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Blog posts by Rich Rennicks

Content creator and publicist for the ABAA. 



Featured Items: September

By Rich Rennicks

A selection of featured items from among those offered by ABAA members, including very rare inscribed, pseudonymous novels by Agatha Christie, a first edition H.G. Wells, rare Robert McCloskey, and an unusual piece of Titanic memorabilia. Titanic Among the various anniversaries and milestones that occur in September is the 30th anniverary of the discovery of the wreck of the Titanic. While this discovery ended any notions of attempting to raise the famous ship (as explored in Clive Cussler's bestselling 1976 thriller Raise the Titanic), it did reignite a slumbering fascination with the world's most infamous shipwreck -- a fascination that's lead to the world's #1 blockbuster movie, a new museum in the city that built the Titanic, and innumerable novels and books about the voyage. One interesting item among our member's offerings is this c... [more Featured Items: September]

Rounding up the rare book news for August... Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Competition Yes, there really is an Ernest Hemingway look-alike competition. This is the guy who won it this year... Lost Colony Relocated? A clue to the lost colony is discovered in a repaired map... Featured item: THE ARRAIGNMENT AND CONVICTION OF SR VVALTER RAWLEIGH, AT THE KINGS BENCH-BARRE AT WINCHESTER. ON THE 17. OF NOVEMBER. 1603 . . . COPPIED BY SIR THO: OVERBVRY London: Printed by William Wilson for Abel Roper, 1648. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. 191 x 133 mm (7 1/2 x 5 1/4"). 1 p.l. (title), 38 pp. This is a rare copy of a text relating to the accusation, in 1603, that Raleigh had conspired with fellow courtier Baron Cobham to facilitate a Spanish invasion to prevent James Stuart from inheriting Elizabeth's throne. An educated poet, courtier, explorer, buccane... [more Rare Book News: August 2015]

Ted Hughes was born on August 17, 1930. He became one of the most-famous poets of the Twentieth Century, and was Great Britain's Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998 (Poet's Laureate traditionally served for life -- the exception being John Dryden, who was dismissed from the post in 1688 because he would not tale a loyalty oath to the new king, Wiliam III -- but the institiution was amended after Hughes' death, and the new-normal is for the Poet Laureate to serve for 10 years). Hughes published a vast wealth of poetry and children's stories during his life -- and that life provided fodder for an even-vaster wealth of books about the poet and his tempestuous romantic liasions. ABAA members offer a large selection of signed items, first editions, and fine-press or other scarcities. Here is a selection of some of the more eye-catc... [more Ted Hughes: Signed & Scarce Items]


Featured Items: August

By Rich Rennicks

Virginia Woolf is on people's minds this week, as Monday was the anniversary of her marriage to Leonard Woolf, who spent his life caring for her and founded the Hogarth Press largely so Virginia could publish without the aggravation of dealing with an outside publisher's demands. One of Virginia Woolf's most-influential works -- if not at the time, then it's certainly become so in the years since her death -- is the essay "A Room of One's Own." So that seems an apt place to begin this week's selection of featured items. A Room of One's Own (First Edition) by Virginia Woolf London:: Hogarth Press, 1929. First edition. A classic of feminist literature, her most famous and influential work. Faint offset on endpapers, otherwise fine in near fine dust jacket with professional touch up to few chips and tears. (Offered by Quill and Brush) Furthe... [more Featured Items: August]

We've all been there, living in small spaces made even smaller by the ever-increasing accumulation of books: piles growing like mushrooms from the floor, double-stacked on shelves, laid flat under chairs or sofas. When we eventually escape to a larger apartment or house, we hastily box up the books and it's only upon beginning the reshelving process in our new space that we notice the damage that has accrued: bleached spines and covers, yellowed page edges, mold, spider webs, scratches on previously-pristine dust jackets, bent or torn covers, cocked spines, pages sagging or come loose from the binding… We resolve to do better, but usually get no further than alphabetizing the collection before the cycle starts over again. So, how should we store our books to prevent common deterioration? 1. Careful shelving Unless a book is a very old o... [more How to Store Books Safely]

