Today, Swann Galleries in New York will be offering an original manuscript from the Salem witch trials as part of the Eric C. Caren Collection auction, entitled 'How History Unfolds on Paper'. The manuscript is the court indictment of Margaret Scott, a widow in her 70s who was accused and found guilty of "certaine detestable arts called witchcraft and sorcery." Scott was one of the last eight residents executed for crimes of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. She was hanged on September 22, 1692. The pre-auction estimate for the manuscript is $25,000-$35,000, a figure that Richard Trask, a leading expert on the trials, says is too low. Trask has been in the field since 1963 and says that he has "only seen witchcraft documents sold twice during professional life." He continues, "They are very valuable, and this is an indictment — it's an important document. ... This kind of document comes along so infrequently." Rick Stattler, Swann's Director of printed and manuscript Americana, agrees about the rarity of the manuscriptno similar items have come to auction since 1983. Trask is town archivist for what was formerly Salem Village, and laments that he will be unable to procure the manuscript due to budgetary restrictions. "Anybody who has money could buy it," he said. "The problem with these documents is they're really public records. They should be in a public institution." The auction will take place today at 1:30pm. Rare witch document expected to sell for thousands ... [more Manuscript from Salem Witch Trials to be Auctioned Today]

ABAA member Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books has generously offered a scholarship to any antiquarian bookseller interested in taking Joel Silver's course, "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books". Vic attended Rare Book School in the past, and considers it to be an invaluable resource in addition to a highly enjoyable experience. He decided to endow a scholarship as a way of 'paying it forward' to other antiquarian booksellers. Additional details are below, courtesy of the Rare Book School website. The Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship opportunity that is available to all antiquarian booksellers interested in taking Joel Silver's course, "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books" (L-25), 23-27 July 2012. One Tavistock Scholarship will be awarded in 2012. Preference will be given to individuals in the early stages of their careers, and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance. To apply for the Tavistock scholarship, please submit a 2012 summer application to RBS no later than 16 April 2012. In a cover letter, discuss your reasons for applying for the scholarship to attend “Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books”; please include a brief description of your work in the antiquarian book trade, financial needs, and other relevant information. While not required, a recommendation letter from an ABAA member to accompany the application would be beneficial. Scholarship applicants will b... [more Tavistock Books Offers Educational Scholarship to Rare Book School Course]

The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Authors : Mezzotint by Charles Turner after Henry Fuseli Description : Mezzotint portrait in Rosewood frame stolen from a Surrey auction house. NB accompanying image of different impression of same print. If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Nigel Talbot at grosvenorprints@btinternet.com [more Stolen: Portrait of Joseph Priestley]

It happens often, especially when you attend so many rare book shows, but this is one instance in which I really wish I had a lot of cash to spare! On May 8, Bonhams auction house will present Visions of Garcia, an auction of very unique Jerry Garcia memorabilia. The offerings are diverse and sound very cool. An illustrated catalog will be posted on Bonhams.com in the weeks preceding the auction, but below are some of the items that will be included in the lot. Artwork: 'Mood River', one of five known oil paintings by Garcia A set of airbrush originals by Garcia (circa 1985) of 'Alien Craft & Brain' Two sketchbooks (circa 1991), that include 30 previously unseen drawings Original preliminary cover artwork for the Grateful Dead's Europe '72 album, 'Rainbow Foot' by Mouse and Alton Kelly 'Wetlands II', a popular airbrush piece by Garcia 'Purple Dog', an original Garcia watercolor Instruments Acoustic Takamine guitar, played from 1985-1988 for acoustic shows and seen on the covers of Pure Jerry Vol. 8 and Ragged but Right Ibanez guitar custom designed for Jerry by Ibanez and Bob Weir in 1977 Billy Kreutzmann drum set Equipment- speakers, amplifiers, etc. Other Goodies: A .9999 pure gold and enamel Owsley Stanley un-numbered Steal Your Face pendant, circa 1979 Handwritten set lists Garcia's sunglasses Skull and Roses banner from The Grateful Dead Movie Rick Geffen's original artowrk from the Dylan and Dead album cover, signed by both Griffin and Garcia 1983 Garcia-owned Harley D... [more Jerry Garcia Memorabilia to be Auctioned at Bonhams]

UPDATE: This item has been recovered. The following item has been reported missing: An original cabinet photo of the original "Buster Brown". The name Buster Brown is written in ink on the mounting board right below the actual photographic image. Buster Brown's dog, "TIGE" is sitting on top of his railroad transport cage. There are two or three men standing in the background. This image was photographed in Stamford, Texas during the teens or 1920's. The size of the mounting board would be approximately 8 inches X 11 inches. If you have any information about this photo, please contact John Moschiono at (713) 444-4107 or johnmos@airmail.net [more UPDATE: Missing Original Photo of Buster Brown]

