There are many rare book fairs of varying size taking place around the country in January and February. Whether you are a beginning collector of an old hand, book fairs are a great opportunity to inspect the offerings of a great many dealers, hunt for elusive books and ephemera, and meet like-minded bibliophiles. Papermania Plus Antique Paper Show When: Saturday January 9, 10am-5pm and Sunday January 10, 10am-4pm Where: Hartford, CT Info: http://papermaniaplus.com/ Note: Free Appraisal Day (Sunday, 11am-2pm) “Bring in an item related to the context of the show and we will be glad to have one of our many exhibitors assist you with finding out about your 'treasure'!” Greater Los Angeles Postcard and Paper Show When: Saturday January 9, 10am-5pm and Sunday January 10, 10am-4pm Where: Glendale, CA Info: http://www.postcardshows.com/Glenda... [more Upcoming Antiquarian Book Fairs]
In 1941, Knopf published Theodore Roethke's first collection of poetry, Open House, in a hand-numbered edition of 1000 copies. The book was lavishly praised and launched Roethke's brilliant career, which led to a Pulitzer Prize (The Waking, 1954) and two National Book Awards (Words for the Wind, 1959, and The Far Field, 1965). The Theodore Roethke Museum in Saginaw, Michigan, has decided to mark the 75th anniversary of Open House's publication with an "online census" to attempt to track down every surviving hand-numbered copy of Open House, and collate the stories of the various volumes and their collectors. OPEN HOUSE - A Volume of Poetry (Limited Edition) New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1941. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A very nice copy of this rare Roethke title in a dustjacket with some soiling ... [more Calling All Theodore Roethke Fans]
Some of the most-expensive books in the world are going on tour. The Folger Shakespeare Library is sending several First Folios to partner institutions around the country -- one in each state -- so people can view the famous books upclose and personal. WIlliam Shakespeare's First Folio is a remarkable thing. Compiled just seven years after the great man died, the Folio (so-called because of how the book was printed — “When two leaves (four pages when printed on both sides) were printed on a sheet so that it could be folded once, collated with other folded sheets and bound, the format of the volume was a folio." — from the ABAA Glossary of Book Terms) was created by two actors who knew Shakespeare and would have had access to original drafts (referred to be the delicious term “foul papers” as they would have presumably been cover... [more First Folio on Tour]
Over the course of a year, the various ABAA bloggers write frequently about the significance of individual books, their rarity, their historical significance, and occasionally their value. However, far more often the significance of a rare book is much more personal and idiosyncratic. For many of us, the thrill of the hunt or the surprise of the find makes books memorable, and book collectors are far more likely to have stories of books unexpectedly found in unlikely places than items of great value. Rebecca Rego Barry's new book, Rare Books Uncovered, is dedicated to the stories of the favorite finds, the books discovered in unlikely places that collectors remember years, even decades later. Barry -- whose day-job is as editor of Fine Books & Collections Magazine -- has interviewed dozens of collectors and booksellers -- including a grea... [more Rare Books Uncovered: True Tales of Fantastic Finds]
The ABAA has recently approved several new members, all of whom have successfully proven themselves to be, in the words of the ABAA Guarantee, "established, knowledgeable, and of excellent reputation." These new members were sponsored by existing members, and have undergone a rigorous screening process. We welcome the newest members of the ABAA. Full Members Charles Bartman of Charles G. Bartman, Bookseller, Louisville, KY Michael Fagan of Michael Fagan Fine Art & Rare Books, Newton, MA James Gray of James Gray Bookseller, Princeton, MA Heather O'Donnell of Honey & Wax Booksellers, Brooklyn, NY --Heather O'Donnell got her start in rare books in the stacks of the Beinecke Library, where she was a curatorial assistant during her grad school years at Yale. After three years in the Princeton Society of Fellows, she left academia to pursue the... [more New Members]
The annual National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest aims to encourage young collectors to become accomplished bibliophiles. This year's winners have built up fascinating collections on topics as diverse as formalist Russian composers, women in the Spanish Civil War, and 20th Century Southern Literature. We asked the four winners to tell us more about their collections... 1st prize: Alexander P. Ioffreda (Harvard University) Formalists! Musical Scores of Repressed Soviet Composers ABAA: Could you give us a brief description of your collection? Alex Ioffreda: My collection explores the conflict between musical expression and state ideology in the Soviet Union through rare period sheet music and associated ephemera. Thematically and historically, it centers on the Zhdanovshchina, the traumatic 1948 campaign to repress “formalists” and... [more Interviews with the 2015 NCBCC Winners]
The 2015 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA, over the weekend of November 13-15. Many ABAA members will be exhibiting. Here is a brief selection of the special items they're planning on bringing to Boston. Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius a.d.480-525 Small folio 11 ¼ x 7 inches. First illustrated edition. In this copy many of the seventy eight woodcuts have very nice original color, it is bound in full blind stamped calf over wooden boards. It is also rubicated throughout. (Offered by James Gray Bookseller) Cicarelli's rare treatise on the truffle, Opuscule sur les Truffes (1813). Ciccarelli believed he had identified the seed of the truffle and lays out a method for its propagation. Ciccarelli, Alfonso; . Opuscule sur les Truffes, trad. libre du Latin, d'Alphon... [more Featured Items: Boston Book Fair]
The 39th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place in Boston, MA from November 13 to 15. The leaves are falling, Maine is experiencing its first snowfall, and the world series is upon us; It must be nearly time for the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. 2015 marks the 39th annual antiquarian book fair in Boston, MA, and more than 120 dealers from around the world will rendevous at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay over the November 13-15 weekend. Special Events Special events at this year's Boston Book Fair include a talk by Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large for Merriam-Webster, about the 19th century dictionary wars; a behind-the-scenes look at Antiques Roadshow with the show's executive producer Marsha Bemko; the annual Ticknor Society Roundtable, a panel discussion of books collectors talking... [more Coming Soon: 2015 Boston Book Fair]
Friday, October 16 marks 161 years since the birth of Oscar Wilde. In that time be became the toast of the literary scene in 19th-century London, an international pariah, and finally, decades after he died, one of the most well-known poets and dramatists in history. No well-rounded collection of rare books should be without some of Wilde's work. Below, we collect some of the most-interesting items by Oscar Wilde currently being offered by ABAA members. Signed Books Anything with an author's signature is almost always more highly prized that something without a signature, and the general rule of thumb is the more writing by the author the better. (For example, a book annotated or inscribed by the author with a personal message would likely be more interesting to collectors than one with a simple signature.) There are several signed books a... [more Rare Items by Oscar Wilde]
Looking at the history of book banning worldwide, from Henry VIII's destruction of Catholic iconography and religious books during the dissolution, to Hitler's famous bonfires of any work deemed insufficiently Germanic in the 1930s, and up to today's over-zealous parents eager to shield children from whatever they imagine was absent in their own childhoods, some books simply appear to attract more negative emotion than others. These challenges usually cite the same few justifications: sex, violence, racism, or the presentation of facts or theories outside of mainstream belief. To mark Banned Books Week, we pick out a selection of the most-frequently challanged books, and a couple whose publication spawned landmark freedom-of-speech cases. Almost anything by Judy Blume Before the young adult genre became best known for daring fiction that ... [more Infamous Banned Books]