SF to Monterey-Great Food, Friends and a few books...

We checked out of the Carriage Inn (think typewriter carriage, not horse and...). It was as it has been previously, nice, clean, quite inexpensive and very well located for the shows at the Concourse. We look forward to returning in 2011.

Our luck on this trip continued (twice) today. When I went to pick up our rental car (in theory, a "mid-sized") for the one-way trip to LA, I was asked "if I minded" driving a larger/nicer car down. I said, "No...I really wanted the small POS car I had requested". The clerk, however, was charming and persuasive, so I finally relented and accepted the Ford Flex (it is the bastard child of a Ford Bronco and station wagon...largish and squarish). Interestingly, as soon as I plugged the my iPhone and iPod, the car synced my playlists to the car's system (not expecting this, surprised when the car spoke to me that it had synced ). It also effortlessly paired the car system to my phone. Very slick in a rental...

Thus we were off to Woodside, CA to visit old, dear friends and have an outrageously good lunch. We pulled into Whit and Mary's around 1 and immediately headed off to lunch (though, sadly, Mary could not join us as one of their wonderful Tibetan Mastiffs was just back from the doctor and she needed to baby her).

We returned to the scene of last year's gastronomic excess, The Village Pub...this time for lunch. The volume might be different for lunch, but the style, substance and flair is every bit as wonderful. We each ordered...with the agreement that we would all share...I love foodies. For lunch we had:

Delicata Squash Soup / Brown Butter (this was a gift of the house)

Rabbit Boudin Blanc / Braised Cabbage and Pancetta / Sautéed Pink Lady Apples (Ian)
Wild Nettle and Goat Cheese Agnolotti / Meyer Lemon Cream Sauce (Suzanne)
Slow Grilled Leg of Lamb / Mint Pistou / Chickpea Fries and Sauteed Rapini (Whit)

Pear and Frangipane Tart / Vanilla Ice Cream (Ian)
Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta / Huckleberry Compote / Sour Lemon Meringue (Suzanne)
Trio of Gelatos (Whit)
(and)
Bottle of 2005 Mas Doix "Salanques" Priorat (mostly Suz and Whit...Ian driving)
Tanzanian Peaberry coffee (French press) (Ian)

I am not going to go into further detail. Suffice it to say, The Village Pub is one of my favorite places to eat and I am very grateful (both re girth and wallet) that I am only in the area once a year or so. Do not miss an opportunity to eat there.

We had a nice visit, as always, with Whit talking about tech, crypto, food, wine, books, dogs, other bits of this and that (being nearer to Whit and Mary would be one of the few compelling reasons to move to the west coast). We made plans to meet in the east when Whit is over to speak (Bonus: Short TechReview Interview re Security & Cloud Computing). We also met the newest (and shyest) of the dogs. Though we missed Mary, we had a wonderful time.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

We then headed down to the B&B recommended by our friends Dan and Susan, The Jabberwock Inn in Monterey. Here our luck (on several fronts) continued. Having booked their smallest room (and been pleased to be extended a winter rate), we were very pleased when, after showing us the charming room we had reserved, proceeded to show us the much bigger, more lovely, and fireplace equipped room she had moved us into...complete with brandy in the room and many, many books. The inn has a lovely view over the bay (this, due to height, was less appealing as we trudged back up the hill from dinner). She had out hot hors d'oeuvres when we arrived (about 6pm), wine, sherry and limoncello (that they make from their own lemon trees). We are both looking forward to what appears for breakfast in the morning.

Still reeling a bit from our lunch, we decided to have a light dinner at the Crystal Fish (miso soup, sushi and sashimi). Everything was good, the tuna superb. We managed to drag ourselves back up the hill, made some tea and picked up a bit of dry fruit and headed to our room. A long and lovely day is done.

Tomorrow we head further south toward Shell Beach, through Big Sur. On the tentative agenda is Point Sur, Andrew Molera State Park, Nepenthe Restaurant (lunch?), Carpe Diem (if they are open early enough), and Hearst Castle. [Note: Images are of Suz's insanely good dessert and the spot in Serendipity Books where Jello used to hang (more on this later, it is a tease...).]

Day Two in SanFran, Packing up, & another reason I am fond of Phillip Pirages

It was a quite a day. We started a bit late...arriving shortly after opening this morning. I think we both thought it opened at 11am...and we were good and early for that . Once there, things were great fun. We bought a lovely book this morning for a client...always nice when you can make a friend happy buy buying a good book and make one's clients happy for selling them a good book. Met some interesting folk during the day and sold a few more.... Happy book folk all around...

The show wrapped up at 5pm. We packed up our cases and turned them over to Caladex, a logistics company that specializes moving books, art and the like from point A to point B. In this case, the value of having them put my cases on a pallet, wrap them in plastic and take them down to LA where they will magically be waiting for me in my booth is of great value... We made it back to the hotel, had a nice, quick dinner with friends (and a very decedent desert: "funnel cake sunday"...every bit as healthy as it sounds).

A special thanks to Philip Pirages. At the end of the day, I changed into comfy cloths (and, most importantly, comfy shoes). When I changed in the men's room, I placed my iPhone, hotel key, a check or two and various other bits of brick-a-brac on the wee shelf. When I did this, I *consciously* thought, I must not forget these things. ... In the ensuing minute or two, I completely forgot them... Philip came by the booth about 15 minutes later, my wayward bits in hand, and asked if I was missing anything. I am very grateful to have friends and colleagues who try to save me from myself. Philip Pirages, purveyor of beautiful books and finder of misplaced critical items. Thank you, again.

Set-up for (and a great dinner in) San Francisco...

Well, we have made it safely...our books made it safely and all is well. We arrived on Tuesday and had the afternoon to have a wonderful late lunch at House of Nanking. I was lucky, several years ago, to have the person who first recommended it tell me to ignore the menu completely and ask that the chef just send out little things (the functional equiv. of dim sum). They ask how hungry you are (very) and they send out the right amount. We also discovered that they have a newly opened sister restaurant (see below). I also picked up three new books...woohoo.

