This June, King's College at the University of Cambridge will hold a two-day conference on book collectors and collecting. The conference will commemorate the centennial birthday of the eminent bibliographer, A.N.L. Munby. Munby pioneered the historical study of British book collecting and the use of sale catalogues to trace the history of taste in books. He is best known for his accounts of obsessive book collectors of the nineteenth century, notably, Sir Thomas Phillipps. He worked in the antiquarian book trade before becoming a Fellow and Librarian of King's College, Cambridge, from 1947 to 1974. Munby was also Lyell Reader in Bibliography at Oxford 1962-63, a Founding Trustee of the British Library, President of the Bibliographic Society, and co-founder of the Cambridge Bibliographic Society. The conference theme is Floreat Bibliomania: Great Collectors and Their Grand Designs and will "provide an opportunity to map current and future developments in the study of collectors and collecting." The event will include presentations by distinguished speakers, visits to private exhibits, and a festive dinner in historic surroundings. Floreat Bibliomania will be held June 28-29, 2013. For additional details and to register, please visit www.kingsmembers.org/munby2013. [more Book Collectors' Conference at Cambridge University]
Update 5/24/19: This item has been recovered! The following item has been reported stolen: Habits of Monks Anonymous. No title: . . 16mo (8.7 cm x 222.5 cm; 3.4 x 87.6"). 36 hand-colored plates on pp. This compact but actually quite extensive souvenir offering illustrates the dress of ordained and lay members of various orders, including Capuchin, Dominican, Augustinian, Cistercian, Olivetan, Jesuit, Barnabite, Maronite, Carmelite; and congregations, including San Francesco di Paola, San Calisto, and the Fate Bene Fratelli (Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Dio), in 36 hand-colored plates, all with captions in Italian. Interestingly, in some cases, costumes are shown for priests and laici (laymen) of the same order on opposing pages. The contents unfold accordion-style in one very long strip comprised of six pieces neatly joined together in a leporello binding; fully extended, the images measure more than seven feet. There are interesting faces here; the wearers of the featured garbs are not mere generic mannequins. Binding as above in original cream paper boards embossed in an all-over leafy pattern; apparently issued without a title leaf. Light soiling on boards, paper cracking over rear joint but "volume" holding fine. It may be seen in this online catalogue: http://www.prbm.com/_Leporellos.php If you have any information on this item, please contact the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company at rarebks@prbm.com or 215-744-6734. [more Stolen: 'Habits of Monks', 36 Hand Colored Plates]
The following item was reported stolen: Mark Twain (Clemens, Samuel L.). HUCKLEBERRY FINN. 1885. First edition, first issue. Green pictorial cloth. Nice, very good copy. If you have any information on this item, please contact the Lost Horizon Bookstore at (805) 962-4606 or losthorizon.books@gte.net. [more Stolen: First Edition of 'Huckleberry Finn']
At the link you can watch the 2012 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest awards ceremony, which was held at the Library of Congress last October. The video includes a few remarks from the prizewinners on their collections and a talk given by Dr. Earle Havens entitled Caveat Emptor!: How to Build the World's Most Comprehensive Rare Book And Manuscript Collection of Literary and Historical Forgery. Dr. Havens is the William Kurrelmeyer Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Johns Hopkins University's Sheridan Libraries and is also an adjunct professor at JHU. (His talk begins at the 13:20 mark.) A transcript of the entire ceremony is available on the LOC's website and can also be found here. For information about the 2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, please visit contest.abaa.org. [more 2012 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Awards Ceremony Video]
The following items, consisting of pamphlets, pocket maps, leaflets, brochures and photographs, were in a leather covered file box/pamphlet bin that went missing in San Francisco: 1. Circular. Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota Railway Co. w/map 2. Description of the Lolo Trail Painted by Edgar S. Paxson leaflet 3. In the Adirondack Mountains brochure 4. Morrison's Guide to Washington 5. First Annual Report of Central Park 6. Taintor's Guide to Erie Railway and Branches 7. Cutter's Guide to the Hot Springs of Arkansas booklet 8. Colorado Springs booklet 9. Gregory. Savannah and Its Surroundings. Pamphlet 10. Ozalo-tzaete, bromide print photograph by Ben Wittick, Gallup, New Mexico 11. Gathering or procession of Hopi People, silver print, circa 1910 12. Plain Facts About Dakota, 1888. 13. Architecture of Allen & Young, Stockton, California 14. Memoranda of the Late Affair of Honor Between Clingman and Yancey, 1845 15. Full Statement …Abolitionists and Anti-Slavery Societies. Boston, 1836 16. Proceedings of the N.H. Anti Slavery Convention. Concord, 1834 17. The Flags of the Confederate Armies, 1905 18. Kansas Promotional Brochure Showalter Mortgage Co. 19. Great Burlington Route brochure with chromos of railroad car interiors 20. Colt Farm, Rhode Island booklet 21. Semi Monthly Excursion to California. Southern Pacific Company 22. Book sale broadside, mention of books for ladies, 1850’s 23. The Northern Pacific Railroad, The Yellowstone Route, brochure/map 24. I... [more Items Missing from the San Francisco Fair]
