More from New York, but thankfully, not from me! A sweet article from Forbes ("Rare Books and Suicide Bombers") on the treasures at the NY fair this year.
A much more leisurely day at the NY fair for me, not so for booksellers; when I arrived at noon, there was a line out the door to get in!
I was able to spend an hour strolling around, talking with booksellers I've never met before and looking around for some goodie to take home. Stopped in at Antipodean Books and had a lovely conversation with Cathy Lilburne, after which I purchased a fine first of Letters and Memories of Susan and Anna Bartlett Warner (1925). What a nice surprise! Susan Warner wrote the Victorian bestseller The Wide, Wide World, and I've been interested in the sisters ever since I wrote an article about them and their dilapidated house last year for Preservation magazine.
I chatted with Priscilla Juvelis, browsed the publishers' bindings at Sumner & Stillman, and discussed Thoreau with Donald (Rusty) Mott of Howard S. Mott, Sheffield, MA. I could have spent much more time, and MUCH more money, but it was time to go. My short weekend in the city consisted of research at the NYPL, book fair, a fabulous dinner, exhibit at the New York Historical Society, more book fair, and lunch at Zabar's. I'm already looking forward to next year.
p.s. check out this super cool "library wallpaper" featured at the fair by cavernhome.com.
I was able to spend an hour strolling around, talking with booksellers I've never met before and looking around for some goodie to take home. Stopped in at Antipodean Books and had a lovely conversation with Cathy Lilburne, after which I purchased a fine first of Letters and Memories of Susan and Anna Bartlett Warner (1925). What a nice surprise! Susan Warner wrote the Victorian bestseller The Wide, Wide World, and I've been interested in the sisters ever since I wrote an article about them and their dilapidated house last year for Preservation magazine.
I chatted with Priscilla Juvelis, browsed the publishers' bindings at Sumner & Stillman, and discussed Thoreau with Donald (Rusty) Mott of Howard S. Mott, Sheffield, MA. I could have spent much more time, and MUCH more money, but it was time to go. My short weekend in the city consisted of research at the NYPL, book fair, a fabulous dinner, exhibit at the New York Historical Society, more book fair, and lunch at Zabar's. I'm already looking forward to next year.
p.s. check out this super cool "library wallpaper" featured at the fair by cavernhome.com.
Friday at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair! I had the pleasure of meeting with several booksellers with whom I've had "email relationships," but no faces for names until now. I spent two hours in the late afternoon assisting Nick Basbanes during his book signing, which was very successful.
As for any "conclusions" about the fair, all I have at the end of this busy day is a handful of random thoughts: booksellers seemed happy overall (I saw a lot of checks being written), there were more international booksellers on hand than in the past, and several collectors stopped to tell me how excited they are to see Fine Books back in print. Also, I saw more than a few younger (under 40) buyers.
Things my husband found of interest: a fountain pen crafted from the wood of Abraham Lincoln's house, the famous asbestos-bound copy of Fahrenheit 451, a signed Dorothy Parker (who knew she'd have such loopy handwriting?), and a first edition, three-volume set of Frankenstein.
Alas, I wasn't able to browse much, so no purchases were made. I'm planning to return tomorrow for more leisurely looking.
As for any "conclusions" about the fair, all I have at the end of this busy day is a handful of random thoughts: booksellers seemed happy overall (I saw a lot of checks being written), there were more international booksellers on hand than in the past, and several collectors stopped to tell me how excited they are to see Fine Books back in print. Also, I saw more than a few younger (under 40) buyers.
Things my husband found of interest: a fountain pen crafted from the wood of Abraham Lincoln's house, the famous asbestos-bound copy of Fahrenheit 451, a signed Dorothy Parker (who knew she'd have such loopy handwriting?), and a first edition, three-volume set of Frankenstein.
Alas, I wasn't able to browse much, so no purchases were made. I'm planning to return tomorrow for more leisurely looking.
