Jordan Alexander Stein
@jordanstein.bsky.social
Literature professor and book historian, except for one time I wrote a book about Nina Simone
"A miniature book published by St. Onge was the only book taken on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and was thus the first book on the moon"
November 25, 2025 at 10:03 PM
"A miniature book published by St. Onge was the only book taken on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and was thus the first book on the moon"
For many of the years that Raymond Weaver taught at Columbia University, he lived at 200 W 108th Street, and maybe, just maybe, this now defunct mailbox in the building’s lobby was the one at which he posted his first letters to Elizabeth Melville Metcalf
November 24, 2025 at 11:53 PM
For many of the years that Raymond Weaver taught at Columbia University, he lived at 200 W 108th Street, and maybe, just maybe, this now defunct mailbox in the building’s lobby was the one at which he posted his first letters to Elizabeth Melville Metcalf
Take your watermark questions to The Grolier Club, they said.
(They were totally right!)
(They were totally right!)
November 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Take your watermark questions to The Grolier Club, they said.
(They were totally right!)
(They were totally right!)
Dictionnaire de bibliographie Haitienne (1951) by Max Bissainthe is the first modern and still most comprehensive bibliography of Haiti printing. His typescript drafts at NYPL reveal his process, with note cards, paperclips, and typewriter errors corrected with scissors and now very yellowed tape
November 7, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Dictionnaire de bibliographie Haitienne (1951) by Max Bissainthe is the first modern and still most comprehensive bibliography of Haiti printing. His typescript drafts at NYPL reveal his process, with note cards, paperclips, and typewriter errors corrected with scissors and now very yellowed tape
Honestly thought I was just doing some due diligence at the American Antiquarian Society, but found truly amazing unique and under-cataloged Haiti items, plus some surprising interactions between print and manuscript
November 5, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Honestly thought I was just doing some due diligence at the American Antiquarian Society, but found truly amazing unique and under-cataloged Haiti items, plus some surprising interactions between print and manuscript
There comes a time in every man’s life where he must face up to how little he knows about the stamps on French Revolutionary documents.
(No, but seriously, please recommend some readings.)
(No, but seriously, please recommend some readings.)
October 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
There comes a time in every man’s life where he must face up to how little he knows about the stamps on French Revolutionary documents.
(No, but seriously, please recommend some readings.)
(No, but seriously, please recommend some readings.)
It becomes clear that this item’s excellent catalog record must have been a bit hard won.
September 12, 2025 at 8:54 PM
It becomes clear that this item’s excellent catalog record must have been a bit hard won.
Hello from the archives!
June 12, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Hello from the archives!
Another good book day!
June 5, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Another good book day!
Good book day
May 30, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Good book day
Little known fact: Mary, the character played by Parker Posey in the 1995 indie film "Party Girl," was actually based on me in college
April 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Little known fact: Mary, the character played by Parker Posey in the 1995 indie film "Party Girl," was actually based on me in college
The British Library’s incredibly rare and totally pristine copy of the complete 1875 French translation of Marx’s Capital in quarto was personally donated by the author, and while I am not 100% sure what I mean by it, I feel compelled to say: it could always be like this
March 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
The British Library’s incredibly rare and totally pristine copy of the complete 1875 French translation of Marx’s Capital in quarto was personally donated by the author, and while I am not 100% sure what I mean by it, I feel compelled to say: it could always be like this
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1878)
January 13, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (1878)
“How did your first day back go?”
January 6, 2025 at 8:03 PM
“How did your first day back go?”
E.M. Forster, new year resolutions, 31 December 1904
December 31, 2024 at 1:54 PM
E.M. Forster, new year resolutions, 31 December 1904
This one goes out to all people who asked me in college when studying queer theory and Marxism would be useful in the real world
December 9, 2024 at 10:57 PM
This one goes out to all people who asked me in college when studying queer theory and Marxism would be useful in the real world
Pinned tweet.
November 24, 2024 at 6:44 PM
Pinned tweet.
Silvan Tomkins could never
July 17, 2024 at 10:06 PM
Silvan Tomkins could never
Working for a university in 2024, but not as a trustee
January 29, 2024 at 1:53 AM
Working for a university in 2024, but not as a trustee
Teaching prep, once again
January 17, 2024 at 9:34 PM
Teaching prep, once again
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du Contract Social (1762)
November 20, 2023 at 11:00 PM
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Du Contract Social (1762)