Photo by Pete Souza, White House / MCTErrata -When President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 Teddy Roosevelt took a rushed oath of office without a Bible present. There's also no concrete evidence that presidents John Adams through John Tyler used a Bible at all for the oath. For more on oaths, bibles and presidents see Noreen Malone's piece at Slate.Here is Chief Justice John Roberts and Barack Obama in Round 2 of the swearing in ceremony. Both had minor stumbles during Round 1 at the inauguration so a re-do was called for in the White House Map Room.In my...
Books and Sex
This photo comes to us courtesy of Nigel Beale's ever expanding archive of bookstore photos.Now, I am all for toying around with new concepts and initiatives that help the independent bookstore stay relevant and succeed but this combination stopped me in my tracks. I contacted Beale to try and find out more about this intriguing photo. He told me that he took it a few years ago on a visit to London and the bookshops on Charing Cross Road but couldn't remember the name or any other details about the shop.Next step was to contact my colleague Nigel Burwood, the...
Batman and Kidd
Noted book designer Chip Kidd is also an avid comic book fan. In his recently released book Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan Kidd exposes us to the work of Jiro Kuwata. In the mid-1960's, during the heyday of Batman's television run in America Kuwata was commissioned to bring Batman and Robin to the Japanese manga crowd. Amazingly, the 400 page book represents only half of Kuwata's output during the one year he worked on the project.The book was published in October by Pantheon in a limited hardcover edition and in trade paperbackHere is a video tour of...
The Bibles of the Inauguration
Photo by Doug Mills/The New York TimesObama went with the Lincoln Bible. It is the 1853 Oxford University Press edition and has a red velvet cover with golden trim. It measures about 6" long, 4" wide and less than 2" thick.AP Photo/Mark WilsonBiden went with the monster family bible that has been part of the Biden family since 1893. It is at least 5 inches thick with metal clasps and a Celtic cross.From Obama's Inaugural Address:"On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too...
Kindle Cake
"I've been jonesing for a Kindle for weeks now, and since I can't get the real thing just yet, I thought I would make a Kindle cake to show my love." says LilPeaPod about her creation.LilPeaPod baked this beauty last March. You can see photos of her putting it all together at geeksugar.I wonder if this cake qualifies for the Edible Book Festival or does it warrant the creation of an Edible E-Book Festival?Previously on Book Patrol:Deep Fried BooksBooks to Eat and Books about EatingThanks to the OUP blog for the lead