Edit: The recording of this event is now available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfeHt5PvU6U The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America was founded in 1949 to promote interest in rare and antiquarian books and book collecting, and to foster collegial relations. The association invites you to attend the September Brown Bag Lunch Series, a panel discussion: Meet the ABAA: Demystifying the Application Process. You'll gain insights into the present-day ABAA, membership benefits, and how to become a part of it. The panelists will include the president and the executive director of the ABAA, as well as ABAA members Robin Beck of Primary Sources and Sunday Steinkirchner of B & B Rare Books. The webinar is moderated by Lizzy Young, ABAA member and the Chair of the Gender Equity Initiative. September 24th @ 2 PM ET Meet the ABAA: Demystifying the Application Process CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Panelists: Alexander Akin, President (member since 2019) Alexander Akin, co-owner of Bolerium Books in San Francisco, specializes in radical political ephemera, Chinese books, and publications of Asian-American immigrant communities. He is the current president of the ABAA. Susan Benne, Executive Director Susan Benne has worked in the rare book trade for 25 years. She began her career cataloging children's and illustrated books for a rare bookseller in New York, then moved into managerial roles, first as the director of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, then as th... [more September Brown Bag]

Edit: The recording of this event is now available on our YouTube channel. The Brown Bag Lunch Series, presented by the ABAA Gender Equity Initiative, is a series of short virtual talks covering various topics, from crash courses in areas of expertise to best business practices. Please join the Gender Equity Initiative on Zoom on Tuesday, August 27th, 2024, at 2 PM ET for a Brown Bag Lunch Series with Alexander Akin. Alexander Akin, co-owner of Bolerium Books and current president of the ABAA, worked as a professional numismatist before becoming involved in the book trade. In this talk, he will explore an area of personal interest at the intersection of these worlds: poetic inscriptions on currency. We will see Persian couplets celebrating everything from territorial conquest to love for a beautiful partner, expressions of passionate religious piety, and a classical Chinese poem turned into a numbering system in Korea. August 27th @ 2 PM ET At the Intersection of Literature and Numismatics: 1,600 Years of Poetry on Money Alexander Akin, Bolerium Books CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Alexander Akin, co-owner of Bolerium Books and current president of the ABAA, holds a BS in Anthropology from UC Riverside and a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He worked as a professional numismatist before becoming involved in the book trade. Photo by Meredith Nierman. [more Brown Bag Series: August]

Edit: The recording of this event is now available: The April Brown Bag Lunch Series will feature a panel discussion with ABAA members on the Expansion of Materials of the Antiquarian/Rare Book Trade. The webinar will focus on unique and unusual items, dealers expanding the diversity of traditional materials represented as antiquarian books, and more. Please join the Gender Equity Initiative on Zoom on April 24th, 2024, at 2 PM ET for a panel discussion with Blank Verso Books, Munster & Company, and Toadlily Books. Click here to register Expansion of Materials of the Antiquarian/Rare Book Trade Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 2pm ET Mara Fath & Steven Hill, Blank Verso Books Mara and Steven met in a bookstore, not Steven's long ago store on Church Street, just some random old San Francisco bookshop, the kind that used to be a ubiquitous feature in the city. Their bookselling partnership began. Years later, they left the city and moved to Napa, where they have an online bookstore called Blank Verso Books. Recently, they got the opportunity to join the ABAA and participated in the SF Antiquarian Fair, which was amazing (in their own words!)! The ever changing landscape of rare book and ephemera selling is a bewitching challenge they tumble around with every day. Jon Munster, Munster & Company Jon Munster and his wife Jessie are the co-owners of Munster & Company, ABAA in Corvallis, Oregon. He first started in the book trade in 2001 as a clerk and buyer for The Book Bin, ABAA, and... [more Brown Bag Series: Expansion of Materials of the Antiquarian/Rare Book Trade]

