Fine Books and Collections Magazine's first Annual announced.

I'm pleased to announce the debut of the "2010 Fine Books Compedium & Bookseller Directory":

This delightful guide to fine books features writing from Nicholas Basbanes, Scott Brown, Erica Olsen, Derek Hayes, Ian McKay, and many others. Stories include coverage of the Grolier Club conference on the future of the book trade; million dollar books; magazine collecting; collecting in Norway; fine maps; fine presses; and much more.

Also included is the 2010 Gift Guide for the book minded and the 2010 Bookseller Resource Guide, a listing of more than 700 bookstores and book-related institutions worldwide.

As most of you know, FB&C ceased their usual print issues and went digital only about a year ago. They have, quite brilliantly, decided to issue an annual print volume that will put most of the annual digital content into ink on paper in a lovely, shelvable, volume. I encourage you to reward this decision by purchasing a copy.

Day Three in Baltimore - More fun and Salt II

Day three started with a long, hot bath in hopes that I might not have to amputate my feet. The jury remains out but I was at least able to walk over to the hall. The show was, again, solidly busy all day. Lots of looking. Lots of good questions. A few sales and a number that we will just have to wait and see if they close.... Overall, a great day.

Interestingly, there seems to be a good deal more dealer to dealer action. I know we were looking for Wrong Coast material (sorry, left coast) for Seattle, SF and LA. It really seemed as if some good material was moving here and there...certainly more than I've seen at recent shows.

The show is running as smoothly as always. I've said it before, these guys should really offer classes to others as to how to run great shows. They've done great marketing, the hall looks great (the spend more on flowers than most promoters spend on all elements of show infrastructure). It is just a great...and well run...show.

Suz and I returned to Salt again tonight, this time with Adam and Kate. I know that Baltimore has many more places to offer, but I truly doubt they could be *better*. It is hard to go somewhere else that *might* be good when there is a known place that is simply wonderful. The company was great fun, we talked books and silliness all evening. The food was just what we expected...the goat cheese doughnuts in lavender infused honey were, again, insanely good. Adam summed it up aptly, "I'm pretty certain this is the best meal I've ever had."

Tomorrow is the final day and pack-up. For the first time, we will be returning to our hotel after. The rate was so good that it made more sense than hitting the road and driving for a few hours. I hope it will make the drive home on Monday less torturous... We shall see.

Baltimore 2009 - Setting up and settling in...

We left Portland bright and early(ish) on Tuesday. The drive was as nice as an eight hour drive can possibly be. We landed at Ned Sparrow's (of Ned Sparrow Books fame) around 8pm. There was fresh pizza waiting and Ned sauteed and thinly sliced some venison to top it....amazing. The next morning, we were off in time to be at the Balt. Convention Center by 10AM.

We were allowed in with no waiting at all and were able to park *right* next to the booth. So far, so good. On the other hand, when we arrived we only had our case and one 4 foot table...our six food and eight foot tables were no where to be seen throwing a major monkey wrench into our ability to begin. We ended up getting a standard six foot and 2 sixes that are only 2 feet wide (allowing us to stay within the rigidly enforced 10 foot booth size limit...but we are able to "violate" it at the back, as we abut big load bearing pillars). It took an hour or so to get our tables, during which I build the glass display case and cleaned and prepped the trophy case.

Set-up took about 8 hours. the booth looks pretty good, I think. The trophy case is a bit "dense", but that seems to resonate with more than it annoys. The pictures show most angles of the booth (small pictures are small, but blow up if you click them...also, sorry re the order, I could not get them to lay out correctly and am too tired to figure it out). I'll post some close ups tomorrow.

I'll try to figure this out, but it seems as if there are *more* book dealers this year than last. The other booths I was able to poke about look good (Brian next door looks great as usual). It is shaping up to be a great show...hope attendees do their part .

We checked into the hotel...a mere 2.5 blocks from the show. Thus far, I can not recommend the Hotel Monaco highly enough. It is in the old-fabulous-B&O Railroad headquarters building. It is a great deco building (more images of the building also likely). The room is lovely and large, the decorating touches on the buildings history without being camp (e.g. nightstands have the look of steamertrunks, the bathroom door is a slider). We were very lucky to be offered a "we just renoed the building and would love to have warm bodies in it" rate of just $99/night. As with most of their (Klimpton Hotels), we were offered and readily accepted "pet goldfish" for the duration of our 5 night stay. I've named them SushiK and Hiro (hat-tip to NS).

Dinner from the hotel gastrobar was really quite nice (pepperoni and arugula flatbread and bbq meatball sliders) and the dessert was exceptional...a long, thin brulee with finely diced candied ginger, cocoa, peaches, strawberries and mango. Absolutely wonderful.

We are going over around 9am tomorrow morning to finish tweaking the booth. The show opens and 11 and runs until 8pm tomorrow...long day. I'll do my best to post after.

Good day on the PR front-and a great list of biblio-blogs

We were included in two "best of book blogs" lists yesterday and are flattered and honored by both.

The first was part of blog.com's ongoing program of providing internal and external "10 Best List"s. In this case, Larry Mitchell (collector, occasional dealer and special collections library) and author of the brilliant blog The Private Library was asked to compile his Top 10 list. Our blathering notwithstanding, it is a wonderful short list. I am pleased to say, it only added 4 that I was not already following...they have been added. Each site is described briefly so you can get a touch of flavor.

The only problem is that he was only allowed to include 10 blogs. Apparently, Larry heard about this shortcoming from a number of humans as he subsequently posted an apology. Such lists are obviously subjective...We are very pleased to be included in Larry's best of...

[N.B. As I have said before, The Private Library should be on everyone's blog roll...in addition to this regular and cogent posts, his navigation links provide a clearinghouse to nearly every substantive rare/used book resource available. It is the benchmark against which data-rich biblio-sites should be measured.]

OnlineSchool also included us in their "100 Best Book Blogs for History Buffs" under the "Rare" section. They have created a much longer list, broken up into sections (e.g. Reference, Librarian, Rare, Review, etc.) and, again, most have short bios. Obviously, there is a lot of crossover, but they try reasonably hard to group things properly and the result is a good list.

It is always nice to be recognized...more so by those you respect. Enjoy the various suggestions...I'm going to have to start posting more cogent missives.

10 Best Bookshops in the World...

The Independent has just posted a list of the 10 "Best Bookshops in the World. There is a brief description of each (all not, not antiquarian). It is quite a list and I must admit to having only set foot in two. All are now added to my "future places to travel" list.

[Updated to fix link]

The Private Library - A great new blog on the block...

There is an outstanding new reference/resource blog for bibliophiles: The Private Library. The site's owner is a longtime collector ("overly enthusiastic book collector"), a sometime antiquarian bookseller and a professional librarian (with a MLS w/ a Specialization in Rare Books & Manuscripts)...that is, he is a high-order book geek, to our great benefit.

His posts are well written, cogent, reasonably frequent and genuinely useful (as opposed to my random and often off-topic rants). He posts, as the title implies, on various aspects of the private library...all sorts, all levels and all nuances. As one who spends most of my time in and around collection development projects, it is a great treat to find.

Best of all, however, are the resources he has pulled together. At either side you will find:

GLOSSARIES OF GENERAL BOOK TERMS
GLOSSARIES OF SPECIALIZED BOOK TERMS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES
BOOKISH ORGANIZATIONS
BOOKISH PODCASTS & WEBCASTS
BOOKISH BLOGROLL
STATE CENTERS FOR THE BOOK

It is, far and away, one of the best reference sites I know of and has leapt to the top of my "Hit Every Day" blogs. Enjoy.

Bibliophiles in the strangest places...

Biblio-folk are showing up in interesting places these days. I joined Facebook a long time ago...and largely ignored it until relatively recently. Over the past several months, however, there has been a tremendous surge in book people (dealers/collectors/etc) who seem to be coming out of the woodwork. The ABAA now has a FB Page (as does Lux Mentis), ready for "Fans" to join and follow, as does Fine Books & Collections. The Rare Book School's Page has nearly 450 Fans... There are also many...many...many groups that are biblio-theme, from collecting to author-specific to elements of the craft.

When I started poking about FB, there were *very* few book dealers who had accounts, now there are literally too many count. Some are active, some on personally, others professionally and some just lurk...but there are a remarkable number of the biblio-crowd on FB and more joining every day. It is rapidly becoming a vibrant network to keep your pulse on the doings of the trade, hobby and/or obsession.

Linked-In is another site I've been for a very long time...more actively when I did more consulting work, but I kept my profile active and periodically checked on bookish elements there. Recently, in addition to a number of "serious" dealers beginning to be found there, more than one "book group" has formed (admittedly, one by me).

Last for today, and certainly not least, is Twitter. I am quite fond of it, as it updates nicely from my iPhone and auto-updates my FB page, killing two feeds with one, so to speak. A considerable number of people are beginning to use it in interesting ways. Publishers are using it around news, booksellers are carefully using it for traffic and sales (a tricky issue, as there is a general "anti-commercial" use sentiment...but very effective in good hands, as here). Personally, I find I tend to post biblio-related missives with a bit of news and a bit of "things that amuse/annoy me"....and I tend to most enjoy those who do the same.

There are beginning to be some good focus-centers for books Twitterers. WeFollow has a well developed "Bookseller" tag (we can be found on page two). There is also a "BookCollecting" tag that I am experimenting with... 

Potentially more useful (and still "emerging") is Twibes, where tweets that share common words can be grouped for easy review. See: Books, BookCollecting, BookDealers and/or Librarians (the last very active, with over 700 members).

This, in addition to the various blogs that are out there...many feeding each other. One of the nice things, frankly, with FB is that many/most of the best book blogs are either mirrored there or are part of NetworkedBlogs there, streamlining one's reading/following (though not, at this point, entirely replacing a good RSS reading). 

There is a tremendous abundance of bookish news, personal and professional. Enjoy the data-stream...

Wicked Plants is wicked good...

Amy Stewart (co-owner of Eureka Books (with husband Scott Brown)) has just published her most recent book, Wicked Plants. 

From the back of the book:

A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. Stewart takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend.

Menacing botanical illustrations and splendidly ghastly drawings create a fascinating portrait of the evildoers that may be lurking in your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, alarm, and enlighten even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.

I've grown more than one poison garden and am greatly looking forward to adding some plants from these pages... Can be ordered signed at retail cost directly from the author

[Note to Mother: Page 143-Purple Loosestrife (under "Destructive"). The battle continues...

Tragic loss in PA - Humans fine, books and cats less so...

As some may know, David and Cynthy of The Philadelphia Rare Books and Manuscripts Company suffered a tragic loss recently. On March 9, 2009, a fire tore through the shop consuming books and taking their two shop cats, Sessa and Thalia. The silver lining is that no humans were hurt, many of the books were unharmed and/or will be salvaged and the building itself appears to be structurally sound.

Our thoughts and best wishes go out to them. I can thinks of few things worse and hope all goes as well and as smoothly as possible. 

Please note, they have indicated that their internet connection is currently flakey. That said, words of support and commiseration are seldom a bad thing and can be directed here.

A short article, image and video can be found here.

AOL video can be found here.

Road Trip 2009 underway...

I left this morning on Road Trip 2009: Maine to Washington, DC to St. Peterburg, FL to Jupiter(ish), FL to Miami and back to Portland. About 3,400 miles of fun. Woohoo! First big stop is in DC for the Spring Antique Fair. I'll then continue down for the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. Along the way, I'm spending the night with my sister in NJ (where I am right now) and with a friend and classmate of Suzanne's outside of Baltimore...with lots of book hunting along the way. 

I was thinking I'd leave tomorrow, but the storm pushed me up a day. As it was, I got off to a little bit of a late start...hitting the road around 10:30am or so. I had to make one stop in southern Maine to pick up some things. As I left, the snow began falling...hard. Urgh. Neither Maine nor NH had done *any* salting and, while not bad in Maine (cold and dry enough that it was blowing off the road), NH became bad very quickly.

I passed several cars off the road and one rather bad 5 car accident with a pick-up on its side and lots of flashing lights (on the Northbound side). I nearly had an accident around there, as someone in front of me hit their brakes to see the accident and started skidding. Twits. Avoided them and made it to the toll booths where one lane was closed because someone had skidded into the concrete abutment.

Pulled into the liquor store just beyond the toll booths to sell a very nice book. Slightly late start and snow slowed me down and I was a bit late. Many thanks to He Who Waited for his patience. Come visit us in Portland after these fairs are past and I'll do my best to make amends....and we can play with cool books.

From there I headed to the Boston area to pick up some cases from another dealer as I was driving to the show and had room. Far more importantly, I have been entrusted with a significant cache of liquor for the DC and FL fairs. I was told, to paraphrase, "if you're held up, give up the books, but protect the bottles". [N.B. The FL fair is referred to, in some circles, as "booksellers spring break".] I had a nice chat and cup of coffee before hitting the road again...

The snow had all but stopped by the time I left. I decided to go down 95 (rather than 90/84)...giving up on Reins Deli to stay close to the coast and, I hoped, warmer/wetter travel. As it turned out, by Providence, RI, the road was effectively dry and I made great time from there all the way to NJ.

Big storm tomorrow. I plan to spend the day cataloguing Kent material and tweaking things for the fair and will probably not hit the road again until Tuesday morning.

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

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?!?].

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...

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.

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.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Coming in April

Says Chronicle Books, "The Classic Regency Romance—Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!" The publisher's blurb reads:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen's classic novel to new legions of fans.

I don't even know where to start. As you know, Gregory Maquire started a one-man rewriting of classics in alternative voices (e.g. Wicked, A Lion Among Men, Son of a Witch, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, etc). What we have here appears to be a different beastie...not a well-known tale told from a different perspective...rather, a well-known tale with flesh-eating zombies thrown in. I have already ordered a copy (possibly more than one).

I predict that P&P will see a bump in sales because of this...doubly so if they make a movie of it. Oh, please let someone make a movie based on this iteration.

I also predict this is the first in a series. Perhaps next we will see Matheson's, vampires ala I Am Legend invading Holmes' London. Maybe L. Bloom (of Ulysses fame) will have to fend off a werewolf as he wanders Dublin. Or Tom Sawyer will follow one more cut-off in the cave...and in his madness, release the Old Ones upon a Twainian world. Then again, it just might be a zombie horde roaming from one classic to another.

I hope this is as clever as it seems to want to be. It could actually be good fun...it could also be very painful. I will review it when it appears... Thanks for the heads up JG.

Big news in the Bookfair world...economic trickle down?

I just received an email from Bruce Gventer announcing that due to feedback from exhibitors and potential exhibitors and the economy in general, he is putting his New York bookfairs on hiatus. This would appear to mean that there will be no shadow show to the NY ABAA Bookfair. This would be a great shame, on many fronts...especially as the new location at Hunter College was quite wonderful.

I hope things change in the near term and that the shadow show is able to go forward. It would be a real loss for the weekend as a whole...

Dope Menace is "Pick of the Week"

One our own is the "Web Pick of the Week" over at Publishers Weekly. Stephen Gertz (of David Brass Rare Books), just received a great plug for his recent work, The Dope Menace [N.B. the previous link benefits SG a bit, please use it if not picking a copy up from his very self]. From the post:

Readers will dig Gertz’s enthusiasm and formidable knowledge; the stories behind key titles like The Polluters (in which the nation’s water supply is spiked with LSD) are almost as enjoyable as the beautifully reproduced, full-color covers for titles like H is for Harlot, Narco Nympho, The Junk Pusher, and scores of others.

Reason number 374 to love one's clients...

Lead soldiers. So I stop by to visit a client and when I entered, my octogenarian client said, "Oh, come to the basement,  I want you to see what I've been working on." She then led me down to where a large table was covered and set up as shown (only partially...and with her permission). 






She has collected lead soldiers for many years and sets up elaborate scenes each holiday season.

There are actually two soldier sets blended here. One set is based upon "Beau Geste". The other set is based on Khartoum. She built the forts and mountains, etc (covering forms in cloth and sand infused paint/plaster). 

She told me how she never thought it was fair that her brothers, many years ago, where able to pour lead into molds to make their lead soldiers and she was not allowed to do so. She has made up for it. 

Will Mario kick Dickens' tush or vice versa...

TimesOnline just posted that Nintendo is rolling out "100 Classic Book Collection" for the NintendoDS. The "ebook" collection will include the likes of Shakespeare and Dickens to Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. It is only being rolled out in the UK...US to follow, perhaps.

For a geek/snark review of this announcement, see /.

How to improve one's mood: Lesson 42

Still in a bit of a funk today...but I did just get a note that makes it hard to be grumpy... After telling me how pleased they were with a book that just arrived, they wrote:

But beyond that, your presentation of the book is lovely. I felt like I was getting a special present, the wrapping, the packaging. It set the stage for me to fall in love with my purchasing decision.

I tend to like all my clients. Some I like a lot. Made my day.

The other shoe falls...appears Rare Book Review is gone, too

Following on the heels of Fine Books & Collections' decision to abandon print for a digital existence, it appears that Rare Book Review has also ceased publication. Published since 1974, RBR "is to be 'mothballed' with immediate effect!". There is no indication as to what direction they may take...perhaps they will publish periodically. They do, it appears, intend to keep the website live and to sell banner space there but there is no clear sign that they will be adding content. We shall see.

Icky way to start the week...with luck, the news will improve...

The Great Turkey Massacree [coincidentally nearby the "other" Great Massacree]...

Just when you thought bookselling couldn't be any more exciting (and/or "why posts from FP are more fun to read than just about anyone else's")...an update on events and a new catalogue from Joslin Hall.

Sloane's 9 Tips To Surviving The Depression As A Rare Bookseller

Offered without comment. Thanks SG.

Enjoy your recent Fine Books & Collections...it is the last hardcopy...

I have just had it confirmed that the Nov/Dec issue of Fine Books and Collections Magazine is the last hard copy issue. Starting Jan, 2009, they are going "digital only". Perhaps this should not be a surprise, US News and the Christian Science Monitor have both recently gone digital only. However, they are both "news" venues...and as such, the web (and push delivery and all sorts of other techish things) lends itself to their content. Personally, I think the world of Fine Books and Collection does *not* lend itself to digital only.

I *want* hard copies, nicely organized, on my shelf. I *want* to be able to go back to old issues when I run across something that I know they wrote about. I *want* the content in my home, all the time. I am *so* pleased that our last ad in the magazine was a "celebration" of our first ABAA show. I want to be able to keep that...to show it to the boys...and their boys and girls in many years.

Most of all, I *want* to be able to keep and control the data. I want to be able to get a back issue if I loan one out and it does not return. I want the archive. I trust that FB&C will keep "back" content and have it searchable and all that great stuff. HOWEVER, they will only do so as long as they exist...or choose to do so...and/or as long as their hardware does not catastrphically fail. I am uncomforatable with the risk of losing data (and that is what the textblock is) that I value with no ability to do anything about it... Urgh.

