<i>In The News:</i> World Digital Library Opens, ABAA Upgrades Site, Lincoln and Law Exhibitions
- by Michael Stillman
The new World Digital Library.
By Michael Stillman
The World Digital Library opened for business on April 21. As the name suggests, there are no desks, stacks, or librarians whispering "shhhh..." This is an online collection promoted by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with much assistance from the U.S. Library of Congress. Its beginnings are relatively small, but there are no preset limitations as to what it may become in the years ahead. From a beginning of five, there are now 32 contributing libraries, and the doors are open for many others to join.
The project was initially proposed by James H. Billington of the Library of Congress in 2005. As of the opening, there were 1,140 items posted from the 32 libraries, with something about every country a member of UNESCO. The site is searchable in seven languages as well as via a timeline. Contributions come from national libraries of nations as large as China and Russia, as small as Uganda and Qatar. Displayed are books, manuscripts, movies, maps, photographs, journals and recordings. Visitors have access to both the original works and descriptions of them provided by the international librarians. For example, those interested in early Americana will find a digitized copy of Sir Francis Drake's The World Encompassed. There are pre-1900 movies from Lourdes, France, by the pioneering Lumiere company, a seventh century Chinese manuscript "Annals of Creation," and a lettered 1200 B.C. oracle bone. While the total number of items may sound relatively small at this point, the detail of information provided makes this both an informative and exciting place to visit. To book your trip, click here.
A joint agreement to upgrade the e-commerce of the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America) website was recently announced. Book listing website Biblio.com will provide the search engine and e-commerce aspects, while Bibliopolis will provide the design work. The joint operating agreement will run for the next four years.
The ABAA was formed in 1949 and currently has 450 members. They opened their site to e-commerce in 2000, and are now looking to expand their offerings. Among the plans for the upgraded site are expanded search capability, higher resolution photographs with zoom capabilities, and the ability to order books from multiple dealers at the same time. Biblio brings significant experience in online bookselling and high-volume listings to the table. They are the third largest used book seller (after AbeBooks and Alibris) with 50 million online listings.
The Rosenbach Museum and Library of Philadelphia will be hosting an exhibition entitled Finding Lincoln opening this month. The museum is already hosting an online exhibit called 21st Century Abe in honor of Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday. Like its online counterpart, the live exhibition combines recent art, interpretation, and commentary with a collection of documents and materials from Lincoln's lifetime, including letters and speeches. The live exhibition runs from May 27 - August 30, 2009.
An exhibition entitled Landmarks in Law Reporting will be taking place from now through October at the Lillian Goldman Law Library at the Yale Law School in New Haven. Law reporting may not sound important at first, but in the Anglo-American jurisprudence system, it is case law which determines what the common law and legislated rules mean. The exhibit begins with a manuscript collection of cases from the reign of Edward III, copied around 1450. It includes first editions of reports from Plowden and Coke, the first American case reports from Connecticut in 1789, and the first U.S. Supreme Court cases from 1798. The evolution of reporting from manuscript to print, the growth of legal publishing, the connections between legal reporting and education, and the growing need for well-organized reporting of the huge number of cases being decided will all be on display. The exhibition is curated by Rare Book Librarian Mike Widener. If unable to attend, you can follow the exhibition on the Rare Books Blog.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. London, 1954-1955.FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS, ALL IN THE EXTREMELY RARE FIRST STATE DUST JACKETS.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Francesco Fontana. Novae coelestium terrestriumque rerum observationes... Naples: Gaffari, 1646. FIRST EDITION. Contains the first observations of spots on the surface of Mars.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776. FIRST EDITION of “the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought” (PMM).
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Benjamin Franklin. Mémoires de la Vie Privée de Benjamin Franklin, écrits par lui-méme… Paris: Chez Buisson, 1791. FIRST EDITION OF FRANKLIN'S MEMOIRS IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL WRAPPERS.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Samuel Johnson, Jr. A School Dictionary… New Haven, [Connecticut]: Edward O'Brien, [1798]. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR, AN EXCEPTIONAL RARITY.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Joseph Smith, Jr. The Book of Mormon. Palmyra: Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the Author, 1830. FIRST EDITION.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Miguel de Cervántes Saavedra. El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid: Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. THE BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED IBARRA EDITION.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: James Joyce. Ulysses. London: John Lane The Bodley Head, [1936]. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, SIGNED BY JOYCE. Designated a “Presentation Copy” in ink beneath Joyce’s signature.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: [Photoplay]. Delos W. Lovelace. King Kong. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. FIRST EDITION of "a most sought after title" (Davis).
