Quick reminder about Washington DC and St. Petersburg, FL

Hi all. I'll be at the DC Spring Antique Weekend from this Friday through Monday. The following weekend I'll be at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.

If you are able to attend either fair, please let me know and I'll see there are passes waiting for you at Will Call.

I hope to see some of you. Thank you, as always, for your consideration.

Road Trip 2009 starts tomorrow morning. I'll be doing my best to post regularly.

Wiscasset/ME loses Constitution case.

Per the AP:

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A rare 1776 copy of the Declaration of Independence belongs to a Virginia technology entrepreneur, not the state of Maine, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled Friday. Richard Adams Jr. of Fairfax County purchased the document from a London book dealer in 2001 for $475,000. But the state of Maine claimed it belongs to the town of Wiscasset, where it was kept by the town clerk in 1776.
Virginia's high court said that a lower court did not err in its ruling in Adams' favor because Maine didn't prove the document was ever an official town record and that Adams had superior title to the print.
Adams' attorney, Robert K. Richardson, has argued that Wiscasset's town clerk copied the text of the Declaration of Independence into the town's record books on Nov. 10, 1776. It's that transcription, not the document upon which it was based, that is the official town record, Richardson said.
"The fact that the print was not made by an authorized public officer and was not intended to be the official memorial of the Declaration precluded the print from qualifying as a 'public record' under common law," the court said in its ruling.
Adams, who gained fame when he founded UUNet Technologies Inc., the first commercial Internet service provider, sued to establish title to the document after learning that Maine was trying to get it back. His attorney told the high court last month there's no evidence the document was ever an official record kept by the town of Wiscasset and that Adams is the rightful owner.
Maine Assistant Attorney General Thomas Knowlton argued that Wiscasset never gave up ownership of the document, which is one of about 250 copies printed in 1776 and distributed to towns throughout Massachusetts to be read to residents. Maine was part of Massachusetts at the time.
Maine state archivist David Cheever said he found it "incredible" that the state's rights were trumped by a private collector. Maine contended the document never should have been sold because of a state law which presumes that public documents remain public property unless ownership is expressly relinquished by the government.
"To us, it's a public document. It was then. It is now," Cheever said.
Knowlton said the state strongly disagrees with the decision, but acknowledged that it is the end of the road. There are no federal issues that could be pursued to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The unfortunate result is a public record that we believe rightfully belongs to the people of Maine is now in the hands of a private collector in Virginia," Knowlton said.
Adams' attorney was in court all day Friday and unavailable for comment.
Whether it was an official record or not, the document apparently was retained by Solomon Holbrook, Wiscasset's town clerk from 1885 until his death in 1929. An estate auctioneer found it in a box of papers in the attic of Holbrook's daughter's home after she died in 1994.
Knowlton said town clerks in those days worked out of their homes - a likely explanation for why the document remained with the family instead of being passed along to the new clerk. Holbrook also was a jeweler.
The document changed hands a couple of times before Adams bought it. Cheever said officials became aware of the print's existence after receiving an anonymous tip and decided to try to get it back because of its historical significance.
Cheever said only 11 of the approximately 250 copies printed by Ezekiel Russell in Salem, Mass., are known to still exist. One that originally belonged to the town of North Yarmouth also was obtained by a private collector but eventually was returned, Cheever said.
The opinion can be found at: http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opnscvwp/1080987.pdf
By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM

Pillars of Knowledge - Type on Trees Before Pulping

The new Crawley library opened in West Sussex relatively recently. It contains some striking architectural/artistic elements...notably remarkable textual trees.

The striking, cracked trees, 14 in all, are situated throughout the library building and are installed vertically, flush to the floor and ceiling to resemble supporting, structural pillars. Each tree is, in fact, a real oak trunk and displays carved passages of text from literature within the library, the typeface of each passage chosen carefully to suit the nature of the text – which is where Why Not Associates comes in.

