For most people, managing one career, mastering a sport, or overcoming a major medical challenge are the work of a lifetime. ABAA-member Zhenya Dzhavgova, owner of ZH Books in Fremont, California, has done all these and more in a very short time, as well as successfully navigating the shifting sands of integrating into a new culture, language, and most-recently parenthood. After moving to the US a... [more]

After sixty-two years in the field of historical letters and manuscripts, Kenneth W. Rendell still feels just as excited as he was when, many years ago, a friend showed him a handwritten letter of George Washington. He couldn't believe it then and still feels "overwhelmed and honored" to collect what he regards as "pieces of human history." This past year, Rendell established two endowed annual le... [more]

Denver has its very own "Booksellers' Row" after the relocation of two ABAA members, Anderson Butler Rare Books and Gallagher Books. Anderson Butler Rare Books has opened and Gallagher Books has re-opened after moving seven doors South of their previous location. Anderson Butler Rare Books relocated to Denver from Seattle a year ago and have just rented the storefront at 1460 South Broadway. Mark ... [more]

ABAA members are not only experts in their fields, but also very involved in scholarship and philanthropy. Here are some of the many ways members have been in the headlines this past month. New Mark Twain Plagiarism Scandal Exposed Antiquarian bookseller and scholar Kevin Mac Donnell uncovered unacknowledged copying in a new book about Mark Twain from the Library of Congress. McDonnell identified ... [more]

Rock Toews (Back Creek Books LLC) is a key player in determining whether a Maryland area slated for development was the site of a Civil War parole camp. Priscilla Juvelis contributed a chapter to an upcoming book on William T. Vollmann entitled William T. Volmann: A Critical Companion. Don Lindgren of Rabelais Inc. is interviewed for Eater's piece on 72 Ways Food Can Change the World. He is in goo... [more]

Ray Smith of R.W. Smith Bookseller has published his long awaited photo book, In Time We Shall Know Ourselves (images available at the link). It contains 52 photographs from a three-month photographic road trip through the Eastern half of the United States in 1974, and includes essays on the photographs by Alexander Nemerov and Richard H. King of the University of Nottingham, and an afterword by ... [more]

The literary world has been buzzing all week about ABAA members George Koppelman and Dan Wechsler's possession of a dictionary, John Baret's Alvearie, they believe was owned and annotated by William Shakespeare. There has been considerable press on Shakespeare's Beehive, and Dan has had the opportunity to chat about their scholarship with a number of outlets. Dan Wechsler sat down with Amy Eddings... [more]

Here's some exciting bibliographic news to start the day! The Bibliographic Society of America has awarded member Joseph J. Felcone (Joseph J. Felcone Inc.) the 2014 St. Louis Mercantile Library Prize for outstanding scholarship in the bibliography of American history and literature for his book Printing in New Jersey 1754-1800: A Descriptive Bibliography (American Antiquarian Society, 2012). The ... [more]

Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts is seeking a detail-oriented individual with strong writing, organizational, and personal skills as well as sophisticated understanding of computer technology for full-time employment, working with a small staff. The person's chief responsibility would be to assist with writing catalogue descriptions of rare books and manuscripts (see pirages.com for exa... [more]

J & J LUBRANO MUSIC ANTIQUARIANS LLC is seeking an ANTIQUARIAN MUSIC CATALOGUER Primary duties would be to research and catalogue: - rare printed music and books about music and dance - original autograph musical manuscripts and letters of composers - music- and dance-related iconography Our firm, established in 1977, has an international clientele of both private and institutional collectors of ... [more]

At the Board Meeting in New York, the ABAA's Governors voted to amend the contract for members to list their books for sale at abaa.org. There are some significant changes to this contract from the previous iteration, namely the new contract offers a "FREE" option for members to list fewer than 50 books for no charge. This allows members to upload enough books to populate their own member pages wi... [more]

ABAA Member Marc Selvaggio recently spoke at the opening of an exhibition he curated at Southern Methodist University's DeGolyer Library on Parables of Promise: American Advertising Fiction, 1856-2014. The exhibit aims to cover how American companies have used fiction and storytelling in this genre to sell "material goods, whether plows, windows, patent medicines, cereals, the telephone, bicycles,... [more]

We were excited to see Catherine Opie name Andrew Cahan as one of the un-sung heroes of the photography world in Aperture's Photography As You Don't Know It series. As a monograph collector, Ms. Opie was struck by Cahan's focus on Japanese monographs from the 1970's. From that point onward, she was hooked and they became fast friends. Cahan has moved back to his hometown of Akron, Ohio and still s... [more]

The ABAA is delighted to welcome the following new members to the Association: Kara Accettola, Little Sages Books; John D. Kehoe, John Kehoe Bookseller; Michael Laird, Michael Laird Rare Books LLC; Thomas F. Nealon, Pazzo Books; Kurt A. Sanftleben, Read 'Em Again Books; Daniel Whitmore, Whitmore Rare Books. Read a little more about each member below. Full Members Kara Accettola, Little Sages Books... [more]