Wed. Suzanne worked while I, too, worked...however, her work involved phone calls and reports and cogent mental efforts, whereas my work involved going out to North Berkeley and visiting one of the few truly great experiential shops in the US. It is difficult to say how much I

love Serendipity Books, Peter B. and the nature and spirit of the shop. I found a few things and took home something that has hung in the shop as long as I can remember...more on this at some point in the distant future.

We had a very nice dinner Wed. night at Miss Siagon with Brad and Jeniffer (of The Book Shop). The food was good, the company was better. We went back to the hotel (our strange and pleasing little literary themed inn down the road from the hall)...I catalogued for a bit but mostly rested up.

We were at the hall at 8am. I left at about 5pm. To be fair, I kibitzed a fair bit and even did a bit of shopping. Thee booth looks pretty good...amazing what having nice books to show will do for a booth . It is always amazing what comes out of the woodwork at fairs. Strong contingent of UK booksellers, all of whom will head down to LA next weekend. Really just a great group. It is shaping up to be a good show...now we just need humans to come wanting to buy books.

A pretty big group of us (10) all traipsed over to Fang, the recently opened "sister restaurant" to House of Nanking. We were able to do the same thing...that is, ask the chef to bring out surprises for us and he did a remarkable job. All told, about 13 dishes were brought out (including some alternatives for the two vegetarians in the party). The two standouts for me were the "duck bun appetizer" (think peking duck slider...very interesting and wonderfully flavorful) and the "Lettuce Beef" (no lettuce, wickedly good). I had a nice unfiltered sake. We finished with a complimentary little desert and a chinese liqueur that was a lovely, simple finish.

I've a few new slips to clip and then to sleep. Show opens at 10am. Come join us if you can.

Report from the trenches: Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair 2009 (and related bits)

The dust has finally settled on the 2009 Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair and I am back in Portland and more or less recovered. I'll start with an apology for not posting while there, but the days were very long and I was stretched a bit too thinly.

We headed down on Thursday to drop our cases off, check into our hotel, check out the preview at Skinner and attend the cocktail event at the Boston Athenæum. The highlight of the day was unquestionably the wonderful even at the Athenæum.

I've included two images of from the BA's remarkable fifth floor. Membership (an extremely reasonably deal) is entirely justified by the privilege of spending some quite time in Boston in this extraordinary space. One image tries (and fails) to capture the beautiful design and execution of the bowed room at the end of the hall. The other shows one of the several alcoves and upper areas (this with Ken Sanders gazing down upon all he commands). Note the stairs built into the alcove face...there are many of these.

The evening at the BA was co-sponsored by the BA and the New England Chapter of the ABAA. Rum punch, various wines and (thankfully) water was served in copious amounts and the food was wonderful. Little mushroom puffs, Peking duck, smoked salmon, and lobster on endive were a few of the options. The food was, in fact, so good (and plentiful) that Suzanne and I ended up heading back to the hotel without going out for dinner (a real treat, as it allowed us about 2 or so extra hours of sleep...much needed over the next few days).

We arrived early (around 8ish) the next day at the Hynes Convention Center for set up. Kelmscott Bookshop and we merged two full booths into one 24 foot long booth. This makes a huge difference in the "feel"of the booth...with a trophy case at each end and two counter cases centered at the front, it allows for a very open and inviting space for people. Every bit as importantly, it allows for people to more or less "flow" in and out and avoid having people pass by because a booth is too crowded. Fran and I have similar enough tastes that everything hangs together nicely while different enough that I do not think we have ever had duplicative material.

While I managed to bring some wonderful things, the bell of the ball (I think) was in James Cummins booth, an 1813 edition of Hans Holbein's, Dance of Death bound in human skin. There were, needless to say, countless other gems.

We were surprised and pleased at how the fair went. Last year, we started Friday with a lot of interest, but no immediate sales and things picked up Saturday and we trickled through Sunday. This year, Friday had every bit as much interest with the lovely side benefit of several good sales. Saturday was strong on all fronts and Sunday proceeded as Sunday's usually do...interest and follow-ups. The comparison to last year was quite striking. Suz summed it up best, last year at this time, people were still shell shocked...that seems to have, at least in part, passed. That said, many of the institutional collectors are still/increasingly reeling and this has major implications for many of us.

We picked up some interesting things at both our fair and the Shadow Show at the Radisson. A nice copy of Gaylord Schanilac's Farmers; a wonderfully strange little volume on automatons, and a great Dada item with a long inscription/critique by G.E. Picabia. My personal favorite is a copy of Paroxysmes inscribed by Musidora (the pseudonym of silent film star Jeanne Roques, aka Irma Vep (an anagram of vampire)). We tried to be very good about our buying...limiting ourselves to items for clients and/or with the San Francisco and LA ABAA fairs in mind.

The New England Chapter of the ABAA also hosted a very nice brunch on Sunday. In many ways, the highest and best use of these fairs is to meet or remeet not just customers but also one's compatriots in the trenches. This brunch is always a nice place to do the latter (particularly as Suz tends to seek out a table where I/we don't know anyone ).

We had one other better than average meal during the weekend. On Saturday night Lisa and Hosie Baskin, Ken Shure, Jessie Rossa, Suzanne and I took all the tables across the back of Cafe Jaffa and ordered a fair bit of the menu. The food was good, the company was better and it was a great way to wrap up the day.

Overall, it was a very good weekend for books in Boston. I have yet to decide if we are going to do NY in January...our next definite show is in San Fran followed the next weekend in LA. Chaos reigns supreme.

Boston ABAA Book Fair just around the corner...

Just a quick reminder that the Boston ABAA Book Fair is November 13-15. TheShadow Show will be on the 14th. It is going to be a great biblio-weekend in Boston.

