Turn down your volume and buckle your seat belt. FocusFeatures just released the official trailer for one action-packed version of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. But I'll be waiting with ticket in hand, March 2011.
Even though I've been an antiquarian bookseller for almost four years and I've purchased some good items for myself and for my customers at auction, I've always been a little bit intimidated by live auctions.
Live auctions seem as if they are fraught with all kinds of peril for the uninitiated: Should I bid higher than I planned just because two or three other bidders in the room (the market?) seem to think this book is worth more than my maximum (the price I thought the market could bear)? Why didn't I examine this book more carefully during the preview? Was it the first printing or the second that has the all-important lithograph map? Even though I can't recall, should I risk it and bid anyway? When I'm caught up in the heat of bidding on an item I simply must have, will I remember that when I purchase a book at auction that the hammer price isn't usually the final price--there is a buyer's premium from the auction house (around 20% at many auction houses) and a fee for shipping and insurance. When that's all added in, is it worthwhile for me to purchase this book for resale?
Live auctions seem as if they are fraught with all kinds of peril for the uninitiated: Should I bid higher than I planned just because two or three other bidders in the room (the market?) seem to think this book is worth more than my maximum (the price I thought the market could bear)? Why didn't I examine this book more carefully during the preview? Was it the first printing or the second that has the all-important lithograph map? Even though I can't recall, should I risk it and bid anyway? When I'm caught up in the heat of bidding on an item I simply must have, will I remember that when I purchase a book at auction that the hammer price isn't usually the final price--there is a buyer's premium from the auction house (around 20% at many auction houses) and a fee for shipping and insurance. When that's all added in, is it worthwhile for me to purchase this book for resale?
A few reports from this weekend's 34th Annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair:
Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis - begin here and work forward.
Chris Lowenstein at Book Hunter's Holiday - Chris wasn't at the fair this year, but has a dispatch from Mr. Z, here.
Marie at Boston Bibliophile - report here.
Hipster novelist Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated, Eating Animals, etc.) has the design world abuzz with his latest project, a commercially printed altered book. What does this mean? He had the idea to take his favorite book, Bruno Schulz's Polish classic The Street of Crocodiles, slice it into pieces, and reconstruct something new; a story within a story. But he didn't do it with just one copy, as most book artists do. He decided to find a publisher who would print the final product, titled Tree of Codes.
A paper engineering challenge, several printers turned down the job. In the end, the publisher, Visual Editions, found Belgian designer Sara de Bondt and a team from Die Keure, who figured that it could work if the binding was paperback.
Foer told Vanity Fair, "I just love the physicality of books. I love breaking the spine, smelling the pages, taking it into the bath. . ." In Fast Company, John Pavlus wrote of the book, it "will fly in the face of anyone who says that physical books are passé. Tree of Codes is tactile, interactive, immersive--and it won't ever run out of batteries."
Pretty cool stuff. Read more about it at Good magazine and the Telegraph.
A paper engineering challenge, several printers turned down the job. In the end, the publisher, Visual Editions, found Belgian designer Sara de Bondt and a team from Die Keure, who figured that it could work if the binding was paperback.
Foer told Vanity Fair, "I just love the physicality of books. I love breaking the spine, smelling the pages, taking it into the bath. . ." In Fast Company, John Pavlus wrote of the book, it "will fly in the face of anyone who says that physical books are passé. Tree of Codes is tactile, interactive, immersive--and it won't ever run out of batteries."
Pretty cool stuff. Read more about it at Good magazine and the Telegraph.
For the past two weeks, we've been running a contest on our Facebook page. We asked our fans to tell us in 420 characters or less why his/her collection is fantastic. Then, instead of our judging the entries, we asked our 520+ fans to do it, by voting for their favorite entries. Overall, we had six contestants, and many more who participated by voting. The winning entry was written by collector David Spilman of California, in 414 characters (not including spaces -- boy, was that close!). Congrats, David! Here it is:
I collect Heroic Era + (1895 to 1940) Antarctic Books of Cook, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Mawson, Byrd & others. In addition to these core books, I have added many books by other members of the major expeditions. I also read my collection that gives me a greater sense of the courage and hardships of these explorers. My goal is a comprehensive collection first edition books of early 20th Century exploration. I hope to use this collection and knowledge to teach courses in my Community College.