The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from April 4-7, 2024, for its 64th Edition. Here are some of the highlights that exhibitors will be offering at this year's Fair! Decorative Wood Panel with State Seal of Delaware. 7-1/2” x 10” x 1-1/2”; 2-1/2” metal connecting plate with screws on each side; dowl opening from top to bottom. Though in rough condition, it nonetheless carries emotional solemnity and significance as a witness to the Lincoln funeral journey, for it lay watch over Lincoln's coffin for the entire twenty days. Though a bit dulled, the panel still easily shows the seal for the State of Delaware; the panel must have aged gracefully, along with the car itself. The railroad coach that carried Lincoln's body from Washington to Springfield for twenty days in April 1865 was originally built as a private railroad car -- a “presidential coach”-- named The United States, for the use of the president and his cabinet. When the car was completed in early 1865, it had been more than a year in the making, and with its upholstered walls, wood paneling, decorative painted panels, and etched-glass windows, it was one of the most lavishly appointed railroad cars ever built. Its 16 broad-tread wheels could travel over nearly all gauge railroads, and its sides were ironclad, with armor-plating between the outer and inner walls. The car was 42.5 feet long and 8.5 feet wide and had a newly developed heating... [more New York Book Fair Highlights]

View the recording of this event here: To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the ABAA, the March Brown Bag Lunch Series will feature a panel discussion with veteran and young ABAA members. They will share their experiences with book scouting, memorable moments as a dealer in the trade, the ups and downs of a book dealer, and much more! Treasure Hunt Stories Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 2pm ET Advance questions can be submitted to xin@abaa.org by noon ET Monday, March 18th. Moderator: Lizzy Young, Lizzyoung Bookseller (member since 2016) Lizzyoung Bookseller sells rare books, ephemera, and manuscripts with a focus on food and drink History, women's history, cultural history, children's books, and anything else that makes her smile. A former pastry chef, Lizzy caught the bookselling bug when she started working for her father, Roy Young Bookseller. The rest is history. Panelist: Jim Cummins, James Cummins, Bookseller (member since 1981) A lifelong collector, Jim started James Cummins Bookseller in 1978 after running the rare book department at Brentano's. He is a prominent and well respected figure in the antiquarian book world and a fixture at auctions. His expertise is wide and is reflected in the breadth of stock at his namesake firm. You can see Jim in action in the 2019 documentary, The Booksellers. Panelist: Megan Bell, Underground Books (member since 2024) Megan Bell is the co-owner, along with Josh Niesse, of Underground Books, ABAA in Carrollton, Georgia. One of the ne... [more Brown Bag Series: Treasure Hunt Stories]

How does one shop an ABAA Virtual Book Fair? Our Virtual Book Fairs combine the convenience of online commerce with the community of in-person book fairs. Just like at an physical book fair, you will be able to: browse the inventory of many exhibitors, but now with the advantage of only having to check out once no matter how many exhibitors you purchase from! speak with the exhibitors in real time, via digital tools like FaceTime and Zoom. be among the first to have the opportunity to buy newly acquired or cataloged items from the most-reputable dealers in the business. shop the fair for a set time only. Our virtual book fairs last for 2-4 days. So arrive early, make a plan to visit the exhibitors you know, and find the material you want! Browsing Options By exhibitor — Browse your favorite booksellers first (organized alphabetically) By aisle — It's a big fair, and you'll want to see every exhibitor. In this case our aisles correspond to geographic region. By product type — Are you particularly interested in maps or photographs? In search of autographs or ephemera? Hunting certain modern first editions? — This is another way to zero in on the items of most interest to you. By budget — Shop items under $500 and don't get distracted by the big-ticket items (as amazing as those may be). By specific item — A keyword search will quickly show you the item(s) you want without having to spend hours walking the show floor! How is an ABAA Virtual Book Fair different from a... [more How to Shop a Virtual Book Fair]

