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]
ABAA-member Ken Sanders, owner of Ken Sanders Rare Books in Salt Lake City, has announced an exciting new tactic in the battle to keep his famous bookstore afloat. After offering "investment" gift certificates during the early days of the pandemic, and then launching a successful GoFundMe campaign, Sanders has now partnered with a local brewery to create small-batch beers in commemorative cans celebrating the characters of Edward Abbey's famous novel The Monkey Wrench Gang featuring artwork by the noted cartoonist R. Crumb. Sanders credits Colby Frazier, one of the owners of Fisher Brewery, for "proposing the idea as a fundraiser for KSRB." Salt Lake City's Fisher Beer are crafting six different small-batch brews and have been releasing one approximately every two weeks since the end of November. The batches have been selling out quickly, as this podcast report from Roger McDonough of KCPW.org reports. Edward Abbey fans outside Utah who want to get hold of these commemorative cans will have to settle for a set of empties, as Utah law prevents beer from being shipped out of the state. Commemorative six packs containing each of the cans can be ordered from the brewery for delivery after the final batch is released. Ken Sanders is also currently making a few individual empty cans and a commemorative poster available on abaa.org -- while stocks last! Sanders originally commissioned R. Crumb to create the artwork for a calender project to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Monk... [more Ken Sanders’ Collectible Beer Cans]
Update: this item has been recovered as of 1/22/21. Report of an alleged theft over the holidays, possibly linked to previously fraudulent activity from the Essex area of the UK. The item is a first British edition of Finnegans Wake in a restored dust-jacket. There is a name in pencil on the front free endpaper. The book was ordered and paid for with a credit card over the phone and the buyer claimed the book was a gift. The item was shipped to Dagenham, UK and delivered on Dec 8th. After delivery, the credit card owner disputed the charge via PayPal. We advise all members to be vigilant and please exercise caution if you receive orders associated with or from this area. If offered this item, please contact: Rachel Eley John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller Telephone: (415) 986-5826 rachel@johnwindle.com [more Update/Recovered: Possible Fraudulent Activity: Essex, UK Area, Finnegans Wake]
Longtime ABAA member Robert “Bob” Petrilla of Roosevelt, NJ passed away at his home on September 1, 2020. Petrilla started in the book business in 1970 as he operated two open shops in Bucks County, PA. In 1981, he began selling books through the R & A Petrilla catalogues, and then online. Bob Petrilla first became a member of the ABAA in early 80's and reinstated his membership in 2014. Petrilla considered himself a generalist, saying of R & A Petrilla's catalogue, “We specialize in what we bought yesterday. We pursued several specialties in the past: Western Americana, African Americana, American Music, Women's Studies. When one could still scout such material on the shelves of bookshops, we built some nice collections, now in institutions.” In 1997, Petrilla was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, and was a member of the Philobiblon Club of Philadelphia and the Independent Online Booksellers Association. He was also a founding member and first president of the Antiquarian Booksellers of New Jersey, a professional organization operating for many years (though now defunct). His wife and long-time partner, Alison, is continuing to operate their book business. She says of her late husband, “Bob worked extremely hard to keep up with the times and adapt himself to computer selling, and he created our gorgeous (at least I think so!) website and worked on it every day until the last weeks of his life.” Fellow ABAA Member Chuck Roberts of Wonder B... [more In Memoriam: Bob Petrilla]
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Benevolent Fund Since its founding in 1952 by a group of ABAA members, the Antiquarian Booksellers' Benevolent Fund has been dedicated throughout its history to providing timely financial assistance to those in the book trade who find themselves in a time of need. Originally known as The Charles Grand Memorial Fund (a founder's reminiscence can be found below), it was specifically meant to provide “for the assistance of needy persons, regardless of affiliation, who are or have been engaged in the business of selling and dealing in books, manuscripts, and printed matter in general,” with the only proviso being that funds may be granted only for personal needs, not for business needs. In a typical year, the Fund gives a total of $40,000 in one-time disbursements to booksellers in need, the majority of whom are not members of the ABAA. Historically, the Fund has been sustained by donations from ABAA members, their generosity born out of their understanding of how precarious a livelihood in the book trade can sometimes be. Most antiquarian booksellers are individual proprietors with limited capital, and are especially vulnerable to unanticipated ill-health, accidents, natural disasters or other types of misfortune. The Antiquarian Booksellers' Benevolent Fund is administered by a group of Trustees comprised of the three most recent Presidents of the ABAA. The ABAA regards its stewardship of the Benevolent Fund as one of its most important responsi... [more Donate to the Benevolent and Woodburn Funds]
