In a response to a plea from UK schools minister Nick Gibb to introduce secondary school children to literature "free from the constraints and analysis of public exams," Penguin will be offering a set of 100 Penguin Classics to schools across Britain for £100. Penguin followed the lead of Scholastic, here, who recently launched a plan to sell 26 classic novels to schools for £1.50 per copy.

"I want every secondary school to have a stock of classics such as Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice, and Jane Eyre so that whole classes across the country can enjoy them together," said Gibbs in his public plea last November.

In addition to standard classics such as Gulliver's Travels and Madame Bovary, the Penguin Classics sets will include various sacred texts from world religions, as well as writings in Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic.

Penguin described the responsibility to select just 100 texts as "crushing" but added the "fun bit was trying to spread it as widely as possible."

On March 2, Sotheby's London will auction a rather extraordinary collection--that of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire, the last of the legendary (and literary) Mitford sisters. The selection consists of the contents of her final home, the Old Vicarage at Edensor on the Chatsworth estate. She died in 2014 at the age of 94.

From fine and decorative art (much of it animal-themed) to sets of silver spoons to diamond brooches, the auction lots are, perhaps, predictable. And yet, there are some wonderful surprises, such as Debo's collection of Elvis ephemera. For followers of this blog, it is the Duchess of Devonshire's library that attracts attention. There are books inscribed by members of the Kennedy family, with whom she was friendly, even one book inscribed by Madonna to the duchess. Her collection included British mainstays--Fleming, Wodehouse, Woolf--as well as books on cookery, gardens, royalty. The crown jewel, however, is an inscribed, pre-publication copy of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisitied, one of fifty that the author presented to his friends in 1944 (pictured here). The estimate for which is £15,000-20,000 ($22,000-30,000). Several Waugh titles follow in the auction; as the duchess observed many years later in her memoir, Wait for Me! (2010), "In spite of his uncertain ways, Evelyn remained a friend and a generous one. He sent us the limited edition of Brideshead Revisted in its floppy dark blue cover...and he sent me his other books as they were published, inscribed in friendly terms."

Image via Sotheby's.  

What do a musical manuscript signed by Beethoven, a photograph of violin virtuoso Isaac Stern, and just-launched software have in common? All three will make their debuts at booth 505 at the California Antiquarian Book Fair, courtesy of Schubertiade Music & Arts co-founders Gabe Boyers and Drew Massey.

What's software got to do with an antiquarian fair? Boyers and Massey believe their technology will revolutionize how dealers and collectors manage, store and sell their wares. The duo created the program, dubbed Collectival, in a bid to meet their own needs running Schubertiade. "This software is new for the book trade," said Boyers while en route to Pasadena. "Collectival is completely mobile, so while there's an employee back in Newton [Massachusetts] watching the shop, we can review her work and manage from our mobile phones and ipads." The entrepreneurs even finalized a sale while sightseeing at Big Sur earlier this week.

Collectival co-founders Massey and Boyers handle sales and take a selfie at Big Sur. Image courtesy of Gabe Boyers. 

The Schubertiade website is powered entirely by Collectival. "We worked on this software for 18 months," Boyers continued. "Drew (a Harvard grad who has been hardwiring computers since his teens) wrote the code, and I devised the features." Two major components make up the platform. The public side includes sophisticated search and credit-card processing functions, want lists, and client accounts, while the back-end of the platform is the most innovative. Dealers (not clients) can manage multichannel inventory, create a centralized catalog, and take advantage of advance imaging, multi-platform e-commerce, shipping, record reporting and communication services.

Boyers and Massey consider Collectival a game-changer. "Now, we have access to all the components of our business, from anywhere. I can email a full invoice to a client, right from my phone. Previously, we spent at least thirty minutes orchestrating sales taking place one of our platforms, like ABE or Amazon." Now, a text message alerts Boyers to a sale, and Collectival automatically updates Schubertiade's various selling platforms while also creating an invoice and shipping label. None of this technology is unique, but Collectival is the first to package and integrate these tools into one software, designed with an antiquarian dealer in mind.