“We worked with the selected passages of text, choosing typefaces and designing the layout,” says Why Not’s Andy Altmann of the studio’s role in the making of the Crawley Trees. “Because there were 14 trees to do, all of us in the studio got to do one.”
...
The text to adorn the trees was chosen by the users of Crawley library, thanks to research done by Anna Sandberg. “She was another key collaborator and did all the workshops with the people [of Crawley] to point us in the right direction in terms of sourcing textual content,” says Young. “She also put hundreds of questionnaire postcards in books all over the library and we got hundreds of replies naming favourite books and passages and thoughts about what was good literature”

Thanks to boingboing for the headsup.

Quick interview of Hang Fire....

There is a fun little interview with William Smith, owner of Hang Fire Books over atBoingBoing. William specializes in "vintage paperbacks and lurid pulp fiction from the 1940s-60s" while also carrying general stock. His blog is great as he posts wonderfully lurid pulp covers with pleasing regularity. [Also, you should not miss his current post on the annotated sleaze that arrived recently. Thesis research?!?].

A Sterling Release - The Caryatids

I have a serious soft spot for "hard" spec. fiction. I like it when the numbers work. Among the best of the cadre who write such material is Bruce Sterling. His newest is The Caryatids. From the publisher:

Alongside William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling stands at the forefront of a select group of writers whose pitch-perfect grasp of the cultural and scientific zeitgeist endows their works of speculative near-future fiction with uncanny verisimilitude. To read a novel by Sterling is to receive a dispatch from a time traveler. Now, with The Caryatids, Sterling has written a stunning testament of faith in the power of human intellect, creativity, and spirit to overcome any obstacle–even the obstacles we carry inside ourselves.

The world of 2060 is divided into three spheres of influence, each fighting with the others over the resources of fallen nations and an environment degraded almost to the point of no return. There is the Dispensation, centered in Los Angeles, where entertainment and capitalism have fused with the highest of high-tech. There is the Acquis, a Green-centered collective that uses invasive neurological technology to create a networked utopia. And there is China, the sole surviving nation-state, a dinosaur that has prospered only by pitilessly pruning its own population. Products of this monstrous world, the daughters of a monstrous mother, and–according to some–monsters themselves, are the Caryatids: the four surviving female clones of a mad Balkan genius and wanted war criminal now ensconced, safely beyond extradition, on an orbiting space station. Radmila is a Dispensation star determined to forget her past by building a glittering, impregnable future. Vera is an Acquis functionary dedicated to reclaiming their home, the Croatian island of Mljet, from catastrophic pollution. Sonja is a medical specialist in China renowned for selflessly risking herself to help others. And Biserka is a one-woman terrorist network. The four “sisters” are united only by their hatred for their “mother”–and for one another.

When evidence surfaces of a coming environmental cataclysm, the Dispensation sends its greatest statesman–or salesman–John Montgomery Montalban, husband of Radmila, and lover of Vera and Sonja, to gather the Caryatids together in an audacious plan to save the world.

It can be purchased at the Big A or your local indy. Added context by CD over at boingboing.

RIP Philip Jose Farmer

Philip Jose Farmer (1/26/1918-2/25/2009) passed away in his sleep this morning. 

As posted on his website, [h]e will be missed greatly by his wife Bette, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, friends and countless fans around the world.

He won his first Hugo Award in 1953 and his last in 1972 ["To Your Shattered Bodies Go"]. In the first few years of 2000, he one the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award [lifetime achievement, awarded at the Nebula Awards Ceremony], the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Forry Award for Lifetime Achievement.

He will be missed by many...

Some images from the Young Book Wonks Running Amok evening...

Here are some pictures from the "Young Booksellers Out on the Town" during the SanFran ABAA fair. For a complete set, see Kent's FB album "The Cartel" [N.B. We must be careful with the term "The Cartel", as we do not

 wish to imply membership in the original and famed "The Cartel" of SF ABAA book fair fame (comprised, I believe, by Mr.s Stern, Sanders and

  Rulon-Miller as made famous in a "Flatsigned" Press Release. We can only hope to, one day, wield such awesome power. In the interim, asCBL said, we must settle for wielding hefty alcoholic beverages at various pubs.]

