Rare medieval bookmark exceeds expectations at auction (thehistoryblog.com)

39 points by speckx 5 days ago

15 comments:

by Luc 6 hours ago

> [...] the maker was almost certainly a transcriber who used it to keep his place on the page and note the column he was writing in when he stopped. The wheel would be moved to the stopping point and the circle turned to the number of the column he had been writing in when he stopped.

It would make a lot more sense that the bookmark was placed in the source book rather than in the copy. I.e. the wheel would be turned to the source column they had been reading from.

by thomascountz 2 hours ago

I imagined the same; and in that case, it wouldn't need to follow that it was transcriber's bookmark.

by klimt01 an hour ago

The other instrument, a pencil-beam light.

by ungreased0675 6 hours ago

I have a pretty over engineered fidget spinner on my desk. (Flyaway) It’s amusing to imagine what a future archeologist would say about its function and importance to my work.

by sorokod an hour ago

Likely to be classified as early 21st century religious artefact.

by goodmythical an hour ago

Fertility symbol

by dukeofdoom 5 hours ago

Maybe bookmarks need innovation. Not sure what exists out there now, but could be a cool product

by deberon 5 hours ago

I’ve been innovating on bookmarks for decades. Money, receipts, paint swatches, entire spiral notebooks, ripped off corners of magazines… bookmarks are everywhere!

by doubled112 2 hours ago

Basically anything that will fit between pages and is in reach is a bookmark.

by akkartik an hour ago

Including the cover of another book.

by thih9 4 hours ago

Perhaps a book that keeps track of the reading progress automatically. /s

by nortlov 3 hours ago

Yes! A method to easily understand completion status without having to open a book to verify progress.

by polnurfer 7 hours ago

Now that’s an NFT!

by hypercube33 7 hours ago

Disappointing it doesnt list the expected or sale price that it went for on either the article or the linked auction page.

by mfcl 6 hours ago

From the article:

> The pre-sale estimate £800-1200 ($1073-1610). It sold for £7,000 ($9390).

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