The New-England chapter of the ABAA is pleased to invite members of the ABAA, the trade in general, and all interested observers to a special one-day "unseminar" entitled "New Tools: Marketing Approaches, Platforms, & Technologies for Antiquarian Booksellers," to be held Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. We plan a full day of presentations, speakers, and open discussion. Since all of our distinguished panelists are either active book dealers or people serving the larger community of antiquarian booksellers, we are calling "New Tools" an "unseminar" to emphasize the participatory and "bottom-up" character of the event. Participants include Dan Gregory of Between the Covers, who will deliver two full presentations during the morning session. First up is "Rare Book Photography for the Busy Professional Bookseller" which is very similar to the same talk Dan gives every August at the famed Colorado Antiquarian Rare Book Seminar in Colorado Springs. Following a short break Dan's second presentation will be "The Printed Rare Book Catalog in the Digital Age - New Tech Tools for an Old Sales Channel," a highly-praised talk that he delivered last year at the ILAB Congress in Bologna, Italy. Following lunch on your own at any of our local restaurants, our afternoon session will feature three highly successful and innovative booksellers, and a web designer known to many in the ABAA: 1. Greg Gibson of Ten Pound Island (and "Bookman's Log") on b... [more New England Chapter “Unseminar” on New Tools: Marketing Approaches, Platforms, & Technology]

The Barnstable-Hyannis Patch is featuring "10 Questions with Isaiah Thomas Books' Jim Visbeck". Click here to read! 10 Questions with Isaiah Thomas Books' Jim Visbeck [more Member in the News: Jim Visbeck]

The Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is very grateful to Michael Hollander for the recovery of 218 booksand for alerting the Library of the books' absence in the first place. Michael was contacted by someone in Hawaii who was offering over 200 books for sale. The books were from the mid-1800s to the early 20th century and their total estimated value is between $50,000 to $100,000. Upon receiving six books to examine, Michael noted that they were all stamped as property of the University of Hawaii and had UH bar codes, and he immediately contacted the Hamilton Library to confirm that they were indeed offering these volumes for sale. Associate librarian Alan Grosenheider was alarmed by the call because the UH " sell books like other libraries." An internal investigation began and librarians discovered that the books were indeed missing from their shelves. Michael provided police with the seller's return address, and they in run raided a Waikiki apartment and recovered all the books. Police arrested and charged a former student of UH at Manoa with the thefts. Kudos to Michael for doing his due diligence and making the ABAA proud! Alert collector helps UH retrieve stolen rare books [more Member in the News: Michael Hollander]

Sadly, Bartleby's Books closed its brick and mortar shop in Georgetown last weekend. Click here to view a brief video on the story. No matter where they are selling from, I'm sure John and Karen will have much continued success, and we wish them all the best. Video: The Next Chapter for Bartleby's Books [more Bartleby's Books Brick & Mortar Shop Closes (Video)]

Click here to read this brief post about 20th century boys' serial fiction by ABAA member Vic Zoschak, Jr. of Tavistock Books! Collecting Rare Books and First Editions: "Every Boy Needs A Hero" [more "Collecting Rare Books and First Editions: 'Every Boy Needs A Hero'"]

In early April, I posted about an amazing find that member Ken Sanders made at a charity event in Sandy, Utaha German language Nuremberg Chronicle from 1494. The owner had no idea what he possessed; it was passed down from a great uncle and has been sitting in his attic for decades, which impacted the condition of the book greatly (only about 1/3 of the full text is present). Despite its condition and the fact that it's not incredibly rare, with an estimated several hundred copies in circulation worldwide, the text is still quite a find and has significance for historians and bibliophiles alike. Heather O'Donnell, a book buyer at fellow ABAA member firm Bauman Rare Books, commented that the Nuremberg Chronicle is a "landmark of printing" and each individual page possesses a "genuine value". Collectors, she says, "see it as a part of western civilization and want to pass it on". Since he 'found' the book in April, Ken says that his shop has been flooded with calls and emails from interested buyers. It is now on sale at Ken Sanders Rare Books for $35,000. 500-year-old- book on sale in Utah for $35K [more Member in the News: Ken Sanders]

Dan Gregory of Between the Covers~Rare Books Inc. provides a detailed answer to this question in the Between the Covers blog today. Click here to read! Do Rare Books Appreciate in Value? [more "Do Rare Books Appreciate in Value?"]

Kenneth Karmiole has received the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2011 from the UCLA Library and Information Studies Alumni Association. A graduate in the MLS class of 1971, he is the first antiquarian bookseller to be so honored. An award dinner was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on May 19th, where Ken was presented with the award. A keynote address was given by Kevin Starr, author and historian, best known for his multi-volume series "Americans and the California Dream". Congratulations, Ken! [more Member in the News: Kenneth Karmiole]

I was reading an article this morning about a South African man who, while on holiday in Ireland, found an American first edition of Wuthering Heights at a flea market for €3 (about $4.27). Realizing the value of the book, he brought it back home to South Africa and promptly sold it for over 77,000 rand (equivalent to more than €8,000 or $11,000)quite the souvenir! The article quoted ILAB member David Cunningham of Cathach Books Ltd. in Dublin, who commented that this was likely the only first edition of Wuthering Heights in the country. He went on to say that "you just don't know how books turn up and how it arrived in this country, but that's the nature of booksyou can find almost anything anywhere." This quote got me thinking about all the interesting stories book hunters everywhere must have. What has been your most interesting and/or profitable find? Tourist sells €3 first edition of Wuthering Heights for €8,000 [more What's Your Most Interesting and/or Profitable Find?]

A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rare book trade. The interviews conducted at the 44th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in San Francisco this past February can now be viewed on our websiteclick here. They include an interview with the late Peter Howard of Serendipity Books in Berkeley, CA. The ABAA extends many thanks to Michael, as well as Taylor Bowie, who has also conducted a number of interviews. [more Bookseller Interviews from the 2011 San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair]