Smoked salmon, a ridiculous lobster and absinthe makes the heart grow fonder....

The birthday festivities continued this today. We started with a great bagel feast with both lox and my father's smoked salmon. David Wolfe and Crystal Cawley, who stayed in one of the local inns, joined us for breakfasts and books (and lithographs, as it happened).

We then spent the day puttering about on this and that. Gillian and Andy (and Oliver) beginning to pull things together to return to CT tomorrow and my parents beginning to prepare for their trip out of the country (the first of two this month...the rest of us are suitably jealous).

Several of us ran down to the Port to pick up lobster for dinner tonight. We usually get 1.25 pound sea chickens but I mentioned to the man that it was for my 40th dinner party and that perhaps one of them could be in the 1.75 range (this being the largest I have ever had or been inclined to have...leaving bigger ones for folks "from away"). As it turned out, they didn't have much other than pound and a quarters but...after opening about 6 crates or so, he opened one and said, "Oh, this is a good one for 40" and sold me a "2 pound" lobster. When we got home, I took a look at it (see photo). It was not 2 pounds, it was more on the 3.25 or so (that is a 1.25 beside it). It was very nice of him and a genuine treat. Picking the body was the best. I ended up with what usually takes the bodies of mine, my grandmother's and one of the boys . Yum.

Then we had a few presents (from mom and dad and my sister and Andy, all of whom will not be here on me "real" birthday). Mom and dad gave me a Garmin StreetPilot c530. The intent, of course, to assist in my various forays into the hinterland (and NY City) for various fairs, events, trips and client visits. It appears to be brutally cool, determining (immediately out of the box) exactly where it was in Tenants Harbor and, once I told it the address of our house, plotting the most efficient route back. I think I could become quite attached to something that tells me were to go...it is like getting a new wife (though not nearly as warm, charming or fun to be about).

Gillian and Andy sated a wish I have had for several years. I have had a low-grade interest/fascination with absinthe for a long time...more or less on the grounds that if it was of interest to Maupassant, Rimbaud, Verlaine, Picasso, Wilde and Hemingway, it was probably worth tasting at some point. This interest grew a few years ago when I read an interesting article on T.A. Breaux, a scientist in New Orleans who became fascinated with the myth, legend and history of absinthe and spent a decade or so trying to separate the truth from the hype around it. In the end, he used a great deal of very sophisticated modern technology to get at what made "real" absinthe special and has been a major driver in absinthe's renaissance. A reasonably good article on his adventure can be found here (see also, generally and here).

Breaux took what he had learned...that is, a literal rediscovery of how to distill true absinthe, and founded Jade Absinthes. Anyway, to make an already too long tale slightly shorter, my sister and Andy gave me a bottle of Jade PF 1901. Most of us tried a wee dram after dinner, undiluted, and then some a bit more diluted. It is very hard to describe. There is a rich and wonderful smell (the product of its primary ingredients, green anise, florence fennel and grande wormwood), think sweet spiced licorice. The taste, undiluted, is strikingly strong, sweet and fragrant and not at all bitter (imagine a very good licorice with a splash of 130 proof bite to it). Diluted (about 3 parts water to 1 part absinthe), it is simply exceptional. The closest analogy might be a very good, subtle and smooth, mint julep...but with licorice. Oh, and watching it turn from the clear pale green to a very soft, milky palest of green is strangely pleasing.

I have not tried dripping the water through a sugar cube...though I think there is a absinthe spoon among my mother's silver. I have read here and there that that practice really came into vogue toward the end of the absinthe craze of the late 19th century....when the vast majority of what was sold as absinthe was little better than paint thinner....bitter and unpleasant. I may try it, just for the "process" experience...but this bottle does not need it at all.

I do not really drink at all. I like a single shot of a good single malt now and then (and the very occasional martini). The history of the drink is interesting. The "ritual" of mixing it is pleasing. It has a truly unique and, for me at least, extremely pleasant taste. I can see how nice it would be after a heavy meal...or on a hot summer day...or just about anytime.