The following books were stolen in Santa Barbara last Friday: 1. Steinbeck, John. IN DUBIOUS BATTLE. # 24 of 99 copies, Signed. In slipcase. 2. Agee, James. LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN. 1941. First edition in dustjacket. Walker Evans photos. 3. James Joyce. GIACOMO JOYCE with five original etchings by Jose Hernandez, each signed, Number 3 of 6 copies housed in a cork case with a copy of the text in French in a paper folding case. Ettan Press, Rancho Santa Fe 1981. 4. Carroll, Lewis. ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. First American Edition.1866. Sangorski and Sutcliffe Binding. 5. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT. Ca. 1645. PRIERES DE LA MESSE, Prayers of the Mass 15 Chapter headings illuminated in watercolor and gold. 6. ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT. 17th. Century. PROPER FOR THE PARISH OF MAISONS...For the days of the two Patron Saints, St. Remy and St. Hilaire. 7. Wilkin, John. Mercury or The Secret of the Swift Messenger. First Edition 1641. 8. The Mother on Sri Aurobindo. 1961 Signed. With a letter explaining how the frontise-piece painting was made, is laid-in. 9. M. Scott Momaday. The Journey of Tai-me. 1967. Santa Barbara. Limited to 100 copies. 2 copies. Leather binding, in slipcase. 10. Five Fore-Edge Painting Books. Small, full leather bindings, rather non-descript. Including Thomas Moore, Lalla Rookh. 11. Five City Lights Pocket Poets Books. First Editions. If you have information on any of these items, please contact the Lost Horizons Bookstore at 805-962-4606. [more Books Stolen in Santa Barbara]
The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Holy Bible (The Judas Bible) Date of publication : 1611 Description : Darlow & Moule, revised by Herbert, and is probably no. 319: the general title dated 1613 (not present presumably) but New Testament dated 1611, the date given by the former vicar. Known as the 'Great She Bible'. Folio, approx 362 x 227mm. If you have any information on this item, please contact Barry Valentine-Ketchum, Staniland (Booksellers), at stanilandbooksellers@btinternet.com or +44 (0) 1572 821493 [more Stolen: 1611 Bible]
In the video below, ABAA member Dr. Sandra Hindman presents the world's only woven book of hours, produced by J.A. Henry in Lyon for the 1889 World's Fair. By programming the Jacquard loom, Henry was able to weave silk threads into punch-cardsapproximately 400 threads per square inch! In addition to being an interesting art object, the book also intrigues technology buffs and historians: the punchcards used are very similar to the method employed by Charles Babbage in the analytical engine, the prototype for the computer. (Here's some more information about both Jacquard and Babbage's inventions.) Dr. Sandra Hindman, Les Enluminures The Books of Hours website of Les Enluminures [more Woven Book of Hours]
Last May I posted about the construction of the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, a research library that will act as a repository for Mount Vernon's vast collection of books, manuscripts, and archival materials and will include a wing that replicates Washington's own library. Mount Vernon has been raising funds for the construction and maintenance of the library, making it the only presidential library to be built and sustained without government funding. The library is thrilled to announce that due to a $10 million donation from David Rubenstein, it has now exceeded its original fundraising goal of $100 million dollars and is on track to open in September. Rubenstein is a co-founder and co-CEO of the private equity firm the Carlyle Group and Chairman of the Kennedy Center in addition to being a devoted philanthropist. He has a particular fondness for Washington and has enjoyed visiting Mount Vernon since he was a child. Rubenstein characterized his gift as "patriotic philanthropy", saying that he tries "to give back to things that remind people of American history." (Cheers to that!) In 2007, Rubenstein purchased the last privately owned copy of the Magna Carta for $21.3 million and put the document on public display at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Mount Vernon's president and CEO Curt Viebranz said that Rubenstein "shares our interest in ensuring that these rare Washington and founding era documents are there for the people." Fo... [more David Rubenstein Donates $10M to Mount Vernon Library]
The following item has been reported missing: . Alice's Adventures Under Ground. Being a Facsimile of the Original Ms. Book Afterwards Developed into "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." With Thirty-Seven Illustrations by the Author. London and New York: Macmillan, 1886. 8vo, original decorated red cloth, gilt lettering, a.e.g. First edition. Lewis Carroll Handbook 194; Williams 52; NCBEL III, 978. ¶ The facsimile of the manuscript that was the genesis of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, attractively produced in a format somewhat similar to the original Alice. ¶ Inscribed in purple ink on the half-title to a young girl "Dorothy Katherine Comyns Carr / From the Author / Feb. 2. 1888." Dorothy Carr's father, Joseph Williams Comyns Carr (1849-1916), was the well known theatre and art critic, gallery owner, editor, playwright and producer (see the DNB), while his wife Alice was a close friend and occasional costume designer for the actress Ellen Terry, the latter also a lifelong friend of Dodgson. Cloth slightly worn and soiled; rear hinge just starting, but sound; fine copy, enclosed in a quarter morocco clamshell box. If you have any information on this item, please contact John Crichton at 415-398-0414 or books@brickrow.com. Still missing as of 5/24/2019. [more Missing: Alice's Adventures Under Ground]