Hugh Hefner-Teen Cartoonist

Stephen Gertz has posted a very nice article at BookPatrol on the rather amazing collection of Hefner material I spent several weeks cataloguing. Stephen focuses on one elements, Hefner's brilliant cartoon. Hefner, as a young man, wanted to be a cartoonist (and did the early cartoons for Playboy).

During high school, Hugh would take notes on what his friends were wearing during the day so that he could sketch them accurately in the evening for his remarkable "School Daze" (approx. 33 volumes that are part of his private collection). Jane told me that she and her female friends would check School Daze to find out which of their boyfriends were fooling around behind their backs as Hugh would document *everything*. The cartoons in this collection are the only copies I know of that are not in Hefner's personal library.

I knew very little about Hefner before cataloguing this collection. 60 years of personal correspondence later, I have to admit that I am amazed by the man.

Mark Dimunation to speak at the Baxter Society in March.

The Baxter Society is very pleased to announce that Mark Dimunation will be speaking at our March 10th meeting. Mark is Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress. His talk is titled: Good, Bad, and Indifferent, Old, New, and Worthless: Thomas Jefferson and the Mind of the Eighteenth Century Collector.

The Baxter Society is Maine's only bibliophilic group, open to all those with an interest, passion, and/or love of books.

On a personal note (and as Program Chair for The Baxter), I can not tell you how excited I am that Mark agreed to come speak. I want to thank the many restaurants in town for their efforts in drawing Mark to town (and the NYC Times, too). With luck, we'll do some damage at eateries about town.

While I'm blathering about such things, I should also mention that in April, Bill and Vicky Stewart of Vamp & Tramp will be speaking and in May, Tom Horrocks of Harvard's Houghton Library will wrap out the year.

Finally, a teaser for next fall: while at the LA ABAA book fair, Michael Suarez, the newly appointed Director of Rare Book School, agreed to speak at a fall date to be determined.

I am, needless to say, going to retire from the Program Committee...I am not certain I can really improve on my recent run...

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.

Poem: Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh

From NYT PersonalTech: Digital Muse for Beat Poet:

Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh

By Gary Snyder

Because it broods under its hood like a perched falcon,

Because it jumps like a skittish horse and sometimes throws me,

Because it is poky when cold,

Because plastic is a sad, strong material that is charming to rodents,

Because it is flighty,

Because my mind flies into it through my fingers,

Because it leaps forward and backward, is an endless sniffer and searcher,

Because its keys click like hail on a boulder,

And it winks when it goes out,

And puts word-heaps in hoards for me, dozens of pockets of gold under boulders in streambeds, identical seedpods strong on a vine, or it stores bins of bolts;

And I lose them and find them,

Because whole worlds of writing can be boldly laid out and then highlighted and vanish in a flash at “delete,” so it teaches of impermanence and pain;

And because my computer and me are both brief in this world, both foolish, and we have earthly fates,

Because I have let it move in with me right inside the tent,

And it goes with me out every morning;

We fill up our baskets, get back home,

Feel rich, relax, I throw it a scrap and it hums.

[Copyright Gary Snyder, used by permission]

Recommended Inappropriate Books for Kids

Curious Pages is dedicated to recommending inappropriate books for kids. Their selections are wonderful, as are their images. I promise you will waste a good part of your day and, most likely, add it to your rss feed. It is my favorite recently discovered blog.

Ulysses as you've never Seen...

Can anyone truly doubt that had the technology existed, James Joyce would have written Ulysses as an illustrated web comic?

I didn't think so... To our great relief, Robert Berry has done a brilliant job adapting Joyce's tome to web-comic form at Ulyesses, "seen". It is worth every minute you spend with it.

Of Rare Books, Emerging Technology, and Social Networking...

There is a well-known curse, "may you live in interesting times". For the rare book world, times have seldom been more interesting (and here I speak only of the book trade, though the worlds of librarians, archivists, curators, etc have been similarly afflicted). The book trade has seen the death of book arbitrage, regional scarcity, and several of our beloved journals/institutions...we have seen a radical shift in the previously rather caste system of dealers and the emergence of a vast class of hobbyist "dealers"...we are in the midst of a radical shift from how the trade used to function to a newer-if not better, different-state of being (e.g. open shops dropping off droves, print catalogues becoming less common, the emergence of other venues for data transfer, etc).

