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Edward Tufte's Library Up For Auction

Posted by kdawson on from the galileo-meets-picasso dept.

px2 writes "I was poking around Christie's auction house after taking a look at the Apple 1 when I came across this: Beautiful Evidence: The Library of Edward Tufte. He's unloading everything from Galileo and Da Vinci firsts to a rotating Japanese astronomical text from 1801. I guess he didn't conjure his ideas on information design from thin air." Based on Christie's estimates, the collection of 29 artifacts could fetch in excess of two and a quarter million dollars.

45 comments

  1. First Bid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    I'll take 'em all. Do you take PayPal?

  2. I wonder by MoarInternets · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If the auction catalog will be up to his standards!

    1. Re:I wonder by boustrophedon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The online auction catalog is beautiful.

      Christie's is conducting another interesting auction a week later: The Year of the Rabbit: The Playboy Collection. This online auction catalog is NSFW.

    2. Re:I wonder by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I got this message when trying to view the Playboy Collection: Flash player update is required to load the Viewer.

      If you work at Apple, it's NSFW!

    3. Re:I wonder by (Score.5,+Interestin · · Score: 1

      The online auction catalog is beautiful.

      What, you mean this:



      Flash player update is required to load the Viewer.
      Please download it by clicking here, then click to continue.




       It has a certain spartan minimalism, granted, but I was really expecting a bit more than that.

  3. Reference Materials by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    College Professors make more money than I thought.

  4. So, what, he's fleeing the country? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Figuring out what went wrong with the Challenger shuttle finally catching up with him?

  5. Does this mean.... by tchdab1 · · Score: 1

    ...I won't be receiving any more diagrams in the mail of Napoleon's march in and out of Russia?

    1. Re:Does this mean.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Has anyone gone to his one day course? Each time I get that mail I'm intrigued by the idea of learning about presenting multivariate data but then decide, not right now. Besides, I don't know where I'd keep those four oversized books.

    2. Re:Does this mean.... by jmcbain · · Score: 4, Informative

      I took his one-day course in Seattle. The hall was absolutely packed, and I had to sit in the back. He goes through a lot of material that's from his books, and it's all wonderful. Hearing it from him in person is a lot better than reading; for example, the example of the cholera map from London didn't impress me in print as much as it did when he went over its history at the lecture. He also discusses why Powerpoint lends itself to abuse and how you can avoid information overload on slides. And he makes the point that he really, really loves high-density displays. When I took the course in 2008, he was raving about the high-resolution screen of the iPhone and how it's great from a high-density-information point of view.

      The prize of the class is the collection of his four books in a nice cardboard box. They're all terrific reads and look great on one's bookshelf next to Knuth's masterpieces.

    3. Re:Does this mean.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Has anyone gone to his one day course? Each time I get that mail I'm intrigued by the idea of learning about presenting multivariate data but then decide, not right now. Besides, I don't know where I'd keep those four oversized books.

      Yes, I've gone. Yes, you should too.

      It won't turn you into Tufte, but even a ten-year course couldn't do that for most of us. What it will do is give you a language with which you can describe what's wrong with a poor presentation to a PHB, and in a language that even a PHB can understand. ("Sir, the reason nobody pays attention to our powerpoint presentations is because the technology's fundamentally broken. Nobody pays attention to anyone's powerpoint slides. Write up a couple of paragraphs, and present the data better, and put the pretty picture in the .ppt, and let the audience examine the picture for themselves. As they do so, they'll figure out what you're trying to say, and you can stop wasting time condensing everything into meaningless bullet points and simply indicate the region of the graph that's meaningful. They'll get it. They'll realize that you - because you're the only one presenting anything coherent - are the only guy up there not actively trying to bullshit them with PowerPoint. They'll buy our argument. They might even buy our stuff!")

