The Manuscript Society

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The Manuscript Society

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An international organization of persons and institutions devoted to the collection, preservation, use, and enjoyment of autographs and manuscripts.

The oldest society of autograph and manuscript collectors in the United States today, The Manuscript Society has become an international organization with members in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. While collectors formed the heart of the organization in 1948, its membership today includes archivists, manuscript curators, librarians, and prominent manuscript dealers and auction houses. That expanded focus led the organization to change its name from the National Society of Autograph Collectors to The Manuscript Society in 1953. The shift also recognized that its members are serious manuscript collectors--not just autograph seekers.

10/28/2026

You say you want a revolutionibus? A 1543 first edition of Copernicus’s “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” — “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” — has sold at auction for $2.3 million, more than twice its estimate. The book upended previous thinking that the sun rotates around the Earth. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/in-1543-copernicus-published-the-book-that-placed-the-sun-not-earth-at-the-centre-of-his-planetary-model-483-years-later-a-rare-first-edition-sold-for-2-304-million-more-than-twice-its-high-estimate/articleshow/135205765.cms

In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published a book that challenged the long-held belief that Earth stood at the centre of the universe. On October 20, 2026, a first edition of that work sold for $2.304 million at Sotheby’s in New York, more than twice its high estimate of $1 million.

10/25/2026

Four stories. A million books. More than 36,000 rare titles. Unlimited old-book smell. But no digital catalog. Want a hands-on experience? Browse Michigan's largest rare bookstore, housed in an old glove factory.

Four floors, over a million books, and no digital inventory. Getting lost is the whole point at John K. King.

10/18/2026

Join us at the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair November 6-8. Stop by our Booth 229 and learn more about what we do and the benefits of joining the Manuscipt Society! Hope to see you there!

10/14/2026

In December 1940, a year before Pearl Harbor, America struck its first blow in WWII — Captain America, that is. The cover of his comic book debut shows him punching Hi**er in the face. After nearly 80 years in a cardboard box, a copy of “Captain America Comics” No. 1 has hit the auction block, selling for $716,750.

Long before Captain America became a pillar of the Avengers, he was a bold piece of propaganda printed on cheap newsprint. His debut issue hit newsstands in

10/12/2026

Join us at 8 p.m. ET for our monthly Manuscript Mondays webinar. Jeffrey Rovenpor of Caroliniana Rare Books will delve into his work handling vernacular archives. Explore the trends and challenges of working with diaries, correspondence, photo albums, and more. Register free at https://manuscript.org/event/manuscript-monday-vernacular-archives-10-12-26/.

Overview Jeffrey Rovenpor of Caroliniana Rare Books will talk about his work handling vernacular archives over the last decade, including diaries, correspondence, photo albums, and more. He will talk about working with and researching archives, as well as current trends and challenges. Date: Monday,...

10/11/2026

What treasures lie in uncatalogued archival material? At Trinity College's Watkinson Library, a leaf from a previously unrecorded 15th-century textbook from
Gutenberg’s circle. It’s on paper, not vellum — maybe a proof? — and uses types like those in the first state of the from 1457. What’s next for the newly found fragment.

A page of printed text hidden for more than a century in an uncatalogued scrapbook at Trinity College's Watkinson Library in Hartford, Connecticut, has been identified as a previously unrecorded 15th century printing connected to the circle of Johannes Gutenberg.

10/08/2026

Why has the Voynich manuscript defied decoding? Is it the cryptic symbol system? The mysterious illustrations? The suggestion that the medieval manuscript was a hoax all along? Or have we just been reading the pages out of order? That’s the theory based on new analysis by scholars Colin Layfield and Lisa Fagin Davis.

Researchers argue incorrect binding of Voynich manuscript radically changes ideas about its drawings and indecipherable text

10/04/2026

Take a stroll through a London street lined with bookshops and history. London’s oldest esoteric bookshop. A shop filled with the wonders of Alice in Wonderland. A haven to explore antique maps, books and prints. All just off Leicester Square.

You have probably walked past this West End street without even realising

10/01/2026

“Blood on the Tracks” is one of Bob Dylan’s defining albums. His handwritten working lyrics for two of the songs — “Idiot Wind” and “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” — just sold for more than $290,000. A onetime Columbia Records exec found them in storage, further proof that keeping paper pays.

Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for two ‘Blood on the Tracks’ songs sell for $290,404 at auction, showcasing rare music history.

09/27/2026

The Magdala Gospel was illustrated, lavishly, in the 18th century. It was looted, indisputably, in the 19th century. Its recent appearance at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair has brought the manuscript, and its problematic provenance, into the spotlight. Where does it go from here?

The controversy highlights a broader, escalating global movement demanding the return of African antiquities.

Address

PO Box 25
Grand Isle, VT
05458

Website

http://manuscript.org/

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