Today, a collection of over 600 rare bookswhat some are calling "the last great private library "will be auctioned off in New Zealand. The books were collected by Arthur Pycroft, a prominent Auckland naturalist and scholar. Pycroft earned his living as a senior manager of NZ Railways, but his passions were ornithology and natural history, which he delved into with dedicated research and during personal explorations of Hen Island, Little Barrier, the Kermadecs, and Melanesia. At the age of 50, Pycroft received a hefty inheritance and was able to retire and devote himself to his passions full time. He became a member of the "Moa Searching Committee", a group that searched for skeletons at specific sites. He even had a newly discovered species of petrel named after him. Now let's get down to businesswhat are some of the treasures in this collection? A complete set of Cook's Voyages, published in the 1770s A first edition of the first novel published in New Zealand, Taranaki: A Tale of the War by Henry Stoney (1861) A 2-volume set of Captain Scott's journals from his last expedition, published in 1914 Early Maori language publications, including an 1838 New Testament and an 1852 translated version of Robinson Crusoe Te Tohunga, a 1907 German translation of ancient Maori legends and traditions by Wilhelm Dittmer, which features a leather cover adorned with a color illustration Also included are numerous titles about exploration, shipping and maritime history, natural history an... [more Notable Private Library to be Auctioned Today in New Zealand]
These books were still reported missing as of June 4, 2019. The following books have been reported stolen: Title : Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. Authors : CATLIN, George. Date of publication : 1841 Publisher : London Description : First edition, 2 volumes, large 8vo. Uncut in the original green cloth boards, recently rebacked to match with new paper labels. Title : Cow-boys and Colonels. Authors : CONN, William. Date of publication : 1887 Publisher : Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, London Description : First English edition. Original gilt titled cloth with illustrations in black and brown to upper cover and spine, slight fading to spine, one small crease to lower cover, overall a very good copy. Title : On the Frontier. Authors : CAMPION, J.S. Date of publication : 1878 Publisher : Chapman & Hall, London Description : First edition. Original gilt titled cloth, spine somewhat browned. Title : The Oregon Trail. Authors : PARKMAN, Francis. Date of publication : 1892 Publisher : Macmillan, London Description : First English edition. Original gilt titled buckram, decoration in blue and red with a large gilt sun to the upper cover, t.e.g., some rubbing to extremities otherwise a very good copy. If you have any information on these items, please contact Bow Windows Bookshop at rarebooks@bowwindows.com or at 01273 480780 [more Four Books Stolen from Bow Windows Bookshop]
This item was still missing as of June 3, 2019. The following item was reported stolen: Title : The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe Authors : Lewis. C. S. Date of publication : 1950 Publisher : Bles, London Description : First edition in dustwrapper. If you have any information on this book, please contact Paul Foster at paulfosterbooks@btinternet.com or 020 8876 7424 [more Stolen: First Edition of 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe']
The Boston Globe has published an online slideshow of independently owned bookstores in Boston, and ABAA members were certainly the 'stars' of the show, making up half of the total bookstores listed. Congrats to our Bostonian sellers! Please click here to view the slideshow. Almost all of these dealers will be exhibiting at the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair next week. Despite economy, local bookstores endure [more ABAA Bostonian Members in the News]
Click here to read a brief opinion piece about used books and their relation to e-readers. I strongly agree with the author that it doesn't have to be "one or the other", and I don't by any means think that the market for printed matter is going to disappear. What are your thoughts? I'm a Used Bookseller, and I'm Not Afraid of E-Books [more "I'm a Used Bookseller, and I'm Not Afraid of E-Books"]
Please click here to view a list of stolen books that was recently brought to our attention. If you have any information regarding any of these titles, please contact LaTonya C. Gibbs at lgibbs@chubb.com or (800) 252-4670 [more Stolen Collection]
