I'm on vacation this week and find myself in Tampa, Florida, looking for something bookish to do. By a stroke of luck, the Henry B. Plant Museum is currently hosting "Facing the Late Victorians: Portraits of Writers and Artists from the Mark Samuels Lasner Collection."
The exhibit features portraits of dozens of well-known figures -- in drawings, lithographs, photographs, manuscripts, books, even a bookplate. My favorite was probably an albumen photograph of a brooding Alfred Lord Tennyson (pictured here at left), taken by his neighbor, Julia Margaret Cameron, famous in her own right. The delicate etching of Sarah Bernhardt from 1887 looks as fragile as her figure. A lithograph of a boyish William Butler Years from 1898 is charming.
Several of the images come from English Portraits: A Series of Lithographed Drawings (1898), a limited edition of 750 copies that proved very successful. John Singer Sargent is there, as is George Bernard Shaw. A drawing of George Gissing, author of New Grub Street (an exceptional Victorian novel about writing and publishing), makes him look positively cowboy-ish.
Another highlight is the personalized bookplate of Richard Le Gallienne (at right), showing him and his wife surrounded by books and bearing the words, "He loved bookes day/ and night to pore/But yet he loved his wife more."
I felt one of the pieces poking fun at me, literary tourist that I was. The Home and Early Haunts of Robert Louis Stevenson by Margaret Armour (Edinburgh Riverside Press, 1895) shows a frontispiece of the famous author. The exhibit label calls attention to "literary tourism" as a "full-blown business by the end of the nineteenth century."
The Lasner exhibit, curated by Margaret D. Stetz of the University of Delaware, is open until June 5; for more information, visit the exhibit's website. The Henry B. Plant Museum is located in the historic, Moorish-style Tampa Bay Hotel (now Plant Hall, part of the University of Tampa's campus) and is open year-round. The Museum interprets the life of railroad and hotel magnate Henry B. Plant and resort life in the Gilded Age.
A lovely afternoon all around. If you're in the Sunshine State, it's well-worth a visit.
alfred lord tennyson, george gissing, gilded age, henry b. plant, julia margaret cameron, literary tourism, margaret armor, margaret d. stetz, museum exhibit, plant hall, robert louis stevenson, sarah bernhardt, tampa, tampa bay hotel, university of tampa, victorian artists, victorian portraits, victorian writers, william butler yeats, mark samuels lasner, richard le gallienne
From the BBC today a preview of the Arcana Collection: Exceptional Illuminated Manuscripts and Incunabula, to be sold by Christie's in July: A collection of manuscripts previously owned by kings, bishops and
members of the aristocracy is expected to fetch up to £16m when it is
sold at auction. Read on.
As a follow up to my January blog about the lost papers of Montague Summers, in which Gerard O' Sullivan told me they were looking for a home for the newly discovered papers, readers will find a recent blog post from Lux Mentis Booksellers very interesting. A snippet:
There is more than hope, there is certainty. I have been exploring and cataloguing the archives of Montague Summers, thought to be lost in the 1950s. Father Sewell wrote an interesting article in 1970 in The Antigonish Review about the loss of the collection and what might be contained within it. Having rediscovered its location, scholar Gerald O'Sullivan wrote a new article in The Antigonish, The Manuscripts of Montague Summers, Revisited. He and I had been following each other on Twitter for some time and one thing led to another and the archive is now with me.
There is more than hope, there is certainty. I have been exploring and cataloguing the archives of Montague Summers, thought to be lost in the 1950s. Father Sewell wrote an interesting article in 1970 in The Antigonish Review about the loss of the collection and what might be contained within it. Having rediscovered its location, scholar Gerald O'Sullivan wrote a new article in The Antigonish, The Manuscripts of Montague Summers, Revisited. He and I had been following each other on Twitter for some time and one thing led to another and the archive is now with me.
Today I am shocked to learn that a Drew University student is accused of stealing several historic letters from Drew University. Not only is Drew my graduate alma mater, but I worked in the preservation department and university archives for a number of years. I know those collections, those vaults, those librarians, and I am aghast.
According to yesterday's New York Times, the student, a freshman named William John Scott, had a part-time job in the archives when he began stealing letters. An antiques dealer in England alerted library officials after he bought ten Charles and John Wesley letters from the student and was suspicious of the way the delicate letters had been packaged and mailed. Scott was arrested on Sunday, after the F.B.I. found more stolen documents in his dorm room, including letters from Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon.
What is unclear from the NYT report is that the student did not work in the university archives; he worked in the Methodist Archives. At Drew, there is the Library, which houses the university archives and special collections, and then there is a separate structure, the United Methodist Archives Center, that holds the records of the Methodist Church as well as related rare and historical collections. In any case, the student was given a key to a locked special collections room, which, unfortunately, raises a BIG security question. The press release issued by the university is brief.
