The Harvard Theatre Collection recently purchased an interesting collection of manuscript 18th century opera arias at Sotheby’s. Owned by the Ducs de Luynes, and kept in their ancestral Château de Dampierre, some of these arias may have been in the D’Albert family since before the French Revolution. An intriguing provenance indeed, which raises many questions: Read More

In early June, the Library received this message from Maria Barrera: “I purchased from a flea market vendor a book that I believe belongs to the Harvard Libraries. It does bear the seals of Harvard College Library and lacks any note that may indicate it was withdrawn. I am enclosing pictures of the seals and Read More

In 2010 the Harvard Theatre Collection acquired Choix de decorations du Théâtre Royale Italien (Paris, [1838]; call number pf TS 239.208.5), a rare suite of twelve lithographs by different hands after theatrical scene designs by Domenico Ferri (1795-1878), a Bolognese architect and artist who spent most of his active career in Paris.  All but the final Read More

On 4 April 2013 books, manuscripts, and art work from the collection of Laurence W. Hodson (1864-1933) were auctioned at Bloomsbury Auctions in London. Hodson also sold books and manuscripts from his library in 1906, but this most recent auction will allow scholars to evaluate more effectively Hodson’s role as an important art collector; as Read More

Two recent acquisitions in the Early Modern Books and Manuscripts department have plenty of colorful adventures, both literally and metaphorically. The first is a card game (call number pFB7.L5633.G800g) based on the classic picaresque novel L’Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane by Alain Rene Le Sage, first published in 1715. Houghton already holds a set Read More