The Beachwood Library (Cuyahoga County Public Library photo).
This may not be the most peaceful and united of times in America, no twenty-first century version of the Era of Good Feelings. Still, a recent occurrence is symbolically more chilling than most. Book burning brings back thoughts of Germany in the 1930s. Book burnings equate to the silencing of ideas, and the silencing of ideas means a loss of freedom. In better times, this event might be considered an isolated act by one insignificant individual. In a time when librarians are under fire and angry voices have been demanding the removal of some books from libraries, it starts to look like part of a concerning and dangerous trend. Freedom dies when free people fall asleep at the wheel.
On April 2, an as yet unnamed individual walked into the Beachwood Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library and took out a library card. Beachwood is a suburb of Cleveland with a substantial Jewish population. He proceeded to borrow 50 books. Evidently, they do not have very stringent borrowing limits at this library. Topics were described as Jewish history, African American history, and LGBTQ.
Apparently, this individual posted a picture of a car trunk filled with books on Gab.com. Gab is a website with few standards concerning what is posted, making it a place where neo-Nazis and others from the far right are free to post hateful messages. The Beachwood Library was notified of the picture by the Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative. BDI describes itself as “a non-partisan research initiative that tracks and mitigates political violence in the United States.” The picture was accompanied by a message about “cleansing” the library. The books appeared to match the topics of the books that had been borrowed and some showed Cuyahoga County Library stickers on them.
On April 10, the same individual returned to the Beachwood Library and borrowed another 50 books. Some libraries do allow patrons to borrow 100 books at a time so perhaps that was Beachwood's policy. The topics were the same. The borrower told a librarian that his son was LGBTQ and he wanted to learn more about it. A police report said that a librarian found the man's behavior odd, but he was not threatening nor violating any rules.
Later, the library was again contacted by the Princeton Bridging Divides Initiative to say the person had posted another video that appeared to show him burning all 100 of the books. The police report indicated that the theme of the books was again the same and one of the books showed a CCPL sticker on it. That title matched one this individual had “borrowed.”
The books were valued at $1,700. Since none of the books was overdue at the time, there was no cause yet even to bill him. We await further developments and will post them here as they arise.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern Now through July 10, 2025
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
Freeman’s | Hindman Western Manuscripts and Miniatures July 8, 2025
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.