The Rare Book and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is offering RBMS Preconference scholarships for first-time attendees! This year's preconference is being held in sunny San Diego from June 19-22, and will "explore a multiplicity of futures for the rare book, manuscript, and special collections community". Numerous seminars, workshops, tours, and discussion sessions will be offered to participants, who will also be treated to a special ABAA Booksellers' Showcase. The deadline to apply for a scholarship is March 30, 2012. Additional details are below! In partnership with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of ACRL is offering scholarships to subsidize first-time preconference attendance by professional librarians and qualified paraprofessionals and students. RBMS is committed to increasing diversity in its membership and the special collections and archival professions. Accordingly, several preconference scholarships have been designated for applicants of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups. For more information about the RBMS commitment to diversity, please visit the RBMS website. Full and partial scholarships will be awarded. Full scholarships include a waiver of the preconference registration fee (up to $280 for professional and paraprofessional ACRL members, and $125 for full-time student members) plus a travel and accommodation stipend of $700. Pa... [more Scholarships to the 2012 Rare Book and Manuscript Section (RBMS) Preconference in San Diego]

This item was still reported missing as of June 10, 2019. The following book was reported stolen from the 2012 Washington Antiquarian Book Fair: Dahl, Roald. JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. A Children's Story. Illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, (1961),small 4to., publisher?s red cloth with blind stamped illustration, dust jacket. (viii), 118, (2) pages. First edition, first state of the author's first book for children. Bound by H. Wolff. The US edition preceded the British edition by six years. There are four full-page color plates and many other illustrations, including one full-page, which are in black, white, and shades of peach. The book is fine, but the dust jacket shows wear at the spine ends and corners, with a few additional creases and tiny closed tears. Quite attractive. If you have any information about this item, please contact Oak Knoll Books (302) 328-7232 or oakknoll@oakknoll.com. [more First Edition of "James and the Giant Peach" Stolen]

Below is a video of renowned chef Daniel Boulud talking about his favorite items from his rare book collection. Chef Boulud began collecting as a young chef, and his library currently houses thousands of volumes. Thanks to Gilt Taste for posting this video! Reading about Eating from Gilt Taste on Vimeo. [more Video: Daniel Boulud's Rare Book Collection]

One of the very cool special exhibits at the 45th International California Antiquarian Book Fair was hands-on demonstration of how a colonial era printing press worked, courtesy of The International Printing Museum. Below is a very brief video from the fair demonstrating how the press works. Thanks to AbeBooks for posting this video in their blog. And a personal thanks to another special exhibit by the Society for Calligraphy, Southern California, which had two representatives making beautiful gratis bookmarks for anyone interested. (And you didn't even have to waityou could drop-off your name and return when you were done at the fair!) Here's mine: [more Colonial Era Printing Press]

In 1898 author Morgan Robertson published the novella Futility, in which the largest ship in history, the Titan, which was proudly touted as "unsinkable", hits an iceberg on its maiden April voyage and sinks. Sound familiar? The actual RMS Titanic experienced an eerily similar fate to the fictional ship fourteen years later on April 14, 1912. There are many distinctions between the sinking of the fictional Titan and the actual Titanicmost notably in the number of survivors (705 survived the Titanic and only 13 survived the fictional sinking), the course taken by the ship, how it hit the iceberg, and how long it took to sinkbut even some of those differences have odd similarities (for instance, the Titanic was travelling from England to New York when it sank whereas the Titan was headed on the opposite course). As Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Books and Special Collections division at the Library of Congress, commented, "I challenge anyone not to raise an eyebrow. It's all within inches of being completely identical." The remarkable similarities between the plot of Futility and the actual disaster of the Titanic fourteen years later has fascinated historical experts and Titanic authorities for years. Adding to that intrigue is the fact that very few first editions of Futility exist, with only one known copy in circulation in the United States. The owner of that copy, Vaughn Barber of Bicentennial Books in Kalamazoo, Michigan, bought the book years ago and plans to put ... [more Rare Book that 'Foretold' the Titanic Disaster to be Sold]

If you are already here reading this blog, then you are most likely aware that the ABAA is not a misspelled fanclub for disco era superstar group ABBA, but rather a trade association of the best rare booksellers in the US. You may not, however, be familiar with the application process and the benefits of membership in the ABAA. If you are an antiquarian bookseller and fall into this category, then our upcoming informational webinar is just for you! Geared toward prospective members and those otherwise interested in learning more about the Association, the approximate one hour session will begin with an overview of the Association, its history, goals and membership requirements, followed by a question and answer session between the webinar 'attendees' and a panel of ABAA members. The webinar will take place on March 7 at 2pm ET. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to hq@abaa.org. [more ABAA Informational Webinar]

