This morning, the ABAA leadership learned that Greg Priore, former Carnegie Library Archivist, and former ABAA member John Schulman of Caliban Books, have been charged with theft from the library. This is a truly regrettable situation for the larger book community, and one in which the Association shares the public's dismay that such a theft took place. At this point in time, to comment further would be premature, as we support the legal process currently being pursued and will await its outcome. During this period we will continue to closely monitor the developments concerning this serious matter. Sincerely, Vic Zoschak President, ABAA [more ABAA Statement regarding Carnegie Library Thefts]

The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America is pleased to announce the 2018 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest! Established in 2005 by Fine Books & Collections Magazine to recognize outstanding book collecting efforts by college and university students, the contest aims to encourage young collectors to become accomplished bibliophiles. The magazine conducted the annual competition program for three years before turning over leadership to a collaboration of institutional partners (The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), and the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, with the Kislak Prize underwritten by the Jay I. Kislak Foundation. Competitions are held at more than three dozen colleges and universities across the United States. Some contests have been conducted for decades, dating back to Swarthmore College's first competition in the 1920s. All college or university prizewinners are encouraged to enter. Student collectors whose institutions do not offer a book collecting contest also may enter. All entries for the 2018 competition must be submitted by June 15, 2018. Full rules and details can be found at https://www.abaa.org/ncbcc/the-national-collegiate-book-collecting-contest... Meet the 2017 NCBCC Winners! Enter the 2018 Competition.... [more 2018 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest]

On March 11th, the ABAA Women's Initiative hosted a panel discussion on Collecting and Women during the New York Antiquarian Book Fair at the Park Avenue Armory. Elizabeth Denlinger, Sarah Gordon, and Molly Schwartzburg discussed topics relating to representations of women in collections, women as collectors, and women-focused institutions as Nina Musinsky moderated. More than 100 men and women booksellers, librarians, and enthusiasts attended. If you missed it, we have a recording below. Since 2016, we have held networking receptions for women in conjunction with book fairs, and honored Carol Sandberg — a longtime bookseller who has championed women in the trade. This panel is our first foray into programming and we are thrilled to have so many of you here. Please do leave your business cards or add your name to our mailing list so we can keep you informed about events and ideas. We would like to thank and acknowledge the people who have worked on this project: Claudia Strauss-Schulson — the Initiative's chairwoman — Heather O'Donnell, Rebecca Romney, Kim Schwenk, Kait Manning, Cokie Anderson, Susan Hirsch, Laurelle Swan, Joyce Kosofsky, and Mary Gilliam. We would also like to thank Jennifer Johnson and Sunday Steinkirchener for their help in organizing events. We also want to recognize the many people who have shared their stories, put forth ideas, and voiced support publically and privately for this important work. Subscribe below to receive alerts and information ab... [more Women’s Initiative Hosts Panel on Collecting and Women]

Dalton Trumbo got his start in writing as a reporter in college, and subsequently contributed stories to the popular magazines of the early 1930s: McCall's, the Saturday Evening Post, etc. In 1935, he got a job at Warner Brothers studios, and began his career as a prolific screenwriter and occasional novelist. His first novel, Eclipse, drew heavily on his youth in Grand Junction, Colorado, and, like Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward, Angel a few years previously, caused a lot of consternation in his hometown. Trumbo quickly became an in-demand screenwriter, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1940 for Kitty Foyle. Johnny Got His Gun His third novel, Johnny Got His Gun, was released in 1939, and struck a chord with its anti-war message, winning a National Book Award (then called the American Booksellers' Award). Johnny Got His Gun tells the story of Jon Bonham, who survives the war but must slowly come to terms with the fact that he's lost all his limbs and his face. A stream of consciousness novel, the book is notable in part because Trumbo omits all commas. The novel (and later the film version) became important anti-war touchstones during the Vietnam war era. Blacklisting In the political climate of the early 1940s, the American communist party was a magnet for those with anti-war sympathies, intellectuals, and anti-fascists. Trumbo was a member for several years, along with many other artists and writers. He was called to testify by the House Un-American Activities Commit... [more Collecting Dalton Trumbo]

