ABAA-member Claudia Strauss-Schulson, her son Todd and daughter Caren, have written a book -- Scrawl: An A to Z of Famous Doodles -- based on the extensive collection of illustrated letters and sketches built by the late David Schulson, founder of David Schulson Autographs, Ltd. (now Schulson Autographs). We asked the three Strauss-Schulsons to tell us about the book and the collection on which it draws. ABAA: How did this collection come about? Claudia Strauss-Schulson: The collection began with the intent to combine art with history. The collection built out from illustrated letters to include drawings of all sorts from the full range of human endeavor. The criteria for selecting a letter or drawing for the collection had to do with adding diversity and curiosity as the collection grew. ABAA: How large is it? Claudia: Larger than the number of pieces in Scrawl. ABAA: You must come across doodles and marginalia all the time in your area of specialty. What gave you the idea to turn the collection into a book? Todd Strauss-Schulson: In the months after Dad died, Caren and I had the idea of turning the private collection into an art book. Dad loved this material, and we grew up with it. The exciting part was not to do another historical book of letters, not academic or stuffy. We wanted to do an art book that contextualized this material as art objects, as we had learned from him. Caren Strauss-Schulson: Our dad was the perfect balance of serious and playful, and Rizzoli comple... [more Collection: Famous Doodles]

A copy of The Maltese Falcon was reported stolen from Rhode Island. We were provided with the following details on this particular copy: Inscribed on the upper right-hand corner of the first page was "R Stackpole” and written just below was "to Carol” The book had no stains, no rips, no other writing, no fringe tears, and was wrapped in white tissue paper. Regarding the wrapping: #1) the colorful book-cover lightly enclosed in airy white tissue paper in its own box-the lid was exteriorly taped shut on all for corners and # 2) the book itself was loosely wrapped in white tissue paper and placed in its own airy lidded box; which was taped the same way. Both containers had written on the exterior tops, "VERY VALUABLE BOOK DO NOT OPEN" and underlined. If you have any information on this item, please contact Carol Cummings at (401) 846-2126 or her attorney Gordon Cleary at (401) 523-7726. [more Stolen: “The Maltese Falcon”]

In his day, Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) was one of the most-famous authors in America. While his books have largely fallen out of print today, everyone is familiar with his main idea, because Horatio Alger, Jr. popularized the “pulling oneself up by the bootstraps” ideal that permeates so much of American life. It's not too much of a stretch to say that Alger gave America its great national myth, that hard work (and clean living) can allow anyone to achieve success — although people often seem to overlook the amount of sheer luck that comes into play in his fiction. A more-jaundiced reading of Alger's oeuvre would assert that success for Alger was usually defined as social advancement or preferment, and it was usually achieved by finding a wealthy patron through performing a selfless deed or some service (returning a lost wallet or proving ones virtue in some way). Of course, the only individuals who could achieve this social advancement were white males, and the agent of this change was invariably an older white male. Nevertheless, his books were popular after the Civil War, and achieved a huge surge in readership in the early decades of the Twentieth Century. It wasn't an easy road to success for Alger, the son of a Unitarian Minister and descendant of Puritan ancestors. After attending Harvard -- where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was part of the faculty -- he published fitfully, and none of his varied early books really found an audience. After a brief attempt to w... [more Horatio Alger, Jr.]

Meet the latest members of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America. New Members Lillian Fraker, Savoy Books (Lanesboro, MA) Lillian Fraker was born in New York, grew up in Westchester County and met her husband-to-be, Robert Fraker in college. In 1971 they settled in a rural town in Massachusetts' Berkshires where they started Savoy Books, later moving home and business to Lanesboro, Mass. They kept a general stock of pre-1900 books and paper, specializing in antiquarian horticulture/agriculture, and 19th-century American popular music, and putting together various quirky subject collections -- history of Shorthand, American education, etc. Savoy Books joined the ABAA under Robert Fraker's name in 1974, exhibiting in every Boston ABAA book fair since then, and in the 1970s and '80s participating in a few New York and California fairs. When Robert died in 2017, Lillian Fraker applied for ABAA membership under her own name. She still has a medium-sized stock of antiquarian books, pamphlets, broadsides, graphics and other ephemera for sale and is happy to be able to continue her 45-year connection with the ABAA community. Elena Gallego, Elena Gallego Rare Books (San Antonio, TX) Elena Gallego Rare Books LLC operates from its offices in Madrid and Texas and aims to get professionals, collectors, and lovers of unique artworks closer to the exciting world of the rare books and manuscripts. They specialise in Spanish books, Central and Latin America, and México. Their d... [more New Members]

UPDATE: This item has been located! 5/31/2019. Becker, George F. Atlas to Accompany the Monograph on the Geology of the Comstock Lode and the Washoe District. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1882. First edition. 21 sheets. Elephant Folio Very good. Small paper label on backstrip and front board. Contents clean and complete. This is the atlas to accompany the third monograph from the USGS. If offered, please contact: Ken Sanders Rare Books, ABAA at (801) 521-3819 or www.kensandersbooks.com. [more Atlas Missing from Chicago Map Fair]