I'm very sad to report that longtime bookseller and ABAA member Don Reisler has passed away after a protracted battle with cancer. The service will be held at 11am tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13, gravesite at the National Memorial Park Cemetery, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, Virginia (between section 7 and 8 of the King David Memorial Gardens). A lunch will be held afterwards at Bazin's on Church (111 Church Street, NW, Vienna, VA). In lieu of flowers, Don's family asks that donations be made to the Capital Caring Halquist Memorial Inpatient Center (4715 15th Street North, Arlington, VA 22205), the hospice where Don spent his last days. It's a sad day for the rare book trade. Our condolences go to Don's wife Jo Ann, daughter Kim, and grandson Sam, as well as the rest of his family and friends. [more Sad News: Don Reisler]

The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Healths Improvement: or, Rules Comprizing and Discovering The Nature, Method, and Manner of Preparing all sorts of Food Used in this Nation. Written by that ever Famous Thomas Muffett, Doctor in Physick: Corrected and Enlarged by Christopher Bennet, Doct Authors : Muffett, Thomas . . Bennet, Christopher, 1617-1655 . Date of publication : 1655 Publisher : Printed by Tho: Newcomb for Samuel Thomson, at the sign of the white Horse in Pauls Churchyard, London Description : Recently rebound in period style in mottled, dark-tan calf with blind ruled borders and attractive blind-stamped corner pieces. Signatures , B-2P4 (bound without , the preliminary imprimatur leaf, as are both copies in the British Library); L2 mis-assigned L3. , 296 pages; page of preliminary leaves numbered '8'. If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Tom Biro at biro@collectablebooks.co.uk [more Stolen: "Healths Improvement: or, Rules Comprizing and Discovering The Nature, Method…”]

This item was still reported missing as of June 4, 2019. The following book went missing while in transport to Illinois. Oldroyd, Osborn H. ~LINCOLN'S CAMPAIGN, Or The Political Revolution of 1860. Profusely Illustrated. With Fourteen Portraits and Biographies of Presidential Possibilities for 1896. ~Laird & Lee, Chicago: (1896). pp. vi, 241 + Portrait Frontis and full page plates. Text drawings. Fourteen portraits and biographies of presidential possibilities for 1896. Front hinge cracked. Paper beginning to brown at edges. XLib from Amherst College Library given by Arthur Curtiss James of the Class of 1889 for books in American History. Large 12mo. Original full blue gray cloth binding with gilt portrait of Lincoln on front board. Old library label on spine. Hardbound. If you have any information on this item, please contact Ron Lieberman at 717-442-0220 or RareBooks@POBox.com [more Missing: LINCOLN'S CAMPAIGN, Or The Political Revolution of 1860…]

The following items have gone missing from the Buffalo area: JOHANNES CHRYSOSTOMUS, SAINT. 345?-407. Accipe candidissime lector opera divi Joannis Chrysostomi archiepiscopi Constantinopolitani. Basel: Jacob Wolff for Wolfgang Lachner, 1504. CARACCIOLUS, ROBERTUS. 1425-1495. Sermones de quadragesimales, de adventu, de timore.... Venice: Gabriel de Grassis, 1485. VALLA, LAURENTIUS. 1406-1457. Elegantiae de linguae latinae. Venice: Philippus Pincius, February 8, 1492. BEAUVAIS CATHEDRAL. GRES, GUILLAME DE. Manuscript on vellum, in Latin, March 24, 1258. 1 p, oblong 4to (155 x 210 mm), 20 lines, in a fine secretarial Bâtard hand; later docketing on verso. Fine condition. ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT, on vellum, 6 ll, in Latin, 12mo (130 x 85 mm), , being fragments of a Breviary, initials and rubrications in red and blue with extensions, with later FULL-PAGE MINIATURE of Virgin Mary in a rose-garden bound in, later blindstamped sheep over boards. BALAINIUS, JOANNES. Index generalis in omnes D. Bonaventurae super quatuor libros sententiarum. Venice: , 1580. Please contact ABAA HQ at hq@abaa.org or 212-944-8291 if you have any information on these items. [more Missing Books From Buffalo Area]

Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, a non-profit dedicated to "building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form", has broadened his preservation efforts to include the physical realm as well as the digital. He purchased a wooden warehouse just north of San Francisco to act as a repository for books, and he has spent $3 million thus far purchasing and operating the facility. Kahle's goal is to "collect one copy of every book", and libraries and institutions are delighted to donate materials to the Physical Archive of the Internet Archive rather than recycle unwanted books and periodicals. (And there are certainly a lot of unused/"unwanted" books out therethe repository receives about 20,000 new volumes a week.) Some may question the value of some material in the repository"All New Crafts for Halloween" and "What to Do When Your Son or Daughter Divorces" were two recently received titlesbut Mr. Kahle believes that "you can never tell what is going to paint the portrait of a culture." The repository was modeled after the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which "holds 740,000 seed samples as a safety net for biodiversity", and Mr. Kahle hopes that his work on the Internet Archive and the Physical Archive of the Internet Archive will help him realize the lofty goal of creating a "library that would offer universal access to all knowledge". “We must keep the past even as we're inventing a new future,” Kahle said. “If the Libr... [more Repository Aims to Preserve One Copy of Every Published Work]