We'll be bringing our usual broad swath of fine press and bindings to unusual esoterica. I've had some amazing new material arrive and look forward to debuting it in a week (e.g. early costume; maritime exploration; woodcut; art bindings).

I'm also pleased to bring the printer's proof of the broadside that led to the charges against [and conviction of] Benedict Arnold, with handwritten corrections in the hand of Timothy Matlack (all changes are reflected in the one known copy, in the collection of the MA Historical Society).

It should be a great weekend. If you know you can attend, please let me know...I've still a few passes left.

Final day of my two week(ish) journey...and more books

We started the day at the MARIAB Northampton Book. I arrived at just about 10 am and the place was pleasingly busy. There were a good number of dealers present...pretty much the same as past years...with some fresh blood stepping into a handful of empty slots.

I saw a handful of things I'd have liked to secure, but few things that really jumped out at me. this was, most likely, the result of too much buying in the days previous and possibly my lack of sleep. I did manage to see a number of the dealers I really look forward to seeing at this fair.

Lisa found a few interesting things. I caught up with Forest Proper and others and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I had a number of people ask why I was not doing this fair...I told them the truth: that I just can't bring myself to do fairs where I spend more time setting up my booth than the fair is open (my issue, not the fair's). On the other hand, I had a nice compliment in that one dealer told me that someone had asked if I was at the showl. As an added bonus, I had a quick nice chat with Thurston Moore (founder of Sonic Youth and, pleasingly, a collector).

We left the fair in mid-afternoon and ran a few errands and picked up a very quick bite to eat. The errands gave me a chance ot stop in at Raven Used books. Interesting shop...a lot of new material, very aggressively price.

We then headed over to Art Larson's wonderful Horton Tank Graphics. Three of the images are from Art's. The first

is an amazing type case...both for its overall size and condition, but also as it came with complete sets of early woodblock type.

Art showed us his various presses (one included tot he side). It is pretty wonderful to think that some of Leonard Baskin's greatest books came off these press.

We spent a bit of time talking about printing and coloring techniques and Art showed us some raw pigment used to create some of the wonderful colors that come off his presses. Show here are Azure and Malachite in raw form. Very cool. Art also gave us a tour of Wild Carrot Press (downstairs).

After that Lucretia and I went back to the house and regrouped for a few minutes (might have looked at a few

books. We joined Lisa for dinner at the Great

Wall (remember, White Menu for the Good Stuff).

We headed back to the house and settled in for the night. More books. This time, Lisa took me (us) on a whirlwind tour that touched bindings (publishers and fine), girl books, early books and just wonderful things in interesting stories. Lisa is everything I love in a passionate book lover--she can pull any book of the shelf (and there are 10s of thousands) and tell you what the book is, where she bought it and why it is special. It would be impossible to avoid becoming excited looking at books with her...even were they were not exceptional examples (or associations, etc). It is a simply remarkable collection in many different ways.

It is late and we have to be on the road reasonably early to get back to Portland. More to follow as I begin to be able to process this adventure...

How to spend a great day (or two) in the Northampton area (before a book fair)

Stage Three of my epic fall journey began as soon as I arrived back in Portland. Having survived, barely, the Seattle to Maryland trip, I spent a few days doing things in the MD area and visiting my in-laws. Fun was had by all. We left on Thursday, arriving back in Portland at about 430pm or so.Lucretia picked us up at the airport and brought us to the house where we unloaded, I gazed longingly at my bed while repacking and then we (just LB and I, The Suz had conflicting obligations) were off to the Northampton area for the weekend.

The principle reason for the journey is the annual MARIAB book fair in Northampton. That said, it was the invitation to attend the opening of The Clark exhibit of "Raven and Crow" (Manet/Poe & Baskin/Hughes) and stay with Lisa and Lucretia that forced me to forgo my own bed (and other plans) for another weekend away. Friday saw us spend most of the day at the Clark. It is a small and wonderful exhibit at a gem of a museum in the middle of pretty much no where [N.B. the founders of The Clark sited it (in the early 1950s) where it is found because it was the least likely to be nuked there]. We spend the late afternoon and evening at the house/shop of Second Life Books...great conversation, great books and (later) a nice Indian dinner together.

We woke at a reasonable hour on Saturday and had a nice breakfast (Lucretia brought down some smoked salmon and I sautéed some with onion and eggs...the other highpoint being Lisa's insanely good blueberry jam). I had a tour of the print shop and studio in the morning and then we hit the road. After a quick stop at an antique shop, we visited Michael Kuch (Double Elephant Press) in his newly build print shop. We had a very nice visit, most of which revolved around him pandering to my desire to look at his simply exceptional work (including his newest and his next). Images of his books do not come close to doing them justice. I am really looking forward to seeing more (and seeing what he does over the next few years and decades).

We left Michael and his family (and Hosie and several of his) to explore Troubadour Books. TB is a general stock shop...but with genuine flair, taste, and quality. It is rather well organized, the books are in generally great condition and the subject matter is legion. I picked up interesting things from erotica to drug culture, photographic monographs to fine press missives-the crowning item, discovered after I'd already cashed out once, being a simply wonderful 1930 alphabet block print volume, each plate signed by the artist/printer. There are many great shops in the Northampton area...but do not miss Troubadour if you are out this way.

Lucretia and I came back around 6pm and spent the next two hours (before dinner) looking at several Gehenna Press books. We then joined Lisa, Hosie, John Waite, Jim Arsenault, and a few others for a great dinner at The Great Wall in Florence. We started with two Peking Ducks and went from there. I'm told that they have two menus: one that is for the unadventurous, the other for those who want more authentic fare....ask for the white menu.

We arrived back at the house around 10 or so and stayed up until about 2am looking at more books. There are so many books. So many truly great books. I want to write about the books...but I can't. I need to think about them more first. Maybe later...if I can find the context.

One thing, as an example: I absolutely love Leonard's exceptional Moko Maki. Tonight I explored a unique set of the images, each printed on vellum. Remarkable.

