As we noted in April, a previously unseen trove of World War II-era photographs by Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton surfaced recently in a carefully preserved, personal scrapbook created by their former assistant, Roland Haupt. The discovery is being celebrated as one of the greatest photographic records of the pivotal period in world history. For Haupt, the book had personal significance. "This is the story of my favorite photographer, Lee Miller," he wrote in the album, by way of introduction. But, notes Smithsonian magazine, for historians and the art world, the book offers broader value, with haunting photos of both Nazi death camps and celebrity photo shoots.

  Late last month, American booksellers hit a major milestone. Across the United States, 2,000 bookshops celebrated Independent Bookstore Day—breaking participation records. Based on trends from early 2026, the independent bookstore scene in NYC remains strong, with at least 34 independent bookstores in Brooklyn alone participating in the 2026 Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl last month. Above: The Lit.Bar, 131 Alexander Avenue, Mott Haven, The Bronx, ...