Join us at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts November 8-10, for the 46th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair! With more than 100 rare book dealers from the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, the UK, and 19 U.S. states, an alluring treasure trove awaits seasoned bibliophiles and first-time attendees at the Fair. Here is a small selection of items to preview the treasures you will find in Boston. Original Artwork by the "Painter of the Revolution" John Trumbull: ORIGINAL PEN AND INK CHARACTER STUDY FOR HIS PAINTING, Priam Returning to his Family the Dead Body of Hector, DEPICTING A GROUP OF FIVE DISTRAUGHT TROJAN MOURNERS. London.: December 22, 1784 5¾ x 6½ inches (14¾ x 16½ cm). Light tanning, some old creases to the paper. Near fine. Matted and framed. $25,000.00 A vibrant and kinetic character study accomplished relatively early in the career of the renowned American painter John Trumbull, in preparation for one of his rare mythological scenes. The present drawing was done by Trumbull during his second visit to London, while studying in Benjamin West's studio. Signed and dated "London Dec 22d 1784" on the verso, it is a study for the following year's large-scale painting titled Priam Returning to his Family the Dead Body of Hector, one of the artist's only major works on a mythological topic. The group studied here, comprising five Trojan mourners including a woman with her two small children, appears on the left side o... [more Boston Book Fair Highlights]
Events
The ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (NYIABF) -- officially sanctioned by Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and produced and managed by Sanford L. Smith + Associates -- returns to the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from April 4-7, 2024, for its 64th Edition. This year, the ABAA is celebrating its 75th anniversary and will present a series of special events & programs tied to the Fair. The NYIABF is a cultural pillar of New York and returns as a much-anticipated highlight of the spring season. Universally referred to as the world's finest antiquarian book fair, NYIABF features nearly 200 exhibitors this year from around the world -- continuing to live up to its reputation as a highly international fair. The Fair attracts a diverse audience of literary luminaries, influencers, celebrities, art, design and book enthusiasts and collectors both seasoned and entry level. In recent years, the NYIABF has increasingly captured the attention of young collectors seeking one-of-a-kind offerings at more accessible price points. Fair highlights encompass art, science, medicine, literature, history, gastronomy, fashion, first editions, Americana, philosophy, children's books and much more. From the historic and academic, the religious and spiritual, to the bedrock of secular culture, finance, politics, the NYIABF boasts offerings in every conceivable genre and subject! This year, the NYIABF... [more New York Book Fair 2024]
The 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair (Feb. 9-11, 2024) will feature several presentations from leading experts from around the Golden State. Saturday, February 10, 2024 1:00pm Liberation Through Duplication: Press Power of the Long 1960s Lincoln Cushing | Independent archivist and historian, Docs Populi | Instructor, University of California, Berkeley This presentation explores a marginalized segment of the printed ephemera world during the 1960s and 1970s - politically motivated propaganda. Activists who'd never before even touched a press or a squeegee learned how to print as a means to an end. Much of this material was rough around the edges but full of spirit and style. Lincoln Cushing has at various times been a printer, artist, archivist, author, and academic librarian at the University of California. He is committed to documenting, cataloging, and disseminating oppositional political culture of the late 20th century. His books include Revolucion! Cuban Poster Art (2003), Visions of Peace & Justice: 30 Years of Political Posters from the Archives of Inkworks Press (2007) and Agitate! Educate! Organize! - American Labor Posters (2009). He curated the 2012 exhibition All Of Us Or None — Poster Art of the San Francisco Bay Area at the Oakland Museum of California and is the author of its catalog. 2:30pm Typographic Jazz, The Monoprints of Jack Stauffacher Rob Saunders | Executive Director and Curator, Letterform Archive Based on the exhibit currently a... [more CA Book Fair: Speaker Schedule]
