Hartford, CT—Advertising and paper lovers, rejoice! Papermania Plus, the Northeast’s largest vintage advertising and ephemera show, returns to the XL Center Saturday, August 25, 2018 for the 74th time. The show has been running continuously in Hartford since 1975 and is one of the top shows for advertising, paper and memorabilia collectors in the country. 

Papermania Plus offers serious collectors and the merely curious a treasure trove of vintage items, including postcards, movie posters, photographs, rare books, fine art prints, baseball cards, maps, sheet music, autographs, and much more. Even items such as old stock certificates from long-bankrupt companies — valuable for their design, not the company they represent — can be found. Then there’s the “Plus” part: pins, tin-types, vintage bottles, metal and wooden sign, and advertising samples of all kinds. 

“[Papermania Plus] showcases the importance of printed material before the Internet,” says show promoter Gary Gipstein. “The breadth and depth of material on display here is staggering. I can’t believe some of the things that our vendors bring in. Just the availability of old postcards alone is amazing; tens of thousands of postcards with historic scenes of places around the world. It’s amazing. And that’s just a start.” 

The show is one of the largest on the circuit. Dozens of vendors from across the country will bring items to sell, share, and display. The public is encouraged to bring in their own treasures for an appraisal from 11 am to 2 pm. Among the appraisers this year is Gary Sohmers, famous for his appearances on the 7-time Emmy nominated PBS-TV program “Antiques Roadshow.” “We are extremely fortunate to have Mr. Sohmers at Papermania Plus again this year,” Gipstein said. 

"A show of this sort is an invitation to an old-fashioned swap session," Gipstein said. “You know, the kind where you have a chance to pick up a rare Topps Baseball Card you’ve been looking for, or a backstage pass and poster from that Grateful Dead concert you were at. You can also search for a mint copy of the first Batman comic book, Stephen King’s Castle Rock newsletters, rare Civil War pictures or WWII insignias and combat ribbons, and even rare LP’s. There are stereo view cards, stock certificates and many kinds of eccentricities of interest to everyone.” 

Papermania Plus at the XL Center in Hartford runs from 9 am - 5 pm Saturday, August 25, 2018. Tickets are $9. Seniors and students with a valid ID card can get half-price admission. 

Complete information can be found at www.papermaniaplus.com, or by joining the PaperMania Plus community on Facebook. You can follow @PapermaniaPlus on Twitter and Instagram. 

Boston, MA - A rare handwritten letter by German theologist, monk and religious reformer Martin Luther will be auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction. 

The one-page letter in German, signed “Martinus Luther D,” circa September 1, 1543. An extensive, uncommonly well-preserved letter to Georg Buchholzer, Provost of St. Nikolai in Berlin, regarding the latter’s altercation with the Brandenburgian court preacher Johann Agricola from Eisleben (also known as ‘Magister Eisleben’) about the treatment of the local Jews. Prince Elector Joachim II, who in 1539 had introduced the Reformation to Brandenburg and whose tolerant politics toward Jews enraged the population, had long desired a reconciliation between Luther and his former disciple Agricola, and he must have suspected that Provost Buchholzer was poisoning Luther’s mind against his court preacher. Buchholzer therefore wrote to Luther requesting an interpretation of some Biblical verses by which Agricola justified his pro-Jewish stance, and in his answer Luther insists that Buchholzer has done well to preach against the Jews and shall continue to do so, ignoring the habitual liar Agricola. 

