While the week after the New York Antiquarian Book Fair is generally a week of rest and recuperation for booksellers and collectors alike, there was still plenty of news happening in the rare book world last week. Bright Young Booksellers: Alexander Akin ABAA-member Alexander Akin of Bolerium Books was interviewed as part of Fine Books & Manuscripts ongoing "Bright Young Booksellers" series. Read more... Lou Reed Archive Goes to the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center Rock and roll legend Lou Reed left a personal archive of unsurpassed detail that will give researchers great insight into both the mundane details of life as a touring musician and Reed's development as an artist. Comprising over 300 linear feet of correspondence and documents as well as over 600 hours of recordings, many unreleased, the archive will be a place of pilgrimage for both musoic scholars and music fans. Read more... ILAB Launches Mentoring Program to Supoport the Next Generation of Booksellers The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (to which the ABAA belongs) has launched an innovative new international mentoring program to assist young booksellers entering the business. Read more... Kevin Young Named Poetry Editor of the New Yorker There was great excitement last week when it was announced that noted poet Kevin Young, who's also the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, has been appointed as the new poetry editor at the New ... [more Rare Book News]

ABAA members have issued the following catalogs of the material they will be exhibiting at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair this weekend (March 9-12, 2017) at the Park Avenue Armory. Note: This list is being constantly updated. Check back frequently in the days before the fair for the latest catalog additions! Athena Rare Books Booth E24 Lorne Bair Rare Books Booth E18 F.A. Bernett Booth B18 -- direct download .pdf David Brass Rare Books Booth C10 Buddenbrooks Booth C23 Andrew Cahan Bookseller Booth D19 James Cummins Bookseller Booth A1 L.W. Currey, Inc. and John W. Knott Jr., Bookseller offer David H. Rajchel Arkham House Archive Booth A5 Donald A. Heald Rare Books Booth C1 Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Booth B15 Jeff Hirsch Books Booth B23 Kaaterskill Books Booth B11 Eric Chaim Kline Booth A14 Michael Laird Rare Books Booth A33a The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. Booth C22 Part I: 54 Items on Display at the 2017 New York Antiquarian Book Fair Part II: 54 Items on Display at the 2017 New YorkAntiquarian Book Fair Part III: Pamphlets and Ephemera on Display at the 2017 New York Antiquarian Book Fair, 50 Items Liber Antiquus Booth A10 Lux Mentis Booksellers Booth E5 Jeffrey D. Mancevice Booth C12 Bruce McKittrick Rare Books Booth A20 Musinsky Rare Books Booth D4 B&L Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts Booth B19 Sanctuary Books Booth B3 Abby Schoolman Books Booth A36 Triolet Rare Books Booth D30 For more details about the 2017 New York Antiquarian Bok Fair visit www.nyantiquarianbookf... [more New York Book Fair Catalogs]

I've been reading a fascinating book about how humans have exchanged news and views through the centuries, and the changes printing made possible. In Writing on the Wall: Social Media The First 2,000 Years, Tom Standage, the digital editor of The Economist, traces the history of social media through the last 2000 years, highlighting how the last 150 years of broadcast media are in fact an anomaly in human communication. Yes, social media has been around for 2000 years, not a little over a decade as I thought. Far from being the brave new world that Facebook et al. like to claim, online “social media” is, in Standage's view, simply a return to an older style of communication, a style for which humans may be hardwired. Serious book collectors and students of printed history may be the only ones not surprised by this claim, as Standage draws on a great deal of printed history to prove his persuasive thesis. The LETTERS Of MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO To Several of his Friends: with Remarks by William Melmoth, Esq. To Which is Now Added, A General Index. In Three Volumes. Offered by Tavistock Books. Starting with ancient Rome, and the great orator and letter-writer Cicero, Standage discusses how letters were essentially public artifacts, and that writers like Cicero encouraged the recipient to read them to and share them with others. They in turn would often copy a letter, add their own thoughts, and forward it on many others. It's because of this letter-sharing network that Cicero ... [more Early Social Media: Letters, Pamphlets & Newspapers]