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon & Schuster, [1993]. 40th Anniversary Edition. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR TO HUGH HEFNER.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Neil Gaiman. Original manuscript for the "Neverwhere" BBC television miniseries. [London: Crucial Films, LTD., 1995-1996]. TYPESCRIPT "NEVERWHERE" WITH NEIL GAIMAN'S NOTES AND AMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: [DICTIONARY]. Noah Webster. An American Dictionary of the English Language... New York, 1828. FIRST EDITION OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNCUT IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL BOARDS
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: Stephen King. Full Dark, No Stars. Baltimore: Cemetery Dance Publications, 2010. WITH AN ORIGINAL TWO-PAGE COLOR ILLUSTRATION BY GLENN CHADBOURNE
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Secker & Warburg, 1949. FIRST EDITION, IN THE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET.
Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11: H. G. Wells. The Time Machine: An Invention. London: William Heinemann, 1895 [but 1897]. With a SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD laid in.
Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 1. Rare First Edition of Oronce Fine Double-Cordiform World Map (1531) Est. $50,000 - $60,000
Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 2. French Edition of "Rudimentum Novitiorum" with Woodcut Maps of the World and Palestine (1543) Est. $27,500 - $35,000
Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 3. Complete Edition of Munster’s Cosmographia with over 100 Maps & Views (1560) Est. $32,500 - $40,000
Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 4. Purchas' Important Collection of Voyages with 88 Maps, Including John Smith Map of Virginia (1625-26) Est. $55,000 - $70,000
Old World Auctions (Oct. 10): Lot 5. Complete First Latin Edition of De Bry's "Grands Voyages," Parts I-IX (1590-1602) Est. $120,000 - $150,000
Sotheby’s Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library. The Aldine Collection D-M 18 October 2024
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Herodianus Syrus, Herodiani Historiarum, Venice, Heirs of Aldo & Torresano, 1524, Parisian binding for Jean Grolier by Jean Picard, ca. 1540
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Musaeus, Opusculum de Herone et Leandro, Venice, Aldo, 1495 (Greek text), interleaved with 1497–1498 (Latin text), English olive morocco by Charles Lewis, the Botfield copy
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Horatius Flaccus, Horatius, Venice, Aldo, 1501, Bolognese brown goatskin (between 1501 and 1503), arms of Mino Rossi and illuminated initials throughout
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Lucretius, De rerum natura, Venice, Aldo, 1500, English early eighteenth-century red morocco, the Fletcher copy
One of a Kind Collectibles Auctions Rare Autograph and Book Auction October 17th, 2024
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Abraham Lincoln Signed Letter on Executive Mansion Stationary To Secretary of The Navy re: Appointment for Naval Academy!
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Extremely Rare Ben Franklin Printed: Considerations on Keeping Negroes...Part Second. 1762.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: An impressively extra-illustrated copy; Including an Original leaf from Shakespeare’s 1623 First Folio!
One of a Kind Collectibles Auctions Rare Autograph and Book Auction October 17th, 2024
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Rarest Naval Autograph James Lawrence “Don’t give up the ship On " U.S. Ship Hornet June 19th 1812.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Oversize Ernest Hemingway Signed Photo with long Inscription about Drinking Wine to his dear friend and Secretary Roberto Herrera.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: VOLTAIRE Signed Receipt about a partial payment of debt for the Duke of Wuerttemberg.
One of a Kind Collectibles Auctions Rare Autograph and Book Auction October 17th, 2024
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: [Maps] Gio. Ant. Magnini, Italia, 1620.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: LAWMAN SALOON JUDGE ROY BEAN Signed Legal Document 1895-RARE!
