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2010 has been the year of Twain, to be sure. A plethora of library exhibits, big ticket items at auction ("A Family Sketch" taking in $242,500), and the surprise bestseller of the year, Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authoritative Edition, volume 1. Subscribers read all about this amazing year in our current issue (if you're not one of them, go here.)

With the month that remains in this exciting year, you can still catch the Twain train at the Morgan Library & Museum's Mark Twain: A Skeptic's Progress through January 3, 2011. Or check out the holiday-related festivities at the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.

Twain was born on this day in 1835, and he died on April 21, 1910. The photo seen above is by Matthew Brady, from 1871. 

Happened upon this very interesting new blog by bookseller (and sometime FB&C contributor) Matthew D. Jones, who sells in the San Francisco Bay area. The opening paragraph caught my attention, and I thought I'd pass it along:

In no great contrast to the modern era, the scout of yore cut a generally dismal figure on the street. Down at heel, sagging under the weight of his/her wares, usually with a drug problem or two, this was the domain of the literate addict or hopelessly unemployable English graduate with dreams of one day opening their own shop and getting off the street. Unless a part-time occupation, and however romantic this life might seem to those trapped behind a desk for 9 hours a day, it was and remains an existence of grinding poverty or at best subsistence living. Think more Bobby Westfall than Lucas Corso.
However, the internet has profoundly altered the way scouts and dealers do business...[read more].
I have always thought that if I had more time, money and bookshelves (a not uncommon complaint among book collectors!), it would be both fun and enlightening to try and collect as many titles as I could that were printed under fictitious imprints.

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Publishers have for centuries sought to escape secular and ecclesiastical censorship by producing titles that sport a fake publisher's name and often a fake place of printing (and/or a fake author) as well.  One of the best known of these fictitious imprints, Pierre (du) Marteau of Cologne, was widely used by Dutch and other publishers during the 17th-18th centuries to avoid prosecution for printing pirated editions, sensitive political tomes, satires, anti-clerical works and the like.

The Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Co. lists just such a title on their website.  Printed in 1686, this title (depicted above left) is a very early example of the Marteau imprint, the first known use of which was by Jean Elzevier in Leiden in 1660.  PRBM notes that this title was written by a Huguenot minister and theologian who fled France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, a typical reason for using a fictitious imprint.

Of course, so many titles have been published under fictitious imprints over the centuries that I probably need to specialize so as not to run out of time, money and bookshelves too quickly.  One area of specialization that is particularly appealing is auction catalogs with fictitious imprints.

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The set of catalogs depicted left was produced during the Anglo-Dutch Sea Wars of 1780-1784.  Currently listed at Antiquariaat Forum, this collection of pamphlets takes the form of ... fake auction catalogue[s] ...  containing fake lots with manuscripts, books, prints, drawings & paintings, furniture, artefacts etc...... Each supposed lot contains a  description with satyrical comments on the English monarchy and nobility.

Deceptions such as the above were not always attempts to escape censorship.  Folks interested in pursuing the topic further might find Fakes and Frauds, Varieties of Deception in Print and Manuscript a good place to start....
photo (97).jpgWhile we all put the finishing touches on our turkeys (and pot roast in my case), it's easy to remember the obvious things we're so thankful for -- family, friends, a roof over our heads, a job in this tough economy, etc. 

I woke up this morning, though, with something else on my mind. 

I headed into my study to turn on my computer and then adjourned to my library. Both are packed with books and both provide me with enormous pleasure. Just the sight of my antiquarian books about the American Revolution fills me with joy. Many of them rest in a Civil War-era secretary that I practically stole at an estate sale. I most often peruse my collection while sitting in one of my 19th century English Charles II-style walnut arm chairs, swiped from an auction at a fraction of their worth. Hand-colored prints of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin hang on one wall opposite reproduction images of John and Abigail Adams purchased from the Library of Congress for maybe $30.

My humble yet beautiful library and my study together are both a sanctuary and a passage to a wildly exciting world of intellectual stimulation. On this Thanksgiving, I find myself particularly appreciative of the ability to read -- and ever grateful to my parents for granting it to me. They instilled me with a love for reading at an early age, setting in motion a wonderful life that would propel me to a college education, a career in journalism and another in the nonprofit sector. 

The love of reading has brought countless other blessings to my life, from getting to know our Founding Fathers and Mothers to visiting Thoreau's cabin. I have been able to teach myself Spanish and live in Spain, interview people ranging from Mexican Noble Prize winner Octavio Paz to Southern Poverty Law Center founder Morris Dees. If it weren't for the brainpower my parents helped me generate through the ability to read, I wouldn't have met the great women I've known in my life, either: A man can only go so far on charm.

It is because Diane Blaisdell and Leonard Lancette gave me the gift of reading that my life has been such a treasure. I thought Thanksgiving might just be the best time to tell them that.

Thank you, mom and dad.
As subscribers will know, Nick Basbanes interviewed independent book publisher David R. Godine in our current issue, which was quite a treat. We even got a look at Godine's Kelmscott Chaucer. As a postscript to Nick's column, I offer a few notes:

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One, Godine just released his fortieth anniversary poster (seen here) designed by Glenna Lang. It was hand-silkscreened in eight colors on fine acid-free paper by master printer Luther Davis at Axelle Editions in Brooklyn, NY, in a limited edition of 250 prints, each signed and numbered by the artist.