One should definitely spend one's 40th trying something new. I am very grateful my sister (and Andy) pulled this off. I now have 3 years to think of something that will amuse my sister just as much. To come back (finally) to a bookish note, some quotations on absinthe:

Absinthe has a wonderful colour, green. A glass of absinthe is as poetical as anything in the world. What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset? —Oscar Wilde

One cup of it took the place of the evening papers, of all the old evenings in cafes, of all chestnut trees that would be in bloom now this month. [by Robert Jordan, who kept a flask of absinthe in this pocket, in case he forgot the paper on his way home.] —Ernest Heminway, For Whom the Bell Tolls (said to have been written, more or less in its entirety, while drinking absinthe).

The most delicate, the most precarious adornment, to be drunk on the magic of that herb from the glaciers, absinthe! But only to lie down afterward in shit! —Arthur Rimbaud

Age and Treachery will...

triumph over youth and skill. (small print on card by Crystal Cawley printed at David Wolf's shop (all woodblock save the vertical "40" copper...note the very cool Dwiggin's designed "I")).

My wife and family threw a surprise (more or less) birthday party for me this afternoon. Dad smoked a salmon (exceptional, as always) and mom and Suzanne prepared a wonderful collection of good eats (crab dip, ham, pink dunk, etc.) and there were many good bottles of wine and the like.

Best of all, a great group of people came together from all over the place for the event. It was really great fun...and was kept, more or less, a secret. [I had a pretty strong suspicion that *something* was in the works...but the scope was a complete surprise.]

I turn 40 in a few days (May, 3....shared with Niccolo Machiavelli (and, by pure coincidence, the "1469" of our phone number is the year NM was born). Surrounded by good books and good friends. Life is really not too bad. Thanks to all who came, to all who sent cards and the like.

Busy day on the farm...

I think I may have set a record today for our shop. I packed and shipped 16 orders today [one was not included in the pict]. The collection included one purchase at the NY fair by a client who asked that the books be shipped to him and several "follow-up" orders from the fair. Two purchases at the fair(s) for specific clients, two from online and the balance from catalogues/quotes.

I have three to go tomorrow. I like being busy...but yikes. On the plus side, they stacked nicely and I could carry them in one load.

Happy shipping day.

Nice month for us in Fine Books and Collections...

It was a very good month of Lux Mentis is the pages of Fine Books and Collections. In addition to our usual ad on the second page of Nicholas Basbanes' regular article, an image we submitted was included in their profile of the West Side Loft show (Bicknell/Pyle, Etchings) along with a short description, they included our most recent catalogue (Illustrated and Illustrated Juvenilia) AND we were included as the bookdealer sponsor of the 2007 National Collegiate Book Collecting Competition advert. It may be my favorite issue every .

It appears we may strive to do the Seattle show this year. It turns out the awards ceremony for the Collegiate Collecting Competition will be held there and we will be going out for that. It seems silly to cross the country to be at a book fair without showing at it. Updates to follow as warranted.

and if you are very good....

As if the West Side Loft and ABAA book fairs were not reason enough to be in NY this past weekend, it was...as you all surely know...the official US release of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. I have had to admit grudging respect for the Pokemon franchise.

The game is very "cute"...but it lends itself to non-linear play (though the core game plot is very linear). Best of all, in a world of first person shooters and the like, it is a game where the *only* way to win is cooperative play. You *must* trade and and work with friends...

My assistant was rewarded for his exceptional conduct and performance by going to Nintendo World in NY on Sunday...which just happened to be the release date of the newest of the Pokemon video games.

I offer some pictures of the chaos. Please note the interesting placement of the vent on the Piplup inflatable. Also, while I did not include images of it, I have shots of three street scenes showing the line wrapping THREE blocks...and this about an hour *after* it opened. Apparently there were kids/adults there the previous day.

Luckily, my assistant was perfectly happy to wander around the store in a daze...eyes alight...trying different games and looking at everything there was to see. He was even able to pick two different things he could have (in addition to the VERY cool "diamond and pearl" t-shirts that everyone received).

NY Book Fair(s) update

I think this picture sums up the West Side Loft book fair quite nicely. Pictured here is John Spencer (owner of Riverow Books and new ABAA board member) and my neighbor at the WSL. The fair had opened about an hour earlier...it was clearly time for champagne. John was a great neighbor. Fun, interesting and had several nice things that went home with me (notably a signed copy of Calder's, Aesop's Fables (with the naughty sketches).

