Perhaps when you, like us, think about encyclopedias, you think of a dull set of books with unsatisfying entries that you used in middle school to make quick work of that “research” paper. In this episode, we realize that this doesn’t have to be the case; perhaps we were just looking at the wrong encyclopedias.

Join us as we explore the fascinating, subversive, and radically ambitious Enlightenment Encyclopedia by Diderot and d’Alembert. In many ways, it was more modern (with early hyperlinks!) than the encyclopedias we grew up with in the late 20th century. Along the way we get into a heated argument over what’s more exciting to collect, the initial idea of something or the fully realized product of that idea.

As usual, we would love to know your thoughts… Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@rarebookchat.com

Enjoy the show!

Bonhams Auctions dedicated a sale this week to a "curated selection" of items owned by the great Diane Keaton and one item in particular caught the eyes of Jeremy and Michael. Her own copy of the Annie Hall script? Pretty cool, we thought. But how much is it worth? We had our own guesses, but (at least) two bidders had very different ideas. All of which led to the big question: What do prices really mean in our wonderful world of rare books and manuscripts?

We'd love to hear your thoughts! As always, please direct any questions or comments to hello@rarebookchat.com

Enjoy the show!

Jeremy discovers great letters at auction by David Hockney, Jasper Johns, Francis Bacon, and Henry Moore, but ends up learning more about the recipient of all the letters, Vera Russell, than about the writers of the letters. So many great artists wrote to her with profound admiration and respect. What does that say about her? Who was this Vera Russell, who seemed to be at the nexus of the 20th-century art world? And now that the collection has been dispersed, what have we lost? Can we put Humpty Dumpty back together again?

As usual, please feel free to reach out to us at: hello@rarebookchat.com

Enjoy the show!