A first edition of a favorite author is a sure-fire great gift. Even better would be one signed by the author! You'll find a great many first editions and signed books in our literature category, from award-winning classics to contemporary authors. Here are a few examples to what your appetite. Men Without Women (First Edition) by Ernest Hemingway New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927 First edition, first printing, in the first issue jacket with no quotes printed to orange lines on front panel of dust jacket. Publisher's smooth black cloth with gold paper labels stamped in black, top edge stained orange, fore edge untrimmed, yellow endpapers printed with three darker yellow bands and the silhouette of the bull in a circle, in the original unclipped dust jacket. A very good copy with some light soiling to boards, faint toning to page edges, text block otherwise very tight and clean in a sturdy binding; dust jacket in two pieces with split along spine panel, evenly toned with some wear to extremities and chipping to spine ends. Overall, a bright example in the original first issue dust jacket. Hanneman A7a. Men Without Women is Hemingway's second collection of short stories, comprised of ten previously published and 4 unpublished pieces. Specifically, it includes "The Undefeated," "In Another Country," "Hills like White Elephants," "The Killers," "Che ti dice la Patria?," "Fifty Grand," "A Simple Enquiry," "Ten Indians," "A Canary for One," "An Alpine Idyll," "A Pursuit Race,... [more Gift Ideas: Modern Literature]

Literary Los Angeles: A Legacy as Diverse as the City Itself The Hollywood sign looms large over Los Angeles. However, despite its close association with the motion picture industry, the enduring promise and dark undercurrents of America's first postmodern city are best understood through its prose and poetry. This literary legacy will be on display in February when the world's leading antiquarian booksellers gather in Los Angeles for the 43rd ILAB Congress, which will lead into the 51st California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena. The following list of 20 defining works of Los Angeles literature is presented in anticipation of these prestigious events: Reminiscences of a Ranger: Early Times in Southern California (1881) by Major Horace Bell Horace Bell (1830-1918) was an incendiary attorney who was fond of the seamier side of life. This true account of his service with the Los Angeles Rangers, a sort of border police, rivals any dime-store western. The first book printed and bound in Los Angeles, it is particularly scarce because the type from the first half of the book was reportedly cannibalized for use in the second. Ramona (1884) by Helen Hunt Jackson Despite its romantic excess, Ramona is perhaps the most significant Southern California novel. In much the same way that Uncle Tom's Cabin helped to arouse public sentiment against slavery, the abuse of California Indians depicted in Ramona brought about reforms in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. At the same ti... [more Literary Los Angeles]

Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita is one of the most-celebrated and most-notorious novels of the twentieth century. Its path to publication did not run smooth, and there are many different editions and translations worthy of the collector's attention. 1955: The Olympia Press Two-Volume First Edition The multi-lingual Nabokov (he grew up speaking Russian, English and French at home) finished Lolita in 1953, but it was rejected by all the major American publishers for fear that its subject matter would prove too controversial. He turned to the Olympia Press in Paris, then notorious for essentially publishing pornography, for the first publication of his famous novel. Lolita (First Edition) Paris: Olympia Press. Very Good. FIRST EDITION of one of the most important novels of the twentieth century. WITH IMPORTANT PROVENANCE: From the Bureau Littéraire Clairouin, Nabokov's literary agency who was instrumental in its publication. "Vladimir Nabokov is an artist of the first rank, a writer in the great tradition ... Lolita is probably the best fiction to come out of this country (so to speak) since Faulkner's burst in the thirties. He may be the most important writer now going in this country. He is already, God help him, a classic" (Critic Conrad Brenner, in 1958). Controversial since its conception, Lolita was rejected by American publishing houses until finally accepted by the avant-garde Olympia Press in Paris and published in a fragile two-volume format. First issue, with 900 Francs on... [more Collecting Nabokov’s Lolita]