Book fair tomorrow. More books. A wonderful weekend emerging.

Day Three in Seattle-Pack up and Pearl Sake...

Just a quick post as I am in no condition to...well...be conscious. The final day of the fair was great. Seattle is really a pretty wonderful book town. Lots of people genuinely interested and engaged in a broad range of material. It is really a treat to be out here. The fair was well attended pretty much all day. Best of all, an ok fair (marginal/fair sales, great buying) ended strong with a very nice sale in the last half hour. The next few weeks will let us know just how good it was as those with interest percolate on things and...with luck...will call.

Packed up quickly and got everything to FedEx before they closed at 6pm. We then headed to Dragonfish again for Sushi and Sake Sunday...food and drink specials early...and even better deals later. We spent about 4 hours there. It is probably a sign to leave when your very wonderful waitress tells you that they are out of the pearl sake you've been drinking all evening. Luckily, they have 23 other types. It was a wonderful evening...book[wo]men are just great fun.

Back in the room now...redeye tomorrow evening. Bookshopping (and Utilikilts) during the day.

Day Two in Seattle [or: The Lament of the Oversexed Emu]

Day two in Seattle was great. This is a great book fair town. The crowd, slow at the very start, ramped up rapidly and stayed strong and steady nearly all day. A lot of people, engage, interested, inquisitive and, on occasion, buying. If 20% of those who left saying they wanted to see if x, y or z was already on their shelves return and buy tomorrow (as I expect), this tomorrow should be interesting.

It is great to have done this fair long enough that people stop in that you remember (admittedly, this is a slow process for me) and, more importantly, remember you and seem genuinely pleased to see you again.

There is some genuinely great material in the Hall. I have decided to try to control myself...and be amused. The first book I purchased was "Photography for Perverts" (signed by the author). I think I am going to book-end the fair by buying a remarkable collection of William Black images. For some reason, this amuses me to no end. I also found a wonder fine press work titled "Notorious Ex Libris"...bookplates that should have been for the likes of Al Capone, Vlad the Impaler, John Waters and Martha Stewart. A student press project, brilliantly designed and executed.

After the show, I joined the fine folks of Wessel and Lieberman for their annual Saturday night dinner and shop tour. Dinner was at the Collins Pub. The margarita's were very good, dinner was very good...the entertainment was epic. The Kent had just finished regaling us with a tale of SLC man who "loved an emu to death". As we were coming to grips with the implications of this rather horrifying tale, the evening's entertainment began...a quartet of "experimental saxophone" players. They played, 5 feet from us, a long and loud, atonal work that...I am CERTAIN...was title, "The Lament of the Oversexed Emu". One, clearly bleating out its tortured tale while its three family keened in support. It was brilliant. Brian, I am so, so sorry you were not here...

We retired to W&L's shop where there was nibbles and drink waiting for us and their wonderful stock (including a great section of unpriced material that beckoned nearly all). There is no commerce to be done, by strict rule...it would be wrong to get one's friends liquored up and then set them loose in one's shop...but you can make piles to be dealt with at a later time . I found a handful of things that pleased me...my favorite being a little toad woodcut with a brilliantly hand-colored eye.

Tomorrow runs from 11 to 4. I'll then pack up and get the cases off to the shipper. Fingers crossed for a great day.

Seattle Set-uo and the Great North-West Kibitz

The trip was about as good as a day's air travel could be. Virgin America was a genuine treat. I will, whenever possible, fly them cross country. Not only are the planes nice (seats have adjustable headrests, soft, strangely purple lighting, etc)...and have WiFi and good food options (that you order from you seat on the slick little touch screen)...but EVERY SEAT has a POWER OUTLET. When you are traveling across the country, a power outlet is quite possibly the best thing I've seen on an airplane...frankly, better than WiFi.

Arrived in Seattle and made my way to the B[a]P Cave. The Cave is great. I have my own little suite, complete with fridge, micro and COFFEE MAKER. Only miss is that The Suz is on the East Coast, heading to see her family on Saturday (I'll be meeting them on the Easter Shore on Tuesday).

We dropped off our cases at the Hall and headed off to dinner. We had a great dinner at The Dragonfish. They do a nightly special (after 9pm) with small plate sushi rolls for $1.95 to $2.95...great price, great rolls. Also had specials on various saki's...had a really nice unfiltered.

Set-up today (all previous was yesterday) went smoothly given I did not have my extra brain (and hands)...on the other hand, I only had to tend to half a booth. There is some outstanding material at the fair. I'll try to take row images tomorrow and, perhaps, capture some of the gems.

Jeanne's assistant is a lovely 19 yr old (old family friend). She has been great help on all fronts. She is "not a collector". Today, however, she bought a lovely copy of Snow White from me. She is, officially, a book collector...having spent pretty much all her money for the weekend on a single book. I'm giving her a good discount...probably for the rest of her life .

Dinner tonight at an Irish pub with many good friends. Truly, selling books at a fair is good thing...but seeing and spending time with other sellers is really what it is all about. Great people...great fun. Images of the fair and dinner party (all tagged as all every single dealer there is on FaceBook...from Josh and Sunday to Michael Thompson) can be found on my Facebook Page. Set-up/pre-show exploring starts at 8am...open to the public at 10. Come if you can.

Portland Fair Report

This past Sunday was the Portland Antiquarian Book Book and Paper Fair sponsored by the Maine Antiquarian Booksellers Association. In many ways, it was a hard year. We had fewer vendors than we have had in recent years (very annoying, given that this fair is the *only* fair in Maine *and* is so inexpensive relative to other shows (a full booth costing less than a display case rental at most shows). The number of attendees was also off...for reasons that many have various opinions about and clearly an issue that we need to think hard about how to turn around.

