RSS and Atom

down to date. The book's table of contents identifies the figures in both English
and French, and each illustration bears the names of two artists who worked on
it, both of whom would no doubt be surprised to find their art gracing the front
cover of a computer programming book...two hundred years later.
The collection was purchased by a Manning editor at an antiquarian flea mar-
ket in the "Garage" on West 26th Street in Manhattan. The seller was an Ameri-
can based in Ankara, Turkey, and the transaction took place just as he was
packing up his stand for the day. The Manning editor did not have on his person
the substantial amount of cash that was required for the purchase and a credit
card and check were both politely turned down. With the seller flying back to
Ankara that evening the situation was growing hopeless. What was the solution?
It turned out to be nothing more than an old-fashioned verbal agreement sealed
with a handshake. The seller simply proposed that the money be transferred to
him by wire and the editor walked out with the bank information on a piece of
paper and the portfolio of images under his arm. Needless to say, we transferred
the funds the next day, and we remain grateful and impressed by this unknown
person's trust in one of us. It recalls something that might have happened a long
time ago.
The pictures from the Ottoman collection, like the other illustrations that
appear on our covers, bring to life the richness and variety of dress customs of
two centuries ago. They recall the sense of isolation and distance of that
period--and of every other historic period except our own hyperkinetic present.
Dress codes have changed since then and the diversity by region, so rich at
the time, has faded away. It is now often hard to tell the inhabitant of one conti-
nent from another. Perhaps, trying to view it optimistically, we have traded a cul-
tural and visual diversity for a more varied personal life. Or a more varied and
interesting intellectual and technical life.
We at Manning celebrate the inventiveness, the initiative, and, yes, the fun of