To mark World Book and Copyright Day, April 23, ABAA booksellers had four “Pop-Up” book fairs around the country, donating the profits to UNESCO. We have reports and pictures from some of the organizers below. (Perhaps they will inspire other booksellers to get involved next year.) Chicago Greetings, Booksellers: I want you to know what happened at the pop-up bookfair the Midwest Chapter organized in Chicago in celebration of World Book and Copyright Day. Read on if interested! Our hard work and effort paid off, and we raised $800 for UNESCO. The venue was beautiful, and everyone seemed busy chatting, buying books from each other, and selling to librarians, Caxton Club members, and retail buyers. Parking kind of sucked for customers, but hey, this is Chicago. Quality fixings for sandwiches from a northwest-side European Deli were prov... [more Pop-Up Book Fairs Raise Funds for UNESCO]

The classic Pauline Baynes' map poster of Middle Earth hung on many bedroom walls in the 1970s. Last year, a map annotated with the edits and instructions from J.R.R. Tolkien to Pauline Baynes while she worked on the illustrated map have come to light, revealing a host of interesting facts about Tolkien's vision and inspiration for Middle Earth. The newly discovered map with annotations by Baynes (blue ink) and Tolkien (green ink). (Source: Blackwell's Rare Books) Baynes was a frequent illustrator of Tolkien's books in the 1950s and '60s, but the map was perhaps their biggest collaboration. Blackwell's Rare Books in London sold a number of items created or owned by Baynes, and a map with annotations by both Baynes and Tolkien was found tucked into the artist's copy of The Lord of the Rings. Entries in Baynes' diary and letters between the... [more Bodleian Acquires Unique Map of Middle Earth]

ABAA members are participating in UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day (April 23, 2016) by organizing several "Pop-Up" Book Fairs around the country. The Pop-Up Books Fairs are organized by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the parent organization of the ABAA. From the ILAB: What do a film star, the children in South Sudan, and 1,800 booksellers on 5 continents have in common? They are some of the essential components of a worldwide series of events to create a more literate world. On 23 April 2016, the members of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) will celebrate UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day with a series of spectacular and extraordinary bookish events -- for 24 hours, one after another around the world. Last year and for the very first time, ILAB booksellers decided to think global and... [more ABAA Pop Up Book Fairs]

ABAA members will be bringing their best items to the 56th annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair during the second week of April, 2016. Below, we have a few highlights from our members (in no particular order): exceedingly rare books, unique records, and one-of-a-kind ephemera to give a brief flavor of the treasures that await discovery in New York. Members submitted so many featured items that we've had to split the list into two parts. This is part two, click here to view the first batch of featured items... William Blake, “The Ancient of Days” (Europe, pl. 1). Relief and white-line etching, 1794, printed in blue ink, probably in 1794 by Blake, image and platemark 23.4 x 16.8 cm. on a leaf of wove paper 24.4 x 17.7 cm. Mounted in a window cut into a backing leaf, pen and ink framing lines on the mount which is also inscribed in penc... [more Featured Items: New York Book Fair (Part 2)]

More than 200 rare book dealers, including many ABAA members, from around the world are preparing to exhibit at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena, CA over the weekend of February 12-14, 2016. Below, we present -- in no particular order -- a selection of featured items that ABAA members are bringing to California. Carroll, Lewis (Dodgson, Charles). Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. London: William Heinemann & New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1907. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. First trade edition. Signed by Rackham with an original pen and ink drawing of a winged Gryphon and dated 23.3.08 on the half-title page. Original publisher's cloth, housed in a gilt-decorated custom brown half-morocco fleece-lined folding box. The deluxe limited issue of Rackham's "Alice" was not signed by Rackham because he was traveli... [more Featured Items: CA Book Fair]

The schedule for the 49th California International Antiquarian Book Fair (Pasadena, February 12-14, 2016) has been announced, and it promises to be fascinating. Although the main attraction of the California Book Fair is, as always, the opportunity to search through the collections and rare treasures brought to Pasadena by the more than 200 exhibiting booksellers from over 30 different countries -- and buy a few rarities to complete your own collections -- the organizers have planned a host of interesting and educational activities for the fair weekend. Focus on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lecture: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: How One Small Girl Changed the World -- An Illustrated Talk by Chris Loker. On February 13th, the Bibliographical Society of America will host ABAA-member and author (One Hundred Books Famous in Children's... [more California Book Fair 2016]

There are many rare book fairs of varying size taking place around the country in January and February. Whether you are a beginning collector of an old hand, book fairs are a great opportunity to inspect the offerings of a great many dealers, hunt for elusive books and ephemera, and meet like-minded bibliophiles. Papermania Plus Antique Paper Show When: Saturday January 9, 10am-5pm and Sunday January 10, 10am-4pm Where: Hartford, CT Info: http://papermaniaplus.com/ Note: Free Appraisal Day (Sunday, 11am-2pm) “Bring in an item related to the context of the show and we will be glad to have one of our many exhibitors assist you with finding out about your 'treasure'!” Greater Los Angeles Postcard and Paper Show When: Saturday January 9, 10am-5pm and Sunday January 10, 10am-4pm Where: Glendale, CA Info: http://www.postcardshows.com/Glenda... [more Upcoming Antiquarian Book Fairs]

In 1941, Knopf published Theodore Roethke's first collection of poetry, Open House, in a hand-numbered edition of 1000 copies. The book was lavishly praised and launched Roethke's brilliant career, which led to a Pulitzer Prize (The Waking, 1954) and two National Book Awards (Words for the Wind, 1959, and The Far Field, 1965). The Theodore Roethke Museum in Saginaw, Michigan, has decided to mark the 75th anniversary of Open House's publication with an "online census" to attempt to track down every surviving hand-numbered copy of Open House, and collate the stories of the various volumes and their collectors. OPEN HOUSE - A Volume of Poetry (Limited Edition) New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1941. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A very nice copy of this rare Roethke title in a dustjacket with some soiling ... [more Calling All Theodore Roethke Fans]

Some of the most-expensive books in the world are going on tour. The Folger Shakespeare Library is sending several First Folios to partner institutions around the country -- one in each state -- so people can view the famous books upclose and personal. WIlliam Shakespeare's First Folio is a remarkable thing. Compiled just seven years after the great man died, the Folio (so-called because of how the book was printed — “When two leaves (four pages when printed on both sides) were printed on a sheet so that it could be folded once, collated with other folded sheets and bound, the format of the volume was a folio." — from the ABAA Glossary of Book Terms) was created by two actors who knew Shakespeare and would have had access to original drafts (referred to be the delicious term “foul papers” as they would have presumably been cover... [more First Folio on Tour]

Over the course of a year, the various ABAA bloggers write frequently about the significance of individual books, their rarity, their historical significance, and occasionally their value. However, far more often the significance of a rare book is much more personal and idiosyncratic. For many of us, the thrill of the hunt or the surprise of the find makes books memorable, and book collectors are far more likely to have stories of books unexpectedly found in unlikely places than items of great value. Rebecca Rego Barry's new book, Rare Books Uncovered, is dedicated to the stories of the favorite finds, the books discovered in unlikely places that collectors remember years, even decades later. Barry -- whose day-job is as editor of Fine Books & Collections Magazine -- has interviewed dozens of collectors and booksellers -- including a grea... [more Rare Books Uncovered: True Tales of Fantastic Finds]