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The Book That Built the Digital Age: Claude Shannon’s The Mathematical Theory of Communication.
In an era defined by data—by texts sent in milliseconds, videos streamed across continents, and algorithms shaping daily life—it is easy to forget that the digital age rests on a theoretical foundation laid in the…
Read MoreA Book Sent in a Time of Crisis: George Washington’s Copy of Tour in Holland in MDCCLXXXIV.
In February of 1798, as the young American republic stood in a period of mounting political anxiety, Elkanah Watson sent a small book to Mount Vernon. Inside, on the front pastedown, he had written simply:…
Read MoreMatthew Raptis’ Debut Work of Nonfiction: Provenance: The Hidden Lives of Books.
In the study of rare books, age alone is seldom the decisive measure of significance. Far more consequential is provenance — the documented history of ownership that situates a volume within lived experience. A book…
Read MoreWhere Modern Fantasy Began: Tolkien’s Signed 1937 Hobbit.
In 1937, a quiet revolution in storytelling began. George Allen & Unwin published a small book by an Oxford professor—The Hobbit, or There and Back Again—in a modest print run of only 1,500 copies. Every…
Read MoreIn the News: Library Foundation Dinner Raises Nearly $500K, a Fundraising Record.
Matthew and Adrienne Raptis were recently featured in the Palm Beach Daily news as table hosts at the West Palm Beach Library Foundation’s Food For Thought Dinner. Shannon DonnellyPalm Beach Daily NewsJan.…
Read MoreThe Inventions, Researches and Writings of Nikola Tesla: A Rare Window into Genius.
In the final years of the 19th century, Nikola Tesla was reshaping the modern world. His revolutionary experiments with alternating-current power, high-potential lighting, and polyphase systems laid the foundation for the electrical age—transforming electricity from…
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