Resources to assist the collector are scattered around the internet, found in libraries, and shared by fellow collectors. Auctions, Values, Provenance, are constantly sought. Below are resources used by many society members and collectors as they search, study and collect. If you have any suggestions of any resources you have found useful please contact sands@manuscript.org.
Rare Book Hub
https://www.rarebookhub.com/
Who Uses the Rare Book Hub? As noted on the Rare Book Hub website: “The Rare Book Hub is a resource for information pertaining to rare, antiquarian, and collectible books and related ephemeral material – manuscripts, letters, maps, posters, broadsides, photographs, and prints (works on paper). It is based on the principle that knowledge is power….”
Manuscript Criteria
The Society’s Criteria contains a handy list of abbreviations and a glossary of terms commonly used in dealer catalogs and other descriptions of autographs and manuscripts. The 11-page guide is now available. Download without charge. It is useful to both collector and dealer. A committee of The Manuscript Society headed by Norman Boas consulted widely with dealers, collectors, manuscript curators, and archivists in establishing the guidelines for describing manuscript autographs and documents.
Click here for a PDF of the criteria. You can then save the file, print it out, or do both in your Web browser.
The Checklist for Collectors
This 75th anniversary of the Manuscript Society in 2023 motivated us to create a check list of the volumes of our journal from it’s first issue through 2022. Click here for your own copy of the Checklist.
ArchiveGrid
Don’t know where to start? Here is a good place: ArchiveGrid includes over 7 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,400 archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies. Connect to ArchiveGrid.
OAC – Online Archive of California
Looking for something in the vast array of archives in California? From museums, archives, universities and more, this is a great place to start. The Online Archive of California (OAC) provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections in more than 300 contributing institutions. This includes libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California. Plus the collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses. OAC
Maine Memory Network
Developed and managed by the Maine Historical Society (MHS), the Maine Memory Network (MMN) enables historical societies, libraries, museums, individuals, and other cultural institutions across the state to upload, catalog, and manage digital copies of historical items from their collections into one centralized, web-accessible database. There are currently over 45,000 historical items from over 270 Contributing Partners in the database. Examples include: Letters, journals, notes, manuscripts, and other hand-written materials; Photographs, albumen prints, glass plate negatives, paintings, and other images; Sketches, woodcuts, broadsides, business cards, and other graphic items; Architectural and mechanical drawings, maps, and other oversized documents; Clothing, tools, household goods, archaeological artifacts, and other museum objects; and Audio and video files.
Check out Collector’s Corner for other useful information on collecting.