A generous selection of diverse thought on the search for and collection of manuscripts and autograph letters, and their role in the history of ideas, has been culled from the first twenty years of Manuscripts, the Manuscript Society's quarterly publication. Priscilla S. Taylor has arranged, condensed, and, where possible, updated fifty-six memorable articles on the rich variety of the manuscript experience. The articles are grouped into five sections: Pointers for the Collector; Areas in Which to Collect; Historical Documents; Penmanship and Writing Systems; and Manuscripts as a Key to Biography and History. The subject range is broad. Readers will learn what to buy, how to buy, how to avoid forgeries, and how to handle a collection.