Two, a Godine exhibit just opened last week at the Grolier Club in New York, so if you are in town for the holidays, don't miss it. David R. Godine, Publisher: Celebrating Forty Years of Books That Matter For People Who Care runs through Jan. 7.

Three, are you still sifting through our 50 Books About Books feature? If so, perhaps you missed the entry on one of Godine's newest volumes, Portraits: Artists, Architects, Writers, Composers, and Friends, which is a collection of Barry Moser's fine engravings, exquisitely produced. A perfect holiday gift if ever there was one. 

In addition to knowing what titles you'd like to purchase at auction, reading and understanding the auctioneer's descriptions of the books, and deciding what will be your maximum bid, you'd be well served to understand the terminology of auctions. Formed in 1949, The National Auctioneers Association (NAA) promotes the professionalism of auctioneers and auctions and has a comprehensive glossary here.


For example, if you're new to buying books at auction, you'll want to make sure you understand the difference between the hammer price and the buyer's premium. Go to their site and read it all. It only takes a few minutes and you'll have a better understanding of some of the vocabulary you'll hear when you participate in a live auction.

See you in the stacks!

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The passing last week of the Hollywood film and television producer William E. Self was noted by prominent obituaries published in the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, both of which I recommend for their appreciative reflections of this multi-talented man's many contributions to the entertainment world over the past half-century, though neither makes mention of his remarkable acumen as a book collector, or for the two sales of his beloved library last year in New York at Christie's that for a while were the talk of the antiquarian book world.

Self's television credits in various executive capacities during the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s included The Twilight Zone, Peyton Place, Daniel Boone, Batman, MASH, some forty-four series alone during a fifteen-year tenure at 20th Century Fox Television, a good number of them as president of the company. Feature length productions included John Wayne's final film, The Shootist, and Sarah, Plain and Tall, starring Glenn Close, for the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
Click on the links to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series about understanding antiquarian book auctions.

One of the things I always wondered about book auctions is how the auction process works--from a seller who is consigning books to auction to cataloguing and photographing the books, from publicizing the auction to selling the books at the actual auction. Bonhams has created a wonderful series of four videos entitled Anatomy of an Auction related to the December 2 The American Experience: 1630-1890 sale. The videos do an excellent job showing the journey on which an auction house embarks when it receives a consigned collection of books. Each video is approximately seven to ten minutes long and explains what happens when an auction house prepares a collection for sale. Bruce McKinney, the seller of the collection offered on December 2, is interviewed in the fourth video.

If, like me, you also wonder about how the auction process works, I highly recommend watching each of the four videos. Bonus: There are also fascinating glimpses into the history of some of the books that will be offered at the auction.

Click here to watch the videos.

See you in the stacks!
Yesterday I went to an estate auction in the artsy enclave of Hudson, NY, about 120 miles north of the city. But it wasn't just any country estate sale, it was the auction of the estate of investigative journalist and novelist Dominick Dunne, who died last year at the age of 83. The contents of both his New York City apartment and his Connecticut country home were on the block, in 261 lots at Stair Galleries. Antiques, furniture, art, and porcelain seemed to be the prevailing articles.

Of course, what interested me was the literary component. Dunne wrote for Vanity Fair, he authored several novels, and counted many celebrities among his close friends. So there were bound to be some books, and being close to home, I checked it out. There were many first editions, signed editions, inscribed editions, presentation copies, etc., though most quite ordinary. A 1975 first edition of Andy Warhol's The Philosophy of Andy Warhol, inscribed to Dunne, and including a drawing of a Campbell soup can, was probably the highlight of the literary lots--and it sold for $900. Four Avedon and Leibowitz titles together as a group brought it $275. Seven Bruce Weber titles, with inscriptions, took in a surprising $1,600. I considered bidding on Lot 175, a group of forty assorted fiction titles that included a signed first edition of Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, a signed first edition of Auchincloss' The Atonement, and a Pynchon first edition, but then decided I'd have to become a bookseller first. At $250, it came it under estimate, though.
You can read Part 1 of this post here.

I'm writing this series of posts on antiquarian book auctions primarily for those who haven't spent much time at antiquarian book auctions, including myself. The best way to learn is to do, and, once you've done, be willing to share it with others. That's what I'm trying to do here. If any of you more experienced book collectors or booksellers have some observations to add about auctions, please do so in the comment box below. I'm going to learn what I can from a very transparent auction: the upcoming The American Experience: 1630-1890 auction at Bonhams in New York on December 2. Even if you're a very experienced collector or bookseller, there's much to be learned in this auction, where all of the acquisition information, including price originally paid by the collection's current owner, Bruce McKinney, is included in the auction catalogue.

If you haven't already done so, you can access the online version of the catalogue here. One of the many high-spots offered for sale include landmarks of history, such as the first printing (1783) of the Treaty of Paris, when the United States is finally acknowledged as a free and independent nation. Other treasures offered for sale feature exquisite illustrations of the American environment and people: Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall's History of the Indian Tribes of North America, Mark Catesby's The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, and several works about the American Indians by George Catlin.