Those captures include [but are not limited to]: Katie Tschanz, Cassandra Joffre, Brian Cassidy Suzanne Hamlin, Chris Bunje Lowenstein, Brian Cassidy, Jennifer Zabriskie, Brad Johnson, Andrew Gaub (and me...and others). I love the picture of Suzanne... I also love the image of Brian on the street...he has this great expression of a boy who has just done something wicked...

A blog reborn...Good things happening over at Fine Books & Collections

Among the new things happening over at Fine Books and Collections is a new "group" blog. I am very pleased to say that I was involved in drafting the first crop of bloggers and I think it is off to a great start. The intent is that everyone will post about once a week, which should provide for some steady, interesting posts with a variety of voices and focus areas. Though there are a few asks still jelling, the crew as it stands includes the following:

• Exile Bibliophile, the ever mysterious Special Collections librarian
• Scott Brown, the original voice of this blog and owner of Eureka Books
• Brian Cassidy of Brian Cassidy, Bookseller fame.
• Jeremy Dibbell of Philobiblos
• Stephen Gertz of David Brass Rare Books
• Ian Kahn of Lux Mentis, Booksellers (that would be me...)
• Michael Leiberman who runs one of Seattle's great shops, Wessel and Lieberman
• Ann Loftin, editor of Fine Books and Collections
• Chris Lowenstein of the wonderfully named, Book Hunter's Holiday
• Forrest Proper, proprietor of Joslin Hall Rare Books

A riotous crew, if I do say so myself...and I do. I'm hoping to announce one or two more bloggers in the near future. So head over and read some interesting posts by people who write better than I.

Really, I handle so much that does not involve long pig...

Well, for the second time in as many weeks, my History of Gastronomy/J. Dahmer volume is in the news. This quarter's Gastronomica (Winter, Vol. 9, No. 1) has a full page (the last page in the volume, "Rare") article on the book and its history. The author, Jeanne Schinto, saw the book at a show in Boston nearly a year ago and asked if I would allow an article about it for Gastronomica. 

I do not recall making all the statements for which I am quoted...but there is nothing hugely off-base, either and the gist of the background is solid. It is an interesting and very intriguing piece. As she notes, it really does appear to be prima facia evidence of an effort on his part to understand something that he had to know was...well...not normal. 

I'll never complain about press placements...but I do hope the next one or two are focused on fine press books, early printed matter or...er...anything that does not include serial killers...

Dr. Who meets Dr. Tesla...

No bookish hook here, just the pure goodness of geekdom run amok. ArcAttack amuses themselves doing remarkable things with Tesla coils.

Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack uses high tech wizardry to present music in a whole new light.

ArcAttack employs a unique DJ set up of their own creation (an HVDJ set up) to generate an 'electrifying' audio visual performance. The HVDJ pumps music through a PA System while two specially designed DRSSTC's (Dual-Resonant Solid State Tesla Coils) act as separate synchronized instruments.

These high tech machines produce an electrical arc similar to a continuous lightning bolt which put out a crisply distorted square wave sound reminiscent of the early days of synthesizers. The music consists of original highly dance-able electronic compositions that sometimes incorporates themes or dub of popular songs.

Joe DiPrima and Oliver Greaves are the masterminds behind the design and construction of the Tesla Coils while the music is developed by John DiPrima and Tony Smith.

Thanks to CD over at BoingBoing for the heads up.

Two great meals and some nice/fun ones...

We effectively ate our way across (a very small portion) of San Francisco...we clearly need many more days and weeks there. On the recommendation of Amy Hahn and Forrest Proper, we had dinner our second night at Kokkari (where Amy's brother is the manager). It was Greek at its very best. 

We went with Brian Cassidy after the first day of set-up. We spent far too long looking over the menu, failed completely to make reasonable choices and resorted to taking a tapas approach and ordering nearly all the appetizers. The highlights were: for Suz, the zucchini cakes; for Brian, the fried sardines; for me, the grilled octopus...and the spanakotiropita was exceptional. We finished the meal by splitting a Galaktoboureko (semolina custard in filo with Meyer lemon spoonsweet and creme fraiche ice cream) and Milo Furnisto (baked cinnamon and walnut stuffed apple

 with masticha gelato. Finally, we all had a cup of their greek

 coffee, "stone-ground coffee heated over hot sand"  (see the

 second photo, showing the "coffee maker").  Absolutely wonderful. 

