UPDATE (Feb 9, 2022): An arrest has been made in connection with the theft of nearly 5,000 missing items from FSU Libraries' Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection. The investigation remains open and ongoing, and FSU Libraries are still awaiting details on the items that have been recovered. As they learn more and gather information about what was recovered and what remains missing, they will continue to update the spreadsheet below. This spreadsheet and notice detail materials stolen from Florida State University. 4,996 items from the Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection were stolen from FSU Special Collections & Archives between March 17th, 2020 and February 10th, 2021. The Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection consists of comic books, serials, and containing and related to superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Publications include those by Mar... [more UPDATE: Items Stolen from Florida State University’s Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection]

Update: this item has been recovered as of 1/22/21. Report of an alleged theft over the holidays, possibly linked to previously fraudulent activity from the Essex area of the UK. The item is a first British edition of Finnegans Wake in a restored dust-jacket. There is a name in pencil on the front free endpaper. The book was ordered and paid for with a credit card over the phone and the buyer claimed the book was a gift. The item was shipped to Dagenham, UK and delivered on Dec 8th. After delivery, the credit card owner disputed the charge via PayPal. We advise all members to be vigilant and please exercise caution if you receive orders associated with or from this area. If offered this item, please contact: Rachel Eley John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller Telephone: (415) 986-5826 rachel@johnwindle.com [more Update/Recovered: Possible Fraudulent Activity: Essex, UK Area, Finnegans Wake]

Longtime ABAA member Robert “Bob” Petrilla of Roosevelt, NJ passed away at his home on September 1, 2020. Petrilla started in the book business in 1970 as he operated two open shops in Bucks County, PA. In 1981, he began selling books through the R & A Petrilla catalogues, and then online. Bob Petrilla first became a member of the ABAA in early 80's and reinstated his membership in 2014. Petrilla considered himself a generalist, saying of R & A Petrilla's catalogue, “We specialize in what we bought yesterday. We pursued several specialties in the past: Western Americana, African Americana, American Music, Women's Studies. When one could still scout such material on the shelves of bookshops, we built some nice collections, now in institutions.” In 1997, Petrilla was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, and was... [more In Memoriam: Bob Petrilla]

12/14/20: Update, this parcel has been delivered and the items are no longer missing. *** A parcel containing the following items has gone missing from the porch of a customer in Kentfield, CA: 1. Bayard Taylor. Eldorado (1850). 2 volumes. First edition, slipcase 2. Alfred Robinson. Life in California (1846). First edition. 3. Zachary Taylor. California and New Mexico (1850). Ex-Newberry Lib. 4. Anthony Bledsoe. Indian Wars (1883). First edition. 5. Robert Louis Stevenson. Silverado Squatters (1883). First edition, slipcase. 6. Theodore Hittell. History of California (1885). 2 volumes. First edition. 7. Winfield Davis. History of the Political Conventions (1893). First edition. If offered, please contact Justin McShea of Star of the Sea Books: P.O. Box 1307 Hermosa Beach, CA 90254 www.staroftheseabooks.com justin@staroftheseabooks.com Tel... [more Update: Missing in Transit to Kentfield, CA]

The ABAA Women's Initiative is proud to announce the launch of the ABAA Mentorship Program in an effort to further the ABAA's mission to promote ethical standards and professionalism in the antiquarian book trade, to encourage the collecting and preservation of rare and antiquarian books and related materials, and to facilitate collegial relations within the trade. Goals Further the mission of the ABAA Provide dealers early in their careers with the opportunity to advance their professional development Build a recruitment pipeline for the Association that enhances the number of qualified applicants Advance the diversity of new members Afford mentees the opportunity to build a relationship with an ABAA member Educate potential candidates about a career in the trade (for example, graduate students looking for a profession outside of academi... [more ABAA Mentorship Program]

