Founding Folios

Attention all history buffs and antiquarian booksellers: The School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, a recently founded center at Arizona State University, is in the market for great books relevant to American political philosophy and civics. They’ve already acquired a first collected edition of The Federalist, which was put on display last week as a tie-in with a certain Broadway musical about one of the book’s authors. (The national tour of Hamilton kicks off on ASU’s campus come January.)

The school also hopes to acquire first editions of George Washington’s Farewell Address, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, and a signed work by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s an admirable and expensive undertaking, expected, as the Arizona Republic has reported, to cost half a million dollars. The four works were selected as representative of the leadership school’s mission statement—which specifically praises The Federalist as deserving of closer study.

“We think it’s inspiring to see a book from the eighteenth century, to see the original and then be able to talk about it,” Paul Carrese, director of the new school, told The Scrapbook. “These historical objects had a great effect on history, we think for the good. Seeing the originals is exciting, not only for us nerdy academic types but for the wider public as well.” ASU plans to take these books on the road for various events and has purchased a special travel display case.

The Scrapbook is old-fashioned enough to think musty old books are important (indeed, the older and mustier the better). They make a vital contribution to the life of the mind even behind protective glass. Students, after all, won’t be dog-earing the texts themselves, but will read their own shockingly expensive paperback editions with greater confidence. In an age dominated by the weekly story of campus craziness, it’s refreshing to see a school focus on something a university should be about.

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