Please contact us if you know the whereabouts of the following item: Reflections on Color by Roether, Susan Published by Black Stone Press, 1982 Fine in slipcase. [more Missing in NYC: Reflections on Color]
The Boston Book Fair is the annual fall gathering for book lovers and collectors of rare books, featuring the top selection of items available on the international literary market. The 43rd annual gathering of U.S. and international dealers, sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, takes place in Boston, Massachusetts over the weekend of November 15-17, 2019. Here are a few preview items to tempt you, including copies of some of the most-famous rare books of all time! Allen Ginsberg, Original Carbon Typescript for Part I of “Howl”, (ca. early 1956) Previously unknown original carbon typescript of the most important postwar American poem: Allen Ginsberg's “Howl.” Almost certainly the only surviving draft version of this iconic poem remaining in private hands, and the only one to ever be separately offered for sale, this copy was struck from what has become known as the fifth draft (so identified in HOWL: Original Draft Facsimiles and Variant Versions . Barry Miles, Editor. New York: Harper & Row, 1986) and most likely dates from early 1956. It is this draft that Ginsberg read in what is the earliest known recording of the poem at Oregon's Reed College from February 1956 (indeed you can hear him turning the pages at precisely the right time on the recording), performed just three months after the legendary Six Gallery reading where the poem debuted. Provenance: this copy of “Howl” was ... [more Boston Book Fair: Preview Items]
Southern & Northern California Chapters of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America have announced the second annual California Young Book Collector's Prize! Most great collectors started when they were young, and most great collections started with a passion for a particular object or subject. When these objects are books and manuscripts, the collectors are called bibliophiles, or lovers of the book. The purpose of The California Young Book Collector's Prize is to nurture the next generation of bibliophiles. The competition is open to collectors aged 35 and under who are living in California. All collections of books, manuscripts, and ephemera are welcome, no matter their monetary value or subject. The collections will be judged on their thoroughness, the approach to their subject, and the seriousness which with the collector has catalogued his or her material. The winner of the competition will be awarded: A gift certificate of $500 to spend at the 2020 California International Antiquarian Book Fair An exhibition of the winner's collection to be presented in a showcase at the book fair A stipend of $250 towards exhibition expenses (to help cover travel costs, showcase labels, and insurance) A year's membership to the Book Club of California A year's membership to the Bibliographical Society of America A year's subscription to The Book Collector A year's subscription to Fine Books & Collections magazine The deadline for receipt of submissions is December 1st, 2019... [more Second Annual California Young Book Collectors Prize]
The following items were reported missing from a building lobby in San Francisco: Antonio Gallonio / Antonio Tempesta - De Sanctorum Martyrum Cruciatibus - 1659/1660 Bockler - Theatrum Machinarum Novum 1662 & Architectura Curiosa Nova (part 1) 1664 If you have any information please contact Roland Salvato. [more Missing in San Francisco]
The makers of Downton Abbey go to great lengths to get their period details and history correct, and one of the ways they do this is by incorporating contemporary books into conversations and even at times the main plot. In fact, it can be difficult to find an episode of Downton where the references to Dickens, Trollope, or now-obscure English historians are not flying thick and fast. When Lady Edith started dating a London editor, one expected to meet Virginia Woolf or E.M. Forster at a party any moment. Alas, poor Michael Gregson died before the producers could work a Bloomsbury party into the show. (Post script: After this post was first published, I attended the "Dressing Downton" exhibition at Asheville, NC's Biltmore House -- which has a stunning library -- and discovered that Virginia Woolf was a guest at that London party, albeit in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it, non-speaking role. Her costume is the one on the right of the photo below. The exhibition was so popular it went on tour, and an expanded version will open at the Biltmore House in November 2019 and run until early April 2020.) Outfits worn by Lady Sybil (left) and Virginia Woolf (r) in Downton Abbey. Shown in the Biltmore House as part of the "Dressing Downton" exhibition in early 2015. (Source: Cincinatti Enquirer.) Given creator Julian Fellowes' attention to detail and habit of tangling the fictional Crawleys in real historical events, those featured books are genuine and are generally well-chosen. The disce... [more The Books of Downton Abbey]
Faith Baldwin was once one of the bestselling authors in America, although she was never a lauded award-winner. Instead, Baldwin practiced what was variously called “light” or popular fiction, and today is generally called romance — usually with a touch of superiority. In her obituary, The New York Times declared her 'the doyenne of American light fiction writers.” Raised in relative wealth and comfort in Manhattan, Baldwin initially saw acting as a means for a single women to gain independence, but as her writing career took off, she embraced it. At the start, she wrote for the women's magazines, publishing poetry and prose -- whatever there was a market for. In 1921, she published her first novel, Mavis of Green Hill, and by 1927 she was able to regularly sell the serialization rights for many of her novels to mainstream magazines, assuring herself of a steady income. Critics have alternately praised Baldwin for being a proto-feminist and dismissed her for being too conservative, which is unsurprising as Baldwin generally wrote about the domestic concerns of love, marriage, and a woman's career, concerns which tend to be under-appreciated in any age. But, in novels like Private Duty (1935), Hotel Hostess (1938), and Career By Proxy (1939) she often returned to the question of whether a woman could be fulfilled through work and also find marital bliss — although her heroines often had to accept their fate of leaving their job after marriage — and she frequently f... [more Collecting Faith Baldwin]
