are free
of charge and open to the public.
Continue reading FDR Birthday Celebration.
“New technologies have made deep water wrecks easily accessible”
reports the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural
Organization. This includes 90 Spanish Galleons and 40 Portuguese
Indiamen off the Azores.
Continue reading Underwater Treasure.
The Winter Antiques Show announces that Historic New England, the
oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization
in the nation, will display fine, decorative and applied arts from its
36 historically and architecturally significant properties in the
featured loan exhibition at this year’s Show from January 22 -31, 2010
at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. Colonial to Modern: A Century of Collecting at Historic New England,
which celebrates Historic New England’s centennial, showcases some of
the finest items from its collection of more than 110,000 objects. The
exhibition is sponsored by Chubb Personal Insurance, which has
sponsored the loan exhibition for 14 consecutive years.
Continue reading New Englad Antiques.
"Useful and Beautiful: The Transatlantic Arts of William Morris and the
Pre-Raphaelites" will be the subject of a conference and related
exhibitions to be held 7-9 October 2010 at the University of Delaware
(Newark, DE) and at the Delaware Art Museum and the Winterthur Museum
and Country Estate (Wilmington, DE). Organized with the assistance of
the William Morris Society, "Useful and Beautiful" will highlight the
strengths of the University of Delaware's rare books, art, and
manuscripts collections; Winterthur's important holdings in American
decorative arts; and the Delaware Art Museum's superlative
Pre-Raphaelite collection (the largest outside Britain). All events
will focus on the multitude of transatlantic exchanges that involved
Morris, the Pre-Raphaelites, and the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic
movements of the late nineteenth century.
Continue reading "Useful and Beautiful".