That said, it is not my business and I am confident that Webb and his team are making the decision after careful consideration and contemplation. Webb has indicated that they have triple the number of readers online as they do for the print edition. I don't doubt that...though I know several of the clients I can directly trace back to FB&C are significantly "anti-tech"...no email, not computer...and we will lose them in this switch.

On the other hand, it does reach deeper and broader with very minor incremental costs. It certainly does have interesting options and opportunities. Push tech that could put new content onto my iPhone, auction calanders dynamically updated, integration with Facebook, dynamic content and "community" elements that might more deeply engage subscribers, interesting ways-from an advert standpoint- to reach new customers, etc.

I think it will be interesting and I hope it will be good. I will miss the paper though. Paper is good. Paper is real. Paper lasts. We shall just have to wait to see how long this medium lasts...

RBS announces new Scholarship winners (including my wonderful wife)...

The Rare Book School has announced this years slate of Scholarship Winners. I am very pleased to say that among the winners is my brilliant and wonderful wife. We are *extremely* excited because I won a scholarship last year and deliberately waited a year before signing up in hopes that we could attend programs at the same time (the scholarships are good for two years). Now we get figure out what classes we are going to take and go through it together...taking different classes, of course. I will undoubtedly blog about it during the course(s).

I would also like to thank all those behind this remarkable scholarship program. The programs offered by RBS are wonderful, but it is a real stretch for many...it is a wonderful thing that the scholarship program makes it possible for so many to attend who might not otherwise be able to do so. I look forward to seeing some of you at the classes...

Portland Book Fair 2008...a new beginning

The Maine Antiquarian Booksellers Association (MABA) and Maine Historical Society (MHS) held their annual antiquarian book and paper sale [disclaimer, due to circumstances beyond my control, I am the current president of MABA]. This year was a "new" fair year...which is to say that our old promoter had decided not to do the show any longer so we had a new promoter, new location and new date...so even though it was the 26th annual fair, it was effectively a "brand new" show.

We ended up with 30ish dealers. The feedback, from attendees and other dealers, was very positive. The promoter (Flamingo) said she have very few dealers voice complaints... pleasing as we are a kvetchy bunch. We are planning to do a Saturday set-up next year (to my PROFOUND relief)...there were at least 5 dealers I know of who did not do the show because they "need" the extra day to make the show work (this, largely, to be able to shop it effectively). We will be running power next year so that people in the big room can run lighting if they choose (we may run lights, ourselves...we shall see). We had one dealer drop out en route, as they passed a lot of rain induced accidents and decided life was too short . I hope they will come back next year...we'll do what we can to see that we have better weather.

The weather was a challenge. I don't fret too much about rain...I just decided to use my Pelican's to bring my books (have I mentioned they are waterproof ). I *do* fret about wet people dripping on my books. Luckily, it all but stopped by the time the show opened and there was not real problem. That said, I think the weather and did keep a reasonable number of people at home, which is unfortunate.

We have one more room we can us, so we could add about 15 more dealers or so...given the number who have indicated they will return and those who have said that, while they could not do the show this year, they will be here next year, we could actually fill the venue next year. It would be really nice to be able to say we have a waiting list. Hope springs eternal. Thank you to all the dealers who made the trip. Doubly so, thanks to all the customers who braved the rain and...er...overcast to come and look and buy.

We had a reasonably good show. We sold enough to make it a black event on its face. We bought some interesting things...notably the dedication copy of a French volume on the devil. We had a client bring in some neat new material. We saw good friends (hi Cheryl). It was a nice day.

Thank you also to those who were in town on Saturday and stopped by Rabelais Books for the wee party that was hosted by Don and Samantha (of Rabelais fame) and Suzanne and me. We had some good food and drink (which should be of no surprise to any who know Don and Sam) and the shop is always great fun to visit (there is currently a photo collection hung (exceptionally printed using a very old process) of the *36* Dunkin' Donuts within 3 miles of the photographer's home). It would appear that this will be an annual event and we hope to see it grow a bit next year with more folks in town for the earlier set-up.

Images at the side show a before and after of our booth space and a shot of the main hall. The last is of my assistant, who was given a choice of coat and tie or skelaton outfit and opted for the *clearly* cooler option. I wish it came big enough for dad.

Book fair apoplexy...

I just discovered/realized that the fair this Sunday has a setup of FOUR hours. It took me 10+ hours in Baltimore (20 hours, if you count (wo)man hours). I have never...in my life...set up in under 5 hours. I now also encourage people to come early on Sunday because I should be in rare form. Urgh.

Fine Books announces 2008 Collegiate Book Collecting Champions

Among the things I have not had time to properly blog about is this year's slate of winners of the Fine Books and Collections Collegiate Book Collecting Championship. There was a great turnout this year and, as I understand it, the strongest field they've seen. After much deliberation, the winners are:

1st Prize goes to Rhae Lynn Barnes, who is beginning her senior year at UC Berkeley, for her extensive and well-annotated collection of blackface minstrel plays.

2nd Prize goes to Basie Bales Gitlin, who is beginning his junior year at Yale, for his collection of publisher's canvassing books.

3rd Prize goes to Jacob Brunkard, a recent graduate from Swarthmore College, for his collection of Black Sparrow Press.

Fine Books will also make a donation to the libraries of the winners, in addition to the winners' awards.

Much praise is due the competition judges: Claudia Skelton, from the Book Club of Washington; bookseller Joachim Koch, of Books Tell You Why; and Richard Ring, the special collections librarian at the Providence Public Library.

We (Lux Mentis, et al) are very pleased to be sponsors of the competition and look forward to supporting it for years to come. As I have said before, the burden is on us...all "younger" dealers...to do all that we can to bring along the next generation(s) of book collectors. This competition and all those at the college level are a great starting point.

Congradulations to all the winners. We look forward to meeting all the winners at the awards dinner during the Seattle Book Fair.

As if bogus signatures aren't a big enough problem already...

The Guardian has published a short article on a currently unnamed publishing house that is actively seeking 14 people able and willing to forge the signatures of a soon to be published book. For this service, they will be paid $25 per 200 books signed. According to the ad, the project will run for two, eight hour days...based on those numbers, this could mean as many as 53,000 or so "signed" books. I guess it undermines the ebay fraudsters...

It used to be that you could at least count on publisher's signed copies to be legit...oh well.

Arguably the biggest thing in the used/rare book biz in years...

Amazon has agreed to purchase ABE. It will, apparently continue to run as a quasi-standalone entity. It will be very interesting to see how Amazon leverages this acquisition and whether/how it will increase traffic "into" the used/rare book market.

No, I can not ever forgive you....

So Lee Isreal's book, Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger is out. No link, it is not worthy. I am have a soft-spot for literary crime [when it does not involve...er...me]. There are some great stories of brilliant forgeries, elegant frauds and clever manipulations. Of course the punch line is that, in order for the stories to be "known", the evil-doers have been caught and the work/inscription/letter has been relegated to the "forgery files" (mind you, a collectible area in and of itself).

For every "great" forger, there are doubtless a dozen or so marginal ones, passing off Dickens' signed in ballpoint pen...a random search on ebay at any given time will doubtless offer up a wide selection of "inscribed" of dubious veracity. Somewhere between the two poles rests the likes of Ms. Isreal. She is/was, in brief, a book thief and a forger. I did not know her personally, though there are many in the book world that did/do. I have read a galley of her book and will not bother getting a copy. I was planning to review it, as I have been reading a great deal about literary forgeries of late, preparing for a presentation, but then I read Kevin MacDonnell's review on one of the ABAA listserv groups. It is better than any I would have written and he was kind enough to allow me to post it here:

It's 125pp of over-written chatty arrogance, heavily padded with facsimiles of what she considers her best forgeries, of which she is brazenly proud. She describes her forging career as "fun" and drops celebrity names faster than a flasher can drop his trousers, a simile that comes to mind because by the end of the book you feel like you've been assaulted by a forger-flasher.

Although she churned out some celebrity biographies years ago, she happily calls her forgeries "her best work." The closest she comes to explaining why she did it is that she fell on tough times, needed money, and besides, she was alive and the people whose letters she was stealing and/or forging were dead. No further reasons given. At one point she uses the phrase "screw with history" but never gets around to confronting her immorality, and many of her behaviors that she describes at length with glee are appallingly sleazy.

With the exception of Catherine Barnes she describes most dealers as greedy and stupid. The closest she comes to admitting guilt over the thefts is when she says that guilt is mitigated by her help in recovering the stolen letters of "drunken American writers." But she makes very clear that she has little or no guilt over her forgeries. She has contempt for the court system, and readily admits that she never attended AA meetings that were a requirement of her probation and calls community service "bullshit."

Her account of Alan Weiner is that he extorted her for $5,000 in return for not testifying against her, but Alan's conversations with me at the time made clear that he pressed harder than any of her victims to get her convicted, was disgusted by her, and wanted her to spend a long time in jail. I mentioned previously in this list that she left a vile message on his answering machine after his death for the sole purpose of bringing more pain to his grieving family.

Much of her account also relies heavily on what she claims Jack, her accomplice, did or did not do. Both Alan Weiner and Jack are dead, so the reader can draw his own conclusions on whether to trust this account by a convicted thief and forger. By the end of the book it's clear she doesn't want to be forgiven; she wants to be admired. But the reader will find it impossible to find anything to forgive or admire in this vulgar display of narcissism.

This sums her and the book up as well as any could... It would be interesting to find out if she is still under the terms of her probation...as she explicitly states that she has violated the terms and actually having to serve out her sentence would probably be a good thing.

If you want a good read about better forgers, read Charles Hamilton's Great Forgers and Famous Fakes (1980 or the 1996 2nd Revised). A fair number of them I can forgive...for the art of their work, the chutzpa of the attempt and/or the humor of it...but I really find no reason to forgive Ms. Isreal. While it makes a cute title, I don't think she actually wants or cares about forgiveness, nor do I think she deserves it. [Again, thanks to Kevin for his permission to reprint his review.]

Nice photo (of book) in MAD...

Maine Antiques Digest has a nice spread on the Boston MABA show. The first two photos are of me and the Moxon. The Moxon, at least, is photogenic. It was a great show and the article is very nice. I really need to get out more...I wonder if I can catalogue books while biking... [N.B. You might want to right click on the link and download, as it is pretty big .pdf.]

Like fine wine....Tom C and Between the Covers...

Tom Congalton is one of my more favorite humans on earth (sometimes you just have to be able to pin such things to one's sleeve). Above and beyond being a great bookdealer (and one extremely open and sharing with his knowledge), he also built [or oversaw the building of] one of the very best bookshop websites ever. Personally, I think he should license it, but I'll go into the genius of Between the Cover's website in an upcoming post (on design options and UI).

My reason for throwing up this post, however, is simply to recommend his wonderful short essay on age and aging in the book trade. Much of what he says mirrors various concerns/rants of my own...only *much* more eloquently (that is, the bits on age, the profession and [unspoken] the fun of performance art theatre of the absurd...not so much the poker). Enjoy...and avoid poker, stick with games you can throw math at...

Why I like the Brunswick Library Sale...

So we went to the preview of the Brunswick Public Library this afternoon. It is, as I have mentioned before, one of my very favorites. This is largely because they host this very well run preview. You have to join the Friends of the Library ($10/person or there is a family membership) and you are limited to only 10 books per membership. This combination results in a much more pleasant experience for those of us who do not like throwing sheets over tables while shrieking "this table is all mine" (and then proceeding to go through said table and leaving half or so).

There were still a fair number of dealers, but only the well behaved one *laughing*. One actually told me that he was there *because* I had written about how nice it was...that'll teach me (if, of course, I was capable of learning simple lessons...). Interestingly, there was a small clot of young "dealers" (or scouts, or something) using identical cells with one of the bar code scanner tools. I watched them for a bit, as I was curious about the practice (and had already picked the 20 books Suz and I decided to take home with us). I don't know...especially at a preview like this, where you are not buying "volume"...if you can't *pick* the 10 books you are going to take home with you, you should probably find a new vocation.

One of them, in particular, was focused on trade paperbacks. She very diligently scanned book after book...picking up one here and there. More power to them. The cost/benefit of the process elludes me...but then I trust my head and my gut.

I've vetted the 20 we took home. Only one fell just below my cut-off for cataloguing ($25) but will make a nice gift *g*, four were gems, the rest solid. It was probably the second best trip to this sale we have had (the best included a lovely 1926 first of Winnie the Pooh). Interestingly, the scanner jocks would have ignored that little gem...no barcode, not interest. Very strange.

fun shipment instruction of the day...