In 1863, Union Army Captain William A. Treadwill of the 4th New York Regiment took a book of court records from a Virginia county courthouse and shipped it north to Boston, presumably to keep the book as a relic. The book made its way from Boston to Jersey City, where it remained in the Jersey City Free Public Library for the past 150 years. The book was recently unearthed while librarians were parsing through the library's holdings in order to prepare for an upcoming exhibit to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It contains transcribed summaries of court records from 1749 to 1755. Carl Childs, the director of Local Record Services at the Library of Virginia, was thrilled to hear of the book's discovery. The vast majority of pre-Civil War records from the Stafford County Court were destroyed, so this book helps shed some light on that period. Some interesting entries in the book include: A judge's order that a man is paid 50 pounds of tobacco for serving as a witness for two days. A lawsuit of an unhappy widow who challenged the decision that she be awarded a dowry of just one-third of her late husband's estate. Details of a case in which someone being fined for cursing in church. The book was given to Childs, and back to Virginia, last week. It will be copied for the public, and then bound and restored to be kept in the Library of Virginia. Jersey City library returns spoils of Civil War, a 220-year-old book of court records, to Virginia county [more 220-year-old Book of Court Records Returned to Virginia]
I found a great post about Books of Hours on a French blog about medieval manuscripts, and it provided several videos on various Books of Hours. Below I have included a short informational video on the structure of a medieval manuscript, as well as the link to the blog. Enjoy! The Structure of a Medieval Manuscript Videos: Books of Hours [more Videos: Medieval Manuscripts and Books of Hours]
These items were still reported missing as of June 6, 2019. The following items were stolen: Title : Dramatic Dialogues for the Use of Young Persons. By the Author of the Blind Child Authors : Date of publication : 1792 Publisher : E. Newbery, London Description : Three engraved plates. First Edition. Two volumes bound in one. Small 8vo. . , 196 pp; f, 163pp. Contemporary binding by R. King of Hythe (with his printed yellow label) of tree calf, the covers with a thin gilt roll border. Smooth spine divided into six panels by a gilt pallet, lettered in the second panel on a red goatkskin label, the edges of the boards tooled with a blind roll, plain endleaves, lightly sprinkled edges. (A little worn). A few spots and a little light soiling, but a good copy. With the printed yellow label of R. King of Hythe and a recent bookplate of a sailing ship. Title : Toxophilus, the Schole, or Partitions, of Shooting. Contayned in II Bookes. Written by Roger Ascham. 1544. And now newlye perused. .... To which is Added, a Dedication and Preface, by the Reverend John Walters, M.A. Authors : ASCHAM (Roger) Date of publication : 1788 Publisher : reprinted by R. Marsh, Wrexham Description : Engraved frontispiece by Darling with contemporary hand-colouring, woodcut head and tail-pieces. 12mo. . xxi, (i), 230, pp. Newly bound in old style calf, the spine lettered on a green label, plain endleaves, uncut edges. A few trivial spots but a very good, uncut, copy. There are some neat ink annotations,... [more Additional Stolen Items from George Bayntun]
In anticipation of the 75th anniversary of the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Harper Collins has announced that it will be releasing 110 of Tolkien's original illustrations for the book, twenty of which are previously unpublished. The illustrations were compiled into a book entitled The Art of The Hobbit, which will be released on October 27. The drawings have been in Tolkien's archive at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, but were only recently 'discovered' by Harper Collins after the images were digitized. captionThe illustrations include line drawings in ink, watercolors and sketches, and contain "his conceptual sketches for the cover design, a couple of early versions of the maps and pages where he's experimenting with the runic forms, as well as a couple of manuscript pages", notes David Brawn, publisher of the new collection. Brawn hopes that The Art of The Hobbit coupled with the upcoming anniversary will allow the spotlight to shine on "the book which started it all", as well as give novel insight into Tolkien and The Hobbit, his first book. Of the The Art of The Hobbit, Brawn says, "It shows that Tolkien's creativity went beyond the writing, that it was a fully thought out conception. When he writes about the hobbit hole , he's designed it as well. And by doing that, it makes his description more vivid ... Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist. He was a great admirer of Arthur Rackham and you can see a little bit of that style coming through." Also sla... [more Original Tolkien Illustrations for 'The Hobbit' to be Released]