Super-brief summary: He no longer needs these books for research purposes; if I've interpreted his slightly cryptic language correctly, he's selling them to finance his museum+gallery and some space for "landscape sculpture".
Edward Tufte owns all of these documents and is now selling them? There are $40k and $80k Picasso drawings in here, how rich is Tufte to procure such a large collection of documents and drawings?
I think he's done really well between sales of his books, speaking fees, and teaching one-day courses. His one-day courses alone net 6-figure revenues each time they're taught: fee of $380, audience of about 350 people. Even if less than half that is profit, it seems like he can pull in upwards of $50k from teaching a single-day course.
> Edward Tufte gives artist's tours of his exhibit at ET Modern every Saturday, throughout the day from 10.00am to 6.00pm. If you would like a tour, just ask at the reception desk.
Super-brief summary: He no longer needs these books for research purposes; if I've interpreted his slightly cryptic language correctly, he's selling them to finance his museum+gallery and some space for "landscape sculpture".