At the same time, there are some really interesting elements emerging. As we seem to be losing one of the *critical* venues for the transfer of bibliophilic passion...the open shop...other venues finally seem to be emerging. The lose of the open shop has been worrying me a great deal for, as one who hopes to be wandering the stacks for many decades, I've been worried where the next generation (or two...or three) will be bitten by the biblio-bug. The primary petri dish has historically been open shops...you could go and hang out...handle books...talk with the owner(s) and similarly afflicted. You had a place you could *be* where you could handle books, listen, and learn. The loss of open shops has meant, in a real way, the loss of one of the primary gateway drugs that hook those so inclined and lead to more sophisticated distractions.

We are finally beginning to see some interesting and potentially important alternatives. As social networking sites have come into their own, we are seeing vibrant bibliophilic communities emerge. Facebook has dozens and dozen of Pages and Groups dedicated to authors, specific books, broad genres, periods, booksellers, printing, binding, etc. (Lux Mentis can be found here). Twitter has vibrant communities of librarians, booksellers, book lovers and, well, any number of other interest areas (Lux Mentis can be found here). Even "business networking" focused LinkedIn has interesting bibliophilic groups emerging (I can be found here). There is also the rather brilliant LibraryThing, a social networking site for booklovers where, among other things, you can post your collections, find others with similar interests and engage in any number of other distractions (I can be found here).

As one who spends a lot of time thinking about and exploring how to find/reach/engage the next generation of collector, I've spent a lot of time exploring these venues and am beginning to be pleased with what I'm finding. I've had dozens of "first contacts" by young (in the collecting arch, if not chronologically) collectors, asking interesting, engaged and/or curiosity questions and established collectors/clients tell me how much they enjoy the sense of community and ease of contact.

Several years ago, I had the pleasure of leveraging modern technology in an interesting way in the sale of a collection of Sommerset Maughan photographs. Not long ago, I'd have had to pack them off to the California dealer who I knew had a sophisticated collector of such material and then wait for him to be available and view the collection. Instead, she and I had an iSight based video conference...I held up each of the 110 photos, she did a screen capture of each one and threw them up on a unique webpage of thumbnail images. She then emailed her client a note saying she had something she thought he'd find interesting with the link to the page. He viewed it and responded very quickly that he wanted it all. From start to finish, it was about 24 hours...a wonderful improvement over the weeks or months it might have taken not that long ago.

Much more recently, I received a Twitter "Direct Message" (a message to a specific recipient that others can not see, as opposed to the norm that can be seen by the world). It was from someone I had never met, but "Followed" on Twitter as he did me (me, because he was clever, witty and posted consistently interesting things; he, because he clearly had too much time on his hands). It turns out he is a lit scholar and an extremely interesting gentleman. It also turned out he was assisting in placing a remarkable "lost" archive of the personal papers and manuscripts of Montague Summers (the full story has recently been published in the Antigonish Review). His DM, completely out of the blue, was to ask if I might be able to assist in placing the collection. One thing led to another, and I am very pleased to say that the archive is currently with me, being catalogued and prepared for, most likely, institutional placement.

While the scope and significance of the Summers collection is wonderful and far and away the important element of the transaction...the fact that I would *never* have had it *except* for Twitter is, I think, a fascinating element. It is a sign that new meeting places are beginning to gel and evolve into important forums for the trade (as seller, collector and/or dealer). The key, of course, is that it is not enough to simply hang a virtual sign...the onus is on you (collector or dealer) to connect. To talk. To post. To engage.

Interesting times, indeed.

Little Rare Book Room...My favorite holiday carol...

From the brilliant HP Lovecraft Society, please enjoy a favorite of mine, "Little Rare Book Room" (Lyrics by Sean Branney and Andrew Leman, based on 'Little Drummer Boy,' written in 1958 by Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone):

Come, they called me
The special book room
The rarest books to see
Librarian's tomb
Kept under lock and key
In terrible gloom
To save man's sanity,
It's pointless, we're doomed, thoroughly doomed, utterly doomed.
Necronomicon
The first I exhumed
From the book room.

Book of Eibon
So frightfully old
Vermis Mysteriis
A sight to behold
The Monstres and Their Kynde
With edges of gold
Could make me lose my mind
All covered with mold, fungus and mold, poisonous mold.
Kitab al Azif
Its horrors untold.
Still I am bold.

King in Yellow
Left me feeling glum
The Ponape Scriptures
I'd stay away from
And then The Golden Bough
My brain had gone numb
I read them all out loud
Well that was quite dumb, terribly dumb, fatally dumb.
Freed the Great Old Ones
Mankind will succumb.
What have I done?

