Charles Dickens missed dinner with his wealthy benefactor, Angela Burdett-Coutts, because he had a gig that night. In this letter, offered by James Cummins Rare Books in New York City for $12,000, Dickens sends his regrets, for he is "going to Bradford in Yorkshire to give a Christmas Reading to some three thousand people." That was December, 1854, one year after Dickens began giving such public readings of A Christmas Carol. Turned out that 3,700 people attended his performance.

Seeing this letter about Dickens' 'theatrical career,' if we can call it that, brought to mind a feature we published two years ago about his stage performances in America and the prompt book he carried--containing the marginalia that reminded him know how to inflect certain words or lines, when to turn a page, and how to deliver particular phrases--which now resides at the New York Public Library.

The holiday catalogue from James Cummins is a wonderful selection of Christmas books, letters, and cards. From the first printed illustration of Santa going down a chimney in the New York Mirror, 1841, to a first edition, first issue of The Christmas Carol with "very rare variant state with pink endpapers" and an even more scarce "trial issue" of that book. Grab some eggnog and take a look.

Catalogue Review: Ken Sanders Rare Books, Holiday Catalogue, #43

Located as they are in Salt Lake City, it's no wonder that Ken Sanders is a primary resource of antiquarian books related to the West, Utah, and Mormonism. And those areas are well represented in this newest catalogue, with second, third, and fifth editions of the Book of Mormon (all at $40,000 or above), as well as a Brigham Young signature ($3,000), and other related items.

But it is some of the other categories that elicited by interest. Wordless novels, for example. I find that an intriguing area, perhaps because as our winter issue goes to press with an article about Lynd Ward, it's at the forefront of my mind. And here he turns up on page 30 of Sanders' catalogue--a limited edition of Ward's first novel in woodcuts, Gods' Man, published a year after its original publication in 1929. Signed by the author ($1,500). Another of Ward's wordless novels, Mad Man's Dreams, is also here in a very good first edition inscribed by Ward ($450), as well as two books from the 1930s with Ward illustrations.

It would greatly remiss of us not to pause for a brief moment and think about George Whitman, a 98-year-old Paris bookseller, who died yesterday, fittingly in the apartment over his bookshop, Shakespeare & Co. According the shop's website, Whitman was born in 1913 in East Orange, New Jersey. He moved to Paris in 1948, opened Le Mistral bookshop, and soon renamed it Shakespeare & Co. after the famous shop owned earlier in the century by Sylvia Beach. Whitman was known for his free spirit, and for allowing thousands of lodgers to stay in the shop in exchange for a few hours of book sorting and shelving.

One of those many lodgers over the years was journalist Jeremy Mercer, who, in 2005, published an account of this bohemian lifestyle, Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. I greatly enjoyed reading this memoir several years back, and for anyone who knows little about Whitman or his amazing bookstore, it is absolutely worth a read.

The store remains open, run by Whitman's daughter. For more about Whitman, see the Shakespeare & Co. website and the New York Times obituary.

Last week, I wrote about a new documentary series called the Great Big American Auction on ABC. To follow up on this recent trend marrying auctions and reality television, I spoke with Eric Lindstrom at National Book Auctions about the several potential television pilots which will feature his company. Eric also offered his thoughts on the trend in general and what makes an auction such an attractive event for a reality show.

NP: Could you tell us about your upcoming partnerships with television production companies?

EL: There are essentially three separate projects going on with National Book Auctions--any of which could grow into a longer form media project--television or online--with the reality show format. One is a reality show pilot we're being asked to shoot, where we're being asked to give full access to our company. The second is a documentary which, again, could turn into some other reality show based format. And the third would be something more from a public broadcasting perspective a la Antiques Roadshow, where items come in to be consigned. While the consignor may have a sense of what the value of a book or piece of ephemera might be, of course how it does at auction can be radically different in either direction. Those are the three projects we're working on, and any one of them could turn into something in the future.

