ABAA-members George Koppelman and Daniel Wechsler were featured on CBS Sunday Morning this past weekend. The booksellers belief is that they may have identified Shakespeare's personal copy of John Baret's Alvearie; or Quadruple Dictionarie, and they have published a book detailing their exhaustive investigation. We previously wrote about Koppelman and Wechsler's ground-breaking work in 2014... [more]

Another controversy over Shakespeare erupted recently. By itself, this fact would not be worth reporting, as controversy swirls around the legacy of William Shakespeare like that of no other writer. However, this one revolved around something that collectors of rare books will have special interest in and knowledge of: printers marks. First, the Claim and Supporting Evidence Cover of the May 20th ... [more]

On June 17th, join ABAA members George Koppelman and Dan Wechsler for an evening at Swann Auction Galleries, where they will be speaking about their recently published book Shakespeare's Beehive and recounting "the story of how two antiquarian booksellers would acquire and conclude that it is William Shakespeare's own personal dictionary." Full details below. [more]

The literary world has been buzzing all week about ABAA members George Koppelman and Dan Wechsler's possession of a dictionary, John Baret's Alvearie, they believe was owned and annotated by William Shakespeare. There has been considerable press on Shakespeare's Beehive, and Dan has had the opportunity to chat about their scholarship with a number of outlets. Dan Wechsler sat down with Amy Eddings... [more]

George Koppelman and Daniel Wechsler have been waiting for this day for six years– the day the world will discover they are in possession of a book they claim was owned by William Shakespeare. Koppelman and Wechsler purchased a copy of Baret's Alvearie, or Quadruple Dictionarie (1580), on eBay in 2008. While other books have more famously earned the designation of Shakespeare source texts, work... [more]

In the recording below, F. Scott Fitzgerald reads part of Othello's speech to the Venetian senators in Act 1, Scene 3 (if you have the text in front of you, you'll notice that it is edited). Near the end of his life, Fitzgerald was broke and resorted to writing screenplays for money. He also made recordings of himself reading literary greats like Shakespeare and Keats, but it's unclear who produce... [more]

Sourcebooks publishing house has recently released a line of ebook/iPad apps called The Shakesperience. Using the iPad's technological capabilities, these books provide a multimedia experience that allow readers to interact with Shakespeare's plays. Each play features an embedded glossary of approximately 2,000 terms; video and audio commentary, interviews, and introductions by thespians; classic ... [more]

Archivist Neil Dickson with one of the newfound volumes (image via Greenock Telegraph) As you've seen from some of my previous posts, books can turn up in odd places, even within the confines of a museum, shop, or library. Greenock's Watt Library in Scotland has recently made quite a discovery within their own walls. Neil Dickson, an archivist, was working his way through the museum's holdings wh... [more]

Shakespeare in O.P. (that's original pronunciation, FYI)! Below is a really interesting video that examines the original pronunciation of Shakespeare's plays in juxtaposition with our modern pronunciation, and explores how hearing the o.p. leads to a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, the texts. Enjoy! [more]

Ok, I'm putting it out there. I love literature, art, and music, and I am lucky enough to be a part of the fascinating world of rare books, but my guilty pleasure is what many colleagues would categorize as decidedly lowbrowI love the Real Housewives franchise. Imagine my excitement, then, at seeing my cultural worlds collide in the following promotional video for the Great River Shakespeare Fest... [more]

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' ite... [more]

As previously posted about, in early December Sotheby's will auction off a very valuable and very interesting collection of rare books, including a first edition of Audubon's The Birds of America, which is considered to be the "world's most expensive book". Prior to the auction, the collection will tour and be put on public display in Paris, New York and London. Included in the public viewing will... [more]