Stuart Lutz Completes NYC Century Bike Tour for the Sixth Year

By Susan Benne

Stuart at the completion of his ride. As anyone in the trade knows, being an antiquarian bookseller is a pretty much a 24/7 job, so it can be surprising to hear about sellers' lives outside of their work. Nonetheless, sellers can do some amazing things in their spare time! A perfect example is member Stuart Lutz (Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, Inc.). While he's not working with historic documents, letters, and autographs or being with his family, Stuart is an avid bicyclist. Yesterday he completed his sixth NYC Century Bike Tour, an annual event that allows riders to determine the length of their ride, which ranges from 15 to 100 miles. Stuart opted to complete the full century ride and navigated 100 miles through four of the five NYC boroughs. Cheers, Stuart! [more Stuart Lutz Completes NYC Century Bike Tour for the Sixth Year]



Rare Book School & Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar Attendees Laud Programs

By Susan Benne

Each summer is an extra treat for the rare book world because of the excellent educational programs provided by Rare Book School and the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar. Rare Book School offers a number of fascinating courses on an array of trade-related subjects (to name just a few courses from this past summer: Developing Collections: Donors, Libraries & Booksellers; Digitizing the Historical Record; and The Illustrated Scientific Book to 1800). Fondly known as 'Bookseller Boot Camp', for the past 35 years the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar (CABS) has been helping booksellers, librarians, and collectors elevate their knowledge of the trade. (I attended myself last summer and strongly recommend the program. Hopefully I can apply to a course at Rare Book School next summer!) Below are three links to impressions and reflections from booksellers who attended either Rare Book School or CABS this year. Travis Low (Ken Sanders Rare Books) on Rare Book School Margueritte Peterson (Tavistock Books) and Malcolm Moncrief-Spittle (Renaissance Books) on the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar Wish you had attended? Rare Book School is offering two courses this fall in Washington, DC as well as a fresh lineup next summer, and CABS will be back in August 2014. You'll note that all three students attended on scholarships, so make sure to check the RBS and CABS websites for similar opportunities (including scholarships from the ABAA!). [more Rare Book School & Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar Attendees Laud Programs]



Boston Rare Bookseller F.A. Bernett seeks Cataloguer/Bookseller

By Susan Benne

F A Bernett Books of Boston, a charter member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (and members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers and the Verband Deutscher Antiquare) is seeking to fill a long-term, full-time position for a cataloger, bookseller and acquisitions specialist experienced with materials pertaining to the fine arts, architecture and visual culture. The ideal candidate will combine entrepreneurial drive with intellectual curiosity and a passion for art history. Professional requirements include: strong overall writing skills (including knowledge of rare books cataloging) a professional demeanor, proven sales ability an instinct for acquiring materials suitable to our categories of trade a willingness to undertake significant travel foreign language skills, familiarity with the book auction market, and an aptitude for social media marketing (including blogging) are important considerations. Due to the intimate nature of our business, all candidates should be highly motivated self-starters who can perform well as independent members of a collaborative group. Day-to-day activities will include extensive work with out-of-print books and serials, print portfolios, photographic albums, maps, trade catalogs, architectural archives and other materials from antiquity to the present day, as well as contact with museum and academic library personnel.  Our office is a pleasant book-lined loft in downtown Boston, convenient to public tran... [more Boston Rare Bookseller F.A. Bernett seeks Cataloguer/Bookseller]



ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography Submissions

By Susan Benne

ILAB has announced the contenders for the 16th Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, a prestigious competition that occurs every four years. I'm proud to say that four of the candidates are ABAA membersDavid Bromer, Joseph Felcone, Gordon Hollis, and Jeff Weber. The official press release from ILAB and the full list of submissions are below. Best of luck to all these bibliographic scholars! ***** “Bibliographies are, if not the most important tool of an antiquarian bookseller, certainly one of the most important tools of antiquarian booksellers, librarians, scholars, researchers, and collectors. It is therefore only befitting that the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) honours a work in this scholarly field with a prize." -Arnoud Gerits (Secretary, ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography) During the 41st ILAB Congress, preceded by ILAB's International Antiquarian Book Fair, both in Paris in April 2014, and both coinciding with celebrations around the 100th anniversary of the Syndicat national de la Librairie Ancienne et Moderne (SLAM), the 16th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography will be awarded. This prestigious international Prize of $10,000 for a scholarly work in the field of bibliography is awarded every four years. The jury under the direction of Prize Secretary Arnoud Gerits will meet in autumn 2013 to study and to discuss more than 70 books published worldwide which have been submitted to the Prize. The panel of judges consists of three antiquarian ... [more ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography Submissions]



2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Winners Announced!

By Susan Benne

The winners of the 2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest are: First Prize: Elias Serna, University of Califonia-Riverside, The Chicano Movement Second Prize: Ashley Young, Duke University, New Orleans' Nourishing Networks Third Prize: Amanda Zecca, Johns Hopkins University, From Berkeley to Black Mountain Congratulations to our winners! The Awards Ceremony will be held at the Library of Congress on October 18th at 5:30pm. The National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest is an annual competition to recognize outstanding book collecting efforts by college and university students. The NCBCC is administered by the ABAA, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division (the Library of Congress), with major support from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation. For more information on the contest, please visit contest.abaa.org. [more 2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Winners Announced!]



Missing Hugo Wolf Autograph

By Susan Benne

This item is still missing as of 5/25/2019. The following autograph is missing: Hugo Wolf, Austrian composer (1860-1903) Autograph Note Signed on visiting card (business card size), both sides, signed on verso. If you have any information on this item, please contact: J.B. Muns, Fine Arts Books & Musical Autographs Phone: 510-525-2420 email: jbmuns@aol.com [more Missing Hugo Wolf Autograph]



NYC-Based James Cummins Bookseller Seeks Cataloguer/Bookseller

By Susan Benne

JAMES CUMMINS BOOKSELLER of New York City is seeking an experienced antiquarian book cataloguer and rare bookseller, familiar with the full range of material handled by the firm: printed books, manuscripts, autographs, archives, and illustration art. The ideal candidate will have strong writing skills, as well as practical, demonstrable knowledge of descriptive cataloguing (including collation, bibliography, and knowledge of reference sources) from an antiquarian bookselling perspective, with suitable foreign language skills (at least one language beyond English). Sales experience is essential, including the ability to engage new customers, conclude sales, and maintain relations with existing customers. The ideal candidate will have the ability to work as an autonomous member of a small team in cataloguing, buying, researching, and selling rare books, and will have an area of particular expertise or specialization. This is a full-time position. Some travel will be required. Salary commensurate with experience. Please send CV and references to office@jamescumminsbookseller.com. (Website - JCBookseller.com) [more NYC-Based James Cummins Bookseller Seeks Cataloguer/Bookseller]