Every four years the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) awards the $10,000 Breslauer Prize for Bibliography to the author(s) of the most original and outstanding work on the history of the book. From the ILAB website: Its purpose is to draw attention to the best academic work being done in the field, to reward and honor it in appropriate terms, and to publicize the League's support for the original scholarship on which the book trade so much depends. The first ILAB Prize for Bibliography was awarded in 1967 to Jean Peeters-Fontainas, followed by famous scholars like Claus Nissen, Wytze Hellinga, I. C. Koeman, Francois Weil, Gerhard Dünnhaupt, Anthony Hobson, and Lucas Heinrich Wüthrich. The next prizewinner will be announced in 2014, and submissions of bibliographies or books about books will be accepted until April 2013. They may be written in any language, but must be have been published between 2009 and 2012. You may submit your work by sending a single copy to the Prize Secretary Arnoud Gerits (Distelvlinderweg 37 d, 1113 LA Diemen, Netherlands). Any aspect of bibliography (e.g. enumerative, textual, history of the book, design, binding, book trade, etc.) is admitted. Manuscripts, catalogues of books intended for sale and translations of works appearing in another language are not eligible. Any book submitted to the Prize must be a published book and available for sale. For more information, including current submissions, visit the official website w... [more $10,000 Prize for ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography]
Zhenya Dzhavgova, proprietor of Zh Books, is a promising young bookseller who recently attended an ABAA Northern California Chapter meeting as a guest of member Vic Zoschak. Last summer, Zhenya attended the Colorado Rare Book Seminar on a scholarship from the ABAA and it cemented her aspirations as an antiquarian dealer and her desire to join the ABAA (you can read about Zhenya's experience at CABS here). Below are her impressions of her very first ABAA meeting. We look forward to seeing her at more in the future! Considering my desire to join the ABAA in a few years, Vic Zoschak's invitation to the NCC ABAA luncheon is a big deal for me. The meeting is at a landmark San Francisco restaurant, which makes it that much more special. I am the youngest one in the group. I see a few familiar faces people I have met last month at the San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair while working for Lorne Bair. In fact, a dealer and I shake hands so enthusiastically we break a glass. Broken glass brings luck, people say, and I hope so, I really do for my sake and that of everybody else in a profession some are convinced is slowly dying out. Before lunch is served, Vic introduces me to the colleagues I do not personally know. They seem to genuinely take an interest in me asking me for a business card and talking about my specialty. In the meantime, I try to simultaneously listen to several different conversations clashing over my head. Everything is interesting inquiries about other mem... [more Young Bookseller's Insights on the ABAA]
This Sunday, the Council of Friends of the Princeton University Library will be holding a Book Adoption Party, which will allow attendees to view a number of rare items from Princeton's special collections and give them a chance to 'adopt' these items. The money from each 'adoption' will go toward preservation efforts and adopters' names will be added to a plate that will serve as a permanent accompaniment to the item. The Party is more than just a viewing/buying event, however; attendees will have the unique opportunity of speaking with and learning about these items directly from the Library's curators and conservators. Since preservation is at the heart of the event, attendees will also learn about the conservation process used Ben Primer, the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections, urged curators to take affordability into account when choosing which items they would put up for adoption. "I especially want things that I think anybody off the street can ," Primer said. Curators listened, with items ranging anywhere from $20 to $4,000. The full catalogue can be viewed here. Click here to see a video of Ben Primer speaking about the Book Adoption Party. Stephen Ferguson, curator of rare books, emphasized the importance of the Book Adoption Party, commenting that, "we need people to help us with the mission of making sure our future has a past." I think this is a great way for institutions to offset preservation costs, but others may have differ... [more Princeton University Library to Hold Book Adoption Party]
Pssst! We're less than a month away from the incredible NY Antiquarian Book Fair (April 12-15), held annually at the historic Park Avenue Armory, and we have a small preview of just a few of the exciting items that will be offered for sale. Click here for a sneak peak! [more NY Book Fair Sneak Peak]
The weather is gloomy here in NYC, but the video below brightened my day and is good for a laugh. Enjoy! Brontë Sisters Power Dolls [more Video: Brontë Sisters Power Dolls]
ABAA member Sunday Steinkirchner of B & B Rare Books in Manhattan is the newest contributor for Forbes.com! Her new blog is called 'Home Office' and it will detail Sunday's entrepreneurial life as a rare bookseller. The blog just launched yesterday, so click here to read the first post. Congratulations, Sunday! You can follow Sunday's blog by clicking here. Entrepreneurial Life: Tales of a Young Bookseller [more Member in the News: Sunday Steinkirchner]