ETAOIN SHRDLU - New Fine Press Edition

As many of you likely know, the letters on a Linotype machine are organized according to frequency, thus "ETAOIN SHRDLU" are the first two vertical columns at the left side of the keyboard. This famed nonsense term is the title of Frederic Brown's short story about a sentient Linotype machine, first published in Unknown Worlds (1942). Several years ago, I tracked own a copy of Unknown Worlds, because this story was one of the very few that blends spec fiction and the world of letterpress. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when Ivy Derderian decided to bring these two worlds together with her brilliant reprinting of Brown's tale.

This is Ivy's first book, printed at Wolfe Editions. Her execution is simply brilliant. Printed in Linotype Bonodi Book (created on an Intertype, the Linotype's successor), she printed it in the style of the 1940's pulps, including period adverts. From the prospectus:

“Frederic Brown’s entertaining short story about a sentient Linotype, titled Etaoin Shrdlu, was originally published in 1942 in the magazine Unknown Worlds. While Mr. Brown was well known for his science fiction short stories and novels as well as his award-winning detective fiction, it is clear that he knew his way around a Linotype and a print shop.

Ivy Derderian, with the help of Wolfe Editions, announces a new publication of Etaoin Shrdlu, designed in the manner of pulp magazines of the 1940’s. The text type is Linotype Bodoni Book, titles were set in Ludlow Ultra Modern. Text is printed on acid free Dur-o-tone Aged Newsprint, cover is acid free St. Armand Colours. The two engravings used are from a 1923 issue of The Linotype Bulletin.”

There is a nice review of the book and quick interview with Ivy here. It is nice to see a great biblio-centric speculative fiction story reproduced as a fine press piece. It has been printed in an edition of 40 copies. Email me if you would like one (or more). Perfect for the holidays if you have a bookish sci-fi lover in your life.

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.

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.

Two great blogs here in Portland (and a new book shop)...

I offer for your amusement and enjoyment two great new(ish) blogs. The first is

The Green Hand - Specializing in horror, mystery, and esoterica...best of all, just across the lane from Nancy. We're heading to a nice biblio-density level here on the West End. In Michelle's own words:

Hello everyone! It's official -- The Green Hand bookshop has secured its new shopfront space at 661 Congress Street, across Longfellow Square from our friend Nancy at Cunningham Books, and across the street from our compatriots in cultural intrigue, The Fun Box Monster Emporium and Coast City Comics.

Not only will we strive to provide a pleasant atmosphere and an ever-intriguing book selection, but also we are bringing into the fold the inimitable Loren Coleman's own International Cryptozoology Museum.

The other is the quite excellent foodie blog, "Portland Food Coma". It is not your usual food blog. Irreverent, debauched and...well...sometimes patently offensive (you are warned re the bacon cross tattoo-and/or the horror below it). All this notwithstanding, perhaps because of it, it is one of the great reads on and about food. Enjoy.

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.

Session Three: Collectors -- and Concluding Remarks

William Helfand (Pres. Grolier Club)

Mark Samuels Lasner (Collector; etc.)

David Alan Richards (Collector), etc.)

William T. Buice, III (Collector, etc.)

Concluding Remarks: Terry Belanger (Founder and [recently retired] Director of the Rare Book School).

All sessions have been outstanding, thus far. Great panels, great audience and great fun.

Second Session- Libraries (and a note on llunch)

Mark Dimunation (Chief of Special Collections at the Library of Congress)

Breon Mitchell (Director, Lilly Library)

Katherine Reagan (Curator of Rare Books at Cornell Library)

Nadina Gardner (Director of Preservation and Access, National Endowment of the Humanities).

Lunch was at Serafina...very nice. Street was closed off and we had to be "cleared" to go to the restaurant by heavily armed NYPD as, we were told, the Pres. of Israel was staying on the block re the UN. Fun at every turn.

First Panel: The Antiquarian Book Trade:

David Redden: (Sotheby's) - Moderator

William Reese (William Reese Company)

Tom Congalton (Between the Covers)

Priscilla Juvelis (Priscilla Juvelis Rare Books)

State of the trade. Off to a lively start thanks to David.

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.

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.

Michael Suarez's Response at the homage to Terry Belenger

At the end of the RBMS weekend in June there was a "Farewell Reception and Dinner" for Terry Belenger, the founder and driving force behind Rare Book School. A professor at UVA and Honarary Curator of Special Collections (and 2005 MacArthur fellow), Terry is force of nature...and we are all better for it. I had only met Terry once or twice prior to taking my RBS class last week, but had heard many stories from many people...to a one with love and perhaps a touch of awe.