While we were banging around SanFran, we also had more than our share of dim sum (thank you Kan's and, especially, Hang ah Tea Room) and some very good other bits of this and that. Also notable was The Chieftain, a very good Irish pub with the best fish and chips I've had in a long time...

On our last day, we were invited to dinner by friends in Woodside at The Village Pub. Woodside is a village in the loosest definition of the term and the Village Pub is...er...not a pub. It is, however, one of the very best, most interesting, restaurants we've been to in a very long time. 

First off, while sending out special little treats is nice and relatively common, the VP gilded the lily. First, before

 anything else arrived, the chef sent out a shot of a sort of lobster bisque...lovely.  Between the appetizers and the dinner, he sent each of us out a ravioli (Meyer lemon and robiola cheese). Finally, he sent out a small basket of beignets after desert. Also, when the three of us ordered appetizers, the chef sent out a small greens salad (walnut oil vinaigrette) for Suzanne, so she would have something to fiddle with (it was, I'm told, delicious). 

My appetizer was the Dungeness crab salad, pictured here. A mass of Dungeness on a bed of gelled blood orange reduction, off the the left is a lovely little julienned apple and blood orange salad. Simply exceptional. 

My entree was a grilled Moroccan spiced quail with glazed carrots and toasted almond couscous. Two boneless (save their wee legs) birds on a bed of couscous. It was, without a doubt, the best quail I have had...well...pretty much for as

 long as I can remember. Unbelievably good. 

For desert, I had the Meyer lemon mousse bar, balanced on a sliver of pound cake and topped with wafers of sour lemon meringue. It was very nice and a great counter to the spices of the quail. That said, Suzanne's desert (see image) was exceptional. She had the "Opera Cake", a mocha buttercream with chocolate ganache. It tasted *better* than it looked...no small feat.

Our host brought two bottles from his cellar, thought we only opened one of them (as we were approaching having to make the trek back to SFO for our departure. Before we ordered, our server decanted a bottle of Chateau Clos Saint-Martin - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, a wonderful bordeaux that worked well with everything we had...and was, in its own right, simply wonderful.

It was an amazing way to end a wonderful week in San 

Francisco. We had had such fun, all week, catching up with friends and colleagues...and eating and drinking all about town. To finish with old friends and such a wonderful meal was just a perfect end to the week. I hope they will come East, so we can return the favor...else there is always next year.

Addendum: On Saturday night the "young members" of the ABAA gathered to drink and shout at each other over the all too loud pub music that played in the back ground at Vesuvio's. It was great fun, though the absinthe was unnecessarily sweet and not chilled enough for my taste. Images can be found at my Facebook page. 

Before we went arrived at Vesuvio's, we had dinner (with Brian Cassidy and Garrett Scott. Just a few doors down from the bar, there is a storefront japanese/sushi place that looked clean, empty (earlyish) and...well...open. So in we

 trooped. The sushi was great, the spicy tuna was pretty much the spiciest I've had and, best of all, they served "Monkey Balls". How can you not order them...just on principle. We ordered one that Brian and I split...it was remarkably good cool, raw fish within halved balls of deep fried (very quickly) rice balls. The moral is, never pass up a chance to have good, hot monkey balls...

I should get one or two more SF ABAA posts up in the next 24 hours or so. Too many balls [sadly not monkey] in the air...as usual...

Update re SanFran Chronicle article...

Here is a link to the article. It is not identical to the SF Chronicle article, but is very close. Contextually, it makes very little sense. Frankly, I don't remember saying "look closely"...but did suggest he look at the library card(s) that are in the pocket and bear JD's signature(s). 

The real "miss", and real significance of the piece, is that the 18 year old Dahmer took the book out shortly after his first killing. As the psychiatric community is of pretty much of one voice that he was so traumatized by this first "event" that he did not kill again for nearly a decade. That he took out this book, on the history of eating, is certainly prima facia evidence that he was struggling to understand urges that he knew were...unusual.

More on the show and SF food events (that did not involve long pig) to follow...

