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.
Proensa, Paul Blackburn's translations of the Provencal poets, was the first publication realized by Robert and Ann Creeley's The Divers Press. Earlier in 1953, Creeley abandoned Roebuck Press, a publishing venture with fellow Mallorca expat, Martin Seymour Smith, due to a disagreement in just what writers that Press should give voice to. Smith wanted to publish his mother, which Roebuck in fact did. Creeley wanted to publish his friends. Creeley: "I was just determined to publish Americans of my own interests. I was far more idealistic than Martin." Poets such as Blackburn spoke in a language that Creeley could understand and enjoy. Creeley felt Blackburn's work was the ideal choice for Divers Press's first statement to the world.
Although the importance of French voyages to Australian and Pacific waters has always been well understood, recent years have seen a real reappraisal of their importance and their published voyage accounts have become keenly sought by collectors. The French voyage accounts are particularly prized as rich sources of natural history, whether it is the ethnographic portraits from the Baudin voyage of 1800-1804, or the beautifully detailed folio atlases of Freycinet, Duperrey, or DumontDurville ...
Off to Cecil Court with the Modern First Editions group from London Rare Books School. An excellent afternoon. Highlight for me was Ron Chapman (Tindley & Chapman) pretending to think that Angus O'Neill (Omega Bookshop) was a student on the course and had he learnt anything – but an afternoon full of wider interest too. Glimpses of a couple of very high-powered booksellers in earnest conversations – a feeling of vultures circling over something special that might have just turned up. We never got to find out what it may have been, but the booksellers of the Court really put themselves out to show off some treasures and to answer everyone's questions.
Make a donation! What could be closer to the interests of all ILAB affiliates than literacy? What is more appropriate than to enable as many children and adults as possible throughout the world to read books? Book collectors start as book readers! If we are concerned about the future of the book and younger generations of collectors, we must start at the very beginning.
Jean-Paul Sartre lived a full life. He is widely remembered for his contributions as a philosopher, playwright, and teacher. His notable works include his philosophical magnum opus, L'Etre et le néant [Being and Nothingness] which was published in 1943, and his plays,Les Mouches [The Flies], 1943 and Huis Clos [No Exit], 1947. His ideas have a continued influence on philosophical and literary studies today. But what are some other facts about the esteemed thinker? Read on to discover five interesting factoids about Jean-Paul Sartre.
Samuel F Haven, former librarian for the American Antiquarian Society, presided over one of the largest collections of broadsides in the world. Historians and rare book collectors alike cherish broadsides because they offer snapshots of moments in time, helping us to understand the zeitgeist of that era. Broadsides make ideal complements to a rare book collection, granting the collection greater depth and context.
