The 5th edition of China in Print - Hong Kong's leading international antiquarian fair with particular focus on Asian printed material opens today, featuring exhibitors from Austria, Australia, England, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and the USA.
Whether you are an experienced collector or simply curious about old and rare books, the Chelsea Antiquarian Book Fair is not to be missed.
Held each autumn in the beautiful and historic Chelsea Old Town Hall, the Fair brings together more than 80 exhibitors specialising in antique books, first editions, maps, prints, and manuscripts from all over the world. Prices begin at just a few pounds and dealers are happy to guide you, making this an accessible and exciting venue for beginning collectors or those simply looking for an extra special Christmas gift.
From 9th to 13th November 2016 the Austrian capital Vienna will once again welcome book lovers and bibliophiles. With over 300 lectures, discussions, performances – and an International Book Fair – "Buch Wien" will be the greatest Austrian book festival and one of the most important bookish events in Europe. Following on last year's success, antiquarian booksellers will be a prominent part of it. Further information in German.
The Boston Book International Antiquarian Book Fair will take place October 28-30, 2016.
More than 120 dealers from around the world rendezvous every fall at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston's Back Bay to display their latest acquisitions to collectors. 2016 will see the 40th annual book fair in Boston, over the weekend of October 28-30.
More than forty book- and printsellers from the Netherlands, united in the Dutch Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (NVvA), have recently issued their 2016 annual catalogue. Click above, download the catalogue and have a look at the highlights – from medieval books of hours to a complete run of the counterculture journal Rolling Stone.
Over the year and on all continents, there is an exquisite selection of antiquarian book fairs, where book collectors and the world's leading experts share their passion for the printed book and our written heritage. Under the auspices of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and organized by ILAB's member associations amazing book fairs are held in Europe and America, Asia and Australia, from London and Paris to New York and California, Tokyo and Melbourne. The exhibitors are ILAB affiliates who guarantee high professional standards, high quality offers, the authenticity of the books, prints, autographs and ephemera for sale which are exactly described and accurately priced. On all these fairs, officially supported by ILAB, there is more than just the fascination of rare books: Here you can buy with confidence and trust in the expertise of the exhibitors.
For the first time ever the Hungarian rare book dealers invite colleagues and collectors from across the world to Budapest. The 42nd ILAB Congress and 26th ILAB International Antiquarian Book Fair from 21 to 25 September 2016 will present Budapest as one of the most beautiful cities and one of the most fascinating book capitals in Europe. Before the first International ILAB Congress and Fair in Budapest in September, we would like you to have a glimpse into its programme. First of all, we have prepared a brief series on the most prestigious libraries of Budapest.
The Stuttgart Antiquarian Book Fair, established in 1962, is one of the oldest book fairs in Europe. It is held every year in January, and is the very first major rare book event of the year. The German Antiquarian Booksellers' Association (VDA) invites all ILAB booksellers to participate in the Stuttgart Antiquarian Book Fair, where dealers and collectors from all over the world will meet from Friday, 27 to Sunday 29 January, 2017. Every year, the opening of the international fair season attracts numerous international dealers and potential collectors. The fair committee is very pleased to be able to offer a significant discount to all first-time exhibitors.
From May 26th to 28th the halls of Olympia will once again present an unparalleled array of literary material at the London International Antiquarian Book Fair. Now in its 59th year, this major three-day event is one of the largest and most prestigious antiquarian book fairs in the world, showcasing rare, unique and unusual items from 180 leading UK and international dealers.
"As I stood admiring the book and ruminating on its worth, that wise and shrewd bookseller, Bill Fletcher, doyen of the British trade, and a man some thirty years my senior in both age and experience, came up to me. 'What are you looking at, my son?' he inquired. I told him. 'What's so special about that then? he asked. I explained. 'Then why don't you buy it?' Bill said ... I replied to the effect that were I to buy it with a view to selling it again, I would in effect be trading gold for gold. 'Shall I tell you something, my son?' Bill responded. 'The price of gold [pause] is going up!'" (Anthony Rota, Books in the Blood). Keith Fletcher recounts the life and personality of his father, the doyen of the trade and former owner of H.M. Fletcher Rare Books: Bill Fletcher.
The first and last issue of one of the most important little magazines of the sixties, edited and published by Ira Cohen from Tangiers. In Cohen's brief editorial statement he notes that the magazine is named for the ecstatic dancing and possession trances of the North African sect of the same name, and concludes that "The object is exorcism."
"On 21 August 1911, someone entered the Salon Carre of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, removed the Mona Lisa from the wall, unfastened the clamps holding the panel to its frame, and walked off. A painstaking police investigation followed, as newspapers fumed over such a brazen theft. Police failed to capture the thief until he tried to sell the painting in Florence more than two years later." 100 years after the theft a documentary film uncovers new insights into the theft of the masterpiece.
Last week Patricia Ahearn of Quill & Brush (Dickerson, Maryland, US) passed away. Patricia and Allen Ahearn started collecting in the early 1960s and founded Quill & Brush in the year 1976 specializing in in first editions of literature, mystery/detective fiction and collectible books from all fields of interest. With over 45 years of experience in the rare book trade they were also authors of numerous articles and books like: “Collected Books: The Guide to Values” (4th, revised and enlarged edition published in 2011), “Book Collecting 2000” (Putnam: 2000) and over 200 individual Author Price Guides.