12/14/20: Update, this parcel has been delivered and the items are no longer missing. *** A parcel containing the following items has gone missing from the porch of a customer in Kentfield, CA: 1. Bayard Taylor. Eldorado (1850). 2 volumes. First edition, slipcase 2. Alfred Robinson. Life in California (1846). First edition. 3. Zachary Taylor. California and New Mexico (1850). Ex-Newberry Lib. 4. Anthony Bledsoe. Indian Wars (1883). First edition. 5. Robert Louis Stevenson. Silverado Squatters (1883). First edition, slipcase. 6. Theodore Hittell. History of California (1885). 2 volumes. First edition. 7. Winfield Davis. History of the Political Conventions (1893). First edition. If offered, please contact Justin McShea of Star of the Sea Books: P.O. Box 1307 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 www.staroftheseabooks.com justin@staroftheseabooks.com Tel. 917-690-2550 [more Update: Missing in Transit to Kentfield, CA]
The ABAA Women's Initiative is proud to announce the launch of the ABAA Mentorship Program in an effort to further the ABAA's mission to promote ethical standards and professionalism in the antiquarian book trade, to encourage the collecting and preservation of rare and antiquarian books and related materials, and to facilitate collegial relations within the trade. Goals Further the mission of the ABAA Provide dealers early in their careers with the opportunity to advance their professional development Build a recruitment pipeline for the Association that enhances the number of qualified applicants Advance the diversity of new members Afford mentees the opportunity to build a relationship with an ABAA member Educate potential candidates about a career in the trade (for example, graduate students looking for a profession outside of academia) Structure With the assistance of the Women's Initiative, mentors and mentees will be paired with consideration of a variety of factors such as any specific requests, specialization/area of focus, and business structure. Location could also be a point of consideration but, with the availability of technology like Zoom/Skype, need not be a requirement. Once paired, mentors and mentees will commence a one year period of mentorship. Over the course of the year, mentors and mentees are required to have face to face communication for a minimum of 1-2 hours each month (this could be completed electronically). The schedule structure to meet this r... [more ABAA Mentorship Program]
Rare books and ephemera can be a fascinating avenue to examine the past and understand what was really happening during significant events or time periods. We took a deep dive into the database to see what light our members offerings could shine on America's new favorite drama... The Queen's Gambit Netflix's #1 new show is the coming-of-age story of a female chess prodigy struggling with addiction and the chauvinism inherent in 1960's American society. Based on Walter Tevis's 1983 novel of the same name, the show is being talked about for many reasons, not the least of which is the way it revels in decidedly analog pleasures -- the slow, methodical game of chess itself and the fashions of the 1960s -- and a very retro style of editing at odds with the frantic pace of modern television. At the same time, its vision of glass ceilings shattering and the importance of a team of like-minded friends to support each other speaks directly to issues very much on our minds at the current moment. Chess lovers have noted the accuracy and care with which the chess games themselves are depicted, which is no surprise considering the show recruited Grand Master Garry Kasparov and noted chess instructor Bruce Pandolfini (who also helped proof-read the original novel!) to oversee the gameplay and coach the actors on the nuances of competitive chess. In this time of social isolation, games like chess are discovering new fans and inspiring older ones to return to the board (the so-called "pandem... [more Behind The Queen’s Gambit]
The Boston Virtual Book Fair will take place at www.abaa.org/vbf from 11AM EST on Thursday, November 12 until 7PM EST on Saturday, November 14, 2020. Schedule: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 11AM EST Patron Preview Patron Preview tickets are available here... (A portion of proceeds supports the ABAA Benevolent Fund.) FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13 11AM EST Book Fair Opens for Free Admission 1PM EST Julia Child and Company: Culinary Delights at the Schlesinger Library Details and register for this event... 2PM EST Virtual Scavenger Hunt Begins Details to be shared via the ABAA Facebook page at 2PM EST on Friday, November 13. 3PM EST The Curious Case of Chloe Russell's “The Complete Fortune Teller and Dream Book” Details and register for this event... 5PM EST Reading the Drink/Drinking the Read Details and register for this event... SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14 11:30AM EST Boston Virtual Book Fair Tour: The Art of the Book Details and register for this event... 1PM EST Historical Artifacts and the Myths of the Women's Voting Rights Movement Details and register for this event... 3PM EST The Ticknor Society Collectors' Roundtable Details and register for this event... 7PM EST Virtual Book Fair Closes For more information about the Boston Virtual Book Fair visit www.abaa.org/vbf... For tickets to the Patron Preview click here... To register for all other events at the Boston Virtual Book Fair, click here... [more Boston Virtual Book Fair Schedule]