Autograph expert and ABAA-member Gary Combs died last month. A celebration of his life will be held in New York City on March 7, as many of his former colleagues will be in the city for the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. ABAA-member James Camner paid tribute to his late friend and colleague: It is with deep sadness that I am reporting the death of my dear friend and colleague Gary Combs who died just after his 70th Birthday on February 10. Gary will be known to many in the ABAA as a premier level autograph dealer in New York City. He was a top private dealer, a “dealer's dealer” for many years, but his start in the business was as a salesman in the Book Department of B. Altman's Department store, where I met him back in 1976. At the time, he was the assistant to another dear old departed friend of the trade, Bob Tollett. Upon Bob's retirement, Gary became Altman's buyer, and remained there until the store closed for good. We older autograph and book dealers will remember what a force Altman's and their buyers were in their day. At every book fair, autograph show and twice a year in Europe, we all looked forward to their buying trips. They were perhaps the most powerful retail outlet to the general public, and their groundbreaking full page ads in the New York Times likely created countless new collectors. With Gary's passing, we have lost our last link to that grand old institution and its retail world of antiquarian books, maps and autographs. After leaving Altman's, Ga... [more In Memoriam: Gary Edward Combs]

The New York Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Park Avenue Armory March 9-12 for the 57th installment of this annual fiesta of rare books, historical documents, and all kinds of print ephemera. Below you'll find a few highlights from among the many fascinating and rare items that ABAA members will be exhibiting at the show. Contact the dealer referenced for more information. An Outstanding Album of Italian Political Cartoons Thirty-Two Magnificent Hand-Colored Lithographs by Antonio Manganaro. MANGANARO, Antonio. L'Esposizione Marittima Visitata da Dante e Virgilio. Allegoria di A. Manganaro. . Folio (18 11/16 x 12 3/8 inches; 475 x 314 mm.). Hand colored lithograph pictorial title-page and thirty-one magnificent hand colored lithograph plates including the final "Chiusura" plate showing Dante holding hands with the 'skeletal' Virgil. All plates mounted on stubs. Contemporary quarter green calf over green pebbled cloth boards. Covers decoratively ruled in blind, front cover with "Manganaro / L'Esposizione Marittima" stamped in gilt. Spine with five raised bands, lettered in gilt in compartments, marbled end-papers. Spine ends expertly and invisibly restored. This is an outstanding and fascinating record in thirty-two hand-colored lithographs of the political figures of Italy in the 1860's. The majority of the plates feature the figures of Dante and the 'skeletal' Virgil surrounded by various members of the Italian Bureaucracy. In some way the beautifully hand colored illus... [more Featured Items: New York Book Fair]

"Celebrating the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection: Rare Books and Manuscripts, Victorian Literature and Art" Symposium at the University of Delaware Library Newark, DE March 17-18, 2017 On March 17 and 18, 2017 the University of Delaware will host a two-day symposium, "Celebrating the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection: Rare Books and Manuscripts, Victorian Literature and Art." The keynote speaker will be Elaine Showalter, Professor Emerita of English, Princeton University, and additional speakers will include Mark Dimunation (Library of Congress), Barbara Heritage (Rare Book School, University of Virginia), Edward Maggs (Maggs Bros. Ltd., London), Joseph Bristow (UCLA), Linda K. Hughes (Texas Christian University), Margaretta S. Frederick (Delaware Art Museum), William S. Peterson (Emeritus, University of Maryland), David Taylor (UK historian and author), and Margaret D. Stetz (University of Delaware). The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration in advance is requested. More information, including online registration, will be available at https://library.udel.edu/msl-symposium-2017/ The symposium is being held in conjunction with the exhibition "Victorian Passions: Stories from the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection," curated by Margaret D. Stetz, University of Delaware, on view in the Special Collections Gallery, UD Library, from February 14-June 3, 2017. The Mark Samuels Lasner Collection focuses on British literature and art of the period 1850 to 1900, with an em... [more Symposium: Celebrating the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection]

“The best book fair in the world.” – Andy Rooney What's got over 200 rare book dealers from around the world, signed books by Martin Luther King, Jr., a pointe shoe worn by Anna Pavlova, and a cache of correspondence by Alexander Hamilton? The 57th New York Antiquarian Book Fair, which return to the Park Avenue Armory over the weekend of March 9-12, 2017, that's what! The largest rare book fair in North America is back, and bigger than ever. Where: Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue NY, NY 10065 When: Thursday, March 9 (Preview) 5-9pm Friday, March 10 noon-8pm Saturday, March 11 noon-7pm Sunday, March 12 noon-5pm Note: Discovery Day takes place on Sunday, from 1pm-3pm. Tickets: Preview pass: $50 Daily admission: $25 Run of show: $40 Students: $10 Tickets available here... Discovery Day A favorite tradition, Discovery Day allows ticketed visitors the opportunity to bring their own rare books, manuscripts, maps, etc. in for evaluation. Expert appraisers will be on hand to offer advice. Featured Items While there are too many stunning items to list, here are a few early highlights: Hamilton Correspondence A unique collection of original letters, documents and imprints relating to the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, the orphan immigrant founding father who fought for independence, founded our financial system, and fostered a government capable of surviving internal factions and foreign foes — as well as inspiring the hit musical! View the catalog of this collection.... [more Ready for the New York Antiquarian Book Fair?]

