Collection

Students of music history, historians and music lovers alike can't help but be moved by the sight of an original manuscript by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Now, thanks to a Library of Congress partnership with five other institutions, folks can get up close and personal with some of the world's most valued music manuscripts from the comfort of their own living rooms. A new free-to-view online portal brings together digitized copies of manuscript scores and first and early editions of works by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy, Georges Bizet, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. Read More

The British Library has announced that users of Amazon's Kindle e-reader will be able to download more than 65,000 19th century classics for free this coming spring in a special format that will have the look of a genuine first edition. Works from famous authors like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen will be reproduced using the original typeface and illustrations to add an antique feel to the e-reader technology. Read More

In the latest installment of our video series looking at Michael Bennett-Levy’s collection of early technology, Laurence Fisher from Bonham's introduces us to a 1938 HMV type 905 table model television and wireless that was a wonder of engineering for its time. The exterior of the HMV model 905 television is a three-quarter figured burr walnut veneered case with molded edge housing a 7-inch screen. Click through for a closer look at this fascinating slice of history which has been restored with authentic pre-war era components and is in complete working order... and there's also a word of warning to those interested in dabbling in pre-war televisons - TV repair can be a lethal occupation. Read More

The freight train progress of technology during the last century has masked the true value of landmark specimens of mankind’s technological triumphs. First-of-a-kind devices were quickly superseded and hence soon regarded as useless in comparison to newer, better equipment. Accordingly, we believe an auction to be held in London this week represents some of the finest medium-term investments we have ever seen, with a likelihood of their value increasing dramatically once historical perspective is restored. The auction includes 758 examples of almost all forms of early technology including many firsts – and the largest privately held collection of early televisions in the world. Read More