Provenance ownership, and of evidence left in books that shows how readers interacted with them. Provenance studies may shed light on the books themselves, providing evidence of the role particular titles have played in social, intellectual and literary history. Such studies may also add to our knowledge of particular owners of books. For instance, looking at the books owned by a writer may help to show which works influenced him or her. Many provenance studies are historically focused, and concentrated on books owned by writers, politicians and public figures. The recent ownership of books is studied, however, as is evidence of
Up to Now (autobiography) relating to other prominent figures such as the British statesman Viscount Grey. Shaw's book was the first of two autobiographies published in 1929 with the title "Up to Now". The second was by the American politician and four-time Governor of New York, Al Smith. As "The Times Literary Supplement" pointed out, the title promised more to come, but although Shaw lived on for another thirty years, he never published a sequel. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, "Up to Now" continued to be used as a source for biographical works on Gordon Craig, Isadora Duncan and Ellen Terry.