Today marked the public opening of Torn in Two: the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, a new exhibit at the Grolier Club that presents a history of the U.S. Civil War through historical maps and other rare items. The exhibition was organized by The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center of the Boston Public Library, and revolves around the monumental role geography played as a cause of the Civil War. Grolier Club Director Eric Holzenberg observed that "Torn in Two is the first large-scale public show in the Grolier Club's 128-year history to tell a story exclusively in maps." This cartographic narrative is supplemented by other rare historical items, however, and photographs, prints, letters, political cartoons, and press clippings are on display as well. Included in these additional items are photographic images of 19th-century slave life, the first American demographic map, and Ensign, Bridgman and Fanning's railroad map, which highlights the contrast between the industrialized North and the agrarian South. New Yorkers will have a special connection to the exhibit, as Curator Ronald Grim notes that newspapers were the main source of information at the time and that "these newspapers had some of the first maps in them, and most of them were published here in New York City. The New York Times, the New York Tribune, the New York Herald&and Harpers Weekly, all had maps and illustrations that told the story of the war". Torn in Two will be on display, free and open to the public for vi... [more Rare Maps the Focus of Civil War Exhibit at The Grolier Club]

On Tuesday the Morgan Library & Museum opened an exhibit that will display nearly thirty rare works taken from its extensive holdings. The following items provide a taste of the exhibit, and I'm sure they will entice you to plan a visit. The only surviving portion of The Scarlet Letter manuscript, a single sheet containing the title and table of contents. A letter from Madame Roland to Jacques-Bernard-Marie Montané, written while she was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror (only two months before she met her fate at the guillotine) The typescript of two chapters from Henry James's novel What Maisie Knew Paul Revere's first bound printing of a compilation of Handel's music, which is though to be the first American publication of the composer's work A first edition of Faulkner's only pulp novel, Sanctuary The first edition of Edmund Spenser's The Shepheardes Calender, which is "considered by many to be the first great non-dramatic work of the Elizabethean era" Tarot cards from the 15th century A receipt by Picasso that includes a quick sketch of his Woman Seated in an Armchair This exhibit will be on display in the Morgan's McKim building (which was recently restored and is breathtaking) until June 3, 2012. The Morgan Library and Museum [more Rare Works of Americana, Literature, and Music on Display at The Morgan Library & Museum]

This past weekend's 45th California International Book Fair in Pasadena was an overwhelming success! It was our first year holding our biannual LA Book Fair in Pasadena (every other year it is held in San Francisco) and we couldn't have been happier with the location. The venue, the Pasadena Civic Center, was a beautiful space, equipped with wide aisles and excellent lighting (an exhibitor's dream!), and Pasadena was a lovely destination, with plenty of great restaurants and things to do. We had record attendance and our exhibitors' offerings made it well worth the visit (as did the various seminars and special exhibits). Thank you so much to all our exhibitors and to Winslow & Associates for putting together an amazing show. Lastly, a big thank you to all who attendedyour energy and enthusiasm truly made the fair! Please click here to read an exhibitor's (Greg Gibson, Ten Pound Island Book Company) review of the fair. [more LA Book Fair a Great Success!]

That's what we will be doing, as will many ABAA members, ILAB dealers, and book lovers, because tomorrow is the start of the 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena! I know I can't stop talking about it, as you've probably noticed from previous blog entries, Facebook postings, etc., but it's all with good reasonthe exhibitors'material looks amazing and fairs are a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues in the rare book world. Visitors to the fair should feel equally enthusiastic; obviously an ABAA fair is a book collector's dream come true, but they provide all book lovers with a wonderful opportunity to see incredible materials up close, to learn about the trade, collecting, and appraisals, and the chance to have their own materials appraised for free. Here's a full list of events at the fair. We hope to see you there! The 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair Pasadena Convention Center (click for map) 300 East Green Street Pasadena, CA 91101 TICKETS & HOURS: Friday, February 10, 2012 3 pm to 8 pm Saturday, February 11, 2012 11 am to 7 pm Sunday, February 12, 2012 11 am to 5 pm A three-day admission ticket can be purchased at the door on Friday, February 10th for $25.00. Proceeds from Friday night tickets will benefit the Huntington Library. Tickets purchased on Saturday or Sunday are $15.00 and include return entry throughout the remainder of the Fair. $5.00 off for students with valid identification. [more Go West, Young Bibliophile!]