Today we’ll be discussing some exciting new arrivals at the shop, as well as some possible future arrivals on the horizon. There’s an inscription from Henry Thoreau to his sister in an otherwise unremarkable volume of poetry, a first edition of The Journals of Lewis and Clark, with its rare map intact, and (hopefully, maybe!) a first edition of Catcher in the Rye. Ken also recounts some of the small daily pleasures of his working life: the undiminished thrill of handling historical documents, the fun of training new employees and reuniting with former employees from decades past, and the adventure of making an appointment to look at books in a house featuring odors, hoarding, and darkness.
Brattlecast #19 - Come Back In 1000 Years
When a priceless library is stolen, or a rare historical document's authenticity is in question, the U.S. government turns to one man. Ken tells stories of some of his most exciting appraisals, from Paul Revere to the Pilgrim Charter, and imparts some of the magic of everyday appraisals at the shop. All that glitters is not gold!