The California International Antiquarian Book Fair returns to San Francisco February 9-11. 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. Here is a small preview of the material exhibitors will have available. THE UNIQUE ORIGINAL AMBROTYPE Ostendorf #14. Housed in an 1865 period frame, with mourning ribbons setting off the ambrotype at the corners. Cole, Roderick A. (attributed) Abraham Lincoln. Ninth-Plate Ruby Glass Ambrotype. Peoria Illinois: circa 1858. Displayed in a plain, but handsome, period wooden frame with the back opened in order to observe the painted backing and the “ruby-red” tone. Ambrotypes are negative images produced on a glass plate, viewed as a positive by the addition of a black backing; sometimes this backing is a piece of velvet and other times, such as the present one, a thin varnish. The ruby-red quality of the glass is quite apparent. 1856-1858 were the peak years of the ambrotype, into which this example falls. But just as the ambro was displacing the daguerreotype, the care-de-visite and the tintype were waiting in the wings, about to displace this technique. The Cole image was popularized on campaign ribbons and button ferrotypes during the 1860 presidential campaign. Probably obtained during that campaign, kept in a drawer, and then,... [more California Book Fair Preview]
Renowned chef, restaurateur, and pioneer of California cuisine, Alice Waters will be a guest at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair on Saturday, February 10, where she will appear at California bookseller Ben Kinmont's booth (#217) for a book signing at 3pm. The event is a fundraiser for The Edible Schoolyard, a project to transform the food experience that Waters began in a public middle school in Berkeley, California, in 1995, and which has now grown to serve public schools throughout the United States and abroad. This “edible education” program increases children's understanding of nutrition, farming, and the preparation of food, and views gastronomy as connected to economics, social justice and climate change. It is also part of a much longer history, from the emergence of soup kitchens during the French Revolution to the Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast Program that began in Oakland. In the words of author Michael Pollan: “To spend time in an Edible Schoolyard is to realize how much more is going on here than teaching kids how to garden or cook....The Edible Schoolyard is an eloquent and practical answer to some of the most pressing questions facing us as a society.” In recent years, Kinmont has been working to expand the idea of gastronomy to include issues around economic precarity. Realizing that most culinary historians focus on food for the top 1% of the population, Kinmont has “been looking for works that reveal the role of gastronomy i... [more Meet Alice Waters at the California Book Fair]
Bibliography Week Showcase 2024 Join us for an in-person Bibliography Week Showcase at the French Institute: Alliance Française on Monday, January 22, 2024 (10:30am-4pm). The Showcase features 30 dealers exhibiting printed and manuscript material from the Middle Ages to the present day. Admission is free! Browse exhibiting dealers below. Location: French Institute: Alliance Française 60th Street between Park and Madison, NYC. The Bibliography Week Showcase is hosted with the Bibliographical Society of America and the Grolier Club and is part of Bibliography Week 2024. 2024 Bibliography Week Exhibitor List (by alpha) Booth Number Exhibitor 13 James Arsenault & Company 5 Bromer Booksellers 28 Capitol Hill Books 1 Cleveland Book Company 27 James Cummins Bookseller 30 De Simone Company, Booksellers 29 De Wolfe & Wood 14 Enchanted Books, ABAA, AAS 12 Fournier Fine & Rare 24 Rodger Friedman Rare Book Studio 8 mark funke, bookseller 11 Thomas A Goldwasser Rare Books 17 James Gray Bookseller 19 Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller Inc. 4 Honey & Wax Booksellers 10 James S. Jaffe Rare Books LLC 21 Michael Laird Rare Books 15 Liber Antiquus 18 Martayan Lan Rare Books, Maps and Prints 6 McBride Rare Books 7 Bruce McKittrick Rare Books 2 Old New York Book Shop 22 Rabelais Inc. 26 William Reese Company 25 Ken Sanders Rare Books 23 Tavistock Books 9 Ursus Books 3 Michael R. Weintraub, Inc. 20 White Fox Rare Books and Antiques 16 Zucker Art Books [more 2024 Bibliography Week Exhibitors]