On the plus side, the WSL fair was reasonably well lite (though we were able/needed to use our lights), nicely polished hardwood floors (slightly easier on one's feet) and was interestingly laid-out. It had, as has been mentioned elsewhere, a "feel" often associated with EU shows. Cozy, close quarters, diverse spread....interesting and nice.

There was good food and drink available for free during set up and for cash during the show. There was also a very nice area to sit and eat (or sleep, as some did). My son and several new friends made good use of it...especially when a very nice young lady with a Gameboy Advance DS joined them (picture three young boys (5-11ish) sitting around this young woman gazing adoringly...it was too cute).

Load in was, for many, a genuine pain. 37th Street is narrow with parking on both sides. When trucks started "standing" to unload, local PD showed up and started writing $120 tickets. I managed to avoid this and, best yet, was directed by another officer to a legal spot immediately "in front" of the line. It was sort of interesting, there was a big long line of ticket-getting vans with about 4 spaces open "in front" of the line.

There were plenty of porters, two freight elevators and not too much chaos. We were there early...I have learned through hard lessons that I need every available moment of set-up time (whether 5 hours or 12...really quite pathetic).

The show itself was, I think, quite good. It seemed to have a slow start (though it started at 8am...people should be asleep then) but picked up steadily on the first day (Friday). EU dealers were there in force and it is always nice to have people like Christian Jonkers and Simon Finch stop by to say hi. Unlike last year, I did not sell a great deal to dealers from across the pond (which was sad, given the exchange rate)...but have it on good authority that they were purchasing aggressively elsewhere. I did have an interesting exchange with someone from overseas actively seeking psychedelic material...I may be able to sell my entire collection of such material en banc, which would be nice.

I definitely got a very positive vibe from most dealers. Sales seemed quite strong, overall. It was a very strong show for us. All the better because most of the significant sales were to "new" clients (that is, not dealers...or old clients ).

The buying was also really quite good. I picked up a great little Maine item (expect it at the Portland Fair in June), a great early, handwritten cookbook, etc.....and the very slick Calder item.

I was very skeptical about the fair. I hate it when a fair moves. This space was *much* smaller than the 25th Street Armory and had MUCH more difficult move-in logistics. I do not "know" NY well...but when I mentioned it was at West 37th, more than one of my clients said words to the effect of, "that is nice, will you meet me at the Princeton Club"...which I did not take as a good sign. That said, I am extremely pleased we did the show.

I can not speak for the ABAA event to any great extent. I went there on Sunday for a few hours. The major item I was seeking, a collection of handwritten material, did not make it across the pond. I touched base with just about everyone for whom I needed to say hi, was able to catch up with several a lot of folks and picked up a nice thing or two for some clients. Then there was the...you know...window shopping.

The NY ABAA show is really something you must see to believe. You can buy $25 books there (though not that many), as you can at any show. You can also find the expected $250 and $2500 books that show up with some frequency. What really sets it apart is the sheer number of $25,000 and $250,000 books in one place. It is an amazing place to go just to see the depth and breadth of just what is "out there." From exceptional book arts to maps to fine leather, it is just a wonderful weekend for book lovers of all sorts.

Booth experiment a success

As I have mentioned previously, I was experimenting at the NY show with a booth with no tables. As it turned out, I ended up being offered a table as well...which I took happily.

As I tried to capture in the images, I effectively had a peninsula. I had a table set perpendicular to the two abutting booths. This was quite nice as it gave me a nice place to set some large/delicate items with greater safety. We picked up a second four shelf display case from Ikea. We set these back to back with book arts on one side and art bindings on the other.

We then built two towers of four of the horrid folding bookcases (I really want something/anything else). On the plus side, they have wee pins in them, so I was able to stack them as seen safely...we used 14" zip cords to fuze the cases together. In the end, they were very stable.

My father designed/built/finished the TWELVE shelves that "fit" into the open ends of each shelf (6 to a side). The net result was that I ended up with more horizontal(ish) display space than I would have had with a "full" booth (three six foot tables) in the space of two tables (12 feet).