Many people spoke at the reception, all have known and loved Terry for years and it showed in their words. The one that struck me, however, was the last. Michael Suarez will be the new Director of Rare Book School when Terry hands over the reigns. His was one of the best such I've heard in a very long time. I emailed him to ask if I could have a copy of his speech and was told that he had no written text for them...I think you'll agree that they were not bad for extemporaneous comments. He told me that they were recorded and would be transcribed...I received a copy of the proceedings as a Keepsake. I have included the full text of his words below, because I think they are wonderful. I look forward to seeing how RBS evolves and grows during his tenure.

Please note, in honor of Terry's "retirement", RBS has created the "Directors Scholarship Fund", its goal being to raise $30,000...to date, contributions exceed $113,000. This fund will be exclusively used to fund scholarships for students who might not otherwise be able to attend. If you have not already done so, I strongly encourage you to contribute (see the link above)...if you have already given, you might consider giving again, just on principle. Also, "In Praise of Rare Book School, including the full text off all the speakers at Terry's event and a nice history of RBS, can be had at the RBS Store (you'll have to ask for it, as it does not appear to be listed online...$5/copy).

The following is the full text of Michael Suarez's comments. Enjoy.

Thank you very much indeed. I can't tell you what a privilege and pleasure it is to be here. I'm very moved by the testimonials we've all be listening to.

Tonight we've heard many memories: important memories of relationships built over many years. And as I was sitting here, I was thinking about a moment a long, long time ago, when a noble king had a true humanist teacher. And Charlemangne one day asked Alcuin, "What is memory really like? To what could memory be compared? How can I as the leader of a great nation, train and understand the art of my own mind?"

Great humanist that he was, Alcuin took a deep breath and thought, and then he said to the king, "You must understand this. Memory is not like anything at all except for a great library, and everyone has this great library in his mind, in her mind. A great nation has this library even more so. And as leader of the people, you must know that even as memory is a library, so too are libraries memory. They are the precious repository of the past."

Sitting there tonight in the front row - as I was told to do! - I asked myself, to what book in the great world library might we compare this night? To what book is the great world library might we compare Rare Book School and Terry Belanger himself? It seems to me that the most appropriate book of all would be that classic by Erasmus of Rotterdam, In Praise of Folly.

Mr. Belanger, I accuse you - as many doubtless have before - of tremendous and unbridled folly. The folly of founding the Book Arts Press. The folly of starting Rare Book School. The folly, after being crushed by an uncomprehending administration, of starting everything all over again. The folly of collecting 200 lithographic stones and copper plates. The folly of sending out those Valentines! What are they for? Can someone explain? The folly of producing the biggest library address book in the entire world. The folly of evening after evening "Terrorizing!"

Terry Belenger: I accuse you - and I praise you for your folly. You are a fool for books. You are a fool for libraries. You are a fool for collectors and collecting. Terry Belenger is a fool for the enterprise that has been his life. But much more, more than all this, the man who sits before you is a fool for you.

I am a poetry teacher, and I love to teach my students figurae verborum, the classic figures of rhetoric. And when I get to the figure of oxymoron, I explain by saying, "Well, come on, you know, jumbo shrimp! military intelligence! humble Jesuit!"

Yet, I stand before you this evening deeply honored and deeply, deeply humbled to receive this great commission - to carry on, to deepen, and to extend the work of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, that has already been so supportive and so generous.

Ladies and gentlemen, the wisdom of the wise is pure folly, but the foolishness of the foolish man turns out to be true wisdom and grace.

Ready to hit the road to RBS, 2009

Suzanne and I are packed and more or less ready to leave tomorrow morning for Rare Book School (not counting the myriad of minor loose ends). We should be able to load up the van and be on the road in the early AM tomorrow with a destination of Washington, DC (to spend the night with a friend of Suzanne's). We will leave early Sunday to spend the day at Poplar Forest (Jefferson's second home) before return to C'ville for a Sunday afternoon/evening gathering of the RBS attendees.

I will be taking Book Illustration Processes to 1900 with Terry Belanger.

The identification of illustration processes and techniques, including (but not only) woodcut, etching, engraving, stipple, aquatint, mezzotint, lithography, wood engraving, steel engraving, process line and halftone relief, collotype, photogravure, and color printing. The course will be taught almost entirely from the extensive Rare Book School files of examples of illustration processes.