The first sale of items from the James S. Copley Library will be held on Wednesday, 14 April at Sotheby's New York, and this is probably going to be the Americana sale to watch this year. The entire catalog is highlights, so I'll preview just a few of them here.
One item warrants its own mini-catalog [PDF]: one of 51 known Button Gwinnett signatures, being called "the finest ... that will ever be available for sale." It's a 12 July 1776 letter written by Timothy Matlack and signed by John Hancock, Robert Morris, Francis Lewis, George Read, Arthur Middleton, and Gwinnett. This very copy was purchased at a 1927 auction by Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach for $51,000, then considered a totally outrageous price for an autograph. It was acquired by Countess Estelle Doheny, and sold at her sale, Christie's (1989) to the Copley Library. The estimate this time around: $500,000-700,000.
The main sale on Wednesday will be 188 lots, a first selection from the Copley Library. There's a terrific selection of Adams family letters, including one from Abigail to Benjamin Rush defending her husband from attacks made on him during the 1800 campaign ($10,000-15,000); a 1795 John Adams letter to Winthrop Sargent noting JA's lack of interest in Indian artifacts ("I am not enough in the habit of Antiquarian Speculations to hazard any Conjectures concerning them. I have never interested myself much in the Inquiries concerning the ancient Inhabitants of this country, or the Part of the World from which they first emigrated"), which is estimated at $25,000-35,000; letters from JA to Benjamin Rush dated 1808 and 1812 about partisan politics ($45,000-60,000 and $70,000-100,000 respectively); an 1837 JQA letter thanking his constituents for backing his anti-slavery efforts in the House ($120,000-180,000), &c. &c.
There's a 1784 Samuel Adams letter to Elbridge Gerry lamenting Washington's participation with the Society of the Cincinnati ($12,000-18,000); several notable documents by Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, John Brown, John Paul Jones and others; British general John Burgoyne's account of the Battle of Bunker Hill ($40,000-60,000); a small archive of British Revolutionary War commissary and auditor-general Daniel Chamier ($150,000-200,000); American Andrew Eliot's eyewitness account of the Bunker Hill battle ($20,000-30,000); several Benjamin Franklin letters, including one relating to his autobiography ($50,000-70,000).
One of the lower-end items (heh) that I find pretty cool is a "Faneuil-Hall Lottery" ticket signed by John Hancock ($3,000-5,000); if you're into Hancock there's also a 1782 letter by him written in an attempt to recoup some of his expenses while serving in the Continental Congress ($40,000-60,000). If Jefferson's more up your alley, you can get a 1773 letter pertaining to the settlement of his father-in-law's estate ($70,000-100,000); or a 1785 letter to Richard Price thanking him for sending a copy of his latest publication ($60,000-90,000); or a 1786 letter to Crevecoeur relating news from America ($30,000-50,000). There's even an 1825 note to Rufus King sending payment for books and scientific instruments to be used at the University of Virginia ($35,000-45,000).
The major Lincoln item in this sale is an autograph telegram to General McClellan, dated 25 May 1862, in which the commander-in-chief urges his commander to move: "you must either attack Richmond, or give up the job and come to the defense of Washington." This is estimated to bring between $500,000-700,000.
In a c. 1708 document Cotton Mather decries the rampant sinning going on at Harvard ($5,000-7,000); Robert Treat Paine informs David Cobb of the selection of Washington as commanding officer in a 17 June 1775 letter ($18,000-25,000); Joseph Warren informs his correspondents of Arnold's victory at Ticonderoga in a May 1775 note ($25,000-35,000).
Among the George Washington documents are a 14 September 1775 letter ordering Benedict Arnold to march on Quebec ($100,000-300,000); a 12 March 1776 letter to John Tayloe in which he mentions plans to break the siege of Boston ($50,000-80,000); a wide-ranging 1781 letter to Joseph Jones ($60,000-90,000); a fascinating July 1788 letter to MA's Nathaniel Gorham, celebrating ratification of the Constitution ($150,000-250,000), and several other very interesting pieces.
