Two Illinois State University math professors recently authenticated that two math-notebook pages belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The pages were found in the archives of Harvard's Houghton Library and were part of a math workbook, called a ciphering book, that Lincoln worked on in his youth. The ciphering book is the oldest known Lincoln manuscript. Nerida Ellerton and Ken Clements, the professors who made the discovery, believe these pages indicate that Lincoln had more formal education than scholars previously believed. Lincoln was thought to have completed only three to nine months of school, but the professors think he went to school for up to two years. "He made very few errors, and he always knew what he was trying to do," Clements added. "We've studied thousands of these cyphering books. You don't always get the feeling that 'this guy knew what he was doing.'" Historian Daniel Stowell, the Director of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, agrees that Lincoln may have attended school for three to five winters. The dates on the pages and in the notebook suggest that Lincoln worked on these problems over the course of several years in the 1820s. "They are arguing with some merit that a ciphering book would have been created in a school setting," Stowell said. "It does at least open the possibility that he may have had more formal schooling than originally thought. Not a whole lot more, but still more." The professors came across t... [more Lincoln Math Workbook Indicates Additional Education]

Russ Davidson, the former University of New Mexico Libraries' Latin American/Iberian curator donated $25,000 and pledged an additional $225,000 to the University Libraries to establish an endowment fund in honor of his longtime friend, Howard L. Karno. Howard was a preeminent Latin American bookseller and member of the ABAA who passed away last year. "I have long wanted to create an endowment that would help the University Libraries continue to deepen and strengthen a part of its holdings that for years have been recognized as exceptional, and to some degree unique, by students and scholars in the U.S. and across the hemisphere," Davidson said. The Howard L. Karno Endowment for Latin American Pictorial Collections will finance the acquisition of rare and specialized Latin American visual resources, including prints, posters, photographs, broadsheets, fine press imprints, illustrated books, artist books, and cover art. “Howard was a bookman of impeccable taste, relishing the book as an artifact, with its special qualities of binding, typography, design and so on. Yet for him, books and perhaps even more powerfully visual images, represented something more . . . they connected us, in a very real, vivid way, to life and human experience," Davidson explained. "In addition, some of the credit for assembling the Libraries' Latin American pictorial collections should go to Howard, because he understood our strength in this area, shared the vision of enlarging its scope and range â... [more Howard L. Karno Endowment Fund Established at the University of New Mexico]

The ABAA is pleased to announce the 2013 recipients of the Edwin Glaser Scholarships to the Colorado Antiquarian Booksellers' Seminar: Rebecca Bott (Botolphston Books), Lawrence Hammar (Blue Jacket Books), and Zachary Stacy (Books-O-Rama). Congratulations! Rebecca Bott offered an extensive background in antiquarian books and manuscripts. She worked as a student assistant at her university's rare book and manuscript library, earned an MLIS degree and has catalogued texts and manuscripts for private collectors and institutions. Presently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she recently established Botolphston Books, with stock in early printed material. She noted in her essay: "my discussions with booksellers have confirmed that an appreciation for, or even a deep knowledge of books is not enough to make one a good bookseller. The antiquarian book trade is a business, and a complex one." Lawrence (Larry) Hammar came to bookselling as a later profession. His Blue Jacket Books in Xenia, Ohio is a general antiquarian bookstore with social sciences and humanities as a strong focus. The bookstore is now in its third location, having outgrown one and then forced into a third after a flood. He has needed resilience to keep Blue Jacket Books going. His ambition is to make Blue Jacket a better store and himself a more knowledgeable bookman and businessman. As he wrote, "We don't have any money, but we have more space, seemingly boundless energy, and a lot of community good will." Zachar... [more ABAA Woodburn Fund Awards Scholarships to the Colorado Antiquarian Booksellers' Seminar]

Paper marbling is a centuries old art of aqueous design that is transferred to paper or fabric. There are several methods of marbling, but the basic process uses a shallow tray of water or viscous mucilage, known as size or sizing. Ink or paint colors are carefully applied to the surface of the water or sizing with an ink brush (chemicals are used to help keep the colors floating). The artist then uses various apparatuses such as brushes, rakes, combs, and styluses to create designs. Once the artist is satisfied with the design, a piece of paper is laid on the surface and voilà, the colorful design is transferred to the surface of the paper. Watching the process of paper marbling is mesmerizing, as is illustrated in the video below. Seyit Uygur is a Turkish ebru artist (ebru is the Turkish name for paper marbling). Seyit UYGUR { Ebru Artist } from Oguz Uygur on Vimeo. If you're interested in trying your hand at marbling, check out your local Center for Book Arts to register for a class. Here's a link to an instructional video from the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The page also includes a great link to examples of different marbling pattern samples. There are also a number of neat videos on YouTube. [more Mesmerizing Paper Marbling]