Suzanne will be taking The Printed Book in the West since 1800 taught by Eric Holzenberg.

This course will survey the technological advances in papermaking, illustration processes, composition, printing, binding, and distribution which fueled the development of the modern book industry. It will also give an overview of those phenomena – William Morris and the modern fine press movement, artists' books, the rise of book-clubs and organized bibliophily – which have arisen to balance this industrialization. The classes will make extensive use of RBS's strong collections of books and periodicals embodying the advance of printing in the West since 1800, as well as the plates, tools and other artifacts that enabled that advance.

Needless to say, we are both extremely excited and I may not sleep at all tonight. I'm going to go reread sections of Gascoigne. [Edited to correct Suzanne's course. I am a twit.]

Foxing explored...

The Private Library has a great post up on Foxing. Good read for all who deal with it or wonder what it might be...

More broadly, I'll use this as another opportunity to encourage your active following of Private Library. It is, far and away, the best blog about on and about collecting and collections. In addition to great posts, his collection of bibliophilic links sets the bar against which all others should be measured... Enjoy.

On Presidents and Editing the Bible...

Imagine, for a moment, if news broke that Barack Obama had cut up a Bible, separating it into "diamonds" to be distinguished from the rest of the "dunghill". I am guessing that the media's collective head would explode, as would any number of politicians, Rep & Dem alike.

A President did this very thing, however...drafter of the Declaration of Independence and our third President, Thomas Jefferson. The 46 page book "The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth", generally referred to as the Jefferson Bible, was based on his lifetime of research, contemplation and inquiry. He sums up his efforts in an 1813 letter to John Adams:

In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of riches and power to themselves. We must dismiss the Platonists and Plotinists, the Stagyrites and Gamalielites, the Eclectics, the Gnostics and Scholastics, their essences and emanations, their logos and demiurges, aeons and daemons, male and female, with a long train of … or, shall I say at once, of nonsense. We must reduce our volume to the simple evangelists, select, even from them, the very words only of Jesus, paring off the amphibologisms into which they have been led, by forgetting often, or not understanding, what had fallen from him, by giving their own misconceptions as his dicta, and expressing unintelligibly for others what they had not understood themselves. There will be found remaining the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man. I have performed this operation for my own use, by cutting verse by verse out of the printed book, and arranging the matter which is evidently his, and which is as easily distinguishable as diamonds in a dunghill. The result is an octavo of forty-six pages, of pure and unsophisticated doctrines.

While it has been written about in main-stream media and was once ordered printed by Congress and distributed to all members (in 1904, what fun it would be to do that again), it remains relatively little known and seldom discussed. This is, I think a great shame, as his issues then are every bit as relevant now...perhaps more so, as we seem to be in a period where one can not discuss such things (at least not rationally). One either believes lock, stock, and barrel or does not believe at all. Anyone who might wish to discuss something between those two points gets shouted down by one or both of the extremes. Such is discourse at the start of the 21st century.

In an 1803 letter to Benjamin Rush, Jefferson said that his edited version sought to determine whether the ethical teachings of Jesus could be separated from that which was attached to "Christianity" over the centuries. He wrote, "To the corruption of Christianity I am indeed opposed, but not to the genuine precepts of Jesus himself."

Such contemplation was of importance to Jefferson, whose Statute for Religious Freedom (and its embodied Separation of Church and State) was one of only three achievements he instructed to be included in his epitaph. We are reduced now to breathless (and/or incorrect) articles on which church the president "pick" and why he has not yet done so.

It is a sad commentary that men (and women) of conscience are not able to discuss such matters, reducing the debate to rabble-rousers on both sides. Yeats, of course, was right, "the best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate intensity." It is, none-the-less, a shame.

If you would like to read it, GoogleBooks iteration is what you would expect, but this version allows easy side-by-side comparisons of Jefferson's edits against the KJV.

Alternatively, there is Robert Heinlein, "Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything."

"Christians" seek damages for exposure to a book...and the right to burn it...

I wish I could make things like this up. T. Gerristen (who I would love even if she were she not a friend) has just posted a great piece at Murderati on book banning efforts. Her post revolves around efforts in Wisconsin to ban/burn "Baby Be-Bop":

Robert C. Braun of the Christian Civil Liberties Union (CCLU) distributed at the meeting copies of a claim for damages he and three other plaintiffs filed April 28 with the city; the complainants seek the right to publicly burn or destroy by another means the library’s copy of Baby Be-Bop. The claim also demands $120,000 in compensatory damages ($30,000 per plaintiff) for being exposed to the book in a library display, and the resignation of West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss for “allow[ing] this book to be viewed by the public."