That said, there were also some bright spots. Though the gate was not huge, we did have collectors (and dealers) coming to the show from Vermont, Massachusetts and the Bar Harbor area. More importantly, those who came, spent money. We had the best show (here in Portland) that we have had since we started doing the show 5 years ago. I heard from several others that they had a very good

show...especially given the soft turn-out and small vendor pool.

That said, I know several dealers had little or now sales, though one of those apparently bought well enough to feel good about the show in the short term. These shows, of course, should really be thought of as part of a "long game". For most of us, the "value" of any given show has a great deal more to do with advertising and becoming known among local bibliophiles. A conversation at a show may just be a pleasant diversion during the fair...but becomes something "real" 6 months (or years) later when you get a call from that same person about placing their books and/or their desire to track down new material.

It was unfortunate that so many Maine dealers choose not to do the show. One of the best elements of the show, historically, is the number of Maine dealers who do this

show and don't do others. It is one of the things that draws dealers/collectors "from away" and that makes the show so much fun (that is, seeing folks that you might not see often otherwise).

One of the shining exceptions to this miss by others was the arrival of The Maine Bookhouse at the fair for the first time. Harry and Joanna Reese allowed themselves to be cajoled into attending after only a couple of years of pestering at the very last minute. They took a single table and made the very most of it (see the last image, with Joanna hiding at the left side). They came with solid material and benefitted

greatly from Joanna's wonderful personality and passion for her books. I've been told that it was a good show for them... I'm very pleased that their first show went well.

Also doing his first book fair was Craig Olson of Artisan Books & Bindery. Craig has recently radically increased the volume of his stock by acquiring the sadly now gone ABCD Books in Camden. He is following up the Maine book fair with the shadow show of the Boston ABAA book fair in November. This was, of course, exactly what we did and clearly bodes of great things to come from Craig...

I, of course, spent more time setting up my booth (admittedly, a big double booth as I had a lot of history of Maine/Americana that displays best if not shelved together...the bane of the "ugly brown book"). I spent about 7 hours setting up for a 6 hour fair. Another 2 hours breaking down...it would have been 2 hours more had I not had SIX helpers (thanks to Suzanne, Eli, Kaitlyn, mom, dad, and Lucretia).

That said, the booth looked really nice (better than I, Utilikilt not withstanding). Eli was great fun in his skull and crossed bones bow-tie and belt. I met several new clients/potential clients and spent the day (and a half) with people I really enjoy seeing. A good time.

The economy is not great, the gate was off, the number of dealers was down...but overall, it was a surprisingly good show. Here's to next year being even better.

Sorry for the slight delay in posting, but after packing up the van (and unpacking it at the house), I left early Monday for NYC and a great conference at the Grolier Club. Back home now and reality is settling down...for a few weeks, when I leave for the Seattle Book Fair.

Quick Grolier Club Conference follow-up and Pictures in the Portland Press Herald from the Portland Fair

The Press Herald posted a few pictures from the fair. It would have been nice if the image of Moby Dick had been properly cited, but it is close enough... Full report on the fair with added pictures to follow...a two day trip to NY immediately following the fair has thrown all things askew.

The mini-conference on "Books in Hard Times" at the Grolier Club was outstanding. It was the best one day event I've ever attended. The sessions were interesting, the crowd engaged and inquisitive...just as good as can be. My only...minor...complaint is that the panel of booksellers might have benefitted from a "younger/hungrier/less-well-capitalized" voice. The three dealers (Bill Reese, Priscilla Juvelis, and Tom Congalton), while representing radically different genres of the trade, all all "elite" dealers and, one might reasonably surmise, somewhat insulated from current "hard times." That said, their session was just great and very informative...so who knows...

Come join us on Sunday for Maine's only Antiquarian Book and Paper Show

The annual Maine Antiquarian Book and Paper show will be held this Sunday (September 20th) at the Wyndham Hotel out near the Maine Mall. The fair runs from 9am through 3pm and features dozens of dealers from throughout Maine and beyond. Antiquarian and used books, paper, pamphlets and ephemera will be present in abundance. Come join us at Maine's *only* antiquarian book event.

Exhibitors include: Kit Barry Ephemera of Brattleboro, VT offering ephemera supplies and general ephemera; James Arsenault & Co. of Arrowsic, ME offering historical documents and Americana; Austin’s Antiquarian Books of Wilmington, VT offering Americana & Civil War; T. Brennan Bookseller of Marietta, GA offering a general line; Harland H. Eastman of Springvale, ME offering rare ephemera; Eighty One Main of Monmouth, ME offering botanical and natural sciences; Lake Androscoggin Books & Prints of Wayne, ME offering fine prints and rare first editions; Bickerstaff’s Books & Maps of Scarborough, ME offering rare old maps & prints; Lux Mentis of Portland, ME offering fine bindings, first editions, and book art; Conservation Gallery of Yarmouth, ME offering vintage newsprint and maps; Rabelais Books of Portland, ME offering books on food, wine and the arts; Mainely Paper of Owls, ME offering unique ephemera and paper antiques; Tenney River Books of Mansfield, MA offering non-fiction and general ephemera; and Mori Books of Milford, NH offering rare children’s books. These and many other select Exhibitors will be found only at this exceptional show.

Details and directions can be found at Flaming Eventz and/or at MABA website.

We hope to see you at the fair.

Day Four, Pack Up, and a good night's sleep (I hope)

Sunday was busy. A lot of interested people. Bought some more material...sold a bit. Met some great people. This is a long show. It finished at 6pm. We were packed and ready to go at about 840pm or so....but the van was not able to get in until about 1015 or so. Logistics of getting 500 dealers in and out are really remarkably daunting....

Hi point of the day was at the very end. Met up with Sunday and Josh in the pub in our hotel after we finally got out (they had been there for some time ). It was great fun to have a drink and a bite to eat and just hang out for a while (that the food and drink ended up being free was a bonus (and worth the long wait...).

More to follow when I have regained sentience.

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.

