Photography Exhibition of Lost Photographs Showcases Early 20th-Century London
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An exhibition opens later this week at the Eleven Spitalfields Gallery in London showcasing the work of a mysterious early 20th-century street photographer known only as CA Mathews. Mathews photographed a variety of street scenes, almost at random, in the East London neighborhood of Spitalfields one April morning in 1912. Mathews's purpose in taking the photos - as with almost all the details of his life - remains mysterious.  

All that is definitively known about Mathews is the address of photography studio in Spitalfields, where he operated from 1911 until his death in 1916.  His wife also died the same year, leading to speculation that they might have been early victims of the Spanish Flu epidemic, which swept through London.

Mathews's photographs depict the predominately Jewish neighborhood in all its confused early 20th-century glory, with children bustling around teams of horses, vying with lorries and street sellers peddling their goods.  The area was a notorious slum during the Victorian era, as famous for its burglars and prostitutes as for the long-standing (and long in decline) textile industry that dominated the neighborhood. Curiously, considering its reputation, the neighborhood residents appear relatively well-dressed and well-fed.

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The photographs were forgotten for about 60 years, while they languished in a cardboard box in the archives of Bishopsgate Institute.The photographs were uncovered a few years ago, but no record has yet been found indicating how they arrived at Bishopsgate in the first place.

The exhibition will run from March 7 - April 27.

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Deaccession & Auction Rare Books
When special collections libraries and historical societies deaccession books, they often hope to keep a low profile, since the very act of removing long-held rarities from a collection can rankle donors, scholars, fellow librarians, even the bibliophilic public. Last year, the dismantling of the Mendham collection and the subsequent sale of its 'highlights' at Sotheby's in June of 2013 brought about much criticism and debate--it also realized £1,180,875 (nearly $2 million) for its owner, the Law Society of England and Wales. Yet another chunk of that historic collection will find its way to the auction block later this month, this time at London's Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions. Books from the Ecclesiastical Collection of Joseph Mendham includes another 339 lots formerly on deposit at Canterbury Cathedral Library.

Screen Shot 2014-03-02 at 9.25.02 PM.pngAnother group of deaccessioned books goes on the block this week at Bonhams London, sans rancor. Law Books from the LA Law Library, Part I, on March 5 features rare accounts of witchcraft trials, the first English book on women's rights, The Lawes Resolutions of Women's Rights: or the Lawes, Provision for Women (1632), and the 1494 incunable, Liber sextus Decretalium by Pope Boniface VIII (seen here at left). The LA Law Library is the second largest public law library in the U.S. According to a press release, "The sale, the first major auction of antiquarian law books in the 21st Century, will enable [The LA Law Library] to concentrate resources on its core purposes of providing public access to practical legal knowledge for the people of Southern California and beyond and to free up space to conserve rare books and documents on American law." Part Two of this auction is slated for May.

The Indiana Historical Society throws its hat into the ring too, offering two major treasures at Sotheby's on April 1: its double-elephant folio of Audubon's Birds of America, as well as its Viviparous Quadrupeds of America. The IHS hopes to reap at least $3.3 million from the sale, which will be used to fund "acquisition of more Indiana-specific collections, and to build out enough archival storage space ... to meet the organization's needs for active collecting over the next 30 years." Said Indiana Historical Society President and CEO John Herbst, "While these sets are rare and valuable, they were acquired when the Indiana Historical Society's mission was broader, more eclectic and not as focused on Indiana-related history as it is today."

Image via Bonhams.

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