Jeremy Norman, a California appraiser and noted expert on scientific works, believes that "Richard Green's copy of the original edition of Copernicus, in its original binding of limp vellum, with the largest margins of any copy recorded, may be the finest copy remaining in private hands." Norman told Discovery News that it is one of the most desired books for collectors of science publications. Green's library also includes a richly illustrated 1660 Dutch atlas, Galileo's Dialogo, a first edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, as well as important works by Sigmund Freud, Benjamin Franklin, Sir Isaac Newton and Karl Marx. The collection additionally features 130 of Albert Einstein's reference copies of his own works, complete with scribbled additions and corrections, illustrating how Einstein frequently changed and perfected his calculations concerning special and general relativity, unified theory and quantum theory. While Einstein kept his own writings, it does not appear that Bell kept a copy of the first phone book. In fact, Sharon Morrow, a heritage preservation officer at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada, said no telephone or phone book was found at Bell's Nova Scotia residence, where he and his wife were buried, and many of his descendants still reside today. "There is a legend, however, that the area had one telephone in the town of Baddeck," Morrow told Discovery News. "When Bell tried to use the phone, it was broken. He supposedly fixed it by removing the back and taking out a dead fly that had disrupted the system." The public may view the first phone book, along with the rest of Green's collection, at Christie's Rockefeller Galleries in New York from June 13 to 16. Related Links: Jennifer Viegas' blog: Born Animal Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada |
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