In part (translated): “Grace and Peace. My dear Provost! I must be brief with writing, for the sake of my weak head. You are aware that you have no previous association with me, nor I with you, other than that you recently wrote to me asking for an explanation regarding several statements. And even if you were to write me many things about M. Eisleben, how could I believe you alone? For whoever says that you or anyone in Berlin or in all of Brandenburg is inciting me against Eisleben, if he says so unwittingly, may God forgive him, but if he says it knowingly, then he is a roguish liar, as well as M. Eisleben himself has lied frequently, here in Wittenberg. M. Eisleben needs nobody to incite me against him; he himself is much better at that, much better than anyone whom he might suspect of such dealing. He knows that full well….In my opinion, he will give up his life before he gives up his lying.—You have preached against the Jews and fought serious battles over that with the Margrave….And you were quite right to do so. Stand fast and persevere! The words against you which you quoted to me, allegedly protecting the Jews, I will not hope to be true, nor shall I believe that M. Eisleben ever will preach or ever has preached such. I do not yet consider him so deeply fallen. May God prevent him!…For then M. Eisleben would not be the Elector’s preacher, but a true devil, letting his sayings be so shamefully misused to the damnation of all those who associate with Jews. For these Jews are not Jews, but devils incarnate who curse our Lord, who abuse His mother as a whore and Him as Hebel Vorik and a bastard, this is known for certain. And anyone who is capable of eating or drinking or associating with such a foul mouth is a Christian as well as the devil is a saint….You may show this letter to whomever you wish. I do not know, nor do I care, who wrote the other three letters from Wittenberg to Berlin. You will undoubtedly confess this to be the first letter you ever received from me. For your name and person were previously unknown to me.” 

The letter bears several corrections in Luther’s own hand. The date of receipt is noted by Buchholzer at the foot of the reverse: “Received by me in Berlin on Wednesday after St Egyd [5 September] anno etc. 43.” 

Accompanied by a handsome custom-made quarter leather clamshell case. 

Luther had apparently forgotten that several years previously, in late 1539, he had answered a letter of Buchholzer’s inquiring about Catholic rites still in use in Reformed Brandenburg. More notably, although Luther is writing to a fellow scholar, this letter is written in German so that the recipient may show it “to whomever he wishes”—that is to say, to the Elector himself, thus providing Buchholzer with a writ of protection against any suspicion which Joachim may harbor against him. The Hebrew words invoked by Luther, “Hebel Vorik” [vanity and emptiness], are taken from Isaiah 30:7. They were part of a Jewish prayer in which Jews thanked God for having made them different from those peoples who worshipped “Hebel Vorik,” though Luther construed the words as a code for Jesus Christ. Luther’s anti-Judaism had not always been this radical—as a young man he had spoken out judiciously against the traditional defamation of Jews and against all forms of forcible conversion, but he soon grew increasingly bitter, and by 1543 his attitude was one of undisguised loathing. His most notorious antisemitic pamphlet, ‘On the Jews and Their Lies,’ was published only months before the present letter was written. With the same rhetorical skill with which he had previously ridiculed the papacy he now invoked a grotesque abhorrence of Judaism. As an embodiment of his sentiments in his later years, demonstrating how precisely the antisemitic church politics and discourse of the 1540s matched Luther’s instructions, this letter has been quoted or paraphrased by several important biographies of the Reformer.

Less than two years later, in a letter dated March 9, 1545, Luther would write to Elector Joachim II directly, warning him against the ‘tricks’ of the Jews, in whom he is said to have too much confidence, adding that he is ‘glad that the Provost [Buchholzer] is so severe on those Jews, which is a proof of his loyalty to your Grace; and I encourage him to continue in the path he has chosen.’ 

“Although we think of Martin Luther as a reformer, this letter reminds us of his unrepentant anti-semitism,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction. 

Luther died on February 18, 1546, after years of struggling with illness. 

The Fine Autographs and Artifacts auction from RR Auction began on June 29 and will conclude on July 11.  More details can be found online at www.rrauction.com.

When: July 11 - September 22, 2018

Where: 28 W. 27th St., 3rd Floor, NY, NY

Gallery Hours: M-F, 11a-6p; Sat, 10a-5p

Admission: Free

Organized by Elisabeth Lortic, independent curator and co-founder of Les Trois Ourses (Paris)

This exhibition brings to the forefront ideas and concepts articulated by the early 20th century Futurist-informed artist Bruno Munari. It is a thoughtful and dynamic exploration of play, invention, movement, and color. It brings together a body of artworks which are child friendly, and, more importantly vehicles to engage children in creative learning processes. Like children, artists explore alternate materials, and take them to the limit of their possibilities.