      This being Tufte, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was really impressed that we got to actually use the books during the course, rather than just having him scan in a few pages into PowerPoint slides :)

      Anyway, the four oversized books are packaged in a handy cardboard carrying case that's exactly the height of an O'Reilly book. The case therefore fits perfectly on a deep bookshelf. Like everything else Tufte does, it's all about usability.

    4. Re:Does this mean.... by The+Second+Horseman · · Score: 1

      Years ago (must have been 1997 or so), right before Visual Explanations was published, if I remember correctly (you went, got the first two books, and received Visual Explanations later).

      It was terrific. And he had a few items from his library on hand to use as examples, which was pretty cool. One of the really great things about the course was his ability to put things in context and provide a vast array of examples of all different sorts.

    5. Re:Does this mean.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thanks to everyone who responded. That certainly takes care of whether its worth $350 or whatever to get it from the horses mouth. Maybe next year...

      -2P

    6. Re:Does this mean.... by sco08y · · Score: 1

      It won't turn you into Tufte, but even a ten-year course couldn't do that for most of us.

      Jesus, get a room already.

    7. Re:Does this mean.... by watanabe · · Score: 1

      What nobody has mentioned so far is the intense physical pressure you experience at a Tufte presentation. It's like you're being pushed in on all sides, pressed incredibly strongly... by his ego.

      There is no US auditorium large enough for you and Tufte's ego.

      The ego is self-referential, and almost certainly will compare Tufte's books to Galileo's at some point, and also smarmy, self-confident and smug.

      All that said, I loved going -- GO! You'll learn a lot. But then, I'm fascinated by huge egos, so whenever I got bored hearing a rant, I could switch over and admire the size and quality of the ego.

    8. Re:Does this mean.... by u38cg · · Score: 1

      Dude, if that's the kind of spam you get, I have like no sympathy for you whatsoever. Deal with it.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    9. Re:Does this mean.... by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      When I took the course in 2008, he was raving about the high-resolution screen of the iPhone and how it's great from a high-density-information point of view

      It might be high-resolution but it's still too small to convey much information.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  6. $2.5M? That's almost enough for by Suki+I · · Score: 2, Informative

    a genetically modified shark with a laser on its head!

    --
    Home of The Suki Series
    1. Re:$2.5M? That's almost enough for by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A genetically engineered laser shark? That must be the most ridiculous idea I've seen in a while.

      Everybody knows that when it comes to energy weapons, plasma is the way to go.

    2. Re:$2.5M? That's almost enough for by Whiteox · · Score: 1

      a genetically modified shark with a laser on its head!

      I'd go with irritable sea bass.
      There's a lot less paperwork.

      --
      Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
    3. Re:$2.5M? That's almost enough for by Suki+I · · Score: 1

      a genetically modified shark with a laser on its head!

      I'd go with irritable sea bass. There's a lot less paperwork.

      Oh, the shark effect is worth the paperwork. :)

      --
      Home of The Suki Series
  7. Warning: Pirated materials! by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was flicking through stuff at random when I saw GALILEI, Galileo. Sidereus nuncius. Frankfurt: Poltheanus, 1610. which has the description:

    "Pirated edition of Galileo's work containing "some of the most important discoveries in scientific literature" (PMM), published the same year as the first edition. This the the first publication of any of Galileo's works outside of Italy. ..."

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    1. Re:Warning: Pirated materials! by east+coast · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm pretty sure the copyright has expired on this work. You're safe, trust me.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    2. Re:Warning: Pirated materials! by nurb432 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As rabid as the industries are now, don't be so sure about that.

      --
      ---- Booth was a patriot ----
    3. Re:Warning: Pirated materials! by martin-boundary · · Score: 1

      This the the first publication of any of Galileo's works outside of Italy. ..."

      Of course it is! Italians never read pirated works willingly, they find it too hard to pronounce "Arr, Arr" :)

  8. I didn't read the auction by timbudtwo · · Score: 0

    But can someone explain the line "I guess he didn't conjure his ideas on information design from thin air."