We used the end to mount our Phreno-man piece (shown here with my exceptionally helpful assistant) and an unusual little Dwiggins' piece.

In the last image, you can probably see the glass case that is about 1.5 or so feet from the "back" of my display area. We had been told that we would have a peninsula with an aisle on both sides and at one end and really built the display to adapt to that. As it turned out, there was a large double sided 6 foot long display case effectively in the middle of the back aisle. I have a feeling the fire marshal might have had an issue with it had he seen it, but it worked out reasonably well.

Overall, the booth looked pretty good and certainly garnered the requisite number of "your booth is really lovely" comments that we use as part of our "show success" matrix.

Quick update...

Thank you and apologies to those who posted and/or emailed me. I have been insanely busy since the first night (or, quite literally, unconscious). I have...finally...made it back to Portland. I promise a report (with pictures) on: A) the West Side Fair; B) the ABAA fair (or at least the tail end); C) the US release of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (for those wondering why my assistant was striving to be so good); and D) general serendipity in the business.

It was a great weekend in nearly all ways.

In NY and set up...

No images this evening. We just didn't have time (and the camera was in the car)...I'll post some tomorrow. The booth is set up. The layout is strange...but our booth looks pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. We are trying an experimental design (due in large part to limited space. I've built to towers of 4 shelves each with the spanner shelves my father designed/built between all (12 in total). We also picked up a second glass case, to help show off Crystal Cawley's book art work and Julie Stackpole's art bindings.

Setup was a madhouse. Smallish, windy space...no parking/unloading area. Many people received $120 tickets for "standing". I lucked out, pulled out just before the police officer started writing up ours, then was directed by a second officer up a bit further to a legal spot. Bodes well for the weekend, I hope. Nerves were a bit frazzled...but lots of people there and some of my favorite folks, to boot.

It took us about 6-7 hours to set up. I wonder if I'll ever get more efficient . I'll update tomorrow about the first day and include some images.

Finally, something to do with my electron microscope:

"Publishers" in Vancouver, BC have created the smallest book "published". Using that publishing standby, the focused gallium-ion beam laser, they have printed "Teeny Ted from Turnip Town". The book measures 0.07mm by 0.10mm (a bit less than the head of a pin). The major enjoyment obstacle to reading this 30 page volume would appear to be the necessity of a scanning electron microscope.

Hmmmmm, birthday is coming...ideas, ideas...

quick follow-up re Vonnegut's passing...

As is now widely known, Kurt Vonnegut passed away last night (see previously mentioned, genuinely well written, NYT article). I have received and/or seen two things I wanted to pass along:

Rob Stuart of Frenchboro Books email me the following in response to the news:

In the early 60's, before email and blogs, a few of us might have too much to drink, and we would call Vonnegut (and if Vonnegut, then always also Claude Sitton, who was writing extraordinary stuff from the South for the NYT, for which he eventually won a Pulitze--and yes, a few others) and we would leave slobbering messages of appreciation, adoration, and exhortation, thanking them for expressing what we liked to think were our ideas as well, but really because they gave us hope and courage--and heroes!

Also, Wonkette has a nice post and some great comments, including:

I was a kid when I first read Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. All I could think was OMG! Adults are even more pissed off than I am.

One of my most treasured posessions is a letter Kurt wrote me when I was a freshman in college complete with the ass-terix in the signature. 'Harrison Bergeron' was satire when he wrote and now it is public policy. Life imitates parody.

and

Kurt Vonnegut wrote books with pictures of assholes juxtaposed against depressing truths. He wrote the truth because he loved people. He died today. He hated semicolons; so it goes.

I can feel a rereading binge coming on...

RIP Kurt Vonnegut...

Wildly busy, much news...posts to follow if and when I can carve out a bit of time. I did have to post this, NYT has just announced the passing of Kurt Vonnegut. I haven't read (or, rather, reread) any Vonnegut in years...but I have read just about everything he put to print as of a handful of years ago. I remember reading Slaughterhouse for the first time many years ago...it had an amazing impact at the time. I'm going to have to go back and reread some...I really do hate it when strong voices are lost...

