First English edition of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, 1640 (image via Keys) The first English edition of Niccolo Machiavelli's seminal work The Prince, dated 1640, was recently discovered during a collection evaluation in Norfolk, UK. Andrew Bullock, the head of the book department at Keys auction house was combing through a late collector's books when he was drawn to a particular shelf. "The Machiavelli was on a shelf hidden amongst a number of Common Prayer books, but some sort of sixth sense asserted itself, and I took it down to take a closer look,” Bullock said. No matter what 'sixth book sense' brought Bullock to his discovery, he and many collectors are very happy that it did. Bullock called it an "extremely exciting find" as "it is very rare for an English first edition of such an important work to come to auction." The book is 300 pages long and measures only 14.5cm x 9cm (5¾in x 3½in), but is expected to bring in �25,000 to �30,000 ($30,992 to $46,488) when it is auctioned this Thursday, July 26. Extremely rare first edition of Machiavelli's The Prince, found in Norfolk, to go under the hammer in Aylsham [more First English Edition of Machiavelli's 'The Prince' Goes to Auction Thursday]

Stephen Colbert's manuscript for his recently published children's book I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) will be on display at the Rosenbach Museum and Library and will reside next to James Joyce's manuscript for Ulysses. (No, I'm not kidding.) Colbert conceived of the book during an interview with Maurice Sendak earlier this year. Coincidentally, the Rosenbach is the major repository for Sendak's works. As one ABAA member commented, "If you are a James Joyce fan, you will cringe", and yes, I did cringe a little, but the video is hilarious. Besides, any talk of rare books and manuscripts in popular culture is pretty awesome. [more Strange Bedfellows: Stephen Colbert & James Joyce]

The New Orleans Public Library and the Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFAB) have partnered to open the largest culinary library in the South. The two organizations have been in talks about the project since 2010, but the museum had to be "mature enough to acquire a building", said SoFAB president Liz Williams. The museum currently has over 9,000 cookbooks, menus, recipes, archival documents, and literature about food, all of which will be housed at the new library. In addition, there will be a collection of children's materials related to the culinary arts, food, and nutrition. Library director Charles Brown said that, once completed, this children's culinary collection will be the most comprehensive of its kind. Brown also stated the library's intention to become a repository for "the papers of people in the culinary world." The library has already received its first donation of papers from Southern kosher cookbook author Mildred Covert. SoFAB lost its collection of more than 2,000 books and the computer that housed the collection database during Hurricane Katrina, but donations of from all over the world came in after the catastrophe, making the robust collection that exists today. The library is scheduled to open in 2013 and will be located at 1609 O.C. Haley Blvd, just down the street from SoFAB's new location (also set to open next year). The library will be free and open to the public, but the collection will not circulate. No taxpayer dollars will be used for the... [more New Orleans Set to Open Largest Culinary Library in the South]

A new anthology of Latin American fiction has been printed in a very unique way: publishers used a special ink so that the entire text will fade in two months time. The book, appropriately titled El Libro que No Puede Esperar (The Book That Can't Wait), was produced by Eterna Cadencia, an independent Argentinian publishing house, in conjunction with DraftFCB, an advertising agency. It comes in a sealed package and the ink begins to fade as soon as it makes contact with air and light, giving the reader eight weeks to read and enjoy the text before it disappears completely. El Libro que No Puede Esperar is a special edition of The Future is Not Ours: New Latin American Literature, an anthology of stories from twenty-three Latin American writers who were born between 1970 and 1980. The aim of the publication, which is expanded upon in the video below, is to motivate people to read the book quickly. More specifically, to read new authors quickly, because "if people don't read their first books, they'll never make it to a second." This is clearly a pretty innovative marketing plan, but the explanation reagrding urgency for new authors is very real. I am intrigued by this concept and want to get my hands on a copy of the book to check it out! The Book That Can't Wait Book with an expiration date El libro que no puede esperar [more Speed Read: Latin American Anthology Published in Disappearing Ink]

Reading Rainbow, one of my favorite shows as a child, is returning to teach a new generation about the magical journeys books can take you on, but will do so in a whole new medium. Originally a television program that aired on PBS from 1983 to 2006, Reading Rainbow will now be available as an app. LeVar Burton, the host of the television show, acquired the "Reading Rainbow" license last year for his new digital multimedia company, RRKidz. Burton recognized the changes occurring in the children's publishing industry; like the entire industry, things are moving more and more toward digital platforms and he saw a perfect opportunity to reinvent what he did for 25 years on Reading Rainbow: get kids excited about reading books through the use of technology. “We're still tying literature and the real world together, and where it meets is in the imagination of the reader, the child,” Burton said. “So I think we've really done a good job of translating in a bottom-up reinvention of what was once a television series (into) a new multidimensional interactive experience.” The app is intended for children ages 3-9 and currently features 150 books that are segmented onto different "islands", like 'Animal Kingdom', 'My Friends', and 'My Family'. Stories come alive through audio storytelling by celebrity actors and "light animations and activities to enhance the story." It also features customized reading recommendations, a reward program to motivate reading, a parental dashboard to... [more 'Reading Rainbow' Returns as an App]