A few fantastic rare books and unusual signed items to whet your appetite for collecting this week... With the fourth anniversary of the end of the space shuttle program falling on July 21, this signed photo commemorating the first mission of the shuttle Discovery may be of interest to space and science buffs: Framed Photograph Signed by Entire Discovery Crew (Discovery's First Mission) 1984. Unbound. Outstanding official NASA photograph signed by all six members of Flight STS-41-D, Discovery's first mission. This vibrant color 8 x 10-inch photo features all six crew members in flight gear: Charles Walker (the first non-government person to fly in space), Judy Resnik (who died two years later at the age of 36 in the Challenger explosion), Richard "Mike" Mullane (a former Air Force Colonel), Steve Hawley, Hank Hartsfield, and Michael L. Co... [more Featured Books: July 21]

Let's start with all the other book news that's been overshadowed by the publication of the "new" Harper Lee book this week. Charles Dickens' Notes Solve Mystery of Unidentified Victorian Authors Hailed as a discovery that could "solve some of the biggest mysteries of Victorian literature," the news that a book collector has found Charles Dickens personal copies of his magazine "All the Year Round" was revealed over the weekend. The magazine famously published anonymous pieces -- providing academics with decades of fun and publication trying to identify the true authors -- but Dickens' personal copies contain annotations that reveal the authorship of each article. Among the work identified are new pieces by Lewis Carroll, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, and Eliza Linton. Read more... ALL THE YEAR ROUND. A Weekly Journal. No. 83. Saturd... [more Rare Book News: July 2015]

This week saw the anniversary of George Orwell's birth and the first publication of Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth, among other milestones. We've featured a few items below that mark these anniversaries, or which simply caught the eye as being a little bit different or interesting. Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire (Illustrated by Henri Matisse) 1947, Paris. Decorative wrap, designed by Matisse. Slipcase and chemise. One of 300 numbered copies on papier de Rives, signed by Matisse in colophon, from a total edition of 320 copies. With one original aquatint on chine appliqué (frontispiece), 33 full-page photo-lithographs with 29 portraits of women in which Matisse captures expressions and gestures of the passionate and loving feminine nature, 38 line-drawn decorations (10 full-page), of which 2 on the covers, and 33 wood-engraved let... [more Featured Items: June 26]

While every newspaper is publishing appreciations of the late James Salter, who died last week, few of these pieces mention his exemplary short fiction, instead focusing on the novels. Fewer still will mention an exquisite fine-press, limited edition of his short story "Bangkok," as only 110 were ever printed. Salter's story "Bangkok" first appeared in the Paris Review in 2003. Raven Editions published a limited edition as part of their series of special editions by distinguished American authors (other books included stories by Raymond Carver, Andre Dubus, and Richard Ford) one year later, in 2004. The story was later included in his 2005 collection of short fiction, Last Night (Knopf). Publisher's Weekly singled out "Bangkok" for particular praise in their review of Last Night: "Bangkok" offers a different take on the reunion angle, as ... [more James Salter’s Rarest Book]

National newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic were abuzz over the weekend with the news that a first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit had sold for a record price at auction. The book sold for 137,000 (about $210,500). To put this in perspective, the previous record price was 50,000. Why did this sale outperform expectations so astonishingly? Well, it might have had something to do with the fact that this was one of the most-sought-after of all signed books, a presentation copy, given by Professor Tolkien to one of his students, Katherine Kilbride. Tolkien did not inscribe many presentation copies, so the book is certainly rare. Not only that, but he added an inscription in Middle English. The "Kilbride Hobbit" (Image source: Sothebys) ABAA-member Mark Hime of Biblioctopus in Century City, CA has intimate knowledge of this part... [more The Hobbit Fetches World Record Price]