Terry offers a nice overview of small-mindedness and error of such efforts...taking particular note of the fact that such efforts nearly always fail and generally serve the opposite effect, that is, peaking interesting and increasing sales of the subject books. She closes with a plea:

So please, ban my books. I want to join that lofty pantheon of authors that includes Alexie and Sendak and Twain and Vonnegut. My books have plenty to offend everyone. There's adulterous sex and graphic violence, foul language and disturbing perversions. So go ahead, ban me!

For those who do not have it bookmarked, here is the ALA's site for all things banning and bookish.

Personally, I think I am going to sue those who seek to ban books for emotional distress. I wonder if I could have them burned... Enough daydreaming, back to cataloguing books. Happy Tuesday.

Quick & Curious Observation

I've noticed, here at RBMS, that heads of Special Collections tend to
be rather advanced in years or quite young (with many exceptions). I am
curious, however, if there might not be a soft trend where Boards/
Selection Comm. actively seeking 'the next generation' and effectively
skipping a generation of librarians from these roles... Thoughts??? [edited to correct iphone typos...]

More thieves benefiting from ebay...

These thieves are apparently not even bothering to be sneaky (or careful)...just ripping out the textblocks and leaving the debris in dark corners of the library. Annoyed by title, as they are not really vandals, they are thieves. I wager you can (or could have) found the stolen plates on ebay. I wonder how many loose plates sold on ebay are *not* stolen...very few these days, I wager.

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]

Would a Wordle, by any other name, smell as sweet...

 This is E. A. Poe's, The Raven as a word cloud via Wordle. I am not certain how utilitarian it is, but it makes really pretty pictures from text. Very cool.

Cambridge incunabula collection going online...

A remarkable collection of incunabula is being digitized and coming online from Cambridge University Library. 

Very few records of the Library's 4,650 treasures are currently in its online catalogue, which means that they are often invisible to scholars and students - both in Cambridge and around the world.

It is told that their copy of the Gutenberg Bible arrived on morning in 1930 when a man stepped out of a taxi and told the library he had a bible he would like to give them...

Can't wait to see the results of this project.

Apple says no to Proj. Gut. app because the db includes..

the Kama Sutra. It appears Wired broke the story about this inexplicable denial. The app, Eucalyptus, was created by Project Gutenberg and therein rest the "problem". The app does not come with any books, you search PG's database and download whatever you want to read.

Among PG's vast db of public domain books is the Kama Sutra, and Apple claims this work, first compiled in the second century CE contains "inappropriate sexual content" [N.B. I assume the PG version is the 1883 "Burton" edition  and not the recent 2002 "scholarly translation"]. 

The interesting issue here is that Apple is precluding it NOT for something "in it", but something obtainable *through* it. Doesn't this mean that Google and all other "search-y" apps need to be blocked as they can "find" dirty text and pictures??? It appears that PG has coded a filter to protect iPhone users from the Kama Sutra and hopes to get the app approved....at least those who don't know how to use Google...or Safari. Oh, wait....hmmm. [Thnx to @ncacensorship]

Censorship, Stupidity, Viruses and Immune Systems...

"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us."—Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas," The One Un-American Act." Nieman Reports, vol. 7, no. 1 (Jan. 1953): p. 20.

There has been an annoying spat of censorship events at various schools recently. The most recent was twitted about by He With His Finger On The Pulse Of All Things Biblio, M. Lieberman of BookPatrol. The story revolves around a teen poetry anthology (POETRY...being read by TEENS. Holy crap) called Paint Me Like I Am:

Paint Me Like I Am is a collection of poems by teens who have taken part in writing programs run by a national nonprofit organization called WritersCorps. To read the words of these young people is to hear the diverse voices of teenagers everywhere.

Unfortunately, "[t]o read the words of these young people" has apparently offended ONE mother of a teen who complained of the Superintendent of the Vineland, NJ school her son attends. Sup. Charles Ottinger read the offending poem and said "in no way, shape or form" should the book be allowed on school shelves. The principle did an interesting, though also egregious, thing in that rather than complying with the Super's order to pull the book, he TORE OUT THE TWO PAGES that contained the offending poem so the rest of the book could be shelved for student use. [Side note, while I appreciate the Solomonetic approach of splitting the proverbial book...tearing pages out is a rather lame solution. You are *still* censoring the book *AND* you have mutilated the book itself.] The poem, which I have tragically failed to find in full online, is apparently laden with "bad words" and written from the point of view of a drunken abusive step-father...arguably not a "happy, shiny people" piece.

