Happy Leap Day! We thought you might want something to read on this bonus day, so here's a roundup of the latest news from the rare books world.
New Penguins
Collectors of Penguin Classics -- and we're nearly all de facto collectors of Penguin Classics by the time we've graduated college -- will be excited to see the launch of a new series of "Pocket Penguins," new editions of the most-widely read Penguin Classics. Color-coded by original language, the new series adapts the iconic Penguin Classics color-scheme and design, and will appeal to book-design afficionados.
Unpublished Beatrix Potter Story Found
Fear not fans of children's books featuring anthropomorphized animals, a lost story by Beatrix Potter, "The Tale Of Kitty-in-Boots" has been found in the Potter archives, and will be published in the fall.
New Tolkien Poems Found
Tolkien Scholar Wayne Hammond has succeeded in tracking down two poems by Professor Tolkien published in a school magazine in 1936.
Lost Mozart-Salieri Composition Resurfaces
Fine Books Magazine details a lost musical work composed by Mozart and Salieri together. Perhaps the depiction of their rivalry in the film Amadeus was less accurate than we thought?
Van Filled with Rare Books Stolen After California Book Fair
Spare a thought for ABAA-member Lawrence Van de Carr (Bookleggers Used Books) whose van full of $350,000-worth of rare books was stolen in Oakland, following the California Book Fair. One of the thieves has been caught as he tried to sell some of the books, but the van and the bulk of its contents remains missing.
Rare Book Shops in Manhattan
ABAA members James Cummins Books and Bauman Rare Books were featured ina recent photo essay buy Bloomberg Business on rare bookstores in Manhattan.