Welcome to The Manuscript Society

The Mission of the Manuscript Society is to encourage the collection and preservation of manuscripts and documents; to stimulate and aid collectors in their various collecting specialties; to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge among collectors, scholars, dealers and the general public; and to promote the highest professional and ethical standards.

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Manuscript Mondays featured image.

Manuscript Mondays

The Manuscript Society is hosting monthly webinars on topics for collectors.  Each hour long webinar provides an opportunity to peek behind the scenes of valuations, writing & publishing, purchasing/selling, auctions and more.

Exterior of the Chicago Museum.

2027 Annual Meeting – Chicago!

Plans are underway for The Manuscript Society’s 2027 Annual Meeting in Chicago!

SAVE THE DATES:  📅 May 12–16, 2027

Join us in the Windy City for another memorable gathering of Manuscript Society members. We’re planning special behind-the-scenes visits and exclusive access just for our members.

Stay tuned for more details—we can’t wait to see you in Chicago!

Manuscript with pen on a piece of paper

Maass Research Scholarship

The Manuscript Society is awarding $10,000 for the 2027 Richard Maass Research Grant.

Are you a graduate student whose research uses original manuscripts? Now is the time to apply. The full $10,000 award goes to one student to help cover expenses directly related to their research—including travel, lodging, meals, document reproduction, and more.

Apply now and put $10,000 toward your research.

Latest Digest

Digest – May – June 2024

Manuscript Digest: May – June 2024 – 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. […]

June 4, 2024|

Recent Posts

MM On-Demand: Manuscript Society New Year’s Party

Holiday Leftovers, and a toast to 75 years of the Manuscript Society We’ll open it up to a virtual gathering of friends and lively discussions.  Get your camera & mic ready (if you wish) – We’ll ALL be live! Ask questions about collecting Share a short collecting story Discuss what’s new [...]

January 2, 2023|

Charles V Letter Decoded

It is 1547 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sends to his ambassador at the French royal court - a man called Jean de Saint-Mauris - one of many  letters. Once decoded it gives insight into the preoccupations of Europe's rulers at a time of dangerous instability caused by [...]

December 16, 2022|

Caveat-emptor: Buyer Beware

Let the Buyer Beware: In the world of collecting, one challenge is authenticity. Is the item what it purports to be? Caveat emptor is a Latin phrase that translates to "let the buyer beware." It means that an individual buys at their own risk. Potential buyers are warned by the [...]

December 15, 2022|

Libraries of Rome – International Travel

The Great Libraries of Rome: October 22 – 30, 2023 THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT! Angelique Library, Rome, Italy [Seth Schoen] The Manuscript Society in conjunction with International Seminars Design Inc. presents a tour like no other! Tour the most beautiful libraries of Rome and see their rare [...]

December 14, 2022|

Kenneth Rendell: The Importance of Handwriting

As we have seen over time, trends in handwriting styles change. Yet, nothing has prepared us for the fast drop off in the teaching of handwriting. Not just cursive, but the ability of people to print. Somewhere along the way, communicate without writing with a pen or pencil has become [...]

November 28, 2022|

MM On-Demand: Spanish New Orleans & the Caribbean

New Orleans is French by name. The popular belief is that Spanish Louisiana was a relatively dormant period.  In fact, the impact of Spain upon both New Orleans and the greater region is far greater than frequently thought. Frequently pictured as a “backwater” Spanish province, it in fact reflected the [...]

November 16, 2022|

MM On-Demand: The Tile Club 1877-1887 (11/07/22)

The Tile Club was one of many societies that formed across the United States during the late nineteenth century. It included well-known artists; Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edwin Austin Abbey, J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman. The club was founded in 1877 riding the wave of [...]

November 7, 2022|
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