To read the other entries--fantastic collections, all of them, including bookbinding manuals, first editions of Jane Austen, etc.--stop by our Facebook page.
I collect Heroic Era + (1895 to 1940) Antarctic Books of Cook, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, Mawson, Byrd & others. In addition to these core books, I have added many books by other members of the major expeditions. I also read my collection that gives me a greater sense of the courage and hardships of these explorers. My goal is a comprehensive collection first edition books of early 20th Century exploration. I hope to use this collection and knowledge to teach courses in my Community College.
To read the other entries--fantastic collections, all of them, including bookbinding manuals, first editions of Jane Austen, etc.--stop by our Facebook page.
On the evening of November 14, 1851, one of Pittsfield, Massachusetts', great recluses sat alone at a table in Curtis's hotel in Lenox awaiting his sole guest. The occasion was supposed to be a celebration.
The reclusive Herman Melville was celebrating the American publication of his newest novel, "Moby-Dick." The one guest Melville had invited to his "publication party" was Nathaniel Hawthorne, who agreed to come even though he and his family were busy packing to leave Lenox.
Neither could afford to host the other, so dinner at the hotel had been arranged so each could pay for their own bill within the limits of their individual penury.
The reclusive Herman Melville was celebrating the American publication of his newest novel, "Moby-Dick." The one guest Melville had invited to his "publication party" was Nathaniel Hawthorne, who agreed to come even though he and his family were busy packing to leave Lenox.
Neither could afford to host the other, so dinner at the hotel had been arranged so each could pay for their own bill within the limits of their individual penury.
Purushottama Lal, renowned poet and publisher of the great Indian literary imprint Writers Workshop, passed away on November 3 at his home in Kolkata. He was 81 years old.
The Writers Workshop publications were known to bibliophiles around the world for the elegance of their production. Each slim volume was bound in sari cloth from handlooms, with hand-stitching and P. Lal's own exquisite calligraphy on the title page and chapter heads. Even the type-setting was conducted by hand until just recently.
P. Lal founded Writers Workshop in 1958 with the deceptively simple goal of publishing Indian writers in English. Since then, the imprint has published over 3,500 titles, presenting a significant undertaking for any would-be collector. Lal's guiding philosophy for his publishing house was wonderfully inclusive,"WW is not a professional publishing house. It does not print well-known names; it makes names known ... and then leaves them in the loving clutches of the so-called 'free' market." As a result, Lal launched the careers of a number of prominent Indian writers including Vikram Seth, Nissip Ezekiel, Meena Alexander, Dilip Hiro, and Anita Desai, amongst many others.
Read more about P. Lal and the Writers Workshop in this excellent piece from The Economist.
The Writers Workshop publications were known to bibliophiles around the world for the elegance of their production. Each slim volume was bound in sari cloth from handlooms, with hand-stitching and P. Lal's own exquisite calligraphy on the title page and chapter heads. Even the type-setting was conducted by hand until just recently.
P. Lal founded Writers Workshop in 1958 with the deceptively simple goal of publishing Indian writers in English. Since then, the imprint has published over 3,500 titles, presenting a significant undertaking for any would-be collector. Lal's guiding philosophy for his publishing house was wonderfully inclusive,"WW is not a professional publishing house. It does not print well-known names; it makes names known ... and then leaves them in the loving clutches of the so-called 'free' market." As a result, Lal launched the careers of a number of prominent Indian writers including Vikram Seth, Nissip Ezekiel, Meena Alexander, Dilip Hiro, and Anita Desai, amongst many others.
Read more about P. Lal and the Writers Workshop in this excellent piece from The Economist.