The following items were recently stolen from Wentworth & Leggett Rare Books. If you have any information on these items, please contact Barbara Wentworth at 919-688-5311 or 919-479-1938. 1. Arthur Rackham's Book of Pictures London 1913 limited edition signed by Arthur Rackham http://www.wentworthleggettbooks.com/Pages/Item/Illustrated.aspx index 73 of 90 to 76 of 90 2. 6 vol set of Fox Hunting stories by R.S. Surtees Handsome half leather embosed Original cover and spine tipped in the back of each volume Illustrations by John Leech and Phiz http://www.wentworthleggettbooks.com/Pages/Item/Illustrated.aspx index 38 of 90 to 41 of 90 3. The Viscera of the Human Body Edited by Jones Quain M.D. and W. J. Erasmus Wilson Full leather cover medical atlas Folio Hand colored plates London 1840 http://www.wentworthleggettbooks.com/Pages/Item/PrintsMedical.aspx index 54 of 85 to 85 of 85 4. D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover Florence, Italy (1928). Pirated edition. Mulberry-colored boards and paper spine label same as original edition 5. Observations Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty...Mountains and Lakes of Cumberland and Westmorland (we're pretty sure this is the title) by William Gilpin late 1700's 2 vol full deep olive green leather many aquatints fore-edge painting on each vol special lined slipcase fore each vol [more Books Stolen in North Carolina]

The deadline for submissions to the 2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest has been extended to Monday, June 3 at 5pm. To enter, please visit the following link: apply.abaa.org Please pass along this information to any interested parties! [more National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Deadline Extended]

Capote's edits on the manuscript (image via Toronto Star) Truman Capote's typed Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript was sold at auction late last month for a whopping $306,000. The 1958 manuscript contains Capote's handwritten edits, which number up to a dozen changes per page. Perhaps the most significant change is the heroine's name: originally Connie Gustafson, Capote crossed out every mention of the name and replaced it with Holly Golightly. (Good call, Capote!) More than a hundred different names were used in various drafts before Capote settled on Golightly. The character, of course, was immortalized in popular culture by Audrey Hepburn's portrayal in the 1961 film adaptation. The story was originally commissioned for Harper's Bazaar magazine but was pulled at the last minute because of the sexual nature of Golightly's lifestyle. It was published in the November 1958 issue of Esquire magazine and shortly thereafter was published by Random House along with three other short stories by Capote. The manuscript was sold to a Russian billionaire, Igor Sosin, by RR Auction. The auction house reports that Socin plans to display it in Moscow and Monaco. The movie is great, but if you haven't read the novella do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's a wonderful story and beautifully written. Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript goes to auction Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript sells for $306K at auction to Russian billionaire [more Capote's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Manuscript Sells Big]

Willa Cather was a famously private writer. She destroyed many literary manuscripts, personal papers, and letters, and her will forbade the adaptation of her works into plays or movies and the publication of her personal letters. Cather's will expired two years ago, however, after the death of her nephew and the will's executor. This left her remaining personal letters up for grabs, so to speak, and a new book publishes over 500 of Cather's letters. Released last month, The Selected Letters of Willa Cather is co-edited by Andrew Jewell, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraires and the editor of the Willa Cather Archive, and Janis Stout, the author of nine scholarly books and editor of two other books on Cather. Jewell and Stout acknowledge that they have gone against Cather's will and personal wishes, but justify doing so with the best intentions for the public good, so that everyone can "read and interpret her letters" for themselves. Their introduction states that: "Cather is now a part of our cultural history. Her works belong to something greater than herself. It is time to let the letters speak for themselves." Tom Perrotta, who reviewed the book for the NY Times, said that he didn't disagree with the editors, but that he " the reading experience uncomfortable, especially when bumped up against one of Cather's frequent declarations that she considers her letters 'entirely personal and confidential.'" Although I am intrigued to have a glimpse... [more Willa Cather Letters Published]

Exciting news for ABAA member Greg Gibson: his noir crime novel The Old Turk's Load was just named a Top Crime Fiction Debut by Booklist Online. From Booklist: Pay attention to our debut winners. You're going to be hearing their names, reading their books, and seeing them on best lists for years to come. Congratulations, Greg! [more 'The Old Turk's Load' Earns More Critical Praise]

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, which monitors and reports hate and extremist groups in the U.S., has donated its 30 year collection of extremist materials to the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University. The 90 boxes of periodicals, pamphlets, flyers, and other documents will be added to the Library's Human Rights Archive. The mission of the Human Rights Archive is to "identify, collect, and provide access to materials generated by organizations and individuals working within and having significant social impact on the field of human rights." This donation will be a significant addition to the Library's already extensive collection of American social movements and its collection on Ku Klux Klan materials that documents the group from the 1860s to the present day. The SPLC's collection extends beyond the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, including materials on a variety of other hate groups such as border vigilantes, black separatists, and white nationalists. Once the library prepares the documents for use they will be available to researchers and scholars to examine the histories of extremist organizations and the efforts to monitor them. "We are especially pleased that these relatively rare materials will finally be made available to scholars who research America's radical right. We look forward to learning from their scholarship," said Heidi Beirich, Director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project. Southern Poverty Law Center Dona... [more Duke University Receives Collection of Extremist Literature]