The Battle of the Fruit and Vegetable Soldiers by Francis Darwin (image via Open Culture Charles Darwin is famously known as the father of evolution, but did you realize he was also the devoted father of ten children? This seems like a colossal number today (the Duggars and their like aside), but a large family wasn't uncommon in Darwin's time. It was also not unusual during this period to find a spouse among one's kin, as Darwin did when he married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood. Despite his fears that inbreeding may have left his children susceptible to illness or disorders, they were a talented bunch and many went on to have distinguished careers. Perhaps this was due in part to their father's loving encouragement and a more modern attitude toward children than you would find in a typical upper-class Victorian home. Darwin even frequently gave his children discarded manuscript pages they could use as drawing paper. Of the original manuscript of On the Origin of Species, only 28 pages of the manuscript are known to exist, and on the verso of many are illustrations by his children. Both examples here are thought to have been done by Francis Darwin. Above is The Battle of the Fruit and Vegetable Soldiers and to the left is a watercolor of birds and bugs around flowers. I imagine Darwin would have been pleased with both drawings, which now reside at the Cambridge University Library. [more Darwin Children Illustrated 'Origin of the Species' Manuscript Pages]

We're less than a week away from Halloween, so it seems only fitting to do a little round-up of a few spine-tingling titles. All the items listed below are currently being offered for sale by our members on abaa.org. Misery by Stephen King When you think modern literature and horror, Stephen King naturally comes to mind. Misery (New York, 1987), in my opinion, is one of his most chilling stories. Brief synapsis: Paul Sheldon, a famous author of Victorian-era romances is held hostage by Annie Wilkes, a deranged super fan who insists that he rewrite his latest novel because she is not pleased with the ending. (A plot line that placed fear into the heart of every novelist&) Misery was a co-winner of the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and was nominated for the 1988 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. The novel was made into a hit film starring Kathy Bates and James Caan in 1990. I think it's one of the rare instances where the film is as good as the book. L.W. Currey, Inc. is offering a fine first edition copy in dust jacket that is signed by King. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James Henry James doesn't typically come to mind as a writer of scary stories, but his novella The Turn of the Screw is a classic. Originally published in the magazine Collier's Weekly, the novella was paired with another story, Covering End, and published in book form in 1898. The collection was called The Two Magics. The Turn of the Screw is a ghost story about a governess's experiences taking ca... [more Frightening Fiction for Halloween]

UPDATE: We are pleased to report that these items have been recovered and returned to their owner. The following three items were stolen last week and offered yesterday in Phoenix: Noritané, Ninagawa. KWAN KO DZU SETSU. NOTICE HISTORIQUE ET DESCRIPTIVE UR LES ARTS ET INDUSTRIES JAPONAIS:  ART CERAMIQUE (10 PARTS IN 5 VOLUMES). Tokyo and Yokohama: Ahrens and Co; C. Levy, 1876 - 1878. First Edition. 5 volumes, oblong 4to, each with between 5 and 11 leaves of Japanese lithographic text. French text. Original multi-colored wrappers titled on front covers. Housed in blue cloth folding case with bone clasps, paper title label to front cover. All volumes in near fine to fine condition; case is unevenly faded. Toke, Monroe Tsa. THE PEYOTE RITUAL: VISIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF MONROE TSA TOKE. San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1957. First Edition. Folio, 67 pages. Hardcover. As New w/original prospectus and return envelope laid in. Adams, Ansel (Introduction by Paul Brooks). ANSEL ADAMS:YOSEMITE AND THE RANGE OF LIGHT (SIGNED). London: Thames & Hudson & New York Graphic Society, 1979.First British Edition. SIGNED by Adams. As New in like dust jacket. If you have any information on these items, please contact James Bryant at 831-643-2754 or carpediem@pacbell.net. [more UPDATED: Three Books Stolen in the Southwest]

Well, not literally. But the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has announced the winner of the 16th ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography, and the prize goes to Jon Gilbert for his bibliography on Ian Fleming (Jon Gilbert. Ian Fleming: The Bibliography. Preface by Fergus Fleming. Foreward by Michael L. Vanblaricum. Edited by Brad Frank. London, Queen Anne Press, 2012). Gilbert's bibliography had stiff competition, but the Jury could not ignore his "outstanding work of meticulous scholarship." Arnoud Gertis, the Secretary of the ILAB Breslauer Prize, said that Gilbert's bibliography not only covers all aspects of "gives insight into the conception of a book, the editorial process, in short, this book covers&all one can possibly know about Fleming and his writings." Gertis continues, "It not only shows that modern authors are collectible, but also that modern authors merit exhaustive bibliographical scholarship." The award ceremony will take place during the 41st Congress of ILAB in April 2014. Congratulations! [more And the winner is: Bond, James Bond]

