Pedro Corrêa do Lago, the Manuscript Magician

Pedro Corrêa do Lago is communicative, passionate and highly cultured. A multilingual diplomat’s son, he was Sotheby's representative in Brazil and is a member of the board of directors of the São Paulo Biennale and exhibition curator. He headed Brazil’s National Library from 2003 to 2005 and has written over 20 books on manuscripts and art in his country, which he strongly defends. Last year, New York’s Morgan Library hosted a show of his pieces, its first ever devoted to a private collection of manuscripts: 800,000 visitors were able to share his passion. Why did you decide to republish your collection 16 years after its first publication? The previous book, True to the Letter , aimed to open as many people as possible up to the discreet charm of autographs, which few beautiful books take as their subject. This one was designed as the catalogue of the Morgan Library show in New York. After 50 years of passion, I could hardly hope…