March 30, 2022Devon EastlandEarly Printed Books Early Printed Books: May 5, 2022 Auction Highlights Read more about Early Printed Books: May 5, 2022 Auction Highlights The Collection of Ken Rapoport This spring’s Early Printed Book sale will feature the first part of the complete library of noted bibliophile and collector Ken Rapoport, who over a…
Read more about Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women November 5, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Consign Now for June 2022: Focus on Women This past summer Swann held its first auction devoted to works by women. We are pleased to annouce another edition of this sale, to be held in June 2022, once again spearheaded by Devon Eastland, our Early Printed Books Specialist, but offering a wide assortment of material
Read more about Devon Eastland on Librarian George Parker Winship October 11, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Devon Eastland on Librarian George Parker Winship When I was an undergraduate, I only knew George Parker Winship’s name because of the series of lectures delivered in his honor at the Houghton Library. The topic of one…
Read more about Devon Eastland on Caroline Schimmel & the Challenges of Creating Diverse Collections Driven by Women July 9, 2021 Books & Manuscripts Devon Eastland on Caroline Schimmel & the Challenges of Creating Diverse Collections Driven by Women Ahead of Swann’s first auction dedicated to the accomplishments of women on July 15, senior specialist and curator of the sale, Devon Eastland, sat down with author, historian and collector…
Read more about Lies in Publishing: Collecting False Imprints April 5, 2021 Early Printed Books Lies in Publishing: Collecting False Imprints Bibliographers, cataloguers, and scholars rely upon the veracity of a book’s imprint—that is, the publication information provided by the printer on the title page, and includes the following: city of…
Read more about Early Printed Books: Old Tombstones September 4, 2020 Early Printed Books Early Printed Books: Old Tombstones What Goes Around Comes Around Devon Eastland shares the joys of handling early printed books and how sometimes unexpected pieces of history can crop up. As a business with a…
Read more about As Seen in Books: A Glossary for Items Found in the Pages of Early Printed Books July 21, 2020 Books & Manuscripts As Seen in Books: A Glossary for Items Found in the Pages of Early Printed Books Any experienced cataloger, scholar, collector, or reader of early printing is accustomed to discovering an array of random objects within the pages of books. Even though some of these tidbits may have fallen out of ancient beards, today we celebrate and study them and put them into categories. Devon Eastland, senior specialist for early printed books, provides a handy glossary for these curious items found within various books.
Read more about Introduction to Bookbinding: Folding & Sewing May 5, 2020 Books & Manuscripts Introduction to Bookbinding: Folding & Sewing As a bibliophile expands their collection, they gain a feel for auction house and bookseller’s catalogues, which often include terminology that may seem arcane. However, every character in a complex catalogue entry is used to describe the object being sold. For early printed books, some of the most essential things a specialist must note are the size of the book, its collation, and its condition. In order to understand how a book is described, some knowledge of bookbinding fundamentals is helpful. Here, Devon Eastland, our senior specialist for early printed books, dives into how a book is sewn.
Read more about Why do old books use F’s instead of S’s? April 9, 2020 Early Printed Books Why do old books use F’s instead of S’s? Or, WTſ? It’s a common source of confusion: “I have this book, and it’s really old, and all of the s’s are f’s, so I know it’s really old. It’s called Paradife Loft, by John Milton.”