Uncommon and Unusual Items from Simon Beattie

- by Michael Stillman

Uncommon and Unusual Items from Simon Beattie

Item 23 is a list of vagrants and beggars from 1794, compiled by authorities in the Duchy of Schleswig. Schleswig is a border region now divided between Denmark and Germany. There are over 250 names on the list, including around 100 women. The list provides some information about these people, including names, age, where they are from, distinguishing features, family background, sometimes their personal history. Many were immigrants, probably what we would today call illegal aliens, and their punishments, often deportation, are included. Beattie notes that this list provides us with "details of people who might otherwise be lost to posterity." This is probably true, that there is no other record remaining of the lives of some of these people who lived on the fringes of society over two centuries ago. £800 (US $1,231).

Item 19 is a collection of 44 issues, nos. 1-42 plus a supplement and a special issue, of the magazine Sonorama. This is a complete run of the magazine published in Paris from 1958-1962. This monthly magazine provided readers with news of the day, including much about the Algerian Revolution. This was the period in which Algeria, that the French considered an internal part of France, revolted and, in 1962, secured independence. However, the magazine also included lighter fare, such as articles about movie stars and musicians. What makes Sonorama notably unusual is that each issue came with flexible recorded disks bound in. You could open the magazine, which had a hole in the center, to one of the disks, put it on your record player, and listen to the speech or music on the recording. £3,000 (US $4,619).

Simon Beattie Rare Books, Manuscripts, Music, Ephemera may be reached at +44 (0) 1494 784954 or simon@simonbeattie.co.uk. Their website is www.simonbeattie.co.uk.