The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Hynes Convention Center for its 41st year, November 10-12, 2017. One of the largest rare book fairs in the country, the 2017 Boston Book Fair will host more than 120 dealers from Argentina, Australia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and Russia, as well as from all over the United States, including many ABAA members! Special events at this year's Fair include a bookbinding demonstration by British book artist Mark Cockram; Ricky Jay, the world's greatest sleight-of-hand artist discussing Magic, Cheaters & Remarkable Characters; the largest exhibition on American icon Henry David Thoreau ever mounted will be the subject of two talks by curators Christine Nelson (The Morgan Library & Museum) and David Wood (The Concord Museum) — the exhibition, "This Ever New Self," is currently on view at the Concord Museum in Concord MA (through January 21) and was on view at the Morgan this past summer; as well as the 16th annual Ticknor Society Roundtable discussion. Where: Hynes Convention Center 900 Boylston Street Boston, MA When: Friday, November 10 5:00-9:00pm Opening Night Tickets: $20.00 Saturday, November 11 12:00-7:00pm Free Admission Sunday, November 12 12:00-5:00pm Free Admission Highlights! Among the highlighted items for sale at this year's fair will be the David Powers Collection of John F. Kennedy speeches and manuscripts, spanning the statesman's political career from his first race in 1946... [more 41st Boston Book Fair]
Book Fairs
Even if you are not able to be in Oakland for the 50th annual California International Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend, you can still browse some of the dealer's material (virtually) through their fair catalogs. We've collected catalogs by ABAA members below. Enjoy! Athena Rare Books Booth 1005 Boreas Fine Art Booth 418 James Cummins Bookseller Booth 217 Eclectibles Booth 918 Donald A. Heald Rare Books Booth 301 Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Booth 311 Honey & Wax Booksellers Booth 903 John Howell for Books Booth 914 Kaaterskill Books Booth 106 Ken Lopez Bokseller Booth 1015 Liber Antiquus Booth 213 Jeffrey D. Mancevice Booth 417 Musinsky Rare Books Booth 108 Abby Schoolman Books Booth 102 B&L Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts Booth 103 Michael R. Thompson Rare Books Booth 915 John WIndle Antiquarian Bookseller Booth 205 **This page will be updated as more catalogs are published!** Browse selected highlights from the 2017 California Antiquarian Book Fair here... [more California Book Fair: Catalogs]
You've no doubt heard the great news that Assembly Bill 228 has been introduced by California State Assembly Members Gloria and Chiu. If passed, this bill will provide significant relief from the most troubling and onerous provisions of AB 1570, California's new autograph law. The ABAA, IOBA, PBA Galleries, and The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, The Manuscript Society, The Ephemera Society, The Professional Autograph Dealers Association, Horror Writers Association, The Grolier Club, Biblio and The Easton Press have formally expressed support for this pending legislation in the linked letters. The legislative process is long and complicated. Bills pass through policy committees in each house of the legislature and the process takes many months. What this bill needs to help ensure that it becomes law is your support. We encourage members and interested parties to write a letter of support for AB 228 addressed to the bill's primary author: Assemblymember Todd Gloria P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249-0078 You can also add your name and comments to the change.org petition. We'll keep you updated on progress here. [more Assembly Bill 228 Introduced to Address Consequences of California Autograph Law]
The 50th annual California International Antiquarian Book Fair will take place in Oakland, CA from February 10-12, 2017. Recognized as one of the world's largest and most prestigious exhibitions of antiquarian books, the California Book Fair gives visitors the opportunity to see, learn about and purchase the finest in rare and valuable books, manuscripts, autographs, graphics, photographs and more. Where: The 50th California International Antiquarian Book Fair Oakland Marriott City Center 1001 Broadway Oakland, California When: Friday, February 10 (3pm to 8pm) Saturday, February 11 (11am to 7pm) Sunday, February 12 (11am to 5pm) Largest Book Fair on the West Coast Featuring the collections and rare treasures of 200 booksellers from the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, the California Book Fair will present volumes from five centuries of printing, as well as original manuscripts that predate Gutenberg. Books will cover every imaginable area of interest -- from the history of travel and exploration, early science and medicine to classic literature, modern first editions, children's and illustrated books, and the arts. Items range in price from a few dollars to more than six figures. Special Events This year's California Book Fair will include a special exhibit from The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, which has a long history of collecting the literary fiction of California, highli... [more California Book Fair Celebrates 50 Years]
