The NY Times recently reviewed a new book by Travis McDade, the curator of rare books at the University of Illinois College of Law. Thieves of Book Row: New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It tells the true story of a rare book crime ring centered around Manhattan's Book Row in the 1920s and 1930s. Sounds like a perfect summer read! Book Row was established as early as 1890 on Fourth Avenue, a short avenue right below Union Square. It ran for six city blocks and had forty-eight bookstores. Sadly, Book Row is no more but one famous bookstore remains: ABAA firm Strand Book Store, which opened in 1927. If you've ever visited this NYC establishment, you know that their famous "18 Miles of Books" slogan is easy to believe. If you haven't been there, make the trip next time you are in the neighborhood. Here's a link to Hymn to Fourth Avenue, a poem by Eli Siegel that celebrates Book Row. [more New Book on the "Thieves of Book Row"]

Two Illinois State University math professors recently authenticated that two math-notebook pages belonged to Abraham Lincoln. The pages were found in the archives of Harvard's Houghton Library and were part of a math workbook, called a ciphering book, that Lincoln worked on in his youth. The ciphering book is the oldest known Lincoln manuscript. Nerida Ellerton and Ken Clements, the professors who made the discovery, believe these pages indicate that Lincoln had more formal education than scholars previously believed. Lincoln was thought to have completed only three to nine months of school, but the professors think he went to school for up to two years. "He made very few errors, and he always knew what he was trying to do," Clements added. "We've studied thousands of these cyphering books. You don't always get the feeling that 'this guy knew what he was doing.'" Historian Daniel Stowell, the Director of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln project at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, agrees that Lincoln may have attended school for three to five winters. The dates on the pages and in the notebook suggest that Lincoln worked on these problems over the course of several years in the 1820s. "They are arguing with some merit that a ciphering book would have been created in a school setting," Stowell said. "It does at least open the possibility that he may have had more formal schooling than originally thought. Not a whole lot more, but still more." The professors came across t... [more Lincoln Math Workbook Indicates Additional Education]

Russ Davidson, the former University of New Mexico Libraries' Latin American/Iberian curator donated $25,000 and pledged an additional $225,000 to the University Libraries to establish an endowment fund in honor of his longtime friend, Howard L. Karno. Howard was a preeminent Latin American bookseller and member of the ABAA who passed away last year. "I have long wanted to create an endowment that would help the University Libraries continue to deepen and strengthen a part of its holdings that for years have been recognized as exceptional, and to some degree unique, by students and scholars in the U.S. and across the hemisphere," Davidson said. The Howard L. Karno Endowment for Latin American Pictorial Collections will finance the acquisition of rare and specialized Latin American visual resources, including prints, posters, photographs, broadsheets, fine press imprints, illustrated books, artist books, and cover art. “Howard was a bookman of impeccable taste, relishing the book as an artifact, with its special qualities of binding, typography, design and so on. Yet for him, books and perhaps even more powerfully visual images, represented something more . . . they connected us, in a very real, vivid way, to life and human experience," Davidson explained. "In addition, some of the credit for assembling the Libraries' Latin American pictorial collections should go to Howard, because he understood our strength in this area, shared the vision of enlarging its scope and range â... [more Howard L. Karno Endowment Fund Established at the University of New Mexico]

The ABAA is pleased to announce the 2013 recipients of the Edwin Glaser Scholarships to the Colorado Antiquarian Booksellers' Seminar: Rebecca Bott (Botolphston Books), Lawrence Hammar (Blue Jacket Books), and Zachary Stacy (Books-O-Rama). Congratulations! Rebecca Bott offered an extensive background in antiquarian books and manuscripts. She worked as a student assistant at her university's rare book and manuscript library, earned an MLIS degree and has catalogued texts and manuscripts for private collectors and institutions. Presently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, she recently established Botolphston Books, with stock in early printed material. She noted in her essay: "my discussions with booksellers have confirmed that an appreciation for, or even a deep knowledge of books is not enough to make one a good bookseller. The antiquarian book trade is a business, and a complex one." Lawrence (Larry) Hammar came to bookselling as a later profession. His Blue Jacket Books in Xenia, Ohio is a general antiquarian bookstore with social sciences and humanities as a strong focus. The bookstore is now in its third location, having outgrown one and then forced into a third after a flood. He has needed resilience to keep Blue Jacket Books going. His ambition is to make Blue Jacket a better store and himself a more knowledgeable bookman and businessman. As he wrote, "We don't have any money, but we have more space, seemingly boundless energy, and a lot of community good will." Zachar... [more ABAA Woodburn Fund Awards Scholarships to the Colorado Antiquarian Booksellers' Seminar]

