When I first learned about Walter Benjamin and this particulat essay, I searched online with no success for the opportunity to read it. I eventually ordered a copy of it from Amazon. For this post, I have taken the liberty to quote from the essay. The entire essay is definately worth reading but here are the "high points" IMHO
Philanthropist, Owner of Magna Carta, Donates 13.5 Million to Duke Libraries Rare Books
Source: Canberratimes.com.au BY SALLY PRYOR, CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS REPORTER 08 Aug, 2011 04:00 AM At first glance, its just an old book of poems, bound in slightly grubby beige leather with gold lettering and gold-edged pages. But open it up and you might want to drop it and recoil when you read the inscription on the [...]
Internet Archivist Seeks One Of Every Book Written
“One of two things will happen,” Eco continues in his march of logic. “Either the book will continue to be the medium for reading, or its replacement will resemble what the book has always been, even before the invention of the printing press. Alterations to the book-as-
object have modified neither its function nor its grammar for more than 500 years. The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved.”
As an antiquarian bookseller, I am frequently asked to define “antiquarian” or “rare” books. To some extent these two relatively vague but omnipresent terms are used interchangeably in the trade. Nevertheless, they have subtly different connotations.
has posted an excellent synopsis of reviews of the book "Hitler's Private Library". There are many kinds of book collecors - famous, infamous and annonymous. Much as many of us may hate to claim him among the group of book collectors, he did indeed collect books. His purpose and what use he put to the volumes he collected are debatable, Some feel he sought out books that went along with his preconceived ideas - as some book collectors may do. The following reviewers had the this to say:
Paradise A Kind Of Library
Books Are A Hindarance To Persisting Stupidity
When I get a little money
