Yeoman's in the Fork, the Tennessee based bookseller, has just released their Catalog Two. This follows up, quite naturally, their first catalogue, released earlier this year. And, we are happy to report that Yeoman's found their first catalogue to be a greater success than anticipated. The printed catalogue, like traditional bookselling, has been under pressure in recent years, as how people read and buy books has changed with shifting technology. Obviously, we are not going back, and books will be sold electronically from now until such time as an even more advanced technology replaces it. Nevertheless, it is welcome to see that traditional bookselling does retain a place in the mix, and we are hopeful printed catalogues, and other traditional forms of marketing, will retain that seat at the table for a long time to come. Now, here are a few of the items Yeoman's is offering in their latest presentation.
We will start with a very early archeological work: Stonehenge, A Temple Restor'd to the British Druids. This is a 1740 first edition of the report written by William Stukeley. Stukeley was one of the earliest of what we now call archeologists, as he tried to figure out what these remnants represented. He correctly assessed that they were ancient, though not nearly as old as we now know them to be, and didn't quite get the nature of the builders nor their scientific knowledge right, but still considering the information and tools available to him at the time, he certainly earned his reputation as one of the most important pre-archeologists. Item 2436. Priced at $5,500.
You will find even more accounts of times long ago in this book: Jerusalem Bible. The Jerusalem Bible is a Catholic translation introduced to the English-speaking world in 1966 (this is a 1966 edition). Among the translators was J.R.R. Tolkien. This copy is distinguished by a portrait of Pope John Paul II painted on the volume's fore-edge. The artist was Melody Krafft. We are unsure of the painting's date though it would be later as John Paul was not elevated to the papacy until 1978. Item 2588. $750.