Boyers, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and current president of the Professional Autograph Dealers Association, began collecting music memorabilia and antiquarian sheet music in college. The desire to acquire persisted. "After school, I started Schubertiade Music & Arts, where I sell and appraise rare books, manuscripts, and art related to music. Drew is the technical and finance director." Collectival is currently in the beta-testing phase and scheduled to launch in a few months. Dealer packages start at $199 a month. A scaled-down version is available free to collectors interested in a modern way to handle their storing and cataloging needs.

If you're in Pasadena this week for Rare Book Week West and the 49th Annual California Antiquarian Book Fair, here are two auctions this weekend that might pique your interest:

On Sunday, February 14th, both Bonhams Los Angeles and PBA Galleries will be hosting auctions. The auction at PBA, which begins first at 8:00 a.m., includes an archive of twenty-six manuscript letters signed by King Philip IV of Spain, to Luis Enríquez de Guzmán, 9th Count of Alba de Liste, his Viceroy in New Spain, written between February 1651 to February 1653. Estimate: $80,000-$120,000. Also on offer will be a Second Folio (estimate $200,000 - $300,000) and an ALS from Albert Einstein on God and physics (estimate $60,000 - $90,000).

Later the same morning, Bonhams Los Angeles is also hosting a Fine Books & Manuscripts sale.  Their highlight is a first edition, first issue of On the Origin of Species from Charles Darwin.  This copy has an excellent provenance as well, having been owned by Darwin's contemporary John Gwyn Jeffreys, a conchologist on several marine expeditions in the mid 19th century. Estimate: $70,000 - $90,000. At a higher price point in the same auction is Dr. Kary Mullis's 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry which is expected to bring in $450,000 - $550,000. Also on offer is a copy of History of the Indian Tribes of North America from McKenney and Hall, a highpoint of Americana collecting with its 120 hand-colored lithographs.  (Estimate $40,000 - $60,000).

Well, it is Hollywood after all (or close enough). One of the spotlight items at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena this weekend hails from James Cummins Bookseller in New York City: Jerry Seinfeld's full handwritten draft of the Seinfeld episode "The Pez Dispenser" (air-date January 15, 1992). The 42-page manuscript on yellow ruled legal paper is an early draft, with numerous revisions and dialogue that was obviously cut from the final script. It is priced at $25,000.

     Seinfeld appears just before Shakespeare in the Cummins fair catalogue, with not only this manuscript, but several others, including two one-page Seinfeld monologue manuscripts in Jerry's hand and a handwritten letter from Seinfeld to fellow comedian George Burns. Like Cummins, we have never seen a Seinfeld draft manuscript on the market. The Emmy Award-winning series, it should be noted, is widely considered one of the best television shows of all time.  

Image courtesy of James Cummins Bookseller.

If you're heading down to California this week for Rare Book Week West - and the 49th Annual California Antiquarian Book Fair  - here are a few special exhibitions at local institutions to tempt you (briefly) away from the bookseller stalls:

1) The Getty: In Focus: Daguerreotypes. "This exhibition presents a selection of one-of-a-kind images from among the Museum's two thousand daguerreotypes, alongside those from the collection of Graham Nash."

Also: Traversing the Globe Through Illuminated Manuscripts. "This exhibition features illuminated manuscripts and painted book arts from the 9th through the 17th century that bring to life in stunning ways the real and imagined places that one encounters on their pages."

2) The Huntington: Friends and Family: British Artists Depict Their Circle.  Portraiture from the mid-18th through the early 20th centuries. "This exhibition presents another, more personal side of British portraiture. A wide-ranging selection of small-scale portraits in various media shows how artists from the mid -18th to the early 20th centuries portrayed subjects well-known to them in the prevailing artistic styles of the day - from the fashionable pastels of the Georgian era, to the careful observations of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood a century later, to the avant-garde abstractions of the modernists." (Free admission if you've purchased a $25.00 ticket to the California Antiquarian Book Fair).

3) Los Angeles County Museum of Art: Living for the Moment: Japanese Prints from the Barbara S. Bowman Collection. Over one hundred prints of the genre known as ukiyo-e, or pictures of the floating world. "During the Edo period (1615-1868), commercially printed ukiyo-e showed the sensualist priorities of Japanese at a time when a shogunal government restricted nearly all aspects of life."