I am tired of the Lowest Common Denominator being allowed to define and direct our schools and libraries (and government, but that is another rant). One person complains about a given book [or books] and FAR too many schools/libraries are willing to just roll over and pull the material. Sometimes it is because the administrator is of an equally small mind but more often than not, I wager, it is because it is just not seen as a fight worth having. I suggest that it is a fight worth having...to fail in this fight is to guarantee the ascendance of mediocrity and the rule of the narrowest mind. 

Children do not need to be protected from challenging material, they need *context*. They do not need to be told they are not able/old enough/mature enough to read certain things, they need the intellectual guidance to *understand* the material as written. To refuse the exposure doesn't "protect" a child, it denies from the child a necessary skillset for adult life...the ability to read, absorb, contemplate and embody challenging ideas...in all their forms. 

A virus analogy is quite apt. It is well established that our over-use of certain antibiotics in children has lead to not only to the evolution of drug-resistant bugs but, far more dangerous, the impairment of kids/young adults immune systems to be able to fight common bugs. Kids *need* to get sick...because it is by exposure/illness that the body builds antibodies to fight future infections. We make kids *more* susceptible to *serious* illness by denying them the ability to get sick now and again and, thereby, allowing them to build up antibodies.

Reading...the exposure to the ideas embodied in books...works on the mind in much the same way. The more you read, the greater your ability to comprehend complex/difficult/challenging material in all forms. Context is the critical variable...obviously there is a burden put upon parents (and teacher, etc) to help kids understand the things they read, *especially* when that material upsets or troubles them. But is is through that process of getting upset and resolving those feelings that a child *learns*. Denying children challenging material is simply to deny them the ability to learn.

Children are not infants. They do not need to be protected from the likes of the Brothers Grimm; the racism of Huckleberry Finn or the violence of Lord of the Flies or the language in Of Mice and Men. They need context. They need to be able to read these things and talk about them...with parents, teachers and peers. They embody the things they read and it makes them stronger...and smarter...and able to process bigger, more complex challenges down the road.

Treating kids like they need to be protected from any thought or idea that might challenge/offend/frighten them serves *no* purpose but to impair their ability to rationally analyze the data that bombards them every day. Dumbing down our books and, worse, dumbing down our libraries does nothing but dumb down our children. They deserve better. They *need* better.

At a time when the world is becoming more complex and arguably more dangerous, there are far too many people doing all they can to impair the next generation's ability to analyze and rationalize. Dogmatically held positions are held sacrosanct and those that dare challenge them with logical analysis are dismissed as "elitist". We need kids to read more...to be exposed to more...to build up the intellectual capacity to combat the myopic worldview that is becoming far too prevalent. 

It's 215am...I am confident I should read the above and edit out 1/2 or so...but I wont. I'm tired. It is all Brian Cassidy's fault, for telling me to blog my rant after I had twitted about it. If you are interested, see the ALA's Censorship in the Schools resources and definitely bookmark Blogging Censorship. In the end, I'm with Oscar Wilde:

There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. That is all.

Selling off Spec. Coll. books for fundraising. Many moving parts...

Two of my favorite bibli-bloggers have posted on the recent USF sale of material from their collection. PhiloBiblos and BookPatrol have written well crafted articles on the issues, with notable differences...both should be read. 

I've nothing to add as to facts and the over-arching issues. Personally, I think such sales are likely to be short-sighted solutions to much deeper issues and are unlikely to serve a useful long-term goals. That said, such efforts can certainly raise considerable sums and one has to think that such efforts are not pursued lightly. But then, broader issues sometimes fall to the wayside.

The most famous of these revolves around the Bodeian's First Folio. It entered the library in 1623 and was sold to a local Oxford bookseller in 1663-4 as part of a small collection of "superfluous library books sold by order of the Curators" for £24. "Superfluous" because the Bodleian had purchased a Second Folio, thought to be "better" and thus, the first was just taking up space. Sir. W. Osler spearheaded the campaign around the turn of the 20th century, to bring the Bodleian's copy back to the library (to the tune of approx. £3000).