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Autograph Album with James Garfield as President, Chester A. Aurthur as VP, William T. Sherman, Burnside, P.T. Barnum and many more!
One of a Kind Collectibles Auctions Rare Autograph and Book Auction October 17th, 2024
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Signed Four Language Ship's Paper.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Hector Berlioz Autograph Musical Quotation Signed.
One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17: Important Memorandum the Day after Gettysburg July 5th, 1863 where Lincoln asks all Department Heads of the cabinet to meet him at the Executive Mansion.
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RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Samuel Johnson, Jr. <i>A School Dictionary…</i> New Haven, [Connecticut]: Edward O'Brien, [1798]. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR, AN EXCEPTIONAL RARITY.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/144d303d-fb7b-4c8f-90f8-93d2ee5b5473.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Samuel Johnson, Jr. <i>A School Dictionary…</i> New Haven, [Connecticut]: Edward O'Brien, [1798]. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR, AN EXCEPTIONAL RARITY.")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> James Joyce. <i>Ulysses.</i> London: John Lane The Bodley Head, [1936]. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, SIGNED BY JOYCE. Designated a “Presentation Copy” in ink beneath Joyce’s signature.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/b96c89fb-e0c1-4ce9-99c1-c97b003d38bd.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> James Joyce. <i>Ulysses.</i> London: John Lane The Bodley Head, [1936]. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, SIGNED BY JOYCE. Designated a “Presentation Copy” in ink beneath Joyce’s signature.")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> [Photoplay]. Delos W. Lovelace. <i>King Kong.</i> New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. FIRST EDITION of "a most sought after title" (Davis).](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/030395f1-e26d-4ae6-b120-43d881c17632.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> [Photoplay]. Delos W. Lovelace. <i>King Kong.</i> New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1932]. FIRST EDITION of \"a most sought after title\" (Davis).")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Ray Bradbury. <i>Fahrenheit 451.</i> New York: Simon & Schuster, [1993]. 40th Anniversary Edition. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR TO HUGH HEFNER.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/593de668-7304-4f7b-af33-0f408183249a.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Ray Bradbury. <i>Fahrenheit 451.</i> New York: Simon & Schuster, [1993]. 40th Anniversary Edition. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR TO HUGH HEFNER.")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Neil Gaiman. Original manuscript for the "Neverwhere" BBC television miniseries. [London: Crucial Films, LTD., 1995-1996]. TYPESCRIPT "NEVERWHERE" WITH NEIL GAIMAN'S NOTES AND AMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/2f398c6b-072b-406e-ad66-55fff389034a.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> Neil Gaiman. Original manuscript for the \"Neverwhere\" BBC television miniseries. [London: Crucial Films, LTD., 1995-1996]. TYPESCRIPT \"NEVERWHERE\" WITH NEIL GAIMAN'S NOTES AND AMENDATIONS THROUGHOUT.")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> [DICTIONARY]. Noah Webster. <i>An American Dictionary of the English Language...</i> New York, 1828. FIRST EDITION OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNCUT IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL BOARDS](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/e3af12c5-4ae8-4f41-9567-382fc93f5eee.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> [DICTIONARY]. Noah Webster. <i>An American Dictionary of the English Language...</i> New York, 1828. FIRST EDITION OF WEBSTER'S DICTIONARY, UNCUT IN THE PUBLISHER'S ORIGINAL BOARDS")
![<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> H. G. Wells. <i>The Time Machine: An Invention.</i> London: William Heinemann, 1895 [but 1897]. With a SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD laid in.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/1772ac84-200c-4c75-b633-5f918dbe2d54.jpg "<b>Heritage Auctions, Oct. 10:-11:</b> H. G. Wells. <i>The Time Machine: An Invention.</i> London: William Heinemann, 1895 [but 1897]. With a SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHIC POSTCARD laid in.")
![<b>One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17:</b> [Maps] Gio. Ant. Magnini, Italia, 1620.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/c92d6947-7efa-449d-82ff-548bbf1cd1ce.jpeg "<b>One of a Kind Collectibles, Oct. 17:</b> [Maps] Gio. Ant. Magnini, Italia, 1620.")
