I've been reading a fascinating book about how humans have exchanged news and views through the centuries, and the changes printing made possible. In Writing on the Wall: Social Media The First 2,000 Years, Tom Standage, the digital editor of The Economist, traces the history of social media through the last 2000 years, highlighting how the last 150 years of broadcast media are in fact an anomaly ... [more]

The box containing letters apparently taken by unknown persons from outside residence: John Muir ALS August 2, 1908 to Mr Young August 20, 1904 to Mr Ray April 11, 1909 to W G Chapman Feb 9, 1910 to H L Abbott April 12, 1906 to an editor If offered, please contact ABAA Member George Houle. [more]

The Vietnam War was America's most influential event from 1950 to 2000. The conflict, more than any other contemporary occurrence, changed American society, foreign policy, politics and the military. Although I grew up after the war ended, I have always had an interest in the conflict and how it affected the United States. I wrote my college thesis on the use of Old Glory before, during, and after... [more]

A New England Correspondence Archive: Descriptive Notes and Approach to Valuation Recently a Massachusetts antiques dealer sought me out to evaluate an archive of approximately 100 autograph letters received by one Edward B. Dearborn (1807-1886), including many related to teaching, mostly in rural New England schools in the late 1820s and early 1830s. What at first appeared to be a boring batch of... [more]

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, a... [more]

As a lifelong student of literature, there has always been one question about symbolism that has persistently nagged me, especially when reading critical theory: Did the author really mean that? In some texts, symbolism is so intricate and seamless that it seems hard to believe its use could not have been a conscious decision by the author. In other instances, I've found that some claims made in c... [more]