Booksellers affiliated to ILAB are based in 37 countries worldwide, organised in 22 national associations. The Czech antiquarian bookseller’s association, Svaz Antikváru ČR, one of ILAB's smaller member associations, currently counts 14 members across the country.
ILAB congratulates Australian bookseller Douglas Stewart on his appointment as new President of the Australian and New Zealand booksellers association.
The endowment of the ILAB Breslauer Prize for Bibliography has recently been funded with a further generous donation of $25,000 from the B.H. Breslauer Foundation of New York — Submissions are currently being accepted for the 2022 prizes.
ILAB spoke to one of the newer members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association, Anke Timmermann who jointly owns and runs the business Type & Forme with her partner Mark James: "...the printed book and manuscripts have lost none of their allure in the new millennium, and antiquarian books are arguably even better appreciated in recent years ... Social media, especially Instagram, have brought forth a new generation of bibliophiles..."
The Proper Title: In the wake of more high-profile book thefts, the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers is tackling head-on the sometimes thorny issue of provenance.
The Swedish Antiquarian Booksellers Association, Svenska Antikvariatföreningen alerted ILAB to the recently published bibliography: “Swedish Contributions to Classical Philology” by Per Rålamb.
At the annual meeting of ALAI on Tuesday, 21 May 2019, Mario Giupponi, bookseller from Riva del Garda in Northern Italy, was re-elected as president of the association.
In the 1970s, theatre writer and bibliophile John Wolfson began accumulating what was to become one of the largest and most rare collections of works on Shakespeare in the world.
Over 160 antiquarian booksellers as well as private presses, bookbinders and other affiliated trade exhibited last week from the 9th to the 11th June 2011 at the world's oldest antiquarian book fair, the London International Antiquarian Book Fair at Olympia. Over 3,000 book collectors and bibliophiles, book dealers and enthusiasts attended the fair, which is organised by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association (ABA) and supported by the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB). Robert Frew, Chairman of the fair: "We are very happy with the results of the 2011 fair with good sales across the range. During the fair I have spoken to a lot of exhibitors. Dealers feel confident about the future, book collecting in general as well as well organised book fairs."
Books are our companions, not only in an intellectual, not in a mere economical sense. We touch them, we admire their beauty, some of them are the one and only love of our rare book dealing lives. And then, there is the moment when we have to split up. The book is - sold.
During the Reign of Terror, large-scale public executions were conducted, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, executed in 1793. Thousands were sentenced to the guillotine by the Revolutionary Tribunal, often on little or no grounds - mere suspicion of "crimes against liberty" was reason enough. Death estimates range from 16,000 to 40,000 during this time. The executions were popular entertainment and attracted huge numbers of spectators. A group of female citizens, the tricoteuses ("knitters"), became regulars, functioning as macabre cheerleaders as they watched while knitting. The man most associated with the Terror was Maximilien Robespierre, and as the appetite for executions waned, he was arrested and executed in the manner of those he condemned - by Madame Guillotine.
Pavel Chepyzhov spent six weeks in Australia as an ILAB Intern. "My internship took place from October to December 2011 when I traveled from Russia to Australia and Hong Kong. I have spent most of my time in Australia with Paul Feain, the owner of Cornstalk Bookshop (Sydney), the organizer of the Hong Kong Antiquarian Book Fair and the co-founder of Sydney Rare Book Auctions." Read his report.
The State Library of NSW is delighted to host the 11th Australasian Rare Books Summer School. From 1 – 5 February 2016 three intensive five-day courses and a two-day short course will be presented by leading experts. The courses cover a wide variety of the history and study of rare books and manuscripts and give a thorough insight into the rare book business, both for newcomers and old-timers. Have a look at the schedule:
Books are visual creations, so it stands to reason that artists and publishers will be interested in making them beautiful, interesting and exciting objects. All books have some level of 'art' in them, but collectors will look to the identity of the artist, and the skill of the artwork, in judging their desirability. Books are another medium for an artist to express their ideas - this may be through reproductions or original artworks. The best Australian Art books are both beautiful publications and artworks in the one volume.