Last dinner in CA

Food post to follow re entire trip, but a taste for now. We had dinner
with friends in Woodside at the Village Pub. It was absolutely
outstanding. Details when we get home, but the image shows my app.,
dungenous crab on a glacé of reduced blood orange...to the left, out
of frame was a wee salad of julienned apples and greens. Unbelievably
good.

Rain, rain, go away...

There has been off and on rain all weekend, but this afternoon/evening
there was torrential rain with periods of merely heavy rain.
Unfortunately, this did result in leaks in one area of the hall. They
managed to get tarps up quickly, but not quick enough to avoid damage.

It was such a great weekend in so many ways...I really feel badly for
those with water problems (it is, admittedly, one of my great fears).

It was pouring during load-out. Many were able to get vehicles nearly
"in" the hall (one or two were clever/lucky enough to pull al the way
in). Brian made clever use of garbage bags, but was himself pretty
damp for his longish trip home. I *love* my Pelican water *proof*
cases...a really lot.

Any PR is good PR

First two paragraphs of the SF Chronicle, B2. Nice start to the day.

Two days down...one to go...quick update...

Day one and two are over. It has been a good show, overall, thus far. Lots of people, very engaged, asking great questions and, best of all, buying books. I've found some good things to buy, have sold rather well and have had some great conversations, at least one or two of which are likely to lead to interesting projects. It's been great fun thus far.

Update with food and day by day to follow...just too tired at the moment. Long days, very intense.

Finally...cases in hand...

Quick run to the hall and then a frantic set-up until 4pm opening.
Fun, fun fun.

Before-SF

With luck, there will be books tomorrow.

Problem with delivery of cases...good friends make things better...

Well, shipped the cases out on the 4th for a delivery on the 11th. The cases were all in Sacramento, CA on the 10th and should have been here (1.5 hours away) on the 11th without a problem. Unfortunately, FedEx decided to send all 9 cases north to Portland, OR...apparantly to punish me for an otherwise painless and problem free show lead-up. 

I will definitely not be able to get my cases in time for any set-up today. All cases are now on a truck heading back down to Sacramento. The lurking issue is whether they can get them from Sacramento to here before 9am tomorrow. I would *very much* like to avoid having to drive to Sacramento...so I am hoping they will *either* be able to shift them over to "express first am delivery (8am)" (unlikely as it does not appear they will get into Sacra. before the cutoff). My hope currently rests on their getting the cases to South SanFran and my being able to pick them up in the early am from the terminal. We shall see.

On the plus side, in addition to getting a bunch of work done and selling two nice books this morning, I've had a great outpouring of support and offers of assistance (from driving to overnighting books ) from others out here for the show. Even when there is really nothing that can be done, amazing how much a bit of support can lift one's spirits.

Kills me not to be able to start setting up right away...but I just have to roll with this and hope all works out. I should have further news around 230-3pm. We shall see.

Steampunk Cake...

Just about the coolest birthday cake I've ever seen. Just looking at it makes me want to read Difference Engine  (added datahere).

Thanks to boingboing for the heads up.

Safely ensconced in SanFran...

The trip was about as good as could be hoped for. Planes on time. The new Terminal 5 at JFK make you want to *plan* for long layovers there. Truly. Good food, good tech, good design. Just as well thought out functional space as I've seen.

We paid the wee bit extra for the "extra leg room" on the JFK-SFO leg. It is *so* worth it. Truly. We also used the traditional trick of selecting seats "A" and "C" as very few people will opt for a single middle seat...so if the flight is not full, you often end up in a row by yourself. Worked like a charm this time. We sat further apart than we usually do on the couch for an evening ...and had plenty of legroom. 

The only downside on the flight was a passenger one row up and across. He was a very big man with, apparently, no ass or hips. As a result, every time he stood up...and he stood up A LOT...his pants were WAY down. Conservatively, 8 to 10 inches of ass crack every frigging time he stood. It would have been funny were it not so horrifying. We were right at the front of the plane (we in 2, he et al in 1)....best part of the flight was when Captain and one stewardess were standing about 2 feet from him when he stood, turning his back to them....their facial reactions made the day.

