May 23, 2011 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the New York Public Library's landmark building, the Stephen A. Schwarzman building. To commemorate the occasion, the Library has put together a major exhibition entitled "Celebrating 100 Years", which opened this past weekend. The exhibit displays 250 items chosen from the Library's vast collection of over 60 million pieces, and is divided into four thematic areas- Observation, Contemplation, Creativity, and Society. Thomas Millens, the Library's curator, commented that "the library as nothing less than a memory bank of humanity", and expanded upon the exhibition's themes. "Observation, looking out to the world around us; contemplation, looking inward for meaning, the hallmark of civilization and the human experience; creativity, particularly as expressed in literature and the arts … and society, the way in which we have organized ourselves for better or for worse,” explained Millens. These groupings are "meant to highlight the collections' scope and their value as symbols in our collective memory", as well as display the changing ways in which we communicate and create records, from cunieform to computers. Some highlights of the exhibition include Sumerian cunieform tablets, the first Gutenberg Bible to come to America, a Tale of Genji scroll, one of Malcom X's journals, Virginia Woolf's walking stick, and John Coltrane's handwritten score of Lover Man, just to name a few. To read the exhibition brochure, click... [more Celebrating 100 Years at the New York Public Library]
I was reading an article this morning about a South African man who, while on holiday in Ireland, found an American first edition of Wuthering Heights at a flea market for €3 (about $4.27). Realizing the value of the book, he brought it back home to South Africa and promptly sold it for over 77,000 rand (equivalent to more than €8,000 or $11,000)quite the souvenir! The article quoted ILAB member David Cunningham of Cathach Books Ltd. in Dublin, who commented that this was likely the only first edition of Wuthering Heights in the country. He went on to say that "you just don't know how books turn up and how it arrived in this country, but that's the nature of booksyou can find almost anything anywhere." This quote got me thinking about all the interesting stories book hunters everywhere must have. What has been your most interesting and/or profitable find? Tourist sells €3 first edition of Wuthering Heights for €8,000 [more What's Your Most Interesting and/or Profitable Find?]
A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rare book trade. The interviews conducted at the 44th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in San Francisco this past February can now be viewed on our websiteclick here. They include an interview with the late Peter Howard of Serendipity Books in Berkeley, CA. The ABAA extends many thanks to Michael, as well as Taylor Bowie, who has also conducted a number of interviews. [more Bookseller Interviews from the 2011 San Francisco Antiquarian Book Fair]
Upon returning to London after exhibiting at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, ILAB member Rick Gekoski of R. A. Gekoski Rare Books & Manuscripts posted a great entry to his blog in the Guardian, A Finger on the Page. The post answers some fundamental questions about the rare book trade and antiquarian book fairs. A fun read for those in the trade as well as novice collectors. Click here to read the post. An insider's guide to book fairs [more 'An Insider's Guide to Book Fairs' by Rick Gekoski]
This book was still missing as of May 29, 2019. Description of the Different Varieties of Oxen, Common in the British Isles First edition, oblong folio (415 x 540mm) of 52 hand-coloured engraved plates created under the patronage of the Board of Agriculture. Printed and published for the author, George Garrard, by J. Smeeton, St. Martin's Lane, Charing Cross, London. From 1800 to 1814. If you have any information on this book, please contact Sonya Boggs at sboggs@gmail.com [more Stolen: George Garrard Book on Oxen]
The Columbia News Service published a brief article about the trade, which included quotes from Michael DiRuggiero of The Manhattan Rare Book Company and Michael Thompson of Michael R. Thompson Rare Books. Despite E-Books, Rare Books Aren't Endangered [more Members in the News: Michael DiRuggiero & Michael R. Thompson]