A rare Icelandic fairy tale and poetry book, Um ?rnat frá Björk, written and produced by the teenaged Björk in 1984 will be on offer at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair later this week. The sixteen-page folded paper booklet features the singer-songwriter's handwritten text and extensive watercolor and colored pencil illustrations. It is also signed and inscribed by Björk.

According to the bookseller, Schubertiade Music & Arts, the book was acquired "directly from Björk in downtown Reykjavík when she was a young girl selling these on the corner, just on the threshold of world stardom."

The book is believed to exist in fewer than one hundred copies, each uniquely illustrated. It is rare on the market. This one is priced at $9,500. See it for yourself in Pasadena this weekend!

Image courtesy of Schubertiade Books.

Our Bright Young Booksellers series continues today with Jennifer Ebrey, a Junior Cataloger in the Rare Books & Manuscripts Department at Bonhams, London:

What is your role at Bonhams?

I'm a Junior Cataloguer in the Books & Manuscripts Department. I'm still relatively new to the department, so I haven't yet developed a specialist area, but there are so many things I get enthusiastic about: iconic modern firsts, wonderfully quirky limited editions and delightfully curious and charming antiquarian books. I also have a partiality for E.H. Shepard illustrations.

Describe a typical day for you:

It'll depend on where exactly we are in the sale's calendar, but I tend to spend the majority of my day cataloguing and collating and offering valuations. Although, once in a while, I'll receive something that's slightly more unusual that would need a little bit more attention and research. Then I'll spend an enjoyable afternoon reading up on an incredibly niche subject. I've also tried to incorporate social media in to the department, so I try to make time every day to share something (hopefully) witty or interesting on Twitter and Instagram. It's also a really lovely way of showing people what happens behind the scenes.  

How did you get started in rare books?

In a very roundabout, meandering sort of way. Although I've loved books ever since I was old enough to read and I chose to study literature at university, I wasn't sure if I would ever have a career that would let me utilise my passion for books. It was only when I began to work for Bonhams that I thought it might be possible. I originally started in the Collections Department at New Bond Street, which was absolutely fascinating - I literally handled everything from Picasso paintings to Tiffany jewellery and imperial Chinese vases - through that I was able to learn, in a very osmotic way, about appraising and valuing. After a while I was invited to join the Books and Manuscripts Department. Since then I've just wanted to learn as much as I possibly can, which is easy when you're lucky enough to be part of a team with the sort of knowledge that Google would envy.

What do you love about working for an auction house?

Working for an auction house is easily the most fascinating and exciting job I've ever had. It's the ultimate combination of handling some of the world's rarest and most remarkable books and meeting wonderful, interesting people. If you've never been to an auction, please, please do - it's an amazing experience... and I promise we don't think you're bidding if you sneeze.

Favorite rare book or ephemera that you've handled?

That's actually a really hard question because I think that most of the things we have in the office are amazingly cool, but I love the curiosities! One of my favourites was a really unassuming little book that my colleague discovered to have an incredibly rare printed fragment sewn in to its binder's waste. It was John Stanbridge's The Longe Accydence and I think it was actually the only located copy in the world. We've also had Coleridge's writing desk, a 'wicked' bible, Howard Carter's archaeological papers, diaries and sketchbooks from pioneering explorers... and who could forget Napoleon's death mask?!

What do you personally collect?

The wonderful thing about working with rare books is that you accumulate a dream bookshelf in your head chockfull of all the amazing things you'd love to fill it with. There are some things that I've always, always wanted - like a first edition of Lord Byron - but now I find myself cataloguing things that I might never have thought of like beautiful botanical plate books and stunning limited editions and I think 'how amazing would it be to own that?' I'd also love to have a copy of the very first book I catalogued, which was Sir Walter Raleigh's The Historie of the World. At the moment though, I just have a few signed books, most of them happily acquired in very long queues in bookstores, but my absolute favourite is a copy of The Midnight Palace signed by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, which was a gift from my sister.

