On Collecting Books



'Lord of the Flies' Manuscript on Display for the First Time

By Susan Benne

In commemoration of what would be William Golding's centennial birthday, the Bodleian Library at Oxford will be displaying the original manuscript of The Lord of the Flies. The exhibit was curated by the author's daughter, Judy Carver, and will also include several first editions of the author's works, family photographs, and the Nobel Prize he received in 1983 for The Lord of the Flies. According to the Fine Books & Collections' blog: First impressions of the first edition (with the dust jacket) from Faber start at about $3,000 online. The first American edition, published in 1955 by Coward-McCann, commands about half that price. Ironically, the first American edition is scarcer than the British edition. 2,383 copies of the first American edition were sold before the book initially went out of print. The first British edition, meanwhile, went through a print run of 3,040 copies. The exhibit will be on display at the Bodleian Library through December 23, 2011. Lord of the Flies Manuscript on Display Bodleian Library Exhibits [more 'Lord of the Flies' Manuscript on Display for the First Time]



35th Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

By Susan Benne

ABAA members across the country are gearing up for next weekend's 35th Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair and we hope to see you there! Over 120 dealers from the US and around the world will be exhibiting rare, antiquarian books, modern first editions, manuscripts, autographs, maps, atlases, and an abundance of ephemera. The Fair will be held in the Hynes Convention Center, and will run from Friday, November 11 through Sunday, November 13. Highlighted Items at the Fair Fair Activities Fair Hours Friday: 5pm to 9pm Saturday: 12noon to 7pm Sunday: 12noon to 5pm It's going to be a wonderful fair, so mark your calendars if you will be in the Boston area! Please click here to visit the Fair's website. [more 35th Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair]



Notable Private Library to be Auctioned Today in New Zealand

By Susan Benne

Today, a collection of over 600 rare bookswhat some are calling "the last great private library "will be auctioned off in New Zealand. The books were collected by Arthur Pycroft, a prominent Auckland naturalist and scholar. Pycroft earned his living as a senior manager of NZ Railways, but his passions were ornithology and natural history, which he delved into with dedicated research and during personal explorations of Hen Island, Little Barrier, the Kermadecs, and Melanesia. At the age of 50, Pycroft received a hefty inheritance and was able to retire and devote himself to his passions full time. He became a member of the "Moa Searching Committee", a group that searched for skeletons at specific sites. He even had a newly discovered species of petrel named after him. Now let's get down to businesswhat are some of the treasures in this collection? A complete set of Cook's Voyages, published in the 1770s A first edition of the first novel published in New Zealand, Taranaki: A Tale of the War by Henry Stoney (1861) A 2-volume set of Captain Scott's journals from his last expedition, published in 1914 Early Maori language publications, including an 1838 New Testament and an 1852 translated version of Robinson Crusoe Te Tohunga, a 1907 German translation of ancient Maori legends and traditions by Wilhelm Dittmer, which features a leather cover adorned with a color illustration Also included are numerous titles about exploration, shipping and maritime history, natural history an... [more Notable Private Library to be Auctioned Today in New Zealand]



220-year-old Book of Court Records Returned to Virginia

By Susan Benne

In 1863, Union Army Captain William A. Treadwill of the 4th New York Regiment took a book of court records from a Virginia county courthouse and shipped it north to Boston, presumably to keep the book as a relic. The book made its way from Boston to Jersey City, where it remained in the Jersey City Free Public Library for the past 150 years. The book was recently unearthed while librarians were parsing through the library's holdings in order to prepare for an upcoming exhibit to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. It contains transcribed summaries of court records from 1749 to 1755. Carl Childs, the director of Local Record Services at the Library of Virginia, was thrilled to hear of the book's discovery. The vast majority of pre-Civil War records from the Stafford County Court were destroyed, so this book helps shed some light on that period. Some interesting entries in the book include: A judge's order that a man is paid 50 pounds of tobacco for serving as a witness for two days. A lawsuit of an unhappy widow who challenged the decision that she be awarded a dowry of just one-third of her late husband's estate. Details of a case in which someone being fined for cursing in church. The book was given to Childs, and back to Virginia, last week. It will be copied for the public, and then bound and restored to be kept in the Library of Virginia. Jersey City library returns spoils of Civil War, a 220-year-old book of court records, to Virginia county [more 220-year-old Book of Court Records Returned to Virginia]



Original Tolkien Illustrations for 'The Hobbit' to be Released

By Susan Benne

In anticipation of the 75th anniversary of the publication of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, Harper Collins has announced that it will be releasing 110 of Tolkien's original illustrations for the book, twenty of which are previously unpublished. The illustrations were compiled into a book entitled The Art of The Hobbit, which will be released on October 27. The drawings have been in Tolkien's archive at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, but were only recently 'discovered' by Harper Collins after the images were digitized. captionThe illustrations include line drawings in ink, watercolors and sketches, and contain "his conceptual sketches for the cover design, a couple of early versions of the maps and pages where he's experimenting with the runic forms, as well as a couple of manuscript pages", notes David Brawn, publisher of the new collection. Brawn hopes that The Art of The Hobbit coupled with the upcoming anniversary will allow the spotlight to shine on "the book which started it all", as well as give novel insight into Tolkien and The Hobbit, his first book. Of the The Art of The Hobbit, Brawn says, "It shows that Tolkien's creativity went beyond the writing, that it was a fully thought out conception. When he writes about the hobbit hole , he's designed it as well. And by doing that, it makes his description more vivid ... Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist. He was a great admirer of Arthur Rackham and you can see a little bit of that style coming through." Also sla... [more Original Tolkien Illustrations for 'The Hobbit' to be Released]



Member in the News: Larry McMurtry

By Susan Benne

It has just been announced that ABAA member Larry McMurtry of Booked Up in Archer City, TX will be stepping in as the "New Books" columnist for Harper's Magazine. He will be filling in for Zadie Smith, who is on temporary leave. Congrats, Larry, we can't wait to read the column! 'Lonesome Dove' author Larry McMurtry writing books column for Harper's Magazine [more Member in the News: Larry McMurtry]