In 1995, longtime ABAA-member Ben Kinmont started the Antinomian Press. His focus was (and has remained) on project art, both by others and himself. Sometimes, the Press has published exhibition catalogs on artist ephemera and alternative artistic practices; at other times, Kinmont has used it as a teaching tool in the classroom to publish his collaborative projects with students. The Antinomian Press is also an art project by Kinmont, the archive of which is in MoMA's Drawings & Prints Collection, and to which archive addenda are continually being added. “Ben Kinmont, Bookseller” was initially started as an art project in 1998, so all of Kinmont's bookseller catalogues have been issued by the Antinomian Press -- see the colophon page (below) of his catalogs for the title of the business as an art work. Although these catalogues have circulated within the antiquarian book world and, in some cases, have been retained and catalogued by research libraries, many of the other publications from the Antinomian Press are very difficult to find. This is because most of them were printed and distributed in unusual locations, such as out on the street, in a parked van, or in strangers' homes. In these cases, the publications were given away to anyone passing by or participating in a project. These publications usually spoke to the values (and complications) surrounding their specific making and what happens when you displace an art discourse into a non-art space. When an Antinomian ... [more The Antinomian Press]
The winners of the 2019 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest have been chosen. They are: First: Matthew Wills, University of California, San Diego: "The Largesse of the Propaganda State: Printing Anti-Confucian Vitriol in Mao's China." Second: Miriam-Helene Rudd, University of Delaware: "20th Century Mystery Adventure Series for Young Women." Third: Michael Dascal, University of Maryland: "Scientific Revolutions: Crises and Paradigm Shifts in the History of 20th Century Western Scientific Thought." The winners' collections ran the gamut from popular novels (Miriam Helene-Rudd asked "Is Nancy Drew dated or daring?") to the great scientific paradigm shifts of the twentieth century (which Michael Dascal defines as "the development of relativity theory and quantum mechanics"), and also explores "a modern state's power to commandeer vast quantities of paper and ink for its nefarious political ends" (in Matthew Wills' words). The winners demonstrate that this young generation of book collectors embrace a broad and diverse array of interests. The National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest is jointly administered by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), the Grolier Club, and the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division (the Library of Congress), with major and exclusive support for the Kislak Prize from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation. The award ceremony will take place... [more 2019 NCBCC Winners]
Meet the latest members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. New Full Members Reagan Bisharat, Reagan's Rare Books (Midlothian, VA) Starting as a hobby collector nearly twenty years ago, Reagan Bisharat, of Reagan's Rare books, has built a business out of his passion. Reagan's Rare Books is a purveyor of antiquarian books and ephemera dating primarily from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th century. Specializing in fine leather and decorative cloth bindings, Reagan has hand selected each piece in his inventory. Subject matter includes History, Literature, Theology, Biography, Travel and Exploration, as well as Americana. Timothy J. Stevenson, Carlson and Stevenson (Manchester Center, VT) As an antique dealer since 1976, Timothy Stevenson started out knocking on doors in Vermont and nearby New York State. All manner of interesting and saleable material was found almost everyday. A Vermont town turned up the Rev. Lemuel Haynes' library from a direct descendant -- the first Afro-American minister in the U.S, he held forth in Manchester, Vermont. He ministered to the Boorn Brothers in the famous murder case that ended requiring a body for a murder trail. The material was sold for the family to a historical society where Haynes also ministered. Stevenson's interest in antiques became centered on School Girl Art of the period 1780 to 1840. Stevenson and his wife were invited to shows in Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Nantucket,... [more New Members]
In an effort to assist in the recovery of materials missing as a result of the Carnegie Library theft, the ABAA would like to bring to the public's attention the list of items believed stolen. Click this link to view the list. Update 8/20/18: The following list includes more details. Should any member of the public identify having purchased or otherwise having knowledge of the disposition or current location of any items from the Carnegie Library—whether on this list or not—please contact one of the following detectives from Allegheny County District Attorney's Office: · Det. Fran Laquatra (412) 388-5305 flaquatra@alleghenycountyda.us · Det. Perann Tansmore (412) 388-5307 ptansmore@alleghenycountyda.us ` · Det. Lyle Graber (412) 388-5316 lgraber@alleghenycountyda.us Please note, the detectives do not have reason to believe that anyone who may have purchased any of these items was necessarily aware that the material had been reported stolen. The ABAA appreciates your attention and assistance with respect to this grave matter. Please check our post from March for further details, including additional information on collection markings. Sincerely, Vic Zoschak President, ABAA Brad Johnson Chair, ABAA Security Committee Susan Benne Executive Director, ABAA [more Carnegie Library Theft]