Take 2--Pawn Stars, Rare Books, Sir Isaac Newton, History of Science, Geology, Agricola

My copy of John Harrison's, The Library Of Isaac Newton , arrived yesterday after being freshly printed in Tennessee on February 3, 2011 (in this case a good example of the value of print on demand!).  With the insight provided by Harrison's study of Newton's Library I would like to add a little more information to my post of February 1, Pawn Stars, Rare Books, Sir Isaac Newton, History of Science, Geology, Agricola. 

I still agree that the copy of Agricola's 1546 book, De Ortu et Causis Subterraneorum, purchased by the Pawn Stars, is from Newton's personal library but I am now much less confident that the annotations in the manuscript were made by Newton. 

The shelf marking on the inside cover do confirm that this copy was part of the Musgrave Catalog published in 1767 (the work was not listed in the quickly assembled Huggins List from 1727 created shortly after Newton's death).  I also feel confident that the specialist who looked at the handwriting was simply wrong in stating that Newton did not write in tiny script, as the example below shows he certainly did!



Newton's Notes in Howard, Copernicus of all sorts, convicted....1705 (no. 810)
From page 17, Harrison, The Library of Isaac Newton, Cambridge University Press, 2008

Script size aside, from what I have learned from Harrison, I seriously doubt the annotations were in Newton's hand.  My guess is that a previous owner annotated the manuscript prior to Newton's acquisition of it.  Newton owned only three books on mineralogy, all by Argicola.  The other two books, one held by the University of Wisconsin and one by Trinity College, Cambridge, do not have any annotations. Newton's copy of De re Metallica, 1621 is noted as showing "some signs of dog earring."  De re Metallica was Agricola's masterpiece and that makes me doubt Newton would be motivated to carefully study the earlier, 1546 publication.  Harrison also notes that of the 1,763 books he catalogued only 84 were verified to be annotated by Newton.  This leads me to conclude that the annotations in the 1546 manuscript are not in Newton's hand.

Before the appearance on Pawn Stars, that last known mention of this rare book was a listing in the Thame Park Auction of 1920, buyer unknown.  The catalog markings need to be studied more carefully as they do tell a story about the history of the book once it left the Newton estate.  Perhaps the Pawn Stars could post a photocopy of the front matter along with copies of the annotated pages! 

I do hope that De Ortu et Causis Subterraneorum will be acquired by Trinity College, for a fair price, and be added to the largest single collection of books from Newton's library. 

Great Libraries of the Past and Present, Egypt, Bibliotheca Alexandria,

The current events in Egypt are covered in great detail by both traditional and Web 2.0 news outlets.  I certainly support a more free, democratic, and modern Egypt and believe that reform is possible without the need for violence. 

The news coverage of the demonstrations often include reference to The National Museum of Egyptian Culture in Cairo (Egyptian Museum) and sometimes coverage of the Biblotheca Alexandria: The New Library of Alexandria.  Dr. Zahi Hawass, a larger than life archaeologist and media star, as well as, the newly appointed Minister of Antiquities in Egypt,  has been very active in protecting Egypt's cultural treasures, especially the Museum in Cairo. The Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandria, Ismail Serageldin, is not a media star but should be honored for his efforts to protect the library and to continue championing the library as a key cultural institution, important as a symbol of the power of education and learning for the future of Egypt.  A wonderful overview of the successful efforts to protect the library during this time, a collective community effort, is detailed in this article from the Wall Street Journal, A Symbol for the New Egypt.

The Library of Alexandria has a storied history and the institution has been victim of war and revolution since Roman times.  The first Universal Library of Alexandria was founded after the death of Alexander The Great (320 B.C.) and continued his tireless efforts to expose his great empire to the refined, rational thought of the Greek world. 

Ptolemy I Sotor who brought Alexander's body to Alexandria and laid it to rest in the now lost mausoleum eventually became ruler over Egypt and is credited with founding the Library as a continuation of Alexander's quest to create a Universal Library.  It is thought that the Library of Alexandria, under Ptolemaic rule, eventually housed over 400,00 scrolls collecting all the known books in the world. 

In 48 B.C. Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria at the request of King Ptolemy XIII to settle a dispute between the King and his co-ruler sister, the legendary, Cleopatra.  Caesar's arrival in Alexandria caused a revolt, the Alexandrian War, led by King Ptolemy's General, Achillas. He laid siege to Alexandria from the sea causing Caesar to burn the fleet and also setting fire to the city, including buildings holding books for the Library and, legend has it, all the papyrus manuscripts were lost.   Unfortunately the history of the Library at Alexandria is muddled and the Library, after the Alexandrian War, continued to exist with significant holdings.  During the Roman era, the Library evolved into a bilingual, Greek and Latin institution and continued to expand.  Another legend states that after Caesar's assasination in 44 B.C.,  Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius) gave Cleopatra more than 200,000 manuscripts from the Library of Pergamon (Turkey) to add to the library holdings in Alexandria. 

It it clear that the great Library of Alexandria, partially destroyed during the Alexandria War, survived long after Caesar's fire and continued to be an important repository of books and a famous center for  scholarship.  Even after Constantine established Constantinople (today, Istanbul) as the capital of the Roman Empire and embarked on his own quest to establish a universal library in his capital city, a primary source for manuscripts was Alexandria.  In 642 A.D. Alexandria again was conquered, this time by Arabs.  It is again suggested in historical writings that the library, perhaps not the original or as grand as the original, still existed in some form and that the holdings were yet again destroyed after the Arab conquest.  We simply do not know, for certain, what happened to the holdings of the original Library of Alexandria. 



The Bibliotheca Alexandria



Rare Books and Special Collections

The current Biblotheca Alexandria is the heir to the famous collections of history and mythology.  The Bibliotheca Alexandria opened in  2002 and is a center for learning, scholarship and study.  Even with the Internet blackout that has hit the population of Egypt the Library continues to have web access and will continue to be a center where the future of Egypt can be studied, discussed, debated and defined. 

The spirit of Alexander The Great's original dream of establishing a Unverisal Library is alive and well today and the Bibliotheca Alexandria is a shining symbol of the importance of institutions dedicated to books, education and learning, all essential ingredients for personal and political advancement.  I expect that all the people of Egypt will continue to protect this institution from whatever follows of politics and reform.



Supporters and Opponents protect the Library 2011



The Eagle, a new movie based on, The Eagle of the Ninth, classic historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff

Opening February 11, 2011 is The Eagle, a new movie adaptation of the beloved Rosemary Sutcliff novel, The Eagle of the Ninth.  I predict great things for The Eagle and a rush of interest in Sutcliff's series of novels about Roman Britain, beginning with The Eagle of the Ninth and continuing with The Silver Branch, The Lantern Bearers, Dawn Wind, and Frontier Wolf.

Rosemary Sutcliff (1920-1992) was a children's author of great acclaim.   She published her first book, The Queen Elizabeth Story, in 1950 and 39 more titles followed until her death in 1992.  She was greatly admired by critics and award committees and beloved by fans.  The Eagle of the Ninth and the series it launched is considered a masterpiece of historical fiction for children as well as a great read for adults.

The Eagle of the Ninth is both history and mythology.  The Roman Ninth Legion Hispana was stationed in England in 43 A.D. and active until 120 A.D.  After 120 A.D. the Ninth Legion Hispana disappeared from all historical records.  Today, no one knows for certain what happened to the legendary Ninth.  Were they disbanded in disgrace?  Were they overwhelmed and massacred by the barbarians north of Hadrian's Wall?   For Rosemary Sutcliff, the history and mythology of the Roman Ninth Legion Hispana provides the foundation for her series, beginning with The Eagle of the Ninth, introducing readers young and old to the history of Roman Britain from the search for an explanation of the Ninths disappearance in The Eagle of the Ninth,  through the following three centuries of Roman influence until Rome formally abandoned Britain.

With the release of the movie it will be easy to acquire a freshly printed trilogy edition of the first three titles in the series-a great gift idea for the 12+ reader.  While ease of acquisition is certainly a factor when buying a book associated with a current movie, it seems much more interesting and meaningful to acquire either the original editions or an illustrated edition of these wonderful books.

Rosemary Sutcliff titles are certainly collectible and it would enjoyable to have a complete collection of her historical fiction.  If the movie is a success interest in Sutcliff's novels will increase and the price for a first edition, first printing of The Eagle of the Ninth , Oxford University Press, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges, 1954, will sky-rocket!  Today, as the movie premiere approaches, I can find zero copies of the first edition, first printing for sale.  Either booksellers are holding back copies to see if demand will support much higher prices, speculators have snapped up all the copies that were available or savvy collectors acquired a copy months ago before the movie hype started. 

There are two valid alternatives to collecting the Oxford University Press edition, the first US edition published by Henry C. Walck 1954 or the Folio Society edition, illustrated by Roman Pisarev published in 2005.   The Walck editions that are available are all "ex-library" and not really worth the effort to acquire.  If you desire a nice edition I reccomend the Folio Society edition.  They have published both The Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch in fine, collectible editions.  On the used marketplace you can acquire a copy for as little as $20.00.  I do own both Folio Society editions and am kicking myself for not acquiring the Oxford University Press editions in 2005, when the Folio Society edition was released and I last considered acquiring the Oxford University Press edition.  Yet another example of the he who hesistates, is lost!