Rare Book Monthly

print Send Email to Friend Change Font Size Share Link

Articles - November - 2016 Issue

Elections Matter

- by Bruce E. McKinney

Vote: it matters

Vote: it matters

In the United States we have seen a decline in literacy over the past forty years as the emphasis in education has moved from quality of learning to test taking.   For processes that require a strong grasp of language, many skills and some collecting areas will suffer, books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera among them.  These subjects require both perspective and a strong grasp of language.

 

So one way to view these candidates is about how they value education and critical thinking.

 

In the 19th century education was understood to be essential to the emerging industrial revolution and nations committed themselves to providing it.  Over the following decades a prosperous middle class emerged.

 

Today the issue is critical thinking and if there is to be a robust middle class and a market for books, manuscripts, maps and ephemera, this skill must be both taught and celebrated.  Democracy needs an educated electorate and of course so do books.

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Sotheby's<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts & More<br>Available for Immediate Purchase</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> William Shakespeare.<br><i>The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare,</i> 1960. 7,210 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Charles Dickens.<br><i>A Christmas Carol,</i> First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> William Golding.<br><i>Lord of the Flies,</i> First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD <b><center>Sotheby's<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts & More<br>Available for Immediate Purchase</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s:</b> Lewis Carroll.<br><i>Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There,</i> Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> J.R.R. Tolkien.<br><i>The Hobbit,</i> First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD <b>Sotheby’s:</b> John Milton.<br><i>Paradise Lost,</i> 1759. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare.
    The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
    Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens.
    A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Golding.
    Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll.
    Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien.
    The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: John Milton.
    Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD

Article Search

Archived Articles

Ask Questions