Day Two in Baltimore: FoodPorn Issue

The day was good fun. A few sales, a few good buys, several great clients stopped by to say hi. Fun had by all. An then it was over and the best part of the day began.

We had 9pm reservations at Salt. We gathered first in our room (Josh, Sunday, Lauren, Cythia, Suz & ijk) Wine and some munchies and much laughter. Nice to settle down (and be off one's feet) after the day and before dinner.

We arrived shortly before 9pm. The hostess (owner?!?) remembered me from past years and was particularly lovely. Given that we are only in town once a year, it was very nice that she remembered us...more so that she seemed pleased and amused to have us back (admittedly, we did eat there twice during last year's visit). Two of our party of six were new to the fare, but feel in love.

As is often the case, we opted to share appetizers and

selected the following:

Eastern Shore Corn and Shellfish

Chowder: Applewood bacon, fresh thyme

Corvina Ceviche: Ginger, lime, cilantro, aji amarillo, red onion, cusco corn, sweet potatoes (x2)

Duck Fat French Fries: With a trio of aioli (x2)

Crispy Hoisin Duck Spring Roll: Spicy Chinese mustard dipping sauce (x2)

The Ceviche was made with grouper and was wonderful (an interesting contrast to last year's shrimp). The chowder was

exceptional and the spring rolls were basically peking duck deep fried and crispy...just delicious. The fries were, as always, delicious.

We decided that we would basically share entrees as well. This was a great idea, as it is so hard to make choices as too many things beckon you...

We settled on the following:

Grilled Atlantic Wahoo: Quinoa and vegetable salad, mango chimichurri sauce

Coriander and Pepper Crusted Tuna: Served over seaweed salad with spicy tuna pot stickers and ginger soy glaze

Grilled Lamb Sirloin: Curried carrot fritter, watercress and bean salad, feta vinaigrette

Fresh Pasta with Corn, Asparagus and Chiles: Sweet corn butter, fresh thyme, shaved Pecorino Romano (x2 (1 split between the two more or less veggies at the table))

Dinner was simply exceptional. Not only have I not had a bad meal at Salt, I've never had a bad dish. While everything was genuinely great, it was the tuna that stole the show for me...seered about .25 of an inch in, the rest was cool and raw. It was beyond good. Just the best tuna I've ever eaten.

We finished our meal and wicked, wicked waiter told us the desert options. We decided to be good:

Trio of Ice Cream Cones (house-made icecream, orea, blueberry and white choc. and key lime) (x2)

Goat Cheese Doughnuts drizzled with Lavender Honey and a wee cup of house-made coffee icecream

Dark Chocolate Gelato with fresh fruit and Grand Marnier

The trio(s) were delicious and the gelato smooth and wonderful. The doughnuts, however, were in a class by themselves. Lauren forced us (against our will and better judgement) to order as second serving of them them...to be fair, she also ate most of the second round...sacrificing herself to save us from ourselves. There is no way to describe just how good they were. Come to Baltimore. Eat at Salt. Have them yourself. You will not regret it.

We finished the evening at the end of a pier watching and/or dancing the tango. Fish were jumping, music playing, people dancing. Such a good day...

Day One, strong start...

Quick post...too tired. Long day, 9am to 8pm (show from 12 to 8). Good lines at both entrances before opening and strong traffic nearly all day. Few good sales to humans (as opposed to dealers)...great conversations and interesting folk. Just a good day...

Dinner after was good. Names escapes me at the moment...I'll correct later. Very nice shrimp and grits.

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.

RBMS09: Seas of Change: Navigating the Cultural and Institutional Contexts of Special Collections

What follows is a quick overview of our first trip to the annual "Preconference" event held by the Rare Book and Manuscript Section (RBMS) of the American Library Association (ALA). It was a very interesting week. The event was extremely well run, especially given the numbers involved (368 attendees, 450 total with speakers and booksellers).

I drove down Saturday with Thing 1 and 2, leveraging the drive with some educational bonus stops. We spent Sunday in Philly, visiting Declaration House, the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's printing press and, best of all, a good long tour of The Rosenbach Museum. We left Philly and headed down to Annapolis for a night with my in-laws.

Monday found us in Washington, DC. I met with a client early in the morning (and sold the entire box I brought down for review) and then we were off to the museums. The boys had a great time at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. We did a bit of vehicular site seeing on the way out of town and headed to Charlottesville to settle in for the week.

Tuesday started with a wonderful seminar by Dan Gregory and sponsored by the Southeast Chapter of the ABAA. He tried very hard to instill in attendees the usefulness and value of taking pictures of books and how to do so with a minimum of errors. Lorne Bair co-ordinated this seminar and the following tour of the Small Special Collections. Set-up for the next day's "Bookseller Showcase" began at 4pm and before we knew it, we were done and ready for the main event.

We decided some time ago to stay on UVA campus. With the four of us (Suzanne flew in Thursday morning), the dorms offered a rather nice, very inexpensive (and air-conditioned) option. We had an entire quad to ourselves, everyone their own bed and a private bath. One of the great surprises was the water pressure in the Peters building...stunningly good. All UVA based events were only a building or two away. It turned out to be a very nice choice and we were all very pleased with it.

The Bookseller's Showcase ran from 9am to 730pm...a very long day. The boys were remarkable all day. T1 was very pleased with himself. He picked out a wonderful "Bloomsday" tshirt at the Rosenbach with a sketch of Joyce on the front and "Read" "Joyce" in his glasses. It looked very good under his blazer. T2 was, if possible, even more pleased with himself, as this was the first time he was able to wear his "real" bowtie (black with skull and cross bones)...even his older brother admitted that he looked very cool. They spent the day at the edge of the booth playing with their DSs and politely answering questions posted by bemused librarians.

This was a great event for us. We sold some good things, which was nice...but really it was all about meeting and learning about Special Collections librarians. We are still young and foolish enough that we know far less than we should and this was a great way to meet a lot of great librarians in one convenient (and lovely) site. I had signed up for the entire seminar, in part as there were some interesting seminar/speaker/events and in part as it offered a longer time with this interesting group of bibliophiles.