This item is still missing as of 5/31/2019. The following book has been reported as missing in transit through USPS. It is a unique item, because of the artwork and description, and could easily be distinguished from other copies of the book. For additional information, or if you believe you have been offered the book, please contact Rowan Dordick (bybooksalone@aol.com). Jackson, Chevalier. The Life of Chevalier Jackson: An Autobiography. With an Original, inscribed Print By Jackson Tipped in at Front.. New York: Macmillan, 1938. Second Printing. Original Cloth. Near Fine / Very Good. Tipped onto stub of front flyleaf (the rest of which has been removed) an original print by Jackson signed in pencil "Mother" and "Chevalier Jackson" and "Aunt Sue to Howard." Inscribed on dedication leaf: "Greetings/to/Howard/and his Family/from the folks/at the Old Mill/Chevalier Jackson." Dust jacket with slight wear at spine ends. [more Missing In Transit: Chevalier Jackson Autobiography]

Regarded as one of the world's largest and most prestigious exhibitions of antiquarian books, the California International Antiquarian Book Fair gives visitors the opportunity to see, learn about, and purchase the finest in rare and valuable books, manuscripts, autographs, illustrations, vintage photographs, and much more. Preview some of the most-unusual, rarest, and most-beautiful rare books and other items that members of the ABAA will be exhibiting at the fair below. The fair tales place in Oakland, CA over the weekend of February 10-12, 2017, and, as always, all items are subject to prior sale! Hillerman, Tony. The Blessing Way. NY, Harper & Row, 1970, first edition. This is the ultimate copy of Author's First Book, it is an Inscribed Presentation/Association Copy of the highest order, inscribed by Hillerman to Navajo artist Ernest Franklin who went on to create a cottage industry wherein he illustrated many of Hillerman's titles in an after-market situation where individuals brought him copies of Hillerman's books for Franklin to illustrate, the vast majority of such books include just one illustration by Franklin, this one has 30 (!) illustrations by Franklin in addition to Hillerman's doubly signed inscription ("with my thanks to/Ernie Franklin/for showing me/what Leaphorn/looks like/TH"), the inscription is on the title page, Hillerman has additionally signed his full name under his printed signature on the title page, Joe Leaphorn is the Navajo tribal policeman crea... [more 50th CA Book Fair: Featured Items]

Three books were stolen from Amber Unicorn in mid-December 2016, and have recently been offered for sale in New York. If you believe you have been offered the items below, please contact: Myrna Donato, Amber Unicorn Books amberunicorn2@embarqmail.com (702) 648-9303 Descriptions of the items: An African Holiday by Sutton, Robert L. C.V. Mosby Company, St. Louis, Mo, 1924. HC, blue Cloth, Gilt Stamped. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Good,. Pictorial Covers. First Edition. Signed on bfep.180pp. Photo illustrated, heavy stock gloss paper. Condition DJ: Chips and rips, old sticker removed taking part of DJ picture. Size: 8vo 8 3/4 x 6. Signed by Author. Hardback. $150.00 Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains by Drannan, William F. Capt. Rhodes & McClure, Chicago, 1900. HC, Dark Green Cloth Silver Gt. Book Condition: Very Good Plus. First Edition, First State. 586pp , drawings, photos. Condition: Head/tail/tips light wear & bumps. Po stamp ft paste down, 1.50 on ffep in ink. Size: Sm8vo 7 1/2 x 5 1/4. Hardback. $ 135.00 Official Catalog of the Graphic Works of Salvador Dali by Field, Albert Salvador Dali Archives, New York, 1996. HC, Black Boards. Book Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine (Mylar) First Edition. 278pp. Black and white and color photos throughout. 3 laid in pieces= Errata slip. Instructions titled "How to use the catalog" and a business card from the Dali Gallery. Size: 4to 11 x 8-1/2. Hardback. $549.00 [more Three Stolen Books Offered in NY]