Jane Austen on the Block

Two Austen items on the auction block in early December: Sotheby’s Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale N08602 11 Dec 09, New York Exhibition Opens 5 Dec 09 DATE & TIME:  Session 1: Fri, 11 Dec 09, 10:00 AM                                Session 2: Fri, 11 Dec 09, 2:00 PM **********************************************  LOT 75 : AUSTEN, JANE  10,000—15,000 USD  Mansfield Park. London: Printed for T. [...]

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Steinbeck on the Block

Bloomsbury Auctions has announced the availablility of the following Steinbeck manuscripts for sale at auction on June 23, 2009, New York: 432.  STEINBECK, John (1902-1968). The Bear Flag Cafe/Sweet Thursday Archive Steinbeck’s abandonment of his libretto for a stage musical based on his book “Cannery Row” yielded instead a sequel to that novel, published as [...]

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Fore-Edge Painting

See this online exhibition at the Boston Public Library:  On the Edge – the Hidden Art of Fore-Edge Book Painting This website highlights a special collection of more than 200 high-resolution images of fore-edge paintings housed in the Rare Books Department of the Boston Public Library.  Includes articles on the history of fore-edge painting by [...]

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Austen on the Block ~ Bloomsbury Auctions

[I am repeating this from my Jane Austen in Vermont blog] Bloomsbury Auctions-New York  announces the exhibition and auction of   The Paula Peyraud Collection, Samuel Johnson and  Women Writers in Georgian Society Wednesday, 6 May, 2009 • 10:00 am   Bloomsbury Auctions, the world’s leading auction house for rare books and works on paper, [...]

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Library of Congress: ‘The Book that Saved a Life’

The History Channel has linked up with the Library of Congress by issuing short video documentaries on the “hidden treasures” housed by the Library.  The current video is about a copy Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and how it literally saved a man’s life in the First World War. You can view this video on “The Book that [...]

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Edgar Allan Poe ~ January 19, 1809

The Bicentennial of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe [1809-1849] is quite the celebration.  There are yearlong events in all of the cities that claim him as their “Favorite Son.”  The story of his life is as interesting and strange as most of his macabre tales.  Poe endures. One of the more memorable moments in my [...]

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Jane Austen’s “Emma” for sale in Hong Kong

I direct you to my other blog, Jane Austen in Vermont, to read about the upcoming Hong Kong Book Fair:  Anne Sharp’s copy of “Emma”, signed by Jane Austen to her friend, lately sold at a Bonhams auction, and now for sale at the International Antiquarian Book Fair for HK $3.95 million.

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“Handle this Book!”

TOUCHING HISTORY at the University of Pennsylvania:   Students can now peruse ancient texts at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania. “We’re not running a museum,” says John Pollack, one of the library’s specialists.   See this article with photos in the NY Times “Handle This Book!” by Roger Mummert about the trend in Rare [...]

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