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Reference Books on Manuscripts from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books Manuscripts are the focus of Frits Knuf's latest catalogue. By Michael Stillman Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books recently issued their Catalogue 212, Reference Books on Manuscripts, Miniatures. The field of manuscript collecting has become very popular, the one-of-a-kind nature appealing to those who appreciate the unique. This catalogue provides those with an interest in these handwritten documents much information about the field, plus numerous catalogues of collections of important manuscripts. In all 373 items are provided, divided mostly among the English, French, Dutch and German languages. While many are primarily informative, there are books and catalogues with facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts that recreate the original art. Here are a few of the items we found. For those wishing to learn more about illuminated manuscripts, item 13 is The Illuminated Manuscript, by Janet Backhouse, published in 1979. Ms. Backhouse was the Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, and her work is an authoritative introduction to the field. Priced at €32 (Euros, or approximately $46 in U.S. Currency). Books are a wonderful source of history, but they only date back five centuries. Manuscripts take us back thousands of years. For a look at manuscripts of ancient history, item 88 is Testaments of Time. The Search for Manuscripts and Records. This 1965 book by Leo Deuel tells the stories of scholar-adventurers who unlocked the secrets of ancient societies through the manuscript records they left behind. €57 (US $83). Item 224 is an accounting of manuscripts in the library of Chartres as of 1840. Along with a general listing with descriptions, the report notes items that pertain specifically to this French city and its environs. The title is Catalogue des Manuscrits De La Bibliotheque De La Ville De Chartres. €250 ($364). Where better to look for Texas collectibles than with a French bookseller like Knuf? Without answering that question, item 180 is Manuscript Sources in the Rosenberg Library, published in 1983. The Rosenberg Library, located in Galveston, is the oldest library in continual operation in Texas. It contains an important collection of Texas manuscripts, covering activities both virtuous and criminal…as big as, so to speak, Texas. €57 (US $83). Not only can references to American manuscripts be found overseas, but so can America-related manuscripts themselves. Item 74 is A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to America in Great Britain and Ireland, by B.R. Crick and Miriam Alman, published in 1961. It provides the location of many manuscripts concerning historical connections between the United States and Britain. €70 (US $102). Item 201 is a Guide to the manuscript materials relating to American history in the German State Archives, by Marion Learned, published in 1912. €200 (US $292). Item 260 is Catalogue des Manuscrits Americains de la Bibliotheque Nationale (American manuscripts in the French National Library), published in Paris in 1925. €22 (US $32).
Reference Books on Manuscripts from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books Estelle Doheny. Item 89 offers the seven volumes of perhaps the most spectacular book auction ever, the Estelle Doheny sale at Christie's from 1987-89. Estelle was the wife, later widow, of oil tycoon Edward Laurence Doheny. He discovered oil near Los Angeles around the turn of the century, and eventually amassed a fortune in oil in Mexico. Mrs. Doheny began collecting books in the 1920s at the instance of Frank Hogan, an attorney and major book collector himself (and Mr. Doheny's counsel when he was charged during the Teapot Dome scandal). She obviously enjoyed book collecting and had the funds to do so on a grand sale. Her collection would grow to include some of the most valuable of works imaginable, including a Gutenberg Bible. By 1940, her collection had grown too large for her to house, so she created a library, named for her husband, at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. She would continue to contribute books to the library until her death in 1958. Ultimately, the St. John's Seminary would prove to be an odd place for such a collection, which also included such items as numerous Mark Twain books and letters and signatures of most signers of the Declaration of Independence. In other words, it contained mostly secular material. Maintaining and insuring it was costly and its use in such a library limited, so the decision was made to sell the collection at auction (Doheny's gift stipulated that the library could not sell her collection until at least 25 years after her death). The sale ran from 1987-1989, took place at several locations, and the items are described in seven volumes here offered, including six of descriptions and the seventh an index and price list. All told, the auction took in over $37 million. €600 (US $878). Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books is found online at www.fritsknuf.com, telephone 0033 (0) 254 722 656, email info@fritsknuf.com.