I think my very favorite piece in this sale is the last lot: a printed copy of the U.S. Constitution annotated by an anti-federalist delegate to the Massachusetts ratifying convention. Aaron Wood outlines his disagreements with the proposed constitution, which makes this an awfully interesting document. It's estimated at $35,000-45,000.
If you're looking to round out your collection of signatures by Signers of the Declaration of Independence, this is a good sale for you - a fair number of them are represented here. It certainly will be fascinating to watch, and I suspect we may see some very high numbers posted for this sale.
A neat essay by Colin Dickey about book-collecting and librarians featured in the Latham's Quarterly Roundtable. From the piece: "Every librarian, every book collector, finds him or herself between these two mythical places--the Perfect Library of God and the Infinite Library of Babel, the one transcribed by Jerome, the other by Borges."
As Rebecca mentioned in the previous post, the New York Antiquarian Book Fair is being held this weekend. I'm very excited to be exhibiting for the first time at this event, where my fellow FB&C blogger Ian Kahn (of Lux Mentis) and I will be sharing a booth (B17). I know I speak for both of us when I say we hope readers will stop by and say hello.
For those who can't make it to the event, I have created a Flickr set where I will be posting images and commentary throughout the fair:
From set-up to break down (the books, the booksellers, the booths, the attendees, etc.), it may be the next-best thing to being there. I'll also be "tweeting" the book fair (as I'm sure Ian will be as well).
And finally, this year also marks the fiftieth anniversary of this august event and a wonderful history of the fair can be found in the latest issue of the ABAA newsletter. A great read.
Hope to see you at the fair!
We're coming upon one of (dare I say THE) best book fair of the year: The New York Antiquarian Book Fair. In our spring quarterly, writer Christopher Lancette talked to show organizers and booksellers who were confidently gearing up for the Big Apple. What are they bringing? Martin Luther's will, to name just one extraordinary piece (from Inlibris Gilhofer Nrg.). And today my inbox was flooded with booksellers' catalogues and emails related to the NY fair -- the book world is abuzz.
Here's something really interesting that I'd like to share. This year, the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company (PRB&M) is filling its front showcase entirely with books, manuscripts, and broadsides costing $500 and under! According to co-proprietor Cynthia Davis Buffington, the impulse isn't so much about the economy as it is about enticing younger book collectors and to promoting book-collecting to beginners. Bravo!
A sampling of what will be available in that PRB&M front case: an array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century "pamphlet scriptures," a group of seventeenth-century sermons, some fine bindings, a series of nineteenth-century American woodcut-illustrated "toy" books, illustrated books, and several volumes in travel, Mexicana, and Americana, including "a classic life of Washington in a gorgeous gilt-stamped striped cloth binding."
I'm planning to be at the show on Friday and Saturday and will post updates. Stay tuned.
Here's something really interesting that I'd like to share. This year, the Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company (PRB&M) is filling its front showcase entirely with books, manuscripts, and broadsides costing $500 and under! According to co-proprietor Cynthia Davis Buffington, the impulse isn't so much about the economy as it is about enticing younger book collectors and to promoting book-collecting to beginners. Bravo!
A sampling of what will be available in that PRB&M front case: an array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century "pamphlet scriptures," a group of seventeenth-century sermons, some fine bindings, a series of nineteenth-century American woodcut-illustrated "toy" books, illustrated books, and several volumes in travel, Mexicana, and Americana, including "a classic life of Washington in a gorgeous gilt-stamped striped cloth binding."
I'm planning to be at the show on Friday and Saturday and will post updates. Stay tuned.
Fourteen "exceptional creative writers, independent scholars and academics" have been named as the New York Public Library's 2010 Cullman Center Fellows. The group will get to spend a year in residence in September at the library's famous building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, where they will work on a variety of projects.