What do you like to do outside of work?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love reading - especially anything with a hint of mystery. Although in the last year, I've been trying to teach myself Italian, so perhaps one day I'll be able to read Umberto Eco in the original. I'm also a huge fan of the theatre - The Globe's production of Twelfth Night with Mark Rylance is still the best thing I've ever seen.

Thoughts on the future of rare books / auction houses?

I'm still fairly new to the book trade, but I have great faith in its future. I think it is very much its own entity. While other forms of collecting are dependent on contemporary tastes, the variety within rare books means that while certain fields or genres may become unfashionable, other subjects and specialities will continue to be sought after. Working in auctioneering has also made me aware of exactly how global the market has become. Some of our sales have had bidders from over 30 countries and over half of our bidders are now based outside of the UK, which means that we are reaching more and more private buyers directly, regardless of where they are in the world.

Any upcoming auctions you'd like to draw our attention to?

Absolutely! Our next auction is the much-anticipated second part of The Library of the Late Hugh Selbourne, M.D., on 8 March. Dr. Selbourne was a remarkable collector - he collected everything from early medical books to modern firsts, but all with a careful and discerning eye, so his library is like a sweetshop for bibliophiles. This second part will include a first edition of Darwin's The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle and a minute book of a real life radical Pickwick Club.

     We also have a fantastic various owner sale coming up on 16 March, which has some beautiful (and wonderfully curious) designer bindings from the collection of the late Denis Collins as well as a beautifully illustrated copy of Gould's Birds of Great Britain, a wonderful John Speed atlas and J.W. Waterhouse's copies of Tennyson and Shelley, which he used to make preliminary sketches for some of his most famous paintings.

     There's also something amazing tucked away in the safe for our June sale - but I couldn't possibly tell you what that is. Yet.

While many collectors and booksellers are flocking to California over the next couple of weeks, others are making their way to Florida, for the Miami Map Fair and/or the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show.

The Palm Beach show is now a seven-day event, featuring more than 170 international exhibitors. Book and manuscript dealers include Daniel Crouch Rare Books, Lion Heart Autographs (they will present a marriage document signed by Napoleon and Josephine), and M.S. Rau of New Orleans, which will showcase some fine presidential material, including this John Quincy Adams land certificate, priced at $8,850, as well as strands of George Washington's hair and JFK assassination court case files.  

Image Courtesy of the Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show.

The ruin of Wycoller Hall in Lancashire may soon lose its funding. Faced with significant budget cuts, Lancashire County Council is considering a proposal to stop maintence on the ruins and remove ranger service patrols in the area. An online petition to reconsider this plan has attracted 6,300 signatures out of a goal of 7,500 supporters.

     Originally constructed in the 16th century, Wycoller Hall reached its heyday in the 18th century as a family seat for the Cunliffe family.  Bad debts, gambling problems, and a succession of owners who died without issue, however, set the gears in motion for a slow and steady decline. By the early 19th century the hall was abandoned, with significant chunks of his stonework hauled off to aid in other local construction projects.  Picturesque ruins, however, remained to inspire the Bronte sisters who frequently visited Wycoller village in the mid 19th century, located across the moors from their home in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

     Charlotte Bronte immortalized Wycoller Hall as Ferndean Manor, one of the properties owned by Mr. Rochester, in Jane Eyre. After a fire destroys Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester's primary residence, Mr. Rochester relocates to Ferndean Manor:

     "The manor-house of Ferndean was a building of considerable antiquity, moderate size, and no architectural pretensions, deep buried in a wood. I had heard of it before. Mr Rochester often spoke of it, and sometimes went there. He would have let the house, but could find no tenant, in consequence of its ineligible and insalubrious site. Ferndean then remained uninhabited and unfurnished with the exception of some two or three rooms fitted up for the accommodation of the squire when he went there in the season to shoot."

     Although a ruin today, Wycoller Hall is a heritage listed building.  Concerned citizens are worried that removing Council maintenance of the property will leave it vulnerable to vandalism. The petition campaign to preserve the property is being conducted by Friends of Wycoller.

[Images from Wikipedia]