Episode 153 - Book Collecting with Dr. James Russell

Mike and James talk about the hobby of book collecting.  #bookcollecting #literature #wisdom James Russell is a book historian focused on print culture in the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods and the history of reading. He holds a doctorate in Medieval and Renaissance Studies with a concentration in the History of the Book from Durham University in the United Kingdom and is an instructor at Rio Salado College in Phoenix. He has also worked in the rare book trade.  James is interested in the ways that early readers made use of the new medium of print as evidenced by their handwritten annotations, or marginalia.  These notes allow us to look over readers' shoulders and see how they interpreted what they read.  His doctoral project looked at a late fifteenth century Venetian dream narrative and examined how early modern audiences interpreted the text as an allegory of alchemy. He is currently working towards his certification as a rare book appraiser.   If you're interested in this subject feel free to contact James: [email protected]