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 – May-June 2025

Manuscript Digest: May – June 2025 – 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 5, 2025|

Recent Posts

46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair (BIABF)  November 8-10, 2024 Hynes Convention Center in Downtown Boston HOURS & ADMISSION Friday, November 8, Opening Night, 4PM-8PM. Tickets: $25 (available online or at the box office) Saturday, November 9, 12PM-7PM. Free admission. Sunday, November 10, 11AM-4PM. Free admission. The New England Chapter [...]

September 20, 2024|

MM On-Demand: Paul Kane – From Field Notes to Book (9/9/2024)

From Field Notes to Book:  Editing for Publication Three Stages of Artist Paul Kane’s Western Travel Narrative, 1845–1848 Artist Paul Kane (1810–1871) traveled by canoe and boat from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Ocean in the mid-1840s. His aim was to sketch Native Americans in Wisconsin and Oregon territories and [...]

September 9, 2024|

Manuscript Society at Balpex 2024

The Manuscript Society joins the Baltimore Philatelic Society at Balpex 2024. https://www.balpex.org/balpex.html October 25th -27th, 2024 Free to attend 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM Sunday BWI Marriott Airport: 1743 West Nursery Road, Linthicum Heights, MD  21090 [Free Parking] Visit The Manuscript Society [...]

August 12, 2024|

NASA Helped Preserve the US Constitution

Science and History collide as NASA assisted the National Archives in determining why the Constitution is developing white splotches! As every collector of rare books and documents knows, one of the biggest barriers to collecting is preservation. The effect of time, dust, light, and moisture in the environment on paper [...]

July 11, 2024|

ABSA: Auction And Book Sales Archive

BIBLIO, the independent marketplace for antiquarian and rare books, has announced the public launch of its new The Auction & Book Sales Archive (ABSA). ABSA offers information on the provenance, identification, scarcity, and value of antiquarian books and manuscripts. It provides access to millions of curated rare book and manuscript auction [...]

July 8, 2024|
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