Manuscript Digest:  October – November 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 news in this digest …

In the News

Princely Price for ‘Book of Kings’
Fine Books & Collections, October 28, 2022
A folio from Persia’s “Book of Kings” has sold for $9 million. It has pedigree; it was once owned by the Barons de Rothschild. But that isn’t top dollar for a folio from the manuscript.

The Value of Education
Maine Monitor, September 18, 2022
A young bargain hunter paid $75 for an old document at an estate sale. Turns out it was a leaf from a medieval manuscript he’d studied in class. Who owned it before and what came next.

Hot Topic: Afghan Manuscripts
Art Newspaper, October 13, 2022
A research group based in Qatar says stolen Afghan manuscripts have surfaced in London, Paris, and Amsterdam. Major auction houses are involved. So is Interpol.

Ka-Pow! Exploding Comics Prices
Artnet News, October 3, 2022
The market for rare comic books is hot. How hot? The 10 top-priced items all sold in the past two years. We’re talking $3.4 million for Action Comics No. 1. Here the rundown on the rest.

Trash to Treasure
ARTnews, October 27, 2022
What can we learn from a train ticket? Plenty, says the president of the Ephemera Society. Explore what he and fellow members collect, from ink blotters to valentines.
• Smitten with tyrosemiophilia? Say cheese!

What Hemingway Left Behind
Deseret News, September 23, 2022
Manuscript drafts. Galleys. A notebook. Hemingway left them where he drank. Now they’re where scholars can see them. In an archive at Penn State University. Read.

In Search of Lost Patents
Smithsonian Magazine, October 2022
Is there an x-patent hiding in your collection? Hanging on your wall? The search is on (again) for copies of documents lost in an 1836 fire at the US Patent Office. What’s been found so far.

Happy Return for Boston Library
Boston Globe, October 14, 2022
The Boston Public Library has reopened its Special Collections after a renovation. What’s inside? Material on abolitionists, Walt Whitman, Joan of Arc … the list doesn’t quit.

Rare Appearance for Maya Codex
Mexico News Daily, October 25, 2022
The Maya Codex of Mexico, the Americas’ oldest surviving book, is having its first US show in 50 years. See it at the Getty in Los Angeles through January 15.

Remembering a History Pioneer
Smithsonian Magazine, September 13, 2022
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall was more than a historian. She made history with her database of enslaved laborers, a record pieced together from far-flung archives. Learn about her legacy.

From Our Blog

Applications Open for 2023 Maass Research Grant

Scholars need funds to support their research, and the Manuscript Society’s Maass Grant is here to help. Graduate students at member institutions are encouraged to apply for the 2023 grant. Applicants should show that their research involves considerable work with original manuscripts. The deadline for proposals is Valentine’s Day, February 14.

Points of Interest

Manuscript Mondays ‘The Tile Club, 1877–1887’ Live webinar Monday, November 7, 8 p.m. ET  > Register

Boston Book Fair Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair November 11–13  > Explore