Join us for some Virtual Book Fair fun! The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America will host a Virtual Book Fair Scavenger Hunt via Facebook on November 13th and 14th. Enter for your chance to win a $500 gift certificate! Browse through the thousands of items shown on the Boston Virtual Book Fair website in search of the best and most creative answers to all five items on the Scavenger Hunt List! To enter, head to the ABAA Facebook page, and post: Five answers including links to the items in the Book Fair Be sure to use the hashtag #bvbfhunt and tag the ABAA's Facebook Account @ABAARareBooks! SCAVENGER HUNT LIST 1. Find an item with a connection to something on television 2. Find a book description that passes the book equivalent of the Bechdel test (no mention of a man anywhere in the description) 3. Find a printed book issued i... [more Boston Virtual Book Fair Scavenger Hunt]

Update: this item has been located and is no longer missing. The following book was apparently “delivered to” and “signed for” by Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts, but the firm never received it. Please contact Jill Mann if you know the whereabouts of this item: Jill Mann, Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Manuscripts (503) 472-0476 or jill@pirages.com Lot #87 at the Christie's Paris sale on 5/27 REDOUTÉ, Pierre-Joseph (1759-1840). Les Roses peintes par P. J. Redouté… décrites par C. A. Thorry. Paris : C. L. F. Panckoucke, 1824 . Bel exemplaire en demi-maroquin rouge de l'époque, bien complet de toutes ses planches et des feuillets de texte. On a relié in fine les quatre pages de prospectus pour cette édition : « L'éclat, la vérité, l'élégance, le plus grand luxe typographique, ont procuré aux Roses de ... [more Located: REDOUTÉ, Pierre-Joseph (1759-1840). Les Roses peintes par P. J. Redouté… décrites par C. A.]

Here's the description of a book that was stolen from a local FedEx in NYC last week on or after 6/1/20. If anyone is offered the below, please contact Josh Mann of B&B at 646-652-6766. Hemingway, Ernest. Green Hills of Africa. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935. Decorated by Edward Shenton. First edition, first printing. Publisher's green cloth, stamped to front board in gilt with author's facsimile signature, stamped in black and gilt to spine; in the original green, black, and white dust jacket with a photograph of the author to rear panel. A near fine copy with some fading to extremities, particularly the spine, toning to page edges, small bookseller's sticker to rear pastedown; in a very good dust jacket with toning to spine and wear to extremities, some shallow chipping to spine head, rubbing to folds, a few scattered scratches... [more Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa]

ABAA Member Peter Kraus remembers bibliophile, collector, and seller Colin Franklin. I was lucky enough to have not one, but two, truly great booksellers as mentors. The first, and most important, was my cousin, Hans Kraus. From my mid teens on, he initiated me into the world of rare books, Teaching me how to use a bibliography and exposing me to everything from Egyptian Books of the Dead to a first edition of Ulysses. However, In 1967 I was lucky enough to meet Colin when he was still working at his family publishing house of Routledge and Kegan Paul, which had been the publisher of a book by my great grandfather, and I was working for the Kraus companies. We hit it off immediately, and he invited me to pay a visit to Culham, which was then his country house. There he proudly showed me his latest purchase, a complete set of Kelmscott Pre... [more Remembering Colin Franklin]

UPDATE: This item was recovered 5/18/20. The following item was reported missing and last seen at the ABAA Fair in Pasadena this past February: Nightingale, Florence. Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not. London: Harrison, . First edition, early issue. 79pp. Octavo in flexible black textured cloth with gilt title on front wrap. Rebacked, with original wraps. Light wear to extremities; hinges reinforced, interior unmarked. With publisher's advertisements for the year 1860 on endpapers. With ads for Burke's Peerage and the Foreign Office List, both for 1860 (with the '8' in the Peerage ad's '1860' in slightly larger type); with 'The right of Translation is reserved' appearing in brackets at the foot of the title page; and with spelling errors uncorrected on pages 40 and 44. Identification number is 56736. If you have any informa... [more Missing: Early Issue of “Notes on Nursing” by Florence Nightingale]