A roundup of the latest news from the rare book world. Rare Proof Copy of The Bell Jar Found A rare 1962 pre-publication proof copy of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar -- then attributed to Plath's pseudonym, Victoria Jucas -- has sat in an English woman's spare room for the last 25 years. The proof shows several late edits to the manuscript, including several character names that were subsequently changed. Read more... International Conference on Rare Book Thefts Alarmed by “thefts of rare books, maps and manuscripts from national libraries “around the world, including the wholesale plunder and then destruction of museums and libraries in Syria and Iraq, the first ever conference on the trade in illegally acquired antiquities is being convened in London next month. Read the story... Do German Auction Houses Support Terrorism? On the same ... [more Rare Book News]

Back of Beyond Books in Moab, UT, have awarded their second annual literary scholarship to support a local high school graduate starting college. Owner Andrew Nettell explained that he started the scholarship program last year because he felt it was "time to give back to the community." Noting that "our high school typically graduates fewer than 100 students each year, and we have a tourist-based economy and would be considered a blue-collar town," Nettell concluded that "it is heartening to assist kids in their collegiate dreams." The store's application criteria includes plans to go on to a two or four year institution, preferably in the liberal arts. To apply, each student must write an essay on how and why literature and reading have positively affected their lives; submit reading lists for the past year, as well as a list of favorite... [more Back of Beyond Books Literary Scholarship]

The ABAA has recently approved several new members, all of whom have successfully proven themselves to be, in the words of the ABAA Guarantee, "established, knowledgeable, and of excellent reputation." These new members were sponsored by existing members, and have undergone a rigorous screening process. We welcome the newest members of the ABAA. James M. W. Borg, Ph.D., Borg Antiquarian, Lake Forest, IL "As a RELIC from the 70's, I've returned in my 70's to a more challenging antiquarian bookselling world. A doubter of Christian NON-Science at 6, I converted to Huxleyan "Agnosticism" at 13, though I've retained a profound interest in the History of Religions. At the U of Michigan, I studied English & history. Served as an Army officer during Vietnam; then earned my Ph.D. from Northwestern focusing on 19th c. English lit (disst. on E.B. Br... [more New Members: May 2015]

Miegan Gordon of Asheville, NC's Captain's Bookshelf got a surprise last month when she opened the store. A copy of Billy Collins' poetry collection Nine Horses (a signed first edition, no less) was looking a little worse for wear. It was full of holes punched from front to back, and the author photo had been altered to make Collins look like a silent movie villain, complete with curling mustaches, goatee and an evil-looking eyebrows. At first, the store staff wondered if somebody had hacked at it with an ice pick. But, after local police stopped by to compile a report, the officers recognized what had actually happened to the book: it had been blasted with a shotgun, probably a .410, they remarked. The damage is most apparent from the spine view. Asheville is where I make my home, so I popped over to the Captain's Bookshelf to view this ... [more Extreme Poetry Criticism]

Among the many reasons we'll be sorry to see the end of Mad Men is the bravura way the writers have woven literary references into the show. Characters have been seen reading books that were popular at the time as well as obscure volumes that explored themes they would have found very meaningful at the time. We went back through the DVD box-sets, and noted the major titles featured and a few of the more interesting minor ones. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Way back in season one, Rand's objectivism was established as an influence on Don's character: driven, selfish, and ambitious. The book was recommended to Don by Bert Cooper, and from Don's confident and egotistical pitch to a client in episode eight, he appears to have taken it to heart. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner After bedding Joy in season two, Don sees her reading The S... [more The Books of Mad Men]

A few select items offered by ABAA members for the week of May 4th 2015, also known as (Intergalactic) Star Wars Day... Star Wars: From The Adventures Of Luke Skywalker by George Lucas Ballantine, 1976. First Edition. Mass Market Paperback (Offered by Yesterday's Muse, Inc.) A long time ago, in a childhood far, far away, many of us read this novelization of a new movie called Star Wars. Although credited to George Lucas, the book was actually ghostwritten by science-fiction author Alan Dean Foster. The book was released six months before the film -- in order to be on shelves for Christmas 1976 -- so several plot points differ from the final movie, which was still being edited when Foster received his synopsis. The tsunami of Star Wars merchandise that folowed the film's unexpected success has obscured the fact that it all started with thi... [more Featured Items]

A roundup of some recent rare book news. 1000-Year-Old Manuscript Contains Cure for Antibiotic-Resistant Infection If ever you need to explain the importance of preserving old books, cite this story! Bald's Leechbook, and Old English manuscript in the collection of the British Library contains a 9th-Century Anglo-Saxon salve for eye infections. Researchers have found that it cures one of the scourges of modern hospitals, the antibiotic-resistant infection MRSA. Demonstrating that ancient medicine wasn't all leeches and quackery. More on this story from the BBC... Books Presumed Stolen from NYPL Re-appear After 24 Years FBI seize them... A Book the Pope Couldn't Burn Rediscovered A rare copy of Varia Opuscula Theologica by Doctoris Francisco Suarez, which was banned but the Pope and ordered burned in 1679, was found in a charity shop in th... [more Rare Book News]

The description a rare book dealer lists in a database or catalog entry is far, far more than simply a list of bland descriptors (format, publication date, publisher, condition, etc.) such as one finds at online retailers of new books (whose goal is to sell an infinite number of identical, flawless -- and thus featureless -- copies). The experience and knowledge a rare book dealer brings to bear allows him or her to recognize some of the history of an individual volume, and to establish its provenance. John Carter defines “Provenance” (in his classic reference guide ABC for Book Collectors) as “The pedigree of a book's previous ownership.” While it's not necessary for a book to have had distinguished previous owners to be rare or valuable, volumes that enter the realm of “Association Copy” because of a previous owner's connect... [more What is an Association Copy?]

Priya Parmar is the author of the acclaimed novel Vanessa and Her Sister, which tells the story of the complicated relationship between the painter Vanessa Bell and her sister, the novelist Virginia Woolf. As her medium was visual art, Bell has been somewhat overshadowed by Woolf's vast legacy of novels, stories, and essays. Parmar's achievement is to bring Vanessa to vibrant life on the page, showing her to be the "linchpin" of the Bloomsbury set, possessed of an unexpectedly modern sensibility. We spoke with Parmar about her extensive research, which included moving to London to walk the same streets as the Stephens' sisters and access the various archives of Bell and Woolf's papers. ABAA: What piqued your interest in Vanessa Bell and the Bloomsbury group? Priya Parmar: I read a letter that Vanessa Bell wrote in 1905. Clive Bell had pro... [more Researching Vanessa Bell & Bloomsbury]

To mark UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day on April 23, 2015, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (an organization that encompasses twenty national associations representing antiquarian booksellers who sell books, manuscripts, prints, and maps in thirty countries around the world, including the ABAA) is sponsoring a series of Pop-Up Book Fairs around the world to raise awareness of their belief that "reading is a fundamental human right" and to raise money to support UNESCO's South Sudan Project. (link?) Why April 23rd? 23 April is a symbolic date for world literature. It is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors around the world, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel... [more ILAB Pop-Up Book Fairs]