There were some really fun/interesting moments. Marvin Taylor (NYU's Fales Library) was so pleased to discover I had a copy of Your House is Mine that he held not one but two impromptu walkthroughs of each print, offering context and background on the pieces and the artist(s). He uses the book in courses at NYU. I love the book...Marvin loves it even more and it was such a treat to turn the pages and listen.

Also at the Showcase, a person entered and very politely told me that they were really just looking, as they were only seeking early Italian travel books and I wouldn't have anything for her. When I told her I had a nice copy of the very scarce "The Italian Sketchbook", her first response was "no you don't". This was and especially fun sale because, in addition to putting a scarce book in the hands of the "right" owner, the *only* reason I had brought the book (of exceedingly narrow appeal) is that it had "fit" a void in one of my cases and had been added for that specific purpose. Sometimes things just work out as they should.

The Preconference itself was very interesting and well run (details here). Of particular interest was an afternoon session of 3 seminars, each with three very young Spec. Coll. librarians presenting papers. As one who spends a lot of time thinking about and working with young collectors, it was great having an opportunity to listen to a few such professionals.

Another highlight, personally, was listening to Sarah Thomas wrap up the event. She is, for those who might not know, is the American Spec. Coll. librarian (last of Cornell) who is now the head of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, a double first (first American, first woman to head the Library). She was brilliant and funny and it was a great end to the formal Preconference.

Saturday night capped the week with a wonderful, if somber, event: Terry Belanger's Farewell event. Terry founded the Rare Book School (based at UVA) and, after 26 years as Director, is stepping down. There was a tribute, where many who know and love Terry spoke followed by a very nice reception. The tribute was wrapped up by RBS's newly anointed Director, Michael Suarez (ex of Fordham and Oxford). It was one of the best written, best presented and funniest toasts I have heard in a long time. I regret I did not record it (Jesuits are just better at such things than most *g*). RBS is, it appears, in very good hands. This is good, as both Suzanne and I will be back in C'ville soon for RBS classes and we look forward to taking many more in years to come.

We drove back in a more more direct fashion. We had planned to take two days, but after getting up to Philly early and touring Independence Hall and the exceptional Mutter Museum, we found that we were really ready to sleep in our own bed and made it home just before midnight on Sunday. It was a very long, intense and very interesting week. The boys were wonderful. We met a lot of great people and really look forward to next year.

Set-up: Day One

All set up. Setting up half a booth is arguably *more* time consuming than setting up a full booth. In the end, it seems to have come together. I even managed to sell a book or two. My booth mate, Harteveld Rare Books, did not show up until very late afternoon. I was getting worried... Turns out they were held up for 2.5 hours in Customs. They were *far* more bemused by it than I would have been. They managed to get everything at least unpacked before we were all kicked out for the evening. I'll post images tomorrow.

Went to a great party at Bibi's shop (Imperial Fine Books). It was great fun. Many/most of the usual suspects were in attendance. People seem reserved but very hopeful about the weekend.

Will attend the Swann's auction tomorrow morning. There are a handful of things I may pursue. The gem of the sale (I think), is the Golden Cockerel Press edition of The Four Gospels (designed by Eric Gill). It is one of the 12 copies printed on vellum. Every element of this book is stunning. It is simply an exceptional piece of work. He (Gill) was a genius. I hope it goes to a covetous home.

It was a very nice day...a room full of book dealers is really all together too much fun...

Day One, Two and after...

[Day 1] The show was very nice. A good number of seemingly interested and engaged visitors. Lots of minor things seem to be moving and a reasonable number of bigger items. Mind you, not from me .

I did manage to find a great set of 57 of the 64 Rivers of America series...all first editions and all in very nice DJs. Pretty much made the day. Oh...and a nice copy of Sweet Dreams by Twelvetree Press (many pictures of dead people).

[just realized I did not post this last night...so just added]

[Day Two] Started nicely with a breakfast courtesy of of the SE Chapt. of the ABAA. Another strong crowd of interested humans. A handful of nice sales...interestingly, including the lovely copy of Sweet Dreams I had purchased the day before. It was innocently sitting on the chair, where I had been reading it, when it was snapped up by a new and interesting client. 

I bought more good stuff...it really has been a good buying show. Picked up a great set of all three of the Wrightson portfolios of Frankenstein. Have my eye on some other material. We shall see.

The end of the day was great. A young couple, engaged and interested. "We're not collectors"....shortly after telling me that they are converting a bedroom to a library to make room for their books . I love young collectors. 

Dinner for the third night in a row at the tapas place. Pitcher of their wonderful sangria outside. Life could be much worse.

Day Four, Pack Up, Wrap Up and a good nights sleep. riend

[Sorry for the delay in updates. I switched from the hotel I was in (Comfort Inn, where I had Comedy Central and free wireless) to the Westin (a "nicer" hotel...without Com. Cent. and non-free wireless). I just haven't had time since the last update. In brief: 7 hours of show, move out not finished until 11pm or so and Tuesday spent running amok in DC.]

Day four started out

 *painfully* slowly.

 Traffic did pickup as the day went on. I had a few more friends/clients stop by and I did manage to sell a few things. It was, however, a *very* long

 day. I did manage to buy

 an interesting item, an FBI memo to banks listing every serial number from the Lindberg ransom for "banks to compare against currency on hand". 

The best part of the day is that Suzanne arrived around 2pm or so. She caught up with dealer/friends and looked about as some of the freakishly cool things kicking about the fair.

Of particular note was an absolutely remarkable carved tusk (mastodon?!?). The detail (and overall size) was just stunning. I've included some images of the details (they blow up if you click on them).

