Rare Book Monthly

Articles - September - 2023 Issue

An Open Letter to the Rare Book Hub-Rare Book Monthly Community on behalf of Rare Book School

Investing in the future of collectible paper

Investing in the future of collectible paper

I am grateful to Bruce McKinney for providing access to this forum to give his subscribers a little bit of information about Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.

 

To the extent you recognize my name, it is probably through my long association with the Books and Manuscripts Department at Sotheby’s. But I am not writing today as the representative of an auction house. I am writing as a member of Rare Book School’s Board of Trustees. (Full disclosure: I am the chair of the Development Committee; fuller disclosure: Rare Book School is in the closing month of its first capital campaign.)

 

Many of you, I trust, are familiar with Rare Book School, but if you are not, it is, in brief, the world’s premier educational institution advancing the study, interpretation, and preservation of the world’s printed and manuscript historical record. Our faculty and students are, or will be, on the front lines of curation and administration of libraries and other cultural and educational institutions that benefit not only the scholarly community, but also private collectors of books and manuscripts and the trade dealing therewith. The purpose, mission, and goals of Rare Book School are surely in harmony with those of most patrons of Rare Book Hub and Rare Book Monthly.

 

My own involvement with Rare Book School goes back to its founding in 1983 at Columbia University’s School of Library Service, where I was a student planning on a career as an academic rare book librarian.  In 1992, after Columbia closed its library school, Rare Book School moved to the University of Virginia.  Several years ago, after I joined the board, RBS commissioned a feasibility study for what was seen as an ambitious $10,000,000 capital campaign for Rare Book School. The idea of a capital campaign was encouraged by executive director Michael Suarez, who wanted to see the School put on a more stable and professional footing. While Rare Book School owes its very existence to founding director Terry Belanger, it has to be acknowledged that in its early decades the school advanced somewhat precariously year to year, often principally sustained by Terry’s generosity with his MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

 

Although the board’s initial $10,000,000 goal was deemed too aspirational by the advisory firm we had contracted, the board not only proceeded, but eventually increased the comprehensive goal of the campaign—by now cleverly named “Bound for the Future”—to $15,000,000. And now with just a month to run before the conclusion of the campaign, I am happy to report that our revised goal has already been exceeded.

 

However, one element of the campaign has lagged somewhat: fundraising for endowment, which while absolutely vital seems too often to be the least attractive option for many donors. As a subsidiary goal of our capital campaign, the School would like to raise $10,000,000 for endowment; we are currently about $700,000 below that target.

 

In 2022, 540 students from 13 countries took 39 courses in 9 locations, and, remarkably, 38% of our students received full-tuition scholarships. Over the past decade, students from 30 countries and all 50 states have attended our courses. In 2023, we are running 42 courses in 8 locations. Each course meets for six hours each day (4 sessions of 90 minutes each) of hands-on instruction for five days. Classes are typically capped at 12 or 14 students. Most often, other courses are running simultaneously, and students have ample opportunity to meet and interact at receptions, evening lectures, and shared meals. Fostering community among our students is a vital aspect of the School.

 

During “Book Week” this past January, RBS celebrated its fortieth anniversary. The purpose of our current capital campaign is to build our endowment and secure the School’s future for the next four decades—and our next two score are off to an auspicious start as our new, bespoke space in UVA’s main library will be opening shortly. If anyone reading this letter is inspired to consider supporting our Endowment Campaign, we would be most grateful to hear from you.

 

To make a contribution or pledge by September 30, or to be in touch with senior staff at the School, please email campaignforRBS@virginia.edu; or, to donate now, click here. (Please note that pledges to the campaign can be paid over five years, beginning in 2024.)

 

If you would like to hear more about the School from my personal perspective, please contact me at rbs-vice-chair@virginia.edu. And, to learn much more about Rare Book School, please see our website (rarebookschool.org/), our latest annual report (click here), and a special page devoted to the campaign (https://rarebookschool.org/support/campaign/).

 

Many thanks for your indulgence, and best regards,

 

Selby Kiffer

Rare Book School board member

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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