New York Rare Book Week – 7-15 April 2015

“Throughout the year, there are book fairs, auctions, and events around the globe, but you simply cannot find anywhere in the world the confluence of antiquarian book events found in New York during the first week of April.”

Webb Howell

It is the largest gathering of its kind anywhere in the world. Now for the second time antiquarian book dealers, collectors, and the intellectually curious will gather in New York City for Rare Book Week from 7 to 15 April 2015.

Rare Book Week - a coordinated effort to focus attention on the antiquarian book fairs, auctions, exhibitions, and bookish browsing available in New York City – is headlined by the 55th annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair.

Called “The Best Book Fair in the World,” the New York Antiquarian Book Fair opens with a preview on Thursday evening, April 9, and runs through Sunday, April 12 at the Park Avenue Armory where over 200 American and international dealers will display an astonishing array of rare books, fine art, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera. Officially supported by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), the New York Antiquarian Book Fair is a must for collectors – and for four days the centre of the bibliophile universe.

Click here to see a video, but be sure, reality will be far outreaching virtuality from 9 to 12 April at the Park Avenue Armory.

In addition to the ABAA’s New York Antiquarian Book Fair two “shadow shows” will entice collectors on Saturday, April 11, making the New York Rare Book Week even bigger and better. The New York City Book & Ephemera Fair is held not far away from the Park Avenue Armory on 11 April from 8 am to 4 pm at Wallace Hall at St. Ignatius Loyola Church, while the Manhattan Vintage Book & Ephemera Fair and Fine Press Book Fair has moved to a new location in the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (869 Lexington Avenue at 66th Street), where the doors will be open to visitors from 8 am to 4 pm.

Throughout the week the New York auction houses are inviting dealers and collectors to witness spectacular sales: Don McLean’s “American Pie” manuscript will be offered at Christie’s on April 7, Alan Turing’s notebook will be turned over to a new owner at Bonhams on April 13 – both items are estimated up to 1 million US dollars.

Exhibitions on tap during Rare Book Week:

The Grolier Club

Two exhibits welcome visitors to the Grolier Club: Through April 25, the ground floor gallery hosts Aldus Manutius: A Legacy More Lasting Than Bronze, curated by Grolier president G. Scott Clemons. The second floor gallery offers At Home With Victorian Authors and Artists: William and Helen Allingham.

The Morgan Library & Museum

A visit to the the Morgan Library and Museum at Madison Avenue offers no less than four major exhibits: Hebrew Illumination for Our Time: Barbara Wolff showcases the contemporary illumination of the Rose Haggadah. Piranesi and the Temples of Paestum: Drawings from Sir John Soane’s Museum will be on view through May 17. Embracing Modernism: Ten Years of Drawings Acquisitions marks the tenth anniversary of collecting 20th century drawings at the Morgan, while Lincoln Speaks: Words that Transformed a Nation focuses on Abraham Lincoln as a writer and a public speaker.

New-York Historical Society

During Rare Book Week the Historical Society will showcase Audubon’s Aviary: The Final Flight, part three of the highly successful tripartite series, Audubon’s Aviary: The Complete Flock.

Les Enluminures

An opening reception on April 8 at 6 pm launches the a new exhibition The Idda Collection of Romanesque Biblical Manuscripts, c. 980-1240. This exhibition gives a glimpse into the treasure chests of Romanesque Europe highlighting two early Gospel lectionaries from the Iberian Peninsula, two exceptional Psalters, and the famous 10th century Liesborn Gospel Book.

New York Public Library

On show at the New York Public Library: Public Eye: 175 Years of Sharing Photography. This landmark exhibition draws on more than 500 images and explores various ways in which photography has been shared and made public.

Museum of Modern Art

The exhibition Modern Photographs from the Thomas Walther Collection, 1909-1949 presents the exhilarating story of photography between the two World Wars featuring iconic works by artists such as Berenice Abbott, Walker Evans, André Kertész, László Moholy-Nagy, and Alfred Stieglitz.

New York Society Library

On show during New York Rare Book Week: Readers Make Their Mark: Annotated Books at the New York Society Library. Have a look over the shoulders of readers past and check out what they were writing in the margins! The exhibition shows, for example, an anonymous contemporary reader’s responses to the first American edition of Austen’s Emma and two books annotated by the 16th century Elizabethan alchemist John Dee.

RARE

RARE, a mid-town gallery run by bookseller Glenn Horowitz, showcases “first editions, manuscripts, letters, archival material, fine art, photography, and decorative arts from the 19th century to the present.” Through April 18, it will host the archive and artwork of Hungarian-born abstract artist Sari Dienes.

New York Rare Book Week – 7-15 April 2015

The New York Rare Book Week is coordinated by Fine Books & Collections magazine. Fine Books & Collections ensures that people know when and where events are happening. More information about Rare Book Week can be found on the web at rarebookweek.org, where events will be continuously updated and added.

55th Annual New York Antiquarian Book Fair

9 – 12 April 2015, Park Avenue Armory

VIP Preview: Thursday 5 – 9 pm

Opening hours: Friday noon – 8 pm, Saturday noon – 7 pm, Sunday noon – 5 pm

For more information please visit the official website.

(Pictures: Fine Books and Collections, New York Antiquarian Book Fair)