I am shipping an unusual little tome to an unnamed government entity. I was asked, at the last minute, not to ship it to the agency itself, but rather to the home of the individual who ordered it. Why, I hear you ask?...because, "all mail entering is irradiated and this has damaged some previous early volumes."

ILAB/ABAA catalogues...

I just realized that the ILAB/ABAA websites creates lovely little catalogues based on my keyword tags in Bookhound. I wish everyone could make it this simple.

Great bookish weekend...

This weekend was the Five-Colleges Library Sale in Lebanon, NH. We had never gone before, but had heard that it was big and good and fun...so we thought we would give it a try (and have a fun, relaxing weekend after two back-to-back fair weekends in NY and Boston).

We set out on Friday, stopping by to see George Sutton and DeWolfe and Wood. George was setting off on a buying trip of his own, but we had a nice chat. The stop at D&W was very nice. We picked up several very nice things and some fun things for clients and had a nice visit.

On our way to the B&B, we stopped by two places in NH (well, really one: Old Number Six Book Depot (both shops)). Again, found some nice things and had some good chats (the later being as much fun as the former, much of the time). We then went on to the Silver Maple Lodge in VT (inexpensive while nice and clean...good coffee in the morning).

The next morning we set out early to get to the sale. We arrived about a hour early (about 805 for a 9am sale). By my rough...but reasonably accurate count, we were about 100 and 101 in line. We were told that some people get there at 5 am...personally, I do not see that as rational, but who am I to judge *laughing*. By 5 of 9, there were at *least* 400 people in line and we were told by a security person with a clicker that, by the time we left (at about 12), over 1100 people had passed through the door (admittedly, I saw her click me twice on a return from the car).

It was an interestingly organized sale. They had things grouped reasonably well and as one would expect...though they added "Oddments", covering things that did not fit well elsewhere (think Victorian bindings, strange little bits of this and that and the like). They had a "Specials" table...from which we picked up some very nice things (e.g. reasonably significant Poe, a good Wyeth title in extremely good condition in the original box, a nice Walter Crane item, etc.). They also has some very nice things on a Sealed Bid table (I managed to pick up 5 of those, as well...nice limited of Kent's Shakespeare, a nice Russian Pushkin set, a beautiful copy of How to Wrap Five Eggs, etc.). I was pretty impressed with the pricing on the specials table...more than the $1-5 elsewhere, but not remotely unreasonable (and not the increasingly common "if it is "worth" $100 on ebay/abe, it should be priced such here).

The tables were filled with a stunning volume of material. We picked up a little bit from there, too...though not as much as from the Specials or Sealed. They have been doing it for years and it shows. Just a really well run show. I still favor the Brunswick Library's preview approach of a preview (night before, must join the FoL (good for coffers and mailing list) and then you are limited to just 10 books...little/no rudeness, no "sweeping", not picking a few things and going home). This was almost as nice. Too many people with scanners and laptops vetting...but that is because I do think you need to be able to do such things by touch. Hell, it is how you learn. The vast majority is $1-2...just buy the frigging book and move on with your life.

We left after the Sealed Bids were dealt with and went to have lunch and visit Left Bank Books, Bearly Used Books and Chapman's Store and Books. We realized that Suzanne had left my good ball point at the fair. This is a pen that has been with me for about 20 years...lost once or twice and found its way home. I was reasonably certain that it was gone for good...and pretty much would not have bothered to return to the fair if Suz had not been willing to run in (her leaving it is *very* unusual and, I am certain, she was seeking redemption *g*). As it turned out, it was with the people at the auction table...they had been expecting her return. The pen, yet again, made its way back to my pocket.

Sunday morning we set out very early to meet a dear friend at a flea market from which his has culled remarkable things from and to which we have never been able to make it. We stopped by an absolutely great coffee shop in Hanover, Dirt Cowboy Coffee. They custom drip each cup, they offer a free scone to double espresso orders before 930am. They ship their coffee within 24 hours of roasting. It was one of the highpoints of the trip.

We were a bit late to the flea market (needed to get there around 830...did not make it until nearly 930). It was still fun to go and we did pick up a very large, slightly foxed engraving of "Shakespeare and Friends" (circa 1860)...for $5.00. Can't beat it with a stick. Stopped by Drake Farm Books in North Hampton, NH...wonderful shop and a great owner. 45K books in a huge barn. Not enough time...going back soon to dig.

Made it home at a reasonable hour...tried to catch up on email and the like and prepare for next week of shipping and cataloguing. Argh.

Dust still settling, Show wrap-up pending...quick shop plug

Still catching up on the many things that have to be shipped, caught up and or filed (books, chores, taxes, etc). Final re Boston MARIAB will be posted tomorrow. Just a quick update:

I had to run some material up to a client in western Maine and used the opportunity to stop by a shop I have been meaning to visit for a while. I stopped in at Shoestring Books (now "The Maine Bookhouse") and it was just a great way to wrap up the afternoon. If you are in Norway and/or Oxford, I recommend stopping by. They have a broad selection, nicely organized and very well displayed (a result, I believe, of the touch of their daughter's artistic eye). I spent two hours poking through radical lit, Maine history, fiction and a great selection of farming/gardening material...and some genuinely interesting niche items....and did not manage to get upstairs (art, photography, etc) at all. I will be back in the very near future.

I love finding a great new open shop. It was a very nice day.

First ABAA meeting and getting hit in a cab...

Saturday morning was the ABAA breakfast and annual meeting at The Morgan Library. I somehow managed to get my wires crossed as to the start time, as I thought the breakfast was at 8 and the meeting at 9...when it was 9 and 10. Luckily, I was not the only one to make this mistake...strangely comforting. They kindly let us in early and it was, in the end, just extra time to enjoy the Morgan and the exhibit in the hall we were eating in...not a bad thing.

Breakfast and the meeting were nice. I had a very nice chat with one of the curators there and was able to catch up with several people and meet several new (to me) dealers. There appears to be some consensus that the ABAA needs to focus on both young dealers and young collectors...two things I could not agree with more strongly. I look forward to see where this focus leads and hope I can be involved...we shall see.

Bob & Lynne Veatch kindly offered me a ride back to the Armory/Hunter College after the meeting. Little did I know it was to provide extra padding... We were having a nice, if stilted, chat...stilted as the cab ride was slightly more "exciting" than is typical. Every now and then you get a cabbie whose sense of place on the road (and that of other movable and immovable objects) seems slightly...er...off. We were chatting, but all the while trying to anticipate where the hit was going to come from so we could brace appropriate. As it turned out, it was from the right hand side as our cabbie chose to ignore the massive Muni bus that was clearly pulling out into the lane. He hit (ok, rubbed) us from about my door (passenger side) down the rear quarter panel. He waved out the window, I assume the bus driver waved back...and we all went on our merry way. Mind you, the three of us in the back were a bit taken aback. This is why Muni bus bumpers and cab panels are mostly made out of plastic...they rub, they slide, they don't actually crumple.

