Dear Friends,

Early on the morning of 9 March, PRB&M suffered a disastrous fire in its premises at the Arsenal. We know that some of you who are regular site visitors may have heard of this and will need to hear directly from us that no human life was lost; that at this writing most of the venerable building seems to have experienced no structural damage though what burned was utterly consumed; and that though the books lost were many and valuable, yet a great, great many more books survived than did not. A disaster recovery plan is already in action and we are at work in nearby temporary quarters: you will find us encamped for some months, probably, not in our own beloved Building #4 but in very nice Building #8, just a few doors “up” on the Parade Ground.

We are being well advised on behalf of the books and manuscripts. A number of survivors are already in the freeze-dry process, others have been identified for attention to burns, and on Monday the 16th a team of technicians from Philadelphia's Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, working with Nancy Nitzberg of Book Care, will begin to review the entire rare books stock. They will clean and otherwise comfort all volumes that were touched by the fire's heavy, billowing smoke; at the same time they will officially “clear” those others that may, in their professional judgment, go back to their shelves (when those shelves have been cleaned and brought to the clean building) almost with only a glad caress from the cleaning sponge.

Attention to restoration of the building and its other contents will come after this peremptory first focus on the books, but these things, too, we are beginning to plan for.

We presently believe that everything that you might see here at the website is safe — that is, not destroyed — but it will take time to confirm its survivor status and to be *sure* that it is ready to be released from the conservators for shipment. If you let us know of books or manuscripts that you wish to order despite such prospect of delay, we will make it a priority to lay hands on them first among those being hunted for; we will give them scheduling priority with the conservation group; and we will of course let you know immediately, upon establishing it, if their condition has changed sufficiently that their posted descriptions and/or prices are no longer properly applicable.

With the greatest sorrow, the very greatest, we must announce that our dear shopcat Sessa and his young companion Thalia both died of smoke inhalation. Their quirky sweet spirits will always live with us wherever we are — they have moved with us for sure, to this building they never saw! — and we hope that few will find it foolish if we say that we will be doing it partly in their memories when we open the doors to welcome you again to the treasured PRB&M home (redivivus) that they animated.

For your kind thoughts at this time, a terrible one indeed though we have found kind competence all around us in the crisis — oh, we thank you with all our hearts!

Yours, David & Cynthy
The Partners
     For all the
     PRB&M'ers