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America is delighted to announce that Sid Lapidus and Jay and Jean Kislak have been awarded the ABAA and ILAB Patron of Honor. The ABAA feels these individuals demonstrate how the printed word materially affects history, scholarship, and cultural intelligence and the importance of collections to institutions and the public. A ceremony and celebration will take place at the ABAA's annual meeting on April 14, 2012 at 10am at the Park Avenue Armory's Tiffany Room. All are welcome to attend, but should RSVP to hq@abaa.org. Sid Lapidus has generously given his time and support to numerous charitable pursuits, including the American Antiquarian Society, of which he is currently chairman. An alumnus of Princeton University, Mr. Lapidus has donated and exhibited materials, including pamphlets, books, and broadsides from his collection on Liberty and American Revolution, at his alma mater. Jay and Jean Kislak have built a collection which is composed of rare maps and books, including a comprehensive collection on early Florida, the Caribbean, and Mesoamerica. They have kindly donated the collection to the Library of Congress. The Kislaks also created the Jay I. Kislak Foundation for the purpose of preserving and advancing knowledge of past cultures, civilizations, and explorations. The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America was founded in 1949 to foster and encourage interest in rare books and manuscripts and to maintain the highest... [more ABAA and ILAB Patrons of Honor Announced]
Today, Swann Galleries in New York will be offering an original manuscript from the Salem witch trials as part of the Eric C. Caren Collection auction, entitled 'How History Unfolds on Paper'. The manuscript is the court indictment of Margaret Scott, a widow in her 70s who was accused and found guilty of "certaine detestable arts called witchcraft and sorcery." Scott was one of the last eight residents executed for crimes of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. She was hanged on September 22, 1692. The pre-auction estimate for the manuscript is $25,000-$35,000, a figure that Richard Trask, a leading expert on the trials, says is too low. Trask has been in the field since 1963 and says that he has "only seen witchcraft documents sold twice during professional life." He continues, "They are very valuable, and this is an indictment — it's an important document. ... This kind of document comes along so infrequently." Rick Stattler, Swann's Director of printed and manuscript Americana, agrees about the rarity of the manuscriptno similar items have come to auction since 1983. Trask is town archivist for what was formerly Salem Village, and laments that he will be unable to procure the manuscript due to budgetary restrictions. "Anybody who has money could buy it," he said. "The problem with these documents is they're really public records. They should be in a public institution." The auction will take place today at 1:30pm. Rare witch document expected to sell for thousands ... [more Manuscript from Salem Witch Trials to be Auctioned Today]
ABAA member Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books has generously offered a scholarship to any antiquarian bookseller interested in taking Joel Silver's course, "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books". Vic attended Rare Book School in the past, and considers it to be an invaluable resource in addition to a highly enjoyable experience. He decided to endow a scholarship as a way of 'paying it forward' to other antiquarian booksellers. Additional details are below, courtesy of the Rare Book School website. The Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship is a full-tuition scholarship opportunity that is available to all antiquarian booksellers interested in taking Joel Silver's course, "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books" (L-25), 23-27 July 2012. One Tavistock Scholarship will be awarded in 2012. Preference will be given to individuals in the early stages of their careers, and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance. To apply for the Tavistock scholarship, please submit a 2012 summer application to RBS no later than 16 April 2012. In a cover letter, discuss your reasons for applying for the scholarship to attend “Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books”; please include a brief description of your work in the antiquarian book trade, financial needs, and other relevant information. While not required, a recommendation letter from an ABAA member to accompany the application would be beneficial. Scholarship applicants will b... [more Tavistock Books Offers Educational Scholarship to Rare Book School Course]
The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Authors : Mezzotint by Charles Turner after Henry Fuseli Description : Mezzotint portrait in Rosewood frame stolen from a Surrey auction house. NB accompanying image of different impression of same print. If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Nigel Talbot at grosvenorprints@btinternet.com [more Stolen: Portrait of Joseph Priestley]