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 – December 2020

Manuscript Digest –December 2020 – This complimentary e-digest, launched in 2012, covers significant acquisitions and sales, manuscripts lost and found, rare books and ephemera, document conservation, and more. […]

December 2, 2020|

Recent Posts

Society Board of Trustees – Class of 2020

The 2020 Class of the Board of Trustees are: Elizabeth H. Dow, PhD, is returning to fill out Doug Rohrman’s term as he takes on the Vice Presidency. Dr. Dow created and directed the archives track at Louisiana State University. Today she is the Franklin Bayhi Professor Emeritus in its [...]

September 12, 2018|

Society Board of Trustees – Class of 2019

Members of the Board of Trustees commit to a term of three years. The members whose current terms will be completed in 2019 are: Richard Ellis, MD, is a physician in the practice of pathology at a community hospital in San Pedro, California. His collection of letters and photographs centers [...]

September 10, 2018|

Manuscript Society Board of Trustees – 2018 Officers

The Manuscript Society Board of Trustees has the responsibility of governing The Manuscript Society.  All are members of the Society, have served on committees and are nominated from the membership. Not all are collectors but each has a commitment to the goals of the society to preserve, collect and educate. [...]

August 7, 2018|

My First Autograph – How It All Began

From trash to treasure: a TLS from Harry S. Truman. Courtesy of Ed Bomsey. Have you ever wondered how a person gets hooked on collecting? Maybe it is the first autograph you got from a sports figure. Maybe it was a chance opportunity on the subway, at an [...]

July 31, 2018|

New Manuscripts Editor Introduced

Manuscript Society President, Allen Ottens, introduces the new David Chesnutt Editor for Manuscripts to the membership. "Let me introduce Bradley D. Cook as the next David R. Chesnutt Editor of Manuscripts. After having been chosen from a nation-wide pool of applicants.  Brad will soon take over the editorial duties from [...]

July 30, 2018|

Interview: Member Spotlight – San Jacinto Museum of History

Our summer road trip takes us to the San Jacinto Museum of History,  a longtime institutional member of the Manuscript Society is located in La Porte, Texas. Our host is Lisa Struthers, director of its Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library. Al Ottens, the Manuscript Society’s president, recently contacted her to [...]

July 20, 2018|

Indictments in the Carnegie Library Theft

It may be the largest theft in library history. In March 2018 news of the theft broke in the Post-Gazette.  One June 28th hundreds of documents were unsealed by the court and now indictments have been issued. Here is the latest information as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2018/07/20/Two-men-charged-with-stealing-8-million-rare-books-Carnegie-Library-Greg-Priore-John-Schulman/stories/201807190205  

July 20, 2018|
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