I am not certain there *is* a right answer. There are a variety of issues in play and the balance can very greatly. In the end, it is hard to argue that having things come back to the market...to enter private collections and/or other special collections...is not good for the book trade as a whole. The next several months should be interesting....

Reread by accident, repeatedly... (and you?)

I have a question for you: What book (or books) have you rereadby accident? That is, what have you reread only because you did not remember reading it in the first place? On a related note, how many times have you done such a thing?

I do this a fair bit, as I read *very* quickly and will often am about half-way through before it dawns on me that I've read it before...by which point I figure I should just go ahead and finish it. My record is Robert Heinlein's, Friday. I have reread it 3 times by accident [and once on purpose].

I read it as a teenager when it was released in 1982. I was in a airport several years later and saw a copy as a massmarket paperback. I read the back, it sounded good (and range no bells), so I picked it up. Several hours into the trip, I realized I had read it but zipped through to the end. About a decade later, I saw a "new" trade paperback edition (again in an airport) of a book called "Friday". It range a vague bell, but when I read the description, it didn't resonate. Again, somewhere over the midwest, I realized I had read it...and realized I had done this before . 

Finally, I was picking up some trip reading (there is, undoubtedly, a theme here with my lowered focus at/around flying) at a used bookshop and saw a 20th anniv. edition (or some such thing) for a book called "Friday" that range a vague bell...but not enough that I did not stand there and think, "how could I have missed this, it is right up  my alley and I've read so much bloody Heinlein". Again, well into the flight before I realized that this was the same tale that had hooked me repeatedly. 

I reread it in the last year or so...this time on purpose. That one doesn't count. Can you beat that number? I've read Friday 5 times....only twice on purpose. Sad. Very sad.

Bibliomania, concealed books, the most fun I've had in a long time

I have spent the last several weeks working on a project that has been remarkably interesting. The collector was a bibliomanic, in the classic sense. He was a historian, an archivist and a passionate book collector. He also evolved into an obsessive collector. 

The house has approximately 200 linear feet of bookshelves. Using the traditional average of 10/linear foot, there should be about 2000 books or so in the house. Except there were not...there were more...lots and lots more.

After retirement, he began began as series of remodeling and/or cabinetmaking projects. He was quite good. His wife knew he was an avid

collector. Perhaps a bit too avid, but she limited him to his library and his bedroom and one or two other limited areas. 

What his wife never knew, until very recently, is that...when she was out...he filled the knee-walls on the third floor with carefully packed boxes of books. He filled more than one concealed room in the basement with carefully packed boxes of books. Best of all, he built concealed places into several places in the house to hide his gems.

All told, it appears there were at least 15,000 books and very likely +/-20,000 in the house. That is, about 10 to 1 what one would expect to find. His family remains baffled as to when and how he

managed to get all these books into the house...how he managed to bring in the dozens and dozens of packing crates into which he packed his books...how no one knew. 

The pictures show two of the spaces. The first is a hinged door, built into the side of a vent baffle under bookcases in his office. There is a magnet closure that keeps the door shut tight. The space behind it is about 6 inches high, 12 inches deep and about 2.5 feet deep.

The other three pictures show my favorite (thus far). When you remove the bottom drawer of the built in china cabinet he built approximately 25 years ago, you discover a solid base. The base

plates have no movement and appear to be nailed down. It is only when you carefully remove the little spacer between the two plates (seen in the second and third image on the front plate) that the plates can be effortlessly removed. It is simple and elegant and created a cavernous space behind the baseboard.

There have been some great books, though the signal to noise ratio is definitely high. More than anything, however, it has just been wonderful to spend time exploring this collector's life, habits and passion. It has been an adventure I will never forget and has given me a slew of stories I'll be telling...well...forever. Still a ways to go with this, though the heavy lifting is done. I'll be posting in a bit about a few of the things that were part of the collection. I have had *way* too much fun. [N.B. I secured express permission from the family to post about this adventure.]

The Bodleian Bans Stepladders...

From the "I really hope this is a joke" file: Due to safety concerns, Oxford has banned stepladders at the Bodleian Library. This, while relatively silly on its face, is made truly bizarre with the apparent decision "refusing to move the books from their 'original historic location'". 

As a result, much of what is out of reach is...well...out of reach. Students are, according to the article, being forced to go elsewhere to secure working copies.

Stepladders have been in use at the Bodleian for the last 400 years or so...any statistics on injuries and, dare I say it, deaths???

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...