Back in October, the Florida Bibliophile Society was pleased to have scholar and writer Maureen E. Mulvihill give a lecture, at the University of Tampa Library, called "The Evolution and Education of a Collector (1980s-): The Mulvihill Collection of Rare and Special Books and Images." She spoke of 'Ephelia' (Mary Villiers Stuart, Duchess of Richmond), Mary Tighe, Mary Leadbeater, Anne Finch, Katherine Philips, Aphra Behn, Lucy Hutchinson, Anna Maria Van Schurman, and others in her collection. A two-table display of her selected books, prints, and ephemera were available for viewing as well (see an image below, taken by Florida collector and blogger, Jerry Morris). Mulvihill's principal interest is Irish and English women writers, mostly pre-1800.



A feature containing excerpts and photos from the presentation is available from The Newsletter of the Florida Bibliophile Society.

Our series profiling the next generation of antiquarian booksellers continues today with Dan Whitmore, proprietor of Whitmore Rare Books in Pasadena, California:

NP: How did you get started in rare books?

DW: I am a reader. I loved reading literature from an early age and realized during college, that I didn't have the time to read all the books that I wanted to. As a result, I focused on the classics, although from several different genres: Russian, Victorian, Modern, Children's, etc. While attending law school in Philadelphia, I stumbled upon a first edition of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and I was hooked. My pursuit of modern firsts quickly outgrew the shops in Philadelphia and I had to venture further afield. I found Royal Books in Baltimore and was very impressed. The owner, Kevin Johnson, took the time to guide me in collecting and, later, would act as a mentor for me when I launched my own company.

NP: When did you open Whitmore Rare Books?

DW: My transition from collector into dealer was relatively rapid. I sold my first book in April of 2009 and then proceeded to sell on consignment for the remainder of the year. With much encouragement and support from my lovely wife, I gave notice about six months from my first book sale and was ready to sell under our own banner in early 2010.

Coming up this week Bonhams' Fine Books and Manuscripts sale on December 15, a desk owned and used by Joseph Heller, complete with coffee ring stains to the top. From the picture, the twentieth-century wooden desk does look a bit worn, but considering that the celebrated author owned it for about thirty years, let's call it a writer's patina. It is believed that Heller wrote at least some of the following works sitting at this very desk in his East Hampton, New York, home: God Knows (1984); No Laughing Matter (1986); Picture This (1988); Closing Time (1994); Now and Then: From Coney Island to Here (1998); and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man (published in 2000). Heller died in 1999. His desk will be offered without reserve and is (conservatively) estimated to reach $1,500-2,500. Lamp included.

Reminds me of Melville's lap desk Bonhams had not so long ago. That one sold for $34,160.

Catalogue Review: Pickering & Chatto #787

The newest catalogue from longtime London booksellers (established 1820) Pickering & Chatto is titled Women in Literature and Society. There are many books and ephemera dealing with the suffrage/suffragette movement, prostitution, ideal feminine beauty and health, and the like. It's fascinating material, the more so because there is such breadth and depth in the catalogue. There are unusual pieces on every page, and first-class descriptions to help draw out their unique stories.

One example is the 1854 memoir of Marie Lafarge, Heures de Prison (£385). LaFarge was convicted in 1840 of poisoning her husband with arsenic, and this is the story of her eleven years in jail. Says the catalogue: "The Lafarge case became a cause celebre is France, with many prominent figures, including George Sand, arguing publicly that the conviction was based on insufficient evidence." Indeed, in 1978, Lafarge was vindicated when it was revealed that the husband actually died of typhoid fever.

Like it or not, reality television found an ideal partner in the antiques and collectables market.  The drama of the hunt, the suspense of the reveal, the rags-to-riches stories: these elements of collecting can make for compelling television. We here at Fine Books have been watching as this partnership has edged closer and closer to our neck of the woods: rare books and manuscripts.  Several pilots are currently being produced around the country which will focus at least in part on rare book auctions.  It remains to be seen which programs will sell to national networks.  But in the meantime, a new reality show that debuts tonight will occasionally dabble in collectable books:

The Paris Review is holding an online holiday auction. So if you're in the market for some unique, tres literary gifts--like naming a character in an upcoming novel, high tea with an author, or a literary tour of Greenwich Village--take a look at its auction on Bidding for Good, now through Dec. 11. What other treasures await?