In 1998, a 13th century Greek Orthodox prayer book sold at auction at Christie's New York for $2 million. Why did it sell at such a high price? It's a palimpsest, an erased and overwritten document, and the true value of the book lays beneath the prayers, where one can make out the faint markings of a much older textthe only surviving copy of the essential works of Archimedes. The palimpsest had been identified in 1906 by Johan Ludvig Heiberg, a famous Danish historian who was able to decipher and transcribe portions of the text. The scope of his research was limited, however, by the limited technology at the time and because he was working with the bound text. As soon as the palimpsest was sold in 1998, William Noel of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore contacted the buyer to request permission to loan the palimpsest and put it on temporary display at the Walters. To Noel's surprise and delight, the buyer arrived in Baltimore with the palimpsest in hand and offered to fund an extensive scholarly project to conserve and study it. Noel was appointed director of the Archimedes Palimpsest Project, and he embarked on a twelve year journey 'into' the text. Conservators, historians, manuscript experts, and scientists from around the world assisted the project, and Noel pointed out that "dedicated scholarship has brought these erased texts back to light." X-rays were particularly helpful in revealing text beneath saints' portraits, but regular x-ray beams were not focused nor powe... [more Lost Texts and Diagrams by Archimedes Found In a Medieval Manuscript]
The ABAA is pleased to announce that member interviews can now be viewed on abaa.org. A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rare book trade. The ABAA extends many thanks to Michael, as well as Taylor Bowie, who has also conducted a number of interviews. Click here to visit the ABAA Bookseller Interviews Homepage. [more ABAA Bookseller Interviews]
The New York Public Library owes Donald Davis, proprietor of East Village Books on St. Marks Place, a debt of gratitude. Davis recently nabbed Andrew Hansen, a book thief who has repeatedly stolen from the NYPL. Hanson has been stealing from the library for years and the NYPL had distributed his picture to bookshops throughout the city. Hansen stole numerous books from the library and then attempted to sell them off to local bookstores. Davis had unwittingly fallen for Hansen's scheme in the past and vowed to apprehend Hanson if he ever came back to his store. Hansen did return and Davis was ready for him. Davis confronted the thief and then tackled Hansen and subdued him until authorities arrived. Hansen was arrested and charged with burglary and criminal possession of stolen property. Of the incident, Davis said, "There's no other situation where I would do this. I was so angry that he was stealing from the library. The library is just a very important piece of our community.” Agreed! If you need to report a missing or stolen book, please contact us at hq@abaa.org and we will post it on our Security blog. East Village bookshop owner busts library thief [more East Village Bookseller Nabs Thief]
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America is delighted to announce the winners of the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest! First Prize: Mitch Fraas, Duke University, Anglo-American Legal Printing 1702 to the Present Second Prize: Maggie Murray, Johns Hopkins, Literature of the Little Review: In Which Margaret Anderson Enters an Antiquarian Bookstore Third Prize: Sarah McCormick, University of California-Riverside, Desert Dreams: The History of California's Coachella Valley Essay Prize: Emily Brodman, Stanford University, Sourcing the Sanctuary Movement After a two year hiatus, the contest was reinstated last year under the joint leadership of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies, the Center for the Book, and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, with major support from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation. Students who entered the contest were top prize winners of book collecting contests at their respective institutions. Judges were once again impressed by the scope and genres represented among the collections. Jean Kislak, a trustee of the Jay I. Kislak Foundation and lifelong collector, served as a member of the competition judging panel. "It was very exciting to see such a diverse array of book collections. These young collectors have shown such skill and creativity in assembling their outstanding collections." Mr. Fraas' collection began when he was studying ... [more 2011 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Winners Announced!]
The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford has just undergone a $122 million renovation and is christening its new gallery with an exciting exhibition of the library's most precious holdings. Treasures of the Bodleian is an especially interesting exhibit because of its interactive nature. Curator Stephen Hebron asked each staff member of the library to choose their favorite, 'unmissable' item from the vast collection, and then he whittled the list down to 75 pieces. Visitors to the exhibit are invited to suggest which pieces deserve to be given permanent display in the new gallery. A few treasures in the exhibit: Magna Carta Gutenberg Bible in pristine condition Jane Austen's handwritten compendium of her own earliest writings Mary Shelley's draft of Frankenstein with suggestions scribbled in by Shelley The Codex Mendoza The earliest almost complete copy of a poem by Sappho, from a cache of documents found in a rubbish dump in Egypt in the 19th century Three charred scrolls from a library in Herculaneum buried by the eruption of Vesuvius Shakespeare's First Folio Treasures of the Bodleian will be on display from September 30-December 23, 2011. Bodleian Library shows off treasures, from Magna Carta to Shakespeare [more Treasures of the Bodleian]
In last Sunday's NY Times Book Review there was a short essay by Geoff Dyer about getting books signed. It is quite an enjoyable piece. Please click here to read. [more NY Times: 'The Etiquette of Autographs']
Title : THOUGHTS ON THE EDUCATION OF DAUGHTERS with reflections on female conduct, in the more important duties of life. Authors : WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mary Date of publication : 1787 Publisher : printed for J. Johnson, London Description : FIRST EDITION. 12mo, pp. iv, 160; narrow strip excised from the top of L1 and L2 (not affecting the text), otherwise a clean copy throughout; in contemporary marbled boards, neatly rebacked to style with red morocco label lettered in gilt; a very good copy. If you have any information on this item, please contact Ed Smith at rarebooks@pickering-chatto.com [more Stolen: Wollstonecraft's 'Thoughts on the Education of Daughters…']
This item was still reported missing as of June 3, 2019. Title : De oratore Authors : CICERO, MARCUS TULLIUS Date of publication : 1485 Publisher : Andrea Torresani and Bartolomeo de Blavis, Venice Description : Folio (310x210 mm), modern monastic binding (half leather on wood covers), three raised bands spine with gilt titles on leather labels, ff. 211 (out of 212, lacks leaf a1, blank). Latin text on 59 lines, Roman letter.Copy in perfect conditions, wide-margined, fresh on brisk paper. If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Vincenzo Ferro at bibliopathos@bibliopathos.it [more Stolen: De oratore]
The ABAA is launching an Exhibitions page on our website, which can be found at the following link: http://hq.abaa.org/books/antiquarian/exhibitions. This page will provide listings of book-related exhibitions throughout the country. (You can also access this page by visiting abaa.org, clicking on 'Events' in the top right corner, and then clicking on 'Book Related Exhibitions'). We are actively researching and compiling listings, but our page also allows users to submit events. If you are aware of a current or upcoming bookish exhibition, please visit our page to submit information about it. Our goal is to compile a comprehensive database so that a person can find a book related exhibition wherever they may be. Thanks in advance for your help! [more ABAA Book Related Exhibitions Page]
Please click here to read Tom Congaltons (Between the Covers~Rare Books Inc.) latest blog post about the Baltimore Antique and Book Fair. Or, rather, his post about other sellers blog posts about Baltimore. My Last Book Fair [more Tom Congalton's Latest Blog Post on the Baltimore Antique and Book Fair]