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Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
100 years after the events of the Boston Tea Party, two wealthy septuagenarian sisters from Glastonbury, CT found themselves fighting against taxation without representation. The curious case involves the seizure and auctioning of their pet cows, including two calves named Martha Washington and Abigail Adams.
Posted in: 19th Century, American History, Women in Book History, Women's Stories
Posted by: Patrick Hastings
In our current era, we tend to glorify the author and hold the original text in high esteem. We regard Shakespeare with particular reverence, and his text is held aloft as the sacrosanct work of genius. But this was not always the case. In fact, an altered edition of Romeo and Juliet was widely printed and preferred over Shakespeare’s authoritative text for over a century.
Posted in: 16th Century, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, Education Outreach, Literature, News and Events
Posted by: Patrick Hastings
One hundred years ago, on April 10, 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald celebrated the publication of what he considered to be his greatest work of literature, The Great Gatsby. He had high hopes for the novel’s success in both sales and critical reception. “It will sell about 80,000 copies,” he supposed, “but I may be wrong.” In fact, he was wrong twice.
Posted in: 20th Century, Education Outreach, Literature, Uncategorized
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Happy Giant Bible Day! On April 4, 1952, philanthropist and bibliophile, Lessing J. Rosenwald (1891-1979) donated the Giant Bible of Mainz to the Library of Congress. He made this gift exactly five hundred years after the manuscript’s scribe first put quill to parchment. In keeping with Rosenwald's commitment to encouraging broad cultural engagement with the history of the illustrated book, the Library’s digitization allows book lovers near and far to encounter every page of this important and evocative manuscript.
Posted in: 15th Century, History of the Book, Illuminated Manuscript, Illustrated Book, Library History, Provenance