Recently, I became hooked on a video game for the first time since I was a teenager in the early days of home computers. While my children checked Instagram in the evenings, I would fire up Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes on my phone. After my wife began to tease me for becoming as much a phone slave as the kids, I began to think about why this game interested me so much. And then it hit me, it's the digital equivalent of my major collecting interest: vintage Star Wars toys. I've collected Star Wars figures since the late 1970s, when I could actually achieve the collector's ideal: owning a complete set of all the figures in existence. The toy industry quickly moved such aspirations far, far beyond my financial means, but I never fully gave up collecting Star Wars figures even as other interests and obsessions came and went. Today, I have an a... [more Why Do We Collect?]

Dr. Samuel J. Hessel died last September of pancreatic cancer. A radiologist by training, he gradually turned an interest in rare books into a second career as an antiquarian book dealer after his retirement from the medical profession in the mid-1990s. He later served on the ABAA board of directors as treasurer. Several ABAA members offered remembrances of Samuel Hessel: Michael Thompson writes: Dear fellow booksellers and all friends of Sam Hessel, I feel that I must write a letter, but it is too hard. I still hurt too much. I am envious of the ability of the writers of so many letters; They describe Sam so perfectly and give him so much praise and tribute that I can't imagine doing better. I too knew Sam for many years, practically from the beginning of his partnership with Jim Manwarren. Not traveling to Phoenix all that much, most of... [more In Memoriam: Dr. Samuel J. Hessel, 1945-2015]

On Black Friday, I got an email from Barnes & Noble trumpeting their (discounted) signed books! The most notable thing about the email -- besides their rather dubious claim to have the greatest selection of signed books “in the world” 1 -- was that this was their primary marketing message, the pitch they were pinning their financial hopes on: signed books were going to make their Black Friday a success. This email highlighted for me something that I've noticed growing over the past few years: a new emphasis on signed books, a new belief in the value of an author's signature. To put this in context, six years ago I worked for a small publisher and spent my time calling on bookstores trying to get them excited about our books. Occasionally, we would have a novel with breakout potential, and an additional challenge would then be to get i... [more First Edition Clubs]

Two ABAA members have received presigious awards recently. At the 73rd World Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention during the Hugo Awards Ceremony, David Aronovitz of The Fine Books Company was awarded the very prestigious "San Moskowitz Archive Award.” It is a Lifetime Achievement Award given to excellence in amassing a world class collection and publishing books which emanate from the collection. Arongvitz has published 19 books to date and is the 14th person to be given this award. For an example of his collection, see this hand-corrected manuscript of Robert Heinlein's novel Friday, which he recently listed. Bob Fleck of Oak Knoll Books was awarded the ILAB Medal during the 2015 October Seville Presidents' Meeting “in recognition of services rendered to the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers” over several decades o... [more Members Receiving Awards]

Join us at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts November 8-10, for the 46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair! With more than 100 rare book dealers from the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, the UK, and 19 U.S. states, an alluring treasure trove awaits seasoned bibliophiles and first-time attendees at the Fair. Here is a small selection of items to preview the treasures you will find in Boston. Original Artwork by the "Painter of the Revolution" John Trumbull: ORIGINAL PEN AND INK CHARACTER STUDY FOR HIS PAINTING, Priam Returning to his Family the Dead Body of Hector, DEPICTING A GROUP OF FIVE DISTRAUGHT TROJAN MOURNERS. London.: December 22, 1784 5¾ x 6½ inches (14¾ x 16½ cm). Light tanning, some old creases to the paper. Near fine. Matted and framed. $25,000.00 A vibrant and kineti... [more Boston Book Fair Highlights]

The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) -- officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates -- returns to the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from April 4-7, 2024, for its 64th Edition. This year, the ABAA is celebrating its 75th anniversary and will present a series of special events & programs tied to the Fair. The NYIABF is a cultural pillar of New York and returns as a much-anticipated highlight of the spring season. Universally referred to as the world's finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF features nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world -- continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. The Fair attracts a diverse audience... [more New York Book Fair 2024]

Meet the latest members of the ABAA. Full Membership Robin Beck, Primary Sources, Uncharted Americana Born and raised in the foothills of western North Carolina, Rob Beck came to bookselling after twenty years of deep and focused collecting in a very narrow slice of the Americana pie. In 2017, he and his wife, Laoma, launched Primary Sources, Uncharted Americana, specializing in rare, unique, or unusual American paper, whether printed, manuscript, or visual. Primary Sources is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and operates primarily through catalogues, having issued seven to date. Rob received his BA in Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill, his MA in Anthropology from the University of Alabama, and his PhD in Anthropology from Northwestern. He has been a professional archaeologist for more than thirty years and has worked in Bolivia, Peru, ... [more The Latest Members of the ABAA]

The 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair (Feb. 9-11, 2024) will feature several presentations from leading experts from around the Golden State. Saturday, February 10, 2024 1:00pm Liberation Through Duplication: Press Power of the Long 1960s Lincoln Cushing | Independent archivist and historian, Docs Populi | Instructor, University of California, Berkeley This presentation explores a marginalized segment of the printed ephemera world during the 1960s and 1970s - politically motivated propaganda. Activists who'd never before even touched a press or a squeegee learned how to print as a means to an end. Much of this material was rough around the edges but full of spirit and style. Lincoln Cushing has at various times been a printer, artist, archivist, author, and academic librarian at the University of California. He is commit... [more CA Book Fair: Speaker Schedule]

The California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to San Francisco February 9-11. Widely recognized as one of the world's largest exhibitions of antiquarian books for sale, more than 100 exhibitors from around the world will present rare books, maps, illustrations, historical documents, and ephemera on a vast array of subjects and genres. Here is a small preview of the material exhibitors will have available. THE UNIQUE ORIGINAL AMBROTYPE Ostendorf #14. Housed in an 1865 period frame, with mourning ribbons setting off the ambrotype at the corners. Cole, Roderick A. (attributed) Abraham Lincoln. Ninth-Plate Ruby Glass Ambrotype. Peoria Illinois: circa 1858. Displayed in a plain, but handsome, period wooden frame with the back opened in order to observe the painted backing and the “ruby-red” tone. Ambrotypes are negative images... [more California Book Fair Preview]

Renowned chef, restaurateur, and pioneer of California cuisine, Alice Waters will be a guest at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair on Saturday, February 10, where she will appear at California bookseller Ben Kinmont's booth (#217) for a book signing at 3pm. The event is a fundraiser for The Edible Schoolyard, a project to transform the food experience that Waters began in a public middle school in Berkeley, California, in 1995, and which has now grown to serve public schools throughout the United States and abroad. This “edible education” program increases children's understanding of nutrition, farming, and the preparation of food, and views gastronomy as connected to economics, social justice and climate change. It is also part of a much longer history, from the emergence of soup kitchens during the French Revolution ... [more Meet Alice Waters at the California Book Fair]