He passed away Wed. evening...that is, a few hours ago. The NYT article is a three page, genuinely well crafted article. Clearly someone had been polishing this obit for a bit. Mr. Vonnegut apparently suffered a brain injury a few weeks ago in a fall (which fell, apparently, beneath my radar).

I am going to bed...a bit sadder than I would like to be.

Bookride...an interesting exploration of the uncommon...

(and sometimes quite common). I've just been given a heads up by the author of Bookride and I am both grateful and annoyed. In it Nigel Burwood (Any Amount of Books) engages in an "evaluation of why the book is wanted, what it is worth - with a range of selling prices, some trivia, apercus and bon mots, a few anecdotes, so called jokes and occasional rants."

I am grateful because it is an absolutely great read. I am annoyed because: A) I wish I had the time (and knowledge) to craft as readable entries; b) I did not find it sooner (while it appears to have been launched in Dec., 2006, there are 160 posts already...all eminently readable); c) I know have one more thing that I am going to have to read regularly. Ah, how I suffer.

I expect you will be seeing references in the future to some of his posts. You can start with this post, about a possibly apocryphal James Joyce broadside published by his father when he was 9. I will, I predict, have a dream this evening of opening some dusty copy of Ulysses and finding such laid in...ah, how I love flights of fancy...

Quick follow-up to Heritage events

Scott Brown, et al, at Fine Books and Collections have a great post on what is happening at with and around Heritage Books. Rumors tied up, facts laid out, the hint of what is likely to be an exceptional auction on the horizon. A very good read.

a better followup to Boston...

Don Lindgren has a very nice (and far more articulate than my...) summary of the MARIAB fair. I agree with most of what he said...though it was a pretty good show in the short-term for us...mid and long term remains to be seen.

I was particularly interested in Don's view of "bargaining". As Don notes, I find the tendancy of asking/expecting discounts to be very strange. I extend discounts to dealers as a professional courtesy and think such make prfound sense for many reasons. I strive not to do the same for clients. I try to price my material for what I think is a fair market price and really expect items to sell there. The prevalence of asking for discounts implies that dealers price their material high in the expectation of negotiating it down and, at least for us, that is simply not true.

I certainly do extend discounts sometimes...typically with a very good customer or with someone who is purchasing several things at once or...frankly...when the situation warrents it. I have sometimes extended very deep discounts when it meant putting the right book in the right hands. I really do not, however, think that an expectation of a discount is reasonable.

I suggest that there is a preception issue in play that many choose to ignore. If I agree to extend discounts of 10-20% to "new" customers, I am effectively telling them that I have overpriced my stock to "build in" such reductions. If I agree to "not charge tax" (as I was asked several times over the weekend, usually with a "no one else is charging it") I am effectively telling this potential new client that I will happily violate the law to close a sale. While this may please the client in the short-term...consciously or unconsciously, I am telling them that I am untrustworthy.

I would much rather have clients feel confident than I am pricing material (and treating them) fairly than having clients feel that they need to negotiate every purchase to "see what I will do".

As Don summed up, I think this fair has the potential to be extremely good. I look forward to being there next year.

After the ball...

I need to figure out a way to do load out *before* the fair...then everything would just be fun and enjoyable all weekend. The sad truth is, I spend the last half or so of the final day of a fair dreading having to break down. Packing up the van and setting up a show is strangely fun...an adventure is afoot, you're filled with the hope/anticipation of meeting new clients, making some interesting sales, buying some good books and seeing friends. Breaking down is just wretched. The show is over, even if you did well, you are exhausted, sore and brain-fried and having to pack everything up carefully and journey home (or at least in that direction)...to have to unpack it all is just dreary. It took 8ish hours to set up...and 3ish to break down (not the last, but damn close).

It was a slowish day today...as Sundays tend to be...lots of looking but not a lot of action. I did have several great conversations and am hopeful that one or two will lead to interesting things. Overall, it was a great weekend. I am very fond of this multiple show format, as I think our material, etc. works well with the antique/fine art crowd. I thought it was well run and well promoted. Given the tendency of book dealers to kvetch at any opportunity, the apparent lack of compaints bodes well, I think.

Now I just have to figure out if my experimental "tableless" booth design is going to work. New York in 3 weeks. Can't wait.