Rare medieval bookmark exceeds expectations at auction (thehistoryblog.com)
33 points by speckx 5 days ago
Luc 5 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.
thomascountz 37 minutes ago
I imagined the same; and in that case, it wouldn't need to follow that it was transcriber's bookmark.
ungreased0675 4 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.
dukeofdoom 3 hours ago
Maybe bookmarks need innovation. Not sure what exists out there now, but could be a cool product
deberon 3 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!
doubled112 3 minutes ago
Basically anything that will fit between pages and is in reach is a bookmark.
thih9 3 hours ago
Perhaps a book that keeps track of the reading progress automatically. /s
nortlov an hour ago
Yes! A method to easily understand completion status without having to open a book to verify progress.
polnurfer 5 hours ago
Now that’s an NFT!
hypercube33 5 hours ago
Disappointing it doesnt list the expected or sale price that it went for on either the article or the linked auction page.
mfcl 5 hours ago
From the article:
> The pre-sale estimate £800-1200 ($1073-1610). It sold for £7,000 ($9390).