Simon Beattie

Block-printed endpapers on a copy of Seibt, Katholisches Lehr- und Gebethbuch (Augsburg, 1792).

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Pleasing to see Pitstone Windmill on my calendar this month. It's one of the oldest post mills in the country (at least 1627) and stands in a field just outside the Buckinghamshire village where I grew up.

YouTube video by The Bibliographical Society Bibliographical Society - Winter Virtual Visit - Vatican Apostolic Library

The video from our Winter Virtual Visit to the Vatican Apostolic Library is now available on our YouTube channel: youtu.be/qFpVFbd7PSk

Thanks!

New business card. With thanks to Paul Felton at Common Curiosity for the design.

An enjoyable visit, exploring the College of Arms' collections, with the Friends of the Nations' Libraries.

A quick check on the sea lions (and glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge) before heading out to the airport. Thank you, San Francisco!

The weekend saw two pieces of mine being performed: this by the Girl Choristers of Guildford Cathedral, and my Short Service by All Saints, Fulham. Thank you, Katherine Dienes-Williams and Jonathan Wikeley. Performances mean so much.

Pleased to see a music shop on the wonderful 1930s murals in Coit Tower. Worth the climb!

Nice meeting the locals.

#SucculentEnvy

I got this text yesterday: "Thank you so much for donating on 17/02/2026. Your donation has now been issued to Newham General Hospital. Every donation counts." It's always interesting to know where one's blood goes.

Nice view of Greenland yesterday.

A welcome sight this morning.

Well, it's always worth a look.

This is a mid-eighteenth-century cardboard box, from France. I know. Contain yourself.

An early catalogue (1798) of art exhibited during the infancy of the Louvre, privately printed for the museum and sold to raise money for it. On show next week at the California Antiquarian Book Fair.

Bibliographical Society Virtual Winter Visit

On Tuesday 3 March 2026, at 15.30 GMT, the Bibliographical Society will travel virtually to the Vatican Apostolic Library. Founded in 1450 by Pope Nicholas V to promote Humanistic studies, the Vatican Library is one of the world’s most famous libraries.

After a bit of a break last year, it's good to be donating again. #GiveBlood

Striking block-printed endpapers on a 1776 German translation of The Vicar of Wakefield.

Sheila's Shakes(peare).

Yesterday, someone in Bristol (thank you!) listened to 17 tracks on my SoundCloud page. Hope they liked what they heard. soundcloud.com/simon-42-1

A Danish colleague once told me it was Denmark's only original contribution to the history of bookbinding.

This kind of endpaper treatment is, I believe, Danish in origin (though I have also seen it in books from northern Germany), where it is known as a hjerteklapbind (‘heart-flap binding’).

On the eve of #ValentinesDay: gilt-lettered pink paper framed with blue silk, in a devotional manual printed in Nuremberg in 1782, this copy given by a loving bridegroom to his bride in May 1787.

BBC Radio 4 - This Cultural Life, Julian Barnes Award-winning writer Julian Barnes discusses his career and formative cultural influences.

Enjoyed this over lunch. I first started reading Julian Barnes's books when I was in my teens. The first chapter of 'A History of the World in 10½ Chapters' will always be a favourite. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

First edition of what must be Haydn's most famous tune, first performed #OTD in 1797. Now best known as the German national anthem (and the beginning of the theme tune to BBC Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue).

A rather wonderful Irispapier ('rainbow paper') from c.1840, from the bindery belonging to Johann Michael Zötl, a bookseller in Freistadt, Upper Austria.

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