Rare Print Discovered in Library Book

Posted by trav in Book Collecting, Book Column, Book Talk, library, News, On the TV      1 comment

May
4

I love stories like this… The NY Times published the recent account of a Brown University archivist finding, what is believed to be one of only five copies of a print done by revolutionary heavyweight Paul Revere himself. No doubt the chance of this happening increases if your job is handling books from the 1700′s. But it’s still pretty cool to think that such a unique rarity was just stuck in the back of a book on physics. Revere was quite the engraver and printer, flooding the colonies with pamphlets and political information. He’s certainly not known for any kind of iconic or religious art, which ups the “cool factor” of the find. Be sure to click through to read the article on the library archivist and see the photos.

If nifty old archives of historical significance interest you then you should tune into Book TV (on CSPAN2) this weekend. At noon, on Saturday, they will be touring old bookstores and the Nichols Collection at the University of Oklahoma. They have books going back as far as the 15th century! They also have a History of Science Collection with papers and books from Galileo, Copernicus and other famous people in white lab coats. I think it’ll be fun to watch.

Helvetica: The Movie on PBS

Posted by trav in fonts, News, On the TV      No comments

Jan
5

Set your VCR’s and DVR’s! Depending on where you live, you will get a chance to catch Helvetica, on your local PBS station, either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. The full-theater release was about 80 minutes long, but they have condensed it to 50 minutes and are airing it as part of their Independent Lens series.

You can go here to see when it’s showing in your area. If I’m reading the schedule correctly, it first will air, in my little corner of Birmingham at midnight, Wednesday, January 7th.

BTW, I took the quiz and it turns out that the internet thinks I am Times New Roman. Not sure how I feel about that. It could have been worse I guess (can anyone say Comic S***?).

Pushing the people out

Posted by trav in Events, Media, News, On the TV      No comments

Jun
20

Apparantly, I am one of the three people that watched The Quill Book Awards last year. Now, organizers say public interest has been so bad, that they are taking voting privleges away from the public and giving them to 6,000 booksellers and experts.

Us commoners used to get to vote in all the categories. Now, the experts pick the winners in 19 areas, while the public gets to pick the winner for a single 20th category “Book of the Year”. Organizers say that this will “streamline consumer participation and add to the credibility of those who are named winners”.

We’ll just have to wait and see how all this pans out on October 27, 2007.

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in On the TV      No comments

Mar
2

This weekend’s schedule for BookTV is up.

Two places at once

Posted by trav in Birmingham, Book Talk, On the TV, On the Web      1 comment

Feb
14

The Birmingham Public Library has posted its first show on YouTube. You can view the video here, from their blog. It’s the epsiode promoting Alabama Bound and discussing a book on Miles College and drama titled Mayor Todd.

The YouTube video has a couple of weird edits and lasts around six minutes. Unless I’m mistaken, this is the same show that airs on public access here in the ‘ham. Which is pretty cool if you miss it on TV.

Props to the BPL crew for doing this. I hope they keep it up!

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in Book Talk, On the TV      No comments

Feb
2

to check out this weekend’s Book TV schedule.

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in Book Talk, On the TV      No comments

Jan
19

to check out this weekend’s BookTV schedule.

The most interesting segment I see would have to be Kantor’s Guide on Politically Incorrect English and American Literature. She seems to make some pretty bold statements. It’s fun to talk to your tv! Maybe even argue! DVR’s are go!

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in On the TV      No comments

Jan
12

to check out this weekend’s BookTV schedule.

I see that they are re-airing the hand-illuminated St. John’s Bible segment again. It’s pretty good. Plenty of discussion about the publishing process of a project this size and the artist’s design process.

But then I’ve always been a sucker for The Book Guys radio show.

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in Book Talk, On the TV      No comments

Jan
5

To check out the listings for BookTV this weekend.

Don’t forget…

Posted by trav in On the TV      No comments

Dec
29

There is LOTS of Book TV to watch this weekend. It starts Saturday and runs all the way through Tueday morning!

Here’s the schedule.

Happy New Year!