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Blog posts by Susan Benne

Susan is the Executive Director of the ABAA. She collects material on Brooklyn as well as ephemera and vernacular photography. Susan is focused on making the book trade diverse and equitable.


On November 18, 2010, the following items were stolen from the Complete Travel and Antiquated Bookstore: -3 Volume set of Richard Burton's Journey to Mecca and Medina -Limited, signed edition of The Holy Land AMC Black publishers -2 Polish volumes of Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell -First edition of Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell with dust jacket and slipcover -Revolt in the Desert by T.E. Lawrence The suspect was described as a white male, approximately 40 years old, medium build, dark hair, possibly Eastern European but spoke fluent English. If you have any information, please contact: Detective James M. Knight, NYPD 212-826-3217 James.Knight@NYPD.org [more Several Items Stolen from the Complete Travel and Antiquated Bookstore in NY, NY]

These books were still reported missing as of May 29, 2019. Over the last few months books belonging to the "Botanical Library of Harrison G. Yocum" have gone missing from Tucson, Arizona. These range in age from seventeenth century botanical works to modern books on plants and gardening. They can be identified by the owner's name "Harrison G. Yocum" and/or the statement "Botanical Library of Harrison G. Yocum" on a Front endpaper in a flowery handwriting. To the best of our knowledge NO Books from this collection have as yet been legitimately deaccessioned by the current owners. At least one ABAA member has already been contacted concerning one or more volumes. We would appreciate any information concerning books from this Collection and the individual(s) offering this material. Thank you for your assistance. Michelle G. Conklin, CFRE Ex... [more Books Missing from the "Botanical Library of Harrison G. Yocum"]

Take a moment to check out some of the interviews from Mike Ginsberg's Video Archive Project. With the help of Taylor Bowie and Kara McLaughlin, Mike produced almost 100 interviews with ABAA members, and hoped to eventually complete 200-250 videos. These interviews provide a wonderful snapshot of the rich history of both the ABAA and the rare book trade. We thank Mike for his hard work on the project, which continued until his passing in 2023. You can also view ILAB Booksellers on Video [more Michael Ginsberg ABAA Video Archives]

An extremely rare Mormon book, an 1837 first edition Parley P. Pratt's A Voice of Warning, has been offered for sale on eBay with a buy-it-now price tag of $75,000; at auction, the book would be expected to bring in between $75,000-$100,000. The Library of Congress, the Community of Christ (formerly the RDLS Church), the LDS Church and Brigham Young University all have at least one first edition copy of A Voice of Warning, but there have only been three public sales of the edition in the past two decades. After his baptism as a Mormon in 1830, Pratt delved into the religion and was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1835, and soon thereafter became the most influential writer in early Mormonism (he was dubbed "the Father of Mormon Pamphleteering"). A Voice of Warning "established the basic arguments and exposito... [more Very Rare Mormon Text Offered on eBay]

Several volumes from an Antique Shakespeare collection were stolen in Berkeley, CA on October 21, 2010. TITLE: The Plays and Poems of Shakespeare With a Life, Glossarial Notes, and One Hundred and Seventy Illustrations from the plates in Boydell's Edition PUBLISHER: A. J. Valpy, London DATE: 1832-1833 DESCRIPTION: Volumes 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 and 14 stolen from 15-volume collection. Brown leather binding with gilt trim. Marbled end-papers. Name in white sticker on inside front cover: Leon and May Levy If you have any information regarding any of these volumes, please contact Melissa Schwarz (510) 644-2344. [more Several Volumes of Antique Shakespeare Collection Stolen]

A first edition of D.H. Lawrence's The Rainbow, with an illustrated dust jacket, is expected to bring in between $28,000 and $40,000 when it is auctioned off by Sotheby's London on October 28. Even without the dust jacket, a first edition of the novel is valuable, going for about $1,600 depending on condition, because, out of the original 2,527 copies printed in 1915, 1,195 copies were destroyed after the book was banned under the Obscene Publications Act. This left only 1,332 first editions in existence, of which very few are believed to still have their dust jackets intact. Two other D.H. Lawrence first editions will be sold alongside this rare copy of The Rainbow; a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover in a rare dust jacket and a limited edition English-issue copy of Women in Love, number 31 of 50 copies signed by Lawrence. These books are ... [more Rare D.H. Lawrence Books at Auction]