UFA colour lithograph poster for 'Metropolis', Designer - Heinz Schulz-Neudamm, Berlin, 1927. Items from or pertaining to Metropolis, Fritz Lang's 1927 silent science-fiction tour de force, have a high collectible value; seven years ago an original movie poster for the film sold for $690,000. One can only imagine the excitement then that an antiquarian book firm experienced upon uncovering a 32 page program from the film's London premiere (and the added surprise of discovering it among their own inventory!). The film premiered at the Marble Arch Pavilion and the program was created especially for the event. The program is comprised of anecdotes about filming; photographs; firsthand accounts on the backstory of the movie, including the perspective of the director and his wife and colloborator, Thea von Harbou; and essays about the making of the film and themes it explores. (It sounds like the bits on the special effects in the film would make for quite an interesting read on their own.) Peter Harrington, the London firm that rediscovered and currently has the program, said that only three surviving copies are known to exist. Click here to view the complete booklet. A few interesting facts about the film: More than 37,000 extras were used in the film, including 1,100 bald men (The 'Tower of Babel' scene required 6,000 bald men, but since they could only hire 1,000, the bald extras had to be filmed six times to create the illusion.) The film took 2 years to shoot and is one of ... [more 'Metropolis' Program from Film's 1927 London Premiere Unearthed]

These items were still reported missing as of June 17, 2019. On Thursday, June 7, 2012, staff at the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML) at Saint John's University discovered that a 16th century printed book was missing from the work carrel of one of its catalogers. HMML staff conducted a thorough search of both HMML and Alcuin Library to ensure that the item had not been misplaced. The staff immediately reviewed a list of rare materials that had been used that week in presentations during a workshop being held at the library. It was discovered that two manuscript items from the Arca Artium collection were also missing, one of which had been used on Wednesday afternoon (June 6). It is believed that all three volumes were stolen. The manuscripts had already been photographed digitally and can be viewed in Vivarium, the online image service from the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (www.hmml.org/vivarium). Officers from Life Safety Services at Saint John's University and from the Stearns County Sheriff's Office began an investigative process that involved interviewing staff and library visitors. New security precautions have since been put into place. The missing books are: Item 1: Two printed works in Latin, together in one volume. (Call number: PA8517.D4 1532). These are bound in blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards, with raised bands and two clasps. The volume measures approximately 16-17 cm X 10 cm X 4-5 cm. The two titles are: Desiderius Erasmus. D. Erasmi Roteroda... [more 16th Century Printed Book & 2 Manuscripts Stolen from Saint John's University]

This item was still reported missing as of June 11, 2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Title : 2 Aquatints from J. Atkinson's "An Account of the State of Agriculture and Grazing in New South Wales" Author : Atkinson, J. Date of publication : 1826 Description : 1: An Exploring Party in New South Wales. 2: Party preparing to bivouac If you have any information on this item, please contact Louis Kissajukian at info@antiqueprintroom.com or (02) 9267 4355. [more Stolen: 2 Aquatints from J. Atkinson’s “An Account of the State of Agriculture and Grazing…”]

First Edition Cover Art of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' by C.S. Lewis A rare inscribed first edition of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be auctioned in London this Thursday, July 19. This copy is especially rare because the author inscribed it with his nickname, Jack, which only close friends and family called him. No other copy of the book with an inscription of Lewis's nickname has ever gone on sale. The inscription reads, "Nicholas Hardie, with love from Jack Lewis", and was given to the son of Colin Graham Hardie, one of Lewis's best friends. Lewis would often visit the Hardie household, Nicholas Hardie, now 66, remembers, and spent many evenings reading Dante aloud with his father. "He was a distinguished old man," Mr. Hardie said. "I remember being eight years old and my mother telling me I had to be on my best behavior because C.S. Lewis was coming around." It was on a Christmas visit for tea in 1950 when Lewis gave Mr. Hardie the copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Max Hasler, a modern first editions expert at Bloomsbury Auctions, said the book is "an exciting find" because "only a few books signed by C.S. Lewis have ever come to auction, and none of them have been signed 'Jack'". The book is valued to be worth up to almost $19,000. Rare first-edition Narnia book given to your boy by C.S. Lewis up for auction at �12,000 [more First Edition Narnia Book Inscribed by 'Jack' Lewis Goes to Auction]

Check out this vintage vending machine for books. A great new idea for the battle against sugary beverages: replace all Coke and Pepsi machines with Book-O-Mats! Smarter and healthier people will ensue! Image via Book Riot (click photo to enlarge) [more Book-O-Mat]