BOSTON INTERNATIONAL ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair celebrates its 40th Anniversary at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston’s Back Bay, October 28-30, 2016. For the anniversary, organizers are offering free admission on Saturday and Sunday to encourage a broader audience to attend this rare literary event that happens in only two other U.S. cities annually. Attendees will experience the vast selection of rare and collectible books, modern first editions, fine and decorative prints, photographs, manuscripts and pop culture ephemera that has been delighting loyal audiences for years.

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair celebrates its 40th Anniversary at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston’s Back Bay, October 28-30, 2016. For the anniversary, organizers are offering free admission on Saturday and Sunday to encourage a broader audience to attend this rare literary event that happens in only two other U.S. cities annually. Attendees will experience the vast selection of rare and collectible books, modern first editions, fine and decorative prints, photographs, manuscripts and pop culture ephemera that has been delighting loyal audiences for years.

More than 120 dealers from the United States, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Australia will exhibit and sell all weekend. Whether just browsing or buying, patrons will find something for every taste and budget—books on art, politics, travel, gastronomy, science, sport, natural history, gardening, literature, music, and children’s books—that will appeal to bibliophiles and firsttimers alike. Special events at this year’s Fair includes Collecting the Boston Music Scene: 1976-2016, a curated exhibition of a select group of one-of-a-kind items from the vast David Bieber Archives of Boston music memorabilia; the popular Typewriter Rodeo, a group of poets who create custom poems on vintage typewriters; a talk by Boston College English professor Paul Lewis on Edgar Allen Poe and the rediscovery of Boston’s citizen poets after the American Revolution; and The 15th Annual Ticknor Society Roundtable, a panel discussion of professional librarians from New York and New England talking about their own personal collections. Visit www.bostonbookfair.com for complete event listings.

Among the highlighted items for sale will be rare and first editions of works by James Baldwin, Jonathan Swift, Stephen King, Toni Morrison, Lewis Carroll, and Sylvia Plath; a souvenir program and scorecard for the 1915 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies, won by Boston in five games and Babe Ruth’s first as a rookie; a rare original watercolor drawing by British artist Arthur Rackham; one of the earliest printed works in the world, Hyakumanto Dharani, a 1250 year old relic of East Asian high culture; Albert Einstein’s childhood building blocks; signed photos from the horror films The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Psycho; Elvis Presley’s first record; two sketchbooks by the renowned Ukrainian-born Jewish-American sculptor and graphic artist Chaim Gross; a very unusual autographed press book for the 1968 legendary film Night of the Living Dead; the original watercolor painting depicting Hogwarts, for the British edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; a masterfully illustrated Japanese version of Don Quixote; and a signed & inscribed photo of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini. For attendees wanting to start a collection without breaking the bank, there will be dealers offering “Discovery” items, including a selection of children's books and decorative cloth bindings, priced at $100 or less.

On Saturday, an expert “Discovery” panel will give tips on the best ways to shop a book fair and start your own collection. And on Sunday from 1-3pm, attendees are invited to bring in their own books for free appraisal. The Fair gives visitors the opportunity to see, learn about, and purchase the finest in rare and valuable books and ephemera.

Tickets are $20 for Friday night’s exclusive Opening Night preview event, an opportunity for the public to get a first look at items for sale at the Fair.

In celebration of the Book Fair’s 40th Anniversary, organizers have decided to offer free admission on Saturday and Sunday in order to attract a larger audience of book-loving attendees.

The Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair is sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America. A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Boston Public Library and the American Antiquarian Society.