Re: Librarians and dust - [re: Gutenberg's weighty volumes]

["White, Eric" <ewhite@MAIL.SMU.EDU>]

I think HARVARD MAGAZINE has a copyright on the article.  Otherwise, I'd send my copy all around.  Maybe the magazine has an online archive?  It is a great story, with one of the great brain-cramps in criminal history.  Luckily for the thief, he fell on the Bible, and not vice-versa.

EW

-----Original Message-----
From: Exlibris [mailto:EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME]On Behalf Of Jacowitz,
Kenneth
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 10:06 AM
To: EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS] Librarians and dust - [re: Gutenberg's weighty
volumes]


What a great story!  

Does anyone have access to "The Gutenberg Caper," HARVARD MAGAZINE,
March-April 1986, pp. 42-48.?

Unless you want to share this with what I'm sure would be a greatful
list, please email me at keneth.jacowitz@abc.com.  Fax would be fine, or
pdf, your choice.  Thanks.

Ken jacowitz





-----Original Message-----
From: Exlibris [mailto:EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME] On Behalf Of White, Eric
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 10:59 AM
To: EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS] Librarians and dust - [re: Gutenberg's weighty
volumes]


Colleagues,

When the Harvard copy of the Gutenberg Bible was stolen momentarily in
1969, and the thief exiting the 4th floor window of Widener fell from
his escape rope (having forgotten to calculate the added weight of the
volumes), it was reported that the volumes in the their massive modern
bindings reportedly weighed "30 or 35 pounds apiece."  The whole story
is in W.H. Bond, "The Gutenberg Caper," HARVARD MAGAZINE, March-April
1986, pp. 42-48.

Eric White
Bridwell Library

-----Original Message-----
From: Exlibris [mailto:EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME]On Behalf Of Martin Davies
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 11:52 AM
To: EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS] Librarians and dust - the future


Lugging a paper B42 (the cheap trade edition) to the photocopier was no
hard 
task. But I couldn't carry both volumes of the BL vellum copy
(Grenville) 
even in my prime, say, oh, ten years ago. But then the BL didn't hire 
incunabulists for their brawn. Alas, I never weighed the Grenville copy
-- a 
descriptive element strangely wanting in all incunable catalogues.

mcd

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Klappholz" <d.klappholz@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
To: <EXLIBRIS@MAIL.ECW.NAME>
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 5:11 PM
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS] Librarians and dust - the future


> At 11:57 AM 1/28/2006, s cheiner wrote:
>>As for the 40 pound lifting requirement, I find that a
>>  legal size box filled with coated-stock paper weighs
>>in at around 40 pounds. I haven't pulled my Gutenberg
>>Bible volumes from the vault yet to see how much each
>>of them weighs - does any one already know the answer
>>to this to save me the trouble?
>
> WHEW!!! I finally I have a serious, albeit imprecise, contribution to 
> make
> to this list.
>
> Having moved one volume of a 42-line Bible from a table, back into its
> home vault, but not having weighed it along the way, I'd guesstimate
that 
> it weighed 15-20 lbs., so the complete Bible would likely weigh 30-40
lbs. 
> ... but I should admit that I don't recall if the other volume
appeared to 
> be thinner, the same thickness as, or thicker than the volume I
carried.
>
> Regards
> Dave