Happily, this item was recovered in 2014. The following item has been reported missing: 1791 version of Boydell's “Illustrations to Shakespeare-Proofs and Etchings”, Volume II. The book is large, maybe 20” by 20” and weighs around 20 pounds. The loss occurred approximately July 9, likely in the Memphis Area while it was being transported for rebinding. If you have any information on this item, please contact ABAA Headquarters at hq@abaa.org or 212-944-8291. [more Missing: 1791 version of Boydell’s “Illustrations to Shakespeare-Proofs and Etchings”, Volume II]

Steve Green, President of the U.S. arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, recently revealed his purchase of what some scholars believe may be the oldest known Jewish prayer book. The 11 x 10 centimeter, 50 page book is a siddur, a Jewish prayer book that contains daily prayers. It dates from 840 and is written in an ancient form of Hebrew that includes Babylonian vowel marks. This indicates that it is likely from the Babylonian region, but the siddur's origin has yet to be determined. The book is complete and appears to still be in its original binding, which of course adds additional value to the volume. Green acquired the book as an addition to the Green Collection, his family's extensive collection of biblical texts and artifacts. (Containing more than 40,000 items, it is the largest privately owned collection in the world.) The Greens are Evangelicals and they plan to house the collection in a Biblical museum scheduled to open in Washington, DC sometime in 2017. The Green Scholars Initiative is the Collection's research arm and conducted the academic research and carbon dating of the siddur. Green and his company have recently been featured in the news for unrelated stories. Citing their religious convictions, Hobby Lobby filed a lawsuit in protest of the Affordable Care Act's mandate that private companies must offer employees coverage for birth control. The case is expected to come before the Supreme Court during its upcoming term, which starts today. The Oklahoma based... [more Hobby Lobby President Acquires Rare Siddur]

ABAA Member Dan Wechsler's film 'More Than the Rainbow' won the prize for Best Documentary Feature at the 13th Annual Coney Island Film Festival last month. The film was previously posted about on our blog and you can watch the trailer at the link. Kudos, Dan! [more 'More Than the Rainbow' Won Best Documentary Feature at Coney Island Film Festival]

The following item has gone missing during transit from the UK to the US: Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, New Zealand-born British physicist, winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1908   Autograph Letter Signed ('Rutherford') from 'the father of nuclear physics' Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, inviting the anthropologist J. H. Driberg to dinner in Cambridge. On letterhead of Newnham Cottage, Queen's Road, Cambridge. 17 January 1937. 1p., 12mo. Good, on lightly-aged paper. He invites Driberg to dine with him 'in Trinity on Tuesday Feb 2 on the occasion of the Candlemas Feast. He gives further details before ending 'I hope you can come.' If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Gerard Stodolski at gs@gajs.com [more Missing: Ernest Rutherford Letter]

This item is still missing as of 5/28/2019. The following item was reported stolen: Mellis, Daniel. Nothing Beside Remains. Chicago, IL: Daniel Mellis. Limited Edition. Tight, bright, and unmarred. Black cloth boards. 4to. np. Numbered limited edition, one of 25 copies. Fine. If you have any information regarding this item, please contact Brian Cassidy at (301) 589-0789. [more Stolen: Limited Edition of 'Nothing Beside Remains']

In the recording below, F. Scott Fitzgerald reads part of Othello's speech to the Venetian senators in Act 1, Scene 3 (if you have the text in front of you, you'll notice that it is edited). Near the end of his life, Fitzgerald was broke and resorted to writing screenplays for money. He also made recordings of himself reading literary greats like Shakespeare and Keats, but it's unclear who produced the recordings and why. Whatever the details surrounding the recordings are, it's a treat to hear Fitzgerald's sonorous voice. After the jump is a recording of Fitzgerald reading the first three stanzas of Ode to a Nightingale (also slightly altered from the original text). [more Fitzgerald Reading Shakespeare and Keats]