In March 1959, the people of Tibet were in revolt, rallying for independence from China. But the Chinese government squashed the revolt. The Dalai Lama fled his country and sought refuge in India, where he has resided ever since. Jump forward about fifty years, to March 2011: the Dalai Lama officially announced his retirement as the head of the Tibetan government.
During the intervening decades, Tibet did not gain independence, but the tiny region did gain additional sovereignty. The Dalai Lama has been a critical figure in this transition. Meanwhile, he’s also played a central role in carrying the message of peace and hope around the world.
Dalai Lama as Author
In addition to traveling the globe, the Dalai Lama has spread his message through the written word. Here’s a partial bibliography; you’ll find several of these titles among our new arrivals:
Intriguing History and Tradition
The relative obscurity and intricacy of Tibetan culture have long fascinated the Western world. Austrian mountaineer Harold Harrer’s Seven Years in Tibet documents his days in Tibet from 1944 to 1951. The book was so popular that it was made into a 1997 film starring Brad Pitt. Numerous mountaineers and adventurers have also chronicled their expeditions through Tibet with Sherpa guides.
For the rare book collector, the Dalai Lama’s books and books about Tibet offer an incredible glimpse into a history, culture, and tradition that still holds untold mystery.
March 27th, 2012
At least one example of the printed word is in great demand even in the digital age: ancient Bibles. With a goal of establishing a national Bible museum of great depth and size, the evangelical Christian family behind the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores has been spending heavily to amass a collection that has set dealers buzzing in the staid world of rare books.
Continue Reading June 12th, 2010
Thousands of rare books and manuscripts at Camrbidge University Library – including handwritten notes by Sir Isaac Newton – are to be made available on line thanks to a £1.5m donation.
Continue Reading June 5th, 2010
By the end of his life, Samuel Langhorne Clemens had achieved fame as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi, a globe-trotting lecturer and, of course, the literary genius who wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and other works under the name Mark Twain.
Continue Reading May 8th, 2010
- First dated woodcut: The “Brussels Virgin,” of 1418.
- First dated engravings: The “Berlin Passion,” of 1446.
- First dated etching: Urs Graf’s Girl Bathing Her Feet, of 1513.
- First dated mezzotint: Ludwig von Siegen’s portrait of the Landgravine Amelia Elizabeth, of 1643.
- First lithograph: made by Alois Senefelder, at Munich, in 1797.
- First dated printing from movable type: Papal Indul¬gence, of November 12, 1454 (probably printed at Mainz).
- First dated book printed from movable type: Psalter, Mainz, Fust & Schoeffer, 1457.
- First dated book with woodcut illustrations: Boner’s Edelstein, Bamberg, Pfister, 1461.
- First dated book with engraved illustrations: Bettini’s Monte Sancto di Dio, Florence, Laurentii, 1477.
- First dated book with woodcuts by a known artist: Breydenbach’s Peregrinations, Mainz, 1486, illustrated by Erhard Reuwich.
- First dated book with illustrations printed in color: Sacrobosco’s Sphaera Mundi, Venice, Ratdolt, 1485.
- First dated book with engravings by a known artist: Ptolemy’s Cosmographia, Rome, Buckinck, 1478, with plates by Conrad Sweynheim.
- First dated book with engraved maps: Ptolemy’s Cosmographia, Rome, Buckinck, 1478, with plates by Conrad Sweynheim.
- First book printed in Roman type: probably Durandus’s Rationale, Strassburg, (Rusch, about 1464).
- First book printed in Italic type: Virgil, Venice, Aldus, 1501.
- First use of Greek type: in Lactantius, Subiaco, Sweynheim & Pannartz, 1465.
- First book printed in Greek type: Laskaris’s Greek Grammar, Milan, Paravisinus, 1476.
- First music printed from type: in Higden’s Polychronicon, Westminster, DeWorde, 1495.
- First book with names of printers: Psalter, Mainz, Fust & Schoeffer, 1457.
- First title page: in a Papal Bull, Mainz, Fust & Schoeffer, about 1463.
- First dated title page: in Rolewink’s Sermo in festo praesentationis beatae virginis, Cologne, ther Hoernen, 1470.
- First title page giving name of author, title, place, printer or publisher, and date: Regiomontanus’s Calendar, Venice, Ratdolt, Loslein & Maler, 1476.
- First decorated title page: Regiomontanus’s Calendar, Venice, Ratdolt, Loslein & Mater, 1476.
- First signature marks: in Johann Nider’s Expositio Decalogi, Koelhoff, Cologne, 1472.
From: A Guide to An Exhibition of the ARTS OF THE BOOK. Wm. Ivins, Jr., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1924, New York
April 4th, 2010