The 4 November Sotheby's London Travels, Atlases, Maps and Natural History sale brought in £1,098,500, with 133 of 214 lots selling. The four-volume composite atlas (c. 1740) and Henry Cook's Recollections of a Tour in the Ionian Islands ... (1853) shared top honors, each fetching £97,250 (with the latter greatly surpassing estimates of £25,000-35,000). A 1708Janssonius atlas sold for £73,250. The Hortus Eystettensis (1613), which garned a top estimate, did not sell.
Christie's Paris Importants Livres Anciens, Livres d'Artistes et Manuscrits on 9 November made ??1,137,750, with 141 of 193 lots selling. A first edition of Goya's Los Caprichos (1799) was the top seller, bringing in ??145,000. Another Goya work, Treinta y tres stampas ... (1816) made ??115,000. The first edition of Descartes' Discours de la Méthode made ??55,000. The fragment of Saint-Exupéry's manuscript of Pilote de guerre, the top-estimated lot in this sale, failed to sell.
There are some really great sales coming up through the rest of the month (my preview here), and I'll report on those as they happen; after this weekend I'll also start previewing the really great range of sales coming up during the first week in December, including the American Experience sale at Bonhams, Edward Tufte's research library at Christie's, and the Hesketh sale at Sotheby's.
Christie's Paris Importants Livres Anciens, Livres d'Artistes et Manuscrits on 9 November made ??1,137,750, with 141 of 193 lots selling. A first edition of Goya's Los Caprichos (1799) was the top seller, bringing in ??145,000. Another Goya work, Treinta y tres stampas ... (1816) made ??115,000. The first edition of Descartes' Discours de la Méthode made ??55,000. The fragment of Saint-Exupéry's manuscript of Pilote de guerre, the top-estimated lot in this sale, failed to sell.
There are some really great sales coming up through the rest of the month (my preview here), and I'll report on those as they happen; after this weekend I'll also start previewing the really great range of sales coming up during the first week in December, including the American Experience sale at Bonhams, Edward Tufte's research library at Christie's, and the Hesketh sale at Sotheby's.
As some of you may already be painfully aware, the UK book collector's magazine, Bookdealer, announced that it is suspending publication for the near future. Coming fast on the heels of the closure of Book and Magazine Collector last month, and Rare before that, it seems Britain is bereft of bibliophiles.
Stephen Maughan, who writes regularly for Bookdealer and also contributes to FB&C, told me Monday that he doesn't think that's the case. He wrote, "As far as book collecting in the UK, I would say it was in a pretty healthy state.The internet is a challenge for magazines and collectors tend to go to Abebooks rather than the listed dealers in these mags. But, saying that, the "news" was often far better and up to date in Bookdealer than online."
Bookdealer changed hands in the past year, and Richard Sawyer is now the editor there. He has expressed to his writers that he is trying to find a way to move forward and resume publication in early 2011. On the magazine's website, a posted message from Sawyer asserted, "Talks are already taking place with another publishing concern and it is hoped that the above will be only a temporary measure. A letter will be sent to our subscribers and regular advertisers later in the month."
Stephen Maughan, who writes regularly for Bookdealer and also contributes to FB&C, told me Monday that he doesn't think that's the case. He wrote, "As far as book collecting in the UK, I would say it was in a pretty healthy state.The internet is a challenge for magazines and collectors tend to go to Abebooks rather than the listed dealers in these mags. But, saying that, the "news" was often far better and up to date in Bookdealer than online."
Bookdealer changed hands in the past year, and Richard Sawyer is now the editor there. He has expressed to his writers that he is trying to find a way to move forward and resume publication in early 2011. On the magazine's website, a posted message from Sawyer asserted, "Talks are already taking place with another publishing concern and it is hoped that the above will be only a temporary measure. A letter will be sent to our subscribers and regular advertisers later in the month."
The Bapst Art Library at Boston College leads the list of lovely libraries published in today's Huffington Post. My personal favorite is the Chancellor Green Library at Princeton (seen here, photograph by Andreas Praefcke), though Vassar's Frederick Ferris Thompson Memorial Library looks pretty amazing. The Huff Post re-purposed this content from the longer list published by CampusGrotto.
