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.

Featured

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: June-July 2021

Manuscript Digest – June-July 2021 – 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. […] […]

July 6, 2021|

Recent Posts

MM On-Demand: Autographs: Phonies, Fakes & Forgeries (09/14/19)

Appraising Autographs, Manuscripts, & Historical Documents – Identifying Phonies, Fakes, Forgeries Discover the secrets to easily spotting the most notorious fake autographs, bogus manuscripts, and facsimile documents that plague the field. Certified Autograph Appraiser and Manuscript Society Trustee, Brian Kathenes, will take you on an exciting autograph identification journey. In [...]

September 15, 2019|

Supreme Court Autographs, Letters, and Portraits

John Jay, John Marshall, Roger Taney, Salmon P. Chase, Oliver Wendell Holmes and William Howard Taft.  All members of the United States Supreme Court. But you knew that. They are only a few of the justices highlighted in a new on-line exhibit. Featured are some of the notable portraits and [...]

September 7, 2019|

Thomas Jefferson Letter Returns Home

One of  Thomas Jefferson's 1826 letters announcing the appointment of the University of Virginia's first professor of law returns to the UVA's Arthur J. Morris Law Library. The letter is now on display.  John Tayloe Lomax was a Virginia native practicing law in Fredericksburg. He was chosen by Thomas Jefferson [...]

September 6, 2019|

Free Webinar: Autographs: Phonies, Fakes & Forgeries

The Manuscript Society now offers free webinars!  Our first one will be on September 10, 2019 at 8PM EST.  Join Society Trustee, Brian Kathenes, for an absolutely free live-stream webinar: “Autographs - Phonies, Fake, and Forgeries.” Brian will a share some of the most famous and intriguing phonies, fakes, and forgeries [...]

August 6, 2019|

Taylor Sims – 2019 Maass Grant Winner

Taylor A. Sims is named the 2019 Richard Maass Research Grant recipient to support her work on “Everyday Women and the English Reformation: Gender and Religion in the Diocese of Salisbury, 1450–1600.” This year's $5,000 grant supports her research in varied manuscripts. Sims, a PhD candidate at the University of [...]

July 8, 2019|

2020 Maass Research Grant Announced

The Richard Maass Research grant is once again offered by the Manuscript Society in 2020. The grant amount of $5,000.00 supports research expenses directly related to the use of original manuscripts. Expenses include travel to manuscript repositories, photocopies, and user fees as well as other direct costs. Applications are due [...]

July 8, 2019|

Interview: Dave Smith – Disney Archivist, Collector and Member

Not long before Dave Smith's unanticipated death, Manuscript Society Board of Trustees member, Kevin Segall sat down with Dave to interview him about his career, collecting interests and any advice he had for young people interested in archives.  That interview from in the Spring issue of Manuscripts, is shared here.  [...]

June 10, 2019|
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