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. Tune in next week for another sneak-peak at items you'll find at this year's New York Antiquarian Book Fair. (For more details on the book fair, click here...) BODMER, Karl (1809-1893, illustrator) -- Prince Maximilian zu WIED-NEUWIED (1782-1867). Voyage dans l'Intérieur de l'Amérique du Nord execute pendant les années 1832, 1833 et 1834. Paris: Chez Arthus Bertrand, 1840-1843. 4 volumes (text: 3 volumes, 8vo (9 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches); atlas: 1 oblong folio (17 x 23 1/2 inches)). French text: Half-titles, 1 lithographic plan, 31 plates of wood-engraved vignettes, 6 wood-engraved illustrations, large engraved folding map. Atlas: 81 engraved and aquatint plates (48 large aquatint tableau plates (19 hand coloured), 33 vignette plates on full folio sheets (7 hand coloured), all after Bodmer. The greatest illustrated American travel narrative and the most important depiction of American Indians in the frontier era: a very rare issue with the best plates hand-coloured. (Offered by Donald A. Heald Rare Books) KNAUSGÅRD, Karl Ove. Min Kamp. Bok 1. O... [more Featured Items: New York Book Fair (Part 1)]
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 kinetic character study accomplished relatively early in the career of the renowned American painter John Trumbull, in preparation for one of his rare mythological scenes. The present drawing was done by Trumbull during his second visit to London, while studying in Benjamin West's studio. Signed and dated "London Dec 22d 1784" on the verso, it is a study for the following year's large-scale painting titled Priam Returning to his Family the Dead Body of Hector, one of the artist's only major works on a mythological topic. The group studied here, comprising five Trojan mourners including a woman with her two small children, appears on the left side o... [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 of literary luminaries, influencers, celebrities, art, design and book enthusiasts and collectors both seasoned and entry level. In recent years, the NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Fair highlights encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children's books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual, to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics, the NYIABF boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject! This year, the NYIABF... [more New York Book Fair 2024]
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 committed to documenting, cataloging, and disseminating oppositional political culture of the late 20th century. His books include Revolucion! Cuban Poster Art (2003), Visions of Peace & Justice: 30 Years of Political Posters from the Archives of Inkworks Press (2007) and Agitate! Educate! Organize! - American Labor Posters (2009). He curated the 2012 exhibition All Of Us Or None — Poster Art of the San Francisco Bay Area at the Oakland Museum of California and is the author of its catalog. 2:30pm Typographic Jazz, The Monoprints of Jack Stauffacher Rob Saunders | Executive Director and Curator, Letterform Archive Based on the exhibit currently a... [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 produced on a glass plate, viewed as a positive by the addition of a black backing; sometimes this backing is a piece of velvet and other times, such as the present one, a thin varnish. The ruby-red quality of the glass is quite apparent. 1856-1858 were the peak years of the ambrotype, into which this example falls. But just as the ambro was displacing the daguerreotype, the care-de-visite and the tintype were waiting in the wings, about to displace this technique. The Cole image was popularized on campaign ribbons and button ferrotypes during the 1860 presidential campaign. Probably obtained during that campaign, kept in a drawer, and then,... [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 to the Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast Program that began in Oakland. In the words of author Michael Pollan: “To spend time in an Edible Schoolyard is to realize how much more is going on here than teaching kids how to garden or cook....The Edible Schoolyard is an eloquent and practical answer to some of the most pressing questions facing us as a society.” In recent years, Kinmont has been working to expand the idea of gastronomy to include issues around economic precarity. Realizing that most culinary historians focus on food for the top 1% of the population, Kinmont has “been looking for works that reveal the role of gastronomy i... [more Meet Alice Waters at the California Book Fair]