Reference Books on Manuscripts from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books

Manuscripts are the focus of Frits Knuf's latest catalogue.

By Michael Stillman

Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books recently issued their Catalogue 212, Reference Books on Manuscripts, Miniatures. The field of manuscript collecting has become very popular, the one-of-a-kind nature appealing to those who appreciate the unique. This catalogue provides those with an interest in these handwritten documents much information about the field, plus numerous catalogues of collections of important manuscripts. In all 373 items are provided, divided mostly among the English, French, Dutch and German languages. While many are primarily informative, there are books and catalogues with facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts that recreate the original art. Here are a few of the items we found.

For those wishing to learn more about illuminated manuscripts, item 13 is The Illuminated Manuscript, by Janet Backhouse, published in 1979. Ms. Backhouse was the Assistant Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, and her work is an authoritative introduction to the field. Priced at €32 (Euros, or approximately $46 in U.S. Currency).

Books are a wonderful source of history, but they only date back five centuries. Manuscripts take us back thousands of years. For a look at manuscripts of ancient history, item 88 is Testaments of Time. The Search for Manuscripts and Records. This 1965 book by Leo Deuel tells the stories of scholar-adventurers who unlocked the secrets of ancient societies through the manuscript records they left behind. €57 (US $83).

Item 224 is an accounting of manuscripts in the library of Chartres as of 1840. Along with a general listing with descriptions, the report notes items that pertain specifically to this French city and its environs. The title is Catalogue des Manuscrits De La Bibliotheque De La Ville De Chartres. €250 ($364).

Where better to look for Texas collectibles than with a French bookseller like Knuf? Without answering that question, item 180 is Manuscript Sources in the Rosenberg Library, published in 1983. The Rosenberg Library, located in Galveston, is the oldest library in continual operation in Texas. It contains an important collection of Texas manuscripts, covering activities both virtuous and criminal…as big as, so to speak, Texas. €57 (US $83).

Not only can references to American manuscripts be found overseas, but so can America-related manuscripts themselves. Item 74 is A Guide to Manuscripts Relating to America in Great Britain and Ireland, by B.R. Crick and Miriam Alman, published in 1961. It provides the location of many manuscripts concerning historical connections between the United States and Britain. €70 (US $102). Item 201 is a Guide to the manuscript materials relating to American history in the German State Archives, by Marion Learned, published in 1912. €200 (US $292). Item 260 is Catalogue des Manuscrits Americains de la Bibliotheque Nationale (American manuscripts in the French National Library), published in Paris in 1925. €22 (US $32).

Reference Books on Manuscripts from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books

Estelle Doheny.

Item 89 offers the seven volumes of perhaps the most spectacular book auction ever, the Estelle Doheny sale at Christie's from 1987-89. Estelle was the wife, later widow, of oil tycoon Edward Laurence Doheny. He discovered oil near Los Angeles around the turn of the century, and eventually amassed a fortune in oil in Mexico. Mrs. Doheny began collecting books in the 1920s at the instance of Frank Hogan, an attorney and major book collector himself (and Mr. Doheny's counsel when he was charged during the Teapot Dome scandal). She obviously enjoyed book collecting and had the funds to do so on a grand sale. Her collection would grow to include some of the most valuable of works imaginable, including a Gutenberg Bible. By 1940, her collection had grown too large for her to house, so she created a library, named for her husband, at St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California. She would continue to contribute books to the library until her death in 1958. Ultimately, the St. John's Seminary would prove to be an odd place for such a collection, which also included such items as numerous Mark Twain books and letters and signatures of most signers of the Declaration of Independence. In other words, it contained mostly secular material. Maintaining and insuring it was costly and its use in such a library limited, so the decision was made to sell the collection at auction (Doheny's gift stipulated that the library could not sell her collection until at least 25 years after her death). The sale ran from 1987-1989, took place at several locations, and the items are described in seven volumes here offered, including six of descriptions and the seventh an index and price list. All told, the auction took in over $37 million. €600 (US $878).

Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books is found online at www.fritsknuf.com, telephone 0033 (0) 254 722 656, email info@fritsknuf.com.