One reason books have not been replaced by electronic approximations -- despite many predictions of doom -- is the appeal of the physical objects themselves. Lavish illustrations, careful design, and artistic typography elevate a book from text to art. A page from the Kelmscott Chaucer (to give just one example) will never look as good on your phone. Long before pixels and digital everything, publ... [more]

A rare, first edition of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens with illustrations by Arthur Rackham was recently discovered in a UK charity shop. The 1906 limited edition is bound in vellum, has approximately 50 color plates illustrated by Rackham, and is signed by the artist. The book was donated to the Oxfam Book Shop in Alderley Edge along with a number of more commonplace titles (the ... [more]