According to yesterday's New York Times, the student, a freshman named William John Scott, had a part-time job in the archives when he began stealing letters. An antiques dealer in England alerted library officials after he bought ten Charles and John Wesley letters from the student and was suspicious of the way the delicate letters had been packaged and mailed. Scott was arrested on Sunday, after the F.B.I. found more stolen documents in his dorm room, including letters from Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon.
What is unclear from the NYT report is that the student did not work in the university archives; he worked in the Methodist Archives. At Drew, there is the Library, which houses the university archives and special collections, and then there is a separate structure, the United Methodist Archives Center, that holds the records of the Methodist Church as well as related rare and historical collections. In any case, the student was given a key to a locked special collections room, which, unfortunately, raises a BIG security question. The press release issued by the university is brief.
In case anyone missed yesterday's New York Times (myself included), this fun little essay about book collecting, e-books, Walter Benjamin, and the Kindle. An excerpt:
Beholding "the several thousand volumes that are piled up around me," Benjamin exclaims: "O bliss of the collector! Bliss of the man of leisure!" With nothing piled up around me but the Kindle and its charger, I may be missing out. But even Benjamin, who managed to see the future of media and technology more than once, knew he was writing an elegy for a way of experiencing books. I like to think he would be the first to recognize that the Kindle delivers a new kind of bliss.
Beholding "the several thousand volumes that are piled up around me," Benjamin exclaims: "O bliss of the collector! Bliss of the man of leisure!" With nothing piled up around me but the Kindle and its charger, I may be missing out. But even Benjamin, who managed to see the future of media and technology more than once, knew he was writing an elegy for a way of experiencing books. I like to think he would be the first to recognize that the Kindle delivers a new kind of bliss.
WASHINGTON -- Everyone who runs a business knows that it takes a long time to win a customer for life but that you can lose one in five seconds. That's about all it took today for an organizer of the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair to tempt me to cross it off the list of events I support. Worse, it could kill the interest in the entire hobby for a visitor who took home her first rare books.
I hope the experience I share today along with two other mistakes organizers made serve as reminders for WABF and of any fair to remember the basics of solid customer communications.
What happened?
My friend Won-ok and I had finished our shopping around 3 p.m. today after we spent five hours shopping. We bought a ton of treasures. One of the volunteers with Concord Hill School -- the Maryland school that organizes the fair as a fundraiser -- nastily told us that "You can't have all those bags." She was referring to the grand total of three that another hard-working volunteer had filled with our goods. The woman then snatched some contents from one of our bags and overloaded them in the other two.
It was a shocking display of rudeness that left me biting my tongue to avoid lashing back.
My experiences to date with every single Concord Hill School volunteer had been nothing but outstanding. This event, by the way, is the first fair I ever attended and its friendly, helpful volunteers played a key role in giving me my seemingly incurable rare book collecting fever.
But today I was ticked. The fair would close in only two hours, more empty bags were on the table, and I was standing there with piles of books in hand.
"Excuse me," I wanted to say, "I just spent a thousand dollars on books that I'd rather not have crash onto the ground in the parking lot. I think you can spare another two-cent bag."
The volunteer was oblivious to how she sounded and made no effort to soften it the way people do when they realize they've been rude. I knew it wasn't my imagination, either. The volunteer standing next to the first looked horrified. She recognized the need to administer some emergency room customer service and was sweet as pie.
I stood frozen for a minute longer. I reflected on the otherwise delightful time I had over the past two days and how much I love the books -- and etchings -- I bought. "It's certainly not the book dealers' fault this volunteer was so rude," I thought. "Don't form your opinion of the fair based on the last five seconds."
Still, this wasn't the first ball organizers dropped this week. They stated on the Web site that there would be lectures by book dealers (there were none), and a request for additional information sent through the site went unreturned.
I chose not to say anything to the rude volunteer. Won-ok and I got in my car and pulled out of the garage. She is a lot more understanding than I am so it didn't even occur to me that she might have been irritated, too.
"You know," she began, softly -- knowing how much I love book collecting and how much I had talked about the WABF -- "That was pretty interesting for my first time. I enjoyed it, actually. But I didn't like being treated like that. It kind of leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth."
I cringed.
Even though they were well out of earshot, I suspected about 75 book dealers did, too.
WASHINGTON—I busted out of cabin fever Friday night ... heading straight to the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair to hunt for a few new prizes to add to my collection of 18th and 19th century books related to the American Revolution. I'll be there again Saturday (March 6) not long after the doors open at 10 a.m. If you're within reach of the nation's capitol, you should come join me. The event runs until 5 p.m. so you've got time.
The event here is a great way to dump your blizzard blues, warm up your noggin' and even do your part to stimulate the economy. Whether you're a rare book collecting champion who attends fairs all the time or someone who has only heard of the hobby but never given it a try, the Washington fair is a great one to get out and see. The fair is big enough to give you a chance to touch and browse a wide array of rare reads yet not so big you have to hit the gym to train for taking it all in. It's just as right for your wallet. You can buy a beautiful book for less than $20 or you can drop tens of thousands of dollars if you're so inclined.