From the ACRL Insider: "Complete backfiles of Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship (RBML), the predecessor of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, are now available on the publication Web site. ACRL received a grant from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation to assist in making volumes 1-12 of the publication discoverable and available online through the HighWire Press platform, completing the publication's online archive. The 24 back issues will join volumes 13 and 14 of RBML and the full run of RBM online. Access to all content, with the exception of the two most current issues, is freely available to all. Online access to the current two issues is available only to RBM subscribers." RBML Online Archives Now Available [more Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship (RBML) Online Archives Now Available]
The ABAA was delighted to have Professor Adrian Johns of the University of Chicago lecture at the 2011 California International Antiquarian Book Fair. His talk was entitled The Promise and Peril of Universal Libraries, and Professor Johns is kind enough to let us republish the text on our blog and website. Enjoy! ******************************* The Promise and Peril of Universal Libraries Adrian Johns University of Chicago Since it was originally announced some five years ago, the Google book project has provoked a rich variety of responses. The intensity of the debate is understandable, because the implications of the project are indeed as broad as they seem to be. This really is the rare enterprise that has implications for everyone who works in academia and, in all likelihood, everyone who does not. The future of knowledge itself is at stake. So too is its past. Many of the debates that Google's venture has ignited have taken place on the relatively familiar, if sometimes very technical, terrain of law and economics. The problems evoked have been those of copyright infringement and monopoly. The debate has also been infused with a strong dose of publishing industry jeremiad, and more recently experts in the bibliographical world have voiced disquieting revelations regarding Google's devotion to outmoded classification criteria and surprisingly poor metadata standards. When addressing what is trumpeted as the project's real purpose, however – to transform how knowledge i... [more 'The Promise and Peril of Universal Libraries']
The following books have been reported missing from the Reston Regional Library in Reston, VA. RECOVERED: Nouveau Dictionnaire Allemand-Francois et Francois-Allemand a l'Usage des Deux Nations: Tome I: contenant l'Allemand Explique par le Francois: Nouvelle Edition, Corrigee et Augmente. Publ Chez Jean-Thomas Noble de Trattnern, Imprimeur et Libraire de la Cour / publ Vienne, Prague et Brunn / publ in 1790 / volume 1 only (German explained in French, while volume 2 is French explained in German) / hardcover bound entirely in brown leather / hubbed spine with gilt decoration shows wear from age and from frequent use, paste-on title in place / binding tight / pencil markings of owner(s), names not legible / frontispiece / Jean-Thomas Trattner or Johann Thomas von Trattner was a famous 18th century printer, bookseller and publisher of court Essais sur L'etat Actuel de La France: 1er Mai 1796 . by B F A Fonvielle / publ 1796 in Paris / "Prix Quatre livres pour Paris" / Chez Desenne, Brigitte-Mattey, Palais Egalite; Chez Maret, Cour des Fontaines; Chez Tous les Marchands de Nouveautes / re-bound in textured green leather w/dark green leather at the spine, gilt titling on spine is bright / marbled endpapers, ribbon marker / sunfade to top portion of front cover / 416 pgs plus appendix dated Dec 1, 1796 / signed by the owner "Pe Dietrichstein" / in French. Dei Re D'Italia Inaugurati o no con la Corona Ferrea da Odoacre Fino al Regnante Augusto Imperatore Ferdinando I: Opera Tratta... [more UPDATED: Missing Books from the Reston Regional Library]
The Raab Collection is currently offering a three page letter penned by William H. Herndon, one of Abraham Lincoln's closest friends, that offers unique insight into Lincoln's religious beliefs. Historians have had little substantiation on this topic since Lincoln refused to discuss religion and did not belong to a church. In his 1866 letter, which was written to the current clerk of the House of Representatives, Edward McPherson, Herndon writes that "Mr. Lincoln's religion is too well known to me to allow of even a shadow of a doubt; he is or was a Theist - a Rationalist, denying all extraordinary -– supernatural inspiration or revelation". Please click here to read the full article on CNN. Congratulations to The Raab Collection on acquiring such an important historical documnet! Letter from close friend offers rare glimpse into President Lincoln's 'theist' beliefs The Raab Collection [more Member in the News: The Raab Collection]