Edit: The Fair is now open! Shop the Fair here... Don't miss the 2023 ABAA Holiday Virtual Book Fair! The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) will host a virtual book fair to kick off the end-of-year holidays at www.abaa.org/vbf from 12 pm ET on Thursday, November 30 until 7 pm ET on Saturday, December 2, 2023. Over the last three years, virtual book fairs hosted by the ABAA have grown in size and scope, offering a wide array of rare books and related items, including manuscripts, maps, autographs, prints, and a wide variety of ephemera, and drawing a diverse group of collectors. At this ABAA Holiday Virtual Book Fair, international dealers will join ABAA members to offer their latest acquisitions and rare finds. The exhibitors can be previewed here... Doors open at 12 pm ET on Thursday, November 30, 2023 and will remain open continuously until 7 pm ET on Saturday, December 2, 2023. Exhibitors will replenish their booths each night, giving collectors an incentive to visit and shop over multiple days. Admission is free! More details can be found at www.abaa.org/vbf... Sign-up to receive email updates about this and other virtual book fairs throughout the year... Preview Items The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1971) New York: Harper and Row, 1971. 1st U.S. Edition . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Fine in a fine unclipped dust jacket. Very light edge wear to bottom of jacket. Old Christmas by Washington Irving ... [more ABAA Holiday Virtual Book Fair 2023]
In partnership with the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section Conference (Indiana University Bloomington, June 27-30, 2023) and the ABAA's in-person Booksellers' Showcase, the ABAA will offer a virtual showcase that everyone can visit, regardless of their location. Doors will remain open continuously from Tuesday, June 27 at 12:00pm ET until Friday, June 30 at 8:00pm ET. The RBMS Virtual Showcase will take place at www.abaa.org/vbf Preview the exhibitors... Enjoy this preview of selected books and ephemera that you'll find offered by ABAA members at the 2023 RBMS Booksellers' Virtual Showcase. The Anatomical Eye Glass - The Best on the Face of the Earth Milwaukee: The Milwaukee Litho & Engraving Co, 1902. Lightly warped. Scrapbook residue on reverse.. A fine 11.5" by 8/75" advertising trade sign or counter card. It depicts the earth wearing pince-nez --almost as though they were held in place by gravity. The three elves at the base hold a second pair and point to the nose pads. It is captioned "THE PADS ANCHOR the Eye Glasses in position so that they WILL NOT FALL and CANNOT BE SHAKEN OFF. Presented by F. A. Hardy & Co. Chicago ILL. Verso blank. Delightful eye-catching whimsy imparting a clear message on a new development in eye wear. Offered by Eclectibles. The Faerie Queene. A Poem in Six Books with the Fragment Mutabilitie. 6 volumes Spenser, Edmund. Thomas J. Wise (editor); Walter Crane (illustrator) London: Printed at the Chiswick Press for George Allen, 1897. Hardcover. Ve... [more RBMS Virtual Showcase Highlights]
Our most-recent in-person event was the well-attended 63rd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. Now, we present the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: Spring Edition, the premiere virtual event for books, maps, autographs, ephemera, and more! May 11-13 abaa.org/vbf Open continuously from 12 pm ET on Thursday until 7 pm ET on Saturday. Explore the finest rare books, manuscripts and ephemera. Shop the virtual booths of international sellers and discover their latest acquisitions and rare finds. View exhibitors here... Learn more about the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: Spring Edition at abaa.org/vbf... For news about our upcoming in-person and virtual book fairs, visit our events page... [more Join us for the ABAA Virtual Book Fair: Spring Edition]
The 63rd New York International Antiquarian Book Fair (April 27-30, 2023 at the Park Avenue Armory) will feature over 180 exhibitors from 17 countries, presenting a vast treasure trove of items: rare books, maps, illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, fine bindings, illustrations, historical documents, prints and print ephemera. Below are some of the items dealers have indentified as their finest or most-exciting offerings! Publisher's Deluxe Edition with the Plates Colored by Hand A Wonderful Example in the Publisher's Superlative 'Polychromatic' Binding SAND, Maurice; MANCEAU, A, illustrator Masques et Bouffons (Comédie Italienne). Texte et Dessins par Maurice Sand. Gravures par A. Manceau. Preface par George Sand. Paris: A Lévy Fils, Libraire-Éditeur, 1862. Publisher's Deluxe Edition in the Superlative 'Polychromatic' Binding by Antoine Lenègre. Two large octavo volumes (10 3/8 x 7 1/8 inches; 263 x 181 mm.). -viii, 356, list of plates,verso blank], , table, verso blank] pp; , 384 pp. Half-titles with printer's credit and publisher's note verso and printed titles in red to each vol., engraved frontispiece with additional coloring by hand to vol. 1, 'Préface' by George Sand, 'Avant-Propos', 'Introduction' and text. Fifty superb hand colored plates by Maurice Sand, and engraved by George Sand's lover Alexandre Manceau. Publisher's Deluxe 'Polychromatic' binding by Antoine Lenègre with his signature in gilt on both front covers. Quarter black chagrin over black cloth boar... [more New York Book Fair Preview]