A puzzle. This was printed in 1740, for the 'ceremony battesimali' of the 'Secondigenito' of Francesco III, Duke of Modena. He had had four children (of whom the first two died in infancy, by 1727. So it seems unlikely that any would be being baptised in 1740. Can anyone shed any light on this?

Getting ready for this weekend's Chelsea Book Fair. A list of some of what I am taking is at lists.ebrb.co.uk/chelsea2025

Bluesky is full of coincidences. The author of this guide to rural domestic economy, now on my desk, was entirely unknown to me until this week. And now a new edition has just appeared of a 1788 novel of hers.

My next little list of recent acquisitions has bits and pieces of Italian theatre in it, including this: Metastasio's Siroe was very popular as an opera libretto, serving as the basis for operas by at least 35 known composers, including Handel and Vivaldi.

Really looking forward to tomorrow night's crazy @londiniumchoir.bsky.social Bosch extravaganza. Our fabulous programme booklet is now online for a little light reading... I may have got a bit carried away! www.londinium-voices.org.uk/programme

Feels like a week to think about constitutions. One of these was put into effect. The other was not put to a vote, and its proposer was arrested.

Step aside Mozart: this is Austria's greatest contribution to humanity.

British Airways to the rescue with this phrase: any missed deadline will now be explained by requiring additional time to do it as quickly as possible.

All set for a slightly unexpected jaunt to the York Book Fair.

ANNOUNCEMENT

A lovely fresh copy in pink wrappers with original printed labels of Demoustier's Lettres à Émilie, sur la mythologie, tthrough which generations of French children learned the Greek myths, here printed by Renouard in 1803 Judging from the condition, I doubt this has gone anywhere near a child.

Exciting news about the recent acquisition of a 1791 edition of Voltaire’s Candide. The edition is recorded – there are copies in Geneva and Louvain – but it is certainly rare. A Voltaire Foundation (voltairefoundation.wordpress.com) and @tayoxford.bsky.social blog coming soon!

A propos of nothing in particular, I do like DC.

New arrival for any lovers of Mots d'Heures: Mousses, Rames. A 1784 method of learning English through a phonetic presentation of an English translation of Fénelon's Les Aventures de Télémaque. Bound to work.

!!! A church will be moved down the road on Tuesday! It'll be live-streamed. It's wild. It's in Kiruna, Sweden's most northern town (I've been there): the whole town is being moved to get to iron ore under it. The church is wooden and square, inspired by Sami tents. lkab.com/en/events/th...

Going through bits of paper and reminded how impressed I was that in Nancy they let people into the museum for free during the heat wave.

Finding all sorts of delights in a box I am going through. Duckling! Liebfraumilch! Potatoes in TWO forms!

Local celebrity cat has taken to basking on a different car roof each day. Not, it must be said, elegantly.

Time to dig these out of storage.

It's time for a new list, of 25 books and manuscripts covering 150 years around the 18th century, including graphology, French protestants, Montesquieu, cosmology for children, the divine office, and more. Link in bio!

Never really got French gothic until today.

Visited a colleague. Made a new friend.

Seeing all these Father's Day posts made me go through some old boxes of my father's things. Along with the Yorkshire Post announcing the declaration of war in 1939 (on page 4), I found this. Any idea what the Taberdars' Room was?

The author of a book I am cataloguing, Enrico Gazzera (1772-1838), corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, who had a couple of books of his in his library. I thought Google might be helpful in pointing me towards a link. Not so much.

Maybe time to reread this.

Lovely new acquisition for my #Venice shelves from @ebrumfitt.bsky.social at the FIRSTS fair on Thursday. A dictionary of Venice’s noble families, printed in 1780. No copy known in UK institutions and this one in its original binding.

ESTC is back online in a new beta version hosted by CERL: datb.cerl.org/estc/ #RareBooks #BookHistory #Skystorians #GLAM 📚📜

Come to South-East London and enjoy the dawn chorus... of magpies.

Settling in for last-minute cataloguing for next week's Firsts book fair, with the Vatican News vox pops washing over me.

hello from Vienna, which I found out tonight has a fast food place called "Hab's Burgers"

The history of printing reached its zenith 45 years ago today.

Oddest eBay description of the day Hundreds--count 'em!

As my books return from the New York Book Fair, I realise I never posted a link on here to my fair catalogue. So here it is, full of long 18th Century goodness: lists.ebrb.co.uk/list5-2025

This 12-volume collection of eulogies (on Metastasio, Petrarch, Palladio, Leonardo, and more), collected by the Jesuit-turned-journalist Andrea Rubbi in 1782, includes 4 by Giovanni Battista Giovio, who was Chamberlain to the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, to whom Rubbi gave this copy.

Very taken with this frontispiece to vol one of Maréchal's Decades des cultivateurs, a guide to agriculture, gardening, and motality in the new French Republic.

I have always thought there would be a good audience for an exhibition (or, let's face it, a museum) entirely devoted to images of Jerome and his lion.

Catalogue prep is a lot easier now I have a decent book cradle.

Never seen this done to fore edges. It's a school geography primer - perhaps one very bored pupil.

Finally used the BnF and it's fine. Rather wonderful actually. I don't understand the loathing it seems to inspire. Was I lucky?

Today's workplace.

We hope any Valentine plans this week are more successful than those of Miss Baker in 1807, whose love letter to Mr G. Bennett was REFUSED by R. Fowler on delivery 😱 Recipients had to pay for postage, so maybe Fowler was a boss who didn't want to fund staff romance blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/pro...

Checking my flight details to go back to London from sunny California (I know... but the sun hasn't yet got the memo). The BA app tells it like it is.

Stuttgart day one. ‘All the President’s Men’ ceiling vibe.

Perfectly timed journey to Stuttgart failed to take into account DB's flexible interpretation of timetables.

Dachshund for the weekend, demonstrating all the calm and aloofness for which they are renowned.

Just finished cataloguing this, detailing all the legal and constitutional steps for turning a Republic into a monarchy. Rather hope nobody reads it.

Going to a pantomime about Napoleon tonight. Hope it will be largely devoted to legislative and administrative reform. www.charlescourtopera.com/napoleon-un-...

Torcello is just proof that Suffolk needs mountains behind it