Learn about rare books from the experts
Posted in Rare Books on Nov 6th, 2009
“A Blueprint Of His Own Mind”
Arguably Jefferson was the most famous of all American book collectors; his library and its meticulous organization have been called “a blueprint of his own mind.” A tireless book lover, he had built a library of 6700 volumes by 1815—easily the most significant library formed by an American at that [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Sep 11th, 2009
A book can be the product of an obsessive drive for knowledge and a descent—for months or even years—into a sort of madness. T.E. Lawrence went to the desert, becoming Lawrence of Arabia and eventually writing Seven Pillars of Wisdom set out to catalogue the birds of America in painstaking detail and created, at great [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Apr 24th, 2009
TRAVEL. EXPLORE. DREAM.
“I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go.” —Captain James Cook
Homer dreamt of travel—and Odysseus set out across the sea. Lewis and Clark explored a continent—with well-thumbed books in their pockets. Mark Twain saw [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Feb 16th, 2009
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
—Winston Churchill
Some have led us into battle; others have guided nations and empires through their births, in their darkest hours, or to their greatest moments. And some have led by example, whether by persevering through adversity in the Antarctic or by quietly defying injustice [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Nov 10th, 2008
“I will leave judgements on this matter to history – but I will be one of the historians.” – Winston Churchill
“In War: Resolution. In Defeat: Defiance. In Victory: Magnanimity. In Peace: Good Will.” Churchill penned his monumental six-volume History of the Second World War only a few years after the war’s end, including in it [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Oct 21st, 2008
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” (Constitution, Article II).
A reluctant if inevitable choice for the presidency, George Washington had hoped he might find some [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Oct 13th, 2008
Why collect children’s classics? There is the familiarity of a beloved book that impressed us in our earliest years, the images that stir our recognition, the words and phrases that resonate in our memories. We carry so many of those first-loved, often best-loved books with us for a lifetime, and when we choose to approach [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Sep 22nd, 2008
“We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident…”
By 1820 the original Declaration of Independence showed serious signs of deterioration and wear from handling. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams commissioned William Stone to engrave an exact copy of the original onto a copper plate, and in 1823 Congress ordered 200 official copies printed on vellum. (Fewer [...]
Posted in Rare Books on Sep 5th, 2008
“Their Destiny As A Race Is Sealed.
They Will Soon Be Lost To Our Sight Forever”
In 1822, Thomas McKenney, Superintendent of Indian Affairs under four presidents, commissioned artist Charles Bird King to paint the portraits of famous Indian leaders as they visited Washington.
Over the course of 15 years dignitaries from more than a score of tribes [...]
Posted in First Editions, Rare Books on Aug 25th, 2008
“For 160 Days We Marched Through The Forest”
“Only a man of Stanley’s iron resolution and invincible resource could have carried through the awful marches and counter-marches in the tropical forests…” (DNB).
Stanley had already successfully completed three major expeditions in Africa by the time he accepted what would prove to be his most ambitious and most [...]