Manuscript Digest: February – March 2022 – This complimentary e-digest, now published bi-monthly, covers significant acquisitions and sales, manuscripts lost and found, rare books and ephemera, document conservation, and more […]

In the Digest News

Ferriero’s Farewell
ExecutiveGov, January 18, 2022
After 12 years on the job, David Ferriero will retire as archivist of the United States in April. What he achieved and who will be in charge until the Senate confirms his successor.

A Map that (Re)shaped History
Springfield News-Leader, February 12, 2022
As he scrolled through microfilm at the National Archives, a history professor found a smoking gun: William Clark’s fudged map of Missouri. How it changed the shape of history.

A Replication of the Declaration
The Oregonian, February 25, 2022
Some collect early printings of the Declaration of Independence. An Oregon man has printed it himself, the old-school way — setting almost 7,000 pieces of type.

Records from the Revolution
Fine Books & Collections, February 11, 2022
Nearly 200 Continental Army documents, all with names of Black and Native American soldiers, have a new home at the Museum of the American Revolution.

Reese’s Collection on the Block
New York Times, January 13, 2022
William Reese’s bookshop was must-see for serious collectors. But few saw the private library in his house (“like El Dorado”). Now treasures of its Americana collection are up for sale.

A ‘First’ for UBC
The Star, January 12, 2022
Only 235 known copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio are known to survive. About 10 are in private hands. One is now at the University of British Columbia.

A Mystery of Note
Washington Post, February 23, 2022
Poe or no? Curators at Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries are musing on a mysterious musical manuscript that may — or may not — be in the hand of Edgar Allan Poe.

A Thief for the Books
Book Riot, February 17, 2022
His trail of thefts led from the Midwest to the Great Plains and up and down the West Coast. Along the way he changed the way security works at university libraries and archives.

America’s Art Crime Squad
Hyperallergic, January 17, 2022
The FBI Art Crime Team goes beyond paintings and sculpture. Witness a Charles Darwin letter stolen in the mid-1970s and recovered in 2016. How the team works.

Superheroes’ Super Prices
Artnet News, January 14, 2022
An original Spider-Man panel just snagged $3.4 million. Close behind, the “Rocket Copy” of Action Comics No. 1 from 1938 hit $3.18 million. What’s next? Look, up in the sky …
• Holy IPO! Shares of Batman No. 1 going on sale at $10 each

From Our Blog

Manuscript Society Online Catalog Auction | Ends March 3

As every collector knows, catalogs have a wealth of information about historical documents. They offer a record of provenance, monetary values, and much more. Wish you’d hung onto those dealer catalogs from Walter and Mary Benjamin, Charles Hamilton, Goodspeeds … It’s not too late! The Manuscript Society Online Catalog Auction features more than 2,000 manuscript, rare book, autograph, and dealer catalogs. Act fast: the sale ends March 3. Proceeds support the work of the society.

Exciting Events

Manuscript Mondays – March 7, April 4, May 2, 8–9 p.m. ET – Live webinars for collectors and more > Sign up today

Annual Meeting – May 10–15 – Williamsburg, Virginia > Register by April 8