Christie's London will be auctioning a First Folio (along with a second and fourth) in their June 4th Auction. Quoting their catalog:The preservation of over half Shakespeare's works is owing solely to publication of the First Folio, the undisputed keystone of any serious collection of English literature. In the much quoted words of W.A. Jackson, 'It is needless to emphasise the literary importance of this volume which has preserved twenty of Shakespeare's plays, as well as provided superior texts of eight of the eighteen plays which had already been printed. Though it cannot be called a rare book, it is...
The Life and Works of William Butler Yeats
This online exhibition is quite simply remarkable. Based on the National Library of Ireland's Yeats exhibition (which runs through the end of this year), the interface (broadband recommended; Flash required) simulates the experience of walking through the actual exhibition: explore display cases, wander through the various rooms, watch videos, etc. The library holds the largest and most important collection of Yeats manuscripts in the world and many of these are are on display, along with letters, rare editions of the poet's works, and the like.[Via]
Gutenberg, Gutenberg, Gutenberg
Amazingly, the Morgan Library owns 3 copies of the Gutenberg Bible, two on paper and one on vellum, and they all are unique in some respect. Beginning tomorrow all 3 will be displayed together for the first time in 10 years.The Gutenberg bible was the first substantial book printed in the Western world using movable type. It is believed that Gutenberg and his successors printed between 120 and 135 copies of the Bible on paper and between 40 and 45 copies on vellum. Only 50 survive and some are pretty beat up.The exhibit runs through September 28th.Morgan Library Press Release...
Bookplate For the TV Lover
God bless mytelevision set.Most fabulousof toys.But pity me-if I forgetBibliophilicjoys.Bookplate of Dorothy Wheelockfound in a third printing of Brighton by Osbert Sitwell and Margaret Barton published in London by Faber and Faber, 1938.
Stanford acquires late professor’s renowned collection of ‘association copies’
Happened a couple of months ago, but haven't seen any comment on it elsewhere. Stanford New Service has the details:An accomplished and renowned collector, Fliegelman specialized in "association copies." These books have a great, sometimes huge, added value largely because of who owned them. In this case, some of Fliegelman's books once belonged to Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, George Washington, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster and the Empress of Russia. One of them carries the most famous American signature of all, John Hancock.