The show closed at 6pm. We were packed up by about 9pm...but we were not able to get the van in the hall until about 1030 and did not get to the hotel until about 1130 or so. Mind you, we had thought things were going to go a bit quicker...so we had not eaten. Urgh. It was a *very* long night.

Overall, numerous annoying bits notwithstanding, it was a good show and we are very pleased we did it and plan on doing it again next year. Credit were it is due, the promoters are better than most at getting people in the door...usually serious collectors...woohoo. The logistics of a show of this scale is really amazing. Tuesday will be our "bang around DC" day...very exciting.

Day Three - Buying one’s way to a good show (and/or eating one’s way):

Day Three was long and largely uneventful. There was rather good, steady traffic, a fair number of engaged visitors. I had about a dozen people fill out newsletter/interest cards. I had two really good things offered to me and acquired. Overall, a pretty good day.

And then came dinner. I went out to dinner with The Duck and it was good. Arguably over the top, but very, very good. We had dinner at Central-Michel Richard. They apparently just won the 2008 "James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant." We had difficulty choosing what to order...so we ordered, er, extra. We shared most things. I'll just list want ended up on our table:

App./Salads

Cherry tomato & burrata mozzarella

Fried oysters with a tartar base

Spinach & goat cheese torte

Entree/Burgers

Lobster Burger (Very lightly moistened, bit of scallop mixed in, served with Central mayonnaise and potato tuiles (which offered a very interesting crunch to the burger). We split this)

Braised rabbit with spaetzle & carrots (Boneless side on a country mustard sauce and a "tenderloin" dressed down the side. Spaetzle is made there and had a touch of fennel with it, very surprising...worked very well with rabbit. Carrots were lovely, touch of molasses, perhaps...funny on the plate with the rabbit. My entree.)

Lamb shank with creamy corn polenta (garnished with onion strings. Tasted this, wonderful.)

Dessert

Vanilla and Chocolate ice cream (TD)

Mango and Pear Sorbet (LM)

We both had their "House made grapefruit soda" (or two)...outstanding.

With all that was brought to the table, we barely scratched the menu...and we had a great table to watch what came out of the kitchen (and was being done in it). Great meal and a very fun evening. I just can not eat for the next few days .

Day Two, or There Are Not Enough Painkillers in the World...

to make my feet better...well, ok, over the counter...

It was a pretty nice, if long, day. A good number of humans through...credit where it is due, they do get warm bodies through the door. I had a reasonable number of genuinely engaged people in the booth, a fair number who signed up for our newsletter and/or left want list information. I even sold a few books.

I had a number of old clients and friends stop in, which is a treat. One brought a very interesting early 18o0 letter with some great/unusual content. It is going to require some research and luck, but it might just make the weekend if it goes at it appears. More to follow as appropriate.

Two days to go...then a "fun day in DC with The Suz" (and the LoC). Feet so sore...urgh.

Wow. What a nice finish to the day....and Day One

Well the day was long and my feet are very sore. There was pretty good traffic and some very engaged people poking about and asking interesting questions. I have an appointment to visit a home about some books on the trip back north...that might justify the trip...we shall see. Very soft sales. Three days to go, so I am hoping for a big Saturday...I think I will start holding my breath.

So I get back to the hotel, dreading having to figure out dinner. There is a "cafeteria" here...that I could not contemplate. So I was trying to think about having to change and get into the car and find something...probably caving and just getting some crappy fast food.

Under my door were two sheets of paper. One was shiny...pizza coupons and some other bits of this an that. Not great, but I felt better, knowing I could get something delivered. The other was for Edgardo's Trattoria, with a nice highlight about their wood-fired oven (iffy design on the website ). Matte paper, wide range of options, very traditional. Calzone on the way, salad and an iced tea...best of all, Tiramisu for desert that they make in house. I am so happy I could almost cry .

Thursday set-up day...

I left [Lex] Lutherville at about 830 and made it into DC a bit before 10am. It turned out that I could not go in, but rather had to go to the "Staging Area" several blocks away. This was reasonably simple and straightforward and I was parked an unloading at about 10:10am. 

I have a 10x12 booth, and am using two 8 foot tables, a 4 and a 6 foot see-through trophy case. Not having Suzanne with me is horrid on many levels...I will not go into the myriad of ways that her absence cripples me in most functional ways...However, as is applicable here, her  absence means my table cloths are not a nice and true. I am reason ably certain that it was about 1pm (3 hours in) before I unpacked a single book . 

Once I did start unpacking, it went reasonably well. The Vernonware threw me a bit, as they take up a bit of space,

 etc...but they look nice in the case and, with luck, will find a

 new home here (I have nice sets of all three patters (Salamina, Moby Dick and Our America)).

There are a reasonable number of book dealers at this show, and the other DC book fair is also this weekend (the one we tried to get into for 3 years, but despite repeated calls, could never get *on* the wait list, let alone *off*...frankly, we never had any return our calls...ever.

More on the other dealers here tomorrow.

They closed the all at 8pm. I finished setting up

 at 7:49pm. About 10 hours. I feel really good about this, because I thought I had taken 12 hours...now I feel really zippy. Urgh.

The show opens tomorrow at 11am and runs until 7pm. It runs the same through Monday. Look forward to seeing some of you there...

More updates to follow.

Return of the NY Shadow Show this April...

Everyone was a bit taken aback when the Shadow Show for the April NY ABAA show was cancelled. From the ashes has arisen a new show. On Friday, April 3rd, the Manhattan Book & Ephemera Show will take place at The Altman Building. The show will run from 8am to 7pm, providing an extra hour or so for those who want to shop it before heading over to the ABAA show at Park Ave. No word as to whether there will be shuttles.

Also rising from the ashes of a canceled event, the Boston MARIAB show is going to be held on May 2nd:

THE GREATER BOSTON BOOK & EPHEMERA FAIR
Date: May 2, 2009
Location: The Braintree Sheraton, 37 Forbes Road, Braintree, MA
Hours: Saturday: 9am-3pm.

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.