"I'm hugely looking forward to introducing this extraordinary group of writers and scholars to the center and the lbrary -- and to each other -- next fall," said Jean Strouse, the Cullman Center's director. "It's thrilling to see what personal and intellectual magic sets in here each year."
The 2010 class includes some very well known names and less heralded writers. They include:
- Fiction writers David Bezmozgis, Maile Chapman, Mary Gaitskill and Wells Tower.
- Poet Geoffrey Brock
- New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar
- 2009 National Humanities Medal recipient Annette Gordon-Reed, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.
"This exceptional class of Fellows will serve as a wonderful tribute to the great generosity and wisdom of Dorothy and Lewis Cullman," said the library's president, Paul LeClerc. "Once they arrive, the Fellows are sure to take full advantage of the library's unparalleled holdings in this, the building's centennial year."
A new museum has opened in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Part of Luray Caverns, the Luray Valley Museum "is a collection of restored buildings representative of life on the frontier circa the 1800s, including the restored Dunkard Elk Run Meeting House which served as a hospital to Civil War soldiers from both sides during the conflict (their signatures can still be seen inscribed on the walls of the church). The cornerstone of the project, however, is the refurbished Stonyman building which houses an extensive collection of decorative arts, tools, literature, and artifacts that weave the tapestry of the region's rich history."
Of particular interest to FB&C readers might be a rare 1536 Swiss Bible, known as the
Abraham Strickler Bible (pictured here, credit: Tyler Driscoll Photography). Printed in Zurich by Christopher Froschauer, it was brought to America in the early 1700s by German-speaking Swiss immigrants. According to the press materials for the museum's grand opening this past weekend:
This Bible is one of the first printed in Europe that combines both the Old and New Testaments in one volume, and is printed in the vernacular language of German. The bible's woodblock illustrations were done by Hans Holbein, the Younger, better known for his paintings for the English court of King Henry VIII. The Bible came to the Luray Valley Museum collection from the Modisett family of Leaksville (Mill Creek), who also sold the Elk Run Meeting House to the Museum. Mennonite preacher, teacher and artist Jacob Strickler likely built the Meeting House about 1825. After his death in 1846, the building was conveyed to the Dunkard Brethren faith, and was moved to the Luray Valley Museum site in 2008.
Of particular interest to FB&C readers might be a rare 1536 Swiss Bible, known as the
Abraham Strickler Bible (pictured here, credit: Tyler Driscoll Photography). Printed in Zurich by Christopher Froschauer, it was brought to America in the early 1700s by German-speaking Swiss immigrants. According to the press materials for the museum's grand opening this past weekend:
This Bible is one of the first printed in Europe that combines both the Old and New Testaments in one volume, and is printed in the vernacular language of German. The bible's woodblock illustrations were done by Hans Holbein, the Younger, better known for his paintings for the English court of King Henry VIII. The Bible came to the Luray Valley Museum collection from the Modisett family of Leaksville (Mill Creek), who also sold the Elk Run Meeting House to the Museum. Mennonite preacher, teacher and artist Jacob Strickler likely built the Meeting House about 1825. After his death in 1846, the building was conveyed to the Dunkard Brethren faith, and was moved to the Luray Valley Museum site in 2008.
Back in November, I blogged about Dr. Maureen E. Mulvihill's essay on the Peyraud collection sale, "Literary Property Changing Hands." Mulvihill has now written another piece of interest to FB&C readers, this one a multimedia exhibition review of the Morgan Library's recent Austen exhibit titled "Captured by Jane," published by the Jane Austen Centre Online Magazine in Bath. Writes Mulvihill, "The Morgan's Austen show was the literary success of New York City's 2009-2010 winter season; it also was the first major show on this English novelist in the United States." She later adds, "The exhibition's two busy curators did not merely 'hang a show': they created a portal--a ventricle--to Jane Austen and her Regency world."If you missed it, Mulvihill's essay will take you there. An online version of the exhibit is available too.