Edit: You can view a recording of this event here: ---- Please join the ABAA Gender Equity Initiative on Zoom on February 14th, 2024, at 2 PM ET for a Brown Bag Lunch Series with Alexandra (Allie) Alvis, Curator of Special Collections, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. Rare books and manuscripts are more than historical objects, they are potent – and elastic – symbols. Shifting cultural values emphasize (and de-emphasize) parts of history to suit their goals, with books frequently being caught up in the mix, but rarely a focal point. Despite being relegated to supporting roles, the material forms of books in popular culture specifically tell us a great deal not only about how non-specialists conceptualize historical periods, but of how they understand book history in general. Enter Pop Bibliography. The most common place people encounter book history is not in the library, but through popular media. Pop Bibliography is the study of the production and reception of bibliography through this media lens, to reverse-engineer the popular concept(s) of the "Old Book" in Western pop culture. This talk will delve into the origins of some of the historical sources of these concepts, and address how they speak to the fetishization of the book as an object in the digital age. February 14th @ 2pm Alexandra (Allie) Alvis - Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library Pop Bibliography: Finding Book History in Popular Media Allie Alvis (she/they) is the Curator of Special Collections at the Wi... [more Brown Bag Series: Allie Alvis]

Save the date for the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: Winter Edition! March 7-9, 2024 www.abaa.org/vbf Explore the finest rare books, manuscripts, maps, prints, and ephemera at our next virtual book fair. The doors will open at 12pm ET on Thursday, March 7 and remain open continuously until 7pm ET on Saturday, March 9. We invite you to shop the virtual booths of leading antiquarian booksellers from around the world and discover their latest acquisitions and rare finds. View participating dealers here... For more information visit: www.abaa.org/vbf... [more Virtual Book Fair: Winter Edition]

The 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair is returning to San Francisco next month. The fair, sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), takes place February 9-11, 2024, at Pier 27 (cruise ship terminal). 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. “Post-pandemic, we are seeing resurgent demand for in-person fairs, where a global community of the top dealers offers the most sought-after collections of books, maps, illustrations, and ephemera. The experience of attending in person is like no other – it's a real-life treasure hunt.” -- Julie Roper, Director of the 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair The fair boasts offerings in every conceivable genre including the first-ever catalog on the history of artificial intelligence (AI) from Novato book dealer and ABAA member Jeremy Norman. Part of this timely collection is an extremely rare, first edition pamphlet published in 1832 by Russian statistician and inventor Semyon Korsakov on what is believed to be one of the first machine-learning devices. Korsakov was a pioneer in the concept of “mechanized thought,” or artificial intelligence. The nearly 200-year-old AI print ephemera will be on exhibit and offered at the purchase price of $35,000. This ext... [more California Book Fair 2024]

In partnership with the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and the GLBT Historical Society Museum and Archives, renowned queer historian and book dealer Gerard Koskovich joins acclaimed archivist and collector Lisbet Tellefsen to discuss the importance of rare and historic LGBTQ+ archives, books, periodicals, posters and ephemera. They'll share materials from their personal holdings and offer helpful tips for individuals and institutions looking to start or enrich their own collections. Representatives from ABAA members Bolerium Books and Mark Funke, Bookseller will showcase materials for sale at the upcoming California International Antiquarian Book Fair. One of the items will be the original cover art for the groundbreaking LGBTQ+ science fiction novel The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin! (Read a recent article about this item here...) The evening will prepare participants to discover their own treasures at the ABAA California International Antiquarian Book Fair coming up February 9–11 at Pier 27 in San Francisco. More details available here... Event date: Jan 25, 2024, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Location: The Academy, 2166 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114 Tickets: $20 General Public / Academy members free Reserve your general admission spot for this limited-capacity indoor event here... Panelists: Gerard Koskovich Gerard Koskovich is a San Francisco–based public historian, curator, and book dealer. He has published widely in English and French... [more Collecting Queer—An Inside Look at the World of LGBTQ+ Rare Books, Archives and Ephemera]