Apropos of nothing, it was a nice "full circle" event. When I did my very first "real" show, the Radison shadow show to the Boston ABAA event, Lynne Veatch came into my booth and spent a bit of time looking around and then gave me two very nice compliments. First, she told me that my booth and books were lovely and then she gave me a very serious look and said, "you will join the ABAA when you are eligible, won't you?" (or words to that effect). I told her that I was planning to do so as soon as I was able and she was pleased. Our wee run-in with the bus notwithstanding, it was very nice to ride back from my first ABAA meeting with the Veatchs,
four years later.

Day Two, Pack out and my favorite book pairing of the weekend

Day Two started for me at The Morgan (see next post). Suzanne (wo)manned the booth alone for the first time and did a masterful job. She even sold something whilst I was wandering about.

I made it back to the Huntington College site by about 11am and found it reasonably busy. It has just occurred to me that I have not mentioned the most interesting aspect of the Hunter College venue. It is a gym complex...buried THREE STORIES UNDERGROUND. We were so deep underground that there was no cell coverage. We were, effectively, in a dungeon. A very nice, roomy, carpeted dungeon...with champagne...and good books. The only downside is that there were apparently some reasonably strict rules about signage...so it was a little hard to find from the outside...but there were "show staff" at every turn to help shepherd the cats down the various escalators.

There was more champagne in the afternoon and a nice, steady flow of people until the show closed...not huge numbers, but steady and engaged. Two of my favorite new clients showed up, which pretty much made my weekend....young, focused and really just all together too much fun. I pretty much always love what I do...sometimes I love it even more...they just made my day.

Credit where it is due department: I was hoping to be able to make it off the waiting list and be able to do the Armory show as my first ABAA event...though I knew the likelihood was very slim (and, as it turned out, impossible). We had more or less decided that we would just come down for the weekend and shop both shows and visit and try to get a better feel for the proverbial landscape. More or less at the last minute, we decided to take a single case at Bruce and D's show and bring a small amount of really nice material...mainly because it was just such a great location, a block and a half from the Armory (and 3.5 stories down). Logistically, it was a very difficult venue (60ish dealers, two elevators, a loading bay that holds about 3ish vehicles and a rather narrow street). D arranged for valet parking (so you could take your material in and your car would just disappear at the garage rate), great porters and just generally had things running so smoothly and efficiently that it seemed effortless...not small feat given the complexity and number of moving parts. There was carpet covering the gym floor, all the tables were draped, there was food and drink (snacks and a boxed lunch) during set up and problems, when they arose, were resolved quickly and with apparent ease. It was a great show, extremely well run and we are very pleased we decided to roll the dice on it.

Also making my day was Susan Weiser Liebegott of Enchanted Books fame. I stopped by her always lovely booth to see what she brought with her and just to say hi and chat. Centered in her lit case, on the bottom shelf, surrounded by her dozens of wonderful children's' books was a lovely of "Pose Please" in the original box. This, by itself, would amuse me....the naked woman frolicking among the children's books. What pushed it completely over the top, and Susan *swears* it was unintentional, is her placement at the bottom left of a lovely copy of "Somebody's Pussies" (click on the image to blow it up). I tried to convince her that moving the copy of "Wee Willie Winkie" and other appropriately tawdry titles around "Pose Please" would be great fun but Susan is a much more proper and presentable human than I (and much the better for it). [N.B. She did give me permission to post this wonderfully prurient image.]

I spent a fair bit of time at the Armory and did find several good thing to pick up for stock and clients. This weekend in NY is unlike any other for a book lover. There is simply no other place where you can see so much, from so many genres, in one place. I feel badly for those who loose their ability to be taken aback from the sheer volume and scope of what can be seen and examined at these shows.

Day One in NY

We arrived at about the same time as the show opened and were pleased to see the number of people. In addition to the usual crush of ABAA members shopping the shadow show before the Armory opens, there were a considerable number of "real humans". This is always a nice thing to see...

There was steady traffic from 8 in the morning to about 2pm. There was then a painful lull (literally, as far as my feet were concerned) that picked up a bit around 530 or so and stayed rather busy until about 8pm.

As can be seen in these images, we really did just one lit case. We ended up adding a small (four foot) table on site...giving us both a bit of horizontal space for some atlases and, more importantly, a means to hide my computer and printer when not in use. We also stacked our Pelican cases and draped a black cloth over them, providing a bit more reasonably presentable space. We were adjacent to Don Lingren and he did the same thing with his Pelicans...It looked like we planned it...scary.

The last two images show both sides of our case. We ended up using one of the "see through" cases...allowing me to set it up "displaying" to both sides. This worked, frankly, better than expected.

Sales on the first day were solid, nothing exceptional, but not unreasonable, either... We found some good things to purchase and the chatter was overall, quite positive.

We were back in the far corner, which worked well for us. Better yet, we were right across from the fine folks at Biblio.com books). This made for a good time both days (Save a tree, Buy used as they got grumpy and twitchy in an entirely different way than bookdealers *g*. Truly, it was a pleasure having them nearby during the fair...they genuinely love what they are doing...and are really quite good at it. Unlike some others that will not be mentioned (or linked to) here, Biblio is genuinely striving to improve it site to benefit its booksellers....a novel idea these days...

Champagne with fruit and cheese in the afternoon. Pleasant music. Engaged people. Not a bad afternoon.

Addendum: We had dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House for Suzanne's birthday. She likes red meat and RCSH is famous for their steaks....and well, suffice it to say their tag line could be "Why Pay Less". The steak was, to be fair, some of the best I recall. Overall, however, I really expect "more" for what dinner there entails...great sides, great, salads, great everything. They do have outstanding steaks...but everything else was simply good. It is, clearly, a spot for business folk on expense accounts. Did I mention that the steaks them selves were outstanding...

Images from the FABA Fair

Here are a handful of images from Flordia. The first two are of the booth, right and left sides. We did not ship shelves down and...well...forgot to order them. Luckily I was able to borrow two from Steve and Edie across the isle.

