The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, April 21-24, 2022. Here are some highlights from among the rare books and related ephemera ABAA members are bringing to the fair! The Roger Gozdecki Collection of E.E.Cummings Offered en bloc by johnson rare books & archives on behalf of the family of Roger Gozdecki. Volk, Leonard (1828-1895; sculptor) Bronze Life Mask and Hands produced by the “Lost Wax” method. Chicago: Jules Berchem, American Art Bronze Factory, c1886. Signed by Volk below the chin of the mask and on the cuff of each hand. THE YEAR 1886. A beardless Lincoln had suddenly become popular after the 1886 publication of Lincoln's secretary's 10-volume biography that used Chicago's Alexander Hesler's beardless photograph for their frontispiece. Hesler then began producing copies of these photographs –taken of the presidential nominee at the behest of the Republican Party in 1860 – and had wide success in selling them. As well, when Richard Gilder “discovered” the original mask residing with Wyatt Eaton, Gilder and Augustus St. Gaudens got up a subscription to purchase the mask to donate it to the National Museum (now the Smithsonian). Volk certainly saw this commercial angle for his shaven mask and took advantage of that popularity by issuing his own mask and hands, but only in bronze and not in “cheap plaster!” By Volk's commission, Berchem produced this (and at least one other known set) for ... [more New York Book Fair Featured Items]

Bibliophiles everywhere are invited to join the hunt for rare books and all manner of fine works on paper March 4-6 during the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America's California Virtual Book Fair. Exhibitors from 14 countries will present a carefully curated collection of more than 4000 books, maps, manuscripts, photographs, and rare historical artifacts. “The ABAA's California International Antiquarian Book Fair has always been the most eclectic and inclusive, and we expect this virtual fair to be no different. More than 150 exhibitors from 14 nations will be offering a diverse array of rare books and fine works on paper. This one's not to be missed,” said Brad Johnson, ABAA President. Exhibitors will offer a rich selection of manuscripts, early American and European literature, modern first editions, children's books, maps and autographs, as well as antiquarian books on history, science, law, architecture, cooking, wine, and a wide range of other topics. Visitors will also be able to interact with book, map, autograph, and ephemera sellers in real time. “The virtual book fairs have been an important way for booksellers and collectors to stay connected during this past year of closures and canceled in-person events, and they have produced a number of unexpected benefits,” said Sheryl Jaeger, ABAA Vice President and Chair, Virtual Book Fair Committee. “The obvious—you don't have to leave home, fly, or pack your wares. The virtual fairs also allow those p... [more Visit the California Virtual Book Fair]

The public programs at the upcoming California Virtual Book Fair have been announced. The events are free, but pre-registration is required. Thursday, March 4 2:00 PM EST: A Matter of Time Join knowledgeable panelists as they explore topics ranging from horology, timepieces, the artistry and history of watchmaking, rare books and archival materials. In partnership with Vacheron Constantin. Jonathan A. Hill is a rare book and manuscript seller specializing in science, medicine, natural history, bibliography, and early printed books. Eric Ku is an internationally renowned collector, expert, and seller of vintage and contemporary watches. Sigrid Offenstein is Collections and Archives Manager for Vacheron Constantin. Register for this event... 3:00 PM EST: Virtual Tour: What's Cooking? WHAT'S COOKING? A virtual tour with our experts in culinary history examining the important cookery books and food- and drink-related ephemera offered at the book fair. Ben Kinmont is an artist, publisher, and antiquarian bookseller specializing in gastronomy. He sells 15th to early 19th century books about food and wine, domestic and rural economy, health, perfume, and the history of taste as Ben Kinmont Bookseller, ABAA. Lynda Claassen is Director of Special Collections & Archives at UC San Diego, which is home to the American Institute of Wine & Food Culinary Collection with more than 7,000 volumes about culinary history. Randall Tarpey Schwed is a collector of books and ephemera primarily relat... [more California Virtual Book Fair Special Programs]