    1. Re:I didn't read the auction by iluvcapra · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's sortof a flip remark, since Tufte is pretty effusive with examples and citations. He rarely asserts a design principle a priori, he always goes and shows you how somebody historically did X and he's much more of a descriptive than prescriptive authority.

      --
      Don't blame me, I voted for Baltar.
    2. Re:I didn't read the auction by timbudtwo · · Score: 0

      Thank you, I could tell there was sarcasm in the remark, but being totally unfamiliar with the guy I wasn't following. Makes sense now

    3. Re:I didn't read the auction by px2 · · Score: 1

      Sorry to give that impression. It wasn't sarcasm. It doesn't really mean anything. These are not the droids you're looking for.

    4. Re:I didn't read the auction by px2 · · Score: 1

      It was an attempt at humor by stating something so completely obvious (that Tufte is steeped in the history of how to convey information visually) that my supposed surprise at discovering this would be funny. Since his books are chock full of this history, I didn't consider that I might be taken seriously on that point.

      Wonderful books. I'd like to see him lecture.

  9. Does he have sharks with frickin laser beams ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hmmmm ??

  10. Why does everyone think this guys is so great? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because of those books he wrote? They seem to be not of huge impact except among possibly non-scientists.

  11. 2million in the hole by __aatirs3925 · · Score: 1

    All I can think of is how paypal will take a big chunk of the payment, plus the cost of selling something on e-bay, and then the taxes involved... Yeah, he's better off just selling it over on craigslist so long as he hires bodyguards. http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/nation/craigslist-murder-in-washington-is-a-cautionary-tale-for-internet-users

  12. I saw one of his library books once by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

    Back in the early 90s, I took a short course on visualization with Ed Tufte prior to a conference in Montreal. I remember him showing a book he had in his collection from a century I don't recall, that contained paper pop-ups to display three-dimensional geometric figures. It was awesome. I wonder if it's in the lot for auction...

    --
    If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    1. Re:I saw one of his library books once by tsalmark · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe that would be Euclid’s Elements. A copy of which seems to be listed (lot 11) with an estimate of $4-600, I'm guessing that is not an original.

    2. Re:I saw one of his library books once by ClickOnThis · · Score: 1

      I believe that would be Euclid’s Elements. A copy of which seems to be listed (lot 11) with an estimate of $4-600, I'm guessing that is not an original.

      Thanks. I think you're right that it's not an original. :-)

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:I saw one of his library books once by tehcyder · · Score: 1

      I remember him showing a book he had in his collection from a century I don't recall, that contained paper pop-ups to display three-dimensional geometric figures. It was awesome

      My five year old's got a pop up Dora the Explorer's Fairytale Adventure book, the dragon is especially awesome.

      --
      To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
  13. I am corrupted... by VendettaMF · · Score: 2, Funny

    Finally someone has created a genuine and effective reason for me to desire to be a millionaire...

    --
    kartune85 : Incapable of reason, observation or learning. A kind of dim, drab, flightless parrot.
    1. Re:I am corrupted... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't have a lot of time before that reason gets spread out among a lot of people.

  14. For ICP by VendettaMF · · Score: 2, Funny

    >> RIDLEY, Mark (1560-1624). A Short Treatise of
    >> Magneticall Bodies and Motions. London: Nicholas
    >> Okes, 1613.

    Translation :
    Magneticall Bodies : How Theye doth Fornicating Function.

    --
    kartune85 : Incapable of reason, observation or learning. A kind of dim, drab, flightless parrot.
  15. Never heard of him by tehcyder · · Score: 1

    But judging by the gushing stream of non-information in this thread he's some sort of cult hero because he doesn't like Powerpoint much.

    --
    To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
    1. Re:Never heard of him by tangent · · Score: 1

      He was a cult hero long before he began bashing on Powerpoint. That's just the thing he happens to be known for best now, probably because more people have to build Powerpoint presentations than have to design infographics.