A deluxe copy of a children's classic is a favorite gift at almost any point in childhood. As the child grows older and better able to appreciate a care for their books, some seek to introduce the book-collecting bug with a signed copy, a meaningful first edition, or a particularly beautiful volume. We've collected a few beautiful, rare, or signed editions below for inspiration. You can search Children's Books by category here... A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger Natick, MA: Picture Book Studio USA/Neugebauer Press, 1988. Modern illustrated edition of the quintessential Christmas classic. Written in a mere six weeks at a low point in Charles Dickens's career, and published at his own expense in time for Christmas 1843, A Christmas Carol revived Dickens's fortunes, establishing a robust market for holiday gift books that survives to this day. "When this strain of music sounded, all the things that Ghost had shown came upon his mind; he softened more and more." In 1990, illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger won the Hans Christian Andersen medal in recognition of her "lasting contribution to children's literature." A near-fine copy. Tall narrow folio, measuring 13.5 x 8.25 inches, black linen spine, original glossy color pictorial boards, pale yellow endpapers, original unclipped color pictorial dust jacket. Illustrated in color throughout text. Light edgewear to jacket. (Offered by Honey & Wax Booksellers.) Search for other copies of A Christmas Carol..... [more Gift Ideas: Children’s Books]

ABAA members list newly acquired or catalogued books on almost every day of the year. Keep an eager eye on our "New Arrivals" search page to see what's recently been offered for sale and find the books you need to build your collection! Here are a few highlights from this week's crop of newly listed items: Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald London: Grey Walls Press, 1953 First English edition. Publisher's light blue cloth, lettered in gilt to spine, in original pink pictorial dust jacket. Near fine with a slight lean to spine and a touch of wear to spine ends, light offsetting to endpapers, a few tiny spots to top edge; dust jacket with a few tiny nicks to spine ends and corners, spine faded but front panel extremely bright. Overall, a tight and attractive copy. Originally published by Scribner's in the US in 1932, Save Me the Waltz is the first and only novel by Zelda Fitzgerald, better known as an artist and wife of the renowned author F. Scott Fitzgerald. An extremely autobiographical text, it tells the story of "a young artist to whom success comes very early," and "a Southern girl" who would travel the world, live as an expatriate in Paris, and ultimately "return to the Southern town in which she was born." Similarly, Zelda and F. Scott were married young, lived abroad for several years, and then returned to the American Southeast for health reasons. Increasingly afflicted with mental illness in her adult years, Zelda was admitted to the Sheppard Pratt sanatorium in T... [more Explore New Arrivals]

ABAA-member Charles Roberts (Wonder Book) has published a wonderful meditation on the classic cookbook The Joy of Cooking on his blog at Wonder Books. More than a straight article about the book's creation (although it does cover that) or its critical reception and impact on the wider culture (that, too), Roberts conveys a real bookseller's perspective on the book, both as a cultural artifact and a physical artifact. More interesting still is his consideration of the market forces that affect physical books in unique ways, and how a bookseller can still find utility and value even in old, nondescript cookbooks that are not rare by any stretch of the imagination. Some books tell stories in ways other than their contents. At Wonder Book, we used to rarely get copies of The Joy of Cooking in any condition. It was just a book that people would not give up. Now we are seeing more and more older copies appear in our warehouse. The Joy of Cooking has a sad beginning. Irma Rombauer published it originally in 1931. Her husband had killed himself in 1930. Irma's children convinced her to record her recipes and cooking styles. Why? Maybe they thought it would distract her from her loss and the money problems and personal turmoil it caused. She wrote in the forward, "It was written at the request of my children, who, on leaving home, asked for a record of 'what mother used to cook.'" Somehow she put it all together and published the first Joy privately! She paid for a printer to print an... [more The Afterlife of The Joy of Cooking]