Artists include: Ianna Andreadis, Marion Bataille, Mauro Bellei, John Cage & Lois Long, Remy Charlip, Ivan & Jane Chermayeff, Paul Cox, Louise-Marie Cumont, Sophie Curtil, Milos Cvach, Sylvia de Swaan, Sonia Delaunay, Olafur Eliasson, Marco Ferreri, Barbara Henry, Keith Godard, Wennie Huang, Coline Irwin, Katsumi Komagata, Kumi Korf, Warja Lavater, El Lissitzky, Richard Long, Iela & Enzo Mari, Piet Marée, Barbara Mauriello, Scott McCarney, Fanette Mellier, Fanny Millard, Bruno Munari, Thomas Ockerse, Eugenia & Vladimir Radunsky, Kurt Schwitters/Kate Steinitz/Theo Van Doesburg, Alma Siedhoff-Buscher, Claire Van Vliet, and Laurence Weiner 

Opening: Wednesday, July 11th, 6:00 pm

Roundtable Discussion: Wednesday, July 18th, 6:30 pm

Roundtable Discussion: Tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 19th, 6:30 pm

ALSO ON VIEW: SUMMER 2018 ARTIST MEMBERS EXHIBITION

In addition to Look, Look, Look, The Center presents this summer’s Artist Members Exhibition Opulence: Not Everything that Glitters is Gold on view through September 20, organized by Alexander Campos, Executive Director & Curator, The Center for Book Arts.

Opulence is the Center’s 2018 Artist Members Exhibition, featuring artist members as well as invited artists, focusing on artworks that look behind the velvet curtain, in particular at our current economic, social, political, ecological, and cultural issues/concerns. Oxymoron, contradiction, and irony are key to these playful works that have multiple layers of meaning and interpretations. 

Artists Include: Lynne Avadenka, Doug Beube, Rosemarie Chiarlone, Béatrice Coron, Kaleta Doolin, Bonnie C. Epstein, Eileen Ferara, Anne Gilman, Iris Grimm, Lyall Harris & Patricia Silva, Aaron Krach, Carole Kunstadt, Marlene MacCallum, China Marks, Norma Marquez, Peter O’Brien, Lisa Occhipinti, Iviva Olenick, Rocco Scary, Richard Reitz Smith, Gail Smuda, Mary Ting, Sally Totsi, Harvey Tulcensky, and Karen Viola

Roundtable Discussion, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, 6:30 pm

Roundtable Discussion, Wednesday, September 12, 2018, 6:30 pm 

Visit our website for up-to-date details on all events and programs:  www.centerforbookarts.org

New York—When Ralph Baione and Anthony Giammona were looking to donate their extensive collection of book binding tools and equipment, they learned of the Center for Book Arts and sought out the space. Baione paid a visit to the Center to see what it is all about. “It is important for me that these tools stay in use. If you send them to a museum, people can look at them, but they can’t use them,” Baione shared.

He spoke with Emilie Ahern, Audience Development Coordinator at the Center for Book Arts, to learn more about the programming offered at the Center. As soon as he saw the thriving community of students, instructors, residents, and renters, he knew the Center was “the perfect fit.”

The collection includes over 900 hand tools and over 120 brass wheels used for gold tooling and embossing. A book binder who rents studio space at the Center said, “Most book binders have maybe 10 to 15 of these tools in their collection over their lifetime. To have access to over 900 is just incredible.”

The Center for Book Arts will ensure that these tools go to good use. Through their educative and studio rental programs, the Center will include these tools in their classes and will also allow renters to use the tools for their own projects. “This equipment will not sit in a corner. We have created sample books of the patterns and designs and have already had renters start using the tools in their own work. We are excited to expand our offerings with this collection,” said Ahern.

In addition to the hand tools and brass wheels, the collection includes brass type to be used for foil stamping and embossing, a Kensol heat stamping machine, board shears to cut oversized paper and book board, and a leather skiving machine. “We are incredibly humbled and grateful to receive this generous donation,” Ahern shares, “It is not every day that a collection this large and in ready-to-use condition is bequeathed with the intent to be accessible to all.”

The Center for Book Arts offers studio rental programs, residency programs, book binding and letterpress education, book arts exhibitions and much more. Anyone interested in using these tools or learning how to use these tools can come by the Center during open hours or can call for more information.