Manuscript Digest – August 2015 – This complimentary e-digest, launched in 2012, covers significant acquisitions and sales, manuscripts lost and found, rare books and ephemera, document conservation, replevin activity, and more.

IN THE NEWS

New Seuss on the Loose
New York Times, July 21, 2015
No one knew about the book. No one even know to look. They opened up a box one day, and there is was. Hip, hip, hooray! >>
• Flashcards made by Dr. Seuss! Rhyme again or call a truce? >>

Watching the Watchman Story
The Guardian, July 13, 2015
The story of how Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman manuscript turned up continues to evolve. Now there’s a hint of a third book. >>

Koran Pages From the Dawn of Islam
National Geographic, July 22, 2015
A sharp-eyed scholar. A carbon-dating test. And an exciting idea: are these two pages a link to the days of the prophet? >>
• CT scan deciphers oldest Biblical remnant after Dead Sea Scrolls >>

And the Kafka Manuscripts Go to …
The Guardian, July 1, 2015
… the National Library of Israel, ending a Kafkaesque legal saga. Would Kafka be pleased? Hard to say. He wanted the manuscripts burned. >>

Letters Home Capture a World at War
New York Times, July 12, 2015
The letters spent years in an attic. Now they’re bringing history home — and too close for comfort. “The name of the camp is Buchenwald …” >>

What the Dickens? Solving a Literary Puzzle
The Independent, July 13, 2015
In his weekly magazine, Charles Dickens apparently let bylines by bygones. At last a who’s who of Victorian lit is getting its due. >>
• A Dickens contributor, and Brontë biographer, goes digital. >>

Is There a Detective in the House?
Portsmouth News, July 14, 2015
As a young doctor, Arthur Conan Doyle turned detective to right a wrong. Do his venomous letters to police have a hint of Sherlock? Elementary. >>

The Wonders of Alice
Quartz, July 10, 2015
These days, you can follow Alice’s adventures on any number of devices. But for one reader, the original manuscript is the way to see Wonderland. >>

On the Email Trail of Literary Legacies
Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2015
Enough handwringing over the loss of handwritten letters. New software is helping archivists wrap their arms around writers’ collected emails. >>

The Big Moola in Moon Memorabilia
Al Jazeera America, July 23 , 2015
In the 40 years since the first lunar launch, prices for manuscripts touched by moon dust have skyrocketed. How high? To the moon, Alice. >>

EVENTS

68th Annual Reading of Washington’s Letter on Religious Freedom
Program honors late Manuscript Society president William Coleman
August 16, 1 p.m. ET
Touro Synagogue, 85 Touro St., Newport, Rhode Island
Free. Seating is limited; mention the Manuscript Society. >>
RSVP 401-847-4794 x207 or Tours@tourosynagogue.org

Touching the Past: The Hand and the Medieval Book
Ends September 27, closed Mondays
J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles
Free >>
• Read more from Forbes. >>

First Among Many: The Bay Psalm Book and Early Moments in American Printing
Ends January 2, 2016, closed Sundays
Library of Congress, 10 First St. SE, Washington, DC
Free >>
• Check out the online exhibition. >>

Treasures of the British Library
Open ended
British Library, 96 Euston Road, London
Free >>