Note the nice pipe and drap. This was, I am quite certain, the best run show we have done. It was relatively inexpensive per booth, yet they were absolutely on top of the look and feel of the show and PR.

second ad for the fair. They seemed to be on top of every aspect and everything seemed toI was watching the Discovery channel in the hotel on Friday night and was stunned to see a 30 run very, very smoothly.

They even circulated a nice survey on the final day covering everything from the "what could be better", "what worked", etc to getting a sense of sales and feedback that undoubtedly will help them in marketing efforts next year.

We are already signed up for next year (having spent three years on the wait list) and are genuinely looking forward to it.

The next image tries to show the venue as a whole. Arced ceiling, nicely strung lights, very festive. The hall was built for Big Band concerts and is really quite lovely. There are alcoves lining both sides that are used for either one or two dealers as well. It is a simply great hall for a book fair.

The final image is my Thing One in Assistant Mode. He was a great help this fair...and when not helping, he either read or (more likely) played game boy (I am reasonably certain he could be on fire and not notice while paying with his DS).

I'm spending the next week or so cataloguing a handful of new items that I hope to have at the New York fair. I'm already getting excited about NY (and Boston the following week).

Books have arrived in St. Petersburg and...

I am nearly packed. It is 11pm, do you know where your book dealer is? We will be en route in the early morn and setup is on Friday. With luck, I'll be posting as we go. Hope springs eternal.

Why I love my clients: Reason 347

I just received a check from a client on the west coast in a big envelope. Why the big envelope you ask...to hold the lovely bag of nuts and such she sent. Money and a nice snack. Life is good.

Maine Dec. of Independence to stay in VA

Maine and Wiscasset have lost a court case to bring back a D of I that belonged (at one time) to the town.

Greenwich Day Two...

Note to self, being effectively the last booth as people exit a fair is nice...as everyone pretty much has to go by you...but is not so nice as many/most are so spent by that time that they wander by, dazed and confused and wanting nothing more than to flee. This is the conclusion John and I have arrived at...such is life. It was a good day, just the same.

We started the day comfortably...leisurely morning rituals followed by a nice deli breakfast. The show ran from 12 to 6. It was supposed to be done at 5...but apparently those not in the other room near the exit thought staying there an extra hour would be great fun. It was nice for customers and I can't begrudge it at all. Eli was really great. Overall, very nice and charming and generally the best boy he could be. His reward for this exceptional behavior was a swim in the pool here at the hotel until he got good and prunny (the surest sign of a good swim).

Lots of nice conversations and a good deal of interest in a number of things....we shall see. The highpoint, so to speak, of the day was the amazing spread put out be the fine folks at Pryor and Johnson. At the end of the day, around 4pm (who knew we would be open another 2 hours), they put out fresh fruit, a wide selection of wonderful cheeses, about 5 pounds of pate, shrimp, smoked salmon, etc....and liquor. Nice wines, very nice ports and whiskeys, etc. I had some cheese and fruit and a finger or so of Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old Single Malt. If I ever produce a book fair, they are my first call (I will not, ever, produce a book fair...ever).

Show opens tomorrow at 12. Closes for good at 4pm (unless, perhaps, the front room decides we should stay until early evening) and then pack up and, most likely, the long drive home. Then no show until March and St. Petersburg.

Greenwich Village book fair - Adventure Day One

What a horrible and great day...and how often can you say something like that. We drove down on Thursday to Tarry Town to our current favorite "just out of the city with free parking and a pool" hotel (the Marriot). The drive down was fast and uneventful. I have my youngest assistant with me (pictures tomorrow). My son (6) Eli was great fun on the drive and has a strange obsession with hotels. He has asked several times if we can live here forever.

The drive into the city was exciting...in that "oh my god, I hope we don't die". I deliberately waited a bit to start in, in hopes that they would clear all the rush-hour accidents off the road. This turned out to be the right call. It was a long, slow drive (about an hour and fifteen minutes to do what should have been about an half hour drive). We passed several accidents and watched an SUV do a very exciting series of 360s down the middle of 287 (but did not hit anything). It was one of those "I know I can drive in this safely, but all these other whack-jobs are seriously unknown quantities". In the end, we made it in safe and sound, found the school in the Village where the show is being held.

I managed to hurt my lower back the day before I left for the fair and had promised my wife that I would, for the first time, hire porters to carry in my boxes. My shipping boxes came back from San Francisco and I did not repack things...I just threw them into the van with some additional material and hit the road. The net result of this is that I had 8 boxes in the 65 to 75 pound range plus my other stuff. They do not have "porters" at this fair, they have "stevedores" (mind you, a stevedore is "a laborer who loads and unloads vessels in a port"...but that is hair splitting.). That is, you hear "stevedore" and you picture big muscular guys who wrestle shipping crates for a living.

The first two pictures are the stevedores I was assigned. As you can see, burly dock workers able to move anything not bolted down *laughing*. They were wonderful. I convinced them to take a handle each (yet another reason Pelican cases rock) and they handled everything with aplomb. I did not let them schlep the plate display case...I just couldn't. I recommended them resoundingly to all others as people traipsed in...I hope they had a good day (this fair is, as I understand it, a fund-raiser for the school).

I managed to get in around 11:30am or so...the show started this evening at 6pm...that is, I had about 6.5 hours to set up. Anyone who knows me, knows I can set up a booth in no less than 5 hours...don't ask, I'm just that pathetic. That is, generally, with a real assistant (wife, mother or some other long-suffering supporter). Here I had my six year old son, Eli. In the end, not only was I able to get set up...and reasonably well, at that...but we were able to get it done *with* time to go down and enjoy the wonderful dinner the school provided for attendees (great salads, hummus, sushi, chicken and drinks). Ok, admittedly, only just barely...but it really was "ready" by 6pm.

Eli was reasonably helpful and especially helpful re all things I loath doing (crawling about on the floor running extension cords and the like). Once the fair started, he sat in our chair and played game boy and responded in very cute fashion to the myriad of people who asked him questions. I am hoping he tries to hand-sell his book tomorrow (he has an inscribed copy of "The Book that Jack Wrote" by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Dan Adel). He helped research and write the description and is pretty excited about it. He was truly on his very best behavior. He might have received a Sky-High Sunday when he got back to the hotel.

Lots of people, good stickiness and some good sales. A great start to a show. However, a wildly long day and I need sleep. Show starts tomorrow at 12 noon and runs to 5pm. Come and visit...better yet, buy a book.