The rare book trade lost one of its most active members earlier this year. Besides his achievements as a remarkable bookseller of Americana material and the respect he gained in the bookselling community, William Reese is also remembered for his series of essays on the rare book market and Americana which were published in 2018. In a tribute to Mr Reese, ILAB will publish two chapters of his book over the next few weeks on this website with the permission of William Reese & Co.
The Paris Review, 7th September 2018: In 2017, Honey & Wax Booksellers established an annual prize for American women book collectors, aged 30 years and younger. The idea took shape when Heather O’Donnell and Rebecca Romney, the bookstore’s owners, observed that “the women who regularly buy books from us are less likely to call themselves 'collectors' than the men, even when those women have spent years passionately collecting books."
The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), member association of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers, ILAB has just announced a new book collecting prize for young collectors, recognizing the next generation of bibliophiles! Deadline: 1 December 2018!
With the permission of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB) who initiated and have organised the festival since 2011, we repost an extract of the 2018 report by Professor Chris Browne, Programme Director of Melbourne Rare Book Week.
On the 10th September, the 2018 edition of YABS will start. ILAB spoke to Anthony Smithson owner of Keel Row Book Shop in York and organiser of the very popular course about what to expect this year and why the seminar has been oversubscribed since its inception in 2014.
For 70 years, the motto of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers has been "Amor Librorum Nos Unit" - "The Love of Books unites Us". We look at some recent publications from Argentina, Italy, Austria and the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, 25th August 2018, friends and colleagues gathered at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles, to celebrate the life of Michael R. Thompson. A tribute by the library's Head Librarian Emeritus, Mr. Bruce Whiteman is published here with the permission of the author. Mr Thompson will be missed by many of his colleagues in the rare book trade.
Being the first in the world chain of rare book fairs is a pleasure and a responsibility. This year, being the 400th anniversary of both Shakespeare's and Cervantes death, there is no better place for East Coast Australian booksellers to Pop Up than The State Library of New South Wales (SLNSW). The State Library, justifiably proud of their collections of both Shakespeare and Cervantes – including 1,100 different editions of Don Quixote in many different languages – will be celebrating all things Shakespearean on Saturday 23 April 2016. They will be inviting children and adults to come into the library for, dare we say, a dramatic day. There will be balloons, wandering players, a Sonnet Slam, the beautiful Shakespeare room will be open, and their first folios will be on display – and that's just some of what is happening!
Don't judge a book by its cover. Sometimes it is worth more than you think. An antiquarian bookseller in Dunedin, New Zealand, found real treasures between the covers.
From March 9-12, 2017 book lovers will find a fascinating treasure trove at the Park Avenue Armory. Over 200 American and international dealers will exhibit at The ABAA New York Antiquarian Book Fair, bringing a vast selection of rare books, maps, manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts and ephemera. The diversity of specialties includes art, medicine, literature, photography, autographs, first editions, Americana, and much more.
"There's hardcore porn and softcore porn, and then there's the Bauman Rare Books catalog, which lands on my doorstep several times a year. If your heart races at the contours of a first edition of 'The Great Gatsby', with the almost impossible to find dust jacket, or an autographed copy of Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," then the Bauman catalog is the equivalent of Playboy, Penthouse and maybe the New York Review of Books all rolled into one."
Congratulations! At the Annual General Meeting in York last Wednesday Brian Lake of Jarndyce Books (London) was elected new President and Michael Graves-Johnston (known universally as Oscar) was elected Vice President.
