Manuscript Digest – March 2016 – 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.
Psst! Want to Buy a Collection?
The Independent, February 2, 2016
Dead Sea scrolls. Einstein’s notebook. The Marquis de Sade’s manuscript. The Aristophil group’s collection is up for sale. Could it sink the market?

Trouble in the Land of Lincoln
New York Times, February 12, 2016
The Gray Lady has picked up the trail on the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. Fiscal pain or political play? It’s a scenario Lincoln might find familiar.

Looking Into the Lives of Escaped Slaves
New York Times, February 18, 2016
Two new database projects have opened up accounts of runaway slaves — who they were, where they went, how they hid, and what happened next.

‘Witch Book’ Beguiles on the Auction Block
Boston Globe, February 5, 2016
A rare Bay Psalm Book has sold for $221,000 — five times the estimate. Spooky? Wait until you find out who the past owners were.

A Testament of Genocide at Auschwitz
Slate / The Vault, February 3, 2016
Oscar winner Son of Saul was inspired by the story of the Sonderkommando at Auschwitz. Read about the scrolls they left behind.

From Paris, Under Siege
ABC Canberra, February 15, 2016
During the Prussian siege of 1870, letters flew out of Paris by hot-air balloon. One landed in Australia’s National Archives. But how?

Scottish Breviary Comes Home
The Scotsman, February 17, 2016
It was written seven centuries ago. In 1715 it vanished. Last year it turned up at auction. Yet there was one more twist in the road.

In the UK, Vellum Rules
BBC, February 15, 2016
Paper? No thanks. Digital? Not yet. The UK’s House of Lords has decided to keep printing laws on vellum. Why goats and calves better worry.

The $1 Million Paper That Put Photography in Focus
PetaPixel, February 3, 2016
In 1839 Fox Talbot raced his rival Daguerre to write the first paper on photography. See the result and priceless early photos.

Taking Stock of Certificate Collectors
myCentralNewJersey.com, February 24, 2016
They may have no value on the trading floor, but old stock and bond certificates can still pay off. At least that’s the hope of scripophiliacs.

EVENTS

41st Annual Washington Antiquarian Book Fair
March 4–5
Holiday Inn Rosslyn at Key Bridge, Arlington,
VA
Two days $
12, $8 Saturday, $5 students and librarians

The Private Jefferson
Ends May 20, closed Sundays
Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston St., Boston
Free

• Read about the companion book. >>

By me William Shakespeare
Ends May 29, closed Mondays
Kings College London, Inigo Rooms, Somerset House, East Wing
Adults £10, student and seniors £8, under 18 free

• Read the Guardian story on the show. >>

Harlem Views: Perspectives from the Collections of the Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Ends July 31, closed weekends
Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University, New York
Free