The ABAA is delighted to welcome the following members to, or to a new status within, the Association: Katharina Koch, Books Tell You Why, Inc.; Linda S. Moore, Alcuin Books; Kevin Mullen, Mullen Books, Inc.; and Lynne Veatch, The Veatchs Arts of the Book. Read a little more about each member below. Full Members Katharina Koch, Books Tell You Why, Inc. (Mount Pleasant, SC) Katharina Koch was born... [more]

In addition to being a top-notch bookseller, member Dan Wechsler (Sanctuary Books) is also a filmmaker. His latest film is More Than the Rainbow, a documentary chronicling the life of Matt Weber, a NYC taxi driver turned street photographer. The film premiered at New York's documentary film festival DOC NYC last year and was featured as an official selection. It was awarded the same honor at the S... [more]

Stuart at the completion of his ride. As anyone in the trade knows, being an antiquarian bookseller is a pretty much a 24/7 job, so it can be surprising to hear about sellers' lives outside of their work. Nonetheless, sellers can do some amazing things in their spare time! A perfect example is member Stuart Lutz (Stuart Lutz Historic Documents, Inc.). While he's not working with historic document... [more]

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... [more]

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]

ABAA member Greg Gibson (Ten Pound Island Book Company) recently released his latest book, a noir crime novel called The Old Turk's Load (you can read more about it here). Greg offered copies for sale at the recent NY Antiquarian Book Fair and kindly donated the proceeds to the ABAA's Benevolent Fund, a charitable fund that offers assistance to booksellers in need. He sold 117 copies of the novel ... [more]

The 2013 New York Antiquarian Book Fair was a great success: 200 ABAA and ILAB exhibitors brought the best material they had to offer, attendance was bustling, and everyone enjoyed the post-fair hours with colleagues and friends. Festivities kicked off Wednesday night at the grand opening of B & B Rare Books, Ltd.'s new gallery. The space, located in a historic building on East 20th Street, was lo... [more]

If you're in town for the NY Book Fair, ABAA member Jeremy Norman currently has an exhibition on display at the Grolier Club. "A Count With Taste, and Sticky Fingers" surveys the life and infamous career of Count Guglielmo Libri, "one of the most audacious book thieves in history." (You can read a NY Times review of the exhibition at the link.) It will be on display until May 25 in the second floo... [more]

ABAA member Greg Gibson, proprietor of Ten Pound Island Book Company, has just released his latest book, a noir crime novel entitled The Old Turk's Load . The story takes place in 1967 Manhattan and the lives of the colorful cast of characters is entwined by a $5 million herion shipment that goes awry. I have yet to read the book myself, but it has already garnered critical praise. From the New Yo... [more]

ABAA member Ken Karmiole (Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc.) has generously given UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) a $100,000 endowment to support Archival Studies and Lectures. “This wonderful gift will greatly enrich our work by supporting a variety of high-profile programs such as symposia and visiting lecturers that will bring leading expertise from around ... [more]

The Seventh Annual NY Art Book Fair was held two weeks ago at MoMA PS 1, and I'm sorry that I missed it. Organized by Printed Matter, the fair had more than 200 local and international exhibitors and also included screenings, lectures, musical performances, and book signings. ABAA member Adam Davis of Division Leap (Portland, OR) was exhibiting at the fair for his fourth consecutive year. Division... [more]

Tom Congalton, newly elected ILAB President (image via ILAB) Thomas Congalton, proprietor of Between the Covers Rare Books, Inc. and long-time ABAA member, was elected ILAB President yesterday at the annual President's Meeting. His election by his international colleagues, all Presidents of their respective national associations, was unanimous. The meeting took place during the 40th ILAB Congress... [more]

Next Monday, September 10, John Crichton, past-President of the ABAA and proprietor of Brick Row Book Shop, will give a talk on The Bay Area Antiquarian Book Trade, 1850-2000 (Second Edition, Revised). Sponsored by the Book Club of California and the Northern California Chapter of the ABAA, the talk will take place at 6pm at the Book Club of California (312 Sutter Street, First Floor, San Francisc... [more]

ABAA members James Bryant of Carpe Diem Fine Books in Monterey, CA and Edward Nudelman of Nudelman Rare Books in Seattle, WA recently received some attention in the press. Carpe Diem was written about by Cynthia Haven of Stanford University who dubbed the shop "the best bookstore I've never seen", and Rebecca Rego Barry of Fine Books & Collections magazine profiled Ed Nudelman. Congrats to James a... [more]

Member Bob Topp of Hermitage Book Shop was recently named a 7Everyday Hero by ABC Denver for his volunteer work with children. For the past eighteen years, Bob has been visiting Bergen Valley Elementary School to read to children, grades 3-5. He began volunteering when his own children attended the school, but he enjoyed encouraging children to read so much that he continues to do so to this day. ... [more]

ABAA member Sunday Steinkirchner of B & B Rare Books in Manhattan is the newest contributor for Forbes.com! Her new blog is called 'Home Office' and it will detail Sunday's entrepreneurial life as a rare bookseller. The blog just launched yesterday, so click here to read the first post. Congratulations, Sunday! You can follow Sunday's blog by clicking here. Entrepreneurial Life: Tales of a Young B... [more]