This brings me to the other moderately interesting thing. Twice during the flight, the flight attendants used one of the rolling carts to "barricade" the aisle from the little kitchen/bathroom area and the "armored cockpit door". Then one FA would enter the cockpit and the pilot and copilot took turns leaving and using the bathroom (and chatting up the other FA). All the while, the other FA basically stood guard at the food cart, defending front of the aircraft. It was a little surreal and a first I've seen.

Carriage Inn is very nice. It's owned by a small chain we love and they just added/renoed this hotel. Not only is it very close to the event all, but it is literary themed. More on our room later. Very nicely, as we are members of their little free "we love the hotel chain" mailing list, there was a chilled bottle of wine waiting for us in our room. It is now "2:52am" EST, so I best get to sleep.

The tentative plan for tomorrow is dim sum brunch at Hang ah Tea Room and then Serendipity Books for the afternoon and early evening...we shall see what else evolves. Have several other strong recommendations re food for the weekend. It should be a great trip. The only real question lurking out there hangs on how the show itself will play out. Hope springs eternal.

Several hours later...

We have arrived. Tomorrow should be good fun on both book and food
fronts. More to follow.

And we are off...

This very crappy image is of the google earth/GPS map in the center
seat on our flight. After an *extremely* pleasant layover in the new
T5 at JFK, we boarded for the 6-7 hour crossc ounrty flight. We did
the 'A-C' trick and it worked. 3 seats of our very own for the next
several hours. Paid the wee bonus to get the extra leg room. This is,
thus far, the nicest flight I've had in a long time.

First there were dancing raisins, now a dancing Apple [founder]

I have never watched "Dancing with the Stars"...but that was before the arrival of The Woz. Apparently, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer and pretty much one of the most iconic geeks on earth (show me another with a nick as cool as the "Wizard of Woz") is going to be on Dancing with the Stars! 

While this might be one of the signs of the apocalypse, it is probably enough to get me to watch until he is voted off or whatever they do (big hook, broken ankle???). The geek community is suitably amused and it is getting some coverage elsewhere.

Other Woz fun facts: He is a member of the Segway Polo team, brought the first Universal Remote to market and is credited with one of my favorite quotations, "Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."

Interesting article on "silence helping tome raiders"

The Guardian article's basic argument is that nearly all players in the book world, collectors, dealers and libraries/special collections all tend to be as quiet as possible regarding losses. This, added to the tendency toward personal fiefdoms and the strong aversion to sharing data, allows miscreants and thieves a much "safer" playground within which to work. 

This is a very interesting issue and one that deserves deeper thought and, possibly, an attempt at a data[base] driven solution. I lack the time to run with this at the moment...but we shall return to it in the future. 

Thanks to JG for the heads up.

Remarkable letters and ephemera collection

They met when in their late teens and were dating each other's best
friends. They remain friends to this day. She "knew at 16 that he was
going to do great things...and kept everything he ever sent me." The
collection provides a look at a little known side of one of the
cultural icons of the 20th century (and a remarkably talented
catoonist). All is packed and ready for San Fran.

Addendum re Songsmith...perhaps not all bad?!?

So I was ranting about Microsoft's Songsmith a bit ago and it turns out that I might have been a bit hasty. It turns out that it can make tragic statistical data seem perky and nice...

Oh, but then there is this, arguably the best/worst thing I have seen spawned by the demon-code that is Songsmith:



Thanks...sort of...to BoingBoing for this...

Save the Words...Best website of the year (thus far)

I am quaeritating you all to go take a look at "Save the Words", assuming you have a succisive moment or two. Sponsored by the Oxford U. Press, the site seeks to save unusual words from a teterrimous extinction. You can adopt a word (pledge to use it in correspondence and conversation) and sign up for a "word a day" emailed to the comfort of your 'puter.

These are words that will have a locupletative effect on not just your vocabulary but on your life as a whole... While it can sometimes be a senticous matter to use words that require explanation and/or definition, I don't think I should be prescited for hoping to save idiosyncratic terminology.

I, for one, am ecstasiated that they have embarked on this program. It is neither vexatious or dilatory to add interesting words to one's vocabulary...it certainly beats molrowing.

My squiriferous nature requires I thank JG for the heads up.