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.

Faneiul Hall in Boston, MA.

2026 Annual Meeting – Boston!

Join us in Boston for the Manuscript Society’s next Annual Meeting, taking place May 27–31, 2026. This year’s meeting coincides with Boston 250, the city’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

Pictures from the Manuscript annual trip to Oxford & Cambridge.

2025 Cambridge / Oxford Trip Recap

Over several days, Manuscript Society members explored some of the cities’ most storied libraries, museums, and archives—places that hold centuries of history and some of the world’s most extraordinary manuscripts.

Latest Digest

Digest – January 2021

Manuscript Digest –January 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. […]

January 5, 2021|

Recent Posts

Secrets in the Johnson Archives

Washington, October 1940; Samuel Houston Johnson; Alice Glass; Big Oil....  Historian Robert de Caro's article "The Secrets of Lyndon Johnson's Archives" illuminates the discoveries and challenges found when researching in manuscripts!  Remembering his first visit to the Johnson Presidential Library and Archives in Austin, "In front of me was a [...]

January 28, 2019|

James H. Billington dies at 86

James H. Billington, an eminent American scholar of Russian culture who led the Library of Congress for three decades as librarian of Congress, died Nov. 20 at a hospital in Washington. He was 89. An advisor to President Reagan, a skilled fund-raiser for the library, and force unto himself, Billington propelling [...]

November 24, 2018|

Interview: Member Spotlight – J.B. Muns Fine Arts Books

This Member Spotlight shines on J. B. Muns, proprietor of J. B. Muns Fine Arts Books in Berkeley, California. J. B. specializes in musical autographs and manuscripts. She shared the story of how she started out, how the field has changed, and what’s coming next with Manuscript Society President Al [...]

November 9, 2018|

My First Autographs – I Was Nine Years Old

Rocky and Bullwinkle, Smurfette, Crusader Rabbit, and Scooby-Doo are cartoon favorites of millions of children.  Not every child however, has the chance to meet the voices!  Society member Kevin Segall shares his story of his first autographs. My First Autographs By Kevin Segall I was nine years old in 1983 [...]

October 29, 2018|

2019 Richard Maass Research Grant Applications Now Being Accepted

Applications are due February 14, 2019, and decisions will be announced shortly after March 17. The $5,000 grant supports research expenses directly related to use of original manuscripts such as travel to manuscript repositories, photocopies, and user fees. Applicants must be graduate students—doctoral candidates are given preference—at an institution that [...]

October 29, 2018|

Emily Dickinson Letters – Scholars Request

Cristanne Miller (University at Buffalo, SUNY) and Domhnall Mitchell (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) are preparing a new edition of Emily Dickinson’s complete letters, to be published by Harvard University Press. We are making new transcriptions of every letter (last transcribed and edited by Johnson and Ward in 1958). [...]

September 27, 2018|
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