The California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to San Francisco in 2024! The fair will take place February 9-11 at Pier 27, a new venue located on the Embarcadero between Fisherman's Wharf and the Ferry Building. The building is well-appointed, with remarkable views of the San Francisco Bay and downtown San Francisco. There is easy access for visitors, ample parking, and nearby public transportation, including San Francisco's historic street cars. The neighborhood is bright and open, frequented by tourists, and well-loved by locals. There are numerous restaurants in the neighborhood and a wide range of hotels. In addition, the Exploratorium, Coit Tower, North Beach, and City Lights Bookshop are all within a short walk. The new venue promises to be popular, and we strongly encourage you to register soon! The dates of the fair a... [more 2024 California Book Fair Registration Open]
One thing that distinguishes the book collector from the casual reader is a preference for owning first editions. What is a First Edition? A first edition is the format a book took when it was first made available for sale. The ABAA glossary of book terms states: First Edition: “All of the copies printed from the first setting of type; can include multiple printings if all are from the same setting of type.” Collectors distinguish between a first edition (the first printing of a book) and a modern first edition (which more-or-less applies to books printed from 1900 on -- although, the exact definition is open to debate between dealers). What is a First Printing? The first printing is the first batch of books printed from this first setting of type. For a small press, this might be the only printing a book gets, so all copies are first... [more Identifying First Editions]
Meet the antiquarian booksellers accepted as members of the ABAA in 2022. Full Members: Scott Brasseur, gallerybfa Scott Brasseur originated in central West Virginia but now resides in western Pennsylvania. After graduating from WVU with a marketing degree in 1984, he spent the next 20 years travelling the U.S. in corporate sales and marketing. After collecting and selling antiques “part time” for most of his life, he finally succumbed to the antiques lure and traded in his job in 2003 to start his business full time. Operating the business under the name gallerybfa, Scott conducts his sales both online and as an exhibitor at shows. His focus is on unique items and historic Americana which includes photography, archives, manuscripts, ephemera and U.S. flags. He particularly enjoys researching an archive, often giving the subject a cha... [more The Latest Members of the ABAA]
Join the ABAA-Public Google Group, a listserv where ABAA members announce select books for sale, share information on their participation in upcoming book fairs, and showcase their recent catalogs! The ABAA-Public Google Group is a read-only email group, so email traffic is kept to a minimum and only ABAA members can announce books for sale — ensuring all items are in full compliance with our Code of Ethics. Subscribers to the group can opt to receive emails individually, or have each day's emails combined into a daily digest to limit the number of emails they receive. Subscribing to the ABAA-Public Google Group You must have a Google Account to subscribe to receive emails from the ABAA-Public Google Group. You can create a Google Account without changing your non-Google email address here. Once logged in to your Google account, you can... [more Introducing the ABAA-Public Google Group]
ABAA members provide a few pointers for beginning collectors who might be considering attending an antiquarian book fair for the first time. Members Lorne Bair, Michael Hackenberg, and John Windle provide some advice gleaned from decades of book fair attendance. Ask Questions/Develop Relationships with the Dealers Veteran bookseller John Windle notes that "a good, close, trusting connection to a dealer will yield the best possible results," so book fairs present a valuable opportunity to get to know many dealers, and let them get to know you and your interests as a collector. Lorne Bair agrees, adding that his "number one piece of advice to beginning collectors attending their first book fair is to ask questions! Antiquarian booksellers as a rule get very few opportunities to talk about their books with people who are genuinely interested... [more Attending Your First Book Fair]
The upcoming 55th California International Antiquarian Book Fair (February 10-12 at the Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, CA) will feature several special exhibitions including: Helen Brown: Bibliophile and Champion of West Coast Cuisine Paying homage to Helen Brown, the inventor of “California Cuisine,” this event will include some of Brown's inscribed material, her correspondence with fellow iconic food writer, M.F.K. Fisher, copies of The Californian Magazine featuring Brown's column, and books given to Helen Brown inscribed by James Beard, Alice B. Toklas, and other food luminaries. Curated by Randy Tarpey-Schwed. The Game's Afoot: Collecting Sherlock Holmes Drawing on the Ned Guymon Collection of Mystery and Detective Fiction at Occidental College, this exhibition will focus on the collection's Sherlock Holmes holdings, feat... [more Special Events at the California Book Fair]
We hope you'll be able to join us at some of our upcoming book fairs this year. BIBLIOGRAPHY WEEK SHOWCASE January 25, 2023 Join 32 exhibitors offering books, maps, ephemera, and more for sale at the Bibliography Week Showcase. The Showcase takes place in conjunction with Bibliography Week. Learn more about the 2023 Bibliography Week Showcase... CALIFORNIA INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR February 10-12, 2023 This three-day event presents rare and collectable books, manuscripts, letters, maps, photographs, original artwork, and all manner of paper ephemera from booksellers around the world. Learn more about the 55th California International Antiquarian Book Fair... 63RD NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR April 27-30, 2023 Universally referred to as the world's finest antiquarian book fair, the Antiquarian Booksellers' Asso... [more 2023 ABAA Book Fairs]
This fascinating blog post about the history of vellum and parchment is written by Richard Norman, an experienced British bookbinder now living in France, where he runs Eden Wookshops with his wife and fellow bookbinder, Margaret, specializing in Family Bibles and liturgical books. The article originally appeared on www.edenworkshops.com, and is reprinted below with the author's permission. --Editor According to the Roman Varro and Pliny's Natural History, vellum and parchment were invented under the patronage of Eumenes of Pergamum, as a substitute for papyrus, which was temporarily not being exported from Alexandria, its only source. Herodotus mentions writing on skins as common in his time, the 5th century BC; and in his Histories (v.58) he states that the Ionians of Asia Minor had been accustomed to give the name of skins (diphtherai)... [more The History Of Vellum And Parchment]
From February 10–12, 2023, thousands of book lovers, rare-book dealers, and scholars will converge at the Pasadena Convention Center for the 55th California International Antiquarian Book Fair. Recognized as one of the world's largest and most pre-eminent exhibitions of antiquarian books, the California Book Fair gives visitors a chance to see, learn about and purchase the finest in rare and valuable books, manuscripts, modern first editions, children's books, ephemera, maps, autographs and more. The California Book Fair's 2023 edition promises an eclectic mix of special collection exhibits highlighting a noteworthy range of topics, including: The Game's Afoot: Collecting Sherlock Holmes – featuring materials from Occidental College's special collection of perennial favorite Sherlock Holmes; Helen Brown: Bibliophile and Champion of We... [more 2023 California Book Fair]
We asked the winners of the 2022 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest about their collections, and learned about the importance of physical media during the Covid pandemic! First Prize Daria Rose Evdokimova (Harvard University): "Ardis Publishers and the Immigrant Identity." ABAA: Could you give us a brief description of your collection? DRE: My collection focuses on the publishing house Ardis Publishers, the first (and only) US-based publishing house which focused on Russian and Soviet literature. More specifically the majority of my collection consists of Ardis editions of works by Vladimir Nabokov and Joseph Brodsky. Both of these authors were born in Saint Petersburg and eventually immigrated to the US for political reasons. As someone who was exiled from Russia for political reasons as well, I feel a very personal connection t... [more Meet the 2022 NCBCC Winners]