UPDATE: These items have been recovered. On 29 March 2019, a box with 26 Japanese books went missing in Salt Lake City, UT. The books had been exhibited at the ARLIS/NA conference and were packed and sealed in a brown cardboard box, heavily taped and labeled, that was to be shipped by UPS Freight to Boston, MA. The box was issued a UPS Freight tracking number that was never activated. A list of the missing material is below. Please contact Boston Book Company if you have any information about the package or its contents: 617-522-2100 or office@rarebook.com 1. MORIGUCHI Tari, editor. HYÔGENSHUGI KENCHIKU ZUSHÛ. Tôkyô: Kyôyôsha, Taisho 12 25.4 x 18.8 cm. A portfolio, tied, of some 60 plates, on the topic of "EXPRESSIONIST ARCHITECTURE". Wonderful modernist designs, real and proposed, from the cutting edge of the architectural design of the period. The covers are a bit worn. The overall condition is good or better. A very unusual larger portfolio from the Kyôyôsha, the most central architectural publishing house of the day in Japan. (Inventory #90 2. ITAGAKI Takao, et al. SHINKÔ GEIJUTSU Tôkyô, Geibun-shoin. A complete six-issue set of the periodical 'Shinko Geijutsu', in 5 volumes (issues five and six were published together in one volume). 'Shinko Geijustu', translated as 'the new arts', or 'the avant-garde arts', was a magazine created by Itagaki Takaho (1894-1966), a Japanese art critic who pioneered Japanese cinema and photography study and influenced trends in m... [more Update: Missing Japanese Books, possibly in transit from Salt Lake City]

Two weeks ago a full trunk of medical material went missing from the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. The list of missing items can be found here. (You can visit the following link to view images of the books: https://tinyurl.com/Medicine2019) If you have any information about the material listed, please contact Howard Rootenberg at (818) 788-7765 or blroot@rootenbergbooks.com. [more Missing Trunk of Medical Items]

The following item has been reported missing: On April 20, a first edition/first printing of the first Nancy Drew book-- The Secret of the Old Clock-- was stolen from a locked case at a downtown Savannah antique mall. The book itself is a little over 1" thick, medium blue with pale pink capital letters outlined in black. Other than the lettering, the front of the book is plain; there is no Nancy Drew silhouette as in later printings. The endpapers are white and blank except for an inscription that is dated September 27, 1930. The title page has considerable foxing, and the book does not have a dust jacket. We have the thief on surveillance video, and a police report has been made with the Savannah Police Department (Case #190420124). The SPD contact is Officer Mosteller, and you can reach him at (912) 651-6990. If you have any information on the book or if it is offered to you, please call Officer Mosteller of the Savannah Police Department at (912) 651-6990 or Betsy Host-Theford at (912) 236-7115. [more Stolen: 1st Edition/1st Printing Nancy Drew Secret of the Old Clock]

Thrasher Skateboard Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 1 (January 1981) - vol. 1, no. 9 (September 1981) (complete run of early large-format issues). San Francisco: High Speed Productions, 1981 - . Nine issues, ca. 30 pp. each, comprising an ultra-scarce unbroken early run of what is unquestionably the most influential skateboarding magazine ever published. Small folio. Near fine. Illus. wrappers, color. Twisted. No. 3 (March 1978). Seattle, Wash.: 1977-1978. Single issue, ca. 48 pp. of the West Coast punk fanzine, illustrated throughout with photos by Kathy Hammond, Dag Rex, K. Leo and others. 4to. Near fine. Illus. stiff wraps, saddle stapled. Straight Edge. No. 1 1982) Hicksville, NY / Brooklyn: Straight Edge, 1982. First Edition. Single issue, unpaginated ca. 28 pp., of the hardcore punk fanzine. Near fine. Illus. stiff wraps, stab-stapled. Forced Exposure. Nos. 4-5 Waltham, Mass.: Forced Exposure, 1982-1983. Two early issues (ca. 22-26 pp. each) of the hardcore punk and underground culture magazine, illustrated throughout with original photography and graphic art. Very good condition, overall, with minor age-toning throughout. DIY graphics but saddle-stapled and commercially printed on stock. Nihongi, Satomi. Punk Rock in London. Documentary 1977-1979. Tokyo: Buronzu-Sha, 1979. First Edition. Unpaginated photobook with texts in English and Japanese as well as 101 full bleed black and white photos documenting the primal days of London's punk scene. Small 4to. Mint. Illus. d.j. over ca... [more Thrasher Magazine run and Punk Material Stolen from LA Art Book Fair]

On March 5, 2019, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) held the symposium Who Owned This? Libraries and the Rare Book Trade Consider Issues Surrounding Provenance, Theft and Forgery at the renowned New York book collectors club, the Grolier Club, jointly organized with the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA). Rare booksellers are faced with increasing demands from institutions to have strong provenance on materials they buy. Booksellers need to know how to deal with this and have a good understanding of what libraries need. The symposium brought together a range of experts and scholars from the antiquarian book trade and libraries, as well as the fields of investigation, insurance, art law, and technology. April 10, 2019 is the first International Provenance Research Day with more than 60 cultural institutions in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland organizing large number of symposiums and workshops at museums, archives and libraries. Coinciding with this important initiative, ILAB launches the videos of the New York Provenance Symposium. As Sally Burdon, ILAB President said in her introduction on the day: “The popular image of an old bookshop with a slightly eccentric bookseller selling books in a shop untidily crammed with books and a computer nowhere in sight, is not the modern reality. Antiquarian books, manuscripts, maps, prints etc. are constantly being traded across international borders. Because o... [more Provenance Symposium Video Archive]