Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!

By Susan Benne

Today marks the bicentennial of Charles Dickens's birth and there are some notable festivities occurring! I've previously posted about the wonderful exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum in NYC, which I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area. In case you need additional incentive, the Morgan is offering free admission today to anyone who mentions Dickens's birthday. The exhibit is only open until the 12th, so get there soon! Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, joined a host of dignitaries, actors, and Dickens's descendants today to hold a special memorial service held in London's Westminster Abbey. Prince Charles laid a wreath of white flowers on Dickens's grave in Poet's Corner, actor Ralph Fiennes read from Bleak House, and prayers were said for the poor as well as writers chronicling modern society. Of the ceremony, historian Judith Flanders, said it was an "enormously moving" service and that Dickens "would have hated it". Flanders explained that Dickens famously stated in his will that "he wanted no public ceremonies, no statues, no public acknowledgement. He wanted to be buried and die as a private man. He wanted his books to be his monument." There was also a simultaneous memorial event held in Portsmouth, where Dickens was born. The British Council, the UK's cultural relations body, has organized a number of Dickens-related global initiatives and events "to develop global activity that will include brand new film adaptations, art exhib... [more Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!]



In SoCal and need an appraisal?

By Susan Benne

We can help you out! In addition to having a number of ABAA members in Southern California who perform qualified appraisals, there will be two events at the 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena next weekend that are perfect for anyone looking to learn more about appraisals and/or to have their own books appraised. On Sunday at 12:15pm, ABAA members Sam Hessel and Sheryl Jaeger will be presenting a seminar entitled, Do You Need An Appraisal? It is aimed at book collectors or others with books of value and will answer the following questions: What is a formal appraisal? Who should get one for his/her collection? How do I go about the process? Following the seminar is Discovery Day, which is a feature of every ABAA fair and offers attendees the opportunity to receive free mini-appraisals on up to three books. This is the perfect opportunity to have a qualified professional take a look at your books! Click here to read about other seminars and events at the fair! 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair [more In SoCal and need an appraisal?]



Rare Book Room to be established at the Center for Jewish History

By Susan Benne

The Center for Jewish History in New York, which houses the collections of the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, announced earlier this month that it will establish a rare books room with the $2.5M gift from the David Berg Foundation. The new rare books room will "provide the center's partners with a state-of-the-art facility in which to showcase some of their most important printed materials, including seminal first editions and a cross-section of rabbinical literature, Jewish philosophy and intellectual history that dates back hundreds of years." It will be open to the public, and the grand opening is slated for the fall. N.Y. center gets $2.5 million gift for new rare books room [more Rare Book Room to be established at the Center for Jewish History]



Michael Dirda: "The Thrill of the Hunt: The Serendipitous Pleasures of Book Collecting"

By Susan Benne

Attendees to the 2011 Awards Ceremony for the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest were lucky enough to hear Michael Dirda give a talk entitled "The Thrill of the Hunt: The Serendipitous Pleasures of Book Collecting". You may now view the lecture below, on the Library of Congress's website, or on the ABAA's website . Michael Dirda is senior editor for "The Washington Post Book World", and a noted bibliophile. Michael's talk is preceded by the NCBCC awards presentation; his lecture begins at 29:30. [more Michael Dirda: "The Thrill of the Hunt: The Serendipitous Pleasures of Book Collecting"]



Stolen: Foxes Book of Martyrs

By Susan Benne

This item was still reported missing as of June 10, 2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Foxes Book of Martyrs Authors : Foxes Description : Description from a recent NADFAS inventory as follows: "Foxes Book of Martyrs. Very poor condition. Faded brown leather cover. Gothic printing with black & white woodcut illustrations throughout. Entries date from 1555 to 1558, but the first ten pages & the last unknown number of pages are either missing or very badly damaged." If you have any information on this item, please contact Patrick McCanlis at patmac778@hotmail.com or +44 (0)20 7439 3118 [more Stolen: Foxes Book of Martyrs]



Several Books Missing from Michael R. Thompson Rare Books

By Susan Benne

The following items have been reported missing: 1. Aesop Naturaliz'd; in a collection of fables and stories from Aesop, Lochman, Pilpay, and others. London: printed for D. Midwinter, 1711. Third edition, "with the addition of above 50 fables." Octavo. Contemporary sheep, rebacked, reddish-brown morocco spine label. With ink annotation on front free endpaper with the dates 1723 and 1726. Seven copies worldwide on ESTC. 2. Cebes. . Cebetis Tebani Tabula, Graece & Latine, multis in locis restiuta ex MSS. codicibus...Amsterdam: apud Henricum Westenium 1689. First edition as edited by the Dutch scholar Jakob Gronovius. Small octavo. Contemporary cloth, paneled in blind, brown morocco label. Joints a bit rubbed. Ink signature on the front flyleaf of Robert Raymond, dated 1692. 3. Tasso. L'Aminte du Tasse. Edition nouvelle, revue & enrichie des Tailles douches. Traduite de l'Italien. A la Haye: Chez Levyn van Dyk, 1679. Twelvemo. Contemporary vellum, lightly soiled, lacking ties. 4. Hierocles, of Alexandria. . Commentarius in aurea Pythagoreorum carmina. Paris: Nicolaum Nivellum 1583. Twelvemo. Contemporary limp vellum with title in manuscript on spine. If you have any information on these items, please contact Michael R. Thompson Rare Books at (323) 658-1901 or mrtbooksla@pacbell.net [more Several Books Missing from Michael R. Thompson Rare Books]



Happy 150th Birthday, Edith Wharton!

By Susan Benne

Today would be the 150th birthday of famed American author Edith Wharton, who is probably most widely known for her examination of New York society in the early twentieth century (The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth were both centered around this theme). Wharton was a very successful writer in her time, receiving both popular and critical acclaim in addition to good compensation for her works (any writer's dream!). She composed travel essays, short stories, novels, and, later in life, short autobiographical essays. Wharton was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1921 for The Age of Innocence. In 1902, Wharton designed and built The Mount based on the principles she outlined in her 1897 book, The Decoration of Houses. Today, The Mount is "an autobiographical house", "both a historic site and a center for culture inspired by the passions and achievements of Edith Wharton." To commemorate what would have been Wharton's 150th birthday, The Mount is kicking off a year of special events. Please click here to view a list of special events at The Mount and other locations throughout the country. Wharton has recently had an impact on popular culture with the popularity of the PBS series Downton Abbey (a great show if you're unfamiliar!). The New York Times had a piece on the connection last week, with Downton's creator, Julian Fellowes, citing Wharton's novels as a major influence. It's a great article worth a read. If you're in New York and looking to get your Wharton fix, there w... [more Happy 150th Birthday, Edith Wharton!]