April 19, 2012, Filed Under: ConservationBugs, Mold, and Conservation Mary Baughman, a Harry Ransom Center book conservator, hunts bugs. When she discovers them in materials at the Center, she destroys them, typically with a 72-hour stint in a freezer at 20 degrees centigrade or below. But don’t ask Baughman which of the cellulose-munching bugs she wishes didn’t exist at… read more
April 17, 2012, Filed Under: Books + ManuscriptsEarly printed book contains rare evidence of medieval spectacles Many scholars rank the invention of eyeglasses among the most important contributions to humankind in the last 2,000 years. Yet, the inventor of this now thoroughly quotidian piece of technology remains anonymous. Indeed the inventor (or inventors) will almost certainly never be known, given the numerous conflicting claims, lack of… read more
April 16, 2012, Filed Under: Books + ManuscriptsChristine Brooke-Rose, experimental fiction writer “With news of the death of Christine Brooke-Rose, the world of letters has lost a significant and courageous writer,” said Karen Lawrence, President of Sarah Lawrence College and author of Techniques for Living: Fiction and Theory in the Work of Christine Brooke-Rose. A writer known for her unorthodox and experimental… read more
