A Visit to Sotheby’s
Today we went on a family outing to see the Valmadonna Trust Library. It really was a breath-taking exhibit. Although my kids had little patience for me continuously stopping to look at specific books, hopefully one day they’ll understand how important it was to see this collection. There are still a few days left to see it (see here for the schedule). Jack V. Lunzer, the man behind the library, was also there. While I was there I spoke with someone who is very involved in the world of Hebrew books and manuscripts and asked him if he thought that the library would be sold. He was very doubtful that a buyer would be found. Besides the issue of the estimated price of $40 million, many of the libraries and institutions with major collections already have many of the items in the collection and the overlap would make the purchase even more difficult.
Update: See this longer reflection on a visit to Sotheby’s at Tea, Lemon, Old Books.