Thursday, April 22, 2010

From Leopardi to Mallarme


New books to the Robert Smithson Personal Library Collection include Leopardi: Poems and Prose, Robert Musil's The Man Without Qualities, Mallarme, and T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land: Facsimile and Transcript.

Please contact the Library if you want to join or check out a book at personallibraries{at}gmail{dot}com.

Friday, April 2, 2010

"Endgame", "The I Ching" & Other New Acquisitions for Smithson Collection


New members and a trip to a Ventura, California used bookstore has led to the acquisition of new books from the Robert Smithson Personal Library. They include Jorge Luis Borges' Other Inquisitions 1937-1952, Samuel Beckett's Endgame (including Act Without Words: A Mime For One Player, which reads like a Yoko Ono Instruction Piece) and The I Ching, translated by Wilhelm & Baynes with a foreword by C. G. Jung.


Also acquired is the interesting Man's Discovery of His Past: Literary Landmarks in Archaeology, edited by Robert F. Heizer (seen above) and Alice Ford's Audubon's Butterflies, Moths, and Other Studies.


Ford's book on Audubon is a beautifully letterpressed book that gives a history of Audubon and his field sketches. It also contains many plates of Audubon's images, including many insects and beetles that are an important part of his work; yet are generally overlooked.


Lastly, a small volume of The Megalith Builders of Europe by Glyn Daniel rounds out the newest bunch of books accessioned by the PLL. Daniel's book discusses the Pre-Historic megalithic tombs and temples of Europe, detailing their builders, structure, use and prevalence. One can see how these graves and hunebeds of piled stone would interest Smithson, as well as their entropic changes throughout time.


Please contact the Library at personallibraries{at}gmail{dot}com to join & check out books!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Reading Room & New Acquisitions: March 2010


The PLL has acquired four new books for the Robert Smithson Personal Library Collection. Pictured above, they include: Mircea Eliade's Cosmos and History, Harry Levin's James Joyce, Making Friends with the Stars by Arthur J. Zadde and Frank Edwards' Flying Saucers- Serious Business. And so you know just how serious the business is, exclamations abound on the cover:


The Personal Libraries Library Reading Room was open for the first time today (March 7), an exciting moment here at the Library.


The Reading Room Hours allowed for members to browse the books, talk with the Librarian and other members, and discuss the possibilities for the next collection. Reading Room Hours will occur monthly, stay tuned for April's Hours!

Friday, February 26, 2010

Printed Matter from the Personal Libraries Library Press


The Personal Libraries Library Press has completed a large round of printed matter that has been dispersed to its current members. Pictured above is the extent of the goodies, all of which were included in the Catalogue Member packets: the wishlist, Maria Mitchell poster, Mitchell letterpressed print & card.


The Pocket Wishlist includes books in both Maria Mitchell and Robert Smithson's personal libraries that are coveted at the Library. The Wishlist can fit in wallets & pockets, it unfolds to reveal the wanted books. The Library hopes you will refer to it when in your favorite used book store!



A limited-edition set of letterpress prints were made that help elucidate (or vice versa) the Maria Mitchell poster/legend. One print out of the set of 9 was placed in its own folder for Catalogue Members. One of the prints can be seen below:



And finally, the letterpress card displays a section of the poster, describing the links between Frances Power Cobbe, her intriguingly titled book, Maria Mitchell, a bust of Mary Somerville and the Vassar College Historian.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Personal Libraries Library Reference Library

The PLL is pleased to announce the formation of a reference section. Following are books that are great sources about those whose libraries are being collected. These books are available during Reading Room Hours only, and not for check out.

MARIA MITCHELL
Maria Mitchell and the Sexing of Science by Renee Bergland - Ref MM 1.1

ROBERT SMITHSON
Robert Smithson: The Collected Writings edited by Jack Flam - Ref RS 2.1
Robert Smithson organized by Eugenie Tsai with Cornelia Butler - Ref RS 2.2

ITALO CALVINO (more to be added)
Six Memos for the Next Millennium by Italo Calvino - Ref IC 3.1
The Uses of Literature by Italo Calvino - Ref IC 3.2

JORGE LUIS BORGES (more to be added)
Jorge Luis Borges: Selected Non-Fictions edited by Eliot Weinberger - Ref JLB 4.1