Paper marbling is a centuries old art of aqueous design that is transferred to paper or fabric. There are several methods of marbling, but the basic process uses a shallow tray of water or viscous mucilage, known as size or sizing. Ink or paint colors are carefully applied to the surface of the water or sizing with an ink brush (chemicals are used to help keep the colors floating). The artist then uses various apparatuses such as brushes, rakes, combs, and styluses to create designs. Once the artist is satisfied with the design, a piece of paper is laid on the surface and voilà, the colorful design is transferred to the surface of the paper. Watching the process of paper marbling is mesmerizing, as is illustrated in the video below. Seyit Uygur is a Turkish ebru artist (ebru is the Turkish name for paper marbling). Seyit UYGUR { Ebru Artist } from Oguz Uygur on Vimeo. If you're interested in trying your hand at marbling, check out your local Center for Book Arts to register for a class. Here's a link to an instructional video from the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. The page also includes a great link to examples of different marbling pattern samples. There are also a number of neat videos on YouTube. [more Mesmerizing Paper Marbling]

The deadline for submissions to the 2013 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest has been extended to Monday, June 3 at 5pm. To enter, please visit the following link: apply.abaa.org Please pass along this information to any interested parties! [more National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest Deadline Extended]

Capote's edits on the manuscript (image via Toronto Star) Truman Capote's typed Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript was sold at auction late last month for a whopping $306,000. The 1958 manuscript contains Capote's handwritten edits, which number up to a dozen changes per page. Perhaps the most significant change is the heroine's name: originally Connie Gustafson, Capote crossed out every mention of the name and replaced it with Holly Golightly. (Good call, Capote!) More than a hundred different names were used in various drafts before Capote settled on Golightly. The character, of course, was immortalized in popular culture by Audrey Hepburn's portrayal in the 1961 film adaptation. The story was originally commissioned for Harper's Bazaar magazine but was pulled at the last minute because of the sexual nature of Golightly's lifestyle. It was published in the November 1958 issue of Esquire magazine and shortly thereafter was published by Random House along with three other short stories by Capote. The manuscript was sold to a Russian billionaire, Igor Sosin, by RR Auction. The auction house reports that Socin plans to display it in Moscow and Monaco. The movie is great, but if you haven't read the novella do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It's a wonderful story and beautifully written. Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript goes to auction Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's manuscript sells for $306K at auction to Russian billionaire [more Capote's 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' Manuscript Sells Big]

Willa Cather was a famously private writer. She destroyed many literary manuscripts, personal papers, and letters, and her will forbade the adaptation of her works into plays or movies and the publication of her personal letters. Cather's will expired two years ago, however, after the death of her nephew and the will's executor. This left her remaining personal letters up for grabs, so to speak, and a new book publishes over 500 of Cather's letters. Released last month, The Selected Letters of Willa Cather is co-edited by Andrew Jewell, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraires and the editor of the Willa Cather Archive, and Janis Stout, the author of nine scholarly books and editor of two other books on Cather. Jewell and Stout acknowledge that they have gone against Cather's will and personal wishes, but justify doing so with the best intentions for the public good, so that everyone can "read and interpret her letters" for themselves. Their introduction states that: "Cather is now a part of our cultural history. Her works belong to something greater than herself. It is time to let the letters speak for themselves." Tom Perrotta, who reviewed the book for the NY Times, said that he didn't disagree with the editors, but that he " the reading experience uncomfortable, especially when bumped up against one of Cather's frequent declarations that she considers her letters 'entirely personal and confidential.'" Although I am intrigued to have a glimpse... [more Willa Cather Letters Published]

Exciting news for ABAA member Greg Gibson: his noir crime novel The Old Turk's Load was just named a Top Crime Fiction Debut by Booklist Online. From Booklist: Pay attention to our debut winners. You're going to be hearing their names, reading their books, and seeing them on best lists for years to come. Congratulations, Greg! [more 'The Old Turk's Load' Earns More Critical Praise]

It was announced in March that Joel Silver was appointed as Director of one of the country's foremost rare book libraries, Indiana University's Lilly Library. The Lilly Library houses over 400,000 rare books, 150,000 pieces of sheet music, and 7.5 million manuscripts. Some of the highlights include the New Testament of the Gutenberg Bible; the first printed edition of Canterbury Tales; George Washington's letter accepting the presidency; and the personal papers of Orson Welles and Sylvia Plath. Silver has been with the Lilly Library since 1983, working in a number of different capacities: operations manager, curator of books, associate director to former Lilly director Breon Mitchell, and interim director for two independent appointments. He is also an adjunct associate professor and director of the special collections specialization in the IU School of Library and Information Science and an adjunct faculty member in the Department of English. Silver has also published a great number of articles, books, and exhibition catalogs; he lectures at and leads rare books seminars; and he has curated exhibitions at the Lilly Library. His most recent book, Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly: Book Collecting in a Golden Age, was published by Oak Knoll Press, which is owned and operated by ABAA member Robert D. Fleck. "I'm honored to have the opportunity to serve as the director of the Lilly Library, one of the greatest repositories of rare books and manuscripts in the world," Silver said. "Th... [more Joel Silver Appointed Director of Lilly Library]