Today in the studio we have a copy of New England Highways and Byways From a Motorcar by Thos. D. Murphy. This beautifully illustrated volume guides tourists on a then-novel automobile journey through early 20th century New England, with visits to charming towns, historic churches, and the rugged Maine coast. We’ll also discuss even earlier tourism—promoted heavily by railroad companies—to the new national parks of the American West, as well as a 1916 cross-country travel memoir by an unexpected author. Pack some snacks, roll down the windows, and hit the road with us on this adventurous new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #153 - An Impressive Walk-In
One of the great things about working at the Brattle is that you never know what’s going to walk through that door. Recently, a customer surprised us by bringing in a copy of the Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the earliest printed books to feature illustrations. As if that wasn’t interesting enough, he also had a copy of the Kelmscott Chaucer, as well as a handful of volumes inscribed by their publisher (William Morris) to their illustrator (Edward Burne-Jones) for good measure. In this episode, we’ll talk about how we put a value on such a rare collection and the importance of avoiding ethical conflicts of interest when buying and appraising books.
If you have something you’re curious about—and it doesn't have to be the Nuremberg Chronicle—you can always drop us a line at info@brattlebookshop.com.
Brattlecast #126 - Old Textbooks
Today in the studio with us we have a group of primary school textbooks from the mid-1800s. Because so many of these books were printed and distributed, they’re not especially monetarily valuable, but they're still interesting and fun to flip through, and they make great gifts for teachers or recent graduates. On today’s episode we’ll talk about first reading primers with charming illustrations, geography books that reveal the pervasive biases of the times in which they were written, and a Spanish textbook defaced by a student who would go on to greatness. Join us for a look at the schooldays of the past, on this educational #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #120 - The Limited Editions Club
Today we’re talking about some of our favorite titles from the Limited Editions Club. Founded in 1929 by George Macy, the L.E.C. brought together leading artists, illustrators, book designers, and typographers to produce beautiful editions of classic works of literature, which were then distributed to club members on a subscription basis. Only about 1,500 copies of each title was published, and they were usually signed by their author, illustrator, or both. While many of their titles have fallen out of fashion today, some are still highly collectible; James Joyce’s Ulysses, with art by Henri Matisse (who hadn’t read a word of the book and instead illustrated six scenes from Homer’s Odyssey), and Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland signed by Alice Hargreaves, the “original” Alice for whom the book was written.
Speaking of subscription-based media, we would encourage you to subscribe to the Brattlecast if you haven’t already, and to share so that your friends can join the club!
Brattlecast #87 - The Descent of Man
In 1859 Charles Darwin published one of the most influential, and controversial, books ever written: The Origin of the Species. Twelve years later, his follow up, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, in which he applied his theory of evolution to human reproduction, would prove to be equally shocking and transformative. We’ll take a look at a first edition copy of The Descent of Man, explore some of the questionable ideas it would launch, and trace the evolution of these naturalist classics as they were published in hundreds of different editions from the 1800s to the present day.