ABAA member Vic Zoschak of Tavistock Books has generously offered a scholarship to any antiquarian bookseller interested in taking Joel Silver's course, "Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books". Vic attended Rare Book School in the past, and considers it to be an invaluable resource in addition to a highly enjoyable experience. He decided to endow a scholarship as a way of 'paying it forward... [more]

I'm very sad to report that longtime bookseller and ABAA member Don Reisler has passed away after a protracted battle with cancer. The service will be held at 11am tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13, gravesite at the National Memorial Park Cemetery, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, Virginia (between section 7 and 8 of the King David Memorial Gardens). A lunch will be held afterwards at Bazin's on Church (... [more]

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, the... [more]

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 wonderfu... [more]

Our friend and former ABAA President Stuart Bennett recently published a novel encompassing genres including historical fiction (think Jane Austen and the Regency Period, Shakespeare's London), romance, and time travel. The Perfect Visit "tells the story of two bibliophiles who go back in time to rescue lost books and manuscripts." I couldn't put it down! A must read for any rare bookie. Check it ... [more]

ABAA Members Anne and David Bromer have very generously donated two million dollars to the Boston Athenaeum in support of the institution and the Bromer Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the Athenaeum. Read more about it here! [more]

The Journal of the Book Club of Washington published a talk that Santa Monica based ABAA member Ken Karmiole gave at the California Rare Book School last year, and it's quite an interesting read. Ken addresses the pertinent theme of 'Collecting the Physical Book in the Digital Age' from a rare book dealer's perspective, outlining how the rise of the Internet has affected the trade and offering som... [more]

Member Barbara Cohen has put together a fabulous website, newyorkboundbooks.com, that is a "resource dedicated to all things New York for readers and writers". Here's a link to a blog post about the site from the NY Times. Congratulations, Barbara, and thank you for putting together a great resource! [more]

In the video below, ABAA member Dr. Sandra Hindman presents a brief overview of medieval manuscript illumination, focusing on their artistic value. [more]

Bon Appetit recently named the "7 Best Culinary Bookstores in America" and ABAA firms Rabelais (Portland, ME) and Amber Unicorn (Las Vegas, NV) made the list! (If you've browsed either shop's inventory, this is no surprise!) Congratulations! The 7 Best Culinary Bookstores in America [more]

Below is a video by ABAA member Phil Pirages (Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts) about book collectinghow and why people collect books, and the collaboration between the collector and the bookseller. Enjoy! [more]

The Boston Globe has published an online slideshow of independently owned bookstores in Boston, and ABAA members were certainly the 'stars' of the show, making up half of the total bookstores listed. Congrats to our Bostonian sellers! Please click here to view the slideshow. Almost all of these dealers will be exhibiting at the Boston Antiquarian Book Fair next week. Despite economy, local booksto... [more]

Please click here to read an article about ABAA member John W. Freas of Tamerlane Books. Nice article, John! John Freas' library is his portrait [more]

The ABAA is pleased to announce that member interviews can now be viewed on abaa.org. A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rar... [more]

The following review of ABAA member David Bromer's Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley was written by fellow member Brian Cassidy. It appeared in the ABAA Spring 2011 e-Newsletter. Kudos, David! ********************************* Review: Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley by Brian Cassidy Aldous Huxley is... [more]

The New-England chapter of the ABAA is pleased to invite members of the ABAA, the trade in general, and all interested observers to a special one-day "unseminar" entitled "New Tools: Marketing Approaches, Platforms, & Technologies for Antiquarian Booksellers," to be held Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. We plan a full day of presentations, speakers, and... [more]

Sadly, Bartleby's Books closed its brick and mortar shop in Georgetown last weekend. Click here to view a brief video on the story. No matter where they are selling from, I'm sure John and Karen will have much continued success, and we wish them all the best. Video: The Next Chapter for Bartleby's Books [more]

Click here to read this brief post about 20th century boys' serial fiction by ABAA member Vic Zoschak, Jr. of Tavistock Books! Collecting Rare Books and First Editions: "Every Boy Needs A Hero" [more]

In early April, I posted about an amazing find that member Ken Sanders made at a charity event in Sandy, Utaha German language Nuremberg Chronicle from 1494. The owner had no idea what he possessed; it was passed down from a great uncle and has been sitting in his attic for decades, which impacted the condition of the book greatly (only about 1/3 of the full text is present). Despite its conditio... [more]

Dan Gregory of Between the Covers~Rare Books Inc. provides a detailed answer to this question in the Between the Covers blog today. Click here to read! Do Rare Books Appreciate in Value? [more]

Kenneth Karmiole has received the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2011 from the UCLA Library and Information Studies Alumni Association. A graduate in the MLS class of 1971, he is the first antiquarian bookseller to be so honored. An award dinner was held at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on May 19th, where Ken was presented with the award. A keynote address was given by Kevin Star... [more]

I was reading an article this morning about a South African man who, while on holiday in Ireland, found an American first edition of Wuthering Heights at a flea market for €3 (about $4.27). Realizing the value of the book, he brought it back home to South Africa and promptly sold it for over 77,000 rand (equivalent to more than €8,000 or $11,000)quite the souvenir! The article quoted ILAB mem... [more]

A few years ago, Michael Ginsberg embarked upon an archival journey for the ABAA. Recognizing the absence of member histories in the ABAA annals, Michael began conducting video interviews of members at our three annual fairs. The interviews cover members' personal histories as well as their involvement in the rare book trade. The interviews conducted at the 44th California International Antiquaria... [more]

The Columbia News Service published a brief article about the trade, which included quotes from Michael DiRuggiero of The Manhattan Rare Book Company and Michael Thompson of Michael R. Thompson Rare Books. Despite E-Books, Rare Books Aren't Endangered [more]

The Raab Collection is currently offering a three page letter penned by William H. Herndon, one of Abraham Lincoln's closest friends, that offers unique insight into Lincoln's religious beliefs. Historians have had little substantiation on this topic since Lincoln refused to discuss religion and did not belong to a church. In his 1866 letter, which was written to the current clerk of the House of ... [more]

Today the book world lost a giant: Peter B. Howard of Serendipity Books in Berkeley, CA has passed away. Peter was interviewed in February at the San Francisco Fair. You can view the interview in its entirety here. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family. [more]

Read this excellent piece about ABAA member Elmar W. Seibel and his firm, Ars Libri. Congratulations, Elmar! Turning the Page [more]

Here is a prospectus to Jeff Weber's latest book, An Annotated Dictionary of Fore-edge Painting Artists & Binders (Mostly English & American). Part II: The Fore-edge Paintings of Miss C. B. Currie; with a Catalogue Raisonné, which was previously posted about in this blog. [more]

On Monday, March 7th at the Salmagundi Club in Manhattan, James Cummins will be giving a lecture entitled, “Points of Issue: Appraising Rare Editions of 19th Century Literature”. This lecture is part of the Freeman's Lecture Series, and the Appraisers Association of America has graciously offered ABAA members free admission to the event. More details are below. Please attend if you are able an... [more]

Eight years ago, Paul Ryall and Ed Smith made this documentary for the ABAA. It was shot at the 36th Annual California International Book Fair held in San Francisco. Here is the link. Enjoy! [more]