The 2021 winner of the California Young Book Collector's Prize is Jessica Camille Jordan of Palo Alto, California. Her collection, “Women in Subscription Bookselling” explores the role of women book agents, who went door-to-door selling books to people in their homes, rather than in a bookstore. A selection of Jordan's collection will be displayed virtually in conjunction with the California ABAA Virtual Book Fair (March 4 – 6), and can be found at www.abaa.org.vbf. She will also take part in a panel discussion with past winners of the prize on Saturday, March 6 during the fair. Please register in advance for this free event here... As Jessica sought for narrative accounts of the experiences of these book agents, of the approximately two dozen she has unearthed, she found that “they were predominately written by women, despite the fact that women made up a tiny fraction of the canvassing workforce.” Such canvassing would have been a risky proposition for a woman given the societal norms of the day, in which the female “presence in public spaces was still a lightening rod for conversations about respectability” -- and the very essence of being a book agent was to interact with strangers, often men, as each new door was knocked upon. Sponsored by the Southern and Northern California Chapters of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, The California Young Book Collector's Prize is open to collectors aged 35 and under who are living in California. All c... [more Third Annual California Young Book Collector’s Prize Awarded]

In commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment, the 53rd California International Antiquarian Book Fair, February 7-9, 2020 in Pasadena, will feature a special exhibit and panel discussions on the women's suffrage movement. This celebration will highlight the contributions of successive generations of women, from protofeminists like Mary Wollstonecraft, to the abolitionists and the temperance movement, through pioneering crusaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the suffragettes who eventually won the vote, as well as those activists who have continued the fight for equal rights in the 21st century. Among these women is the California artist whose iconic artwork adorns the book fair's poster. Bertha Margaret Boye (1883–1931) was born in Oakland, the daughter of German immigrants. Her father was a cabinet maker, and her mother a homemaker. She was the middle of three sisters; the oldest worked as a nurse and her younger sister was a portrait painter. Boye had just completed studies at the famous Mark Hopkins Art Institute in San Francisco when she entered and won the poster contest sponsored by the College Equal Suffrage League in 1911. She received a $50 prize for her design, which was reproduced on cards, handbills, and publicity stamps. Boye's design was the precise image leaders of the movement sought. The first suffrage campaign in California, in 1896, failed. When conditions suddenly changed in 1910 and a progressive Republican administration... [more The Image of Suffrage]

The Boston Book Fair is the annual fall gathering for book lovers and collectors of rare books, featuring the top selection of items available on the international literary market. The 43rd annual gathering of U.S. and international dealers, sanctioned by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, takes place in Boston, Massachusetts over the weekend of November 15-17, 2019. Here are a few preview items to tempt you, including copies of some of the most-famous rare books of all time! Allen Ginsberg, Original Carbon Typescript for Part I of “Howl”, (ca. early 1956) Previously unknown original carbon typescript of the most important postwar American poem: Allen Ginsberg's “Howl.” Almost certainly the only surviving draft version of this iconic poem remaining in private hands, and the only one to ever be separately offered for sale, this copy was struck from what has become known as the fifth draft (so identified in HOWL: Original Draft Facsimiles and Variant Versions . Barry Miles, Editor. New York: Harper & Row, 1986) and most likely dates from early 1956. It is this draft that Ginsberg read in what is the earliest known recording of the poem at Oregon's Reed College from February 1956 (indeed you can hear him turning the pages at precisely the right time on the recording), performed just three months after the legendary Six Gallery reading where the poem debuted. Provenance: this copy of “Howl” was ... [more Boston Book Fair: Preview Items]

The ABAA Women's Initiative organized a panel at the 52nd California International Antiquarian Book Fair to discuss the publication "Zamorano Celebrates 90", which highlights important women collectors from Southern California. Project coordinator and editor Jean Gillingwators and first woman president of the Zamorano Club Judy Sahak spoke about how the project came to fruition. Designer and printer Norman Clayton explained the significance of design choices such as the purple Japanese silk and 1/4 leather cover as well as the challenges of replicating old and sometimes deteriorated photographs in print. ABAA members Jen and Brad Johnson were contributing essayists and spoke on fine press printer Lillian Marks of the Plantin Press and bookseller Peggy Christian. Librarian and educator Gary Kurutz discussed Alice Millard. ABAA member Kait Manning moderated the panel and asked questions which elicited insightful answers and convivial banter between the panelists. The Panelists (left to right): Brad Johnson, Gary Kurutz, Kait Manning, Jen Johnson, Jean Gillingwators, Judy Sahak, and Norman Clayton. The Zamorano Club is Southern California's oldest organization of bibliophiles and manuscript collectors. Founded in 1928, it sponsors lectures and publications on bookish topics. Most noteworthy is the Zamorano 80 (1945)—a member-selected and -written catalogue of the most significant books in California history. "Zamorano Celebrates 90: Honoring the Contributions of Women in Books... [more Women’s Initiative Hosts “Zamorano Celebrates 90” Panel in Oakland]

