The ABA and ILAB look back at a long history. The ABA is relaunching its flagship fair in London this year, the oldest antiquarian book fair in the world, under the auspices of ILAB.
This text by the late Anthony Rota, ABA bookseller and ILAB President of Honour, was published in 2008 in the ABA Directory.
The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2018. Oak Knoll Press has just published the League's "Historical Index", compiled by ILAB bookseller Nevine Marchiset.
Today the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers unites 22 national associations under one roof. Some of them had already been established when the League was founded in 1947/1948. Five of them were the driving forces: the antiquarian booksellers of Great Britain, France, Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands.
In 1947 representatives from Great Britain, France, Denmark, Sweden and The Netherlands met in Amsterdam for a Preliminary Conference. They discussed Hertzberger’s idea of forming an organization that counteracted the animosity and suspicion engendered by the Second World War. The new International League of Antiquarian Booksellers should foster friendship and understanding between the nations as the mutual basis for a fair and professional trade in the future.
The ILAB was formally incorporated in Copenhagen in September 1948, with ten participating countries. Representatives from Belgium, Finland, Switzerland, and Italy joined their colleagues from Great Britain, France, Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands at the conference table. Denmark was holding a proxy for Norway
“Considering the dubiety with which our activities were treated it is pleasant to record that the Congresses in London in 1949 and in Paris in 1950 were very successful both socially and professionally, while the standard of hospitality in both cities was impeccable." (Muir)
The admission of Japan, the ILAB Bibliography Prize (now ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography) and the first ILAB International Antiquarian Book Fair were the milestones of the 60s.
The International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) has launched an ILAB Mobile App which is now available in the Apple Store and the Android Market. Search for "ILAB rare books" or "International League of Antiquarian Booksellers" to find the free App ready to install on your phone. A Blackberry version will follow soon.
No April fool: "A LOST dictionary of the Scots language compiled by the famous 18th century biographer James Boswell has been rediscovered after more than 200 years." The manuscript for Boswell's Scottish dictionary has been identified by Susan Rennie in the Bodleian Library (Oxford).
"Nestled in the heart of the Syosset hamlet, New York, is a true treasure trove of musical riches, carefully, and lovingly, curated by John and Jude Lubrano. Since 1977, the dynamic duo have established themselves among the leading international dealers in antiquarian music and dance material. Their collection boasts a tantalising myriad of autograph musical manuscripts and letters of composers; rare printed music; rare books on music and dance; and original prints, drawings and ephemera relating to music and dance. The Lubranos' clientele includes private collectors, and many of the most celebrated libraries and museums of the world." (From Final Note Magazine)
Margaret Mitchell was the All-20th-Century-One-Book-Wonder, until Harper Lee wrested the title away from her in 1960. Mitchell lived another 13 years, Lee is at 45 and counting.
Fitzgerald, all but forgotten at the time of his death in 1940, is now one of the most eagerly collected American authors. His first two books This Side of Paradise and Flappers and Philosophers (both 1920) are very uncommon ...
More than a year has passed since the discovery of the thefts and forgeries of books from the Girolamini Library. According to the judges, the director of the Library, Marino Massimo De Caro was primarily responsible for the thefts. He was arrested and convicted to seven years in prison in the first of several trials that he will have to face. This trial also involved his accomplices. The trial against several booksellers (including 3 ILAB affiliates), who according to the prosecutors have helped him in selling the stolen items, has been postponed to an as yet unspecified date.
