ABAA News

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Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Jeff Weber Rare Books Issues New Catalogue

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Check out the new MAC Chapter website!

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Interested in Book Collecting? Click here for links to resources and societies!

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Paper Dolls

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Genealogical research reveals that the ancestor of today's paper dolls were pantins, first popular in France during the mid-1700s.

Pastures of Heaven, a Film

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Nearly everyone interested in John Steinbeck can reel off a string of his books that have been made into films. But The Pastures of Heaven, you ask?

The Rare Life

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An article about Priscilla Lowry-Gregor and David Gregor, two ABAA members in Washington state.

A Collector’s Primer to the Wonders of Fore-edge Painting

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

One of the most unusual types of book decoration is fore-edge paintings.

A WRITER FINDS THE RARE LIVES OF TWO RARE-BOOK DEALERS WORTH SINGING ABOUT

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Snippets from a NY Times article regarding "Bookends" - the play about Madeleine B. Stern and Leona Rostenberg.

The ABAA and You

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A brief essay on what the ABAA is. We are a trade association of over 450 members located throughout the United States. Our members specialize in fine and rare books, maps, documents, autographs, illuminated manuscripts, ephemera and prints which span the economic spectrum.

Rare Books. Rare Brothers. Rare Chance to Profit. Closed

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Snippets from the NY Times article about Heritage closing.

The Gotham Book Mart's Final Chapter?

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Snippets from the Village Voice: How the literary landmark came tumbling down—and its hopes to live again

Radical Novel: 1900-1954

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Rideout defined the radical novel as "one which demonstrates, either explicitly or implicitly, that its author objects to the human suffering imposed by some socioeconomic system and advocates that the system be fundamentally changed."

Texts of Choice; The Books of the Modern Library

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

"No army on earth can hold back an idea whose time has come," Victor Hugo is supposed to have said, and he ought to have been speaking of the Modern Library.

Collecting Herman Melville

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1991 marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Herman Melville. Numerous observances were held to commemorate the work of that remarkable American writer, so widely forgotten a century ago and so widely celebrated today.

Collecting Mark Twain: A History and Three New Paths

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Collecting Mark Twain; A History and Three New Paths

Books at the Limit

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Scarcity often makes a book desirable, and it plays an important part in the definition of an entire class of collectible books: private-press or fine-press books, limited editions, livres d'artiste, and artists' books.

Introduction to Book Collecting

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Book collectors start as readers. This may seem obvious but is important to keep in mind, for the majority of book collectors collect authors or subjects that they are currently reading or have read and enjoyed.

John Henry: The Ballad and the Legend

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

When we talk about "John Henry," we may be referring to a ballad, a work song, a folk hero, or a legend. Most familiar is the character John Henry, the man who drove steel on the C & O Road and died with his hammer in his hand. His feat(s) have been memorialized in the ballad.

Evaluating Books

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Individuals with old books or manuscripts in their possession often wonder how to ascertain the value of such material.

Antiquarian Book Collecting in Southern California

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Very few of us will contest the role of the book in the history of Western culture, yet it is surprising that very few people actually own any antiquarian books at all.

The First Hundred Years of Printing in British North America: Printers and Collectors

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

This year marks the 350th anniversary of printing in what is now the United States

Splendors and Miseries of being an Author/Bookseller

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An address delivered to the ABAA annual meeting by Larry McMurtry

Why Collect Proofs?

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In first edition collecting, "the earlier the better" is the rule.

A Tale of Two Cities

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

This is the best of times. A worst there isn't, not if you are lucky enough to earn your living by dealing in books.

Earnest Lives and Fearless Words: The Literature and Ideals of the Women's Rights Movement

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

The modern women's rights movement arose in a time of revolution and culminated in the winning of suffrage in a world shaken by war.

Early Southeast Asian Geographic Thought

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To medieval Europe, the East was the source of silks, spices, and other exotica. It was the environs of Paradise, the place of the original Garden but also of the original Sin. It was the horizon from whence the sun rose, the point from which humankind dispersed throughout the inhabited earth, and the subject of much philosophical speculation.

100 Years/100 Books: Highspots of Collectible Children's Books from 1863-1963

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The world of collectible children's books has come of age.

Books on the Blues

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Few people realize that a decent size literature on Blues has accrued over the last century and that many of the books are quite collectible and intensely sought after.

Collecting Movie Source Books

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Many of the stories being played out on movie screens were not written specifically for movies but based on books-usually novels. These stories are movie source books.

The Secret Life of Victorian Cards

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Like other forms of mass-produced ephemera, cards of all types proliferated with the new technologies of the mid-1800s, allowing for increased social interaction and the regulation of social standards which characterized the Victorian era.

Benjamin Franklin's Job Printing

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Benjamin Franklin was one of the most remarkable figures in colonial America. His accomplishments were considerable even before he represented the American colonies

My World of Ephemera and Welcome to It

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I am not your average collector as I collect a very wide range of items. My interest in collecting antique papers and postcards

View Back Issues of the ABAA Newsletter

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The ABAA publishes a quarterly Newsletter aimed at Members, Collectors, and Booksellers. To subscribe or see what's happening in the world of rare books, click here.

SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR THE ABAA!

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Get ABAA hats, shirts, and DVDs here.

Madeleine B. Stern, Bookseller and Sleuth, Dies at 95

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Snippets from Madeleine Stern's Obiturary

New Pacific Northwest Chapter Website

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New Catalogue

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New Catalogue

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Lux Mentis Blog

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Read Ian's musings about rare books, fine books and fun books, book collecting, book buying and bibliomania...

BLOGGING WITH THE ABAA

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Links to various blogs on the book trade.

Interview with Kenneth Gloss

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Interview with Larry McMurtry

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Pleased to announce the new Winter 2008 Catalogue

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New Catalogue

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New Catalogue

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

New Catalogue

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

New Catalogue

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Jeff Weber Rare Books Puts Out a New Catalogue

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The Baltimore Antique Show

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Reports from the Bibliographic Bunker on William S. Burroughs Collecting

Second Life Books issues New Catalogue

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Oak Knoll Books Issues New Catalogue

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Why Collect Proofs?

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Proof copies, if you follow your nose and are willing to take small risks, can be great investments--because even if the author doesn't "hit" and the monetary values don't go sky-high, you've still got a scarce, unusual, often textually significant version of the author's work.

The Poster Wave Reaches America's Shores

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

The last 10 years have seen a renaissance in vintage poster collecting in the United States. The last time that posters were so avidly collected, they weren't "vintage" at all.

Valentines - The Language of Love

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

For more than twenty-five years, Valentines have been a passion for me - and I have constantly sought examples of virtually every kind that exists! Each acquisition seemed to lead to another, and each was a piece of the puzzle that I was assembling.

Bookmarks

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

A. W. Coysh in his work Collecting bookmarkers, a history of English bookmarks, states: The need for some device to mark the place in a book was recognized at an early date.

Oak Knoll is pleased to announce issue of several new catalogues!

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Please visit Oak Knoll to view them.

Armed Services Editions

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It is the middle of World War II. Soldiers are on their way to the front lines of both the Pacific and European Theaters. Other soldiers are already there. Still others have bee

The Libraries of Power

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

"Personal libraries have always been a biopsy of power" says Harriet Rubin in her New York Times piece C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success.

Charles Agvent Issues New Online Catalogue

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:34:29 -0400

Click here to view.