The 52nd California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to the Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, California, over the weekend of February 8-10, 2019. Recognized as one of the world's largest and most prestigious exhibitions of antiquarian books, the 52nd California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to Northern California, Friday, February 8 through Sunday, February 10, 2019 at the Oakland Marriott City Center. Sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and featuring the collections and rare treasures of nearly 200 booksellers from over 20 countries around the world, the three-day book fair offers a rich selection of manuscripts, early American and European literature, modern first editions, children's books, maps and autographs, as well as antiquarian books on history, science, law, architecture, cooking, wine, and a wide range of other topics. This year's Book Fair will include a special exhibit by the Book Club of California, an active association of over 800 major California collectors with interests in rare books and manuscripts of all types. Founded in 1912, the Club's library is dedicated to collecting and sharing works of California fine printers; resources on book making, book design, and book history; and books of historical significance. One side of this bi-faceted exhibit will display a selection of materials by California women printers and book artis... [more 2019 California Book Fair]

The 2019 California International Antiquarian Book Fair takes place in Oakland, California February 8-10, 2019. Nearly 200 rare-book dealers from around the world will be bringing their most-outstanding items to surprise and delight book collectors. Some of the ABAA members attending preview their wares below... Harold Arlen. "The Wizard of Oz" Record Set - Inscribed by the Composer! 1939. 4-disc set of first issue 78-RPM records of the cast-recording soundtrack album for the beloved film, inscribed by the composer, Harold Arlen, to his brother and sister-in-law. Housed in original illustrated covers. Inscribed in pen on the first record sleeve: "For Julie + Jean, Love Harold 12-18-39". Songs include "Over the Rainbow", "Munchkinland Part I & II", "If I Only Had a Brain", "If I Only Had a Heart", "The Merry Old Land of Oz", and "We're Off to See The Wizard". This record set includes the only known release of the movie's deleted musical number, "The Jitterbug", as the album was created and distributed before filming wrapped. Discs exhibit very little handling, but are untested. Front cover detached but present, with part of cloth tape torn. Edge wear to the covers, with cloth tape repair between inside front cover and first record sleeve. Overall very good. Songwriter Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck) is to thank for some of the most iconic songs of the twentieth century, including "Over the Rainbow," "Get Happy," "Stormy Weather," and "The Man That Got Away." He collaborated w... [more CA Book Fair: 2019 Preview]

Enjoy this selection of preview items that our members will be exhibiting at the upcoming 42nd annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair. We'll be adding items to this page all week, so check back daily for more extremely rare and beautirful items! Fantaisie-Fantasia-Fantasie-Fancy- Scenes for Ladies of Leisure to Construct c1840. A large folio with die-cut opening in cover to create a "picture frame". It includes 2 plates and an array of cutout hand finished engraved images of women, children and accessories. The two 12" x 9 ½” plates have numerous slits at the base Each of the images has a tab at the base. The individual women are placed in the incisions or slits creating elegant scenes from the serene to the severe. Includes two pattern sheets with eight (8) different scenes. Endless scenes can be created beyond the scenes shown. Twenty-four (24) images and accessories. Offered by Eclectibles (Booth 204). CROZE, Austin de. . La Lumière Magique. Paris, 1920. 4to. 92pp. 37pp. text and illustrations, distributed over 92pp. overall. Various papers and media utilized running the gamut from heavy card to glassine via what appears to be brown wrapping paper and other diverse elements. Bound in later full burnt yellow morocco gilt, black title labels to spine, embellished with pentagrams to both boards. A beautiful volume, strong, clean and clearly well looked after. Original cover and spine bound in. Filled with numerous pen, ink and watercolours designs with the unpu... [more Boston Book Fair: Featured Items]