The Washington fair also gives me the chance to talk to dealers and ask questions … everything I wanted to know about book collecting or my specialty area but couldn't ask google. The dealers like it, too.
"It's so easy to do things remotely on the computer," Sharlan Douglas told me. "It's nice to meet face to face." Her bookseller husband Ken Hebenstreit (booth 11) agreed. "We hope to sell some things, of course," he said, "but this gives us a chance to meet new people. We also have a very good customer in D.C. and we're going out to dinner with him."
The neatest item Hebenstreit brought down from Michigan? A first edition, advanced reading copy of To Kill A Mockingbird ($19,500).
Across the aisle in booth 38, new friend Ronald Cozzi of Old Editions Book Shop & Cafe told gave me some good news—becoming the latest bookseller to tell me that his business is surviving the economic slump. He shared a very interesting take on why he's still doing well.
"Collectors find a lot of comfort in this hobby," the Buffalo resident told me. "They turn to their books even more."
I then helped myself to a double scoop of comfort by adding The Pulpit of the American Revolution to my collection. It was only $200 and covered an element of America's founding not yet represented in my library.
I kept my eyes on my niche but I enjoyed watching people smile when they spotted something that fit theirs. You can't help but shake off winter when you see a first edition copy of Charlotte's Web signed by the author. You can find that in Peter L. Stern & Co. booth (26 A) for $8,500. Booth 31 (Jeff Bergman Books) will lead you to a copy of the only authorized biography of Babe Ruth.
Jett W. Whitehead Rare Books in booth 42 B is a beacon for poetry lovers. Gibson Galleries has a gorgeous set of something that every nature lover would love to own but you'll have to get there quick on Saturday in case some writer-type decides to snatch it up. (Hint: Fine Books has written a lot about him recently, including a review of a novel about him that I wrote.) Hemingway makes several key appearances in various booths.
I could go on but it's closing in on midnight and I've got to get my biblio rest. My first stop tomorrow is at booth 18, where I'll hand The Book Corner $125 for the memoir of Revolutionary War Major-General Heath. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a book from that dealer last year. The book about a Hessian's view of the war was rare yet inexpensive. It would have been perfect for my collection but I got so distracted I forgot to go back and get it. The owner, Bill, event spent a half an hour teaching me about books on that subject.
You should visit him, too. Be sure to tell him I sent you—but keep your paws off books about the Revolution!
This was sent to me today by my local indie bookseller, in Woodstock, NY.
The Golden Notebook is housed in a building it owns right in the center of the Town of Woodstock, NY. It consists of a general bookstore with approximately 750 square feet of selling space and an upstairs stock room and office. Right next door is our children's bookstore in a rental space with approximately 600 square feet of selling space and access to a basement for storage. Both stores have garnered a well deserved reputation and have many established customers. Our goal is to find a buyer who will continue to maintain it as an independent bookstore. If interested, direct inquiries to ellen.tgn@gmail.com.
As you can imagine, Woodstock is a pretty neat place (even if the legendary concert did NOT in fact take place there).
The Golden Notebook is housed in a building it owns right in the center of the Town of Woodstock, NY. It consists of a general bookstore with approximately 750 square feet of selling space and an upstairs stock room and office. Right next door is our children's bookstore in a rental space with approximately 600 square feet of selling space and access to a basement for storage. Both stores have garnered a well deserved reputation and have many established customers. Our goal is to find a buyer who will continue to maintain it as an independent bookstore. If interested, direct inquiries to ellen.tgn@gmail.com.
As you can imagine, Woodstock is a pretty neat place (even if the legendary concert did NOT in fact take place there).
As devoted readers of FB&C will know, I've been following Quirk Classics from its very quirky beginning. Last year, Quirk Books of Philadelphia published a "mash-up" of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which became a New York Times bestseller. I interviewed the mastermind behind that book for the September 2009 issue of FB&C. It was a very cool concept, followed quickly by Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, which was about 25% less engaging its precursor, but still lots of fun. (I say 25 % because in P&P&Z, there was an ratio of 85% classic Austen to 15% "bone-crushing zombie mayhem." The follow-up had 60% real Austen and 40% bloody filler.)
The newest title in the series, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls, however, is entirely original, and has entirely failed to capture my imagination. It's meant to be a precursor to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, so most of the characters are Austen's, excepting ones like Master Hawksworth, Elizabeth's ninja instructor and love interest. For a young adult audience, this might work. Otherwise, I fear Quirk has taken a grand idea and run it aground.
Still, the jacket art is stunning. And, you've got to hand it to an indie publisher for doing something--anything--to counter the same old corporate publishing nonsense that fills superstore shelves. Their marketing campaigns are themselves worthy of awards. In the case of Dawn of the Dreadfuls, March 3--today--has been declared BlogSplosion 2010. This means that if you click here, you can enter for a chance to win one of fifty Quirk Classics prize packs. They'll also give a preview of two illustrations from the book, due out later this month. Good luck.
In the meantime, I suppose we'll have to wait until June to see if the next mash-up, Android Karenina, redeems the spirit of Quirk Classics.
